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Former President Barack Obama praised Pennsylvania for enacting automatic voter registration in the key swing state as conservatives cried foul over the move ahead of the 2024 election. 

“Great news — starting today, Pennsylvania will begin automatic voter registration for folks getting a driver’s license or state ID card at the DMV. Hopefully even more states will follow,” Obama wrote on X, formerly Twitter. 

But the move faced criticism from some conservatives, including Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, who wrote to his 2.3 million followers, “Leftist Pennsylvania governor decides to ‘automatically’ register ‘voters’ — a legally-dubious and surefire way to make it easier for ineligible individuals to vote illegally.” 

“Breaking: Barack Obama, one of the most corrupt presidents in history, promotes illicit process to further undermine clean elections in Pennsylvania,” Fitton added.

TRUMP ALLEGES PELOSI TURNED DOWN 10,000 SOLDIERS AHEAD OF CAPITOL RIOT: ‘SHE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR JAN 6’

Former President Barack Obama wrote on X supporting Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s automatic voter registration announcement. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, announced that Pennsylvania would become the 24th U.S. state to enact automatic registration, meaning anyone who goes to the DMV to get or renew a driver’s license will automatically be registered to vote unless they choose to opt out. The governor claimed that 1.6 million Pennsylvanians are qualified to vote but are not registered, claiming, “This is a safe, secure, and streamlined way to be able to get them to register and participate in our democracy.” 

“Real freedom means expanding access to the ballot box for every legal, eligible voter,” Shapiro wrote on X. “That’s why as of today, Pennsylvania is an automatic voter registration state.” 

The announcement coincided with National Voter Registration Day. 

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced automatic voter registration Tuesday. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Conservative activist Scott Presler claimed in a post to his 1.4 million followers on X that Shapiro’s announcement “signals the democrats are becoming desperate, as they see our Republican weekly gains in voter registration.” 

PENNSYLVANIA ANNOUNCES AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION

“The Pennsylvania Democratic Party is in shambles. Recently, it printed out thousands of cards reminding voters to vote on November 8th — a day after Election Day. They are lacking money & underwent a round of layoffs in July 2023,” Presler added. “Ultimately, the pessimism has to cease. I mean this w/ love & respect: if people spent 1/10th of the time they spend complaining on social media & directed that anger into positive action, we would never lose another election.”

President Biden referenced January 6 in declaring Tuesday National Voter Registration Day. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

President Biden evoked the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in proclaiming Monday that National Voter Registration Day would be observed Tuesday. 

In a White House release Monday, Biden called on Americans to register to vote and “vowed to fight back against state legislation that undermines the will of the American people.” 

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“Even today, the voting rights of so many hang in the balance,” Biden’s statement said. “The Supreme Court weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act, and in the years since, States have enacted dozens of anti-voting laws. On January 6, 2021 — one of the darkest moments of our Nation’s history — we saw the violent and deadly insurrection at the Capitol perpetrated by election deniers. It is clear that the fight to preserve our democratic values and norms is not over.” 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday unveiled his energy plan that he says will “reverse” the Biden era “Green New Deal” style regulations and put the U.S. on the path to gas prices of $2 a gallon by 2025.

“As President, I will be laser-focused on reducing gas prices and energy costs,” DeSantis said in a press release that outlined the GOP presidential candidate’s plan for energy independence. 

“We will unleash American energy dominance as a way to stop inflation and achieve $2 gas in 2025. We need a pro-America energy policy that puts Midland over Moscow, the Marcellus over the Mullahs, and the Bakken over Beijing,” the release added. 

“We will reverse American decline by reversing Biden’s America last energy agenda, eliminating reliance on hostile nations for energy, and putting the economic interests of Americans before the radical left’s ideological agenda.”

DESANTIS WARNS PRO-LIFE VOTERS TRUMP WILL ‘SELL YOU OUT’ AFTER EX-PRESIDENT’S CRITIQUE OF 6-WEEK ABORTION BAN

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Party of Iowa’s 2023 Lincoln Dinner at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 28, 2023. (SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty Images)

The plan, according to DeSantis, has six key components, which consist of restoring American energy dominance; saving the American automobile; elevating evidence over ideology; reforming environmental permitting and ending green lawfare; jumpstarting critical mineral and federal land development; and building the most efficient, affordable and reliable energy grid in the world.

“As president, I will restore America’s energy independence,” DeSantis said Wednesday during a press conference in Midland, Texas. “We will use our energy dominance to deny our enemies’ revenue. We will bankrupt their ability to threaten America, and we will help our allies become less reliant on our adversaries.”

DESANTIS SUGGESTS HE IS OPEN TO LAUNCH MISSILES INTO MEXICO TO KILL DRUG CARTELS: ‘DEADLY FORCE AUTHORIZED’

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a press conference at the close of Florida’s 2023 legislative session.

The DeSantis plan involves repealing several Biden administration policies including EV mandates, his WOTUS rule, Clean Power Plan and EV subsidies. 

“The days of rolling blackouts and unreliable grids will be finished,” DeSantis said in Texas. “To every American, outraged by rising gas prices under Biden, and they are rising, and I think nationally it’s coming close to $4 a gallon. Our target goal is in 2025 we want that gas at $2 a gallon. We certainly will move in that direction if we implement all these policies, and that is exactly what we’re going to try to do.”

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President Biden delivers remarks at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Maryland, on Thursday. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

DeSantis also mentioned China multiple times in his plan and pledged to “repeal and oppose all policies that increase our energy sector’s reliance on China.”

“We have it within our power to utilize our own resources so that we can lower gas prices for our own people here in the United States,” DeSantis said. “We can lower costs for our own people here in the United States. We are not, when I’m president, going to beg foreign nations for oil, we’re not going to send our reserves to hostile nations like China.”

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Donald Trump Jr.’s personal account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, was hacked on Wednesday and began making erratic and absurd posts.

A spokesperson for Trump confirmed the hack to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, saying the content on the account had been “false and inflammatory.” The account has more than 10 million followers.

“I’m sad to announce, my father Donald Trump has passed away. I will be running for president in 2024,” read one of the hacker’s posts.

“This just in: North Korea is about to get smoked,” another read.

LEFT-WING ACTIVISTS TRY TO BAN TRUMP JR. FROM AUSTRALIA AHEAD OF SPEAKING TOUR

Donald Trump Jr.’s personal account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was hacked on Wednesday and began making erratic and absurd posts. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

The hacker also wrote an offensive post addressed to President Biden that ended with “f— @joebiden.”

CLIMATE CHANGE PROTESTORS DROP PANTS AT MASSACHUSETTS STATEHOUSE DURING TAX RELIEF PACKAGE DEBATE

Each of the posts has since been deleted, and Trump appears to have regained full control of his account. He has yet to write a post addressing the hack.

Eric Trump, Don Jr.’s younger brother, poked fun at him over the hack on X.

TRUMP JR, GOP UNDER FIRE FOR GOING SOFT ON BUD LIGHT BOYCOTTS: NO INTEREST IN ‘PUSHING BACK’

“What was @donaldtrumpjr’s password? Don2024?” he wrote, adding a laughing emoji.

The Trump family maintains a large following on Twitter, despite former President Trump mostly limiting his posts to the Truth Social platform. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The Trump family maintains a large following on X, despite former President Donald Trump mostly limiting his posts to his Truth Social platform.

TRUMP JR. NEWS CURATING PLATFORM HITS #1 IN APP STORE IN 24 HOURS: ”MAINSTREAM NEWS WITHOUT MAINSTREAM BIAS’

Eric Trump, left, joked that his brother Donal Trump Jr.’s password for his X account was “Don2024.” (James Devaney/GC Images)

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So far, there have been no indications of who was responsible for Wednesday’s hack.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan laid into Attorney General Merrick Garland in a Wednesday hearing, demanding to know why the Justice Department had allowed potential charges against Hunter Biden to lapse.

The Ohio Republican highlighted Biden’s business dealings with Burisma, a company in Ukraine, and noted that the DOJ had allowed the statute of limitations to lapse on any potential tax crimes Biden may have committed during that time. Garland refused to answer Jordan’s questions directly, instead deflecting to future statements by Special Counsel David Weiss.

Jordan recited the facts leading up to the case, that Biden had taken a lucrative position at Burisma he was not qualified for, and that Burisma executives had told him they were “under pressure.” He then asserted that President Biden, then Vice President, moved to get a prosecutor looking into the company fired.

“That all happened. What I’m wondering is why you guys let the statute of limitations lapse for those tax years that dealt with Burisma income?” Jordan asked.

GOP REP. CALLS FOR MERRICK GARLAND’S IMPEACHMENT OVER ROLE IN BIDEN’S ‘COVERUP’: HE’S THE ‘HEAD OF THE SNAKE’

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, L, is looking into how grant money is being processed by key offices within Attorney General Merrick Garland’s, R, Department of Justice

“There’s one more fact that’s important, and that is that this investigation was being conducted by Mr. Weiss, an appointee of President Trump. You will, at the appropriate time, have the opportunity to ask Mr. Weiss that question and he will no doubt address it in the public report that will be transmitted to the Congress,” Garland responded.

“Did they forget? Did the lawyers just, like, oh darn we let it – were they careless?” Jordan pressed.

“I expect that won’t be what he says, but because I promised – ” Garland said before being cut off.

Garland says he doesn’t know why the DOJ allowed the statute of limitations to lapse in Hunter Biden’s Burisma case. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

“You know that’s not the case, because as Mr. Bishop pointed out they had a tolling agreement. They talked to Hunter Biden’s defense counsel and said let’s extend the statute of limitations. And then at some point they made an intentional decision to say we’re gonna let the statute of limitations lapse, and I want to know who decided that and why they did it,” Jordan said.

BIDEN ADMIN HIRES SCAR TO MONITOR SCHOOL BOOK BAN: ‘THREAT’ TO STUDENTS

“Mr. Weiss was the supervisor of the investigation at that time and at all times,” Garland repeated. “He made the appropriate decisions. You’ll be able to ask him that question.”

“We all know why they did it,” Jordan said. “Everyone knows why they did it … those tax years, that involved the president. It’s one thing to have a gun charge in Delaware. That doesn’t involve the president of the United States. But Burisma? Oh my, that goes right to the White House.”

Jim Jordan says Hunter Biden’s Burisma scandal implicated President Biden and “goes right to the White House.” (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Garland fielded questions from the Judiciary Committee throughout Wednesday. He denied allegations that the Biden family is benefiting from a two-tiered justice system, saying he has not interfered with Hunter’s investigation.

Republicans argue Hunter is receiving soft treatment while former President Donald Trump is getting railroaded with more indictments.

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The committee has been investigating the alleged politicization of the DOJ throughout the Biden administration. Most recently, IRS whistleblowers came to Congress to testify that prosecutorial decisions made throughout the years-long federal investigation into Hunter have been influenced by politics.

Attorney General Merrick Garland will target the narrative that Democrats benefit from a two-tiered justice system in his opening statement before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Republicans across the country have pointed to Hunter Biden’s case as a prime example of such a system, contrasting his treatment with that of former President Trump. Excerpts of Garland’s planned remarks obtained by Fox News Digital show the Biden appointee will reject allegations of bias, as well as go on to chide unnamed figures for “singling out” career officials for public criticism.

“Our job is to uphold the rule of law. That means that we apply the same laws to everyone. There is not one set of laws for the powerful and another for the powerless; one for the rich, another for the poor; one for Democrats, another for Republicans; or different rules, depending upon one’s race or ethnicity or religion,” Garland plans to say.

“Our job is to pursue justice, without fear or favor. Our job is not to do what is politically convenient. Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate. As the President himself has said, and I reaffirm here today: I am not the President’s lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress’s prosecutor,” the remarks continue.

BIDEN CLAIMS HE WAS ‘RAISED’ IN SYNAGOGUES, ADDING TO EVER-GROWING LIST OF EXAGGERATED BACKGROUND CLAIMS

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a meeting with all the U.S. attorneys in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (AP/Jose Luis Magana)

“The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law, wherever they lead. And that is what we do. All of us at the Justice Department recognize that with this work comes public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate oversight. These are appropriate and important given the gravity of the matters before the Department. But singling out individual career public servants who are just doing their jobs is dangerous – particularly at a time of increased threats to the safety of public servants and their families. We will not be intimidated. We will do our jobs free from outside interference. And we will not back down from defending our democracy,” he plans to say.

GOP REP. CALLS FOR MERRICK GARLAND’S IMPEACHMENT OVER ROLE IN BIDEN’S ‘COVERUP’: HE’S THE ‘HEAD OF THE SNAKE’

At Wednesday’s hearing, led by committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, members plan to examine how the Justice Department became “politicized and weaponized under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland.”

The committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, titled the hearing, “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice.” Members plan to examine how the Justice Department became “politicized and weaponized under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland.” (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The committee has been investigating the alleged politicization of the DOJ throughout the Biden administration. Most recently, IRS whistleblowers came to Congress to testify that prosecutorial decisions made throughout the yearslong federal investigation into Hunter Biden have been influenced by politics.

BIDEN ADMIN HIRES SCAR TO MONITOR SCHOOL BOOK BAN: ‘THREAT’ TO STUDENTS

However, Democrats have complained that Republicans are stealing the “two-tiered” terminology from the civil rights movement.

Republicans across the country have pointed to Hunter Biden’s case as a prime example of a two-tiered justice system, contrasting his treatment with that of former President Trump. (Fox News)

“Since January 6th, these Republicans and Trump have complained about a two-tier justice system, co-opting the language of the decades-long civil rights movement for Black lives and Black freedom,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said in a July hearing.

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“There is a two-tier justice system, but it’s not about Democrats versus Republican,” Frost continued. “This language, two-tier justice system, has a real history. It has a real history of Emmitt Till. It has a real history with Breonna Taylor. It has a real history with George Floyd, the Central Park Five.”

Garland is scheduled to testify Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. ET.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

This is the first of a three-part series breaking down the Fox News Power Rankings ahead of the second 2024 GOP presidential debate.

These rankings place most of the candidates beneath Trump in new tiers or positions. The forecast also anticipates that a candidate from each wing will come in first and second place, but a standard-bearer for the conservative wing has not yet emerged.

Frontrunner

Donald Trump still takes the lead among American voters as frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential candidate. (Fox News)

Trump continues to receive support from a majority of Republicans in gold-standard national and state polls, and now also enjoys a wider gap between himself and his next closest competitor than at any other point in the cycle so far.
He remains the clear frontrunner of this race.
 

WHAT ARE THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS?

Challengers

The challengers against Donald Trump are placed into two categories: Populist, which Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy fall under and Conservative which Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, and Mike Pence fall under.  (Fox News)

Last time, the Power Rankings called the next tier of candidates underneath Trump the “contenders.” In other words, the candidates who were serious threats to his nomination.

With support for DeSantis falling, and little national or statewide polling that is encouraging for the candidates behind him, nobody clears that bar this time.
 

Instead, the next tier of candidates are the “challengers.” They all have pathways to the nomination, but haven’t distinguished themselves enough from the pack to take on the frontrunner.

Polls show that DeSantis is declining as Trump remains in the lead. (Fox News)

DeSantis still leads this group, though by a smaller margin. 

Ramaswamy moves up to third place, on the back of consistent improvements in national polling. The 38-year-old entrepreneur is yet to break out of the single digits in gold-standard statewide polls.

According to voters, Ramaswamy performed best out of any candidate at the first debate. 35% of people who watched or heard about the event said he “exceeded expectations” (WSJ Poll, August).

Voters place Ramaswamy at the top as best debate performance. (Fox News)

DEMOCRATS HAVE PATHWAYS TO REPLACE BIDEN IN 2024, BUT THEY ARE NARROWING

Haley sits close behind, both in terms of her debate performance and her overall position on the Power Rankings. 27% of voters in the same poll say she exceeded expectations in Milwaukee, leaving candidates beneath her in the dust.

Haley follows close behind in her debate performance and her position on the Power Rankings.  (Fox News)

She is making promising gains in national and statewide polls. In her home state, for example, she most recently sat at 18% (Monmouth/WaPo Poll, September). Remember, though, that South Carolina only awards delegates to the winner of their primary.

Scott has dropped two places. The first debate did him no favors, with only 2% of voters saying he exceeded expectations. There are signs that his support in the early states is weakening.

After a fiery performance in the first debate, Pence is still struggling to find his constituency. He may be leading the populism vs conservatism debate, but so far, voters are not listening. He stays in sixth.

Note on second place

The challengers are also grouped into the wings of the party that they generally represent: DeSantis and Ramaswamy in the “populist” wing, and Haley, Scott and Pence in the “conservative” wing.

LONGSHOT REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SCRAMBLE TO MAKE 2ND DEBATE NEXT WEEK

Each wing offers a very different vision to voters. Therefore, as candidates drop out, their supporters are more likely to support someone like-minded than jump to a different ideology.

As a result, the most likely outcome is that as the field narrows, candidates will remain from both wings of the party. 

This forecast therefore expects that if Trump continues to lead the race, the candidate in second place is most likely to come from the conservative wing.
 

None of the conservative wing candidates have done enough to distinguish themselves from the pack yet, so they can’t be placed higher in the individual rankings. It is also possible, though unlikely, that all of the leading candidates from the conservative wing drop out of the race early.

The second debate airs next Wednesday

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Fox Business and Univision will host the second Republican debate next Wednesday, September 27, at 9PM ET, from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Your moderators are Fox’s Dana Perino and Stuart Varney, and Univision’s Ilia Calderón.

Live coverage begins at 8PM ET on Fox Business Network and 8:30PM ET on Fox News Channel. The debate will simulcast on both networks, along with Univision, and streaming partner Rumble.

Former President Donald Trump travels to Iowa on Wednesday as he turns up the volume on his campaign in the state whose caucuses lead off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

But Trump returns to Iowa in the wake of controversial abortions comments he made this past weekend that sparked outrage among some in the social conservative community in a state where Evangelical voters play an outsized role in the Republican presidential caucuses. 

Trump, who for months has been the commanding front-runner in the 2024 Republican race, is gunning to take down Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s relentlessly criss-crossed Iowa this summer as he tries to shave points off of Trump’s enormous double-digit lead in the Hawkeye State.

With less than four months to go until the Iowa caucuses, the former president will hold a “Team Trump Caucus Commitment” organizing event with campaign volunteers at the Jackson County Fairgrounds in Maquoketa. Later, he’ll give policy remarks at the Grand River Conference Center in Dubuque in front of what his campaign estimates will be a crowd of up to 2,500 people.

WITH FOUR MONTHS UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES, THE 2024 GOP BATTLE HEATS UP IN THE FIRST CAUCUS STATE

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump waves to supporters at the Iowa Pork Producers tent during a visit to the Iowa State Fair, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (AP )

Trump’s campaign also highlights that the former president will make four more trips to Iowa next month.

“Polling shows President Trump leading by nearly 40 points, but as he always tells us, put the pedal to the metal,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung emphasized in a statement. “We don’t play prevent defense, and his aggressive upcoming schedule reflects President Trump’s continued commitment to earning support in Iowa one voter at a time.”

The campaign’s also adding a new senior adviser in Iowa. And the former president’s getting support in the state from the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc., which this past weekend launched a more than $700,000 week-long ad buy in Iowa.

2024 WATCH: THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE IS TRUMP’S TO LOSE

Trump’s historic four criminal indictments this year — including two for allegedly trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden — appear to have only strengthened his support among likely Republican primary voters.

The latest Fox News national survey in the GOP nomination race, conducted Sept. 9-12, pointed to Trump expanding his already enormous lead over the rest of the field.

But while still towering over his rivals, Trump’s lead in the latest surveys in Iowa, as well as New Hampshire and South Carolina, two other crucial early voting states in the Republican nominating calendar, is not as overwhelming.

“It’s closer in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that it is nationally, but it’s not close,” said David Kochel, a longtime Republican consultant and veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns in Iowa and nationally.

“These things do break late. There’s a lot of stuff we haven’t seen or heard yet. Whether it’s Trump’s trials, which I don’t think are going to move any numbers against him. Whether it’s future debates. Whether it’s something we can’t foresee now,” Kochel noted. “The door’s still open, but it’s not as wide open as it was.”

Trump’s made seven trips to Iowa so far this year, including a quick swing through the State Fair last month and an appearance earlier this month at a fraternity house in Ames before attending the annual Iowa-Iowa State college football game.

Former President Donald Trump holds a football before throwing it to the crowd during a visit to the Alpha Gamma Rho, agricultural fraternity, at Iowa State University before an NCAA college football game between Iowa State and Iowa, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Ames, Iowa.  (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

His campaign touts that they added over 2,250 signed caucus pledge cards during Trump’s most recent Iowa trip, bringing the total collected to more than 27,500. And they highlight that they’ve recruited over 1,000 precinct captains for January’s caucuses.

But Trump’s visits to the state can’t compare to frequency some of his rivals travels, such as DeSantis, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

HOW THIS ONE-TIME BATTLEGROUND STATE IN THE HEARTLAND TURNED BRIGHT RED

With the clock ticking towards January, Iowa based Republican strategist and presidential campaign veteran Jimmy Centers emphasized that “at some point the rest of the field has to make a stronger and more compelling argument as they why them. Why are we changing horses from the former president…They have to speak more directly to that point and start doing it soon.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, shakes hands with supporters after joining Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (right) at her ‘fair side chats’ at the Iowa State Fair, on August 12, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

But Trump appears to have handed his rivals some ammunition over the combustible issue of abortion.

Trump declined to endorse a specific number of weeks after which abortion would be banned, with some exceptions, and he refused to say whether he feels the issue should settled at the state or federal levels, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

“We’re going to agree to a number of weeks or months or however you want to define it,” Trump said. “And both sides are going to come together and both sides — both sides, and this is a big statement — both sides will come together…I think both sides are going to like me.”

NIKKI HALEY SEARCHES FOR COMMON GROUND ON COMBUSTIBLE ISSUE OF ABORTION

Trump also once criticized Republicans who take too hard an abortion stance, saying “You’re not going to win on this issue.”

And he called the six-week abortion ban DeSantis signed into law in Florida “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

Firing back, DeSantis said in an interview with Radio Iowa that “Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble and just and I’m proud to have signed the heartbeat bill in Florida and I know Iowa has similar legislation,”

“I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow prolife if you’re criticizing states for enacting protections for babies that have heartbeats,” DeSantis stressed.

Scott, who to date has mostly avoided criticizing Trump, said during a campaign stop Monday in Iowa that “President Trump said he would negotiate with the Democrats and walk back away from what I believe we need, which is a 15-week limit on the federal level.”

Popular conservative GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa – who earlier this year signed a similar six-week ban into law – on Tuesday defended her measure, saying “It’s never a “terrible thing’ to protect innocent life.”

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa speaks to a large gathering of Evangelical voters at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual fall banquet, on Sept. 16, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Bob Vander Plaats, the president and CEO of the Family Leader, an influential faith-based organization in Iowa, took to social media to charge that the former president Donald Trump “has shown his true colors.”

“The scripture states out of the heart, the mouth speaks. I think  @realDonaldTrump revealed his heart on @MeetThePress,” Vander Plaats argued.

And he warned that Trump’s “let’s make a deal” on the #SanctityofHumanLife ” could lead to the former president “losing his base” in Iowa.

Vander Plaats, who is far from a Trump supporter, is likely to endorse one of the former president’s rivals in the coming months.

Trump took to his Truth Social network on Tuesday to defend his record, writing, “I was able to do something that nobody thought was possible, end Roe v. Wade.

“Like Ronald Reagan before me, I believe in the three exceptions for Rape, Incest, and the Life of the Mother. Without the exceptions, it is very difficult to win Elections, we would probably lose the Majorities in 2024, and perhaps the Presidency itself, but you must follow your HEART!” Trump wrote.

And he reiterated past comments that “In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to talk about Abortion. This issue cost us unnecessarily, but dearly, in the Midterms…”

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Nicole Schlinger, a veteran Iowa-based conservative operative and strategist who is well-connected with evangelical groups, told Fox News that Trump “was the most pro-life president in our lifetime. He gave us the justices that gave us Dobbs, and we’re grateful for that.”

But she added “what he does next matters and negotiating weeks of human life with Democrats does not seem like what Evangelical caucus goers wanted when they asked for those justices.”

“It remains to be seen but this could be one of those moments where we say the tide turned,” Schlinger predicted. “I think it could and it should motivate Evangelical caucus goers to take a second look. I think the door’s open for another candidate, but it’s up to someone to walk through it.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 13 Senate Republicans is warning that a top Biden administration official overseeing aggressive fuel efficiency regulations is illegally serving in the position, nullifying recent actions her agency has taken.

In a letter Wednesday to President Biden, the GOP senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Acting Administrator Ann Carlson must be immediately removed from her position. Earlier this year, Carlson failed to clear Senate confirmation to permanently lead NHTSA.

“In circumvention of the Senate’s constitutional responsibility to provide advice and consent on presidential nominations, you appointed Ms. Carlson to lead the agency after her nomination to be NHTSA administrator failed in the face of significant Senate opposition due to her extreme policy views, radical environmentalist record, and lack of vehicle safety experience,” the letter stated. 

“Ms. Carlson’s appointment as acting administrator not only violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (Vacancies Act) but also renders the agency’s actions while she has held herself out as acting administrator invalid,” Cruz and the other Republicans added. “We urge you to immediately replace Ms. Carlson as acting administrator and name a new nominee as soon as possible.”

STUDY CASTS DOUBT ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES’ CLIMATE, COST BENEFITS: ‘WON’T ACHIEVE THE GOALS INTENDED’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, speaks during a hearing March 8, 2022. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In January 2021, the Biden-Harris transition team hired Carlson, then an environmental law professor at UCLA, to serve as NHTSA’s chief counsel. While the position didn’t require Senate confirmation, Carlson has overseen key agency initiatives, like the modification of fuel economy standards, and has served as acting administrator since September.

In February, Biden nominated Carlson to be the administrator of NHTSA, and the White House subsequently transmitted the nomination to the Senate Commerce Committee a month later. However, Carlson’s nomination faced stiff opposition led by Cruz and fellow Commerce Committee Republicans who pointed to her history of environmental activism and desire to transform NHTSA into a climate-focused agency.

BIDEN NOMINEE WANTS TO HIJACK LITTLE-KNOWN AGENCY TO RAM THROUGH CLIMATE AGENDA

On May 30, the White House announced her nomination had been withdrawn. Carlson, though, has continued serving as NHTSA’s acting administrator, and the White House has yet to nominate a replacement, making her the agency’s chief for the foreseeable future.

“To comply with the law, you should immediately correct your violation of the law by removing Ms. Carlson from her so-called acting administrator position,” Cruz and the 12 other Republicans wrote to Biden. “After doing so, you should nominate a serious and well-qualified person to be NHTSA administrator.”

President Biden nominated Ann Carlson to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in February 2023. The White House then withdrew the nomination after stiff opposition. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

The letter cited the Federal Vacancies Reform Act that prohibits “any person who has been nominated to fill any vacant office from performing that office’s duties in an acting capacity.” The purpose of the provision, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court, is to prevent the White House from doing an “end run around the Senate’s constitutional advice and consent authority,” the Republicans continued.

They added that Carlson cannot serve as acting administrator under the Vacancies Act both because of her failed nomination and because she did not serve in the position of first assistant to former NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff for more than 90 days before he resigned in September 2022.

As a result of Carlson improperly leading the agency, the Republicans said actions taken during her tenure are, therefore, invalid.

BIDEN NOMINEE COORDINATED DARK MONEY CLIMATE NUISANCE LAWSUITS INVOLVING LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Sen. Ted Cruz and President Biden  (Getty Images)

Notably, in late July, NHTSA proposed its most aggressive ever fuel economy standards that experts warned would substantially increase car prices and force electric vehicle purchases. Carlson said at the time the regulations would help “reduce harmful emissions.”

“These standards run contrary to the law, diminish consumer choice, impose higher costs on American families, and undermine our national and energy security all while benefiting China,” the letter stated. “Because Ms. Carlson cannot legally serve as the acting administrator, these proposed standards are invalid and cannot be ratified by a subsequent Senate-confirmed NHTSA administrator.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cruz noted that Democrats’ policies at the federal and state level pushing electric vehicles have created chaos in the auto industry.

He also argued the ongoing autoworker strikes demonstrate how electric vehicle mandates have harmed the industry. Last week, the United Auto Workers (UAW) unleashed their first-ever simultaneous strike against all three of the largest U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — over wages, a modified work week and pension benefits.

A Tesla electric vehicle charges in Charlotte, N.C., in 2019. Under Carlson’s leadership, NHTSA unveiled aggressive fuel efficiency standards expected to drive more electric vehicle purchases. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

“Biden’s EV mandates and subsidies may have been inspired by radical politicians in deep blue states, but they’ve been put into practice by unaccountable bureaucrats like Ann Carlson,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “With the current strike, it has become increasingly obvious that the left’s full-fledged assault on popular gas-powered cars and trucks is causing chaos in the auto sector — and it’s no wonder workers are concerned about long-term job security.

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“President Biden and Green New Deal absolutists like Ann Carlson own this strike,” he continued. “President Biden’s illegal appointment of Ann Carlson, who was effectively rejected by the Senate due to concerns about her extreme agenda and radical record, will only yield more mandates, higher costs for families and a less vibrant economy.”

Every Republican member of the Senate Commerce Committee signed the letter to Biden Wednesday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday that it is “essential” to preserve the freedom of the press and that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should not be prosecuted for informing the public.

“It is essential to preserve the freedom of the press. A journalist like Julian Assange cannot be punished for informing society in a transparent and legitimate way,” Lula said.

The president’s comments come a day before a cross-party delegation of Australian politicians meet in Washington, D.C., with U.S. officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups. The group is bringing a letter signed by more than 60 members of parliament calling on the U.S. to drop the prosecution against Assange, who is fighting against extradition to the U.S., where could be sentenced to as many as 175 years in an American maximum security prison.

U.S. President Joe Biden will host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in late October. Albanese has repeatedly called on the U.S. in recent months to end the prosecution of the Australian journalist.

DELEGATION OF AUSTRALIAN LAWMAKERS WILL VISIT US TO PUSH FOR JULIAN ASSANGE’S RELEASE: ‘POWERFUL MESSAGE’

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 19, 2023, in New York City. (Getty)

Assange is facing 17 charges for receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the espionage act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. The charges stem from the 2010 publication of cables U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked to Wikileaks that detailed war crimes committed by the U.S. government in the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp, Iraq and Afghanistan. The materials also expose 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 13 years ago.

“Our fight is against disinformation and cybercrime,” Lula said on Tuesday. “Acts and platforms should not abolish the labor laws we fight so hard for.”

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 in London 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.

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS GOVERNMENT STANDS FIRM AGAINST US PROSECUTION OF JULIAN ASSANGE

Julian Assange is facing 17 charges for receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the espionage act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. (AP)

In May, Lula denounced the lack of concerted efforts to free Assange, calling it an “embarrassment” that a journalist who “denounced trickery by one state against another is arrested, condemned to die in jail, and we do nothing to free him.”

“It’s a crazy thing,” Lula told reporters at the time. “We talk about freedom of expression; the guy is in prison because he denounced wrongdoing. And the press doesn’t do anything in defense of this journalist. I can’t understand it.”

The Obama administration decided not to indict Assange after Wikileaks published the cables in 2010 because it would have had to also indict journalists from major news outlets who published the materials. Former President Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence, for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, to seven years. 

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

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 19, 2023, in New York City. (Getty)

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“I think there must be a movement of world press in his defense. Not in regard to his person, but to defend the right to denounce,” Lula told reporters in May. “The guy didn’t denounce anything vulgar. He denounced that a state was spying on others, and that became a crime against the journalist. The press, which defends freedom of the press, does nothing to free this citizen. It’s sad, but it’s true.”

Last year, the editors and publishers of U.S. and European news outlets that worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from 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.

And in April, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., led a letter to the Justice Department signed by some of her congressional colleagues demanding Assange’s freedom.

Former President Donald Trump is facing increased scrutiny for calling Florida’s six-week abortion ban “a terrible thing,” with more big names joining the chorus of those condemning him.

“It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life. I’m proud of the fetal heartbeat bill the Iowa legislature passed and I signed in 2018 and again earlier this year,” Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

She was joined shortly after by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who wrote in his own X post, “There’s nothing ‘terrible’ about standing up for life. In addition to passing the heartbeat bill, Georgia has proudly protected and valued life through implementing adoption and foster care reforms, and combatting (sic) human trafficking – and will continue to do so as long as I’m governor.”

TRUMP BLASTED ONLINE AFTER ATTACK ON DESANTIS’ ABORTION BAN: ‘A TERRIBLE THING’

Trump made the comments during an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend, when he was pressed on his abortion stance. In his response, he said he would work with Democrats to pass abortion legislation before taking aim at Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support for the six-week ban, officially called the Heartbeat Protection Act.

“I mean, ‘DeSanctus’ [DeSantis] is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban,” Trump said. “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

The comments sparked widespread backlash from conservatives, who took to social media to blast the former president, and question his comments considering his previously expressed pro-life stances.

DESANTIS WARNS PRO-LIFE VOTERS TRUMP WILL ‘SELL YOU OUT’ AFTER EX-PRESIDENT’S CRITIQUE OF 6-WEEK ABORTION BAN

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, former President Donald Trump and Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. (Getty Images)

DeSantis also weighed in, warning pro-life voters Trump will “sell you out” following the comments.

“Anytime he did a deal with Democrats, whether it was on budget, whether it was on the criminal justice ‘First Step Act,’ they ended up taking him to the cleaners, and so, I think if he’s going into this thing, he’s gonna make the Democrats happy with respect to the right to life. I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out,” DeSantis said. 

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Fox News’ Houston Keene and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned pro-life Americans that former President Trump will “sell you out” after the current 2024 GOP frontrunner’s recent critique of six-week abortion bans. 

In an interview on Radio Iowa Monday, DeSantis reacted to Trump’s appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, the first network news interview the former president has given since leaving office. While DeSantis said Trump deserves credit for his accomplishments on court appointments, the Abraham Accords, deregulation and other topics, the Florida governor vying for the White House took issue with Trump’s promise of securing a deal between Democrats and Republicans on the number of weeks into pregnancy that is best for restricting abortion. 

“Anytime he did a deal with Democrats, whether it was on budget, whether it was on the criminal justice ‘First Step Act,’ they ended up taking him to the cleaners, and so, I think if he’s going into this thing, he’s gonna make the Democrats happy with respect to the right to life. I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out,” DeSantis said. 

“Protecting babies with heartbeats is not terrible. Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble and just, and I’m proud to have signed the heartbeat bill in Florida, and I know Iowa has similar legislation,” DeSantis told Radio Iowa Monday. 

TRUMP BLASTED ONLINE AFTER ATTACK ON DESANTIS’ ABORTION BAN: ‘A TERRIBLE THING’

Former President Trump, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis butt heads on the abortion issue. (Getty Images)

Trump told NBC’s Kristen Walker that he believed DeSantis’ decision to sign a six-week abortion ban was a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” 

“But at the same time, Democrats won’t be able to go out in six months, seven months, eight months and allow an abortion,” Trump added. 

Former President Trump addresses the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee on Sept. 15, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

While state law in Florida currently prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks, DeSantis, in April, signed the Heartbeat Protection Act, which aims to restrict abortions after six weeks gestation, with exceptions including women who are victims of rape, incest and human trafficking, or whose baby has a devastating diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality. 

A court ruling this fall could determine whether the law will take effect, as activists on both sides raise petitions to amend the state constitution in their favor. 

“I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow pro-life if you’re criticizing states for enacting pro-life protections for babies that have heartbeats,” DeSantis said Monday. “I thought him saying that those bills were terrible I think was a terrible statement, and I think it’s a window into how he’s changing as he’s running this campaign, and I think he’s changing in a way that’s not consistent with the values with the people in Iowa.” 

TRUMP ALLEGES PELOSI TURNED DOWN 10,000 SOLDIERS AHEAD OF CAPITOL RIOT: ‘SHE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR JAN 6’

During the NBC interview, Trump was pressed on whether he would support a 15-week federal ban on abortion, but the former president declined to specify a number of weeks. Trump instead credited himself for the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe V. Wade, which he says gave pro-life Americans bargaining power for the first time in over half a century. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves during the Family Research Council and FRC Action annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“For 52 years, people, including Democrats, wanted it to go back to states,” Trump said. “I did something that nobody thought was possible. And Roe v Wade was terminated. It was put back to the states. Now, people – pro-lifers have the right to negotiate. For the first time. They had no rights at all because the radical people on this are really the people, the Democrats, that say after five months, six months, seven months, eight months, nine months, and even after birth you’re allowed to terminate the baby. ” 

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DeSantis, by contrast, said the pro-life movement was not prepared for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last year, arguing conservatives need to be prepared moving forward as the “left is going to try to put something on the ballot in Florida to overturn the heartbeat bill.” 

Fears over President Biden’s old age are rampant within the Democratic Party, and one lawmaker revealed exactly what the “nightmare scenario” is for the party in the 2024 election cycle.

The Washington Post interviewed dozens of Democratic officials and politicians on the state and federal levels regarding Biden’s re-election bid. While they did not oppose his candidacy or name-drop other potential options, they were nevertheless nervous about putting forward an 80-year-old.

One lawmaker, who the Post says spoke on condition of anonymity, painted a particularly worrying picture for the party.

“The worst-case scenario is we get past the nominating process with President Biden as the nominee, and then he’s no longer able to continue on as the nominee,” the lawmaker said. “That’s the nightmare scenario for Democrats.”

WATCH: BIDEN CONFUSES UKRAINE WITH RUSSIA, ZELENSKYY WITH PUTIN DURING GAFFE-FILLED TRIP TO LITHUANIA

Fears over President Biden’s old age are rampant within the Democratic Party, and one lawmaker revealed exactly what the “nightmare scenario” is for the party in the 2024 election cycle. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden would be 82 by the time he entered office if he wins re-election in 2024, and a mid-campaign health issue would devastate Democrats’ hopes of taking the White House.

KAMALA HARRIS TAKEN ABACK BY CBS HOST ASKING ABOUT TRUMP’S RE-ELECTION HOPES: ‘DON’T UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION’

Washington Post Columnist David Ignatius, one of Biden’s longtime favored voices in media, publicly urged the president to step aside.

“I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for re-election,” he wrote last week.

Biden would be 82 by the time he entered office if he wins re-election in 2024, and a mid-campaign health issue would devastate Democrats’ hopes of taking the White House. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement – which was stopping [former President] Trump.”

Meanwhile, a recent poll showed the consensus among American voters is clear: They believe Biden is too old to run again.

BERNIE SANDERS PUSHING CAMPAIGN CASH TO WIFE AND STEPSON’S NONPROFIT RAISES ‘LEGITIMATE CONCERN’: WATCHDOG

An August poll from The Associated Press/NORC found that even 69% of Democrats say Biden is too old to effectively lead in another four-year term at the White House. When including independents and Republicans, that number jumps to 77%.

While Democratic leaders are worrying the consensus among American voters is clear: They believe Biden is too old to run again. (Julia Nikhinson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Biden is the oldest candidate to run for president in U.S. history, followed closely by former President Donald Trump, 77.

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Trump does not face the same scrutiny about his age, however, with fewer than half of Americans saying he is too old to hold office, according to the AP poll.

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

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

THE RUNDOWN: The Senate won’t enforce its dress code as one Democratic member frequently walks the halls in shorts… President Biden called for “new approaches” to global crises in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly… House Republicans canceled a vote on government funding deal… border crossings spike in September… House GOP schedules first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing for Sept. 28

Top Stories

‘STUNT’ MEN: The White House hammered Republicans the Biden administration says is showing their “true priorities” by scheduling the first Biden impeachment hearing inquiries for Sept. 29, two days before some government funding will run out (unless Congress can reach a budget deal for the next fiscal year). 

“Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they shut down the government reveals their true priorities: to them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families,” White House spokesperson Ian Sams told Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman on Tuesday …Read more

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has spoken on impeaching President Biden. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been upfront that the impeachment inquiry is meant to answer lingering, unanswered questions about the president’s involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and rejects the claims that there is no evidence of wrongdoing.  

“I can give you chapter verse in detail… and yet they just claim that there’s no evidence at all,” McCarthy said on Fox News’ “Hannity” last week.

FACTIONS WITHIN FACTIONS: With an impending partial government shutdown less than two weeks away, conservative House members say some Republicans are toying with the idea of voting with Democrats for a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) — funding the government at levels set by the previous Democrat-controlled Congress. 

Rep. Byron Donalds (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a member of the Freedom Caucus (who is also considering running for governor), had measure to fund the government for 30 days with an 8% cut to spending, but a procedural vote on that measure was canceled Tuesday. Another option in the works from moderate Problem Solvers Caucus would reduce spending while adding border security measures …Read more

White House Watch

GOALPOST SHIFT: The White House’s denials of Biden’s involvement with Hunter’s business dealings continues to change …Read more

NOTHING TO SEE: Top Democrat governor defended Hunter Biden profiting from his family’s influence as ‘hardly unique’ …Read more

THAT’S RICH: Top COVID doc Anthony Fauci and his wife saw their net worth balloon in recent years …Read more

Capitol Hill

SENATE ‘SLOB’: Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman defended his casual attire against those who say dressing ‘like a slob’ is a bad thing for the U.S. Capitol …Read more

S (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

LOST AND FOUND: Jokes abound on Capitol Hill after an F-35 jet went missing …Read more

2024 Campaign Trail

THE STRUGGLERS: Longshot GOP presidential hopefuls have less than a week to qualify for the second primary debate, but they don’t want to be counted out just yet …Read more

‘SELL YOU OUT’: Trump’s opposition to bans on abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy used as ammunition against GOP presidential frontrunner …Read more

TICKING CLOCK: Democrats nervous about Biden being at an age where ‘death is imminent’ sound off …Read more

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

FIRST ON FOX: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s presidential campaign walked back his promise to ban hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, as part of his plan to combat plastic pollution.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the campaign said Kennedy, if elected president, would implement a “phase out” of fracking which would be achieved by ending taxpayer-funded subsidies for the industry and allowing the free market to work. The statement appears to soften Kennedy’s social media post last week, when he vowed to “ban” fracking to “fix the plastics pollution crisis.”

“Mr. Kennedy recognizes that an immediate and total ban on fracking would devastate the US economy, and is therefore unrealistic,” the campaign told Fox News Digital. “He favors a gradual phase-out of the practice, starting with the removal of subsidies and a moratorium on new exploration.”

“He believes that fracking, at least in most locations, will no longer be viable when the practice does not receive direct or indirect subsidies, and instead is exposed to the free market,” the statement continued. “Existing productive oil and gas fields will only be phased out as suitable alternatives are available, so that people and the economy can transition smoothly to new technologies.”

BIDEN ADMIN UNLEASHES 50-YEAR MINING, OIL DRILLING BAN ACROSS THOUSANDS OF ACRES IN NEW MEXICO

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks at The Centre Theater on June 5 in Philadelphia. (Lisa Lake/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

The campaign added that Kennedy, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, has worked on fracking issues for years. It noted that Kennedy served in 2014 on a New York fracking committee assembled by former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo which concluded fracking was too expensive to compete in a free market without subsidies. 

Further, Kennedy has led litigation against fracking in Pennsylvania and, according to his campaign, has been witness to the “devastation fracking waste has caused to families and communities.”

The walk-back, meanwhile, comes after Kennedy was heavily criticized over the weekend for his promise to ban fracking.

BIDEN ADMIN REVERSES TRUMP-ERA ACTION MAKING IT EASIER TO BUILD FOSSIL FUEL PIPELINES

“I told all of you that this guy is anti-freedom,” energy expert Alex Epstein said in response to Kennedy’s post. “Banning fracking would immediately plunge the US into a depression. And [Kennedy] would do it to ‘solve’ an amorphous ‘plastics crisis.'”

“I know some conservatives who like RFK Jr but this is 100 percent disqualifying,” added Isaac Orr, a policy fellow focusing on energy issues at the Center of the American Experiment. “We rightly criticize Biden for limiting oil and gas production but even he hasn’t been this vocal about banning fracking.”

A shale gas well drilling site is pictured in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, on March 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

According to the Energy Information Administration, an estimated 2.8 billion barrels, the equivalent of 7.8 million barrels per day, of crude oil were produced directly from tight-oil resources in 2022. The drilling method of fracking is required to reach such tight-oil resources buried deep within subterranean reservoirs.

Overall, roughly 67% of all domestically-produced crude oil — which is the basis of petroleum products — is derived from tight-oil resources, the data showed.

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In addition, fracking has led to a boon in natural gas production in the U.S. over the last decade. Monthly dry shale gas production, as a result, has skyrocketed from about 5 billion cubic feet per day to more than 80 billion cubic feet a day.

“A ban on hydraulic fracturing — a practice that has been used for over 50 years in the United States and other countries — would result in the loss of millions of jobs, price spikes at the gasoline pump and higher electricity costs for all Americans,” former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette wrote in a 2021 report on fracking. 

“Such a ban would eliminate the United States’ status as the top oil and gas producing country and return us to being a net importer of oil and gas by 2025,” Brouillette continued. “It would weaken America’s geopolitical standing and negatively impact our national security.”

Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds is considering a run to be the Sunshine State’s next governor in 2026.

A source close to Donalds confirmed to Fox News Digital he is considering a run for the Florida governorship.

Donalds told Fox News Digital that he is focused on getting former President Trump back into office before moving onto “that other stuff.”

NO CLEAR SPENDING DEAL AS CONGRESS INCHES CLOSER TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

A source close to Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds confirmed to Fox News Digital he is considering a run for governor of Florida. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

“I’m committed to making Biden a one-term president,” Donalds told Fox News Digital. “We’ll focus on that other stuff after President Trump gets inaugurated.”

Donalds told reporters he was considering a run on Tuesday as he spearheads the continuing resolution in the House to avoid a government shutdown.

The congressman has also said he would join Trump as his running mate if asked by the former president.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., speaks during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Additionally, Donalds’ potential run comes as rumors swirl about a potential governor’s run from fellow Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz on Tuesday, however, shot down the rumors of a gubernatorial run, saying he is more focused on supporting Trump’s 2024 White House campaign.

GOP SENATOR LATEST REPUBLICAN TO THROW HAT BEHIND TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT

Rep. Byron Donalds said he is focused on getting former President Trump back into office before moving onto “that other stuff.” (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

“I ran into dozens of former colleagues from my days in the state legislature,” Gaetz told Axios. “They encouraged me relentlessly to consider returning to Florida. I wasn’t focused on any of that talk, though.”

A potential Donalds candidacy would come in 2026, when current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ineligible to run under the state’s constitution.

The House must pass Donalds’ continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown before the end of September.

House Republicans reached a consensus — save some holdouts — for the funding measure over the weekend, but the holdouts are threatening to derail the measure.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has scoffed at the threats against his speakership, telling Rep. Matt Gaetz to “file a f—ing motion” to remove him from his post during a House GOP conference meeting last Thursday. (AP )

Gaetz is one of those holdouts, who has been threatening a mutiny against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to oust him from the speakership.

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However, McCarthy has scoffed at the threats against his speakership, telling Gaetz to “file a f—ing motion” to remove him from his post during a House GOP conference meeting last Thursday.

The resolution would continue funding through the end of October as the lower chamber finishes putting together appropriations bills before the Sept. 30 deadline.

President Biden on Tuesday said the United Nations General Assembly meets “at an inflection point in history,” and called for strengthened alliances while stressing that “no nation can meet the challenges of today alone.”

Biden, delivering his annual speech to leaders of the UN in New York City on Tuesday, addressed the United States’ continued support for Ukraine against Russia’s “naked aggression,” the importance of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and efforts to block Iran from nuclear proliferation; the competition between the United States and China; the climate crisis and more. 

Biden, upon taking the podium, stressed the importance of strengthened alliances and “standing together.” 

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 19, 2023 in New York City. ( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“My fellow leaders, we gather once more at an inflection point in history,” Biden said, calling for “new approaches to our shared challenges.”

OUTRAGE AS IRAN PRESIDENT PREPARES TO ADDRESS UN: ‘WANTS TO KILL AMERICAN CITIZENS’

“The United States seeks a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people,” Biden said. “We know our future is bound to yours.” 

He added: “No nation can meet the challenges of today alone.” 

Early in his address, the president discussed the United States’ continued support for expanding the United Nations Security Council; the importance of developing a joint strategy to ensure artificial intelligence technologies are safe; and ways to strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific. 

But the president issued a warning about emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, saying they “hold enormous potential and peril.” 

“We need to be sure they are used as tools of opportunity, not as weapons of oppression,” the president said. “Together with leaders around the world, the United States is working to strengthen rules and policies so AI technologies are safe before they’re released to the public. To make sure we govern this technology, not the other way around, having it govern us.”

Biden said he is “committed to working through this institution and other international bodies and directly with leaders around the world, including our competitors, to ensure harness the power of artificial intelligence for good, while protecting our citizens from its most profound risk.” 

“It’s going to take all of us. I’ve been working on this for a while,” he said. 

Biden recently visited Vietnam earlier this month during a tour of Southeast Asia, where China was a major topic of discussion (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Shifting to China, a global leader in emerging technologies, Biden said the United States seeks to “responsibly manage the competition between our countries, so that it does not tip into conflict.” 

“I want to be clear and consistent,” Biden said. “I’ve said we are de-risking, not decoupling, with China.” 

“We will push back on aggression and intimidation and defend the rules of the road from freedom of navigation to overflight to a level economic playing field and help safeguard security and prosperity for decades,” Biden said, while maintaining the United States’ position to “stand ready to work together with China on issues where progress hinges on our common efforts.” 

BIDEN ON VIETNAM TRIP: ‘I DON’T WANT TO CONTAIN CHINA’

Biden was referring to the climate crisis, which he said his administration has treated as an “existential threat from the moment we took office.” 

“Not only for us, but for the world,” Biden said. 

The president pointed to “record-breaking heatwaves in the United States and China; wildfires ravaging North America and Southern Europe; a fifth year of drought in the Horn of Africa; tragic flooding in Libya that has killed thousands of people.” 

“Taken together these snapshots tell an urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof our world,” Biden said. 

The president then shifted to the issue of nuclear proliferation, stressing the United States’ continued efforts to work to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as North Korea further develops its own nuclear weapons program. 

The president also stressed that his administration is “steadfast in our commitment that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.” 

The Biden administration had engaged in negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal. Former President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the deal in 2018.

President Biden went on to highlight the core pillars of the United Nations charter, and said the gathering of the United Nations Assembly, for a second year in a row, is “darkened by the shadow of war.” Biden was referring to Russia’s “illegal war of conquest brought without provocation” against Ukraine. 

US President Joe Biden has promised Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky American support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. (SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“Like every nation in the world, the United States wants this war to end,” Biden said. “No nation wants this war to end more than Ukraine. And we strongly support Ukraine in its efforts to bring about a diplomatic resolution that delivers just and lasting peace.”

But Biden again stressed that “Russia alone bares responsibility for this war,” and said the Kremlin “has the power to end this war immediately.” 

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Biden said. “But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? 

“The answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.” 

Biden stressed that the United States and its allies and partners will “continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity – and their freedom.” 

The Biden administration has sent more than $100 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. 

Meanwhile, the president went on to highlight the importance of upholding “equal and unalienable rights of all,” and said the U.S. and its allies “cannot turn away from abuses.” 

The president listed the need to continue to work to ensure young women and girls are “equal in society” and that “LGBTQI+ people are not prosecuted or target with violence because of who they are.”  

“These rights are part of our shared humanity,” he said. “When they are absent anywhere, the loss is felt everywhere.” 

The president closed his address by reminding world leaders that they stand at “an inflection point in history.” 

“We’re going to be judged by whether we live up to the promises we made to ourselves, to each other, to the most vulnerable, and all those who inherit the world,” Biden said. “The road ahead is long and difficult but if we preserve, persevere and prevail, and show what’s possible.” 

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He added: “Let’s do this work together. Let’s bend the arc of history for the good of the world because its in our power to do it.” 

“We will not retreat from the values that make us strong. We will defend democracy. We are working to show how democracy can deliver in ways that matter in people’s lives,” Biden said. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

LACONIA, N.H. – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum vows that his Republican White House campaign will not be sidetracked if he falls short in his bid to qualify for next week’s second GOP presidential nomination debate.

“We’re going to keep charging forward,” Burgum told Fox News Digital.

However, Burgum’s campaign and an allied super PAC are making major investments this week in trying to boost the national ID of a politician who is far from a household name outside his native North Dakota in an attempt to make the stage.

Burgum has just under a week to qualify for the second debate, a FOX Business and Univision hosted showdown Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

HERE ARE THE CANDIDATES WHO’VE SECURED A SPOT ON THE STAGE AT THE SECOND GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Also aiming to qualify is former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who along with Burgum took the stage last month at the first GOP presidential nominating debate.

“We made the last debate. It surprised everybody. People had counted us out. So don’t count us out in this next debate,” Hutchinson emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview.

The Republican National Committee — which is organizing the GOP presidential primary debates — raised the thresholds the candidates need to reach to make the stage at the second showdown.

DANA PERINO, STUART VARNEY TO CO-MODERATE SECOND GOP PRIMARY DEBATE HOSTED BY FOX BUSINESS

To participate in the second debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 50,000 unique donors to their campaign or exploratory committee, including 200 donors in 20 or more states. The candidates must also reach 3% support in two national polls or reach 3% in one national poll and 3% in two polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Additionally, candidates are also required to sign a pledge in which they agree to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. They must agree not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debates for the rest of the 2024 election cycle and agree to data-sharing with the national party committee.

GOP presidential candidates onstage at FISERV Forum in Milwaukee Aug. 23, 2023 for the first Republican presidential nomination debate. (Fox News)

So far, according to a Fox News count, six of the eight candidates who took part in last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate have already reached the RNC’s criteria.

They are former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Former President Trump, who has reached the donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the RNC’s pledge. Pointing to his large lead over his rivals for the nomination, he did not attend the first debate and is not expected to show up for the second showdown.

WITH FOUR MONTHS UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES FOR THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, THINGS HEAT UP IN THE FIRST CAUCUS STATE

Burgum, who has already hit the donor threshold for the second debate, says he has met the polling threshold in two of the early states but has yet to reach 3% in a national survey.

He and rest of the candidates trying to qualify have until 9 p.m. ET Monday — 48 hours before the debate — to reach the RNC’s thresholds.

Speaking with reporters after greeting the lunchtime crowd at the 405 Pub and Grill in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, Burgum took aim at what he charged was a “goofy clubhouse rule.”

North Dakota Gov.Doug Burgum, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks with customers at the 405 Pub and Grill in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Sept 18, 2023. (Fox News – Steinhauser)

“It shouldn’t be the political polls, it shouldn’t be the pundits, it shouldn’t be party leaders that decide who gets to be on the ballot. It should be the voters who decide who moves forward. And Iowa and New Hampshire have done a fantastic job of thinning the field,” Burgum argued as he answered a question from Fox News.

He pledged that he would be on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire regardless of whether he made the second debate stage. “We’re going to be here because the voters of these two states decide who goes forward,” he said.

Burgum’s campaign on Monday announced that they have launched a new national voter contact program which potentially could boost his support in the polls in the coming days.

“The direct text video-to-voter program hyper-targets highly persuadable Republicans and conservative-leaning independents likely to vote in the Republican presidential primary with a tested video message most likely to move numbers,” the Burgum campaign highlighted in a release.

The move from the North Dakota governor’s presidential campaign comes as the Burgum aligned Best of America super PAC shelled out another $2 million to an existing $6 million national ad buy to try and boost the candidate’s poll numbers. 

These are the candidates who have met certain RNC requirements for the second Republican presidential debate. (Fox News)

Looking toward next week’s showdown, Hutchinson emphasized that it is “very important because a lot’s happened since the last debate.”

Hutchinson, who has yet to reach the polling and donor thresholds, told Fox News during an interview in Newton, Iowa on Saturday at the Jasper County GOP annual trap shoot that “we’re looking forward to being on the debate stage. We look to increasing those numbers.”

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Among those still trying to qualify for the second debate — who did not make the stage at the first debate — are 2022 Michigan gubernatorial candidate, businessman and quality control expert Perry Johnson, former CIA agent and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, and Larry Elder, a former nationally syndicated radio host who was a candidate in California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election.

Hurd, who has said he will not sign the RNC’s pledge due to his vocal criticism and opposition to Trump, told Fox News earlier this month that “we’re working hard to meet those requirements.”

When asked if he would drop out of the race if he does not qualify for next week’s debate, Hurd said “my focus right now is to hit those requirements to be on that second debate stage, and then we’ll go from there.”

Fox News’ Remy Numa and Kirill Clark contributed to this report.

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

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defended President Biden’s ability to serve in office amid growing concerns from Democrats that the president is too old to run for re-election.

In an interview with CNN, Newsom acknowledged that voters “have every right to be concerned” about Biden’s age (80) but insisted he was not concerned.

“I want a seasoned pro that knows how to get things done,” Newsom said. “I’m a little old-fashioned. I want a guy who produces results, and the results are in: It’s been a master class.” 

Newsom’s remarks came in response to a question about a recent CBS News/YouGov survey, which found that only one-third of American voters think Biden will remain in office through a second term. Were the president to win re-election and finish another term, he would be 86-years-old when he leaves office.

DEMOCRAT CONCERNS ABOUT BIDEN’S AGE, HARRIS’ POLL NUMBERS MOUNTING IN RECENT WEEKS: ‘PAINFUL TO SAY’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (not pictured), Gavin Newsom and Darren Walker (not pictured) have a conversation during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting at the Hilton Midtown on September 18, 2023 in New York City. In a recent interview with CNN, Newsom said President Biden is a “seasoned pro” who is not too old to be president. (John Nacion/WireImage)

The popular and staunch progressive California governor, who declined to challenge Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, argued that the president’s record demonstrates he is not too old to lead the country.

“There’s simply no administration in my lifetime that’s been more effective producing more substantive results,” said the 55-year-old Newsom, who has lived through the Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, both Bush, Obama and Trump presidencies. 

He pointed to several bipartisan wins for the Biden White House, including deals on infrastructure, gun control, raising the debt ceiling and the CHIPS and Science Act, which incentivized companies to build and manufacture semiconductors in the U.S.

“I mean this, I couldn’t imagine three years ago that this president could accomplish so much in such a short period of time. I mean that,” Newsom emphasized.

BIDEN BLUNDERS: PRESIDENT STUMBLES HIS WAY THROUGH GAFFE-FILLED WINTER

President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Biden, 80, would be 86 were he to leave office at the end of a second term as president.  (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While Newsom and others, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Vice President Kamala Harris, have defended Biden’s age, other Democrats have expressed hesitancy to the Biden-Harris 2024 ticket.

“I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for re-election,” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a favorite scribe of the liberal establishment, wrote last week, pointing to the fact that Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term.

“It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping [former President] Trump.” 

Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, told NBC News recently that he believes “there are other candidates who have a far better chance and don’t have the actuarial risk that the president has.”

DESANTIS SAYS TRUMP’S AGE, LIKE BIDEN’S, ‘LEGITIMATE CONCERN’ IN 2024 ELECTION

Vice President Kamala Harris gives remarks, alongside President Joe Biden, at an event celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 13, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Why does everyone have blinders on? Why are we essentially being led to this cliff without knowing what’s on the other side?” Phillps said. 

And former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile recently admitted she’s “not sleeping at night thinking all is well” and said Democrats should be concerned with making the case for Biden to continue in office.

Amid these concerns, the White House has repeatedly defended Biden’s age and mental acuity when asked by reporters.

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“Look, here’s what I know,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Fox News’ Peter Doocy last week in response to a question about polling showing voter concerns over Biden’s age. “Here’s what I can speak to. I can speak to that – a president who has wisdom. I can speak to a president who has experience. I can speak to a president who has done historic – has taken historic action and has delivered in historic pieces of legislation. And that’s important.”

In an Associated Press poll this summer, 77% said Biden is too old to be effective for four more years, with 89% of Republicans taking that position along with 69% of Democrats.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.