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President Joe Biden is getting to be a familiar face around the Great Lakes — and with a November rematch against Donald Trump looming, that’s no accident.

He started a two-day swing through Wisconsin and Michigan in Milwaukee on Wednesday as he tried to shore up a Democratic “blue wall” and build momentum for his re-election campaign after a fiery State of the Union address last week.

Aiming to show voters that his administration has improved their lives, Biden used the stop to announce $3.3 billion for infrastructure projects in disadvantaged communities, including $36 million to reconnect parts of Milwaukee’s 6th Street, which had been divided by highway construction in the 1960s.

BIDEN-TRUMP SEQUEL UNDERWAY IN HISTORY-MAKING FIRST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION REMATCH SINCE 1956

“We’re rebuilding the roads, we’re filling in the cracks in the sidewalk, we’re creating spaces to live and work and play safely, and to breathe clean air, and to shop at a nearby grocery stocked with fresh and healthy food,” he said.

“You’ve lived and felt decisions made decades ago,” Biden said. “Today, today, we’re making decisions to transform your lives for decades to come.”

The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure law that Biden signed in the first year of his presidency.

Biden told voters that Donald Trump, his Republican predecessor and likely opponent in this year’s election, had promised infrastructure improvements but never delivered.

“He didn’t get a single thing done,” Biden said. “Not one.”

Biden and Trump clinched their parties’ nominations on Tuesday after decisive victories in the primaries, setting up what promises to be a grinding rematch between the two men.

Much of that battle will be fought in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Pennsylvania, which was Biden’s first stop after his State of the Union. They’re collectively known as a “blue wall” because of their historic support for Democrats.

Trump flipped all three to win the White House in 2016, but Biden took them back four years ago and likely needs to hold them if he’s going to secure a second term.

Biden also plans to travel to North Carolina and other battleground states in the coming weeks. He has been overseeing openings of field offices as his campaign hires and trains organizers and begins assembling volunteers.

That’s meant as a show of political organizing strength — an area where the president has so far outpaced Trump, who has been occupied for months with a competitive primary and four ongoing criminal cases in which he faces 91 felony counts.

Biden’s re-election campaign hopes on-the-ground organization can neutralize the president’s low approval ratings and polling showing that a majority of voters — even a majority of Democrats — don’t want him to seek re-election.

“This particular president is a really impressive retail politician. He doesn’t just do the rally and leave,” said Jim Paine, the mayor of Superior, Wisconsin, a port city on the border with Minnesota. Biden has been there twice, including in January to promote a bridge built as part of the infrastructure law.

“He really puts time in with people, listens to individual stories, he talks about his own life one-on-one,” Paine said.

The $3.3 billion in grants announced on Wednesday covers 132 total projects, including in Atlanta; Los Angeles and Philadelphia as well as Birmingham, Alabama; Syracuse, New York; and Toledo, Ohio. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that some of the projects are relatively modest and can be completed in “short order,” while others are “massive and ambitious undertakings that will take many years.”

Biden visited the opening of his campaign headquarters in Milwaukee, where nearly 40% of residents are Black, rather than Madison, the state capital that typically serves as the fulcrum for Democratic campaigns.

He said volunteers and staff in places like Milwaukee would help ensure his victory over Trump.

“This is how we are going to win again,” he said. “A lot of you helped me in 2020, and we made sure he was a loser and is a loser and we’re going to make sure that happens again, right?”

It’s Biden’s ninth visit to Wisconsin as president and his fifth to Milwaukee, where Republicans are holding their national convention this summer. Chris LaCivita, an adviser to Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson ‘s successful re-election campaign in 2022, is also a top Trump campaign aide — another signal that the state is a top GOP priority.

On Thursday, the president heads to Saginaw, north of Detroit, which has high concentrations of Black and union-affiliated voters. It was once reliably Democratic, but swung to Trump in 2016 and only narrowly backed Biden four years ago.

Biden and top advisers, both from the campaign and the White House, have made frequent trips to Michigan recently amid criticism of his administration’s handling of the war in Gaza, visiting places like Dearborn, a Detroit suburb with the nation’s highest concentration of Arab Americans.

His challenge was demonstrated in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary last month, when activists promoted an “uncommitted” movement that garnered about 13% of the vote.

Thursday’s visit won’t take him to Dearborn, but will instead help Biden connect with key constituencies in other parts of the state. The campaign promises to open more than 15 Michigan field offices, complementing the 44 it and the state Democratic Party have in Wisconsin.

Early polls have shown Biden faring better against Trump in Wisconsin than in Michigan. Richard Czuba, a longtime Michigan pollster, said far more potentially decisive in November than supporters of the “uncommitted” movement during the Democratic primary are many “double-unfavorable” voters. He described those as state residents who plan to vote in November but don’t like either Trump or Biden.

“If they are persuaded to vote for Joe Biden, Joe Biden will win the state of Michigan,” Czuba said. “But, for Donald Trump, I think it’s an easier assignment to make sure that those double-unfavorables get divided.”

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One way Biden can win over such voters might be to make the race about issues like abortion rights, rather than himself, Czuba said. He noted that the president’s criticism of a suggestion by Trump that he’d allow Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to some NATO allies might resonate with Michigan’s large Polish-American population as well as immigrants from the Baltic nations.

Biden’s campaign moved quickly to highlight those comments in a three-week, six-figure digital ad campaign that targeted roughly 900,000 Baltic Americans in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Still, that may not be enough for some voters in Michigan, where apathy about the Trump-Biden rematch is palpable. Said Saginaw resident Jeffrey Bulls: “I probably will be skipping that top spot on the ballot.”

FIRST ON FOX: Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales wants to ramp up pressure on “sanctuary” jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in deporting illegal immigrants – and he is urging the Biden administration to take “aggressive action” to help.

Gonzales, in an interview with Fox News Digital, highlighted the emergence of Tren De Aragua, a violent Venezuelan street gang that federal authorities have warned has expanded into other countries and is trying to establish itself in the U.S. The Texas congressman called it “essentially the new MS-13.”

“They’re going to be entrenched in all our cities, and so it doesn’t make sense to me, if you’re a sanctuary city, that you should not be working with law enforcement to keep your city safe. That’s what it boils down to – to keep your city safe,” Gonzales said. 

BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA SETS UP SHOP IN US AS BORDER AUTHORITIES SOUND ALARM 

“Sanctuary” jurisdictions are those that, as a policy, do not honor ICE detainers. When ICE believes a removable illegal immigrant has been arrested on criminal charges, it will lodge a detainer – a request that they be notified before the immigrant is released from custody and to keep them in custody until ICE can take custody of them. Proponents of sanctuary policies argue that enforcing federal law is not the responsibility of local jurisdictions and that working with ICE has a chilling effect on relations between people seeking asylum and members of the local community.

But such policies have recently been brought under heightened scrutiny after a number of high-profile incidents where jurisdictions ignored ICE detainers and released illegal immigrants, only for them to subsequently commit serious crimes. Gonzales, who recently spoke to acting ICE Director Patrick Lechleitner, sits on the House Appropriations Committee and said his team is working on items that can empower ICE and also limit sanctuary cities.

“If you really want to move the needle, put money behind it,” he said. “Appropriations is where you do that. So that is one of the things that our team is looking at.” 

“I want to empower ICE to go out there and catch these bad actors,” he said. “This is no longer a partisan issue. I think there’s a lot of fertile ground for you to get people to agree on it.“

Along with more funding for ICE, Gonzales said he was tying federal grants to cooperation with ICE – something the Trump administration implemented with certain DOJ grants. However, he also floated something even stronger – a mandate for that cooperation with ICE.

ILLEGAL BROTHER OF LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT LINKED TO VENEZUELAN CRIME GANG: DOJ

“I think one of the things that we can solve is getting these sanctuary cities to not be an option, that they work with federal agencies, for there to be a mandate,” he said. “Like, ‘Here’s the deal. You will work with federal agencies to… tackle these bad actors and keep your city safe.’”

In the meantime, Gonzales is leading a letter to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security. That letter, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, carries the signatures of nearly two dozen Republicans and says sanctuary policies pose a “direct threat” to public safety.

WHITE HOUSE CALLS FOR SANCTUARY CITIES TO COOPERATE WITH ICE AMID FUROR OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMES

“We are asking you to take aggressive action to end the abuse of our nation’s border laws and discourage sanctuary cities from providing safe harbor to violent criminals who have entered our country illegally,” it reads.

While Republicans and the administration have been at loggerheads over immigration policy, there may be some common ground. 

Lechleitner recently told Fox News that such jurisdictions are “inherently more unsafe.”

“It is a concern, and I’m very baffled by it,” he said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told mayors in 2022 that he would be seeking to persuade leaders to change their policies.

“We are not engaged in indiscriminate enforcement, but we are focused on making our communities safe and allowing those who have been contributors to it and productive members of it, to allow them to continue in their contributions and their productivity,” he told the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2022.

“And so, I will be coming to you and asking you to reconsider your position of non-cooperation and see how we can work together.”

The White House, in a statement to Fox News Digital last month, said it welcomes local law enforcement cooperation “in apprehending and removing individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety.”

“When a local jurisdiction has information about an individual who could pose a threat to public safety, we want them to share that information with ICE,” a spokesperson said.

The Republican lawmakers cited that statement as they continue to urge the administration to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions.

“We urge you to act on these demands and ensure that sanctuary cities cooperate – our national security depends on it,” the letter reads. Fox reached out to the White House and DHS for comment regarding the letter but did not hear back at press time. 

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Gonzales also noted that any moves to crack down on sanctuary jurisdictions could be helpful to a future Trump administration.

He said: “Even though he’s going to implement all these new policies, there needs to be a buildup ahead of time… And I think there’s an opportunity here to do that through the appropriations process by punishing those sanctuary cities that aren’t cooperating and rewarding ICE that is actually… getting back to doing their job.”

Populist firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., will not run in the special election for Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck’s seat, she declared Wednesday.

Buck stunned Republicans Tuesday by announcing he will leave Congress on March 22, a move that triggers a special election on June 25 to temporarily fill the vacancy in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District. His early retirement will reduce the House GOP majority even further. 

Boebert, who currently represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, earlier this year announced she would run to succeed Buck in the 3rd. But on Wednesday, the congresswoman clarified she will not run in the special election to fill Buck’s vacancy, as doing so would require her to vacate her own seat. 

In a post on X, Boebert called Buck’s announcement “a gift to the uniparty” and claimed establishment Republicans were attempting to “rig” an election “I’m winning by 25 points.” 

GOP COLORADO REP KEN BUCK TO RESIGN FROM CONGRESS BY END OF NEXT WEEK

“Forcing an unnecessary Special Election on the same day as the Primary Election will confuse voters, result in a lameduck Congressman on day one, and leave the 4th District with no representation for more than three months. The 4th District deserves better,” Boebert said.

“I will not further imperil the already very slim House Republican majority by resigning my current seat and will continue to deliver on my constituents’ priorities while also working hard to earn the votes of the people of Colorado’s 4th District who have made clear they are hungry for a real conservative,” she continued.

“I am the only Trump-endorsed, America First candidate in this race and will win the 4th District’s Primary Election on June 25th and General Election on November 5th.” 

HOUSE GOP LEADERS TEAR UP BIDEN’S NEW $7.3T BUDGET PROPOSAL

Buck will leave Congress after serving in the House of Representatives since 2014. He is currently assigned to the House Judiciary Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee. 

Though he holds a conservative voting record, Buck has demonstrated an independent steak that has at times put him at odds with other Republicans.

Buck was one of three House Republicans who opposed the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

LAUREN BOEBERT SWITCHES DISTRICTS, ANNOUNCING RUN FOR COLORADO SEAT BEING VACATED BY KEN BUCK

After his resignation, the breakdown of Congress will be 431 members with 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. The GOP will only be able to lose two votes of their own on any given issue. 

The next special election is for the seat occupied by former Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., on April 30. 

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If that seat stays in Democratic hands, the new breakdown is 432 members with 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. That would mean the margin would effectively be one seat for the GOP.

Should the GOP lose just two votes there is a tie, and by rule, the vote will fail in the House. 

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Chad Pergram contributed to this update. 

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

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says the lower chamber of Congress will fiercely pressure the Senate to approve the bipartisan bill targeting TikTok. 

The bill — which would force Chinese company Bytedance to divest from the social media app or ban it entirely — sailed through the House of Representatives easily yesterday with a 352-65 bipartisan vote.

Its future in the Senate is unknown, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has remained uncommitted to the idea of bringing it to the floor.

50 DEMOCRATS, 15 REPUBLICANS VOTE ‘NO’ ON BILL AIMED AT BLOCKING TIKTOK

“Let’s see what the House does,” Schumer told reporters on Tuesday before the bill’s success in the lower chamber. “I’ll have to consult — and intend to consult — with my relevant committee chairmen to see what their views would be.”

The overwhelming bipartisan support for the bill thus far will make it difficult for Schumer and other senators to ignore.

“We’re gonna apply every amount of pressure that we can because we think that that’s the right thing,” Johnson told the New York Post just hours after the successful vote. 

DEFYING TRUMP, HOUSE GOP PLANS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH TIKTOK BILL THAT COULD BAN APP

President Biden has publicly stated he would sign the proposed TikTok divestment legislation if it reached his desk.

By contrast, former President Donald Trump shocked both parties by completely flipping his views on the app since his term in the Oval Office. He urged against the bill, claiming it would only empower other tech giants such as Facebook.

The bill was led in the lower chamber by House China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.

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TikTok’s critics have long warned that the social media app poses a national security threat. Lawmakers have cited concerns about the Chinese government’s ability to leverage its power over Bytedance to access sensitive user data.

China hawks have also warned that the app’s popularity among young Americans gives the ruling Chinese Communist Party a platform for a mass influence campaign.

Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., became one of the first GOP members of Congress to support legislation defending in vitro fertilization treatment in the wake of an Alabama ruling holding frozen embryos to the same legal standard as children under state law. 

Molinaro announced in a statement on Wednesday that he cosponsored the Access to Family Building Act, a bill that protects access to IVF given “millions of Americans rely on IVF to have children.” 

The bill was introduced by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., and companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. 

The Access to Family Building Act would establish a statutory right to access IVF, “overriding any state effort to limit services and ensuring no hopeful parent—or their doctors—are punished for trying to start or grow their family,” according to Molinaro’s office. 

HOUSE REPUBLICAN DRAFTS BILL TO EXPAND ACCESS TO IN VITRO FERTILIZATION

“I was troubled by and said at the time that I opposed Alabama’s ruling to limit IVF,” Molinaro said in a statement. “I’m a parent who has personal experience with IVF and support all women and families who choose IVF to bring life into this world. Protecting it is just commonsense.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed a bill into law earlier this month protecting IVF treatments after a February decision by the state Supreme Court prompted some fertility clinics to pause their procedures.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during fertility treatments should be considered as having the same status as children under state law in wrongful death lawsuits. 

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM PAUSES IN VITRO FERTILIZATION FOLLOWING STATE SUPREME COURT EMBRYO RULING

The ruling was issued in a pair of wrongful death cases brought by three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed at a fertility clinic when a patient from the hospital walked into the storage area, removed the embryos from a cryogenic freezer and dropped them on the ground.

The decision resulted in a flury of warnings about the potential impact on fertility treatments and the freezing of embryos, which had previously been considered property by the courts.

Former President Trump said at a South Carolina rally in late February that he would “strongly support the availability of IVF” as the Alabama ruling reignited debate on abortion amid the 2024 presidential election. 

Another House Republican, Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital and Fox News Radio last week that he is is working on a bill to expand access to IVF for families who cannot afford the procedure.

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“It would give a tax incentive to help people that are less fortunate be able to do IVF, and I do think it’s something that’s important. Because I do think people that want children should be able to have the opportunity to have children, and IVF is [a] way to do it,” Carey said on Thursday.

Fox News’ Liz Elkind and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Minutes after they clinched the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, President Biden and former President Donald Trump took aim at each other as their 2024 general election rematch fired up.

“Donald Trump is running a campaign of resentment, revenge, and retribution that threatens the very idea of America,” Biden argued in a statement as he targeted his Republican challenger.

And Trump, blasting his Democratic predecessor in the White House, charged in a social media post that Biden was “the Worst, Most Incompetent, Corrupt, and Destructive President in the History of the United States.”

The 2024 rematch – which polls indicate most Americans are anything but enthused about – is now underway.

GAME ON: TRUMP, BIDEN, CLINCH 2024 MAJOR PARTY PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS

And 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.

WHERE THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACES STAND

Trump is aiming to become only the second president to serve two non-consecutive terms. That hasn’t been accomplished in over 130 years, since Grover Cleveland, who won the White House in 1884 but lost re-election four years later, won back the presidency in 1892.

With over seven and a half months to go until Election Day on November 5, Trump enjoys the early edge in public opinion polling – both in most national surveys and in many of the polls in five of the six key battleground states where Biden narrowly topped Trump to win the White House in 2020.

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But in another key metric – fundraising – Biden currently enjoys the upper hand.

The Biden-Trump rematch offers up stark contrasts when it comes to their style and demeanor, and on where they stand on key issues, such as the economy, health care and entitlements, immigration, abortion, foreign policy, the war in Ukraine, and America’s overseas role going forward.

The 81-year-old Biden, who four years ago made history as the oldest American ever elected president, will continue to face questions about his mental and physical durability, even after last week’s vigorous State of the Union address.

The president also needs to show that he can energize younger voters, progressives, and Black and Latino Americans, who are all key parts of the Democratic base. Biden is also facing primary ballot box protests – materializing in “uncommitted” votes – over his support for Israel in its war in Gaza against Hamas.

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The former president is also dealing with plenty of problems. 

Trump, who last year made history as the first president or former president to face criminal charges, now faces four major trials and a total of 91 indictments – including federal cases on his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and on handling classified documents. There’s also a $355 million civil fraud judgment that Trump is appealing. He will have to juggle his appearances in court with his time on the campaign trail. 

The 77-year-old Trump will also need to court the sizable block of Republican voters who backed Nikki Haley in the GOP nomination race. The former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor was Trump’s last remaining rival before ending her White House campaign last week. Haley’s support is shining a spotlight on Trump’s weakness with suburban and highly educated voters.

Complicating matters further – the presidential rematch between Biden and Trump won’t be a two-candidate race.

Democratic-turned-Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is working to place his name on state ballots across the country. Kennedy, a longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic who’s a scion of the famous Kennedy political dynasty, is grabbing double-digits in many general election polls.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein and progressive independent candidate Cornell West are polling in the single digits. And the centrist group No Labels is moving ahead with plans to launch a third party “unity” presidential ticket.

While third party and independent candidates didn’t play much of a role in the 2020 presidential election, they did in the 2016 showdown between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. And they may again in 2024.

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

A Fulton County judge has quashed six counts in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants. 

Judge Scott McAfee said in an order Wednesday that the state failed to allege sufficient detail for six counts of “solicitation of violation of oath by public officer.” 

“The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants – in fact it has alleged an abundance. However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned opinion, fatal,” McAfee wrote. 

“As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying felony solicited,” the judge continued. 

JUDGE IN TRUMP’S GEORGIA CASE FACES ELECTION CHALLENGE FROM CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY

“They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently, as the Defendants could have violated the Constitutions and thus the statute in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways.”  

Georgia state law prohibits any public officer from willfully and intentionally violating the terms of his or her oath as prescribed by law. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleged that Trump and six of his co-defendants illegally attempted to persuade numerous state officials to violate their oaths in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The indictment refers to alleged requests made to members of the Georgia legislature to unlawfully appoint alternative presidential electors and alleged efforts by Trump and his then-chief of staff Mark Meadows to solicit Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to decertify the election. 

NATHAN WADE’S PHONE DATA SHOWS HE MADE MIDNIGHT TRIPS TO FANI WILLIS’ CONDO BEFORE HE WAS HIRED: ATTORNEY

Multiple defendants challenged the counts on grounds that Willis did not detail the exact terms of the oaths that were alleged to have been violated. 

McAfee said the indictment should have alleged an underlying felony solicited by the defendants. 

“In other words, a naked charge of solicitation cannot survive unless accompanied by additional elements establishing the solicited felony,” the judge wrote.

Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

“The Court made the correct legal decision to grant the special demurrers and quash important counts of the indictment brought by DA Fani Willis,” said Trump attorney Steve Sadow. “The counts dismissed against President Trump are 5, 28 and 38, which falsely claimed that he solicited GA public officials to violate their oath of office.”

“The ruling is a correct application of the law, as the prosecution failed to make specific allegations of any alleged wrongdoing on those counts,” Sadow added. “The entire prosecution of President Trump is political, constitutes election interference, and should be dismissed.”

TRUMP LAWYERS MAKE CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN DA FANI WILLIS ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR ALLEGATIONS: ‘IRREPARABLE STAIN’

In addition to overseeing the election racketeering case against Trump, McAfee is also presiding over allegations brought by a handful of co-defendants that Willis hired special counsel Nathan Wade when they were secretly romantic lovers and financially benefited from his hiring.

The bombshell allegations led to a blockbuster evidentiary hearing last month in which Willis and Wade denied the allegations they were in a relationship when he was hired and that Willis never benefited from Wade’s position because she would reimburse him with cash for all the vacations they took together.

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McAfee is considering the evidence presented in the hearing and is expected to make a decision whether Willis and her team should be disqualified from the case in the next two weeks.

McAfee said at the start of the proceedings this month that it’s “clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one.”

Fox News Digital’s Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

Sen. Katie Britt thought it was “awesome” that actress Scarlett Johansson was picked to roast her on “Saturday Night Live” following her Republican rebuttal to President Biden’s State of the Union address last week.

In an appearance on Sen. Ted Cruz’s “Verdict” podcast, the Alabama senator said being portrayed by Johansson on “SNL” wasn’t on her “bingo card” for 2024.

“How awesome is that?” Britt said of the casting selection. “I actually was pretty pumped about that.”

“They bring in someone from ‘Avengers’ to play me in the cold open, I’m here for it,” the Alabama senator said.

‘BLESS YOUR HEART’: RISING REPUBLICAN STAR KATIE BRITT SHREDS BIDEN ON BORDER, RISING COSTS IN SOTU REBUTTAL

Cruz argued that at least Britt got someone “hot” to play her.

“Scarlett Johansson is hot,” Cruz said. “And I am genuinely jealous because, look, ‘SNL’ has come after me a bunch of times. They don’t ever have Tom Cruise play me!”

Johansson skewered Britt in “SNL’s” opening segment after the senator delivered the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address.

“I have the honor of serving the great people of Alabama, but tonight I’ll be auditioning for the part of scary mom,” Johansson quipped. “And I’ll be performing an original monologue called: This Country is Hell.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE LAKEN RILEY ACT, URGE IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION OF ‘COMMONSENSE’ BILL

I’m not just a senator, I’m a mother, a wife, and the craziest b–ch in the Target parking lot,” Johansson said.

“Kitchens are where families have the hard conversations, like the one we’ll have tomorrow about how mommy freaked out the entire country,” Johansson continued.

The “SNL” skit came after some criticized Britt’s rebuttal for being “cringe-inducing.” 

Britt, a first-term senator from Alabama, criticized current immigration policies in the GOP’s State of the Union response.

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“President Biden inherited the most secure border of all-time. But minutes after taking office, he suspended all deportations, halted construction of the border wall, and announced a plan to give amnesty to millions. We know that President Biden didn’t just create this border crisis. He invited it with 94 executive actions in his first 100 days,” she said.

Britt, long considered a rising star within the Republican Party, has been rumored as a potential vice presidential running mate for former President Donald Trump in the general election this November.

Fox News has reached out to Sen. Britt’s office for comment.

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the president’s son, Hunter Biden, will go on trial for federal firearms charges as soon as June 3. 

U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika set the date during a telephonic hearing Wednesday, though she is still weighing several defense motions to toss out the case against Hunter Biden. 

The younger Biden has pleaded not guilty to lying about his drug use when he filled out a form to buy a gun in October 2018 – a violation of federal law.  

Biden has acknowledged his struggles with substance abuse during that period, including crack cocaine, but his lawyers have said he didn’t break the law and another nonviolent, first-time offender would not have been charged.

HUNTER BIDEN REFUSES TO ATTEND HOUSE HEARING WITH FORMER BUSINESS ASSOCIATES

He was indicted after a plea deal that would have resolved the case without the spectacle of a trial imploded in July 2023 when a judge who was supposed to approve it instead raised more questions. 

Hunter Biden’s attorneys have since sought to have the case tossed out by arguing that prosecutors bowed to political pressure after the agreement was publicly pilloried by Republicans – including former President Trump – as a “sweetheart deal.”

Prosecutors have said there’s no evidence the case is politically motivated, the evidence against him is “overwhelming” and the immunity deal blew up with the rest of the plea deal.

Biden’s attorneys also argued that immunity provisions from the original deal are still in effect, and defense attorney Abbe Lowell pressed Judge Noreika to make a final ruling on the matter.

Noreika said she hadn’t fully decided how she would handle the case’s four pending motions to dismiss but wanted to ensure that time for any trial would be available on her calendar.

The legal team for lawyer Derek Hines, who represents Special Counsel David Weiss, anticipates it will take three to give days to present the Delaware gun case to a jury. Lowell said he would need two days to present his case to a jury. 

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Hunter Biden has also pleaded not guilty to the separate tax charges in Los Angeles alleging a four-year scheme to avoid paying $1.4 million in taxes while living an extravagant lifestyle. The trial in that case is scheduled from late June until mid-July. 

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina representative who finished second in last week’s primary for essentially his old U.S. House seat announced on Wednesday that he won’t ask for a runoff and will join Donald Trump’s campaign instead.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, who served in Congress for six years through 2020, ran in the central North Carolina 6th District, which stretches from Greensboro and Winston-Salem south and west to Concord.

VOTERS IN 2020 BATTLEGROUND STATE LEAN TOWARDS TRUMP IN 2024: POLL

The top vote-getter in the six-candidate March 5 Republican primary, the Trump-endorsed Addison McDowell, failed to exceed the 30% vote threshold needed to avoid a May 14 runoff. But state law said it was up to Walker to formally ask for the runoff.

A campaign spokesperson confirmed that Walker will not request a runoff, meaning that McDowell won the primary outright and almost assuredly will be the next 6th District representative, since he will face no Democratic opposition this fall.

Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning, the current 6th District representative, did not seek reelection, citing redistricting by the GOP-controlled legislature that made the seat lean significantly rightward. No other Democrat filed as a candidate.

Trump, in a social media posting earlier Wednesday, said that he had asked Walker, a former Baptist pastor, to “join my Campaign team to work with Faith Groups and Minority Communities, and he has agreed to immediately do so.”

“Mark and I had many Wins together, and we look forward to continuing to build bridges to all Communities in our Great Nation,” Trump wrote.

Walker, whose tenure in Congress was marked by efforts to aid historically Black colleges and universities, confirmed his hiring in a news release, saying that he had talked with Trump on Tuesday.

“I’ll continue my work as a bridge builder and am looking forward to bringing these skills to the Trump campaign,” he said.

McDowell, most recently a lobbyist for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, surfaced as a first-time candidate in December, already with Trump’s formal backing. McDowell later received support from top state legislative leaders.

McDowell previously worked for GOP Rep. Richard Hudson’s campaign and as a district staffer for then-Rep. Ted Budd, who is now a U.S. senator. In a news release, McDowell thanked Budd for mentoring him and introducing him in 2016 to Trump.

“I can’t wait to work in Congress to help him secure our Southern border and fight for the America First Agenda that protects and promotes American jobs as the top priority,” McDowell said of Trump.

McDowell ran a television commercial in which he talked about his commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Mexico border in light of his younger brother dying of a fentanyl overdose in 2016.

For Walker, who was elected to Congress in 2014, it was a round of redistricting that led him not to seek reelection. He finished third in the 2022 U.S. Senate primary to Budd, who got Trump’s endorsement in that race. Walker also ran for governor for several months last year before shifting to the 6th District seat.

The Republican primary for North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District is headed to a runoff, however, as second-place finisher Brad Knott filed his formal request on Wednesday. Smithfield attorney Kelly Daughtry got the most votes in the 14-candidate race in the 13th — which arcs around most of Raleigh and stretches to the Virginia border — but fell short of exceeding 30%. The ultimate winner will take on Democrat Frank Pierce.

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Current 13th District Rep. Wiley Nickel, a Democrat, is also not seeking reelection, citing last fall’s redistricting that shifted the district to the right.

Under the North Carolina map used for the 2022 elections, Democrats and Republicans won seven congressional seats each. But the latest map makes it likely the GOP will win at least 10 of the 14 seats, according to election data, helping national Republicans trying to retain what is now a fragile House majority in 2025.

President Biden’s campaign is increasingly out of step with his administration’s positions, and White House officials appear to have their hands tied. 

When pressed, officials have repeatedly declined to provide clarity on the White House’s positions on issues while privately acknowledging any comment would reflect negatively on the incumbent president’s re-election effort.

Hours before President Biden’s State of the Union address — in which he would highlight the importance of NATO and contrast his support of U.S. alliances with former President Donald Trump’s — the Biden campaign shot off an email that contained a weighty foreign policy statement, referring to the right-wing prime minister of Hungary, a NATO ally, as a “dictator.”

TRUMP MEETS WITH HUNGARIAN PM ORBÁN IN FLORIDA, BIDEN CLAIMS ‘HE’S LOOKING FOR DICTATORSHIP’

“Who’s Donald Trump’s squad? Let’s take a look at their rap sheets,” Biden-Harris 2024 Rapid Response spokesperson Sarafina Chitika wrote. “Donald Trump is kicking off the general election with a starting lineup guaranteed to repel the moderate Republicans… Hungarian dictator Viktor Orbán, and convicted felon Roger Stone.”

The punchy note titled, “Donald Trump: Who U Wit?,” was written by Chitika, a 2019 Harvard graduate who was also responsible for a Democratic National Committee statement in January that mocked the end of Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s 2024 bid, prompting President Biden to direct his chief of staff to apologize to Hutchinson by phone.

In the highly choreographed foreign policy world, statements representing the views of the incumbent President of the United States would not be made without careful consideration — much less in the footnote of a campaign email. In fact, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visibly winced when President Biden referred to Chinese Communist President Xi Jinping as a dictator when questioned by reporters at a recent summit. Chitika’s remark about Hungary’s Orbán also comes as the Biden administration is withholding support for Ukraine’s accession to NATO, citing outstanding democratic benchmarks.

Although U.S. officials have previously voiced deep concern over Hungary’s democratic backsliding and close ties to Russia, no U.S. administration has deemed Hungary to be a dictatorship. In 2014, Sen. John McCain sparked a diplomatic feud that prompted Hungary’s foreign minister to summon the U.S. envoy after McCain said in a speech that Hungary was “on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator.”

For several days following Chitika’s email, White House and campaign officials ignored or declined requests to comment. At Tuesday’s White House briefing, national security adviser Jake Sullivan dodged answering whether the U.S. officially sees its NATO ally as a dictatorship.

“I know why you’re asking the question. I’m not going to speak on behalf of the Biden campaign. You should direct those questions to the campaign,” Sullivan said. “What I will say, as the Biden administration, is that we have made no bones about our deep concerns about Hungary’s assault on democratic institutions, including the judiciary, Hungary’s corruption and other erosion of democracy in Hungary from the leadership there.”

Orbán has openly supported former President Donald Trump’s 2024 candidacy, including in a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Florida last week. Biden remarked on it at a campaign stop near Philadelphia on Friday. “[Trump] thinks Putin is a strong, basically decent guy,” Biden said. “You know, he’s meeting with today down at Mar-a-Lago, Orbán in Hungary — who stated flatly he doesn’t think democracy works. He’s looking for dictatorship.”

Hungary protested Biden’s comments as a “very serious insult” and burden to the bilateral relationship, demanding a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in Budapest. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said at a press conference, “We are not required to take such lies from anyone, even if that person is the President of the United States.”

Sullivan, asked about the incident Tuesday, again attempted to walk the delicate line between upholding the campaign-trail commentary of his boss and the official positions of his boss’s government. “The president stands by his statement, and I’m not walking back his statement,” Sullivan said. “All I’m saying is that our position is totally consistent.”

DEFYING TRUMP, HOUSE GOP PLANS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH TIKTOK BILL THAT COULD BAN APP

The Biden campaign has also encountered contradictions with the administration’s official position through its embrace of TikTok. Despite reportedly vowing last year that it would not join the app, the campaign launched an account last month as part of its strategy to “reach the voters where they are.”

The decision boxed in White House officials once again, with the federal inter-agency committee known as CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) still mulling its decision to recommend a nationwide ban over national security concerns. White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said in a Feb. 12 briefing, “I can only tell you that it’s not allowed on government devices. That policy remains the case. And I just can’t speak for the campaign on their decisions.”

Kirby declined to answer why the president would partake in videos on a platform his administration deems to be a threat.

This week, FBI Director Christopher Wray affirmed at a Senate worldwide threats hearing that the app is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and poses a significant national security concern, in part because its algorithm could be manipulated to help or hurt candidates in the 2024 U.S. election.

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“The key point is that the parent company is, for all intents and purposes, beholden to the CCP,” Wray said.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill with both Democratic and Republican support that could pave the way for TikTok to be banned in U.S. app stores.

No Labels on Thursday is expected to take another step toward forming a bipartisan presidential ticket in November’s general election.

That’s when the centrist group is scheduled to announce the selection process for how a potential candidate will be chosen.

The developments come as No Labels is in discussions with former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan of Georgia to possibly lead their so-called “unity” ticket, sources confirm to Fox News.

No Labels announced Friday that the roughly 800 delegates who took part in a virtual meeting voted to give a thumbs up to fielding a presidential ticket.

HOW NO LABELS IS MOVING TOWARDS LAUNCHING A THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL TICKET

“They voted near unanimously to continue our 2024 project and to move immediately to identify candidates to serve on the Unity presidential ticket,” No Labels national convention chair Mike Rawlings said in a statement. The meeting was closed to media coverage.

No Labels chief strategist Ryan Clancy said following the vote that “we will announce our formal selection process next Thursday, March 14, with more details to come shortly thereafter.”

The move will likely lead to the naming of candidates in the coming weeks.

“Now that No Labels’ delegates have given the go ahead for us to accelerate our candidate search for a Unity ticket, voters will read plenty of speculation about who would be on it. But No Labels has not yet chosen a ticket and any names floating around are being put out there by someone else,” Clancy emphasized last week.

NO LABELS CHARGES OPPONENTS ARE TRYING TO KEEP IT OFF THE BALLOT

For over a year, No Labels has mulled a third-party ticket, as it pointed to poll after poll suggesting that many Americans were anything but enthused about a 2024 election rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

And No Labels had long said that it would decide whether to launch a presidential ticket following Super Tuesday, when 16 states from coast to coast held nominating primaries and caucuses.

Friday’s No Labels vote took place three days after Super Tuesday. And this week, Biden and Trump each won enough delegates in Tuesday’s primaries to officially clinch the respective Democratic and Republican nominations, becoming the two major parties’ presumptive presidential nominees.

The moves by No Labels come after former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, a former leader of the group who was considered a potential contender for the “unity” ticket, recently took his name out of contention as he announced a run this year for an open Senate seat in his home state.

REMATCH: TRUMP, BIDEN, CLINCH GOP AND DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS

And moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, another former No Labels leader who is not seeking re-election this year and who flirted with a White House run, has also said he won’t launch a presidential bid.

There was also plenty of speculation that former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was the final 2024 GOP presidential nomination rival to Trump before she ended her White House run last week, would consider running on a No Labels ticket. No Labels had expressed interest in her earlier this year.

But Haley repeatedly nixed joining a No Labels ticket, most recently last week in an interview on “FOX and Friends.”

“What I will tell you is I’m a conservative Republican. I have said many, many times, I would not run as an independent. I would not run as No Labels, because I am a Republican, and that’s who I’ve always been,” Haley reiterated.

The No Labels spotlight now appears to be shining on Duncan, a former health care executive and minor league baseball player who served three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives before winning election as lieutenant governor in 2018.

People familiar with the discussions confirmed to Fox News that No Labels “is talking to him,” adding that conversations are “moving fast” and “nothing’s set.”

A source in Duncan’s political orbit said he hasn’t ruled anything out when it comes to a potential third-party presidential run this year. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Duncan grabbed national attention in the weeks after the 2020 election for speaking out against then-President Trump’s unfounded claims of “massive voter fraud” in Georgia, which was one of a half-dozen states where Biden narrowly edged Trump to win the White House.

Duncan, along with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, resisted Trump’s requests to overturn the election results in the Peach State.

But Duncan’s public pushback in national interviews against Trump led to threats against him and his wife, which necessitated protection by state troopers, he said in 2021.

Duncan decided months later against seeking re-election in 2022 and instead launched “GOP 2.0,” an effort to try and move the Republican Party past Trump.

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No Labels said last week that it is already on the ballot in 16 states and currently working in 17 other states to obtain access. 

There’s been a chorus of calls from Democrats warning that a No Labels ticket would pave a path to victory for Trump in November, but the group dismisses that criticism.

“That’s not our goal here,” Lieberman told Fox News Digital late last year. “We’re not about electing either President Trump or President Biden.”

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

Democratic Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock called the Republican-led Laken Riley Act “smoke and mirrors” on Tuesday, accusing lawmakers of failing to do anything substantive to address the crisis at the southern border. 

The legislation, which was passed in the House, would require the Department of Homeland Security to take illegal immigrants into custody if they have been charged with theft-related crimes.

Warnock appeared on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” with host Joy Reid on Tuesday when he was asked about what the legislation would do to address crime. 

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN INTRODUCES ‘LAKEN RILEY ACT’ 

“Let me, first of all, just say that my heart goes out to this young woman’s family. Laken Riley did not deserve what happened to her,” he said. “To answer your question succinctly, this is smoke and mirrors by people who are not serious.”

“We had a bipartisan piece of legislation in front of us. It had a lot of provisions, some provisions that some folks on my side didn’t like,” he added. “But the only way to get comprehensive immigration reform, the only way to address the current crisis on the border in divided government, is on a bipartisan basis.”

Riley, 22, a nursing student, was killed in February on the campus of the University of Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged with the killing, was arrested in New York prior to the murder, but was not detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Republicans have tried to pressure the Biden administration to get behind the bill introduced by Rep. Mike Collins, R- Ga. Twenty-six attorneys general across the U.S. penned a letter to Senate leadership on Wednesday urging the passage of the Laken Riley Act.

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Warnock previously criticized Republicans, saying they were trying to “score cheap political” points in connection to Riley’s death after her name was wrongfully invoked by President Biden during last week’s State of the Union address.

“Rather than demagoguing this tragic death by this young woman, they ought to get serious,” Warnock told Reid. “And let’s pass some bipartisan legislation and deal with the crisis at the border.”

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? 

-Hunter Biden refuses to attend House hearing

-Trump secures the 2024 Republican nomination

-CNN forced to correct story over Sen. Katie Britt

TikTok on the Chopping Block

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that could pave the way for TikTok to be banned in U.S. app stores.

The measure passed 352-65, with one abstention. 

Both Democrats and Republicans supported the measure, which advanced out of committee in a unanimous 50-0 bipartisan vote. It’s a rare show of bipartisan unity in a heavily fractured political environment.

The bill, led by House China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., would block TikTok in the U.S. if its parent company, Bytedance, does not divest from it within 165 days of passage. It would also require it to be bought by a country that is not a U.S. adversary.

Opponents of the bill — mostly Democrats — raised concerns over free speech issues. Some Republicans objected to the proposal saying it expanded government control over business, and could be abused.

White House

‘INAPPROPRIATE REMARKS’: Former top Biden aide confirms WH official’s alleged history of bullying, sexual harassment …Read more

DEFUNDING UNRWA: White House preparing in case Congress makes block on UN agency permanent …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘APPALLING’: ‘Squad’ congressman’s ‘reprehensible’ stance on Farrakhan mural sparks call for resignation …Read more

‘COMMONSENSE’ BILL: Senate Republicans introduce Laken Riley Act, urge swift consideration …Read more

‘SIGNIFICANT THREATS’: Republicans launch oversight of Chinese threat to US farm industry …Read more

READY FOR BATTLE: Vance bill would review US defense readiness amid Ukraine funding …Read more

HUNTER OUT: Hunter Biden refuses to attend House hearing with former business associates …Read more

CHINESE MILITARY: Stefanik rips Obama AG Lynch over links to Chinese military company …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

2020 REMATCH: Trump goes over the top, clinching 2024 Republican presidential nomination …Read more

BATTLEGROUND STATE: Potential 2024 swing state leans toward Trump in new poll …Read more

Across America

CHINESE LAND: Lawmakers to propose greater oversight of Chinese land acquisitions in America …Read more

‘TRYING TO SILENCE’: CNN forced to correct story after accusations of ‘smear’ campaign against Katie Britt …Read more

‘IMMEDIATE ATTENTION’: More than 25 AGs urge Senate to pass of the Laken Riley Act …Read more

LIGHT DISMISSAL: Judge dismisses some counts against Trump in Fani Willis election interference case …Read more

ACCEPTED: Judge approves Trump’s $92M bond in NY defamation case …Read more

‘WON’T ENDORSE NONSENSE’: Arkansas drops ‘X’ from driver’s licenses and IDs …Read more

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Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

House Republicans released a report this week they say undermines claims made by a former Trump aide that former President Trump tried to take control of a Secret Service vehicle on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Georgia Republican Rep. Barry Loudermilk, chair of the oversight subcommittee of the House Administration Committee, released an 81-page report Monday, which investigated “the security failures of January 6th which House Democrats failed to investigate in the 117th Congress.”

“THE SELECT COMMITTEE WAS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE A POLITICAL NARRATIVE – Pelosi made the unprecedented decision to refuse to appoint minority members chosen by the minority to the Select Committee. They hired Hollywood producers to assist with their primetime hearings. They refused to adopt rules, allowing them to operate without limits, to project their predetermined narrative to the world,” the report’s initial findings detail. 

Within the report’s findings, the oversight subcommittee reported that unreleased testimony from four former White House employees who were present for Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, speech contradicts claims by former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson.

HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES JAN 6 COMMITTEE ‘DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE’

“Reps. Thompson and Cheney promoted Cassidy Hutchinson‘s sensational revised testimony and hid witness testimony from White House and Secret Service employees with firsthand knowledge that directly contradicted Hutchinson‘s version of events. Hutchinson conducted three transcribed interviews with the Select Committee before substantially revising her story in her fourth transcribed interview. Despite knowing how significantly her testimony changed, the Select Committee promoted it as fact,” the report detailed, adding that Hutchinson was promoted as a “star witness.”

JAN 6 COMMITTEE ALLEGEDLY SUPPRESSED TESTIMONY SHOWING TRUMP ADMIN PUSHED FOR NATIONAL GUARD PRESENCE: REPORT

Hutchinson, who worked as an aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, had claimed before the select committee that on Jan. 6, 2021, she was told Trump allegedly became “irate” and attempted to join supporters at the Capitol ahead of them breaching the government building. The incident reportedly unfolded after Trump delivered a speech at the Ellipse, which is a park just south of the White House fence. 

“​​The president said something to the effect of, ‘I’m the effing president, take me up to the Capitol now,’” she recounted to the committee in 2022 of what she was told. 

She alleged she was told Trump attempted to grab the steering wheel of a Secret Service SUV before the driver reportedly told Trump to remove his hand and that they were headed to the White House, not the Capitol. 

LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC’

Loudermilk’s report, however, found that Hutchinson’s testimony was “directly refuted” by Anthony Ornato, who served as White House deputy chief of staff for pperations under Trump after decades in the Secret Service. 

“In Ornato’s November 29, 2022, transcribed interview, he directly refuted Hutchinson’s testimony that she allegedly heard the story about what happened in the Beast. Ornato testified that the first time he had ever heard the story Hutchinson claims Ornato told her on January 6, was during Hutchinson’s public testimony,” the report details. Hutchinson had told the committee that she heard the anecdote from Ornato. 

A Secret Service agent who was driving the SUV also refuted the anecdote, according to the report. The report stated that the driver of the SUV on Jan. 6 testified that Trump “never grabbed the steering wheel.” 

“The driver testified that he specifically refuted the version of events as recounted by Hutchinson. The driver of the SUV testified that he ‘did not see him reach [redacted]. [President Trump] never grabbed the steering wheel. I didn’t see him, you know, lunge to try to get into the front seat at all.’”

Loudermilk’s report determined that the Jan. 6 committee “hid the driver’s full testimony and only favorably mentioned his testimony in its Final Report, it did not release the full transcript.” 

The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House. 

The committee concluded its 18-month investigation last year, when Republicans regained control of the House, and sent referrals to the Justice Department recommending Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement in the lead-up to supporters breaching the Capitol. 

The committee’s former chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair, Republican now-former Rep. Liz Cheney, both slammed Loudermilk’s 81-page report on social media soon after it was published. In addition to alleging Hutchinson’s testimony was debunked, the report argued the Jan. 6 committee “deleted” records and hired “Hollywood producers” to promote a political narrative.

LIZ CHENEY CALLS SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘DANGEROUS’ FOR HELPING TRUMP ‘UNDERMINE OUR REPUBLIC’

“Loudermilk is merely trying to deflect from Donald Trump’s responsibility for the violence of January 6th and his own refusal to answer the Select Committee’s questions,” Thompson’s statement said, adding that the report is “dishonest.” 

“If your response to Trump’s assault on our democracy is to lie & cover up what he did, attack the brave men & women who came forward with the truth, and defend the criminals who violently assaulted the Capitol, you need to rethink whose side you’re on. Hint: It’s not America’s,” Cheney tweeted Tuesday.

Hutchinson’s attorney, William H. Jordan, wrote a letter to Loudermilk earlier this year defending Hutchinson as an honest witness who “courageously stepped forward” to speak with the committee. 

“Let me be clear: since Ms. Hutchinson changed counsel, she has and will continue to tell the truth. While other individuals – often men who occupied more senior roles – would not speak with the Select Committee, Ms. Hutchinson and many other witnesses courageously stepped forward. Yet she now finds herself being questioned by you and your Subcommittee regarding her testimony and on matters that may also be the subject of ongoing criminal proceedings against Mr. Trump,” the letter reads.

LIZ CHENEY ADDRESSES CRITICISM OF HER CRITIQUES OF TRUMP AND BIDEN

“Ms. Hutchinson will not succumb to a pressure campaign from those who seek to silence her and influence her testimony, even when done in the name of ‘oversight.’”

Last week, Loudermilk released a separate testimony transcript from Ornato that had been “withheld” and reportedly shows the Trump administration reached out to the Washington, D.C., mayor’s office ahead of Jan. 6, asking her to request as much protection for the city as she needed in anticipation of crowds. The testimony reportedly undermines the committee’s report that they did not have evidence showing the Trump White House requested National Guard assistance for Jan. 6. 

REP LOUDERMILK BLASTS JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE FOR TARGETING HIM: ‘THERE IS A WAR ON THE TRUTH IN THIS COUNTRY’

Cheney spokesman Jeremy Adler called the report “flatly false” in comments to Fox Digital on Sunday and that “no transcripts were destroyed.” 

“The Committee adhered to its obligations to allow the Secret Service to protect sensitive security information for interviews of its agents before preserving that testimony in the archives,” Adler said in a statement.

A 2022 letter, sent by Cheney and Thompson to the general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, detailed that it adhered to rules surrounding sensitive testimony from Secret Service agents, and preserved such testimony in archives that were then placed into the control of the National Archives. 

TRUMP SAYS FILES DELETED BY JAN 6 COMMITTEE ‘EXONERATED ME COMPLETELY’

Loudermilk said the report’s release Monday is “just the beginning” as his committee works “to uncover the facts about January 6.”

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“The American people deserve the entire truth about what caused the violent breach at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. It is unfortunate the Select Committee succumbed to their political inclinations and chased false narratives instead of providing the important work of a genuine investigation. In my committee’s investigation, it is my objective to uncover the facts about January 6, without political bias or spin. My report today is just the beginning,” Loudermilk said in a statement Monday. 

The bill aimed at forcing Chinese-owned company Bytedance to divest from social media app TikTok has passed the House with overwhelming support.

Led by House China select committee Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., the bill sailed through the House with a 352-65 bipartisan vote.

The Democratic Party was more split over the proposed legislation than Republicans, and only one member of the House abstained from the vote.

DEFYING TRUMP, HOUSE GOP PLANS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH TIKTOK BILL THAT COULD BAN APP

If signed into law, the bill would block TikTok in the U.S. if its parent company, Bytedance, does not divest from it within 165 days of passage. It would also require it to be bought by a country that is not a U.S. adversary

Only 15 Republicans voted against the bill, joined by 50 Democrats. An additional 14 members did not cast a vote on the proposed legislation.

Republican representatives who voted against the legislation include Andy Biggs, Arizona; Dan Bishop, North Carolina; Warren Davidson, Ohio; John S. Duarte, California; Matt Gaetz, Florida; Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia; Clay Higgins, Louisiana; Nancy Mace, South Carolina; Thomas Massie, Kentucky; Tom McClintock, California; Alexander X. Mooney, West Virginia; Barry Moore, Alabama; Scott Perry, Pennsylvania; David Schweikert, Arizona; and W. Gregory Steube, Florida.

KEVIN O’LEARY OFFERS TO BUY TIKTOK AND TURN IT INTO A ‘NEW AMERICAN COMPANY’ IF PROPOSED BAN ADVANCES

Democratic representatives who voted against the legislation include: Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon; Jamaal Bowman, New York; Brendan F. Boyle, Pennsylvania; Cori Bush, Missouri; Greg Casar, Texas; Joaquin Castro, Texas; Katherine M. Clark, Massachusetts; James E. Clyburn, South Carolina; Adriano Espaillat, New York; Maxwell Frost, Florida; Ruben Gallego, Arizona; Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Illinois; Robert Garcia, California; Jimmy Gomez, California; Jahana Hayes, Connecticut; James A. Himes, Connecticut; Steven Horsford, Nevada; Val T. Hoyle, Oregon; Jonathan L. Jackson, Illinois; Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas; Sara Jacobs, California; Pramila Jayapal, Washington; Sydney Kamlager-Dove, California; Ro Khanna, California; Rick Larsen, Washington; John B. Larson, Connecticut; Barbara Lee, California; Summer L. Lee, Pennsylvania; Zoe Lofgren, California; Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky; James P. McGovern, Massachusetts; Gregory W. Meeks, New York; Grace Meng, New York; Gwen Moore, Wisconsin; Kevin Mullin, California; Jerrold Nadler, New York; Richard E. Neal, Massachusetts; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York; Ilhan Omar, Minnesota; Dean Phillips, Minnesota; Mark Pocan, Wisconsin; Katie Porter, California; Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts; Delia C. Ramirez, Illinois; Janice D. Schakowsky, Illinois; Eric Swalwell, California; Norma J. Torres, California; Juan Vargas, California; Nydia M. Velázquez, New York; and Nikema Williams, Georgia.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, was the only “present” vote.

TikTok’s critics have long warned that the social media app poses a national security threat. Lawmakers have cited concerns about the Chinese government’s ability to leverage its power over Bytedance to access sensitive user data – even in the U.S. – something the company has denied. 

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China hawks have also warned that the app’s popularity among young Americans gives the ruling Chinese Communist Party a platform for a mass influence campaign.

At the same time, lawmakers who are wary of the push to curb TikTok have cited First Amendment concerns and potential harm to small businesses who rely on it.

It’s not immediately clear if the Senate will take up the legislation.

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

FIRST ON FOX: CNN was forced to issue a correction to its reporting this week aimed at discrediting a portion of Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt’s State of the Union rebuttal in which she included the tragic story about an unnamed sex trafficking victim to emphasize the effects of the ongoing border crisis.

That victim of sex trafficking was later identified as Karla Jacinto, who faced immense brutality from the ages of 12 to 16 at the hands of traffickers in Mexico, which Britt detailed in her rebuttal. 

CNN paraded Jacinto in front of its audience over the weekend with an appearance on the network and in a subsequent story in which it made a number of claims attempting to derail Britt’s portrayal of the story. However, those claims ran in stark contrast to past reporting on Jacinto, as well as her own words.

‘BLESS YOUR HEART’: RISING REPUBLICAN STAR KATIE BRITT SHREDS BIDEN ON BORDER, RISING COSTS IN SOTU REBUTTAL

In its piece following the weekend interview with Jacinto, CNN wrote that Britt inaccurately said she met one-on-one with Jacinto. However, Britt never claimed in her rebuttal to have had a one-on-one meeting, only stating that she “spoke” with Jacinto while traveling to the border in Texas.

When reached for comment on the inaccuracy, CNN responded that it had corrected the piece to reflect it was Jacinto’s view that Britt claimed the two met one-on-one, and not the outlet’s. “CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to clarify the circumstances of Britt’s meeting with Jacinto,” a note at the bottom of the story now reads.

CNN also portrayed Britt as incorrectly claiming Jacinto was trafficked by Mexican drug cartels, but the senator never said “drug cartels” during her rebuttal. She specifically talked about “cartels,” referring to organized crime along the border, similar to how Jacinto previously described her traffickers as a “crime organization” during testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May 2015.

FLORIDA SHERIFF: MILITARY, TEACHER INCLUDED IN THOSE APPREHENDED IN MASSIVE HUMAN TRAFFICKING BUST

During the hearing, Jacinto, referenced a “pimp, or the crime organization” that she said took her 1-year-old daughter from her, so she could continue her work for them.  A Fox News report from later that year also detailed how Jacinto’s pimp, who was described as her boyfriend, was “working as part of an international organized crime ring, and he forced her into a life of prostitution and violence.”

She has also described the criminal organization as an organized crime “family.”

Jacinto has talked about being trafficked on numerous other occasions, including during a roundtable discussion with Britt, as well as Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., in January 2023, in which she said she was almost trafficked to the U.S. at the age of 14.

Following the meeting, Hyde-Smith said, “We had the opportunity to meet with a young lady. Her name was Karla. She was under control of a drug cartel and a human trafficker from the age 12 to 16, before she was able to escape that.”

When reached for comment on the inaccuracy, CNN expressed disagreement with Fox that their portrayal was inaccurate.

FLORIDA SHERIFF TO CONGRESS AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS NABBED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROBE: ‘SHAME ON ALL OF THEM’

Additionally, CNN itself reported in September 2017 that Jacinto, “by her own estimate,” was raped 43,200 times “after falling into the hands of human traffickers.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Jacinto for comment. Reintegra, an advocacy group that works with Jacinto, responded to a request for comment on her behalf, telling Fox that she “was not pressured or coerced nor did she alter her story in any way.” 

The group added that her story “has been consistent through the years,” and the CNN reporter who wrote the story was “very reputable and trustworthy.”

“Ms. Jacinto has made it clear that she does not wish to be a pawn in political discussions around immigration policies or other political issues. Her focus is to help open peoples’ eyes and let the world know about the evils of human trafficking. She understands that people are [on] both sides of the political aisle can and must be united in this fight for the sake of vulnerable people,” the organization said.

Despite Britt not using Jacinto’s name, the organization suggested the senator needed her permission to use her story during the rebuttal, and called for her to apologize.

14 DEMOCRATS VOTE WITH REPUBLICANS TO CONDEMN BIDEN IMMIGRATION POLICIES

“We invite Senator Britt and all who care about vulnerable people to join us in working together in a bipartisan, multinational way to help provide safe, migration and resettlement opportunities to help prevent this issue. We believe that we can’t fight this common enemy if we are instead fighting across party or racial divides. We ask all to reject language that dehumanizes those seeking asylum and treat others in a dignified, humane way as we work as one to make this world a better place,” they added.

Republicans rallied around Britt this week, accusing the media of undertaking a “smear” campaign against her.

“Joe Biden’s policies have been a gift to the cartels that are engaged in horrific sex trafficking and bringing fentanyl to the U.S. Katie Britt is absolutely right and that’s why the media is attacking her. They want to smear any conservative who speaks out,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., wrote in a Monday post on X.

Cotton was echoed by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who wrote, “The media is targeting Senator Katie Britt because she’s a strong conservative who told the truth about open border policies. And Katie is exactly right: these border policies have been a disaster for the American people.”

Britt also responded to the media’s apparent blitz against her, telling Fox, “It’s past time for the media to stop covering for Joe Biden’s re-election campaign and start talking about the immense, very real human suffering that’s occurring right now.”

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“The cartels are making record-shattering profits from human trafficking. Historic numbers of migrants are dying at the border. And between brutal murders and fentanyl poisonings, far too many Americans are being killed. That’s the story the media doesn’t want to tell — and now they’re trying to silence me for telling it,” she added.

Britt, long considered a rising star within the Republican Party, has been rumored as a potential vice presidential running mate for former President Donald Trump in the general election this November.

FIRST ON FOX: Twenty-six attorneys general across the U.S. penned a letter to Senate leadership on Wednesday urging the passage of H.R. 7511, or the Laken Riley Act, which would detain illegal immigrants for some criminal offenses until they can be deported.

Led by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, the lawmakers wrote to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., saying the bill needs “immediate attention.”

“President Biden’s repeated actions of ignoring the rule of law and abandoning successful policies have created a border crisis of historic proportions,” the letter states. “As attorneys general, we are fighting to preserve the rule of law and keep our states safe when the federal government fails to act or, in the case of illegal immigration, actively makes it worse. To that end, we applaud the bill’s enforcement provision for State Attorneys General.”

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN INTRODUCES ‘LAKEN RILEY ACT’ 

“Unfortunately, the entire country has seen the news of the tragic and avoidable murder of Laken Riley. In broad daylight, Jose Ibarra is alleged to have brutally attacked and killed Riley while she was on a morning run. Reports show Riley’s skull was beaten so violently with an unidentified object that her skull was disfigured,” the attorneys general wrote.

“Riley’s death could have been prevented on multiple fronts, but the system failed her,” the prosecutors wrote, adding that H.R. 7511 is “a strong bill that can act as another arrow in the quiver when it comes to combatting illegal immigration and protecting Americans.”

In addition to Florida and South Carolina, attorneys general in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Utah and West Virginia all signed the letter.

The House of Representatives last week passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants charged with local theft or burglary, after Ibarra, who was accused of similar offenses, was arrested for Riley’s murder. 

LAKEN RILEY’S MOTHER SPEAKS OUT ABOUT ‘AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY’ AFTER DAUGHTER’S FUNERAL 

The act, which was passed by a 251-170 vote, is named after 22-year-old Laken Riley, a college nursing student who was recently killed on the campus of the University of Georgia.  

Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged with the brutal murder, was arrested in New York prior to the murder, but was not detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Before being charged with felony murder, Ibarra was once arrested in New York for endangering a child, and he was cited in Georgia for misdemeanor shoplifting in October 2023 along with his brother, Diego Ibarra, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

After the bill’s passage in the House, the author of the bill, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., urged the Senate to take up the legislation immediately to “ensure justice for Laken and give ICE more tools to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens before they commit more serious crimes.”

TRUMP MET WITH LAKEN RILEY’S FAMILY BACKSTAGE BEFORE GEORGIA RALLY: ‘PROFOUNDLY HONORED’

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In addition to requiring ICE to issue a detainer for illegal aliens charged with theft or burglary, the bill will also allow individual states to take action against the federal government “if an immigration related action harms the state or its citizens.” 

On Wednesday, two Senate Republicans introduced the Senate version of the bill as a companion to H.R. 7511.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris, Greg Norman, Aubrie Spady, Thomas Phippen, and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump holds a slim advantage over President Biden after the two candidates secured their parties’ nominations, a new poll shows. 

The two politicians unofficially secured their respective parties’ nominations on Tuesday after both passed the required threshold of delegates.

The USA Today poll – conducted in partnership with Suffolk University – found that 40% of respondents favored Trump, compared to 38% for Biden.

LOCKING IT UP: TRUMP CLINCHES 2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DURING TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES

A key finding of the survey was the number of registered voters who are open to changing their minds. 

Approximately 25% of those surveyed said they would consider switching their vote between now and the election – 14% of likely Biden voters and 15% of likely Trump voters.

Among those polled, 15% of respondents reported disliking both candidates, according to USA Today. Approximately 25% of these individuals leaned toward Trump, 18% toward Biden and 44% of them reported intending to vote for third-party candidates. 

LOCKING IT UP: BIDEN CLINCHES 2024 DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DURING TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES

With both Trump and Biden crossing the necessary threshold of delegates to all but guarantee their nominations on Tuesday, the public is expecting a 2020 rematch.

Both candidates have proven exceptionally unpopular with voters, and their presidencies have experienced similar tepidity in approval polls.

It is still unclear if Biden will accept Trump’s challenges for a public debate – the administration has thus far dodged questions on the topic.

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The USA Today/Suffolk University poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters. Respondents were contacted via cellphone and landline.

It was conducted from March 8 to 11 and reports a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

Former President Trump’s bond money — which totaled just under $100 million dollars — was accepted by a federal judge ahead of his appeal.

Trump posted the $92 million bond last week following a ruling that found him liable in his New York defamation case in January of this year.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan approved the bond on Tuesday, which will now serve as a guarantee that the former president will pay out if his appeal does not overturn the verdict.

TRUMP POSTS $91M BOND, APPEALS $83M E JEAN CARROLL JUDGMENT

Trump is appealing the January decision to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

He has continued vehemently denying Carroll’s claim that he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room in 1996.

A jury found him liable for $83.3 million in damages to E. Jean Carroll for defaming her through previous statements attacking her credibility — $18.3 million in compensatory damages, and $65 million in punitive damages.

LOCKING IT UP: TRUMP CLINCHES 2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DURING TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES

The bond value is higher than the total damages due to a requirement for 110% of the judgment value to be posted during the appeal process.

Federal Insurance Company — based in Chesapeake, Virginia — provided the bond money, according to documents signed by the former president.

Trump’s lawyers said he made statements about Carroll in an effort to “defend his reputation, protect his family, and defend his Presidency.”

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A federal jury in New York City decided last year that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

The former president was ordered to pay $5 million in that trial.