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A Democrat running in a key Montana House race as a “smokejumper” and working-class outsider previously worked as a registered lobbyist opposing state-level bills that would have restricted drag performances in public schools and libraries, banned gender-transition procedures for minors and cracked down on sanctuary policies, records reviewed by Fox News Digital show.

Sam Forstag, the Democratic nominee in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, has leaned into a blue-collar campaign message, saying constituents like him “know how to work” and “know how to swing a tool.” 

His campaign has focused heavily on affordability, corruption and working-class frustrations, but his lobbying record puts him on the record on several hot-button issues that could undercut his effort to appeal to more centrist voters in an already heavily Republican state.

Between 2021 and 2023, Forstag was listed as a registered lobbyist for groups and entities including the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the Montana Library Association and the City of Missoula. During that time, he testified against or was tied through lobbying records to opposition against bills involving drag performances in schools and libraries, transgender-related medical treatments for minors, boys competing in girls’ sports, voter ID and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

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“This bill is the latest of a series that I expect you’ll see that are intended to stir up fear and distrust of our fellow citizens,” Forstag told Montana lawmakers in 2023 as Republicans considered a bill restricting minors from attending drag performances in public schools and libraries. Forstag argued the measure was overly broad and could affect people who are transgender or nonbinary participating in library programming, saying he hoped lawmakers did not intend to “prohibit an entire class of people” from serving in public libraries.

Forstag also opposed SB 99, a bill banning certain gender-transition procedures and medications for minors. In testimony on the bill, Forstag urged lawmakers to “leave personal and medical decisions to families and their chosen health care providers.”

While representing the ACLU of Montana, Forstag was tied to opposition against HB 112, which required student athletes to compete based on biological sex, and SB 169, a measure to increase scrutiny around voter ID protocols.

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Forstag also opposed bills involving sanctuary policies and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including measures aimed at requiring local officials to comply with immigration detainers. 

Forstag did not directly dispute the lobbying record when asked by Fox News Digital, instead defending his work in the state capitol as a fight for working people and individual freedom.

“Between fire seasons, I fought for working people in a state capitol that too often ignores us,” Forstag told Fox News Digital. “Instead of accepting a system where the extremes and the rich have the loudest voice, I worked my tail off to defend Montanans’ constitutional rights and freedoms and fight for policies that actually improve our lives.”

Forstag framed his opposition to bills involving transgender medical procedures as part of a broader belief that government should stay out of personal decisions.

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“I believe the government’s got no place getting involved in peoples’ private, personal decisions,” he said. “Politicians have no place coming for our guns, and no place inserting themselves into medical decisions that should be up to patients, parents, and doctors.”

On immigration, Forstag, who is backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said local police should not be forced to carry out federal immigration responsibilities.

“Laws that force local law enforcement to do the federal government’s bidding make our communities less safe and put police in a bad spot,” he said. “Immigration enforcement should be left to federal officials so our local police can keep Montanans safe.”

Jake Eaton, a longtime Montana Republican strategist whose clients have included Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, told Fox News Digital that Forstag’s lobbying record could undercut his effort to appeal to blue-collar and swing voters in the district, noting that issues involving transgender policies, schools and immigration “cut across” demographics.

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Meanwhile, Eaton described Forstag as emblematic of the leftward shift of Montana Democrats.

“There aren’t a lot of moderate Democrats, if any, left,” Eaton said. “The days of Brian Schweitzer, when you had Democrats that were pro-gun and pro-coal, they don’t really exist anymore.”

But Eric Koch, a longtime Democratic consultant, rejected that criticism, arguing that Forstag’s record fits his broader message about keeping government out of personal decisions.

“Sam’s record is about keeping government out of your business,”Koch told Fox News Digital. “No amount of divide-and-distract will change that.” The consultant argued Republicans would rather focus on culture-war issues than Forstag’s economic contrast with his Republican opponent Aaron Flint.

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Forstag will face Flint, an Army veteran and conservative radio host, in the November 3 general election for the open western Montana seat currently held by GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke, who announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. 

Forstag won the Democratic primary after defeating former 2024 gubernatorial nominee Ryan Busse, Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains, while Flint emerged from a Republican primary field that included Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, former state Sen. Al Olszewski and educator Ray Curtis.

PORTLAND, Maine – The clock is quickly ticking in the race to replace former candidate Graham Platner as Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee in the race to challenge longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Candidates gunning to win the Democratic nomination must file with the state party by Wednesday to get on the ballot. Eight Democrats have filed so far to run for the nomination, which will be determined by 601 voting delegates at a July 25 convention held by the Maine Democratic Party.

Platner, a populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, won the early June Democratic primary in a landslide. He was challenging Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.

A combat veteran and oyster farmer whose campaign caught fire, Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment. But even as he crushed the competition to capture the nomination, Platner had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals.

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Platner dropped out of the race last week, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.

Facing a July 27 deadline to replace Platner with a new nominee, the state Democratic Party announced that all 16 Maine counties will convene special nomination meetings this weekend where participants will vote to elect delegates.

Those delegates will meet the following Saturday, July 25, in Bangor, Maine, to vote for the party’s nominee.

Ahead of the vote, a “statewide network of volunteer leaders who organized, knocked doors, hosted events, and built the loop grassroots infrastructure behind Graham Platner’s campaign,” in an open letter on Tuesday to the state party made it clear that the organization they built “does not transfer automatically to whoever the Party selects.”

“It will only continue to exist, and only continue to be deployed, for a nominee who publicly and explicitly adopts” a list of core progressive commitments that they listed.

The letter is a sign of the tough task ahead for whomever wins the nomination to quickly unite the different wings of the Democratic base.

Here’s a look at who have already announced they’re running.

Nirav Shah

Shah finished with the most votes in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, but lost the nomination to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree following ranked choice voting.

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Shah directed the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 to 2023 and later served as principal deputy director of the federal CDC, stepping down shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office last year.

Touting his “strong progressive stances,” Shah told Fox News Digital that “my message to those supporters of Graham’s is a very clear one. You have a home in this campaign. You have an important voice in this campaign.”

Troy Jackson

Jackson, a former Maine Senate President and fifth-generation logger, came in third place in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Jackson campaigned with Platner during Maine’s primary, and, along with Platner, was endorsed by Sanders. And his gubernatorial campaign was also backed by the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

He’s being supported by the Sanders-founded Our Revolution as he runs for the Senate.

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“This movement is always been bigger than one person. It’s about taking on a system rigged against working people, fighting for Medicare for all, strong unions, higher wages, reproductive freedom, and an economy where billionaires and corporations finally pay their fair share,” Jackson said Monday during a Our Revolution virtual town hall, as he pointed to Platner supporters.

Shenna Bellows

Bellows, Maine’s Secretary of State, came in fourth place in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

“Flipping the Senate in November is crucial. I’m running to pass Medicare for all, fight for workers’ rights, and protect our neighbors,” Bellows said in a social media post.

If she wins the nomination, this will be the second time Bellows will face off against Collins. The senator topped Bellows by a more than two-to-one margin in the 2014 Senate election in Maine.

Jordan Wood

Wood is a former congressional staffer for Katie Porter who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination this year in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a crucial swing seat.

Wood originally launched a Senate campaign last year, but pivoted to the House race when Democratic Rep. Jared Golden announced he wouldn’t seek re-election.

“This campaign belongs to the Mainers who built it: the volunteers, small-dollar donors, and neighbors who filled town halls in every corner of the state. We refuse every dime of corporate PAC, AIPAC, and lobbyist money, because a movement funded by the people answers only to the people,” Wood said on social media.

David Costello

This is Costello’s second run this year for the Senate nomination.

He finished with 8% of the vote in the June primary, coming in third behind Platner and Gov. Janet Mills, who had already suspended her campaign but her name remained on the ballot.

A former Maryland Department of the Environment deputy secretary, Costello was the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine in the 2024 election, coming in a distant third to incumbent independent Sen. Angus King.

Dan Kleban

A co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, Kleban briefly ran for the Democratic Senate nomination before dropping out and endorsing Mills.

“I fully support an open, transparent process to earn the trust of our delegates, unite our party, and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban wrote as he announced his filing on Tuesday.

Paige Loud

Loud is a social worker who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd congressional district.

“The grassroots movement in Maine is more powerful than ever, and we cannot afford to lose that momentum. This has always been about building a future where every Mainer has a voice and a seat at the table,” Loud wrote as she launched her Senate bid.

Elizabeth Dickerson

Dickerson’s LinkedIn page indicates she served as a state representative from 2012 through 2014, resigning from the Legislature and working as a teacher in Colorado from 2016 to 2020 before moving back to Maine.

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“I believe in a world where everyone belongs, but the disparity between the rich and the poor keeps growing. I believe that with power, responsibility should follow,” Dickerson wrote in explaining her Senate bid.

Following the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham, to fill his seat for the remainder of his term, continuing a legacy of family members stepping in to take the reins of power from their kin.

When Darline is sworn in Tuesday afternoon, she will become the latest example of a U.S. lawmaker sliding into a seat vacated by a deceased family member.

Rep. Julia Letlow

Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., is a favorite of President Donald Trump and has his backing in her ongoing campaign to represent Louisiana in the U.S. Senate.

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Her political career began years ago when Julia’s husband, Luke Letlow, died from COVID-19 complications in December 2020, just over a month after residents of Louisiana’s 5th district had voted him in as their congressman.

Though Luke Letlow was never sworn into office, his widow picked up the torch, running in and winning the 2021 special election to fill the House seat.

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Rep. Adelita Grijalva

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was also thrust into the halls of Congress after tragedy struck her loved one.

Grijalva’s father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died of lung cancer in March 2025. Raúl had already announced that he would not be seeking re-election after a 22-year stint in Congress.

Six months later, Adelita Grijalva won a special election for her father’s seat, defeating Republican candidate Daniel Butierez Sr. by more than 40,000 votes, according to results published by the Arizona secretary of state.

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Though Democrats cried foul when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., initially delayed her swearing in, she officially became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 12, 2025.

Erica Lee Carter

Former Rep. Erica Lee Carter, D-Texas, also ascended into Congress as the result of a parent’s death.

Carter’s mother, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, was a progressive stalwart as the representative from Texas’ 18th Congressional District, which includes parts of Houston, from 1995 until her 2024 death.

Though Jackson Lee won the Democratic primary for the 2024 election in March 2024, she died of pancreatic cancer just four months later.

The Democratic Party, including Erica Lee Carter, initially rallied around former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to replace Jackson Lee in a November special election. But shortly after endorsing Turner, Lee Carter changed her mind and decided to run to complete her mother’s term. Turner dropped out, and Lee Carter won the election by nearly 100,000 votes, according to results published by the Texas secretary of state.

Lee Carter chose not to run for re-election, finishing her mother’s term in January 2025 and choosing to cede the party’s nomination for the seat to Turner.

Though Turner won the seat and was sworn in Jan. 3, 2025, he served for two months, dying of bone cancer in March.

Mary Bono

Arguably the most famous example of a spouse stepping in for a deceased partner is the tale of Sonny Bono, who for years toured the U.S. with his then-wife, pop icon Cher, as one half of the iconic musical duo Sonny and Cher.

Bono and Cher would eventually divorce and, after marrying and divorcing a third wife, Bono wed his fourth and final spouse, Mary Whitaker, in 1986.

Sonny ran for U.S. Congress as a Republican in 1994, winning a seat as the representative for California’s 44th district.

But when Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998, his wife, then known as Mary Bono, ran in a special election to fill his seat. Mary Bono ended up serving 15 years in Congress, losing her seat to Democratic challenger Raul Ruiz in 2013 after her district was redrawn.

Donald Payne Jr.

In New Jersey, former Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., replaced his father, former Rep. Donald Payne Sr., D-N.J., in Congress.

Payne Sr. had represented New Jersey’s 10th district for 23 years, a tenure that was cut short when he succumbed to a fight with colon cancer in March 2012.

Donald Payne Jr. ran in the special election to replace his father and won.

Darline Graham

McMaster’s decision to tap Darline Graham to replace her brother will make her the first female U.S. senator in South Carolina history.

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When their parents died in 1976 and 1977, Lindsey became his sister’s legal guardian. Accepting McMaster’s nomination for her to replace her brother, Darline vowed to return the favor of his lifetime of taking care of her.

“Lindsey has always been there for me. And, now, I will be there for him,” she told a crowd at South Carolina’s statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, Monday.

A Cuban national convicted of hijacking an airplane in the wake of 9/11 has been ordered released in Florida despite a standing order for his removal from the U.S.

Maikel Guerra Morales and several others assaulted a flight crew and hijacked a Cuban commuter airplane in 2003 and forced it to fly more than 100 miles north to Monroe County, Florida, where it eventually landed at Key West International Airport.

Morales was arrested that evening after U.S. Air Force jets scrambled from Homestead to intercept the plane, which originally took off from Nuevo Gerona on Cuba’s Isle of Youth.

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Since then, he has been in U.S. custody, including for a 22-year sentence for “aircraft piracy.”

A federal immigration judge issued an order of removal against Morales in 2023, and he ultimately was transferred to ICE custody after completing his prison sentence in 2025.

But, Clinton-appointed Judge John Steele in Fort Myers ruled last week that Morales must be released, citing a Supreme Court ruling involving foreign nationals languishing in custody with no country to take them back.

DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called Morales’ case “yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our country.”

“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the detention and removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country,” Bis said in a statement.

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Steele wrote that federal officials indicated their intention to deport him to Mexico, but instead found that there is no evidence of a “a significant likelihood that Guerra Morales will be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

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“Therefore, he is entitled to release from detention under ‘Zadvydas’, but he remains subject to the terms of an order of supervision,” Steele wrote – relying on the case of Kestutis Zadvydas, an ethnic Lithuanian lawful permanent U.S. resident born in a German displaced-persons camp who had been ordered deported in 1994 due to a criminal record but had no receptive country to return to.

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An Associated Press report following the hijackers’ 2003 arrests in Key West said Cuban officials demanded the U.S. return the plane and all occupants, including those charged with piracy. Morales and the other suspects claimed at the time they hijacked the plane “for freedom.”

Several key groups are coming to the support of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he navigates Senate confirmation to officially become the successor to Pam Bondi, according to the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Support cited by Grassley’s office includes 670,000 sworn officers, 300 angel families, families who lost a loved one to crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and 100 bipartisan U.S. attorneys and DOJ officials.

The office highlighted a statement from 23 attorneys general, among other outpourings of support.

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“At a time when Americans expect their government to protect communities from violent crime, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and organized criminal activity, Todd Blanche has shown the ability to deliver real results. His record reflects a commitment to public safety, vigorous enforcement of federal law and effective stewardship of the Department of Justice… we urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Todd Blanche as United States Attorney General,” the statement said.

Support received by Grassley highlighted Blanche’s work as acting attorney general and, in particular, his aggressive stance toward enforcement.

Blanche took over the Department of Justice after Bondi left the role in April.

President Donald Trump dismissed her after what many critics saw as a botched handling of the Epstein Files, overpromising transparency on who may have facilitated the sex trafficking crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and then underdelivering.

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Since taking the role, Blanche has steered the DOJ away from the Epstein controversy and refocused messaging on domestic security. Soon after taking command, he created a National Fraud Enforcement Division and highlighted reductions in violent crime, drug seizures, immigration enforcement and prosecution of gangs and cartels.

Now that Trump has officially tapped him to become the next attorney general, The American Border Story (TABS), which represents Angel Families, said Blanche is key to continuing that work.

“At a time when the Department of Justice must confront violent crime, illegal immigration, human trafficking, child exploitation, cartels, MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and other transnational threats, the country needs clear leadership and sustained operational focus… TABS respectfully urges the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to give full and fair consideration to Todd Blanche’s nomination and to advance his confirmation as Attorney General of the United States,” TABS said in a statement.

The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) echoed that reasoning in a statement of its own.

“We believe Mr. Blanche’s leadership will help ensure that the Department of Justice remains focused on public safety, the rule of law, and providing unwavering support for the law enforcement professionals who risk their lives daily to protect our families and communities… On behalf of the more than 382,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, we commend President Trump on his nomination of Todd W. Blanche to lead the Justice Department and urge the committee to favorably report his nomination.”

Another group of 78 former DOJ officials praised Blanche for steering the department back toward law enforcement and staying away from politically charged controversy.

“Todd Blanche understands that the Department’s mission is to deliver justice — not to serve political interests or entrenched bureaucracies,” the group said.

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“He has shown the courage and institutional knowledge to restore focus on public safety, law enforcement support, and the rule of law… We firmly believe the Department of Justice and the nation will benefit from his continued leadership at the helm. We urge [the Senate] in the strongest terms to confirm Todd W. Blanche as the next Attorney General of the United States without delay.”

Blanche is expected to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, and outside witnesses will testify Thursday.

Newly minted Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., represents a series of firsts for the Senate and for her home state.

Graham, who was sworn in on Tuesday, is the first female senator from the Palmetto State, the first sister ever appointed to the upper chamber and the first person to fill the colossal gap left behind by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

“Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” Darline Graham said during her appointment ceremony. “My brother was the most amazing person, outstanding leader and just a genuinely good man.”

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Though she’s never held elected office, she has had front-row seats to her brother’s work, appearing with him on the campaign trail and during his own swearing-in ceremonies.

“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she continued.

Years ago, when her brother was running for president, he was asked by C-SPAN whether, if he made it to the White House, his sister would get a role in the administration.

“If she took a role, she would be a great representative of our country. I can’t think of a better person to represent our country in an event than my sister,” Lindsey Graham said in 2015.

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Her sudden ascension to the Senate and subsequent swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday in the old Senate chamber just a few yards from the Senate floor capped a fast-moving first chapter in replacing her brother, whose shocking death sent shock waves through Washington, D.C., and beyond.

Darline Graham was appointed to fulfill the remainder of her brother’s term Monday by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. President Donald Trump recommended she get the position, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., spoke with her several times before appearing alongside her in Columbia, South Carolina.

“Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed. It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now,” McMaster said.

She is expected to act as a caretaker for the seat, finishing off the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s term through January, when a new face will take over as the junior senator for South Carolina.

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Meanwhile, the public and private battle for the special election to replace Lindsey Graham as the GOP nominee in South Carolina is in full swing. So far, both Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., have shown interest in jumping into the race, which is scheduled for Aug. 11.

Trump has not yet said who he would endorse in the contest but did show interest in Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., who he backed in his first run for the House in 2022 when he toppled former Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach him in his first term.

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And in the immediate future, Republicans will have to figure out replacements for Lindsey Graham on the several committees he sat on.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the conference was still “working through” that task.

“Obviously, his sister will be sworn in today, and then we’ll figure out which of his committees she wants to stay on, and then we’ll go from there,” Thune said.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., asked two university medical leaders in a tense hearing Tuesday to directly answer whether non-biological women can have babies and didn’t receive a straight answer, prompting a fiery statement from the congresswoman to Fox News Digital.

“Doctor (Sam) Hawgood, you see UCSFs Classroom Guide, titled ‘Framework for Gender and Sex Concepts in Teaching,’ advises against using the term pregnant women,” Miller told the chancellor of the University of California San Francisco in an Education and Workforce Committee hearing on DEI’s impact in medical schools.

“Instead, it says to use pregnant people. Who are pregnant people compared to pregnant women? Just curious.”

Hawgood responded by saying that terminology is “part of a curriculum to help our students who are facing a wide diversity of patients before saying the “vast majority of pregnancies are in women” and that he has “absolutely no problem with the term pregnant women.”

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“Has a non-biological woman ever had a baby?” Miller asked, and Hawgood responded that a “transgender person can.”

“That’s not a biological woman. Has a non-biological woman ever had a baby?” Miller shot back.

Hawgood responded, “I would reiterate” before Miller interrupted saying, “It’s ridiculous.”

“Lastly, Dr. Dubinett, a required course at UCLA medical school advises ob-gyn students not to, and, I quote, assume gender identity,” Miller told Dr. Steve Dubinett, dean of UCLA School of Medicine.

“OK, from another class in May of 2026. It included a disclaimer that while it uses the term she and women, it does not intend to exclude, and I quote, ‘those who have a uterus but do not identify with these terms.’ What does that even mean?”

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The dean responded, “I’m not familiar with that announcement that I’d have to read the entire thing.”

Miller pressed Dubinett and asked, “Can someone have a uterus but not be a woman? Because it seems like your school is promoting that ridiculous idea?”

Dubinett did not directly answer the question but said that the school is “treating transgender people,” but “we’re doing that in compliance with state and federal law.”

Miller pressed again, asking Dubinett if the school teaches biology, to which Dubinett answered, “Yes we do.”

“This is curious,” Miller responded. “So, I’m going to ask you again, can someone have a uterus and not be a woman? Just say yes or no. Can they?”

“Again, I would,” Dubinett said before being interrupted by the committee chair as Miller’s time expired.

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“That’s what your medical school is promoting,” Miller said. “Chairman, it’s clear these medical schools are hiding DEI curriculum under the guise of medical access.”

Miller, in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital after the hearing, said, “It shouldn’t take a medical degree to answer a basic biology question. This hearing exposed that our medical schools have become consumed by political ideology that they’re losing sight of reality. Patients just want doctors grounded in common sense. Medical schools that abandon scientific truth should lose their accreditation.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Hawgood and Dubinett for comment.

The House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing, “Training Activists, Not Physicians: The Impact of DEI on Medical Schools.” The hearing focused on whether diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at medical schools, including the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, San Francisco; and the University of Illinois, have shaped admissions policies, contributed to antisemitism and influenced medical school curricula.

Senate Democrats drew a rare line in the sand against a yearly, must-pass defense package in an act of rebellion against President Donald Trump.

Democrats blocked a procedural hurdle for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a perennial bill that opens up funding for the Pentagon and military. Many were already frustrated by the overall funding target of the package and pushed over the edge by the renewal of the Iran war.

“It’s very disappointing,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital.

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“It’s about supporting our troops, supporting our military, and it’s disappointing when Democrats play games with that,” he continued.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged on the Senate floor that Republicans wanted the upper chamber to take up the bill “as though none of this is happening.”

“The president is waging an unauthorized war, defying bipartisan majorities in Congress, refusing to level with the American people at the cost of the mission or the endgame,” Schumer said. “The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.”

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Early signs of trouble for this year’s NDAA first appeared during the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote to advance the legislation. The majority of Democrats, nine out of 13 on the panel, voted against it.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was one of the “no” votes, something he acknowledged was a rare move.

He said guardrails needed to be added to Trump’s war authorities in Iran and a deeper explanation provided of where exactly the staggering $1.15 trillion authorized by the bill would come from.

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“The Iran war issue is, I think, one of the major issues about the NDAA, but it’s not the only issue,” Kaine said. “The absence of knowing where this money is coming from to do this dramatic top-line increase? That still has to get resolved.”

Republicans, however, contended that taking the first step on the bill would allow for an amendment process to modify it.

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Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who also sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital, “It’s pretty frustrating, people need to come together and act in the best interest of the country.”

“We have to, you know, we have to have a strong military,” Scott said. “Whether we like it or not, people decide to be our enemies. They want to destroy us. So I think we ought to, you know, get on the bill and if we need to do amendments, let’s start amending it.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett told the House Appropriations Committee the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children.

“They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” Barrett testified Tuesday.

Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was.

“And I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” Barrett told the committee.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019

Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices.

Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family’s lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify.

In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police.

AMY CONEY BARRETT DRAWS BACKLASH FROM CONSERVATIVE CRITICS WHO WANT HER TO BE A TRUMP PARTISAN

“I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said.

She also shared that her and other justices are receiving anonymous packages being sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in 2020.

The gunman was an attorney posing as a delivery driver. Judge Salas was his target. Salas’ husband was seriously injured as well.

MORNING GLORY: THE SUPREME COURT OFFICIALLY CLOSES THE BOOKS ON ANOTHER TERM

“I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear,” Barrett said. “As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high.”

The testimony underscored the urgency behind the Supreme Court’s push for more security funding during its first appearance before Congress since 2019.

In total, the Supreme Court is requesting roughly $89 million to cover personal security costs, which Kagan said is necessary given that the justices have experienced a 35% increase in threats just in 2026, compared to a 25% increase in threats the year prior. Kagan noted how recent growth in the budget can be entirely attributed to security expenses.

“For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” Kagan testified.

She recalled that when she arrived at the Supreme Court in 2010, justices did not receive around-the-clock personal protection. Instead, the court’s police primarily guarded the building, and she only had security accompanying her during work-related public events.

But Kagan said the heightened focus on justices’ security began after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. Scalia died while on a hunting trip in Texas, where he was hours away from security personnel after declining a private security detail for the trip.

Kagan recalled that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., went to Chief Justice John Roberts to push them to step up security.

“This was how the chief described it to us — they said, kind of like, ‘We think you’re crazy, you know, that you have less security than the director of the Office of Personnel Management does. And we think that you have to do better.’

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“Then, of course, the Dobbs leak happened, and that really increased the urgency of the entire thing,” Kagan said. “But we’ve been working on this now for about a decade and actually, I think, are grateful to Congress for coming to us and saying, ‘You have to up your game in this area.'”

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s disclosure of new details about the medical issues that have kept him away from the Senate has sparked fresh scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questioning whether his prolonged absence is “legal at this point” even as Republicans insist he’ll return when the Senate needs him.

“How is everyone pretending this is normal?” Ocasio-Cortez said to Fox News Digital. “This is not normal. At all.”

“How is it that we have sitting elected members of Congress going missing for months at a time?”

MITCH MCCONNELL BREAKS SILENCE ON MYSTERY HOSPITALIZATION AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH

The Kentucky senator broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. He posted to social media claiming that his childhood fight with polio contributed to the fall that left him “briefly unconscious” and hospitalized last month, and then was hit with a “mild case of pneumonia” in the midst of his recovery.

“Leader McConnell is tough as nails,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. “This guy survived polio. For days on end, he went through therapy. People have no idea how tough he is. “

McConnell’s silence fueled online speculation about his condition, with unsubstantiated rumors ranging from cardiac arrest to claims that he had died.

“When you’re not very forthcoming with a lot of information, whether it’s personal or professional information, you do leave the conclusion up to conspiracy theorists,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said. “And people’s imagination is far greater than reality almost every time.”

Even after McConnell released his statement on his medical absence, including a photo of him with his wife in the hospital, rumors circulated about the senator, claiming he could be in a vegetative state.

MCCONNELL FACES FRESH CALLS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES

The statement also did not address specifically when McConnell would return to the Senate, only stating that he would not “be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.”

But Republican senators seemed confident that McConnell would return to the Senate floor for key votes, with Cramer even claiming GOP leaders have been in “regular” contact with him throughout his absence.

“Enough of our leadership have regular conversations with him for me to be comfortable,” Cramer said.

“I don’t have any doubt if there was a vote for a Supreme Court justice tomorrow that he’d find a way to be here for that,” Marshall said. “I think he’ll be here when we need him, and I just would never count him out. He’ll be back.”

McConnell, 84, is set to retire next year at the end of his term, but has promised he will be “finishing the job” he was elected to do until then.

“I think that Mitch McConnell has always been exactly who he is right now,” Cramer said.

HOUSE DEM URGES TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS AFTER GOP COLLEAGUE REVEALS REASON FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE

“He’s not the most transparent person in the world. He thinks strategically, tactically. He thinks about what serves the institution best — what serves his political ambitions and his political priorities.”

Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital that while medical emergencies can often be inevitable, she believes there needs to be some regulations pertaining to the length of absences, as well as potentially some legislation passed to prevent lawmakers from being able to be absent for long periods.

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“Listen, things do happen,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “People get into medical incidents. If you’re in the hospital, you’re in the hospital. But I do think that there should be some sort of… there’s a line here. And I think almost everyone can agree that it’s been crossed.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) America Act would make it harder for Democrats to win elections, prompting Republicans to argue she had finally said “the quiet part out loud” about Democrats’ opposition to stricter election laws.

Slotkin made the remarks in a video recently unearthed by Breitbart News that was recorded the day after the Senate narrowly rejected the SAVE America Act in June. The bill failed 50-48 after four Republicans joined Democrats in voting against it.

The SAVE America Act has become one of the biggest legislative fights in Congress, and President Donald Trump has made its passage his top priority. Trump refused to sign a housing bill Friday to protest Congress’ failure to pass the SAVE America Act.

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

During a June 6 address to Indiana’s state Democratic Party, Slotkin celebrated the Senate’s rejection of the SAVE America Act, in which she claimed the bill would allow the Trump administration to “rig our democracy.”

“It would be hard for any Democrat in any state to win any election,” Slotkin said of the SAVE America Act.

Slotkin did not explain how the legislation would hurt Democratic politicians.

The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections and mandates that states take additional steps to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.

Trump argued for months that Democrats opposed the SAVE America Act because it would make it harder to “cheat” in elections, claiming the party benefits politically from weak voter verification measures and the votes of people who are not eligible to vote.

During his Feb. 24 State of the Union address, Trump urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, arguing Democrats oppose voter ID because “the only way they can get elected is to cheat.”

TRUMP UNLOADS AFTER SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LATE MAIL-IN BALLOTS IN MISSISSIPPI

“And the reason they don’t want to do it — why would anybody not want voter ID? One reason: Because they want to cheat. There’s only one reason. They make up all excuses,” Trump said. 

“They say, ‘It’s racist.’ They come up with things — you almost say, ‘What imagination they have.’ They want to cheat, they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat, and we’re going to stop it.”

But the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a nonprofit election policy group that describes itself as nonpartisan, has found that voter registration of noncitizens is rare.

“When investigations do turn up rare instances of improper registration or voting, officials take swift action to ensure that American elections remain secure,” according to the Center for Election Innovation & Research.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S ELECTION ORDER AS SAVE AMERICA ACT FIGHT INTENSIFIES

Slotkin also alleged that the SAVE America Act would make it more difficult for married women to vote, saying a woman would have to show her birth certificate at the polls.

Critics of the bill argue the requirement could create additional hurdles for some married women who changed their last names after marriage because the name on their birth certificate may not match their current identification. In those cases, voters may need to provide additional documentation, such as a marriage certificate.

Republican congressional members slammed Slotkin.

“Democrats are saying the quiet part out loud,” Rep. Tony Wied wrote on X Tuesday. “They know they can’t win on their own merit.”

“This talking point from the Left is not only false, but it also paints women as incapable, which we all know is not the case,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also wrote on X Tuesday. “Showing up to the polls to vote with an ID that proves you’re an American citizen – whether you’re married or not – is common sense. We need to pass the SAVE America Act.”

“By that same logic, no married woman in America could fill out an I-9 form — which every American must do when starting a new job,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X on Tuesday. “This is absurd. And it highlights why we need to pass the SAVE America Act.”

Slotkin’s office referred Fox News Digital to a June video of Slotkin in which the Michigan Democrat said Trump told Congress that if Republicans lose the 2026 midterms, the election was “rigged.”

“In the State of the Union, while we were all sitting on the House floor, he said again that if his side doesn’t win in November 2026, the election was rigged,” Slotkin said in the video, referring to Trump.

A Fox News Digital review of Trump’s State of the Union address found Trump did not make that statement. Instead, Trump argued Democrats “want to cheat” and that “the only way they can get elected is to cheat.” He also said Republicans could face impeachment if they lose the midterms.

“They want to cheat, they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,” he said. “And we’re going to stop it.”

In the video, Slotkin also accused Trump of trying to federalize elections, pointing to an unsigned draft executive order drafted after the 2020 election that proposed using the National Guard to seize voting machines. The order was never signed or carried out.

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The White House dismissed Slotkin’s claims about SAVE America hurting Democrats.

“If securing America’s elections — through commonsense methods like voter ID and proof of citizenship — will make it impossible for Democrats to win elections, perhaps they should reconsider the methods they’re using to ‘win,’” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

During four terms in Congress, South Dakota’s Dusty Johnson has emerged as a leading voice on American agricultural policy, U.S.-China relations and fiscal responsibility. 

Often known as the “problem solver,” he recently sat down with Fox News Digital at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to discuss his congressional career, his South Dakota gubernatorial bid and his future plans as his time in the U.S. House draws to a close.

Long respected for his detailed analysis of China policy, Johnson believes the United States is routinely underestimating the geopolitical and economic threat posed by Beijing.

REP. DUSTY JOHNSON INTRODUCES GET AMERICANS BACK TO WORK ACT

“I think the biggest mistake is that we’re basically sleepwalking through this competition. I mean, every day the leaders of China get up, and they try to figure out how to beat America, how to destabilize our country, how to get an advantage. 

“And we’re, frankly, in this country spending more time fighting one another than we are trying to think about how to compete with the Chinese Communist Party.”

Johnson is the former leader of the Republican Main Street Caucus, a group of center-right Republicans focused on commonsense governance and pragmatism. He has approached his career aspiring to break the famed Washington gridlock.

However, recently Johnson lamented that “it’s a tough time to be normal,” observing that the loudest and angriest voices seem to be increasingly dominating the national conversation.

“Well … looking a little further than the New York primaries last week, where just an insane bunch of really out there democratic socialists beat some pretty liberal but still kind of mainstream American political thought Democrats, I just think you see that happening in both parties. 

“Primary turnout is rarely great. Those who do turn out are generally the most interested in purity rather than in progress. And, so, when you’re trying to swim upstream, when you are trying to deliver a message of nuance and thoughtfulness, that sometimes doesn’t go over as well as just saying, ‘Let’s go fight.'”

Even as the GOP has controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress on several occasions over the past generation, it has been perennially unable to tackle the problem of balancing budgets and reducing the national debt.

Johnson argues that only a bipartisan approach has hope of offering a solution.

“Well, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die,” he said. “I’ve certainly rolled out a number of plans that would have some pretty substantial reforms to our entitlement programs. I’m not looking to take away grandma’s Social Security or Medicare. But we simply are not going to restore solvency to those programs with a status quo approach. 

“And, unfortunately, candidate Harris, candidate Biden, candidate Trump … they damn near swore on a stack of Bibles that they were not going to touch Social Security or Medicare. That approach guarantees failure. 

“The other thing we have to acknowledge is one party’s not going to get this done. And I know that’s hard for Republicans to hear because so many Republican office holders have sold the American people a bill of goods that this can be done with one party alone. It cannot. 

“The last time we made much-needed reform to Social Security in 1983, it took Democratic Speaker Tip O’Neill and Republican President Ronald Reagan to get it done. If we do not start thinking about avoiding fiscal calamity as a bipartisan problem, we will fail.”

Johnson entered the 2026 South Dakota GOP gubernatorial primary as the frontrunner but ended up placing third in a tight race behind real estate executive Toby Doeden and incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden.

He acknowledges that a congressional pedigree, once seen as a boost in a bid for a higher office, now appears to be something of an albatross.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR SURVIVES CROWDED PRIMARY — FOR NOW

“Well, I think an absolute onslaught of negative ads the last three or four weeks against me, they really worked. Told people I was a career politician, that I was a RINO, that I was a liberal, and we saw in the polling that that was resonating. Those ads worked so well because they tapped into kind of the spirit of the times. 

“I have 13 of my colleagues in Congress who have lost their races for governor or senator. Normally, running as a House member, that gives you a bit of an advantage if you’re running for a different office. That’s no longer the case. People are fed up with Washington, D.C. And that clearly is a drag on my many colleagues like me who’ve lost their races.”

Despite the outcome of the crowded primary, Johnson looks to his future plans with optimism, not bitterness, and pledges that his work is not yet finished, citing previous success in the business and non-profit sectors.

“Well, I don’t know yet. Of course, I’ve got to spend most of my time focused on my day job, which is being South Dakota’s only voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. I’ll do that until January, but listen, I know you can lead a life of consequence. 

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“You can make a better society in business. I’ve done that before. In the nonprofit sector, in lesser elected office or government office. So, I don’t really know yet, but I do know that I’m surely not ready to retire. I’m 50, but I feel like a real young 50, and I’m still filled with plenty of piss and vinegar. Let’s go get it done.”

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into President Donald Trump swept up text messages from nearly 50 members of Congress, bypassing a required review process in what one victim alleged is a direct Constitutional violation.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the situation is more proof Smith’s probe was a “runaway train” of abuses of power, as the elder statesman and Senate Investigations Subcommittee chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., jointly released their filings Tuesday evening.

Grassley and Johnson’s findings come amid a full-scale probe of Operation Arctic Frost – the codename for Smith’s endeavor to investigate Trump for alleged corruption and election malfeasance – an operation top Senate Republicans call “worse than Watergate.”

LEGAL WAR ON TRUMP’S AGENDA GAINS FIREPOWER AS FEDERAL LAWYERS DEFECT TO DEMOCRATS

Forty-four members of Congress had the contents of their text messages obtained and reviewed by the Smith’s team, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden  in a way that bypassed protocol. A “filter team” was tasked with reviewing millions of documents in the case and should have had first crack at determining whether such messages were relevant or potentially violated statute or ethics.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., one of the lawmakers whose texts were swept up in this way, said Tuesday such texts being reviewed amounted to clear violations of the Constitution’s Speech & Debate Clause – which protects lawmakers from being questioned in “any other place” than the Capitol for legislative acts.

Internal communications have been historically included in that clause in the courts, as technology has advanced.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019

Stefanik said in a statement that the new records prove Smith’s team “unlawfully and unconstitutionally accessed my private text messages, along with 43 other Members of Congress, in clear violation of the Constitution.”

She said she long-suspected there had been “unconstitutional spy[ing] on members of Congress.”

The records were provided by the Trump Justice Department to Grassley and Johnson, which the chairmen said indicated Smith’s team had “circumvented its own filter review process.” The process is additionally meant to protect attorney-client privilege, they said in a statement.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE TORCHES TRUMP ADMIN IN LATEST COURTROOM SHOWDOWN, REFERS ATTORNEY FOR BAR REVIEW

The news also complicated some of Smith’s prior depositions under oath, including an excerpt in which he answered “no” to a question from a congressional counsel as to whether records he requested from congresspeople included text messages.

Johnson called the situation a “grotesque example” of Biden-era “weaponization” of the executive branch.

“Jack Smith’s criminal investigation of President Trump was a runaway train that had no brakes,” Grassley added Tuesday.

“Based on the information that’s been produced to me and Senator Johnson, Biden DOJ and FBI investigators apparently ignored their own routine investigative protocols to obtain and review work-related messages from me and dozens of my Republican and Democrat colleagues who were outside the scope of the government’s investigation.”

Grassley added that he hopes Democrats caught up in the otherwise bipartisan text tranche will finally discard their partisanship and recognize the severity of the alleged violations by Smith.

He also indicated he planned to recall Smith before Congress to “hold him accountable.”

Of the 44 members swept up in the text reviews, several were Democrats, including now-Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, as well as Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee – Rep. Adam Smith of Washington.

Grassley, Johnson and Stefanik were also swept up in the situation, along with top figures like Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Rand Paul, R-Ky., former Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and the late Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

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Former House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., was one of the victims, along with current House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as well as House Freedom Caucus member Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, now-EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin of New York, now-Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins of Georgia, and prominent Trump critic Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

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Several lawmakers sounded off on the news soon after Grassley announced his findings, including Hawley – who called for “everyone involved [to] be prosecuted.”

“Joe Biden’s DOJ not only tapped my phone; I just learned they illegally obtained my texts with members of President Trump’s administration,” the Missourian fumed.

Paul called the allegations a “blatant abuse of power and exactly what our Founders warned about,” while citing Smith’s past denial under oath.

Fox News Digital reached out to a representative for Smith for comment.

A bipartisan effort to make Daylight Saving Time permanent is one step closer to becoming law after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure on Tuesday.

Lawmakers voted 308-117 to pass the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to voluntarily observe Daylight Saving Time year-round as a growing mass of lawmakers push to extend daylight into the evening hours.

“For decades, we have accepted this ritual of springing forward and falling back, even though it disrupts routines, throws off our sleep, and creates unnecessary frustration for families across the country,” Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., said Tuesday, detailing how the clock changes have disrupted her infant son’s sleep schedule.

“Let’s stop asking Americans to reset their clocks every March and November,” she continued. “Let’s provide some certainty and consistency, and a little more sunshine at the end of the day.”

TRUMP-BACKED DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME BILL CLEARS KEY HOUSE HURDLE

The legislation divided lawmakers in both parties, with members largely from coastal areas, such as Louisiana, Florida and New Jersey, supporting permanent Daylight Saving Time and others from the Midwest and agriculture-heavy states opposing it.

Democrats were nearly evenly split, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., voting “no.” Just 22 Republicans voted in opposition, including Reps. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., Rick Crawford, R-Ark., Ryan Zinke, R-Montana, and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo. 

The measure now heads to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain amid skepticism from members of both parties. President Donald Trump, who has long called for ending the twice-a-year clock changes, is expected to sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

The White House urged lawmakers to support the Sunshine Protection Act in an internal memo sent to Hill offices Tuesday, calling it a “popular, common-sense reform.” 

Nearly every state follows the practice of setting clocks forward one hour in March to preserve more evening daylight before “falling back” one hour in November.

But nearly 20 states have already approved legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent if Congress authorizes the practice. Hawaii and most of Arizona, however, do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Proponents argued the legislation, authored by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., was necessary to end disruptions caused by switching clocks, including to children’s routines and road safety, while arguing longer daylight would boost tourism and outdoor recreation.

“More evening sunshine means more time with family and more time to enjoy our local restaurants, shops, and everything Florida has to offer,” Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., wrote on social media. “It’s common sense. Let’s get it done.”

Some lawmakers, however, argue that year-round Daylight Saving Time would delay winter sunrises until after 9 a.m. in some parts of the country, raising safety concerns about darker morning commutes and economic challenges for farmers who would likely have to start work later.

SLEEP DOCTOR REVEALS THE BRUTAL HEALTH DOWNSIDE OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Detractors have also stated that permanent standard time — meaning more light in the mornings — better aligns with circadian rhythms.

“If we’re going to make a permanent change that affects every American, we should follow the science and prioritize Americans’ health, particularly that of the children,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., who favors permanent standard time, said during debate Monday.

Scanlon also pointed to the nation’s brief experiment with year-round Daylight Saving Time in 1974, which Congress reversed after widespread public backlash.

Tuesday’s vote comes as the semiannual clock change remains widely unpopular with Americans, according to recent polling.

An AP-NORC survey released in December found that just 12% of Americans favor the current daylight saving time system, with nearly half opposed. Another 40% of respondents had no opinion.

The survey also found that more Americans support having Daylight Saving Time year-round compared to standard time by a 14-point margin.

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The Senate previously passed year-round Daylight Saving Time legislation in 2022, but the measure failed to clear the House.

President Donald Trump resurfaced decades-old comments on Iran Tuesday, sharing a 1980 interview clip in which he argued America needed to project strength during the hostage crisis.

“When you get the respect of the other countries, then the other countries tend to do a little bit as you do … and then you create the right attitudes,” Trump said in the resurfaced clip during an interview with reporter Rona Barrett about the Iranian hostage crisis.

When asked during the interview whether the U.S. should send troops into Iran during the hostage crisis, the then-real estate mogul didn’t hesitate.

“I absolutely feel that, yes,” Trump responded. “I don’t think there’s any question.”

TRUMP SAYS HE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS TO ‘BOMB’ IRAN ‘AT LEVELS’ NEVER SEEN IF HE IS ASSASSINATED

The clip has been circulating on social media amid escalating tensions with Iran after the U.S. resumed strikes following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement . Trump reposted the video on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Trump was discussing the Iran Hostage Crisis, during which Iranian militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

“The Iranian situation is case in point that they hold our hostages is just absolutely and totally ridiculous that this country sits back and allows a country such as Iran to hold our hostages, to my way of thinking is a horror,” he added.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN CEASEFIRE IS ‘OVER’ AFTER IRANIAN ATTACKS TRIGGER MASSIVE US RESPONSE

After lengthy negotiations over a memorandum of understanding with Iran collapsed, the U.S. resumed military operations against Iranian targets. CENTCOM said U.S. forces would resume blocking maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports Tuesday afternoon.

“Long before he was elected, President Trump has been remarkably consistent in his belief that Iran – a nation that chants ‘Death to America’ – can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital. “The United States and our allies are already safer for President Trump’s bold actions to obliterate Iran’s nuclear facilities in Operation Midnight Hammer and decimate their military in Operation Epic Fury. The successful Trump policy is defined by American strength – and President Trump will always unapologetically advance America’s interests.”

Trump said Monday that Tehran’s military capabilities have been badly weakened and warned of continued “major attacks.”

“If we didn’t do it, they would have had a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would no longer be with us. The Middle East probably would no longer be with us,” Trump said.

TRUMP HAS IRAN ON THE ROPES — AND CRITICS STILL DON’T GET HIS EDGE

While answering questions from reporters Monday, Trump said his administration has taken a tougher stance with Iran than previous administrations.

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“This is what they’ve done for 47 years,” Trump said. “The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them.”

He also accused Iran of dragging out negotiations for decades.

House conservatives ended their weeks-long blockade of the House floor Tuesday, handing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a key victory after the rebellion brought legislative business to a standstill for nearly a month.

The House successfully passed a procedural vote 215-211, teeing up votes on an appropriations bill funding the State Department, legislation making daylight saving time permanent and a measure seeking to improve veterans’ benefits.

Johnson also agreed to pair the State Department funding bill with the SAVE America Act, prompting several conservative holdouts to flip their votes after demanding the House increase pressure on the Senate to pass the stalled measure.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., was the lone Republican to oppose the rule, while all Democrats voted “no” during a party-line procedural vote.

The conservatives had blocked all major House legislation since late June in an effort to force GOP leaders to hold floor votes on the Trump-backed SAVE America Act and a sweeping border security bill.

Given House Republicans’ slim majority, Johnson could afford to spare just a handful of GOP defections.

The speaker has been under mounting pressure to get the House moving again and advance a backlog of legislation ahead of the November midterm elections.

GOP leaders are racing to draft the blueprint for a third “big, beautiful bill” in addition to clearing government funding bills before the Sept. 30 deadline and a potential supplemental package covering the price tag of the Iran war.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who was among the GOP rebels who effectively shut down the chamber to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act, agreed to unlock the floor after Johnson proposed pairing the election measure with the State Department appropriations bill.

Johnson sought to attach the SAVE America Act to the House’s version of an annual defense policy bill before the July 4 recess, but Luna continued the blockade anyway.

“If John Thune strips it out in the Senate, that will be on him and the entire country should be watching what he does,” Luna wrote on social media Monday.

TRUMP TAKES UNUSUAL STEP, LETS BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL BECOME LAW UNSIGNED AMID SAVE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN

Thune, who is supportive of the SAVE America Act, has repeatedly insisted that the votes do not exist in the upper chamber to pass the Trump-backed legislation amid unified opposition from Democrats.

That leaves House Republicans with little leverage to force Senate action on the SAVE America Act.

Some of the GOP holdouts had also threatened to oppose the rule unless House Republican leadership agreed to schedule a vote on a border security package.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are advocating for a vote on the Permanent Trump Secure Border Act, which would codify several Trump executive orders targeting illegal immigration, including and end to catch-and-release policies.

“We need to deliver on codifying border security, deal with the birthright citizenship issue,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said. “These are all issues people that I represent care about intently and that we’ve talked about doing, and we need to deliver.”

In a potential sign of trouble for GOP leadership, some holdouts criticized Johnson’s planned legislative goals for the week.

“Making Daylight Saving Time permanent won’t matter at all if we don’t have election integrity,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, wrote on social media Monday, referring to the SAVE America Act. “Priorities.”

Self voted “yes” during the procedural vote.

The GOP rebels’ hardball tactics frustrated many House Republicans, who argued the strategy risked backfiring and paralyzing the conference’s legislative agenda.

“There’s a small group of Republicans who are upset at the Senate, as I think all of us are,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., told Fox News Monday. “But I don’t know how … if you’re upset at the Senate, why do you take it out on the conservative Republican agenda in the House?”

But some conservatives argued the House should do whatever it takes to get the SAVE America Act to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Trump has repeatedly said the election integrity measure is his top legislative priority. He even refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill last week aiming to boost supply and lower costs in protest of the SAVE America Act.

“We shouldn’t vote on anything else unless it has the SAVE [America] Act, period,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Monday.

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“Ideally, the Senate ought to take it up every day and make them vote on it and do a talking filibuster and keep them up all night,” he continued. “That’s the best course of action. I don’t think they’ll do that.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s heart condition was “almost undetectable.”

During a meeting in the Oval Office with newly elected Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Trump answered a question about the South Carolina Republican, who died on Saturday night. A reporter asked about the FBI reportedly being seen at Graham’s home, and FBI Director Kash Patel has stated the bureau is assisting local authorities in the death probe.

“I’ve watched all the medical reports, I’ve had the doctors from the White House come in and explain what happened. And this is something that is almost undetectable and if it happens, there’s not much you can do about it,” Trump said in response to the reporter.

“You can detect it by if you have a very bad back. That’s a sign,” Trump added, saying that Graham would sometimes tell him he “had a bad back.”

MEDICAL EXAMINER RELEASES PRELIMINARY FINDINGS IN LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH AS DEATH CERTIFICATE REMAINS PENDING

“I don’t see a lot of evil there,” Trump said of the circumstances surrounding the senator’s passing. “I don’t I know there’s all sorts of conspiracy theories going along, and I don’t think the FBI, I think the FBI is wasting their time if they’re doing that.”

Graham died in Washington, D.C., one day after returning from Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a new package of sanctions against Russia. A statement released by Graham’s office on Sunday cited preliminary findings from the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, identifying the cause of death as an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease, though the official cause of death remains pending additional testing.

Trump also said multiple times in the Oval Office on Tuesday that Graham’s father died of the same condition, though Politico reported in 2015 that his father actually died of a massive heart attack, which is different than an aortic dissection.

An aortic dissection is a life-threatening medical emergency in which a tear develops in the inner layer of the aorta — the body’s largest artery, according to Mayo Clinic.

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel, who did not treat Graham, told Fox News Digital that it can “come on in minutes or days and may be hard to recognize.”

In an interview with ABC News on Monday, Mehmet Oz, a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, echoed much of what Trump said about how Graham may have died.

Oz, also the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, used a paper towel roll as a prop to demonstrate what an aortic tear is.

NOTABLE FIGURES WHO DIED FROM THE SAME HEART CONDITION LINKED TO LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH

“If the blood pressure is high or there is hardening of the arteries, which happens with age, you will actually tear this tube,” said Oz, as he tore into the cardboard tube inside the paper towel roll.

“And as it tears, the blood, instead of being in the middle of the tube goes into the side of the tube, and there’s no room to go there, so it starts to rip through these layers of the tube until ultimately there’s no blood going where it’s supposed to go,” Oz said.

He continued: “So, you shut off blood to the heart, to the brain, the kidneys, to many parts of the body, and ultimately it just rips out. And when it rips out, it actually compresses the heart and that’s called cardiac tamponade, and it’s probably the reason we lost Sen. Graham.”

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Oz also said that when this happens to a person, there’s not “a lot of time” to medically intervene and save them.

“The heart is pumping six liters a minute, so that’s a lot of blood going in the wrong direction, spurting out of that tube, can take your life in many ways,” Oz said.

Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, was chosen by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to serve out the rest of her brother’s term in the Senate, which ends on Jan. 3, 2027. Darline Graham is scheduled to be sworn in at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

A repeat offender was charged with trespassing at Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s Chicago home over Independence Day weekend, prompting renewed criticism from Republicans and crime-policy critics over the Democrat’s public-safety record.

Dwayne Cortez Milton was arrested on the night of July 4 after he was seen allegedly jumping a fence and entering Pritzker’s backyard. Milton faces a trespassing charge but was released from custody pending trial, ABC 7 Chicago reported. 

Milton was ordered released in the trespassing case, but court documents show he pleaded guilty July 7 in a separate theft case and remains in custody. The suspect was allegedly under electronic monitoring at the time of the trespassing charge and had an extensive criminal history, CWB Chicago reported, citing court records.

Pritzker has been repeatedly criticized for his soft-on-crime policies, including the elimination of cash bail, opposition to mandatory minimum expansions, expanding parole opportunities and sentencing reform. Illinois became the first state to abolish cash bail statewide after Pritzker signed the SAFE-T Act in 2021, following years of Democratic-led criminal justice reform efforts in the state.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CHICAGO COP KILLED AFTER SUSPECT RELEASED UNDER SAFE-T ACT

Opponents to the SAFE-T Act have claimed it makes it harder to keep some repeat offenders detained before trial, while supporters say the law prevents wealth from determining whether defendants remain jailed before a trial.

Critics were quick to react on social media, arguing the incident underscored their concerns about Illinois’ criminal justice policies.

“A 10-time convicted felon slips his electronic monitor. The court isn’t told for days. He’s found in JB Pritzker’s own backyard. How many more warnings does Illinois need before we admit the SAFE-T Act is failing,” wrote GOP Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey on X.

“Sorry to hear that, Governor. No one deserves to have their home violated like that. I hope you will take reforming the SAFE-T Act more seriously now,” wrote Americans for Prosperity IL state director Brian Costin.

“The Governor is a victim of his own soft on crime policy. He has blood on his hands as many convicted felons continue to commit violent crimes daily,” said Illinois Review contributor Mark Weyermuller.

President Donald Trump and Pritzker have repeatedly clashed over its sharply differing approaches to crime as the administration has ramped up their stronger stance deploying National Guard members to back various large cities.

“Governor JB Pritzker should pick up the phone and call me,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the end of June after 39 people were injured and 4 were dead in the Windy City over a weekend.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s office, the Chicago Police Department and the White House for comment.

WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES

Trump and Pritzker’s feud has reached some of its most heated points over the administration’s immigration enforcement policies deporting illegal aliens. 

BIDEN JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP’S SANCTUARY CITIES LAWSUIT, SAYS EVEN A WIN WOULDN’T SOLVE DOJ’S PROBLEM

Pritzker, who is floated as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, has repeatedly defended Illinois’ sanctuary policies and accused ICE agents of targeting “law-abiding” immigrants rather than dangerous criminals.

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“I would like them to take real gang members and violent criminals off our streets — like, I would love it,” he said in October. “But that’s not what they’re doing. They’re just going after Black and Brown people.”

President Donald Trump teased who he may like to see as a long-term replacement for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., as a special election to lock in a candidate for the seat fast approaches.

Private and public jockeying is already underway to snag Trump’s coveted endorsement in the special election, which is slated for Aug. 11, with two lawmakers already expressing interest in launching a campaign.

And as members of the South Carolina GOP congressional delegation and beyond line up for the race, the president hinted that he may already have a favorite: Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C.

GRAHAM ALLY RIPS ‘THIRSTY’ REPUBLICANS JOCKEYING TO REPLACE LATE SENATOR

“I think Russell Fry, a young congressman, is outstanding, and that could happen. I could see that happening,” Trump told Newsmax on Monday night. “I think he’s a very, very talented person.”

Trump backed Fry in his first bid for Congress in 2022, where he toppled former Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., in the primary. Rice was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.

‘THE HALLS OF THE SENATE ALREADY FEEL EMPTY’: TEARFUL THUNE HONORS LINDSEY GRAHAM AS SISTER TAKES HIS SEAT

“He took the place of somebody that was — I mean, he’s doing much better than the person that preceded him,” Trump said. “He’s been very popular in the state, so I think a name like Russell Fry is somebody you can watch out for and there are probably some others.”

Trump’s comments on Fry come after Politico reported that the lawmaker has been communicating with the White House about a run and was viewed as a top contender for the president’s stamp of approval. Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back from the White House or Fry on whether he’s being eyed for the special election.

LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER APPOINTED TO SENATE AS GOP RUSHES TO PROTECT FRAGILE MAJORITY

In the meantime, Trump threw his support behind Graham’s sister, Sen.-designate Darline Graham, to take over the lawmaker’s seat for the remainder of his term. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her on Monday, and she’ll be sworn in to the role Tuesday afternoon.

Trump said that he believed Graham would be there “only on an interim basis.”

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Meanwhile, Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., are eyeing the race, too. Norman has gone so far as to ask Trump for his endorsement.

Both Mace and Norman failed to clinch the GOP nomination for governor in South Carolina, which ultimately went to South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who toppled Trump-backed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pam Evette.

FIRST ON FOX: Arkansas has been ranked the nation’s top state for religious liberty after Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a series of laws expanding faith protections that helped lift the state to the top.

Earning a score of 89.2%, Arkansas became one of only two states to earn the First Liberty Institute’s annual Religious Liberty in the States index’s first-ever “excellent” rating. The index evaluates states using 50 legal protections across 20 religious liberty safeguards spanning education, healthcare, family law, economic activity and other areas of daily life.

“Religious liberty is America’s First Freedom, and Arkansas is leading the nation in protecting it,” Sanders said.

“Our rights come from God, not government, and every American should be free to live according to their faith and conscience. We’ll continue defending that freedom and ensuring the Natural State remains the best place in the country to live, work and worship.”

AMERICA’S NEXT 250 YEARS DEPEND ON PASSING FAITH AND FREEDOM TO OUR CHILDREN

The Natural State climbed six spots from last year’s rankings after lawmakers approved several measures expanding legal protections for religious exercise and conscience rights.

Arkansas’ rise was driven largely by Act 677, legislation Sanders signed last year that bars state and local governments from penalizing people, businesses and religious organizations for acting according to their religious beliefs regarding marriage and biological sex.

APPEALS COURT REVIVES LAWSUIT BY ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FIRED AFTER OPPOSING PRIDE MESSAGE

The state’s religious liberty push also included the Conscience Protection Act, signed by Sanders in 2023, which expanded Arkansas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act by prohibiting state government discrimination against religious organizations based on their religious identity or status.

Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO and chief counsel at First Liberty, said other states should follow Arkansas’ lead and “strengthen religious liberty protections in their own states.”

“Religious liberty is best protected when leaders are willing to act before the rights of people of faith are threatened,” Shackelford said.

GOV SANDERS REVEALS ‘MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH’ ON EDUCATION AS RED STATE POSITIONS ITSELF AS ‘BLUEPRINT’ FOR NATION

Dr. Mark David Hall, director of the Religious Liberty in the States project, said Arkansas demonstrates how states can protect what America’s founders called “the sacred right of conscience,” allowing people to practice their faith not just at church, but in their everyday lives.

“States have always served as laboratories of liberty, and this year’s results show why that matters,” Hall said.

Sanders also publicly defended religious freedom in December. She rejected demands from the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a group that advocates for the separation of church and state, to reverse her proclamation closing state offices for Christmas.

In a response letter previously obtained by Fox News Digital, Sanders pushed back on claims it was unconstitutional, saying “only by voicing our own faith and celebrating other faiths can we make our state’s diverse religious communities feel seen and heard.”

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“With this index, citizens and legislators can see where their state is doing well, where it still has room to improve, and which existing laws could help better protect the right of conscience,” Dr. Paul D. Mueller, associate director of the Religious Liberty in the States project, said.