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Trump-endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno moved on in the Ohio GOP Senate primary on Tuesday night, setting up a match-up with entrenched Democrat incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in a race that is expected to focus on Brown’s support of President Biden and Democrat concerns over the MAGA agenda.  

Moreno defeated his two Republican opponents on Tuesday after campaigning on his status as a political outsider and former President Trump’s endorsement in a state that Trump carried by 8 points in 2020 and that political experts believe is one of the GOP’s best opportunities to inch closer to taking back control of the U.S. Senate.

In the days leading up to the election, Moreno, Trump, and their allies signaled they would focus their attacks on the perception that Brown is a “moderate” and argue that he is in fact a rubber stamp for Biden.

“Ohio needs to defeat your horrendous radical left, Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown, who pretends he’s my best friend,” Trump told Moreno supporters at a Dayton area rally over the weekend.  “He pretends he’s my best friend until he gets in, and then he goes radical left all the time. You know, if you listen to his commercials, he sounds like he’s running with Trump. He’s not.”

TRUMP REVEALS ‘VERY FIRST ACTIONS’ HE’LL TAKE AS PRESIDENT DURING OHIO RALLY, HAMMERS BIDEN’S BORDER POLICIES

While Brown is expected to attempt to thread the needle between being a Democrat and running in a now dependably red state, he carries a record of voting with Biden nearly 100% of the time.

Moreno has already signaled he plans to focus on Biden’s low approval numbers and polling that shows dissatisfaction with the economy.  

“He’s never been up against somebody who was well-resourced,” Moreno recently told “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy.” “He’s never been up against somebody who had an actual contrast between him and the candidate and, most importantly, he’s never been up where he’s at the top of the ticket versus President Trump.”

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR FLIP-FLOPS ON SUPPLYING ENERGY TO CHINA IN MIDDLE OF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

“So Sherrod Brown has got to overcome his attachment to Biden, his terrible record. People are going to vote with [their] pocketbook in November, and this is going to be the time we finally retire him.”

On Tuesday night following his victory, Moreno took direct aim at Brown referring to him as a “commie” and rejecting the idea that he has fought for the middle-class during his tenure.

“Think about it, this guy been in office since Richard Nixon was president,” Moreno said. “This guy’s been in elected office, never had a job in the private sector, and what does he do? He says he advocates for working-class Americans.”

“So let’s dissect that for a second,” Moreno continued. “Under Sherrod Brown’s watch, China has gone from a $4 billion trade deficit to a $235 billion a year trade deficit with America. The middle class in this country has shrank under his watch, we’ve lost factory after factory under his watch. We are now, with his leadership, so called, of the Senate Banking Committee, we’ve seen a absolute obliteration of local and small and regional banks. That’s all happening under Sherrod Brown’s watch.”

Brown is expected to position himself as a candidate who works across the aisle, hammer Moreno on his attachment to President Trump, and continue the Democrat strategy of labeling Republicans as extremists on abortion. 

“I watched three rich guys, three millionaires, who have spent already combined more than $25 million to shall we say win this Senate seat, no mention of the cost of prescription drugs, no mention of manufacturing jobs, the dignity of  work, no mention of pensions or veterans, no mention of really how to secure the border,” Brown said.

“The one substantive thing that they did say is they all stand with a national abortion ban even though Ohio voters…by 13 points said they want reproductive rights for Ohioans. So, the debate didn’t really surprise me but didn’t really deal with issues that affect Ohioans every day.”

TRUMP PROMOTES ABORTION COMPROMISE AS DEMOCRATS PUSH ISSUE IN 2024 RACE

Brown has criticized Moreno and his GOP opponents on abortion several times on social media during the primary campaign.

“Bernie Moreno thinks women need help with their baby strollers, not access to abortion,” Brown posted on X responding to a comment from Moreno arguing that he is “pro-mom” and “pro-family” when it comes to abortion.

Abortion has been a hot button issue in the Buckeye State over the past year leading up to a November election where Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to enshrine abortion access into the state’s Constitution.

Moreno will transition from a primary race where he made the case he was the most conservative candidate on abortion to a general election race where abortion access has proven to be popular with voters.

Brown lost three suburban counties in 2018 including Butler County, Delaware County, and Licking County. The abortion access referendum won in all three of those continues last November. In Clermont County and Warren County, where the abortion vote narrowly lost, the vote outperformed Brown’s 2018 percentage by double digits.

Trump carried all five of those counties in 2020.

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Ohio is one of 3 states that the Cook Political Report ranks as a “toss up” as Republicans attempt to take back control of the Senate in November.

Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a very favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. 
 

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, will introduce a bill in the House of Representatives this week that would require federal immigration authorities to screen all migrants who come across the U.S. border against the FBI’s terror watch list.

The measure, the Identifying Potential Terrorist at the Border Act of 2024, would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to screen each migrant that crosses the U.S. border, whether legally or illegally, against the terror watch list and detain those migrants until a cross-reference search of each one has been completed.

“Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection shall take into and maintain custody over an alien until the Commissioner cross references the name of such alien with the terrorist screening database and a result for such cross reference is received by the Commissioner,” the measure states.

MIGRANT ON TERROR WATCHLIST ARRESTED ILLEGALLY CROSSING TEXAS BORDER PRIOR TO BIDEN, TRUMP VISITS: SOURCES

“We are a land of laws, and it is past time this administration acts like it,” Williams said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Joe Biden is encouraging a deadly invasion of fighting-age men on American soil, and each day this Democrat-created influx of illegal aliens allows bad actors to slip past Border Patrol undetected. Under current law, CBP is not required to screen migrants against the terrorist watchlist database, and as we have seen too often, dangerous criminals are released into our nation who go on to harm American citizens and communities.

BORDER PATROL STOPS RECORD NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON TERROR WATCH LIST AT SOUTHERN BORDER

“My bill requires CBP to screen and detain all individuals attempting to cross the border until a match is returned on that migrant. Now more than ever, we must be aware of who is in our country as Republicans fight to restore law and order and end Biden’s deadly open border policies that are destroying America,” Williams added.

Williams’ measure comes after Patrick Lechleitner, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), revealed earlier this year that a terrorist was allowed to roam freely in the U.S. for nearly a year after crossing into the country illegally at the border.

At a February briefing, Lechleitner said the terrorist was arrested within 48 hours, only after ICE “became aware.”

The admission from Lechleitner followed a report by The Daily Caller that federal authorities caught a terrorist illegally crossing into the U.S. via the southern border in March 2023. However, the terrorist was then released into the U.S. due to a “mismatch” after his name was run through the terror watch list, The Daily Caller reported.

The unnamed terrorist was a member of al-Shabab and was captured last month in Minneapolis, according to the outlet.

“A 27-year-old Somali native entered near San Ysidro, California, without inspection on March 13, 2023, and was arrested that same day by U.S. Border Patrol,” ICE spokesperson Erin Bultje told Fox News earlier this year. “On Jan. 18, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received information regarding the noncitizen’s threat to national security and took the noncitizen into ICE custody on Jan. 20, where he is currently detained in accordance with ICE policy, subject to the ongoing evaluation of their case.”

Earlier this month, it was revealed that an individual on the terror watch list — 40-year-old Carlos Obed Yepez-Bedoya — was apprehended after illegally crossing the Texas border in February. CBP sources told Fox News Digital that Yepez-Bedoya was a “positive match” on the terror watchlist but did not name the terror organization.

Williams’ measure comes as illegal immigration has become a major 2024 election issue and remains a thorny issue for President Biden and his administration. Polls show that more than half of Americans think large numbers of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. represent a critical threat to the country.

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The southern border crisis, now into its third year, has smashed multiple records with more than 2.4 million encounters in fiscal 2023 and over 300,000 in December alone, breaking the record for monthly encounters.

There were 169 encounters of people between ports of entry at the southern border on the FBI’s terror watch list in 2023, according to CBP data.

Fox News’ Lorraine Taylor, Adam Shaw, and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

I wonder if this was the plan all along: trying to bankrupt Donald Trump?

The way things are going, it certainly looks that way.

The case brought by New York’s Democratic attorney general, Letitia James – who ran on a platform of investigating Trump – has spun out of control. Even if he did all the things she charged in her civil fraud suit, the businessman-turned-president has been put in an unbelievable, and really unacceptable position.

DECODING TRUMP: HOW HE ENGAGED, DEFLECTED OR DUCKED MY QUESTIONS AT MAR-A-LAGO

Much of the media is treating this story with undisguised glee, with almost no one raising the question of whether this is blatant overkill. As for the Democrats, even if it turns out they can’t beat him at the courthouse or the ballot box, maybe they can send him to the poorhouse. (Not really – he has vast real estate holdings – but the latest push could seriously damage the Trump Organization.)

Trump’s lawyers have revealed that he’s unable to post a $454 million bond, despite approaching about 30 companies that provide appeal bonds, and has run into “insurmountable difficulties.”

The former president posted on Truth Social: “Nobody has ever heard of anything like this before. I would be forced to mortgage or sell Great Assets, perhaps at Fire Sale prices, and if and when I win the Appeal, they would be gone. Does that make sense? WITCH HUNT. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”

James did a victory lap on ABC, vowing to enforce the penalty and saying that if necessary “we will ask the judge to seize his assets.”

Or they could give Trump time to appeal.

IN AI AGE, LYING AND DECEITFUL PUBLIC FIGURES ARE HARDER THAN EVER TO DETECT

Trump was convicted of inflating the value of real estate assets to get a better deal on loans. Judge Arthur Engoron gave him no benefit of the doubt, and of course Trump constantly attacked him and Tish James.

As I noted at the time, many real estate firms engage in overly generous valuations. The value of any given property in any given market is ultimately subjective. That’s why these company assessments, including Trump’s, contain a “due diligence” clause that essentially tells lenders to make their own determinations rather than just relying on the borrower.

But there are lines that aren’t supposed to be crossed. It didn’t look good that his Trump Tower triplex was assessed at three times its actual size. 

But overall, there were no identifiable victims. The banks made money and were happy. Trump’s company was happy. Nobody said they got screwed.

But again, assume for the sake of argument that the Trump Organization was guilty as charged. What would be a reasonable penalty?

The AG originally asked for $250 million. Then she later upped that to $370 million. Engoron imposed a fine of $355 million, giving James almost everything she wanted, and barred Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years.

Does this seem like a commensurate punishment, given that nobody lost a dime? Or does it appear that the judge and the attorney general are determined to wipe out his company?

Isn’t it troubling that the companies approached by Trump said they had never had to deal with such a gargantuan bond request?  

Keep in mind that this isn’t even a criminal case.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Trump’s dilemma is that he isn’t liquid enough to post a bond of that size, especially after putting up a $91 million bond in the second defamation lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll. (The former president has just sued ABC and George Stephanopoulos, who said Trump was held liable for rape when the judicial finding was sexual abuse, although the judge in that case said many people understood that to be rape.)

Trump could avoid any seizure of assets by selling off a prime hotel or building, but the buyer, knowing of the pressure he faces, would have all the leverage to insist on a lowball price.

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There is something odious about the case and the unprecedented nature of the punishment. I don’t know how Trump will fare on appeal, but it has certainly convinced his supporters that his Democratic opponents are out to get him.

Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno will win the Ohio GOP Senate primary, the Associated Press projects, in a race that tested the weight of former President Trump’s endorsement.

Moreno was projected as the winner Tuesday night, beating Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a contest many believe is a solid opportunity for Republicans to flip the seat. Moreno argued the contentious GOP primary was a battle between an outsider who would carry forward the MAGA agenda versus the establishment.

“The reality is we have an opportunity now, we have an opportunity now to retire the old commie and send him to a retirement home and save this country because that’s what we’re going to do,” Moreno told his supporters in his victory speech referring to incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown who he will face in November.

“Think about it, this guy been in office since Richard Nixon was president,” Moreno said. “This guy’s been in elected office, never had a job in the private sector, and what does he do? He says he advocates for working-class Americans.”

GOP CANDIDATE PUSHING TERM LIMITS SEEKS TO UNSEAT VULNERABLE 41-YEAR DEM INCUMBENT: ‘COUNTRY IS IN TROUBLE’

“So let’s dissect that for a second,” Moreno continued. “Under Sherrod Brown’s watch, China has gone from a $4 billion trade deficit to a $235 billion a year trade deficit with America. The middle class in this country has shrank under his watch, we’ve lost factory after factory under his watch. We are now, with his leadership, so called, of the Senate Banking Committee, we’ve seen a absolute obliteration of local and small and regional banks. That’s all happening under Sherrod Brown’s watch.”

During the primary campaign, Moreno positioned himself as a political outsider against the establishment who will get things done in Washington, D.C. 

“If you want somebody who’s going to be more liberal than Mitt Romney in the United States Senate, then vote for Matt Dolan,” Moreno, endorsed by Trump in December, argued at a rally in suburban Cleveland on the eve of the primary.

Dolan, endorsed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman, both considered to be top members of Ohio’s Republican old guard or establishment, had been surging in the polls in the last few weeks as he used his considerable personal fortune to blanket the airwaves with ads attempting to walk the line between supporting Trump’s agenda while distancing himself from Trump the person.

“I’m the only one in this race that’s cut taxes and reduced regulations. Who else has done that? Donald Trump,” Dolan noted in a Fox News Digital interview in Columbus on Monday. “Everyone wants to talk about Donald Trump’s endorsement. I’m the only one who’s actually done Donald Trump policies because it helps Ohio.”

“Bernie wants to be divisive. I want to be inclusive of all Republicans,” Dolan said. “I’m not interested in dividing the Republican Party. I’m interested in, when we put conservative agendas in place, Republicans win. When that happens, Ohioans and Americans are better off. That’s the message I’m running on.”

“His personality?” Dolan, the only candidate not to endorse Trump, said during a debate in early March. “It’s not me. His political style? It’s not me. But his policies that make your life better, make America stronger, make Ohio stronger, that is me.”

Moreno made a veiled reference to that comment while speaking at a Dayton-area rally with Trump on Saturday. 

“I am so sick of Republicans that will say, ‘I support President Trump’s policies, but I don’t like the man,'” Moreno said. “This is a good man. This is a great American. This man wakes up every day fighting for us, fighting for this country. He loves this country like no other leader in this nation has ever loved this country.”

TRUMP, TOP ALLIES MAKE CLOSING PITCH FOR SHERROD BROWN CHALLENGER BERNIE MORENO IN OHIO SENATE RACE

LaRose, who endorsed Trump, attempted to make the case on the campaign trail that he was the only true conservative in the race, criticizing Moreno for previous comments and positions on gun control and abortion while labeling Dolan a RINO (Republican in name only) over his past voting record.

LaRose, who was massively outspent by Moreno and Dolan, touted his conservative record and told Fox News Digital this year that he was “the most dangerous weapon against [Sen.] Sherrod Brown.”

The race will now focus on Brown, the only Democrat to win statewide in Ohio in a decade, and his matchup with Moreno will have significant implications on which party takes control of the U.S. Senate in November.

GOP CANDIDATE BLASTS AP ‘HIT PIECE’ AS ‘DEBUNKED’ AFTER ADULT WEBSITE FOUNDER CALLS ALLEGED PROFILE A ‘PRANK’

Democrats control the Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states Trump carried in 2020: Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for reelection.

Trump and his surrogates who rallied around Moreno have already begun to attack Brown as someone who is out of step with Ohio voters in a state that Trump won by eight points in 2020. Republicans have also made the case that Brown is a rubber stamp for President Biden.  

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Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told Fox News Digital at a Saturday rally in Dayton that Moreno is the strongest candidate to face Brown, who “talks one way” when “he’s at home” but votes with Biden in Washington, D.C.

“Ohio needs to defeat your horrendous radical left Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown, who pretends he’s my best friend,” Trump told the crowd in Dayton. “He pretends he’s my best friend until he gets in, and then he goes radical left all the time. You know, if you listen to his commercials, he sounds like he’s running with Trump. He’s not.”

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Moreno, in his victory speech, credited Trump.

“I want to thank President Trump for all he did for me, for this campaign, for his unwavering support,” Moreno said in his victory speech. 

Moreno, who highlighted that he spoke with the former president soon after his victory was projected, emphasized that “I wear with honor my endorsement from President Trump.”

And in an interiew with Fox News after his primary victory, Moreno emphasized that “an endorsement from Donald J. Trump is the most powerful endorsement in modern political history. There’s never been anything like it before – probably won’t be anything like it afterwards.”

And he added that Trump’s backing “was probably decisive” in his primary victory. 

“I think it was a victory for the [Trump] agenda. For the America First agenda,” he added.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Donald Trump swept Republican presidential primaries in five states on Tuesday.

The Associated Press projected that the former president would score victories in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio.

Trump campaigned in Ohio on Saturday, on behalf of businessman Bernie Moreno, the candidate the former president endorsed in the Buckeye State’s competitive GOP Senate primary.

The victories for Trump come a week after he clinched the 2024 Republican presidential nomination after sweeping last week’s contests.

WHERE THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACES STAND

Hours before Trump became the GOP presumptive presidential nominee, President Biden clinched the Democratic nomination, to become his party’s 2024 presumptive presidential nominee.

Biden and Trump will formally become the major party nominees at the Democratic and Republican national nominating conventions this summer.

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The 2024 rematch – which polls indicate most Americans are anything but enthused about – is now firmly in the general election phase. 

The general election campaign started earlier than at any point in 20 years – when then-Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts locked up the 2004 Democratic nomination in early March and faced Republican President George W. Bush.

The November showdown between Biden and Trump is the first rematch in the race for the White House since 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated former Democratic Gov. Adlai Stevenson of Illinois as they faced off a second time.

Trump is running a third straight time for the White House. Trump’s last rival for the nomination, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race the day after Super Tuesday in early March, after he sweept 14 of 15 GOP contests.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

President Biden swept Democratic presidential primaries in four states on Tuesday.

The Associated Press projected that the president would score victories in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio.

The victories for Biden come a week after he clinched the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination after sweeping last week’s contests.

WHERE THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACES STAND

Hours after Biden became the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump clinched the 2024 GOP nomination, to become the Republicans’ presumptive presidential nominee.

Biden and Trump will formally become the major party nominees at the Democratic and Republican national nominating conventions this summer.

The 2024 rematch – which polls indicate most Americans are anything but enthused about – is now firmly in the general election phase. 

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The president on Tuesday made campaign stops in both Arizona and Nevada, two key general election battlegrounds that were two of the six states that Biden narrowly carried in 2020 over Trump to win the White House.

The general election campaign started earlier than at any point in 20 years – when then-Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts locked up the 2004 Democratic nomination in early March and faced Republican President George W. Bush.

The November showdown between Biden and Trump is the first rematch in the race for the White House since 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated former Democratic Gov. Adlai Stevenson of Illinois as they faced off a second time.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., was criticized by billionaire business entrepreneur Mark Cuban after accusing former President Donald Trump of lying about being a billionaire and not being able to secure a $464 million appeal bond.

Trump has not been able to secure the required $464 million appeal bond he needs following a New York civil fraud judgment against him, and his attorneys said in a court filing Monday that obtaining one is a “practical impossibility under the circumstances presented.”

Lieu reposted a story from another media company on the matter yesterday on X.

“Trump claims he is a billionaire. But he can’t pay a $464 million [judgment],” Lieu tweeted. “That means he is lying. How do I know? Math.”

TRUMP UNABLE TO GET $464M APPEAL BOND TO STOP COLLECTION, ATTORNEYS SAY: ‘PRACTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY’

He also tweeted that if bond companies thought the former president had enough assets, they would have provided the bond.

Several people responded to Lieu about his logic, telling him he was wrong, including Cuban.

The entrepreneur told Lieu he was not a supporter of Trump.

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT ALLOWS TRUMP, SONS TO CONTINUE RUNNING BUSINESS, DENIES REQUEST TO DELAY PAYMENT

“How anyone can vote for someone who has so many of his executive employees turn on him, and say he is incompetent is beyond me,” Cuban wrote. “But you are wrong on this topic Ted.”

Cuban’s post turned into more of a TED talk on the economy.

He told Lieu that net worth was completely different from cash in the bank, adding that the country has been in a zero-interest rate environment for a long time.

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT

“So, keeping cash in the bank or even money markets was dumb. In fact, searching for yield is what killed small banks last year,” Cuban wrote. “Also dumb was keeping interest rates that low for that long. Something Trump demanded more of.”

Cuban told Lieu he could argue Trump “sucked” at growing his net worth, resulting in him putting himself in the position of lying to banks about his assets. But the only reason to lie on a loan application, Cuban acknowledged, is because you have to.

Cuban continued to talk on a more macro basis, saying even if rates remained on a long-term trend line for the last 10 years, few people keep over 45% of their assets in liquid assets.

“And as far as the bond companies, Trump’s assets are mostly interests in commercial real estate and foreign assets,” he said. “No bond company is loaning against them in this commercial real estate market, if ever.”

TRUMP APPEALS RULING IN MASSIVE NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE

Trump’s filing on Monday said, “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is ‘a practical impossibility.’”

The filing also said efforts were made to include approaching about 30 surety companies through 4 separate brokers.

“A bond requirement of this enormous magnitude – effectively requiring cash reserves approaching $1 billion…is unprecedented for a private company,” the filing read.

A New York Appeals Court judge previously ruled that the former president must post a bond for the full amount of the judgment and that an independent director of compliance will be appointed. 

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That ruling comes after Engoron handed down his decision earlier in February after a months-long trial beginning in October in which the former president was accused of inflating his assets and committing fraud in financial documents.

Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”

Greg Norman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

A Foreign Affairs Committee hearing turned heated Tuesday, with one GOP lawmaker telling his Republican colleague: “Go f— yourself.” 

The feisty words from Chair Michael McCaul of Texas were directed toward Rep. Darrel Issa of California during a hearing about the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. 

Issa had gone over his allotted time, much to the annoyance of McCaul. 

Ret. Gen. Mark Milley finished answering a question from Issa and the California Republican continued asking more. 

MERRICK GARLAND UNDERLING PUSH FORWARD WITH CHARGES AGAINST GOLD STAR DAD

McCaul repeatedly tried to tell Issa that his time was expired and to allow Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, to speak. 

“The Gentleman’s time is expired. Ms. Miller-Meeks is recognized,” McCaul said. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize. Thank you,” Issa said. 

McCaul could be heard mumbling something under his breath before Issa said again: “I thought I was done! I thought I was the closing act, Chairman.” 

“Eh, go f— yourself,” McCaul shot back, seemingly unaware he was on a hot mic. 

NANCY MACE SCOLDS ABC’S STEPHANOPOULOS FOR TRYING TO ‘USE’ HER TO DAMAGE TRUMP

A McCaul spokesperson told Fox News that the chairman held every member of the committee to five minutes and was trying to get to the classified briefing. 

“Rep. Issa was over his time and didn’t stop speaking when the chairman gaveled him down and he got frustrated,” the spokesperson said. 

“It was a long day, and I lost my temper. That is uncharacteristic of me and I apologize to Mr. Issa, who I consider a friend,” McCaul said in a statement. 

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Reacting to the exchange, Issa’s office said it was “no big deal.” 

“He’s been called far worse… and by colleagues he doesn’t like,” Jonathan Wilcox, a spokesman for Rep. Issa, said. “We will never, ever apologize for asking the questions no one is asking and that the witnesses didn’t want to answer.” 

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is blasting ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos after former President Trump sued them both on Tuesday, accusing both network and newsman of defamation.

Trump accused Stephanopoulos of defaming him on an episode of ABC News’ “This Week” earlier this month when he said several times on air that the former president was “found liable for rape” during a heated March 10 interview with Mace.

“The verdict in question was plain as day. The jury had the opportunity to find Trump liable for rape, and they chose not to. Partisan Democrats like George Stephanopoulos, who masquerade as the face of supposedly impartial news organizations, are the chief reason for the vast decline of Americans’ trust in the media,” Mace said in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital.

ABC NEWS’ GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INACCURATELY SAID TRUMP WAS FOUND ‘LIABLE FOR RAPE’ 10 TIMES, LEGAL GURUS SAY

“For far too long, Democrat partisans in the press have put politics over facts, and talking points over truth. Repairing the havoc and damage these partisan actors have caused to our public discourse will require a serious effort by news organizations to hold themselves accountable for their actions.”

She said of her interview, “Stephanopoulos thought he could use me in his shameful attempt to damage President Trump. It didn’t work because I wouldn’t fall for it. President Trump will always fight for the truth. And so will I.”

“All are on notice now. Stephanopoulos’ tenure at ABC News is a stain on the profession of journalism. He’s not fit to hold a microphone, let alone pose as a beacon of truth,” the statement ended.

NANCY MACE PUSHES BACK ON GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS IN HEATED EXCHANGE OVER TRUMP SUPPORT: ‘TRYING TO SHAME ME’

Mace called on Republicans to stop going on ABC “until Stephanopoulos is held accountable.” 

ABC News declined to comment on Mace’s statement when reached by Fox News Digital.

Mace, a rape survivor, previously said she felt personally attacked when Stephanopoulos, a former top aide to President Bill Clinton, asked how she could support Trump’s White House bid. Stephanopoulos said Trump was found “liable for rape” 10 times during the exchange. 

A federal jury in New York decided that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the 2023 civil trial of advice columnist E. Jean Carroll vs. Trump. The former president has called the verdict a “disgrace,” and denied all wrongdoing.  

NANCY MACE’S OFFICE CALLS ON ABC, WOMEN’S GROUPS TO ‘DEMAND AN APOLOGY’ FROM GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS

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The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, claims Stephanopoulos’ statements are “false” and were made with “actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows these statements are patently and demonstrably false.” The court document then noted that a jury “expressly found that Plantiff did not commit rape.” 

The suit notes that Trump representatives contacted ABC seeking a retraction following the interview, but the Disney-owned news outlet failed to apologize or correct the record. 

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

What’s happening? 

– Biden refuses to recognize his fifth granddaughter born out of wedlock 

– Congress reaches spending deal with White House

– Where do the Trump trials stand?

Texas’ Border Brawl

The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Texas to enforce a law that allows local police to arrest migrants suspected of crossing the border illegally – marking a significant, but temporary win for the state’s efforts to control illegal immigration across the border. 

The ruling comes a day after the court extended a block on the state law at the request of the Biden administration, which sued to strike down the measure. The Biden administration argued that the law, known as Senate Bill 4 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, would usurp federal authority on matters related to immigration enforcement. It marks the most significant effort by a state to take control of enforcement since the Court struck down parts of an Arizona law in 2012.

The case now goes back to the Fifth Circuit again, which could again block the law again, setting up another Supreme Court battle. Abbott called the ruling a “positive development” while acknowledging that there will be hearings in the appeals court.

White House

LEFT OUT: Biden fails to recognize fifth granddaughter born out of wedlock to Hunter …Read more

Capitol Hill

PULLING THE PLUG: House Republicans to introduce bill ending federal funding for med schools with DEI, ‘race-based mandates’ …Read more

A NEW PLAYER: House Democrats invite ex-Giuliani associate Lev Parnas as Biden impeachment inquiry hearing witness …Read more

FUNDING FIGHT: Congress reaches deal with White House on government funding …Read more

NO MORE AID: Lindsey Graham promotes Trump’s Ukraine loan over foreign aid plan in Zelenskyy meeting …Read more

GETTING OUT ALIVE: Florida congressman helps 13 more Americans escape Haiti, swipes at Biden ‘pattern of abandonment’ …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

GOP BATTLE LINES: Trump, MAGA Republicans clash with establishment conservatives in key Senate primary …Read more

STRONG WORDS: Trump claims any Jew who votes Democrat ‘hates their religion’ after Schumer speech on Senate floor …Read more

SHOUTING AND SWEARING: Biden becoming increasingly frustrated and concerned over re-election efforts …Read more

‘LASER-FOCUSED’: Conservative groups unleash massive investment for battleground state’s ‘historic’ vote-by-mail program …Read more

FAITH FIGHTER: Trump voters don’t think he’s very religious, but say he fights for religious communities: poll …Read more

Across America

REPORTING TO PRISON: Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro begins 4-month sentence for contempt of Congress …Read more

HIGHER RISK: Major cancer research group finds LGBTQ+ people have a higher risk …Read more

‘READY TO ASSIST’: Arkansas sends troops to Texas to help tackle migrant influx …Read more

TRUMP HUSH-MONEY CASE: Judge permits Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels to testify …Read more

‘FRAUD’: Trump says ‘disgusting’ New York AG committed ‘FRAUD’ by allegedly convincing judge to undervalue Mar-a-Lago …Read more

TRUMP TRIALS: Where do all the cases against the former president stand? …Read more

‘UNCHARTED TERRITORY’: Legal experts weigh in on Trump’s options after failure to obtain $464M appeal bond …Read more

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The campaign for Derek Myers, a Republican candidate competing in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, suffered a series of embarrassing mistakes, including accidentally sending out a concession email hours before the close of Tuesday’s primary.

An email from Myers’ campaign office sent out to media outlets Tuesday, around 3 p.m. ET, lamented that “tonight did not go as we had hoped.” 

Myers said “from a private watch party in Chillicothe” that he was looking forward to uniting behind the “Congressman-Elect” to get President Trump re-elected to the White House and evict President Biden. Polls in Ohio close at 7:30 p.m. ET.

“Listen, I’m in my thirties and as I’ve told everyone on this campaign trial, ‘if I don’t win this race, that’s okay!’ I’ve got thirty-or-fifty more years left – and that’s if I live a good live,” he said. “I’m looking forward to staying in the arena of Ohio politics and working with all Republicans to make Ohio great again!” 

CENTRIST GROUP NO LABELS SETS UP PANEL TO SELECT THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL TICKET

Less than 10 minutes later, Myers’ campaign office sent out a follow-up email, admitting that the previous one sent had been “in error, due to a technical issue.” 

“Please disregard the email. Thank you,” the second email read. 

Roughly 30 minutes later, Myers sent out yet another email explaining in more detail what happened. 

The email was sent with the self-effacing headline: “So you wanna know what happened, eh?”

Myers explained that his campaign team had prepared two emails for the evening: “one declaring victory and one conceding the race.” 

“The concession email was sent in error as it was being loaded into the media distribution portal, as a draft, in the event of a loss,” Myers said, adding that someone accidentally hit the “send now” button instead of “draft.”  

But that was not all – he went on to explain that the winning email was also drafted, a common practice for communications teams, so they can be prepared, “especially on such an impotent night.”

Not surprisingly, his campaign clarified to Fox News Digital that he meant to say “important.”

“It’s simply good strategy. Whatever the results return this evening, I’ll be thankful for this journey. And yes, the media will be getting a release sometime after the results roll in, declaring a victory or concession. Thank you,” Myers concluded.

On Twitter, Myers later appeared to poke fun at the apparent typo. 

“If this whole politics thing doesn’t work out, maybe I can be hired to be a spokesman like Bob Dole?” Myers tweeted, referring to the former U.S. Senator from Kansas and presidential candidate. The tweet included a 1998 commercial for Viagra, featuring Dole. 

Myers clarified that he had “no issue with that department… yet” and included the hashtags: #InMyThirties, #Impotent, #Spellcheck, and #AlwaysSpellCheck.

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Myers is competing in a crowded 11-person GOP primary for Ohio’s 2nd Congressional district following Rep. Brad Wenstrup’s decision to retire. 

The winner of Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District GOP primary is heavily favored to win the general election in November.

INDEPENDENCE, OH – From the campaign trail to the ad wars, the attacks and rhetoric have been flying in the closing days ahead of Tuesday’s contentious and costly Republican Senate primary in Ohio.

Bernie Moreno, the businessman and luxury auto dealership giant who’s backed by former President Donald Trump, has repeatedly charged that his main rival in the race – state Sen. Matt Dolan – is a “RINO,” a derogatory acronym which stands for “Republicans in name only.” 

And he’s compared Dolan to establishment Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who is reviled by Trump and the MAGA movement.

Dolan, a former top county prosecutor and Ohio assistant attorney general whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, told Fox News Digital on the eve of the primary that Moreno’s “divisive.” 

TRUMP’S IMMENSE CLOUT OVER GOP ON THE LINE IN OHIO’S UGLY COMBUSITIBLE SENATE PRIMARY

And an outside super PAC supporting Dolan charged in a recent ad that Moreno’s “creepy” and “damaged goods.” The spot referred to an Associated Press report which claims that an adult hookup website account was created in 2008 using an email linked to Moreno.

Moreno denied the report and called it “a sick, last-minute attack by desperate people.”

SIX KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER 

The other major candidate in the Republican primary battle, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, has criticized both of his wealthier rivals, who’ve pumped millions into their campaigns.

As he voted on Tuesday, LaRose once again jabbed at his rivals, claiming “Dolan certainly has a very long liberal track record. So does Moreno.”

But the candidates aren’t concerned that the crossfire will weaken the winner of Tuesday’s primary, who will face off in November against longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown – who’s considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats -in a race that may determine whether Republicans win back the Senate majority.

TRUMP AND TOP ALLIES MAKE FINAL PITCH IN CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY

“I’m going to be the flag bearing Republican who’s going to beat Sherrod Brown and I think Republicans will unite and Donald Trump will be part of that,” Dolan predicted in a Fox News Digital interview on Monday in Columbus.

Moreno, speaking with Fox News Digital after meeting Tuesday morning with Republican activists in suburban Cleveland, predicted that Republicans in the battleground state will rally behind the winner of the primary.

“The entirety of the Republican Party will be behind who ever wins tonight. I believe it will be me,” Moreno said.

“We’re all going to be united when this race is called tonight, because we have one singular cause, which is to defeat Sherrod Brown. This is a guy who’s not good for Ohio. He’s not good for Ohio,” he claimed. “We need to get control of the United States Senate back and control of the United States Senate runs through Ohio.”

Ohio and national Democrats have spotlighted the intra-party fireworks, arguing that the crossfire will weaken the eventual nominee.

But Republican Sen J.D. Vance of Ohio disagrees.

Vance, who is backing Moreno and has campaigned with the candidate continuously across the state the past four days, was the winner of the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Ohio, which was more crowded and combustible than the 2024 edition.

“You see this all the time. You have slugfests in the primary,” Vance told Fox News Digital. “I don’t worry at all about these intermural fights carrying over into the general election. They happen all the time and I think Republicans know how to unite and win.”

Dolan said that if he wins, he’ll preach unity. 

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“I’m not interested in dividing the Republican Party. I’m interested in when we put conservative agendas in place, Republicans win. When that happens, Ohioans and Americans are better off. That’s the message I’m running on,” he emphasized.

And Moreno agreed that “I think at the end of the day we’ll all come together.”

But the candidate did acknowledge that “sometimes it does get personal. That’s OK. Listen, that’s what we signed up for. It’s part of politics.”

Fox News’ Jamie Vera and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Democrat frontrunner in what could be one of the most unexpectedly tight Senate races this year recently declared his support for granting citizenship and voting rights to the millions of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S.

Speaking at a candidate forum in Bladensburg, Maryland, earlier this month, Rep. David Trone, who represents the state’s 6th Congressional District, argued illegal immigrants should have the same rights under the Constitution as U.S. citizens.

“We need to welcome all 12 million folks here now that are DACA, TPS, and undocumented – make them citizens, and move forward. They have all the rights everybody here should have also,” Trone said, referencing Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA), also known as “Dreamers,” who were brought to the U.S. as children by illegal immigrant parents, as well as migrants granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS UNLEASH MASSIVE INVESTMENT FOR BATTLEGROUND STATE’S ‘LARGEST EVER’ VOTE-BY-MAIL PROGRAM

Just days after the forum, Trone voted against the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, a bill named after a nursing student who was tragically murdered on the campus of the University of Georgia while jogging. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged in the murder, was arrested in New York prior to the murder but was not detained by ICE. He was also cited in Georgia for misdemeanor shoplifting in October 2023. 

The bill would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants who commit theft, burglary, larceny or shoplifting offenses and mandate that those who commit such crimes are detained until they are removed from the U.S., so they cannot break the same law or commit further crimes.

Additionally, the bill would ensure that states have standing to bring civil actions against federal officials who refuse to enforce immigration law or who violate the law. It passed the House in a 251-170 vote, and the Senate is currently considering its version of the legislation.

BIDEN CAMPAIGN REVEALS ‘AGGRESSIVE’ SWING STATE STRATEGY, ADMITS BEATING TRUMP WILL ‘TAKE RELENTLESS EFFORT’

Last month, Trone signed a letter urging impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to close illegal immigrant detention centers just one day after a toddler was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant right outside his district, the Daily Caller reported.

“Our immigration system is broken. Unfortunately, positive legislative reforms in immigration are unlikely this congress due to extreme MAGA Republican opposition. Until that changes, we must do our best to operate within the current system to ensure that we are treating immigrants with dignity and utilizing our limited resources wisely. You have testified regarding your concern about ‘the overuse of detention… where alternatives to detention would suffice.’ We share that concern,” Trone wrote in the letter.

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

TEXAS DEMOCRAT COLIN ALLRED FACES 6-FIGURE AD CAMPAIGN FOR CALLING BORDER WALL ‘RACIST’

Trone faces a crowded Democrat primary field, where he holds a massive fundraising and polling advantage. His closest challenger is Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

He will likely face Maryland’s former Republican governor, Larry Hogan, in the general election. Few polls have been conducted on the race so far, but those that have been completed suggest a neck-and-neck race between the two.

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Elections analysts rate the race as “likely” Democrat, but Hogan’s name recognition and high approval rating at the conclusion of his second term last year could further pose a challenge to Democrats’ hopes of maintaining control of the Senate.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Trump vowed that, if he’s elected, the United States would “100%” stay a part of NATO if the alliance pays its “fair share” and treats America “fairly.”

Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said NATO “has to treat the U.S. fairly” in an interview with Nigel Farage Tuesday.

“If it’s not for the United States, NATO literally doesn’t even exist,” Trump said. “But they took advantage of us like most countries do.

“The United States should pay its fair share — not everybody else’s fair share.” 

NATO MEMBERS BRACE FOR TRUMP WIN AS RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS MOVE TO MEET SPENDING PLEDGES

Trump told Farage he believes the United States “was paying 90% of NATO — could be 100%.”

“It was the most unfair thing,” Trump said. “And don’t forget, it is more important to them than it is to us. We have an ocean in between some problems — OK. We have a nice big, beautiful ocean. It is more important for them.” 

Trump said NATO was “taking advantage” of the United States, including “on trade.” 

Farage asked if NATO starts “to play fair, America’s there?” 

Trump replied, “Yes, 100%. One hundred percent.” 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced last month that 18 of the alliance’s 31 members are on track to meet their pledges of contributing 2% of GDP to the group. European states are on track to contribute $380 billion this year, and Germany will meet its 2% pledge for the first time since the Cold War.

The figures show a dramatic uptick compared to 2023, which saw just 11 NATO allies meet their 2% spending pledge.

HILLARY CLINTON CLAIMS TRUMP WILL WITHDRAW US FROM NATO IF ELECTED: ‘HE MEANS WHAT HE SAYS’

“That is another record number and a six-fold increase from 2014, when only three allies met the target,” Stoltenberg said at a press conference last month. 

Trump, at a rally earlier this year, said if he is elected, “everybody’s gonna pay.” 

“NATO was busted until I came along,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Everybody’s gonna pay.’ They said, ‘Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?’ I said, ‘Absolutely not.’ They couldn’t believe the answer.”

The statement triggered an immediate response from President Biden’s White House, which denounced the statement as “unhinged.” 

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“President Biden has restored our alliances and made us stronger in the world because he knows every commander in chief’s first responsibility is to keep the American people safe and hold true to the values that unite us,” Andrew Bates said in a statement. 

“Thanks to President Biden’s experienced leadership, NATO is now the largest and most vital it has ever been. Encouraging invasions of our closest allies by murderous regimes is appalling and unhinged — and it endangers American national security, global stability and our economy at home.”

President Biden’s re-election campaign is targeting Latino voters with a new initiative. 

The president is slated to launch the Latinos con Biden-Harris campaign program on Tuesday during a campaign stop in Arizona.

“The Latino vote was critical to the President’s victory in 2020, and 2024 will be no different,” said campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez.

LATINO EVANGELICALS REJECTING DEMOCRATIC PARTY, PASTOR SAYS: ‘GOING TO VOTE LIKE NO OTHER IN NOVEMBER’

She continued, “Latinos con Biden-Harris will be essential to activating and mobilizing Latinos across the country, and importantly, is another way we are making clear with action that we are investing aggressively into earning the Latino vote.”

The Hispanic voter base is considered one of the most valuable demographics for candidates in the 2024 presidential election – the Latino population continues to rise while its historic affiliation with the Democrats has wavered.

“Our community has deep roots in organizing, and we are excited to harness that skill set to fight for our families, our communities, and against Donald Trump’s anti-Latino agenda. There’s too much at stake in this election,” Chávez Rodríguez added.

YOUNG LATINO VOTERS IN PENNSYLVANIA ARE ‘TRUMP FANS’ ON ECONOMY, MAY VOTE REPUBLICAN IN 2024: REPORT

“Hispanic voters are rejecting what Joe Biden is selling,” Make America Great Again Inc. spokesman Alex Pfeiffer said in a statement Tuesday. “The last three years of Bidenomics have left Hispanic Americans poorer.”

A poll from earlier this month found former President Trump holds a six-point lead over Biden among Hispanic voters.

The New York Times/Siena College poll, which was conducted from Feb. 25 to 28 and included responses from 980 registered voters nationwide, asked respondents whom they would support in the 2024 presidential election if it were held today. 

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Between candidates Biden and Trump, 46% of Hispanics who responded to the poll said they would vote for Trump, while 40% said they would support Biden. That’s a big difference from Biden’s 2020 general election support from Hispanics.

Biden won 59% of the Hispanic vote to Trump’s 38% in 2020, according to Pew Research.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign and Biden campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

“We gotta get out of this place!
If it’s the last thing we ever do…” 

— — The Animals

It is unclear if Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., and several dozen other lawmakers are channeling The Animals’ frontman Eric Burdon. 

However, they certainly share the same sentiments. Congress is not a very fun place to be anymore, and that is why lawmakers are skipping out early, retiring even before their term completes next January. 

A reporter asked Buck about what “frustrated” him on Capitol Hill and what made working there so “difficult.”

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T ‘CALL THE SHOTS’ ON WHEN IMPEACHMENT IS OVER

“Do you really need me to explain what’s so difficult about this?” replied Buck. 

The 118th Congress has been one of the rockiest and whackiest in recent memory and certainly one of the least productive. The valleys include the five days the House consumed to elect a speaker to multiple flirtations with the debt ceiling and government shutdown. Then there was the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The House burned through three more speaker candidates before tapping House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Despite toiling in the minority, Democrats now provide the majority of votes on many major issues which pass the House, especially on government funding. However, a broad, bipartisan coalition of lawmakers recently voted to curb access to TikTok in the U.S. 

The TikTok vote scored major headlines, but so did the House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

And, as is custom, the House GOP’s first attempt at impeachment failed before they took a mulligan.

Three Republicans helped tank the initial Mayorkas impeachment vote: Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc. — who is retiring — and Buck — who is leaving before his term ends. 

The Colorado Republican cited impeachment as among his decisions to skip out of the 118th Congress early.

“We’ve taken impeachment, and we made it a social media issue as opposed to a Constitutional one,” said Buck. “This place just keeps going down. I don’t really want to spend my time here.”

Former Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, resigned early a few weeks ago to become the president of Youngstown State University. Former Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., left early to run an arts organization in Buffalo, New York. Fox is told there could be other lawmakers who ditch Capitol Hill before their term is up.

It is about the math.

Buck told Fox he will formally resign at the end of the day on March 22. This squeezes the meager GOP majority in the House. There will be 431 members. 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats. At this moment, the breakdown is 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats. That is a margin of six. However, Republicans can only lose two votes. That is because a tie vote fails automatically in the House. When Buck hits the exit ramp, the margin shrivels to five. However, the GOP can still only drop two votes on any given roll call without help from the other side. 

Here is where things get really interesting.

There is a special election for the seat formerly occupied by Higgins on April 30. Strange things sometimes unfold in special elections because it’s impossible to determine the turnout. However, the Higgins seat is a Democratic district. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) garnered 57% of the vote in that district. Republican Gary Dickson runs against Democrat Tim Kennedy. If Kennedy prevails, Democrats hold the seat, and the numbers change again in the House. 

There will be 432 members. 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats. The margin is four seats, but the GOP cannot lose two votes and still pass a bill without help from across the aisle. Again, tie votes come into play. Republicans will be down to only a solitary vote to spare.

This is where things get very dangerous for the GOP. They cannot lose anyone who is out sick or missed a flight. They cannot have someone disappear for a week or two for a family matter. And unfortunately, there are untimely deaths among members from time to time. 

That said, things may improve for Republicans. There is a likely runoff on May 21 to fill McCarthy’s seat, who resigned in December. The GOP could build its ranks slowly if they win that special election. In fact, Republicans could even have reinforcements if one of the candidates scores more than 50.1% tonight — averting the runoff.

However, there is a broader problem. Could other members just quit like Buck? What if they’re as fed up as he is? What if they’re retiring and have big paycheck offers outside Congress and want to leave now?

Multiple members confided to Fox they anticipate more exits over the summer, and certainly after the election. The Senate has flipped control in the middle of a Congress before — most recently in 2001. That was when late Sen. Jim Jeffords, I-Vt., dropped his affiliation with Republicans and decided to caucus with the Democrats in a 50-50 Senate. You should not rule out anything, considering how strange and unpredictable this Congress has been. 

$12B IN EARMARKS: CONGRESS’ ROLLER-COASTER HISTORY WITH EARMARK SPENDING TAKES ANOTHER TWIST

Buck expressed his disgust just moments after he announced his departure. 

The House Judiciary Committee invited special counsel Robert Hur to testify last week about his investigation into how President Biden handled classified documents after he left the vice presidency. Hur caught flak from both sides. Democrats took umbrage that Hur appeared to go out of his way to write about the president’s age and perceived cognitive issues. Republicans questioned Hur about why he did not prosecute Mr. Biden, despite having what they believed saw as good reason to do so.

Buck spoke directly to Hur when it was his turn to speak from the dais.

“From what I’ve observed in this hearing, is that one side thinks you’re trying to get President Trump elected and the other side thinks you’re trying to get President Biden elected. I served as a prosecutor for 25 years. I know that you’re going to take grief from both sides,” said Buck. “But when both sides attack you, my admonition is ‘Welcome to Congress.’”

It is unclear what the next couple of months have in store for the House membership. Congress is not very pleasant right now. The sides can barely get together to avoid multiple government shutdowns or to lift the debt ceiling. There is a lack of trust between members. Republicans struggled for months to even pass their own bills. That is to say nothing of the GOP relying on Democrats to provide most of the votes on major bills like government funding.

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“We gotta get out of this place,” sang Eric Burdon with the Animals. “There’s a better life for me and you.”

And that is exactly the thinking of lawmakers who are storming the exits.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are having businessman Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani’s, come to Capitol Hill to participate in the second impeachment inquiry hearing into President Biden on Wednesday.

The Oversight Committee’s GOP majority is investigating accusations that Biden and his family enriched themselves by using his political connections, particularly when he was vice president.

“This hopeless impeachment investigation originated with a bunch of lies told by an indicted liar in close proximity to Russian agents. So who better than Lev Parnas himself — Rudy Giuliani’s right-hand man on the original mission to smear Joe Biden — to tell the story of how this campaign of lies and slander works? Lev Parnas can debunk the bogus claims at the heart of the impeachment probe and, in the process, explain how the GOP ended up in this degraded and embarrassing place,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the top Democrat on the panel, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED

Parnas previously claimed that he worked with Giuliani in his effort to pressure Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into the Biden family in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 20 months in prison for charges linked to soliciting foreign money for U.S. elections, wire fraud and making false statements, among others. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams had accused him of “pumping Russian money into U.S. elections and lying about the source of funds for political contributions.”

Parnas is going to be joined at the Wednesday hearing by former business associates of Hunter Biden, whose foreign business dealings are a particular concern to GOP investigators. One is Tony Bobulinski, who has personally told investigators that the Biden family was selling access to the now-president. The second is Jason Galanis, who is in prison after he pleaded guilty to securities fraud.

JAMES BIDEN SAYS HIS BROTHER ‘HAS NEVER HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT’ OR ANY ‘FINANCIAL INTEREST’ IN BUSINESS VENTURES

Republicans on the Oversight Committee pointed out that Parnas was found guilty of lying and said it was “telling” Democrats did not invite an associate of the Bidens.

“It’s telling the Democrats didn’t call any of Hunter Biden’s business associates who claim his father’s innocence because they know their testimony won’t withstand public scrutiny. Instead, they are relying on a convicted liar who claims Joe Biden never met with a Burisma official when in fact he dined with one,” a spokesperson for the committee said.

COMER INVITES HUNTER BIDEN, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY MARCH 20 AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

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Fox News Digital previously reported that Democrats were considering inviting Michael Cohen, former President Trump’s ex-lawyer, in a bid to focus attention on Trump’s own foreign business dealings.

A source familiar with those discussions indicated to Fox News Digital that Democrats thought Parnas would be more relevant to their goal of pointing out flaws in the GOP’s investigation. They said, “Cohen can speak directly to how Trump used the White House to enrich himself, but Parnas can speak directly to how Trump used discredited sources to fabricate dirt on Biden.”

Voters supporting former President Trump do not think he is very religious, but they believe he stands up for people in religious communities.

Pew Research released a poll this week dissecting the religious angle of Trump’s support base and how voters perceive the former president’s spiritual beliefs.

Only 8% of voters supporting Trump said they believe he is “very religious,” according to the Pew poll.

TRUMP CLAIMS ANY JEW WHO VOTES DEMOCRAT ‘HATES THEIR RELIGION’ AFTER SCHUMER SPEECH ON SENATE FLOOR

Approximately 51% of voters supporting the former president said they believed he was “somewhat religious” and 38% said he is “not too religious” or “not religious at all.”

Despite lukewarm assessments of his religiosity, 51% of Trump supporters said the former president stands up “a great deal” or “quite a bit” for religious beliefs similar to their own.

Only 11% of Trump supporters said he did not stand up much or at all for religious beliefs similar to their own. Approximately 21% said he did so somewhat.

TRUMP SAYS ‘DISGUSTING’ NEW YORK AG COMMITTED ‘FRAUD’ BY ALLEGEDLY CONVINCING JUDGE TO UNDERVALUE MAR-A-LAGO

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Last month, Trump said during a speech in Tennessee that it is “crazy” how Christians or individuals who consider themselves to be religious could vote for a Democrat.

“How any Christian can vote for a Democrat, Christian or person of faith, how you can vote for a Democrat is crazy. It’s crazy,” Trump told attendees at the National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Trump’s comment to the crowd came shortly after he claimed Biden is an “incompetent president who doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing” and “will not lead us to the promised land.”

During his speech, Trump lamented the indictments that had been waged against him in recent history and vowed to defend Christians from attacks by those on the “radical left” who are “coming after” those who are religious.

Fox News Digital’s Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday for the first time since retiring, potentially freeing him to offer new details about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Joining Milley will be retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who served as United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander during the 2021 withdrawal. The pair have appeared before Congress to discuss failings in the operation before, but Republicans say they may have been more tight-lipped then because they were still serving under President Biden.

Both Milley and McKenzie testified in 2021 that they had advised Biden to maintain a small U.S. force in Afghanistan, rather than committing to a full U.S. withdrawal. Milley himself has described the operation as a “strategic failure,” saying he has “lots of regrets.”

“It didn’t end the way I wanted it. That didn’t end the way any of us wanted it,” he told ABC News in September. “In the broader sense, the war was lost.”

OBAMA LIED TO AMERICANS ABOUT WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN: BOOK

The Tuesday afternoon hearing comes after months of Republican investigations into Biden’s handling of the withdrawal. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas., has repeatedly demanded the State Department turn over documents relating to the operation.

BIDEN’S BOTCHED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL HAUNTS 2024 ELECTION AS BOOK CLAIMS ‘13 AMERICANS NEVER HAD TO DIE’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has so far refused to offer interview notes relating to the Afghanistan after action report, which blamed senior officials for failing to prepare for all outcomes in the operation.

Despite the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and the abandoning of tens of thousands of Afghan allies to Taliban rule, Biden strongly believes behind closed doors that he made the right decisions during the operation, according to an upcoming book.

THINK THE US EXIT FROM AFGHANISTAN WAS BAD? LOOK WHAT’S BREWING IN THE PACIFIC

Following the withdrawal, “no one offered to resign, in large part because the president didn’t believe anyone had made a mistake. Ending the war was always going to be messy,” author Alexander Ward writes in the book, “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump.”

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Biden allegedly told his top aides, including White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, that they had done their best given the situation and vowed to stand by them.

Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.