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Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, endorsed former President Donald Trump to be the Republican presidential nominee on Wednesday, becoming the final member of the Senate GOP leadership conference to do so. 

“We must beat Joe Biden and get this country back on track,” Ernst wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. “Donald Trump has my support.”

Ernst’s endorsement comes a day after Trump swept nearly 1,000 Super Tuesday delegations, inching closer to securing his spot as the GOP presidential front runner in November. Trump’s only primary opponent, Nikki Haley, suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday morning.

Last month, Ernst criticized Trump’s use of the word “hostages” to describe his supporters who were arrested for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Host Kristen Welker asked Ernst if she was bothered by Trump’s description of the Jan. 6 prisoners.

MCCONNELL ENDORSES TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT AFTER SUPER TUESDAY RESULTS: ‘HE WILL HAVE MY SUPPORT’

“It does in this context because we do have American hostages that are being held against their will all around the globe, and especially if you look at the innocents that were attacked and kidnapped on Oct. 7,” Ernst responded. “We are approaching nearly 100 days. These are people that have been taken. They’re held in tunnels with terrorists, they are being tortured, they have been raped, they have been denied medication. So, equating the two, there is no comparison.”

Ernst later said in the interview she would not be opposed to pardoning those who were involved on Jan. 6 and that it would be at the president’s discretion. 

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has refused to comment over the last few months on whether he would endorse the former president, also endorsed Trump on Wednesday. 

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“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” McConnell said in a statement. 

He continued: “During his Presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people including tax reform that supercharged our economy and a generational change of our federal judiciary, most importantly, the Supreme Court.”

More GOP lawmakers in both chambers are rallying behind former President Donald Trump. Over 100 House Republicans and over two dozen Senate Republicans have endorsed the former president. 

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

California Democrat Katie Porter took a swipe at Rep. Adam Schiff and special interest groups after losing the open Senate primary, suggesting that Schiff’s campaign spent millions “peddling lies” and ultimately boosted the Republican in the race, former baseball player Steve Garvey, on Super Tuesday.

“We’re standing three to one in TV spending and an onslaught of billionaires who spent millions peddling lies,” Porter said in her concession speech Tuesday night. “And our opponents spending more to boost the Republican than promoting his own campaign.”

“While the votes are still coming in, we know that tonight we’ll come up short,” Porter said just after 9 p.m. Tuesday. “Our opponents threw everything – every trick, millions of dollars, every trick in the playbook – to knock us off our feet. But I’m still standing in high heels.”

She added, “Because of you, we have the establishment running scared.” 

TREY GOWDY FIRES BACK AT KATIE PORTER, CNN WRITER’S RESPONSE TO LAKEN RILEY MURDER: ‘DO NOT LECTURE US’

Porter, a progressive Democrat who has been representing Orange County since 2019, later said in her speech she “never considered” running for office “until Trump was elected” in 2016. She rose to popularity helped by viral moments questioning big Pharma CEOs during congressional hearings and publicly defied big corporate campaign backing.

However, Porter herself has received millions of dollars from big donors to boost her campaign, despite touting her record of not accepting corporate PAC money. She has reportedly accepted thousands of dollars in donations from big Wall Street donors, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.

Additionally, according to Open Secrets — a nonprofit that tracks government campaigns — Porter received just over $50,000 in PAC donations, more than $32,000 from Apple and Google, more than $58,000 collectively from the Universities of California San Francisco and Irvine, just under $16,000 from Kaiser Permanente and over $600,000 from lawyers and law firms. 

ADAM SCHIFF COULD UNITE CALIFORNIANS IN SENATE BID, BUT TO GOP CANDIDATE’S BENEFIT: KEVIN MCCARTHY

Porter raised just under $28 million in her Senate campaign, trailing slightly behind Schiff’s $31 million. Rep. Barbara Lee, another Democrat seeking the open Senate seat, raised $4 million, and Republican Garvey raised just over $2 million. Under California’s primary system, the top two candidates in the primary election will face off in the general election in November.

According to a Washington Post report last month, Porter also redirected at least half a million dollars in ads attacking another GOP contender, Eric Early, describing him as a “100% pro-Trump candidate” who is “way more dangerous than Steve Garvey.”

The highly contested seat was held for more than 30 years by former Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., until her death last year, prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint Democrat Sen. Laphonza Butler to fill the vacancy.

Ahead of Tuesday’s election, Schiff, a Burbank Democrat and congressman since 2001, spent millions of dollars on campaign ads describing Garvey as someone who “voted for Trump, twice, and supported Republicans for years, including far right conservatives,” according to one ad.

The move to paint long-shot Republican opponent Garvey as a staunch Trump ally was seen as an effort to squeeze out Porter and Lee from the race — giving Schiff a higher likelihood of winning the general election instead of splitting the vote between Democrats in the deep blue bastion.

ADAM SCHIFF ENDORSED FOR SENATE AS ‘TEAM PLAYER’ BY LA TIMES: ‘PRACTICED IN THE ART OF COMPROMISE’

Garvey and Schiff will face off in the fall. Schiff is expected to win, but Garvey said during his victory speech on Tuesday, “They say in the general election we’re going to strike out. That’s from the crowd that believes in the status quo.”

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Schiff, whose victory speech was interrupted by protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, said, “We are so lucky, so lucky to live in a democracy where we all have the right to protest.”

“We are so lucky to live in that kind of democracy, and we want to make sure we keep this kind of democracy,” he said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Schiff, Lee, Porter and Garvey’s campaigns for comment. 

Thousands of voters in a new congressional district of Alabama received incorrect voting instructions leading into Super Tuesday. 

More than 6,500 voters in the 2nd Congressional District of Alabama received postcards ahead of the Tuesday primary with information intended for voters in the 7th Congressional District. 

The county sent out 2,000 notices informing affected voters of the mistake on Tuesday and an additional 4,000 on Wednesday. 

James Snipes, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Registrars, said that affected voters were still able to vote for their candidates. 

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“Everyone who came to their precinct was able to vote for the correct candidates,” Snipes said. “This was a good-faith effort.”

He attributed the mistake to a “software glitch” that misidentified the thousands of voters’ geographic region.

ALABAMA FEDERAL JUDGE RULES BIDEN ADMIN’S SMALL BUSINESS REPORTING REQUIREMENT UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The 2nd Congressional District’s boundaries were redrawn last year by federal judges who ruled its prior borders likely violated the Voting Rights Act. 

The new boundaries were redrawn to stretch from Mobile to the state border with Georgia so that the 27% of the population that is Black would be able to have a larger influence in elections.

The election proved crowded after 11 Democrats and seven Republicans entered the primary race.

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Democratic candidates Anthony Daniels and Shomari Figures received enough votes to qualify for a run-off later this year.

Republican candidates Caroleene Dobson and Dick Brewbaker similarly secured spots in a future run-off to decide the party candidate.

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed former President Trump’s re-election campaign on Wednesday after he collected nearly 1,000 delegates from a thunderous performance on Super Tuesday.

“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States. It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support,” McConnell said in a statement. 

He continued: “During his Presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people including tax reform that supercharged our economy and a generational change of our federal judiciary – most importantly, the Supreme Court.”

“I look forward to the opportunity of switching from playing defense against the terrible policies the Biden administration has pursued to a sustained offense geared towards making a real difference in improving the lives of the American people,” McConnell added.

NIKKI HALEY DOES NOT ENDORSE TRUMP, SAYS HE NEEDS TO EARN SUPPORT OF HER VOTERS

The endorsement comes after Trump’s only primary opponent, Nikki Haley, suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday morning.

McConnell, who announced in November that he would step down from the Republican leadership, was the most senior member of Congress that had yet to endorse Trump.

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He will serve the remainder of his term, which formally ends in January 2027.

Marianne Williamson surprised Democratic insiders by coming in second behind President Biden in multiple states.

Williamson unsuspended her Democratic primary campaign on Wednesday after coming in second ahead of Biden challenger Rep. Dean Phillips in Michigan.

She managed to score second place in multiple states on Super Tuesday, including Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Vermont.

While Williamson failed to scoop up any delegates – and Biden dominated every election except American Samoa – her performance shows a notable base of support compared to Phillips.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON APOLOGIZES TO BILL MAHER FOLLOWING ‘PERSONAL’ SPAT ON HIGHER EDUCATION: ‘OKAY, I’M SORRY’

Williamson made the announcement in a video statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Williamson said she returned to the race because she believes Biden is a vulnerable candidate to put up against former President Donald Trump.

Williamson has amassed an enthusiastic following on social media, something she believes can translate into real votes as she seeks to unseat Biden in the party’s primary.

BIDEN’S DEMOCRATIC RIVAL AIMS FOR YOUNG VOTERS AHEAD OF CLASH WITH 80-YEAR-OLD PRESIDENT

“American politics is very unpredictable,” Williamson told Fox News Digital. “That’s part of what makes it exciting and what makes it kind of challenging at times. If you’re running, you run to win. You run to get your ideas out in front of the voters.”

Williamson, who is making her second bid for president, is seen by most as a long shot to secure the Democratic nomination.

The New York bestselling author’s first bid for president in 2020 saw her participate in two Democratic debates and generate some interest from voters who may not have known who she was previously. But Williamson ultimately fell short of gaining the traction she needed and dropped out of the race before the first nominating contest in Iowa.

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Her 2024 bid faces perhaps an even bigger test in attempting to keep an incumbent president from regaining his party’s nomination, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1884, well before voters were tasked with choosing the nominee.

But there are signs Williamson can be more than just an also-ran in the 2024 race, with the latest Fox News polling data showing she has the support of 9% of Democratic primary voters. She’s also effectively leveraged social media, amassing an enthusiastic following on platforms such as TikTok.

Williamson boasts a platform that places her firmly in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, supporting universal health care under a “Medicare-for-all” type model, an aggressive approach to combating climate change, and the forgiveness of all public and privately held student debt.

Fox News’ Michael Lee and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

Frustrated by higher prices, an influx of illegal immigrants, and global instability, and unconvinced that an elderly President Biden could fix these problems, voters cleared a path for former President Donald Trump to return to the White House.

Or, concerned about the perceived threat Trump poses to democracy, the rule of law, and abortion rights, voters again rejected his “MAGA” movement at the ballot box, choosing four more years of Biden.

These are currently the most likely outcomes of the next presidential election.

In each case, the result has less to do with each candidate’s strengths than with their opponent’s weaknesses.

BIDEN PLANS TO ‘TRIGGER TRUMP’ IN NEW ‘AGGRESSIVE’ ELECTION STRATEGY: REPORT

That’s because, according to a batch of recent surveys, the American electorate is miserable — 72% of voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Majorities view both of the leading candidates unfavorably.

And voters are unusually excited about someone else leading the nation, with roughly one in five giving their support to a named third-party candidate.

In the first Fox News Power Rankings for the presidential election, neither Biden nor Trump has enough electoral college votes to win the next election.

Trump has a small lead, thanks to Biden’s weak support among key groups in the coalition that led him to victory in 2020.

With so many voters feeling negatively about the country and its future, the winner of the next election is less likely to be the “best” candidate than they are the “least bad” option.

Biden’s weaknesses: age, issues and enthusiasm

Biden heads into the election with weak polling numbers.

In a collection of polls released over the weekend, he trails Trump 49-47% (Fox News), 47-45% (WSJ), and 48-43% (New York Times/Siena).

DEMOCRATS RUSH TO KEEP TRUMP OFF BALLOT AFTER SCOTUS DECISION BECAUSE ELECTION CAN’T BE LEFT TO VOTERS

Those results all show a tight race. 

It’s inside those polls where the bad news for Biden kicks in. 

Voters think Biden is too old:

• 62% of voters say Biden lacks the mental soundness to serve effectively as president (Fox).
• 73% of voters say the phrase “too old to run for president” describes Biden well (WSJ).

Democrats complain that Trump is also old, and has shown signs of mental deterioration, but there is no equivalence in the polling. 

The former president has a 10-point advantage over Biden on mental soundness and a 21-point advantage on whether he’s “too old.”

Biden’s losing on the issues:

• In polls released this weekend, an average of 60% of voters disapprove of Biden.
• Two thirds of voters disapprove of his handling of inflation, immigration and the war between Israel and Hamas (Fox).

His second in command, Kamala Harris, fares no better. 58% of voters disapprove of her performance in the latest Fox survey. That includes 30% of Black voters and 22% of Democrats.

Biden’s voters aren’t enthusiastic about him:

With no serious competition in the race, Biden has swept the Democratic primaries. But according to the Times survey, 26% of voters in his party say they’re dissatisfied that he will become the nominee, and 6% are angry about it.

Only 9% of Republicans are dissatisfied with Trump, with another 9% angry.

Biden has bigger problems with the overall electorate, as the latest Fox survey revealed:

• 28% of Black voters support Trump in the head-to-head against Biden, 7 times as many who supported him four years ago (4% in February 2020).
• Trump has significant support among voters under age 30 (51%).
• And near-record support among Hispanics (48%) and suburban women (43%).

All these groups were essential to Biden’s victory in 2020.

Democratic strategists are skeptical that these groups will remain as supportive of Trump in November as they are now. They say their voters are worried about Biden’s weaknesses today, but will “come back home” when they realize this election is a binary choice between him and Trump.

That theory is supported by electoral history, but if they are wrong, the math for Biden gets very difficult.

Trump’s weaknesses: a support ceiling, legal problems and abortion rights

If Biden’s numbers are so weak, why isn’t Trump’s lead bigger?

Primarily, it’s because Trump brings a lot of baggage to the race.

More voters remember the former president’s policies fondly than they think about Biden’s policies today: 40% say Trump’s policies helped them personally, while only 18% say the same about the current president (NYT/Siena).

But Trump also brought dysfunction to the White House, culminating in attempts to overturn the results of the last election and a riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Those factors are all ‘priced in’ to Trump’s support, which is why he sits under 50% in most major polls.

As Arnon Mishkin wrote last week, “About 47% (almost half) of the country supports Trump – and that number doesn’t move. The remaining roughly 53% (a bit more than half) are not supporting him – and there are few if any indications that they could move in his direction.”

Trump’s legal problems could get worse:

Trump is still dealing with these legal problems, and a conviction (or multiple convictions) would weaken his prospects of reelection.

• Today, 53% of voters believe Trump has committed serious federal crimes (NYT).
• If Trump is convicted of a felony in either the classified documents or January 6 federal crimes case, 48% of voters say they would vote for Biden and 44% say they would vote for Trump (WSJ).

He also continues to direct money from his fundraising efforts towards his legal bills, at a time when the Biden campaign and the DNC have significant cash advantages over Trump and the RNC.

Most voters support abortion rights:

Polls that ask about Trump’s policies miss an important part of the Democratic platform in 2024 – the fall of Roe v. Wade.

It happened under Biden, but it was a result of Trump’s appointments to the Supreme Court.

60% of voters say abortion should be legal in all or most cases (WSJ).

Division among Republicans about the role of the federal government in restricting abortion rights and state referenda will ensure that this issue remains in the conversation.

A year of unknowns

As this column has discussed, a majority of voters think Biden is too old and that Trump has committed serious crimes.

What if Biden suffers from a serious health incident?

What if Trump is convicted of a crime and cannot be pardoned?

These are remote possibilities, but they have a greater-than-zero-percent chance of happening in an already unprecedented election cycle.

There are also multiple declared third-party candidates, including Robert F. Kennedy, who pulled double-digit support in the latest Fox survey with about eight months to go until the election. 

TAYLOR SWIFT HAS MESSAGE FOR SUPER TUESDAY VOTERS AS TRUMP, HALEY, BIDEN COMPETE

A “No Labels” candidate could also pull votes from the major parties.

And foreign conflict may play a role. Voters were not thinking much about Ukraine or Israel before the last election, but they are now, and U.S. adversaries like China and Russia also loom over 2024.

There are no guarantees about the shape of this race until November 5. 

Trump has a small lead in the race to 270

In the first Power Rankings for this presidential cycle, Trump leads Biden in the electoral college with 251 votes to Biden’s 241.

How do the Power Rankings work?

The winner of the presidential election is the candidate who reaches 270 electoral college votes. 

The Power Rankings are a forecast using national and state polling, along with fundamentals, to assign states into categories. 

If a state is labeled “D” or “R,” its electoral college votes are added to the corresponding candidate’s tally. “Toss Up” states are too close to call.

A state in the middle categories; “Lean D, “Toss Up,” or “Lean R,” should be considered very competitive. These are the states most likely to change categories as the election nears.

Eight key battleground states

There are eight battleground states in these rankings: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Keep an eye on Florida, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, Texas and Virginia. These states are somewhat competitive.

Four toss-up states are fiercely competitive

Arizona

Biden was the first Democrat to win a presidential election in Arizona since 1996, but he won it on a tight margin, and it remains one of the most competitive states of the 2024 election.

The southwestern state is home to a large population of Hispanic voters, who still lean Democratic but have shown near-record support for Trump in recent surveys, and suburban voters, who have previously been a bulwark for Biden but haven’t shown strong support for him so far this cycle.

Arizona is also at the center of two important policy debates.

Since Arizona shares a border with Mexico, its residents have seen firsthand the results of Biden’s border crisis, an issue that should favor Trump.

Meanwhile, pro-choice activists are collecting signatures to place an abortion rights measure on the ballot, which could improve Democratic turnout.

Arizona is a toss-up.

Nevada

Nevada hosts large working-class and Hispanic populations.

Many of these folks work in the heavily unionized hospitality industry, based in Las Vegas, and these voters swing Democratic.

Activating those voters has therefore given the left a turnout advantage since the late 2000s. (If you’ve ever heard of the “Reid Machine,” it’s referring to the late U.S. Senate leader from Nevada, Harry Reid.)

But the working class isn’t as Democratic as it used to be, and that has meant narrower margins for the left.

In 2022, the state’s largest teachers union declined to endorse Nevada’s incumbent Democratic governor, a body blow that resulted in a gubernatorial flip.

This state is a toss-up.

Pennsylvania

On the other side of the country lies Pennsylvania, tied at fifth for the highest number of electoral college votes in the country.

It contains some of the deepest blue and deepest red voters.

The major cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, bookend the state. They are home to scores of heavily Democratic urban voters and wealthy, college-educated suburban voters. Both groups gave Biden his victory in 2020.

In the middle lies dozens of predominantly White rural communities that are the core of Trump’s base. Places like Fulton County and Bedford County, in the south central part of the state, is where Trump got over 80% of the vote in 2020.

Those voters show up for the former president when he’s on the ballot.

Pennsylvania is a toss-up.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin offers similar dynamics.

White non-college voters swept Trump to victory here in 2016. Biden reclaimed the state in 2020, but a majority in that group continued to support Trump.

Biden will hope to make up the difference again by turning out minority and suburban voters.

In a Fox News survey from late January, Wisconsin was tied up at 47% a piece.

This state is a toss-up.

Biden has a small advantage in two Midwestern states

Michigan

Trump pulled off a surprise victory in 2016 in Michigan, but since then, it’s been all blue.

Biden won the state by a 3-point margin in 2020, and two years later, Democrats took full control of the state government for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Speaking of, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will be a strong surrogate for Biden on the campaign trail. She remains popular in her home state and has been an effective Democratic communicator on “MAGA” and abortion.

The GOP also has organizational and down-ballot problems in Michigan; just last week, the party was planning two dueling state conventions to allocate delegates from its presidential primary.

Biden got a taste of his issues with progressives in the state last week with a strong showing for “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary, and he will need to retain support with Detroit and suburban area voters to win.

But this state starts at Lean D.

Minnesota

Biden also starts the election season with an advantage in Minnesota.

The state has gotten closer in recent cycles, mostly because the White working-class and agricultural vote has drifted away from the Democrats.

Biden’s energy and environmental policies will be a contributing factor here.

But Biden won it by a 7-point margin in 2020, making it a tough reach for the GOP.

Minnesota is Lean D.

Trump has a small advantage in two southeastern battlegrounds

Georgia

Georgia’s population growth has come from urban areas like Atlanta, which overwhelmingly leans blue.

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP HAS EDGE OVER BIDEN IN POTENTIAL 2024 REMATCH

Add suburban voters from the Atlanta metro area, which includes areas like DeKalb County and Gwinnett County, and Biden eked out a victory in 2020.

But Democrats’ very heavy reliance on those voter groups gives Trump a slight advantage here.

In January, 51% of voters said they supported Trump in a Fox survey, compared to 43% for Biden.

This state Leans R.

North Carolina

The fundamentals still favor Trump in North Carolina.

But the state gained wealthy, urban Americans from other states during the COVID-19 pandemic and is home to increasingly populated suburban and college areas as well.

Trump endorsed Lt. Gov Mark Robinson there last week; his views on abortion and gay relationships will be a lightning rod for the left.

If Biden can expand the map in November, this would be the first state to fall into his column.

North Carolina is a Lean R state.

Florida, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, Texas, and Virginia are also competitive.

8 months until the general election

Super Tuesday is over, and both candidates are close to becoming their parties’ presumptive nominees, so attention now turns to the general election.

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With 244 days to go until election day, this will be the longest campaign voters have seen in decades.

On Thursday, Biden will deliver the final State of the Union speech of his first term in office. Watch Fox News Channel for live coverage anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

President Biden overwhelmingly won the Democratic contests on Super Tuesday, with one notable exception — American Samoa.

The American territory, an island located in the South Pacific Ocean, voted for an unlikely Democratic candidate named Jason Palmer, a 52-year-old businessman from Baltimore.  

Out of 91 ballots cast in the territory’s caucus, Palmer won 51 and Biden won 40, according to the local party. The upset will not derail Biden’s march toward his party’s nomination, but it marks the second time the American territory has rejected Biden.

During the 2020 Democratic primaries, billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s only win came in American Samoa. He garnered 175 votes in the contest with Tulsi Gabbard coming second with 103 votes. Bernie Sanders earned 37 votes and Biden came fourth with 31. 

AMERICAN SAMOA PRIMARY 2024 ELECTION RESULTS

After Tuesday’s caucus, Palmer thanked American Samoa in a message on X.

“Honored to announce my victory in the American Samoa presidential primary. Thank you to the incredible community for your support. This win is a testament to the power of our voices. Together, we can rebuild the American Dream and shape a brighter future for all.”

WHO IS JASON PALMER, THE OBSCURE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WHO DELIVERED BIDEN’S FIRST 2024 LOSS?

Six delegates were at stake in the U.S. territory, with the vote split between Palmer and Biden.

On Tuesday, Palmer said winning the island by a mere 11 votes came as a shock to him.

“I found out that I had won because my phone started blowing up with friends and campaign staffers texting me,” Palmer told The Associated Press.

He has also never visited American Samoa.

TRUMP REACTS TO SUPER TUESDAY VICTORIES: ‘RARELY HAS POLITICS SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS’

“I have been campaigning remotely, doing Zoom town halls, talking to people, listening to them about their concerns and what matters to them,” he said.

Palmer entered the race in November 2023.

According to his campaign website, he admits he has a “very little chance of winning,” but he wants his campaign to emphasize new “ideas, solutions and changing the conversation.”

He has also loaned himself $500,000 for his campaign.

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“You can’t take the money with you when you die,” he said. “But you can change the world while you’re here.”

Residents of U.S. territories can vote in primaries but do not have any official representation in the Electoral College. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reactions poured in from prominent conservatives on social media as former President Trump cruised to victory in nearly every contest in Super Tuesday’s primaries, most of whom called on the party to unite behind him.

“Man I knew Trump would have a good night but this is a rout,” Ohio GOP Senator JD Vance posted on X as Trump continued to stack up victories in state after state on Tuesday night. “For voters, we have the next six months to convince them that DJT deserves another term.”

“But for donors and political professionals, it’s time to unite behind our nominee. Please stop wasting time and money.”

“Admit it,” Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted on X. “The primary is over.”

TRUMP REACTS TO SUPER TUESDAY VICTORIES: ‘RARELY HAS POLITICS SEEN ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THIS’

“Time for Republicans to unite and restore sanity at the border.”

“It is LONG past time for us to rally around President Trump as our Republican nominee who will defeat Joe Biden this November,” GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, thought by some to be in consideration for Trump’s running mate, posted on X.  

“The GOP presidential primary is over,” Ohio GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou posted on X. “President Trump’s resounding Super Tuesday victories have solidified it. It is time to listen to our voters and unite the Republican Party.”

BIDEN PLANS TO ‘TRIGGER TRUMP’ IN NEW ‘AGGRESSIVE’ ELECTION STRATEGY: REPORT

“Voters across our country have spoken — this race is about the American people,” South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, also rumored to be a potential pick for vice president, posted on X. “It’s about safe streets, quality education, and a secure border. Donald J. Trump is the one candidate to unite our country around success and WIN in November.”

Trump made no mention of Haley in his victory speech on Tuesday night but said that “success will bring unity to our country.”

“We’re honored to have received the support of millions of Americans across the country today, including in Vermont where Nikki became the first Republican woman to win two presidential primary contests,” Haley’s campaign said in a statement on Tuesday as she appeared to finish Super Tuesday with only Vermont in the win column.

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“Unity is not achieved by simply claiming ‘we’re united.’ Today, in state after state, there remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump. That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better.”

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt has accepted the task of delivering the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, saying in a statement she was “truly honored and grateful for the opportunity.”

Britt said she plans to put “hardworking parents and families” at the center of her remarks in order to demonstrate their important role within the Republican Party. 

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But who is Katie Britt?

At 42, Britt is one of the youngest members of the Senate. She was elected two years ago during the 2022 midterms and, upon her swearing-in, became not only Alabama’s first elected female senator, but also the youngest Republican woman to serve in the upper chamber. 

She graduated from both the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law before becoming a practicing attorney. Britt and her husband have two children, Bennett and Ridgeway, whom they raise in Montgomery. 

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS TO MOVE ON FROM BIDEN’S AGE: ‘LET’S GO AHEAD AND ACCEPT THE REALITY’ THAT HE’S OLD

In Britt’s capacity as senator, she serves as ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

“At this decisive moment in our country’s history, it’s time for the next generation to step up and preserve the American Dream for our children and our grandchildren,” she said in a statement responding to her announcement as the rebuttal speaker. 

“Katie Britt is the absolute best face the GOP could put forward,” said Republican strategist Doug Heye. According to him, she, “as a smart, well-spoken mom of two school-aged kids” is the best person to deliver the party’s vision. 

Fellow Republican strategist John Feehery echoed this point, noting Britt is “smart, young, attractive,” and a contrast to “White males who usually speak on behalf of the party.” 

BIDEN’S GOT 3 MAKE OR BREAK TESTS THIS WEEK AND DEMOCRATS ARE COMPLETELY CLUELESS

But according to Democratic strategist Max Burns, the choice of Britt as the messenger of the GOP’s response was likely a result of “top-tier Republicans” turning the offer down. He pointed to the lack of progress on Republican priorities in Congress, claiming, “No senior Republican wants the impossible task of trying to sell that ineffectiveness to voters.”

He further predicted Britt would spend much of her time criticizing Biden, but not discuss “what Republicans have done – because they’ve done nothing at all.”

“Senator Britt may be the current darling of the Washington establishment, but her selection places abortion access and IVF treatment front and center,” said Eric Schultz, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

SUPER TUESDAY RESULTS EXPECTED TO MOVE PRESIDENT BIDEN AND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP CLOSER TO GENERAL ELECTION REMATCH

“She supports all of the anti-abortion measures and has not taken any issue with the recent IVF ruling in her home state,” he said, referring to the controversial Alabama Supreme Court ruling on embryos, which prompted several clinics in the state to abruptly halt in vitro fertilization (IVF). 

Schultz said the GOP may believe she makes for good optics, “but she gives Democrats a gift by bringing the Party’s most potent vulnerabilities to the table.”

Several Democratic senators and Biden have announced guests to the address who are related to both abortion and IVF. Biden will be bringing Kate Cox, who ultimately sought an abortion out of state after suing Texas’s Supreme Court for the right to receive the procedure there. 

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Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said the SOTU rebuttal “is a tough assignment.” Those who deliver it can only hope “to get out of it without becoming a punchline,” he said. 

As to the choice of Britt, he said, “Britt seems like a rising star within the party, and this speech often goes to people who are perceived that way,” noting past responses given by “Marco Rubio, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Joni Ernst, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Kim Reynolds, [and] Sarah Huckabee Sanders.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Republican National Committee (RNC) is highlighting polling that shows America’s low approval rating of President Biden on key issues ahead of his upcoming State of the Union address.

In a social media blitz Wednesday, shared first with Fox News Digital, the GOP committee released a video compilation of reports showing most voters do not approve of Biden’s handling of both the presidency and issues such as the economy, inflation, and foreign policy.

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that given the recent polling and the current state of the nation under Biden, “this will be his last State of the Union address.”

“The numbers don’t lie – Americans know that the state of the union is weaker because of Joe Biden,” McDaniel said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

‘STATE OF MESS’: AHEAD OF STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, AMERICANS SAY COUNTRY IN ‘SAD STATE’

“Biden and Democrats are underwater on key issues that Americans care about the most, from the economy, to crime, from the open border to protecting our standing on the world stage,” McDaniel continued. “Voters do not want Biden to ‘finish the job,’ which is why this will be his last State of the Union address.”

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITIES SAY BIDEN HAS MOSTLY FAILED ON TOP ISSUES

The Biden campaign took aim at a recent poll from the New York Times/Sienna College that showed Trump leading Biden, saying that “polling continues to be at odds with how Americans vote, and consistently overestimates Donald Trump while underestimating President Biden.”

“Trump and the party he leads are weak, cash-strapped, and deeply divided,” the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign communications director Michael Tyler recently said. “Our campaign is ignoring the noise and running a strong campaign to win — just like we did in 2020.”

The RNC also noted growing concerns over the president’s fitness, pointing to surveys that show elevated concerns over Biden’s age. 

A recent ABC/Ipsos poll found about 86% of American adults do not think Biden has the “mental sharpness” to serve as president.

Another recent survey, from Quinnipiac University, backed these concerns, reporting that 67% of likely voters believe Biden, 81, is too old and not physically capable of completing another four-year term as president.

Despite multiple polls showing Biden underwater and setting off alarm bells when it comes to age, several Biden allies and his campaign have embraced his age and tried to use it as a dig at Trump.

“He’s about as old as I am, but he can’t remember his wife’s name,” Biden joked during a recent interview.

As part of a ‘don’t let Biden finish the job’ series, the committee also released several gifs slamming Biden on the border, crime, allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports, the economy, and rising costs.

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The blitz comes just one day before Biden is scheduled to deliver the annual SOTU address to Congress.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is bringing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, as his guest to President Biden’s State of the Union address, as the Biden administration continues to pursue the prosecution of Assange for publishing classified U.S. documents.

“It is a real honor to be a guest of Rep. Massie,” Shipton told Fox News Digital. “He is steadfast in his calls for the prosecution of Julian to be let go, and very clear about what’s at stake in this unprecedented indictment of a publisher for sharing information in the public interest.”

The possible final appeal for Assange challenging his extradition from the U.K. to the U.S. wrapped up last month before the British High Court in London, with the Australian publisher not appearing in court due to health reasons.

Assange, 52, is charged in connection with WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified U.S. military documents leaked by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning. Assange is facing 17 charges for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the Espionage Act, and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion.

JULIAN ASSANGE’S US EXTRADITION HEARING WRAPS UP IN LONDON, DECISION NOT EXPECTED UNTIL AT LEAST NEXT MONTH

Biden will deliver the State of the Union address on Thursday at 9 p.m.

“I hope it can bring attention to the injustice being perpetrated against Julian Assange and that maybe the president will realize there is nothing to be gained from continuing this attack against the First Amendment and discontinue it immediately so Julian can return to his wife and two young children,” Shipton told Fox News Digital.

The charges were brought by the Trump administration’s Justice Department over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of cables leaked by Manning detailing war crimes committed by the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp. The materials also exposed instances of the CIA engaging in torture and rendition.

WikiLeaks’ “Collateral Murder” video showing the U.S. military gunning down civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also published 14 years ago.

Assange has been held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy since 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations he raped two women because Sweden would not provide assurances it would protect him from extradition to the U.S. The investigations into the sexual assault allegations were eventually dropped.

A U.K. District Judge rejected the U.S. extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if he was held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. Higher courts later overturned that decision after receiving assurances from the U.S. about his treatment, and the British government signed an extradition order in June 2022.

While February’s hearing could be Assange’s final appeal attempting to block his extradition to the U.S., a full appeal hearing could come in the future if the judges rule in his favor. If he loses this appeal, however, Assange’s only remaining option would be at the European Court of Human Rights. The judges who heard arguments in the two-day hearing said they would take time to reach a verdict.

Should he be extradited to the U.S. after exhausting all his legal appeals, Assange would face trial in Alexandria, Virginia, and could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison. His supporters have argued that he would not receive a fair trial if he is extradited.

“The U.S. government’s ongoing effort to prosecute Julian Assange threatens the First Amendment rights of Americans and should be opposed,” Massie said in a statement. “During his term in office, I asked President Trump to pardon Mr. Assange, and I was disappointed by his failure to do so. President Biden should drop the criminal charges currently being pursued by the Department of Justice. I am pleased Mr. Shipton has accepted my invitation to join me at the State of the Union.”

The Obama administration in 2013 decided not to indict Assange over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified cables because it would have had to also indict journalists from major news outlets who published the same materials, which has been described as “The New York Times problem.” Former President Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses to seven years in January 2017, and Manning, who had been imprisoned since 2010, was released later that year.

But the Justice Department under former President Trump later moved to indict Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration has continued to pursue his prosecution.

UK HIGH COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS IN ASSANGE’S US EXTRADITION CASE WITHOUT HIM PRESENT DUE TO HEALTH REASONS

Shipton’s attendance at the State of the Union comes after Massie and Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., led a bipartisan letter sent to Biden in November urging him to “withdraw the U.S. extradition request currently pending against Australian publisher Julian Assange and halt all prosecutorial proceedings against him as soon as possible.”

The letter was signed by 16 lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Cori Bush, D-Mo.; Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Massie has also previously sponsored bipartisan legislation to reform the Espionage Act and protect whistleblowers and journalists.

Assange’s wife, Stella, has said that her husband’s life is at risk every day he remains in prison and that she believes he will die if he’s extradited to the U.S.

Last month, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, called on the U.K. government to halt the possible U.S. extradition of Assange over concerns that he would be at risk of treatment amounting to torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment if he is extradited. U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, Irene Khan, also expressed last week that Assange’s prosecution sets a dangerous precedent for investigative journalism.

In January, a group of Australian lawmakers wrote a letter to U.K. Home Secretary James Cleverly demanding Assange’s U.S. extradition be halted over concerns about his safety and well-being, urging the U.K. government to instead make an independent assessment of Assange’s risk of persecution.

Additional efforts have been made by lawmakers in the U.S. and Assange’s home country of Australia in the last year to demand his freedom, including a vote last month in which the Australian Parliament overwhelmingly supported calling on the U.S. and U.K. Governments to end Assange’s prosecution and a resolution introduced in January in the U.S. House calling for him to be released.

UN EXPERT ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION URGES END TO JULIAN ASSANGE’S PROSECUTION OVER PRESS FREEDOM CONCERNS

One of Assange’s lawyers, Mark Summers, said during last month’s hearing that there was evidence showing there had been a plan crafted by the Trump administration’s CIA to kidnap or murder Assange while he was in the Ecuadorean Embassy and that former President Trump had requested “detailed options” to kill him.

The CIA under the Trump administration allegedly had plans to kill Assange over the publication of sensitive agency hacking tools known as “Vault 7,” which were leaked to WikiLeaks, Yahoo reported in 2021. The agency said the leak represented “the largest data loss in CIA history.”

The agency was accused of having discussions “at the highest levels” of the administration about plans to assassinate Assange in London and allegedly acted upon orders from then-CIA director Mike Pompeo to draw up kill “sketches” and “options.” The CIA also had advanced plans to kidnap and rendition Assange, and had made a political decision to charge him, according to the Yahoo report.

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While he was in the embassy, the CIA was exposed for spying on Assange and his lawyers. A judge recently ruled that a lawsuit brought against the CIA for spying on his visitors can move forward.

Assange is the first publisher to be charged by the U.S. government under the Espionage Act, and many press freedom groups have argued that his prosecution is intended to criminalize journalism.

In 2022, the editors and publishers of U.S. and European outlets that worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from the more than 250,000 documents he obtained in the Cablegate leak – The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País – wrote an open letter calling for the U.S. to drop the charges against Assange.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is unveiling a new bill on Tuesday that would allow Americans to sue COVID-19 vaccine makers over adverse health effects allegedly caused by the shot.

The Let Injured Americans Be Legally Empowered (LIABLE) Act is aimed at wiping away COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers’ statutory protections, opening them up to civil lawsuits.

A summary of the bill obtained by Fox News Digital said, “The LIABLE Act will allow Americans who took vaccines that were misleadingly promoted and forced onto many Americans via federal mandates to pursue civil litigation for their injuries. These vaccines were given emergency use authorization unilaterally and did not go through the normal FDA approval process.”

CDC RECOMMENDS ADDITIONAL COVID VACCINE FOR ADULTS 65 AND OVER

Currently, manufacturers and health care providers responsible for distributing COVID-19 vaccines are mostly immune from civil lawsuits, even if those seeking money damages have medical proof of their vaccine-related injuries.

That’s because the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act of 2005 limits liability for the manufacturing, development and distribution of medical countermeasures related to a public health emergency.

The PREP Act also created the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP), which has a one-year statute of limitations and only provides compensation in the event of death or serious injury. According to Roy, CICP has compensated people just 11 times despite thousands of claims lodged.

“Millions of Americans were forced to take a COVID-19 shot out of fear of losing their livelihoods and under false pretenses,” Roy told Fox News Digital. “Many have faced injury from the vaccine, but few have been afforded…recourse. To date, a mere 11 injury claims have been paid out despite nearly 700 million doses of the vaccine having been administered.”

ASK A HEALTH EXPERT: ‘SHOULD I TAKE PAXLOVID IF I HAVE COVID?’

Despite the public health emergency declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic expiring last May, PREP Act liability protections for the vaccine are expected to mostly last through the end of this year, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service. 

Roy’s LIABLE Act would allow Americans claiming to be injured from the vaccine to retroactively sue manufacturers despite the aforementioned protections.

While credited with saving countless lives during the pandemic, the COVID-19 vaccine has also been blamed by critics for side effects such as blood clots, strokes and even sudden death. 

PROTEST OF CDC’S NEW COVID GUIDANCE PLANNED FOR THEIR MONTH IN WASHINGTON, DC: ‘URGENT NEED’

Many of these cases still require further study, but it’s a trend that’s alarmed Republican lawmakers who have long said mandating the COVID-19 vaccine is a violation of Americans’ right to privacy.

Andrew Powaleny, PhRMA spokesperson, criticized the bill in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“COVID-19 has been a reminder of why we need safe and effective vaccines. All vaccines, including those for COVID-19, are subject to a rigorous safety and efficacy review process and post-market monitoring. By upending the existing liability framework manufacturers rely upon to provide predictable vaccine development, our ability to address future public health threats will be at risk,” he said.

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Roy has led the charge against those vaccine mandates, including leading efforts to roll back COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the U.S. military.

His latest bill has at least a dozen House GOP co-sponsors.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has subpoenaed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to testify on May 24 about his COVID-19 nursing home policies.

In 2020, Cuomo directed New York nursing homes to accept patients believed to have COVID-19 – a decision that has subjected his administration to fierce criticism. In a letter on Tuesday, the committee told the former New York governor that “misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable.”

The committee also told Cuomo that his testimony is “vital to our investigation into the effectiveness of federal guidance and regulations implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the protection of nursing home residents.”

BILL MAHER CONFRONTS CUOMO ON NURSING HOME SCANDAL, EX-NY GOV CALLS QUESTIONS ‘MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING’

The governor previously deflected blame over the situation by claiming that his state followed guidance from the federal government. The Tuesday letter acknowledged that Cuomo maintained his decisions were “consistent with CMS and CDC guidance.”

“If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government,” he said at a press conference in 2021. “It’s not about pointing fingers or blame, this became a political football.” 

Cuomo’s administration was also criticized at the time for underreporting the amount of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%.

In a social media post, the committee used a harsher tone against Cuomo.

“Governor Cuomo forced New York nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients. Americans died,” the committee wrote in a post on X. “Accountability and honesty are non-negotiable.”

FORMER NY GOVERNOR RE-EMERGES AS CRITIC ON DEMS’ FAR-LEFT POLICIES, FUELING COMEBACK SPECULATION

Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, wrote that “[t]he Select Subcommittee specifically requested your testimony because it was your administration that issued the March 25, 2020 nursing home order stating, in relevant part, that ‘[n]o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19.’”

“This misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable,” Wenstrup continued. “Of course, you have argued – even after leaving office – that the March 25 Order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidance. In addition, you have argued that it was the nursing home staff – not your Administration’s order – that was responsible for the resulting deaths in the nursing homes.”

“In addition to the March 25 Order itself, there is also troubling evidence suggesting the Cuomo Administration at best downplayed its impacts and at worst covered them up,” he also said.

In an email to Fox News Digital, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi of Bulldog Strategies called the committee’s subpoena an “obvious press charade.”

“The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there,” Azzopardi said.

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“New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it’s not about the facts, this is about politics.”

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Speaker Mike Johnson’s guests at the State of the Union on Thursday will include a mother who lost her son to a pill laced with fentanyl and the mother of a Maryland woman who was raped and murdered in 2022, allegedly by an MS-13 gang member.

Johnson, R-La., has invited Tammy Nobles, whose 20-year-old daughter Kayla Hamilton was killed in her mobile home in 2022, to the Thursday address by President Biden. He has also invited Stefanie Turner, who formed Texas Against Fentanyl after her son Tucker was killed by an illicit Percocet pill.

“President Biden’s open-border catastrophe is undermining the safety of our communities and ripping families apart,” Johnson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Tammy Nobles and Stefanie Turner are two of the many parents who’ve experienced the devastating effects of the catastrophe at our border, having tragically lost their children to criminal aliens and fentanyl, which is pouring through our borders.”

HOUSE JUDICIARY REPORT FAULTS BIDEN ADMIN FOR RELEASE OF ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER NOW CHARGED WITH MURDER 

The ongoing border crisis has become a top political issue in the days leading up to the address, with Biden expected to renew his calls for the Senate to pass a border agreement unveiled earlier this year. Republicans have blamed the crisis on the policies of the administration.

“I’m honored to be hosting Tammy and Stefanie at the State of the Union, as we fight for a secure border and to hold President Biden accountable for his failure to protect this country and the American people,” Johnson said.

Nobles testified in the impeachment hearings of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, citing her daughter’s murder as a consequence of the crisis at the border. In 2023, police arrested an El Salvadoran 17-year-old who authorities said is linked to the MS-13 street gang and who was released into the U.S. in 2022 into the custody of his aunt after being encountered at the border.

“I’m honored to be a guest of Speaker Mike Johnson at the State of the Union. I am so glad that my efforts to share Kayla’s story and bring awareness to what is happening at the border are being recognized,” Nobles said in a statement. “I will continue fighting and demanding accountability for what is happening at the border. I hope positive changes will occur in the future to save many lives. Something must change.”

BIDEN, DURING VISIT TO OVERWHELMED BORDER, URGES REPUBLICANS TO BACK SENATE BILL: ‘TIME TO ACT’ 

Turner described fentanyl, which can be fatal in tiny doses and is primarily made in Mexico and smuggled across the U.S. border, as a “clandestine killer.”

“While I carry the pain of losing my only son, Tucker, I also represent all the families who have to learn to live life again after the death of their loved one. It is absolutely heartbreaking. We are so disgusted that more is not being done to stop this war on the American people. We have had enough,” she said in a statement. “We must do more to educate our youth and communities!”

Republicans have tied the three-year crisis to the policies of the administration, including narrowed interior enforcement, catch-and-release and a reversal of Trump-era policies.

Biden, who last week visited the border in Brownsville, Texas, has said Congress needs to pass reforms and provide more funding. He has backed a bipartisan Senate bill, which has failed to drum up enough support to pass. 

DUELING BIDEN, TRUMP VISITS TO BESIEGED BORDER COME AMID FRESH SLEW OF VIOLENT CRIMES BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The deal includes $1.4 billion in funding to cities and NGOs receiving migrants, action to tackle fentanyl smuggling and a limit on asylum claims. It would also increase detention beds to 50,000 and provide additional immigration judges. However, conservatives have opposed it, saying it is insufficient and that it would normalize high levels of illegal immigration. House Republicans have called for the passage of the GOP border legislation passed in the House last year, instead.

But Biden said it was “time to act.”

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“Folks, the bipartisan border security bill is a win for the American people and a win for the people of Texas, and it’s fair for those who legitimately have a right to come here,” Biden said.

“The U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits, not on whether it’s going to benefit one party or another party,” he said, also calling for Johnson to put it on the floor in the House.

The White House told Fox News Digital when reached for comment Tuesday, “Speaker Johnson is making the case for the toughest bipartisan border security deal in modern history, which [the] President worked with Republicans and Democrats to deliver, but the Speaker is obstructing. Instead of choosing fentanyl traffickers, human smugglers, and Donald Trump over the Border Patrol and America’s national security, Speaker Johnson should join President Biden in supporting the safety of our communities.”

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump, reacting to Super Tuesday primary victories, told Fox News Digital that it is a “great evening,” and that it is his “honor to represent not just the Republican Party but our country in leading it back to health and prosperity.” 

Trump, the GOP frontrunner, won Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maine, Alabama, Arkansas, and Minnesota by 9:45 p.m. ET Tuesday night. 

TRUMP, BIDEN SWEEPING SUPER TUESDAY, NIKKI HALEY TRAILING BEHIND ON ELECTION NIGHT

“It is a great evening,” Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview after races were called in his favor in 11 states, and while awaiting race calls and polls closing in others. 

“Rarely has politics seen anything quite like this,” he said. 

Trump added: “It is my honor to represent not just the Republican Party but our country in leading it back to health and prosperity.” 

Trump’s reaction came after 11 states were called. The Fox News Decision Desk is still awaiting race calls in Vermont, and poll closures in Alaska, Utah, and California. 

TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING IN COLORADO CASE IS ‘UNIFYING AND INSPIRATIONAL’

Trump’s major Super Tuesday primary victories come after he dominated the Iowa caucuses, left New Hampshire with a commanding victory, swept caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, won South Carolina with a “bigger win” than he anticipated, and won Michigan. 

Trump won GOP contests in Missouri, Idaho, and Michigan over the weekend, and North Dakota Monday.

Trump, in a speech at his Super Tuesday Victory Party at Mar-a-Lago, blasted President Biden as “the worst president in the history of our country.” 

“There has never been anything like what’s happening to our country,” Trump said, pointing to the crisis at the southern border. 

The former president, during the speech, said he is focused on efforts to “unify this country and unify this party.” 

“We have a great Republican Party with tremendous talent and we want to have unity and we’re going to have unity and going to happen very quickly,” Trump said. “I have been saying lately, success will bring unity to our country.” 

Trump added: “Our country was coming together. Our country was coming together. And now we have a very divided country.” 

Trump called Election Day on Nov. 5 “the single most important day in the history of our country.” 

“We’re going to take it and make it like it should be… right now our country is known as a joke,” Trump said. 

Trump reflected on the successes of his first term, including energy independence, the economy and foreign policy. 

The former president said some claimed his personality would “cause wars.” 

“No, my personality is going to keep us out of wars — and that’s what happened,” Trump said referring to his presidency and how it impacted the global stage. “For 20 years they were fighting ISIS. I defeated ISIS in four weeks. We got rid of ISIS 100%.”

Trump said there has “never been an administration that had more success in so many different elements.” 

“We got the largest tax cuts in history. We have the largest regulation cuts in history. We rebuilt our military,” Trump said. 

Trump vowed, if elected to a second term, to “take back our country.” 

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“We are going to have the greatest economy ever in the history of our country. We’re going to top what we did. We are going to become an energy center of the world,” he said. “We’re going to pay off debt. We’re going to do things that nobody thought was possible.” 

Trump added: “But we’re going to win this election because we have no choice. If we lose the election, we’re not going to have a country.” 

Patricia “Pat” Collins, a civic-minded matriarch who raised six children, including Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and led a life of public service, died Tuesday at age 96, the senator announced.

Pat Collins was raised in Port Jervis, New York, after coming to the United States as a girl from Colombia, and she put down roots in Maine after attending the University of Maine, marrying husband Donald in 1948, starting a family and becoming the first woman to be elected mayor in Caribou and a chair of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.

SUSAN COLLINS, KEY SENATE GOP MODERATE, WON’T BACK TRUMP IN 2024

She also was an artist who painted watercolor portraits of her husband’s colleagues in the Maine Senate, earned an art degree from the University of Maine at Presque Isle and was “a fabulous cook who published two cookbooks,” the senator said.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills called Pat Collins “a friend and trailblazer” who loved her state, “especially her cherished Aroostook County.”

“Pat will be remembered for her extraordinary character, marked by grace and integrity. She leaves behind a deep legacy of service,” Mills wrote in a statement.

Pat Collins found time for many other public service-minded posts while raising her family. She served on the advisory committee of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network, as a court-appointed special advocate for children and chair of the Catholic Charities Maine Board of Directors and the Catholic Foundation of Maine Board of Trustees.

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She was married for 70 years to her husband, who died in 2018. Surviving are five other children in addition to the senator, 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Lawyers for Former President Trump filed motions Tuesday night for a new trial in the E. Jean Carroll case, arguing that the court limited his testimony during the trial last month, while stressing that statements he made about her allegations were meant to “defend his reputation, protect his family, and defend his Presidency.” 

Trump’s legal team filed two motions Tuesday night–one for judgment in Trump’s favor and one for a new trial.

TRUMP ORDERED TO PAY MORE THAN $80 MILLION IN E. JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION TRIAL

A federal jury decided last month that Trump must pay E. Jean Carroll more than $83 million in damages after he denied allegations he raped her in the 1990s. The jury decided Trump must pay $18.3 million in compensatory damages, and $65 million in punitive damages.

In their motion for judgment in Trump’s favor, attorneys for the 2024 GOP frontrunner argue that Carroll failed to establish Trump’s statements caused harm to Carroll. 

“It is readily apparent that the jury’s findings were based on ‘confusion, speculation or prejudice’ as opposed to the ‘evidence presented at trial,’” they wrote. 

In their motion for a new trial, Trump’s lawyers argue that the court severely limited the former president’s testimony, which they say influenced the jury’s verdict. 

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

TRUMP DEFENDS HIMSELF ON THE STAND, BLASTS E JEAN CARROLL TRIAL: ‘THIS IS NOT AMERICA’

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.

“Absolutely ridiculous! I fully disagree with both verdicts, and will be appealing this whole Biden Directed Witch Hunt focused on me and the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his TRUTH Social shortly after the verdict was read. “Our Legal System is out of control, and being used as a Political Weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment Rights.” 

Trump added: “THIS IS NOT AMERICA!”

Carroll, who alleged that Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan sometime in 1996, was seeking $12 million.

Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegation. His denial resulted in Carroll slapping Trump with a defamation lawsuit, claiming that his response caused harm to her reputation. 

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The jury found Carroll was injured as a result of statements Trump made while in the White House in June 2019. 

The jury awarded Carroll $7.3 million in compensatory damages, other than the reputational repair program, and $11 million in damages for the reputational repair program. The jury found Trump’s statements were made to harm Carroll and awarded her $65 million in punitive damages. In total, the jury said Carroll should be paid $83.3 million. 

Fifteen states and one U.S. territory are holding presidential primaries this evening.

President Biden only faces nominal opposition on Democratic primary ballots, and barring any surprises, could get close to securing his party’s nomination tonight.

On the Republican side, 35% of the total delegates at stake will be settled.

SUPER TUESDAY: LIVE UPDATES

Former President Trump comes into the race with formidable advantages. He has six times as many delegates as Haley, and has polled well ahead of her in recent national surveys.

Haley will be hoping for an upset to make this race competitive, and even if she doesn’t, she is likely to walk away with some delegates, thanks to varying rules.

But regardless of the overall result, the vote count in certain parts of the country tonight will tell us something about Republican voters in 2024.

1. Will counties with high college-educated populations still trend Haley?

College education has been a useful indicator of Haley support so far this year. 

SUPER TUESDAY EXPECTED TO BOOST TRUMP CLOSER TO CLINCHING GOP NOMINATION AS HALEY MAKES POSSIBLE LAST STAND

In New Hampshire, 56% of GOP primary voters who graduated from college cast a ballot for Haley, according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. She ran about even with Trump on college-educated voters in South Carolina.

That makes these counties, which have the highest share of residents with a college degree, worth watching:

1. Falls Church, Virginia – 78.5%
2. Arlington County, Virginia – 74.6%
3. Pitkin County, Colorado – 63.1%
4. Alexandria, Virginia – 62.1%
5. Fairfax County, Virginia – 61.1%

Four of these five counties are in D.C. suburban areas; the other is best known as the home of the luxury ski resort, Aspen.

Haley will look to run up the score as much as possible in places like these.

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Conversely, the counties with the lowest college degree populations:

1. Loving County, Texas – 0%
2. Kenedy County, Texas – 0.1%
3. Hudspeth County, Texas – 0.1%
4. Frio County, Texas – 0.1%
5. Morgan County, Texas – 0.1%

All of these areas are likely to lean heavily towards Trump.

All five of these Texas counties, predominantly in the southwest of the state, are rural counties with especially small populations.

2. Will northeast Republicans continue to buck the party trend?

Several northeastern states, including Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine are voting today.

All three have become further out of reach of the GOP in the Trump era.

And Republican voters, particularly in the urban and suburban areas of these states, should be more favorable to Haley.

Those areas have a higher proportion of wealthy and, as discussed above, college-educated voters, who trend Haley.

Her best chance is in Vermont; a great night for her would make her competitive in the other northeastern states.

The former South Carolina governor has held events in all three in the last week.

At an event in Needham, Massachusetts, Haley brought moderate New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu along with her.

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3. Can Haley win Virginia?

Haley got her first win of the primary season in Washington, D.C. on Sunday night.

Today, voters in neighboring Virginia will also have their say, giving Haley an opportunity to pick up more delegates.

The closer to D.C., the better chance Haley has to run up the vote.

In particular, look to:

• Fairfax County (Rubio +15)
• Loudoun County (Rubio +13)
• Prince William County (Rubio +2)

The references to Rubio in brackets show how many points the Florida Senator won each county by in 2016; Haley generally appeals to the same kinds of voters now as he did then.

Further down the state, Haley also has opportunities in Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Albemarle County, and James City.

She will need to do as much as she can in those areas, since the rest of the state contains dozens of heavily Trump-skewing, rural counties.

4. Has Trump remolded Utah?

Utah was one of Trump’s weakest states in the 2016 primaries.

His chief rival in that election, Sen. Ted Cruz, dominated statewide, with 69% of the vote and all 40 delegates on offer then.

Trump came third, after former Ohio Governor John Kasich, with 14% of the vote and no county wins.

Trump went on to win the state in the general election, but his margin shrunk by 27 points compared to Mitt Romney’s performance in the state four years prior (thanks in part to a challenge from independent candidate Evan McMullin).

He added 13 points back to his margin in the 2020 general election.

Now, in 2024, Trump is the favorite to win this primary. Watch the statewide margin to see how much the former president has been able to reshape the party.

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5. How high will Trump’s margin be in rural America?

Over 2,000 counties are voting today, and 84% of them are in rural areas.

Collectively, they add up to a powerful voting bloc.

Trump has dominated with these voters since 2016, and is expected to do so again tonight.

Watch for the results in the lowest populated parts of west Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma, especially. 

Of all the Super Tuesday states, these parts of the country have skewed the most Republican in recent general elections.

Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s spokesman called Congress a “circus” filled with “clowns” in response to a House committee subpoenaing the former New York leader over his COVID-19 nursing home policies. 

“Congress is officially a circus, and they are nothing but clowns,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday.

“This is on them, not us,” Azzopardi said in the statement. “The Governor’s counsel two weeks ago provided dates for an interview and even offered to have any questions answered in writing prior to.”

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic announced it subpoenaed Cuomo on Tuesday to testify on May 24 regarding coronavirus policies and nursing homes. The former governor came under fire in 2020 when he ordered nursing homes to accept recovering COVID patients, which critics argued fanned the flames of deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic. 

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The committee told the former New York governor that the “misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable.”

Azzopardi continued in his statement that Cuomo’s policies had previously been reviewed by DOJ leaders under both the Trump and Biden administrations, as well as Congress, and that the subpoena is a “press charade.” 

“This is an obvious press charade: they issue a subpoena as a press release,” he wrote. 

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“The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there [sic],” Azzopardi said in the statement. “New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it’s not about the facts, this is about politics.”

Azzopardi provided Fox News Digital with a letter sent by Cuomo’s attorney Rita Glavin to Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, outlining that she had provided four dates for an August interview and that she had not heard back from the office until this week. 

“Pursuant to a conversation with your staff on February 12, 2024, in a February 21, 2024 email we provided four dates (August 6, 7, 13 or 14) that both Governor Cuomo and I are available for such an interview,” Glavin wrote in the letter, dated Monday. 

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She continued that she had not heard back from the office until Monday, and asked Wenstrup to “reconsider issuing a subpoena.” 

“Specifically, earlier today, staff members asked me to accept electronic service of a subpoena to compel Governor Cuomo’s attendance for testimony. Given Governor Cuomo’s stated willingness to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview, we ask that you reconsider issuing a subpoena,” she wrote. 

“To be clear, Gov. Cuomo has been and remains cooperative,” she added. 

Cuomo stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. 

He has previously defended New York’s COVID policies regarding nursing homes as following guidance from the federal government.

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“If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government,” he said at a press conference in 2021. “It’s not about pointing fingers or blame, this became a political football.” 

Wenstrup wrote that “[t]he Select Subcommittee specifically requested your testimony because it was your administration that issued the March 25, 2020 nursing home order stating, in relevant part, that ‘[n]o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19.’”

“Of course, you have argued — even after leaving office — that the March 25 Order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidance. In addition, you have argued that it was the nursing home staff — not your Administration’s order — that was responsible for the resulting deaths in the nursing homes,” Wenstrup continued. 

Azzopardi concluded in his statement that Congress continues to “play politics” with the pandemic while war rages in Ukraine. 

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“Do your job: Ukrainian soldiers are throwing stones at Russian tanks because we haven’t sent ammunition, and we still don’t have a budget. Instead, they continue to play politics with Covid and weaponize people’s pain and loss of loved ones,” he wrote. 

Fox News’ Greg Norman, Andrea Vacchiano, Tyler Olson, Rich Edson contributed to this report.