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The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that it will be offering hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants already in the U.S. – including those in the country illegally – work permits and protections from deportations, just as numbers are skyrocketing at the southern border.

Officials announced a move to redesignate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status, which allows migrants to apply for deportation protections and work permits if they have arrived for a certain date.

The latest extension will see TPS extended for 18 months and applies to nationals who were in the country on or before July 31. Venezuela was last extended, but not re-designated, for TPS in 2022, meaning it was not open to new applicants. This redesignation will open it up to new applicants, and officials told reporters they estimate it will protect around 472,000 foreign nationals. 

THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET

The designation is typically based on conditions in the designated country and is based on three grounds: armed ongoing conflict, environmental disasters or “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” Officials on Wednesday cited the latter.

However, it comes as the administration has faced fierce pressure from sanctuary jurisdictions like New York City, which have demanded more federal action to help them deal with the migrant crises they are facing – including expedited work permits. New York City has declared itself overwhelmed by the more than 110,000 migrants that have come to its city.

The announcement comes on the same day as Eagle Pass, Texas saw a surge of predominantly Venezuelan single adults surge into the area, overwhelming officials and causing the closure of the main bridge so officials could focus on processing. 

GOP GOVERNORS CALL ON BIDEN TO PROVIDE ‘HONEST, ACCURATE’ DATA ON MIGRANT CRISIS AS NUMBERS SURGE

Across the border there has been a jump in encounters since a relative lull in June. Numbers jumped to over 180,000 encounters in July and what is believed to be around 230,000 in August, although numbers have not been released. This week, officials have made over 45,000 migrant encounters in the last five days alone both at the ports of entry and between them, sources told Fox, with multiple days of over 8,000 illegal immigrant encounters.

Multiple Border Patrol Sectors have been conducting street releases to relieve overcrowding, while leadership has set targets for “bookouts” as they struggle to deal with arrivals.

The redesignation is on top of a parole program that allows 30,000 migrants from four countries, including Venezuela, to be paroled into the U.S. each month, and Venezuelans are also eligible to be one of the 1,450 a day allowed to enter the U.S. through a port of entry for parole after making an appointment on the CBP One App.

There will likely be concerns, particularly from Republicans and immigration hawks, that redesignating TPS could attract more migrants even though they are not eligible for protection if they arrive after July 31. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News that the decision will only compound the problem at the border and draw even more Venezuelan migrants because of the “pull” factor of being granted TPS status and the ability to get work authorization. Republicans, meanwhile, have blamed the border surge on the administration’s policies, accusing it of winding down Trump-era border protections and increasing “catch-and-release.”

BIDEN ADMIN SHIELD 330,000 IMMIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATION; TOP DEM SAYS ITS NOT ENOUGH

The administration has pushed back, saying Congress needs to provide more funding, and pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill the administration unveiled after taking office. That bill included a permanent pathway to citizenship for TPS recipients. 

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The administration has also pointed to enforcement measures it has taken, including restored use of expedited removal and an asylum bar for some who have crossed illegally and failed to claim asylum at a third country. It has also said it has removed or returned around 253,000 migrants since Title 42 ended on May 12. 

On Wednesday, the administration announced an additional 800 active-duty personnel to assist with logistics and allow Border Patrol agents to return to the field and expand holding capacity in facilities by 3,000 to 23,000. It also announced accelerated processing for employment authorization documents fled by those paroled in via the CBP One app, reducing processing from 90 to 30 days and increasing the validity periods of those documents to five years in some cases.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.

A cross-party delegation of Australian politicians met with U.S. officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to urge the U.S. government to abandon efforts to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is accused of publishing classified U.S. military documents.

The group of Australian lawmakers included former Deputy Prime Minister and National Party Leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor Party member of parliament Tony Zappia, Independent member of parliament Monique Ryan, Liberal Party member of parliament Alex Antic, Greens Party member of parliament Peter Whish-Wilson and Greens Party Sen. David Shoebridge. 

Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, joined the delegation in Washington for its meetings with U.S. officials.

The delegation brought a letter signed by more than 60 members of parliament calling on the U.S. to drop charges against Assange, who is fighting against extradition to the U.S., where he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison. 

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

He 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. Assange would face trial in Alexandria, Virginia, if he is extradited to the U.S.

Speaking at a press conference outside the Justice Department Wednesday evening, members of the delegation said they are optimistic a resolution can be reached with the U.S. to secure Assange’s freedom, but they remain committed to continuing to pressure the U.S. until the prosecution comes to a conclusion.

“We did not come here to pick a fight,” Joyce told reporters. “We came here to present a case and to lobby for an outcome. And this is part of the process of making sure that people are aware of all the facts and the wider facts as we also have grown to know over a number of years. So, the delegation has come from every corner of the political spectrum, but we have arrived in Washington at the one spot, and that is, after 11 years, enough is enough.”

Assange has been held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy in London 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.

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

The delegation said it attempted to speak with Assange at Belmarsh but was denied visits. Members of the delegation said they have been in contact with Assange’s family.

The charges against Assange came in response to the 2010 publication of cables U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked to WikiLeaks that detailed alleged 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 allegedly 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.

“Literally, all sides of politics have come together and united on this one key message, which is that an Australian citizen, Julian Assange, should come home,” Joyce said. “The only crime that we see that Julian Assange has been charged with is the crime of being a journalist, the crime of telling the truth. And the fact that it’s an Australian citizen that has been targeted by one of our closest friends and allies is a very real concern to us as politicians and to a growing part of the Australian public.”

U.S. prosecutors and critics of Assange have argued WikiLeaks’ publication of classified material put the lives of its sources and allies at risk. But, as members of the delegation stressed to Fox News Digital Wednesday, there is no evidence Assange’s work put anyone in danger.

Whish-Wilson told Fox News Digital after the press conference the case against Assange has already strained U.S.-Australian relations but stressed that U.S. officials have been receptive to the delegation’s concerns.

“Julian Assange has suffered enough,” Whish-Wilson said. “Regardless of what you think of his character or what he’s done, he’s already paid a heavy price. And I think from here on in, it’s going to be very interesting to see where that relationship goes. We are the closest friends, the closest allies of the U.S. That relationship should be based on mutual respect and mutual trust. So, while we have respect for the U.S., I think we expect the U.S. will also show respect for us by listening and acting.”

President Biden will host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in late October, and the delegation said the prime minister is expected to bring up Assange’s case. Albanese has repeatedly called on the U.S. in recent months to end the prosecution of the Australian journalist.

JULIAN ASSANGE SUPPORTERS DEMAND CHARGES BE DROPPED IN VIGIL OUTSIDE MERRICK GARLAND’S HOME

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

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

“If you look at what’s actually transpired here, the person who was responsible, we understand, for the leak had their sentence commuted. That was Chelsea Manning,” Antic told Fox News Digital. “We are dealing with a situation where the publisher is now still being pursued under those circumstances. We have been saying we find it puzzling. I can’t see how there wouldn’t be a chilling effect on the free press if this was allowed to proceed.”

Members of the delegation pointed to how Assange is the only journalist facing prosecution for publishing material that other news outlets also published. The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from more than 250,000 documents he obtained in the Cablegate leak. 

Last year, the editors and publishers of these U.S. and European outlets wrote an open letter calling for the U.S. to drop the charges against Assange.

“Australians are very confused as to why you would pardon the whistleblower and then go after the publisher,” Whish-Wilson told Fox News Digital. “We also know that other publications here in the U.S. have also published some of these large leaks as well, prior to WikiLeaks. And the Department of Justice is not seeking their indictment on criminal offenses, but they’re going after Julian Assange.”

The Australian politicians also cited polling Wednesday showing nearly 90% of Australians believe the charges against Assange should be dropped. 

“Most Australians feel that, as a publisher and journalist, he hasn’t committed any crimes and feel that the charges that they laid against him by the Trump administration weren’t warranted and that the exhibition of the extradition proceedings by the U.S. should be dropped,” Ryan told Fox News Digital.

“We think that it’s really important that we speak to the representatives of the Department of Justice and the State Department, but also to politicians,” she added. “But we need to make sure people understand how Australians feel. We’re not sure that people do. Obviously, there are situations that go on for a long time, and people are no longer particularly seeing them … in terms of having them aware of the nature of the charges against them.”

The State Department declined to comment to Fox News Digital. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., led a letter to the Justice Department earlier this year demanding that it drop charges against Assange. Fox News Digital reached out to Tlaib’s office for comment about the Australian delegation but did not hear back in time for publication.

The delegation told Fox News Digital it met with a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers supporting its cause, and the delegation will meet with more U.S. officials and members of Congress Thursday. The Australian politicians are also meeting with representatives of civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders.

“We’re in touch with Julian Assange’s family and legal team and look forward to continuing our conversations with them,” FIRE General Counsel Ronnie London said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We remain concerned about the threat to press freedom posed by the use of the Espionage Act in contexts like this.”

During the Trump administration, the CIA allegedly had plans to kill Assange over the publication of sensitive agency hacking tools known as “Vault 7,” which the agency said represented “the largest data loss in CIA history,” Yahoo reported in 2021. The CIA had discussions “at the highest levels” of the administration about plans to assassinate Assange in London and allegedly followed orders from director Mike Pompeo to draw up kill “sketches” and “options,” according to the report.

The agency also had advanced plans to kidnap and rendition Assange and had made a political decision to charge him, according to the report.

“It’s fascinating about this issue, not just in Australia. We’ve got some hard right politicians here. We’ve got some hard left politicians. We’ve got centrists, and that’s exactly what we’re experiencing in the U.S.,” Whish-Wilson told Fox News Digital. “This is an issue that cuts.

“It gets libertarians exercised. It gets social justice campaigners exercised. And I think that’s what makes it really unique. It’s not very often that you … it’s a conviction issue, right? So, if you’re a conviction politician, no matter what color or what political persuasion, it’s bringing people together. And I think that’s a good thing.”

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WikiLeaks also published internal communications in 2016 between the Democratic National Committee and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign that revealed the DNC’s attempts to boost Clinton in that year’s Democratic primary.

Former President Donald Trump was swarmed by a crowd of his supporters Wednesday during a stop at a Bettendorf, Iowa bar, where he handed out pizzas to those in attendance.

Trump made the stop at Treehouse Pub & Eatery after holding multiple events in the state earlier that day, and was met with loud chants of “U-S-A,” and singing of “Proud to be an American.”

“Who wants one?” the former president asked patrons of the bar as he passed around pizza boxes and stopped to take photos and talk with supporters, including to sign one woman’s shirt.

TRUMP FACING MORE HEAT FOR CALLING SIX-WEEK ABORTION BAN ‘A TERRIBLE THING’ AS BIG NAMES PILE ON

Trump drew similarly enthusiastic crowds when he attended the Iowa-Iowa State football game — along with a tailgate ahead of the game — earlier this month. 

At the tailgate, he helped flip burgers on a grill as supporters gathered around. He was later met with loud cheers while walking through the stadium ahead of the game.

Trump has maintained a strong lead over his Republican opponents in the Hawkeye State, with the Fox Business Poll released Wednesday showing him with 46% support among likely caucus goers. The poll showed Florida Gov Ron DeSantis in a distant second with 15% and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with 11%.

TIM SCOTT SLAMS TRUMP, OTHER GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR BEING ‘WRONG’ ON ABORTION

He also continues to lead his opponents nationally, garnering in another recent Fox News Poll.

Trump made more waves in the state during one if his stops earlier in the day, when, reacting to the worsening border crisis, he vowed to carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if elected president next year.

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Fox News’ Deirdre Heavey and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Former President Trump announced his plans to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if he is elected to a second term in the White House.

Trump, who leads the 2024 Republican primary field by a massive margin, delivered a speech in Dubuque, Iowa Wednesday evening, blasting President Biden for the “nation-wrecking catastrophe on our southern border.”

THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET

“Under my leadership, we had the most secure border in U.S. history. Now, we have the worst border in the history of the world,” Trump said Wednesday— the same day that more than 4,000 predominantly Venezuelan adult illegal migrants crossed the border into Texas.

Trump, in Iowa, said that if elected, his second term would begin by “immediately” terminating “every Open Borders policy of the Biden Administration.”

“Following the Eisenhower Model, we will carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” Trump said.

TRUMP VOWS TO DEPLOY US SPECIAL FORCES, MILITARY ASSETS TO ‘INFLICT MAXIMUM DAMAGE’ ON CARTELS

The former president said he plans to also “invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected Gang Members, drug dealers, or Cartel Members from the United States”—an effort he says will end the “scourge of illegal alien gang violence once and for all.” 

Trump also said he plans to “shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement,” including parts of the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

GOP GOVERNORS CALL ON BIDEN TO PROVIDE ‘HONEST, ACCURATE’ DATA ON MIGRANT CRISIS AS NUMBERS SURGE

“I will make clear that we must use any and all resources needed to stop the invasion—including moving thousands of troops currently stationed overseas to our OWN southern border,” Trump said, stressing that “before we defend the borders of foreign countries, we must secure the border of our country.”

Trump went on to say he plans to deploy the U.S. Navy to “impose a full Fentanyl Blockade on the waters of our region—boarding and inspecting ships to look for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors.”

Earlier this year, Trump said he would deploy U.S. special forces and other military assets to “inflict maximum damage” on cartels crossing the southern border.

As for Title 42, which ended in May, Trump said he would use the provision to “end the child trafficking crisis by returning all trafficked children to their families in their home countries immediately.”

Meanwhile, Trump said he plans to reinstate his 2017-era travel ban. Trump, in 2017, signed an executive order suspending entry into the U.S. for individuals from several mostly Muslim countries: Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. The travel ban was updated later that year to include North Korea and Venezuela. The Trump administration expanded the ban again in January 2020 to include an additional six countries. 

President Biden repealed the order on his first day in office and instructed the State Department to restart visa processing for affected countries in an effort to “restore fairness and remedy the harms caused by the bans.”

TOP GOP 2024 CANDIDATES RALLY AROUND KEY TRUMP-ERA IMMIGRATION POLICY NIXED BY BIDEN ADMIN

“I will bring back the travel ban and expand it even further to keep Radical Islamic Terrorists out of our country,” Trump said. “I will also use existing federal law to deny entry to all communists and Marxists to the United States.”

Trump added: “Those who join our country must love our country—and we are going to keep foreign Christian-hating communists, Marxists, and socialists the hell out of America.”

Trump has also said he would designate major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, which would sever their access to global financial systems, and ask Congress to pass legislation that would ensure drug smugglers and human traffickers receive the death penalty.

“2024 is our final battle,” Trump said. “With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State, we will expel the warmongers from our government, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, we will throw off the sick political class that hates our country, we will rout the fake news media, we will defeat Joe Biden, and we will end illegal immigration once and for all.” 

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Trump’s comments come as numbers are again skyrocketing at the border. Officials have made over 45,000 migrant encounters in the last five days alone both at the ports of entry and between them, sources told Fox on Wednesday, with multiple days of over 8,000 illegal immigrant encounters.

Sources also told Fox News that there were around 230,000 migrant encounters in August — Customs and Border Protection has not yet released its official numbers. That 230,000 would be up significantly from over 180,000 in July and 144,000 in June. August’s numbers would mark the highest month in 2023.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is set to unveil his plan to “declare economic independence from China” in a preview of his policy speech obtained by Fox News Digital. 

In his address that will be given Thursday in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Ramaswamy says he will “delineate the heretofore-unexamined connection between the rise of ‘stakeholder capitalism’ in the West and China’s use of that trend to achieve economic parity with the U.S. by failing to adopt the constraints that multinational institutions apply to the U.S.”

“This includes the use of forced data and technology transfers and even pro-CCP U.S. lobbying as a condition for acquiring licenses to do business in China, including but not limited to applying constraints (e.g. emissions caps) in the U.S. while failing to apply such caps in China,” the preview of his speech read.

WWII GOES VIRAL AT RAMASWAMY NH TOWN HALL: WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS ‘EXACTLY WHAT MY GENERATION GREW UP IN’

Ramaswamy will boast what he calls a “pro-trade approach to sensibly decoupling from China” and knocked conservatives who reject a “trade-led agenda” as “unserious.”

“To declare independence from China abroad, we must first declare independence from the climate change agenda at home,” the preview read. “Electric vehicle agenda worsens dependence on China for rare earth minerals and mineral refining capacity: when U.S. taxpayers subsidize EVs, American taxpayers subsidize the CCP.”

Ramaswamy asserts the climate change agenda “has nothing to do with the climate and everything to do with letting China catch up to the U.S.” adding that “this is something that the Republican Party has missed in entirety.”

RAMASWAMY CALLS HUNTER BIDEN GUN CHARGES A ‘SMOKESCREEN’: THE ‘REAL PROBLEM’ IS BIDEN FAMILY’S FINANCES

The political outsider reiterated his call for semiconductor independence, calling the CHIPS Act that was passed and sign into law by the Biden administration a “boondoggle” and describing it as the “Green New Deal in chips-related clothing.”

“The right answer: more narrowly tailored pro-semiconductor policy in the U.S., but without the excesses and political trinkets of the CHIPS Act – not as a matter of economic protectionism, but as a matter of national security,” the preview read. “Key way to stop this from simply serving as corporate ‘pork’ – simultaneously open trade relationships with South Korea, Japan, and other nations that provide market access for their own semiconductors to the U.S. market to compete with domestically supported U.S. semiconductor manufacturers.

RAMASWAMY SAYS TRUMP WAS ‘DUPED BY THE ADVISER CLASS’ AHEAD OF POLICY SPEECH ON GUTTING FBI, OTHER AGENCIES

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He will highlight the U.S. military’s reliance on China, pointing out how the CCP is a leading producer of “16” out of the 35 strategic materials identified as critical by the Department of Defense. 

“Limiting foreign engagement in other parts of the world (e.g. Ukraine and Middle East) will reopen substantial funds to reinvest in our domestic defense base without the need for expanding the overall U.S. military budget,” the preview read. “Vivek will modernize the Reagan Doctrine to the 21st century – from ‘peace through strength’ to ‘prosperity through peace.'”

Ramaswamy will also propose weakening America’s pharmaceutical reliance on China by bolstering trade partnerships with Israel and India and will do the same regarding rare earth minerals with countries like India and Brazil, adding that Chile is “the world’s third-greatest lithium reserves” yet “our third-largest lithium partner is China.”

“We don’t have to ban Chinese imports; we just need to buy from other countries that produce the same things. I call on all American companies to declare lithium independence from China and grow their imports from Chile,” Ramaswamy will declare according to the preview. 

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

Government funding expires at 11:59:59 pm et on September 30.

And right now, House Republicans, despite holding the majority, can’t pass any spending bills by themselves.

The House has tried for two weeks to get clearance on a procedural vote for the House to even launch debate on a defense spending bill. That’s a measure most Republicans support. In fact House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says he’s never heard a Republican articulate what’s wrong with the bill.

Republicans passed one of the 12 annual spending bills in July. And now Republicans have practically torpedoed their trial balloon package rolled out over the weekend. That plan would re-up government funding to avoid a shutdown for 31 days and attach language to bolster border security. The House had planned to vote on that bill Thursday. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS HOLD CONFERENCE CALL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, PASS DEFENSE SPENDING BILL

It was a bad omen for a potential government shutdown when Republicans blew up their own procedural vote, blocking the House from beginning debate on the defense bill Tuesday.

“Is this another blow to you,” yours truly asked McCarthy.

“You think it’s a blow. I just think it’s another challenge,” replied McCarthy.

“Most Speakers are able to get their defense bills onto the floor,” I countered.

“You assume it’s over,” responded McCarthy. “I don’t quit.”

McCarthy then warned that he would keep everyone here this weekend to vote.

“We’re going to vote on appropriations bills, whether they pass them or not,” said McCarthy.

That is, if they can even bring them to the floor.

The votes have never caramelized for McCarthy in his efforts to get any spending measure up for debate recently.

HOUSE WILL HOLD FIRST BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING NEXT THURSDAY

And therein lies the potential strategy for McCarthy.

It may look like defeat after defeat after defeat for McCarthy. And it is. But McCarthy has long-known where the solution to this impasse lies. The government may shut down. But the only path to keep the government open is a blend of Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. In fact, an interim spending bill to avert a shutdown could likely clear the Senate with 65 to 70 votes. A similar bill would move through the House with anywhere between 275 to 300-plus votes. For reference, the House approved the bill to suspend the debt ceiling in May with 314 votes. 

But McCarthy can’t pivot just yet to something else. He has to let his own GOP members fight it out among themselves. That’s why he gave a wide berth to the more centrist Republican “Main Street” Caucus and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., the head of the Freedom Caucus, to cut a deal on the interim spending bill over the weekend. But that plan appears dead.

Nothing can pass the House right now. And, ironically, that might be what McCarthy needs.

To wit: McCarthy keeps the House here to vote on rules to bring up various procedural matters or the bills themselves. In the process, McCarthy is building a canon of evidence to show that there are 200-plus Republicans willing to vote yes on something – and a crew of five to 20 who will oppose just about anything.

It’s often a bad idea on Capitol Hill to keep members in Washington over a weekend when there aren’t things to pass or items to vote on. Lawmakers grow cranky and insolent. They sometimes then lash out at leadership for marooning them in Washington with little to show for it. In the case of the Freedom Caucus members, leaders have sometimes wanted to separate them. So tethering lawmakers to Washington with little to do often backfires.

But here, McCarthy may actually want people in Washington. It helps members hash things out and conjure their own ideas to end the standoff. McCarthy has publicly said he prefers to defer to Members. But heretofore, that approach hasn’t worked. 

In addition, it’s about the math.

FROM SUIT AND TIE TO ‘ANYTHING GOES’: THE SENATE DRESS CODE HAS UNRAVELED BEFORE

In the sense that there are about 200 Republicans who fully support McCarthy and five to 20 who aren’t completely on board. There is strength in numbers. The stasis in the House will start to draw the ire of the larger group. They already feel that the most extreme voices in the GOP are dragging the majority around by the nose. So, one could see infighting between McCarthy loyalists and those who oppose him. 

So what happens if the spending measures fail in the coming days? McCarthy will have shown that he was willing to fight and “never give up,” as he often says. But the Speaker warned rank-and-file Republicans for days that unless the House passes something, it will likely get jammed by the Senate.

Since McCarthy can’t get votes to caramelize around any proposal to avoid a shutdown, it’s possible the Senate could cobble together an interim spending bill. That involves a lot of parliamentary mechanics. In fact, it may already be too late for the Senate to assemble a stopgap bill and break two filibusters to avoid a shutdown on October 1. But things are definitely a lot better these days in the Senate than the House. 

If that’s the case, McCarthy can tell his members that he tried and the House weakened its position by never passing a bill of consequence in the spending fight. Therefore, the House must accept whatever the Senate comes up with. 

This inherently weakens McCarthy’s stance. We don’t know if a government shutdown is inevitable. But it’s a near certainty that Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., or someone else will call for a no confidence vote in McCarthy’s leadership.

This is known as a “motion to vacate the chair.” And while I’ve seen a lot of Congressional “shows” over the years, this program has never appeared in my TV Guide.

A “motion to vacate” could happen at any time – although it’s more likely to unfold if and when the House adopts an interim spending bill. A “CR” (short for Continuing Resolution, because it renews all old funding at present levels) appears to be the red line for McCarthy’s opponents. 

Here’s what happens if we get a “motion to vacate.”

All it takes is one Member to call for a “motion to vacate.” However, that motion is subject to a SECONDARY motion. McCarthy defenders would probably move to table (set aside) or refer the PRIMARY motion to committee (probably House Rules or Administration). If the SECONDARY motion prevails, the effort to “vacate the chair” is euthanized. There’s no threat to McCarthy.

But if the House DEFEATS the SECONDARY motion, the House then votes on the PRIMARY motion (the motion to vacate). If the House okays the motion to vacate, hold on to your hats.

All legislative traffic on the House floor stops. We are essentially back to January 3, the beginning of the Congress. The House can’t do anything on the floor until it elects a Speaker. Remember that it took 15 rounds in January to pick a Speaker. That process consumed five days and was the longest Speaker’s election since 1859. A potential Speaker’s race at this stage could take longer.

Remember, the winning candidate must receive an outright majority of all Members of the House WHO VOTE. 

That said, the House is in a different situation than it was in January. The House has sworn-in its Members. It has committees. So other activity may continue. But NOTHING on the floor until it picks a Speaker.

Here is the doomsday scenario: 

The government shuts down and the House is forced into an election for Speaker. But then the House struggles to elect a Speaker – EVEN IF IT HAS THE VOTES TO RE-OPEN THE GOVERNMENT.

Sigh.

Keep in mind that if the government shutters, it deems certain workers as “essential.” But things like national parks close. And workers who are on the job aren’t paid. In fact, Congress usually must approve a resolution to provide back-pay to federal workers if they miss a paycheck.

Border Patrol, the Transportation Security Agency and air traffic controllers are required to work – even if they aren’t paid. However, air safety was one of the reasons the government re-opened in 2019 after a 35-day government shutdown which began in late 2018. 

A small group of air traffic controllers decided to stay home – paralyzing travel at major air hubs like Philadelphia, Atlanta, Newark, N.J., and at New York’s La Guardia airport. 

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That “sickout” compelled the Trump Administration to relent and re-open the government.

Most lawmakers from both parties now believe the government is cruising toward a shutdown. The question is what are the aftershocks on Capitol Hill and for the Speaker.

WINDHAM, N.H. – EXCLUSIVE – Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina appears to be turning up the heat when it comes to taking on his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Scott told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday that former President Donald Trump is “wrong” on abortion and charged that Trump and two other rivals — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — have “run away from protecting life.”

Trump, the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination as he makes his third straight White House run, appears to have handed some his rivals some ammunition over the combustible issue of abortion.

The blockbuster move last year by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which had allowed for legalized abortions nationwide, moved the divisive issue back to the states.

AS TRUMP PICKS UP THE PACE IN IOWA, WILL HE FACE BLOW-BACK FOR CALLING ABORTION BAN ‘TERRIBLE MISTAKE’ ?

And it has forced Republicans to play defense in elections across the country, as a party that is nearly entirely “pro-life” has had to deal with an electorate that broadly supports at least some form of abortion access.

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, during an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

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

“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.”

Trump also reiterated his criticism of 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.”

“I think the former president is wrong on the issue,” Scott said when asked about Trump’s comments. “He was a pro-life president. We need a pro-life president in the future.”

Scott, who was interviewed after headlining the New Hampshire Institute of Politics “Politics and Eggs” speaking series, charged that “President Trump and Governor Haley, Governor DeSantis, have all run away from protecting life.”

DeSantis has repeatedly said, “I’m pro-life. I’ve been pro-life governor. I’ll be pro-life president,” but he has not shared specifics on what he would do as president in terms of supporting a federal abortion ban. 

NIKKI HALEY SEEKS COMMON GROUND ON COMBUSTIBLE ISSUE OF ABORTION 

Haley has also showcased her “pro-life” credentials but emphasized that without enough support in the Senate, passing a federal abortion ban is “not realistic.”

Scott, along with former Vice President Mike Pence and a couple of other Republican presidential candidates, supports a proposed 15-week federal abortion ban.

The senator’s criticisms of Trump, DeSantis, and Haley in his Fox News interview appear to be the latest indicator that he is sharpening his contrasts with his rivals for Republican presidential nomination.

Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, has been spotlighting an uplifting conservative message as he seeks his party’s presidential nomination. 

The senator was anything but the loudest voice at last month’s first Republican presidential nomination debate, a Fox News showdown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And because he mostly avoided the numerous verbal fistfights at the first debate, he rarely enjoyed the glare of the primetime spotlight.

SCOTT ON HIS RELATIONSHIP STATUS: ‘I’M DATING A LOVELY CHRISTIAN GIRL’

Scott’s campaign says the candidate will draw contrasts and distinctions with the rest of the field at next week’s second debate, a Fox Business hosted showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. 

“Having an opportunity to talk about where we’re different. I think it’s important for the audience, frankly, at home to understand that there are real differences between the candidates on the stage, and we should have an opportunity to discuss those differences,” Scott emphasized on Wednesday.

But he seemed to discount poor reviews from political pundits and prognosticators, who gave him a thumbs down.

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“I think you’ll see basically what I did last time. I’ll try to do that again. Frankly, I thought our performance was strong. I want to make sure that we do it again,” Scott said.

Fox News’ 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

Attorney General Merrick Garland was visibly outraged by accusations that he has operated the Justice Department with an anti-Catholic bias on Wednesday.

Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, facing questions from Republicans relating to the investigation of Hunter Biden and other hot-button issues. Rep. Jefferson Van Drew, R-N.J., had a particularly contentious exchange regarding the Justice Department’s handling of investigations into Catholic and pro-life groups.

“Do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists, yes or no?” Van Drew asked after listing a series of incidents of alleged anti-Catholic or anti-Christian bias.

“I would be happy to answer all of those,” Garland began before being cut off.

PURPORTED FBI DOCUMENT SUGGESTS AGENCY MAY BE TARGETING CATHOLICS WHO ATTEND LATIN MASS

“Attorney General, I control the time. I’m gonna ask you to answer the questions I ask,” Van Drew said.

“You control time by asking me a substantial number of things?” Garland scoffed.

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

“Attorney General, though the chair, I ask you do you agree that traditional Catholics are violent extremists?” Van Drew repeated.

“I have no idea what ‘traditional’ means here,” Garland said before becoming animated. “The idea that someone with my family background would discriminate against any religion is so outrageous – so absurd that you would ask me that question.”

Garland comes from a family of Jewish immigrants who fled antisemitism in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century.

“It was your FBI that did this. It was your FBI that was sending – and we have the memos, we have the emails – undercover agents into Catholic churches,” Van Drew asserted.

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

“Both I and the director of the FBI have said that we were appalled by that memo,” Garland said.

The pair then spoke over each other for an extended period, with Van Drew repeatedly asking, “Are they extremists or not, attorney general?”

“Catholics are not extremists, no,” Garland ultimately said in a frustrated tone.

Garland went on to say that parents attending school board meetings should “of course” not be considered a domestic terror threat, as they had apparently been categorized in a past memo.

The heated exchange arose from an internal FBI memo that leaked to the public earlier this year. The memo suggested there may be a public threat posed by Catholics who attend Latin Mass, express a preference for pre-Vatican II teachings, or endorse Catholic doctrine on sex and marriage.

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Garland had several tense exchanges with lawmakers during his testimony before the Judiciary Committee. Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, grilled the Biden appointee over the DOJ’s handling of the investigation into Hunter Biden’s dealings with Burisma in Ukraine.

The hearing focused on GOP allegations of bias by Biden’s DOJ, allegations that Garland fervently denied.

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’

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. 

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 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

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’

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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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

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 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’

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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’

“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.

“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.”

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

“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 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.

“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

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

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.

 

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).

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.

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

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.

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.”

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.”

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’

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.”

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

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.

“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’

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

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.

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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

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’

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. 

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. 

“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.”