Fox News Politics: Judge and fury


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

What’s Happening? 

– Fulton County DA Fani Willis shocks in raucous courtroom testimony

– Date set for first Trump criminal trial

– Nearly half of Americans think Biden should be replaced as Dem nominee

Fulton County DA Fani Willis

Fulton County DA Fani Willis (Getty Images)

Embattled Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis took the stand to testify against allegations she had an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which could derail her case against former President Donald Trump.

Willis was notably agitated and at points raised her voice during a raucous several hours of testimony. At one point, Willis held up a printed copy the allegations against her in both hands and turned to the judge yelling, “it is a lie!”

Willis also called defense attorney Ashleigh Merchan’s interests “contrary to democracy.”

Judge Scott McAfee presiding over the proceeding, called for a five-minute recess at one point. When court was back in session he told lawyers to stop “talking over each other” and cautioned Willis, saying: “We have to listen to the questions as asked. And if this happens again and again, I’m going to have no choice but to strike your testimony.”

Willis is expected back on the stand Friday for further testimony.

Trump had his own courtroom drama Thursday. He appeared in a Manhattan court for a pretrial hearing in the criminal “hush-money” case against him, where the judge set a date for the beginning of the first trial on criminal charges.

The trial is set to start March 25, a few weeks after Super Tuesday but before the end of the GOP primary.

Trump said he would be campaigning in the evening after attending the trial. “I’ll be here during the day and I’ll be campaigning during the night. Biden should be doing the same thing but he’ll be sleeping,” Trump said outside the courtroom.

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘BADLY TAINTED’: Trump reacts to dramatic Fani Willis testimony …Read more

ROMNEY FOR VP?: Sen. Joe Manchin floats potential running mates in hypothetical third party presidential bid …Read more

EXTRA AMMUNITION: Haley takes aim at Trump as trial of former president to start next month …Read more

ONE YEAR LATER: Haley’s final stand against Trump? …Read more

White House

GUN CONTROL: Biden, Harris call for gun control in separate comments after deadly shooting at Kansas City Chiefs’ parade …Read more

‘DEFERRED ENFORCED DEPARTURE’: White House announces Palestinians will be protected from deportation …Read more

Capitol Hill

HUR TO TESTIFY: Special counsel to appear before House committee after report revealing Biden memory issues …Read more

DOUBLING DOWN: Sen. JD Vance’s office spars with Pence group over ‘impeachment time bomb’ in foreign aid bill …Read more

‘ILL ADVISED’: Cotton demands information from DOD on contract with Chinese-owned company …Read more

TAKING TIME: Republican Speaker Johnson on $95B Ukraine, Israel bill: House will not be ‘rushed’ …Read more

SHUTTING IT DOWN: Capitol Police arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators inside Cannon House Office Building …Read more

‘SLUSH FUND’: GOP lawmaker reveals how he will target progressives to pay for foreign aid package …Read more

Across America

2024 SUCCESSION?: Nearly half of Americans think Biden could be replaced as Dem nominee: poll …Read more

‘POISED TO ATTACK’: FBI Director Wray warns allies of hacking by Chinese proxy groups …Read more

EYES IN SPACE: US launches missile detection satellites into orbit amid concerns about Russian weapons …Read more

ALABAMA VOTES: After LGBTQ lecture, Alabama Senate votes for more oversight of Department of Archives and History …Read more

‘ESTABLISH THE RECORD’: Testimony to begin on possible da Fani Willis disqualification …Read more

TRUMP IN COURT: Trump to appear in New York City court for hearing in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg case …Read more

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

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



Source link

NATO prepared to defend itself against aggression, Austin says


Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account!

Please enter a valid email address.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday reaffirmed NATO’s mission to defend “every inch” of territory of its members as Russia continues to pose a threat despite being bogged down in a war with Ukraine. 

The remarks came as NATO defense ministers met in Brussels to discuss a range of issues, including Moscow’s invasion and how to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense.

“The United States will continue to stand with our NATO allies and to defend the sovereignty and the territory of every alliance member — every inch of it, as President Biden has repeatedly made clear. Our commitment to Article Five remains ironclad,” Austin said in a statement. 

NATO ALLIANCE TO EXCLUDE UKRAINE FROM UPCOMING SUMMER SUMMIT, US AMBASSADOR SAYS

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Israel

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to NATO on Thursday.  (Reuters / Violeta Santos Moura)

Article Five refers to the notion that an attack on a NATO member is considered an attack on all members. 

Defense spending among the 31 NATO member states has been a point of contention. Each nation has pledged to spend 2% of its GDP on defense. 

In 2014, only three successfully hit that target. This year, 18 are expected to, said NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg.

“Since the Investment Pledge was made in 2014, European Allies and Canada have added more than $600 billion US dollars for defense,” he said Wednesday. “So we are making real progress.”

THE ANTI-US AXIS OF CYBER CHAOS OF RUSSIA, CHINA, IRAN AND NORTH KOREA IS UNDERWAY AND BIDEN NEEDS TO ACT

The Pentagon building

The Pentagon building in Arlington, Va.  (Tom Brenner / Bloomberg via Getty Images / File)

Former President Trump has railed against NATO members for not contributing their fair share to military spending and, instead, relying on the U.S. for assistance.

While addressing supporters on Saturday at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, Trump recalled his time as president when he told an unidentified NATO member that he would withhold U.S. support and encourage Russia to do as it wishes. 

“‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recalled saying. “‘No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”

US Army 101sr Airborne Division seen next to Hummer vehicles

Members of the Army 101st Airborne Division, 1st battalion of the 506th infantry regiment attend Spring Storm NATO exercises near Tapa, Estonia, May 19, 2023. (Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto via Getty Images / File)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In response, Stoltenberg warned against the dangers of dividing the U.S. and Europe

“Any suggestion that allies will not defend each other undermines all of our security, including that of the U.S., and puts American and European soldiers at increased risk,” he said. 

Austin said the U.S. and its allies are prepared to stand by Ukraine “for the long haul” and for NATO allies.

“America’s network of allies and partners worldwide — built and sustained by wise administrations of both parties in the decades since the nightmare of World War II — remains a core strategic strength that no rival can match and that none should doubt,” he said.  



Source link

Haley spotlights Trump ‘chaos’ as judge sets former president’s hush money trial start for March


The move by a New York judge to set a March 25 trial date in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case is giving Republican presidential rival Nikki Haley more ammunition.

“Donald Trump is in court today. There will be a verdict on another case tomorrow. And he has a trial starting March 25. Meanwhile, he’s spending millions of campaign donations on legal fees. All of this chaos will only lead to more losses for Republicans up and down the ticket,” Haley argued Thursday in a social media post.

Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, is the last remaining major rival challenging Trump for the GOP nomination. But she faces a steep uphill climb against Trump, who remains the commanding frontrunner in the 2024 Republican presidential race.

TRUMP BID TO DISMISS HUSH MONEY INDICTMENT DENIED, TRIAL TO START NEXT MONTH

Nikki Haley faces a steep uphill climb to knock off Donald Trump in South Carolina

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Orangeburg Mall in Orangeburg, South Carolina, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Haley’s comments came soon after a New York City judge denied Trump’s request to dismiss the indictment.

The former president faces 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York in connection with alleged hush money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels made during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

COURT DATES AND PRIMARIES: TRUMP FACES COMPETING CALENDARS IN 2024

Prosecutors argue the payments were an effort by Trump to hide a potential sex scandal, both before and after the 2016 election. The former president has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which were brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is a Democrat.

The ruling sets up the first criminal trial of a former president in the nation’s history.

President Trump in court

Former President Donald Trump attends a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on Thursday. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records last year. (Jefferson Siegel-Pool/Getty Images)

As he entered the courtroom, Trump claimed, “I’m here for something, it’s not a crime, it’s election interference and it’s being run by Joe Biden’s White House,” 

And he reiterated that it’s a “terrible time for our country. A real dark period.” 

Trump faces four trials this year, including two on charges he aimed to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden.

ONE YEAR AFTER LAUNCHING 2024 BID, HALEY MAKES FINAL STAND AGAINST TRUMP

Haley, pointing in part to Trump’s legal entanglements, has repeatedly charged that Trump is “unhinged” and argued that “chaos” will follow if he returns to the White House. And she has regularly highlighted general election polls that suggest she’s a stronger GOP nominee than Trump to take on Biden in November.

Nikki Haley and Donald Trump

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

The judge in the hush money case, Juan Merchan, said the trial could last five to six weeks, with a possible ending in late April or early May. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump said ahead of Thursday’s ruling that he should be out campaigning instead of in court. 

When pressed on when he will campaign during the trial, Trump replied: “I’ll do it in the evening.” 

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



Source link

Joe Manchin suggests Mitt Romney, Rob Portman as potential running mates as he flirts with third party ticket


Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., said he’d pick Sen. Mitt Romney or former Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman as potential running mates in a hypothetical third party presidential run.

“Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate… really, who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,” Manchin said at the City Club of Cleveland breakfast forum on Thursday. 

“Maybe Rob Portman would be right there too,” Manchin added. “Rob is a dear friend of mine. What a good man, what a good man.”

MANCHIN HINTS AT POTENTIAL THIRD-PARTY RUN AFTER SUPER TUESDAY: ‘PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR OPTIONS’

(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop moderated the forum, which had roughly 150 people in attendance, and repeatedly probed Manchin on whether he would jump in the race. 

“Guys, listen, I’m not running for anything,” Manchin said. “I’m basically running to try to get people involved.”

Manchin’s comments come as he has been flirting with a third party presidential bid in recent months, with his two-month “listening tour” sparking even more speculation that he will throw his hat in the ring. Both Manchin and Romney announced last year they would not seek re-election to the Senate in 2024. 

The West Virginia Democrat has positioned himself as a centrist politically compared to his more progressive colleagues in the Senate and has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Manchin’s daughter, Heather, started a nonprofit last summer called “Americans Together,” aiming to unite the country’s moderate voters away from the “extremes” of the left and right. If Manchin does announce a presidential run, he’ll likely use the nonprofit to bolster his campaign.

“We stand against extremism in politics. It has taken over our political system and taken away our voice,” the Americans Together campaign website states. “As proud Americans, we agree on more than we disagree. We demand that our politicians put country before party to get things done. Enough is enough.”

MANCHIN ‘ABSOLUTELY’ CAN SEE HIMSELF AS PRESIDENT, THINKS BIDEN HEALTH OR TRUMP CONVICTION COULD GIVE OPENING

Joe Manchin in elevator

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) heads to a vote in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol on June 8, 2021 in Washington, DC.  (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Manchin has previously said he would decide after Super Tuesday — when multiple states hold their primary elections or caucuses simultaneously, making it a significant day for candidates to secure delegates — on March 5. 

“Super Tuesday pretty much confirms whatever is going to happen, what we believe will happen, and we’ll see where we go from there,” Manchin told reporters on the day of the New Hampshire primary. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Romney and Portman for comment. 



Source link

EPA making farmers report manure emissions would be too large a burden, lawmakers say


U.S. Congress members from both political parties have been urging the Environmental Protection Agency not to propose a rule that would require farms to report on air emissions from animal waste, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

The EPA is soliciting public comment on whether it should revoke or amend a rule from former President Donald Trump’s administration that exempts animal manure from an environmental statute requiring industry to report chemical releases for the purpose of community information.

Environmental groups want EPA to revoke the rule, saying pollution from animal waste is sickening people in rural communities.

NEW BIDEN ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS ‘FAILED’ SMALL BUSINESSES, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS

Animal manure can generate hazardous chemicals like ammonia and hydrogen sulfide which can cause irritation and burning to the eyes and respiratory tract.

Reinstating the reporting requirement would create a paperwork backlog for EPA and regulatory burden for farmers, the representatives said in the letter, which was led by Republican Nick Langworthy and Democrat Jim Costa and signed by 44 others.

Corn crops are harvested

Corn crops are seen being harvested from inside a farmer’s combine in Eldon, Iowa, on Oct. 5, 2019. (REUTERS/Kia Johnson//File Photo)

“While we understand the need to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions, requiring the reporting of air emissions from family farms in the future would put an unnecessary and unjustifiable burden on our nation’s agricultural producers,” said the letter, sent to EPA on Wednesday.

The letter is supported by top farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and National Pork Producers Council, said a spokesperson for Langworthy.

The Biden administration in 2021 said it would revise or rescind the 2019 rule as part of ongoing litigation brought by environmental groups.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

EPA’s comment solicitation indicates the agency is “waffling” on that commitment, said Tarah Heinzen, legal director at the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

“Air pollution from factory farms is absolutely sickening people in these rural communities, and they have absolutely no information about what they’re being exposed to,” Heinzen said.

An EPA spokesperson said the agency is reviewing the letter. The comment period closes on Feb. 15.



Source link

Nearly half of Americans think Biden could be replaced as the Dem nominee in 2024: poll


Nearly half of voters think President Biden could be replaced as the Democratic nominee in 2024 amid growing concerns over his health.

A Monmouth University poll released Thursday revealed Biden is “seen in a more negative light than Trump” when it comes to physical health and age, as only 32% of respondents think the president is physically fit to serve another four years in office.

The results reflect a significant 20-point decrease in voter confidence in Biden since 2020, when Monmouth reported over 50% of voters believing Biden had the stamina to be president. 

As he seeks re-election, about 48% of respondents said that they think it is either somewhat or very likely Biden will be replaced as the Democratic nominee in 2024 due to elevated concerns over his health and stamina. 

DEMOCRATS USE TRUMP TO DEFLECT CONCERNS ABOUT BIDEN’S COGNITIVE HEALTH

The poll found nearly half of respondents are concerned over President Biden’s health. (Jim Watson)

Additionally, about one third of respondents also said they could see GOP frontrunner former President Trump being replaced on the ballot, but cited his legal battles as the reasoning.

Trump is making a third bid for the presidency at 77 years old, while Biden is setting records as the oldest sitting president in American history at 81.

Special Counsel Robert Hur recently released his report on Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, sounding alarm bells after writing that the president was suffering from “significant limitations” and memory issues.

OBAMA’S WH PHYSICIAN SAYS SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT PROVES BIDEN HAS ‘SERIOUS ISSUES’: ‘WORSE BY THE DAY’

Following the report, Vice President Kamala Harris told the Wall Street Journal that she is “ready to serve,” increasing speculation that Democrats are considering an alternative candidate to Biden in 2024.

Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Trump attends a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court on Feb. 15, 2024 in New York City. (Jefferson Siegel)

Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday that several Democrat politicians have been floated as potential Biden replacements, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov.  Andy Beshear, and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, highlighted that the survey results reveal “Biden is seen in a more negative light than Trump” when it comes to age and health.

“It’s interesting that voters in the same age bracket as both candidates don’t see much of a difference in terms of their stamina,” Murray said alongside the results. “But younger voters clearly have different perceptions of the two. This is probably one reason why many think Biden’s name may not be on the ballot in the fall – more than say the same about Trump.”

President Joe Biden

President Biden is 81 years old and the oldest sitting president in American history. (Andrew Harnik)

The majority of respondents under the age of 70, about 52%, have more confidence in Trump’s stamina than Biden, who only 30% of respondents within that age group believe is fit enough to be president.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The poll also found that Trump leads in a hypothetical 2024 matchup against Biden by 2 percentage points, with 46% of respondents saying they will either definitely or probably be voting for the former president in the fall. 

The Monmouth University poll was conducted from Feb. 8 to 12 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.



Source link

Haley making final stand against Trump one year after launching GOP presidential bid


One year to the day after formally declaring her candidacy for the White House, Nikki Haley is the last remaining major rival to former President Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination.

“America is not past our prime, it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” Haley said on Feb. 15, 2023, taking shots at both Trump, who’s now 77, and President Biden, who’s 81.

Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, launched her campaign in front of a large crowd of supporters in Charleston. She was the first of the major challengers to Trump to enter the 2024 race, and a year later she’s the final one standing.

HALEY BLAMES TRUMP FOR GOP SETBACK IN KEY SPECIAL ELECTION

Nikki Haley 2024 Charleston S.C.

Former U.N. ambassador and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley formally launched her 2024 Republican presidential campaign on Feb. 15, 2023, in Charleston, South Carolina. (Fox News – Paul  Steinhauser)

“One year ago, there were 13 fellas in the race and we were polling at 2%. But we knew what we were fighting for: a strong and proud America. And now, one year later, we’re back in my sweet state of South Carolina and we’re ready to bring it home!,” Haley said Thursday on social media.

But with nine days to go until the South Carolina Republican presidential primary, Haley faces a steep uphill climb for the nomination against Trump, the commanding frontrunner as he makes his third straight White House run.

THE NEXT STOP IN THE HALEY-TRUMP 2024 GOP PRIMARY SHOWDOWN

Trump grabbed a majority of the votes last month in Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary victories, and won by a landslide last week in the Nevada and U.S. Virgin Island caucuses. And with nine days to go until the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary, the latest public opinion surveys suggest the former president holds a very large double-digit lead over Haley in her home state.

“She’s getting clobbered,” Trump emphasized Wednesday night at a rally in North Charleston, South Carolina. “She’s finished.”

Trump holds a large lead over Haley in the latest South Carolina GOP presidential primary polls

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston, South Carolina, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/David Yeazell)

But Haley, who has been campaigning vigorously in her home state and kicked off a bus tour this past weekend as early voting in the Republican primary got underway, has repeatedly said she doesn’t need to win her home state. 

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY HAULS IN BIG BUCKS DURING WEST COAST SWING

“Success means being competitive. Closing the gap. Making sure we can continue to go forward as we go into Super Tuesday,” Haley stressed in a Fox News Digital interview two weeks ago in Columbia, South Carolina.

“It’s just about keeping that momentum going. We got 20% in Iowa. We got 43% in New Hampshire. Let’s bring it a little bit closer so that we can get closer in to him [Trump] and make it more competitive going into Super Tuesday,” she added.

Nikki Haley faces a steep uphill climb to knock off Donald Trump in South Carolina

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Orangeburg Mall Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Orangeburg, South Carolina, The state’s Republicans will participate in their primary on Feb. 24. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

Haley is taking a short break from her South Carolina stumping to head to Texas on Thursday and Friday for fundraisers and to campaign in one of the 15 states holding Republican nominating contests on Super Tuesday in early March.

Haley hauled in $1.7 million in fundraising – as Fox News first reported – during a two-day campaign swing last week in California, another large Super Tuesday state. The stops in Texas and California appear in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and allow Trump to focus on facing off with Biden in November.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I’m in this for the long haul,” Haley emphasized at a campaign rally last week in Los Angeles.

And Haley reiterated to Fox News Digital that “our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan, Super Tuesday.”

Michigan holds its primary on Tuesday, Feb. 27, three days after South Carolina.

Longtime Republican consultant David Carney, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, noted that “people support Haley. No question about it. And she’ll raise money. No question about it.”

But Carney, who remains neutral in the 2024 GOP nomination race, emphasized, “I don’t see any pathway” for Haley.

Pointing to rules in many of the March 5 GOP contests that award the candidate who tops 50% either statewide or in congressional districts the lion’s share of delegates, Carney predicted that, for Haley, “Super Tuesday will be really painful.”

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



Source link

Vance’s office doubles down ‘impeachment time bomb’ warning in foreign aid package


FIRST ON FOX: Sen. JD Vance’s office will send a letter to GOP lawmakers Thursday doubling down on the claim that the Ukraine-Israel-Taiwan foreign aid package contains an “impeachment time bomb” that would tie the hands of the next administration.

Vance’s memo comes a day after former Vice President Mike Pence’s policy think tank, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), sent a memo to senators dismissing Vance’s claims. 

The national security supplemental text assures the delivery of $1.6 billion to finance Ukraine’s military as well as just under $14 billion for Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through Sept. 30, 2025 – the same aid mechanism that Trump temporarily paused while pushing for an investigation into Biden family foreign business dealings. 

MIKE PENCE’S THINK TANK PUSHES BACK ON JD VANCE’S ‘IMPEACHMENT TIME BOMB’ CLAIM IN FOREIGN AID PACKAGE

JD Vance

 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally at the Dayton International Airport on November 7, 2022 in Vandalia, Ohio.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

AAF claimed Wednesday that it’s the president’s duty to faithfully execute the law as “written into the Constitution” — known as the Take Care clause — rejecting the argument made by the Nixon administration that the clause “empowered the President to ignore federal statutes.”

Vance’s office said AAF was actually supporting their point that the Ukraine supplemental would tie Trump’s hands if he returns to the White House.

“Therefore, they advance the claim that a future president would have a constitutional responsibility to ‘faithfully execute the law’ that requires him to fund Ukraine well into his second term or face a (fake) claim of a constitutional/legal violation,” Vance’s office wrote in the new memo. “That is exactly the claim advanced by the Ukraine Supplemental Impeachment Time Bomb.”

“Administration officials have been transparent about efforts to tie the hands of a future presidential administration, with one revealing to the Washington Post that this supplemental bill is a key component of their plan to ‘future-proof aid for Ukraine against the possibility that former president Donald Trump wins his reelection bid,’” the memo continued. “Former senior administration officials, including a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, have validated that this supplemental bill may function as a “secret set of handcuffs” and that opponents of a future president’s Ukraine policy ‘will use this to try and tie his hands in the initial weeks of his presidency.'”

SENATOR PAUL ASSERTS UKRAINE AID PACKAGE WOULD ‘TIE THE HANDS’ OF FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS

Mike Pence

Former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the Republican Party Of Iowa’s annual Lincoln Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa, US, on Friday, July 28, 2023.  (Rachel Mummey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, AAF noted in their memo if the president wants to cut off federal aid to Ukraine, he must get approval from Congress in a 45-day timeframe, “otherwise he must dutifully execute the law as written.” 

Vance’s office said that rebuttal actually “reinforces” their position “that this supplemental would tie a future president’s hands on spending in Ukraine or he would risk impeachment from Democrats on the same absurd grounds as President Trump’s first impeachment.”

The Trump administration, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), withheld a total of about $400 million in security assistance from Ukraine in 2019. This came just before Trump asked Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy to investigate the family of his 2020 rival, Joe Biden, and while the White House allegedly was withholding an Oval Office visit from Zelenskyy in exchange for an investigation.

These actions are what fueled the impeachment effort against Trump, in which he was ultimately acquitted. 

Vance’s memo argues previous Ukraine supplemental bills lacked sunset dates extending into future administrations. The Biden administration requested specific sunset dates in the current bill to extend aid into the next presidential term, which was granted despite most Senate Republicans voting against it. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Marc Short, AAF board chairman said “AAF will side with the Constitution on the powers given to Congress and the Executive Branch over Senator Vance’s conspiracies any day.”

SEN. VANCE MEMO WARNS GOP COLLEAGUES OF ‘SYSTEMIC FAILURES’ IN US AID TO UKRAINE

Zelensky and Biden

Photo of Ukraine President Zelenskyy and President Biden  (AP/Office of the President of Ukraine)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Several other Republican allies of Trump agreed with Vance this week.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said the provision in the bill “is gonna force him to send money and spend money for Ukraine.”

“This is in the bill,” Tuberville told Fox News Digital. “So, it’s just another situation where the Democrats are doing something and working towards making sure that money’s spent in a certain area where American taxpayers and this country don’t have.”

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, also agreed with Vance and claimed that Democrats are “setting up” for a possible Trump presidential win.



Source link

Georgia judge to hear evidence against DA Fani Willis in Trump case that could disqualify hergia


The Georgia judge overseeing the sweeping racketeering case against former president Donald Trump is set to hear evidence Thursday related to allegations that district attorney Fani Willis is having an “improper” affair and should be disqualified from the case. 

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee will hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday starting at 9:30 a.m. and into Friday on allegations first brought by co-defendant GOP political operative Michael Roman earlier this year. 

The allegations in Roman’s court filings, which have been echoed by three subsequent co-defendants in the case, include that Willis was engaged in an “improper” relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade whom she hired to help prosecute Trump. 

Willis has admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but has denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. 

JUDGE IN TRUMP GEORGIA CASE SAYS DA FANI WILLIS’ ALLEGED ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR ‘COULD RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION’

Scott McAfee

Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee  (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Judge McAfee said on Monday that depending on his findings after hearing the evidence presented from both sides, Willis could be disqualified from the case. 

“In studying the law that’s been filed up to this point, I think it’s clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. And the filing submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the evidence that can’t be resolved as a matter of law,” he said. 

McAfee was appointed to the bench by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2021. 

“Specifically looking at defendant Roman’s motion, it alleges a personal relationship that resulted in a financial benefit to the district attorney. And that is no longer a matter of complete speculation. The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so, what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit,” the judge said. 

“So, because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” he said. 

Ashleigh Merchant, lawyer for Michael Roman, will take center stage Thursday in presenting what she believes is enough evidence to disqualify Willis and her team. 

ashleigh merchant in court

Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for Michael Roman, listens next to her husband John Merchant.

Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner, will testify first on Thursday. His testimony will determine whether others will be required to testify. 

In legal filings last month, Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime. 

According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022.  

Judge McAfee said Monday that “the particulars” of Wade’s experience will not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which will take place on Thursday, Feb. 15, adding, “in my mind as long as a lawyer has a heartbeat and a bar card that lawyer’s appointment standing alone is a matter within the District Attorney’s discretion.”

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis poses for a portrait

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

McAfee said the issues “at point” here are “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues. And that’s only relevant because it’s in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship.” 

Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing and admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that, according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. 

GEORGIA WHISTLEBLOWERS LINING UP TO TESTIFY AGAINST FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS, STATE LAWMAKER SAYS

Fani Willis and Nathan Wade

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Wade Wade has reached a temporary divorce settlement with his estranged wife. (Getty Images)

Willis told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are “salacious,” they have no “merit.”

Willis claims that while she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” there was “no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment, and that Roman and his lawyers “offer no support for their insistence that the exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal relationship.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Willis’ filing said Roman’s motions “attempt to cobble together entirely unremarkable circumstances of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment with completely irrelevant allegations about his personal family life into a manufactured conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney.”

The state has also revealed that DA Willis’ father will be testifying on Thursday, remotely from California.



Source link

Special Counsel Hur to testify publicly on damning report that revealed Biden’s memory, age issues: report


Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account!

Please enter a valid email address.

Special Counsel Robert Hur is in the final stages of plans to testify before Congress regarding his recently released report on President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents.

Hur’s bombshell report revealed Biden’s significant memory issues, compounding voters’ long-held concerns about the president’s age. Hur’s testimony, expected to land in early March, would likely be before the House Judiciary Committee, Axios reported Thursday.

Republican lawmakers will surely hone in on the various examples of Biden’s unreliable memory contained in the report. Hur described Biden as a “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” He also said Biden failed to remember the year his son, Beau, died, as well as the years he served as vice president.

The testimony will also offer Hur the chance to clear up questions that have been raised after the report’s release. Biden, for instance, suggested Hur’s team asked him directly about Beau’s death following the release of the report.

CONSERVATIVES RIP BIDEN AFTER CLASSIFIED DOCS PROBE DOESN’T CHARGE HIM, CITING ‘POOR MEMORY’: ’25TH AMENDMENT’

Special Counsel Robert Hur is in the final stages of plans to testify before Congress regarding his recently released report on President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents.

“How in the hell dare he raise that? Frankly, when I was asked the question, I thought to myself, it wasn’t any of their damn business,” Biden said hours after the report was released.

CONGRESSMAN, ARMY VET SAYS BIDEN BEING ‘USED,’ FEARS OTHERS ARE MAKING DECISIONS: ‘IT’S ABUSIVE’

A Wednesday report from NBC News stated that it was, in fact, Biden who brought up Beau during the interview, not Hur.

The White House was quick to push back on news of Hur’s testimony on Thursday.

President Joe Biden

Special Counsel Robert Hur’s bombshell report revealed President Biden’s significant memory issues, compounding voters’ long-held concerns about the president’s age. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“As Hur mounts his campaign, there will be another story to tell — of Hur and his deputy being two aggressive political prosecutors from the Trump administration who decided to gun for Biden in an election year for their own political futures as Republicans,” a White House spokesman told Axios.

BIDEN ALLIES GO ON DEFENSE BLITZ FOLLOWING HUR REPORT: ‘BUCKET OF BS’

News of Hur’s testimony comes just days after a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans, 53%, believe Biden received “special treatment” during Hur’s investigation. While Hur noted Biden’s memory issues in his report, he declined to recommend charges against the president for mishandling documents.

President Joe Biden

A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that a majority of Americans, 53%, believe President Biden received “special treatment” during Hur’s investigation. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden’s age and mental capacity have long been top issues for voters. Polls have found that large majorities of Americans believe he is too old to run for office. The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that roughly 78% of respondents said he is too old to serve a second term, with 71% of Democrats holding that position.



Source link

House Republican who oversaw Mayorkas impeachment won’t run for re-election


House Homeland Security Chair, Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election, citing Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment as a reason to retire from Congress and return to his home district after serving three terms in Washington, D.C.

“At the start of the 118th Congress, I promised my constituents to pass legislation to secure our borders and to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable. Today, with the House having passed H.R. 2 and Secretary Mayorkas impeached, it is time for me to return home,” Green said in a statement. “In the last few months, in reading the writings of our Framers, I was reminded of their intent for representatives to be citizen-legislators, to serve for a season and then return home. Our country – and our Congress – is broken beyond most means of repair. I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington.”

“As I have done my entire life, I will continue serving this country – but in a new capacity,” Green continued Wednesday, not disclosing if he will run again for governor in 2026, where the seat will up for grabs because Republican Gov. Bill Lee is prohibited from running under Tennessee’s gubernatorial term limits.

“I am grateful to my wife, Camie, and my family, for standing beside me and for their service to our nation,” he continued, announcing his retirement. 

MAYORKAS FIRST CABINET OFFICIAL TO BE IMPEACHED SINCE 1876, SUOZZI WINS SANTOS’ SEAT AND MORE TOP HEADLINES

Mark Green sits in committee

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., arrives to begin the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, Jan. 30, 2024.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

“During my time in the Army, they sacrificed dad and husband to multiple deployments – and as I have served here in Congress, they have supported me as I’ve been away most weeks,” he said. “I also want to thank the constituents of Tennessee’s 7th District for the unbelievable honor to serve them in Congress – whose vote of confidence was not only evident in the wide margins in each election, but also without ever having a single primary opponent in my three elections. And finally, I want to thank my staff, whose unmatched hard work, dedication, and talent have resulted in our many victories and one of the lowest turnover rates in Congress.”

Green is the fifth Republican committee chair to forgo re-election. The others are House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, R-Texas, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., and House Select Committee on China Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. 

Gallagher was one of just three Republican House members to vote against the impeachment of Mayorkas, joining with all House Democrats and preventing an initial measure from going forward. After that bid failed, a second attempt succeeded Tuesday, making Mayorkas the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876.

As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Green spearheaded a months-long investigation of Mayorkas, his policies and his management of the department, ultimately concluding Tuesday that his conduct in office amounted to “high crimes and misdemeanors” worthy of impeachment. 

At the beginning of the 118th Congress, Green was selected as Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, becoming the only member of Congress to be selected at the start of his or her third term to chair a major legislative committee this century, his office said. 

Green previously served as an Army surgeon and in the state Senate and is from Montgomery County. 

Mayorkas is sworn in

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is sworn in during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Nov. 15, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

USER’S MANUAL TO WHAT’S NEXT NOW THAT THE HOUSE IMPEACHED MAYORKAS

Green flirted with running for governor in 2017, but suspended his campaign after he was nominated by former President Trump to become the Army secretary. He later withdrew his nomination amid criticism over his remarks about Muslims and LGBTQ+ Americans, including saying that being transgender is a disease, according to the Associated Press. He also urged that a stand be taken against “the indoctrination of Islam” in public schools and referred to a “Muslim horde” that invaded Constantinople hundreds of years ago.

After winning his congressional seat in 2018, Green once again made headlines after hosting a town hall where he stated that vaccines cause autism. He later walked back his comments. 

Last April, the Trump campaign announced Green would be a part of the Trump 2024 Tennessee Federal Leadership team. 

Mike Gallagher

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., announced that he will not seek re-election.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In 2022, Green’s middle Tennessee congressional seat was among seats that Republicans drastically carved up during redistricting. The 7th Congressional District was redrawn to include a significant portion of Nashville. The congressional map is now facing a federal lawsuit, but that case is not scheduled to go to trial until April 2025.

The GOP primary to replace Green is on Aug. 1, and candidates have primary ballot acces until the April 4 deadline, according to the Federal Elections Commission. So far on the Republican side, Caleb Stack has pulled petitions to run for the congressional district Green will vacate at the end of his term. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In a brazen attempt at a political comeback, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who stepped down about five years ago amid now-dismissed criminal charges linked to her using taxpayer dollars to carry on an extramarital affair with her city-employed bodyguard, announced in December that she would run for Green’s U.S. House seat as a Democrat. 

“I expect candidates who agree with Mark Green or are even more extreme will announce campaigns, and I look forward to taking on whoever makes it through that primary,” Barry said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 



Source link

GOP Senate hopeful kept ties to George Soros-backed group where Hunter Biden served on board


A Republican running to replace Mitt Romney as Utah’s junior senator kept ties to a group partially funded by liberal billionaire George Soros and where Hunter Biden served as a board member, a Fox News analysis has found.

Trent Staggs, the Republican mayor of Riverton, Utah, who announced his Senate run last year, previously served on the Utah Advisory Committee for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC), a coalition of corporations and non-governmental organizations, some of which promote liberal and left-leaning policies.

According to the Open Society Foundations network, Soros’ network of nonprofits through which he finances his political agenda, it has given nearly $1.2 million to the USGLC since 2017, covering at least some of the years Staggs served on the advisory committee, as well as in 2022, when he received its Global Statesman Award “for his leadership and advocacy for U.S. leadership in the world.”

WATCH: VULNERABLE REPUBLICAN LAMPOONED FOR ‘EMBARRASSING’ EXCHANGE WITH REPORTER, ‘LIE’ ABOUT DISTRICT FUNDING

Trent Staggs, George Soros

Republican Utah Senate candidate Trent Staggs and liberal billionaire George Soros. (Trent Staggs/Getty Images)

In his acceptance speech, Staggs said he appreciated the work of the USGLC, including promoting “increased support for development, diplomacy and defense that contribute to strong U.S. leadership in the world.” He also praised America’s defense spending, charitable giving and the overall “generous, compassionate nature of the United States.”

The previous year, Staggs issued a mayoral proclamation declaring Dec. 14, 2021, to be Global Engagement Day 2021, asking his community’s residents “to support the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s efforts to strengthen diplomacy and America’s international affairs programs.”

A 2020 report by The Daily Caller found that Hunter Biden served on USGLC’s board of directors from 2012 to 2018, during which time the group lobbied for more spending on Ukraine while Hunter was also serving on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM BACKPEDALS AFTER REFUSING TO CONDEMN PHRASE SEEN AS CALLING FOR ‘EXTERMINATION’ OF JEWS

Senator Mitt Romney leaves the senate floor after same-sex marriage vote

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, leaves the Senate floor after voting yes on a procedural vote on federal legislation protecting same-sex marriages at the U.S. Capitol Nov. 16, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

In addition to Soros, the USGLC is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, two other prominent liberal organizations.

According to the Rockefeller Foundation, it awarded a $750,000 grant to the U.S. Center For Global Leadership, a close affiliate of the USGLC, in October 2021, just months before Staggs was awarded the Global Statesman Award.

“Greg Hughes and other Utah conservatives serve on a local advisory council I was asked to be part of. I will take every opportunity to talk about the importance of the free market, free and fair trade and U.S. global dominance. Now, we need to elect Donald Trump, get our economy back on track and once again lead the world,” Staggs told Fox News Digital in a statement, referencing a well-known former Utah congressman.

Republican Utah Mayor Trent Staggs

In announcing his candidacy, Staggs became the first person to publicly pose a challenge to Romney, who has angered many voters within his own party for his reasoning and support for certain policies and bills. (Trent Staggs)

His campaign did not share information on how long Staggs had served on the advisory council for the organization, but a source told Fox News Digital the mayor was no longer serving on it and that he left in early 2023.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  

The source also pointed to other conservatives with recent connections to USGLC, including former Trump officials Bill Stepien and Kenneth Braithwaite.

Staggs is running as an “America First” candidate, often referred to as “MAGA,” and is facing a crowded field of Republican primary hopefuls.

The primary election will be held June 25.

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



Source link

Illegal immigration could have major impact on House seats, Electoral College: experts


Join Fox News for access to this content

Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account!

Please enter a valid email address.

Immigration experts are raising the alarm about how the increasing flow of migrants illegally crossing into the U.S. may significantly impact states’ representation in the House of Representatives and Electoral College.

Shortly after taking office in January 2021, President Biden signed an executive order requiring that the U.S. Census Bureau factor in all residents, including noncitizens, as part of its decennial calculation of the U.S. population. As a result, the apportionment of House seats and, therefore, electoral votes for presidential elections, could be swayed as migrants continue to pour over the southern border.

“Illegal immigration has all kinds of effects and among them is that it distorts the mechanics of democratic government,” Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Illegal immigrants aren’t even supposed to be here, so their inclusion in the census count for purposes of apportionment really is outrageous.”

“There are a lot of close votes in Congress, more than there used to be. So, it can, in fact, make a difference,” Krikorian said. “It shouldn’t be a question of: Does this give you personally more influence in Washington? The question should be: Is it right? Is it healthy for our democratic process to be distorted this way? The answer is no.”

REPUBLICANS PROBE DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS OVER ROLE IN HOUSING MIGRANTS ON FEDERAL LANDS

Joe Biden, Border wall

On his first day in office, President Biden issued an executive order mandating that illegal immigrants are counted toward the U.S. census. (Getty Images)

Overall, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, there are an estimated 16.8 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. as of June 2023. Therefore, because every House seat represents 761,168 residents on average, the total number of illegal immigrants account for roughly 22 seats in the House.

And the most recent census, which was conducted in 2020, reduced the number of House seats apportioned to New York from 27 to 26. The state, according to the Census Bureau, would have needed just 89 more residents to maintain its previous apportionment, a calculation that highlights how fragile states’ House seat levels are.

REPUBLICANS ACCELERATE PROBE INTO BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S ACTIONS TO HOUSE MIGRANTS ON FEDERAL LANDS

In addition, electoral votes for presidential elections are distributed to states based on how many representatives in Congress they have. Therefore, a state with a larger number of House seats has greater influence during presidential elections every four years.

“It doesn’t get enough attention, and with millions coming in right now, it deserves a bright, hot spotlight,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Migrants Arizona

Migrants attempting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in San Luis, Arizona. (Nick Ut/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, Ries published an essay alongside RJ Hauman, the president of the Immigration Center For Enforcement, warning that illegal immigration is triggering a “warped representation” in Congress.

“Barring the Census from including noncitizens in apportionment is critical in making sure that American citizens — the only population who can and should vote in U.S. elections — are picking America’s leaders,” Ries and Hauman wrote. “Biden’s intentional border crisis has produced unprecedented apportionment issues, distorting the representation that states have in the House, and how many electoral votes they have in presidential elections.”

MAYOR’S OFFICE AVOIDS SAYING WHETHER IT BACKS NONCITIZENS VOTING AFTER WARNING MIGRANT CRISIS WILL DESTROY NYC

The pair argued that prohibiting the Census Bureau from counting illegal immigrants toward its apportionment population would discourage sanctuary policies in Democrat-led cities and states. They further argued that such a policy would ensure that only American citizens “shape our political landscape” and prevent foreign nationals from determining the political destiny of the U.S.

Ries and Hauman also called for Congress to pass the Equal Representation Act, which Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and 20 fellow Senate Republicans introduced late last month. Under the legislation, the Census Bureau would be required to include a citizenship question in any future census and prohibit noncitizens from being counted for congressional district and Electoral College apportionment.

Reps. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, introduced companion legislation in the House days later.

Senator Bill Hagerty, a Republican from Tennessee

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., introduced the Equal Representation Act in January. The bill would ensure only American citizens are factored in for future House and Electoral College apportionment. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants and noncitizens are counted toward congressional district apportionment and our electoral map,” said Hagerty. 

“While people continue to flee Democrat-run cities, desperate Democrats are back-filling the mass exodus with illegal immigrants so that they do not lose their seats in Congress and maintain electoral votes for the presidency and hence artificially boost their political power, which in turn dilutes the power of other Americans’ votes,” he added.

REPUBLICANS FUME AT BIDEN FOR VACATIONING AS BORDER CROSSINGS EXPLODE: ‘DERELICTION OF DUTY’

Hagerty’s bill comes years after former President Trump attempted to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census questionnaire. Trump’s effort sparked widespread criticism and condemnation from Democrats and left-wing immigration groups who argued that a citizenship question was unlawful and was designed to help Republicans in future elections.

The Trump administration ultimately abandoned the effort in July 2019 after an unfavorable Supreme Court ruling. Trump said at the time that allowing noncitizens to be counted was “part of a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of the American citizen.”

“We will defend the right of the American people to know the full facts about the population size of citizens and noncitizens in America,” Trump said in 2019. “It is essential that we have a clear breakdown of the number of citizens and noncitizens that make up the U.S. populations.” (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

“It obviously helps states that have a high illegal immigrant population. The best way to say it is it’s a perverse incentive to states to grow their population through illegal immigration,” Eric Ruark, the director of research for NumbersUSA, told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Federal dollars are also based upon population. States who have a higher illegal immigrant population are going to see more federal funding.”

“To have a democratic society, you need to recognize limits on who qualifies as a citizen or as someone who has representation,” Ruark continued. “And I don’t know if Americans really believe that anyone who shows up and comes over the border should be represented equally in Congress as compared to American citizens.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, in January, the federal government reported more than 156,000 migrant encounters at the U.S. southern border, a slight year-over-year uptick but a decrease compared to the month prior. In December, more than 302,000 migrants were encountered crossing the border, by far the largest single-month figure ever recorded.

The December figures brought the fiscal 2024 first-quarter level to 785,000 encounters, the highest number ever recorded.

The U.S. Census Bureau will conduct its next census in 2030, which will impact House seats beginning in 2033.



Source link

Vulnerable Dem senator flip-flops on supplying energy to China in middle of reelection campaign


Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who is locked in a toss-up re-election bid, expressed concern this week about U.S. energy exports benefiting China despite voting against a bill in 2022 that would have prohibited the sale of emergency oil reserves to China.

Brown remarked on Tuesday that he supported President Biden’s recent actions pausing permitting for liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects, saying those projects could ultimately benefit China. The comments separate Brown from other more moderate Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Pennsylvania senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman, who opposed the actions.

“My focus is on protecting Ohio workers in the natural gas industry and manufacturers and lowering costs for all Ohioans, and I continue to review this rule and the impact it would have on achieving those goals,” Brown told Politico. “I have concerns around letting American liquid natural gas fuel China’s state-sponsored industries that consistently try to undermine American production.”

According to the most recent federal data, just 6.7% of U.S. LNG exports are shipped to China. The vast majority of exports are sent to Europe, which has relied on U.S. natural gas to wean itself off Russian energy amid the Ukraine war, and other Asian countries like Japan and South Korea.

DOZENS OF FORMER TOP FEDERAL OFFICIALS CALL ON CONGRESS TO STRIKE DOWN BIDEN’S NATURAL GAS CRACKDOWN

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, during Senate votes in the U.S. Capitol Jan. 23, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

While Brown supports a pause on LNG export permits, energy industry associations have argued it will harm the U.S. economy and energy security. According to the Energy Information Administration, Ohio is among the nation’s top 10 natural gas producers, and American Petroleum Institute estimates suggest the state’s energy industry supports roughly 351,530 total jobs.

In August 2022, Brown voted against an Inflation Reduction Act amendment offered by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, which would have blocked the Department of Energy (DOE) from selling petroleum products from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to Chinese entities unless their bid was 10 times higher than the next highest bid received.

STATE AGS WARN BIDEN’S NATURAL GAS MORATORIUM VIOLATES FEDERAL LAW, DEMAND REVERSAL

While Brown voted against the amendment, other Democrats, including senators Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., joined Republicans in voting in favor of it. The bill ultimately failed after receiving 56 votes in favor, failing to reach the required two-thirds majority.

President Biden ordered pending natural gas export projects to be halted in a stunning move last month. The action was cheered by environmentalists who oppose fossil fuel development. (Getty Images)

“Sherrod Brown is happy to stand by as Joe Biden caves to green energy activists and drives up prices for Americans already struggling with inflation,” Philip Letsou, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senate Committee, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“Brown will quickly regret his decision to run as a far-left progressive Democrat in a state Donald Trump will handily win in November.”

Brown didn’t respond to a request for comment.

BIDEN ENERGY SECRETARY GRANHOLM PRESSED ON TALKS WITH TOP CCP OFFICIAL BEFORE SPR RELEASES

Late last month, Biden ordered the DOE to pause pending permits for LNG export facilities while federal officials conduct a rigorous environmental review assessing the projects’ carbon emissions, which could take more than a year to complete. The action represents a major victory for activists who have loudly called for such a move, even threatening to hold large protests over the issue.

The president said the pause on LNG permitting was a part of his sweeping climate agenda, adding the action “sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time.” However, he didn’t mention the importance of restricting exports to China after taking the action.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm at the White House

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks during a White House press briefing Nov. 23, 2021. The Department of Energy has sold millions of barrels of emergency oil stocks to China. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images))

And the Biden administration has faced pressure over the last two years to stop SPR sales to China. Overall, Biden has ordered the DOE to release a total of about 260 million barrels of oil stored in the SPR, which was established in the 1970s to be used in times of energy supply disruptions, since taking office to combat record fuel prices hitting American consumers.

As part of that effort, the DOE sold at least 2 million barrels of oil from the SPR to Unipec, an affiliate of the state-controlled China Petrochemical Corporation. The first such sale was part of a 20-million-barrel SPR sale awarded to eight companies in September 2021. The other two — both sales for 950,000 barrels of oil — came in April 2022 and July 2022.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was intended to ensure that America had sufficient oil reserves in the event of an emergency,” Cruz said last year. “Under no circumstances should we sell any part of this stockpile to the Chinese Communist Party or any company under its control.”



Source link

Democrats win seat, Republicans win impeachment, two presidents clash over NATO


If the second attempt to impeach the Homeland Security chief had taken place a short time later, the Republicans would have failed again.

Instead, they managed to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas–the first sitting Cabinet secretary to draw that sanction–by a single vote.

But after a victory in George Santos’ old district, the Democrats would have had the extra vote to stop the impeachment.

TRUMP’S NATO COMMENTS TRIGGER FIERCE MEDIA AND EUROPEAN OPPOSITION: HOW SERIOUS IS HE?

Tom Suozzi beat Republican Mazi Pilip in Tuesday’s special election on Long Island, unleashing a tidal wave of punditry about his winning formula–openly tackling such issues as illegal migration and crime rather than avoiding them.

I always caution against drawing sweeping conclusions in one-off local races, and this election in a snowstorm is no exception. 

Tom Suozzi

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, Democratic candidate for New York’s 3rd congressional district, speaks at his election night party Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Woodbury, N.Y. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

The underlying factor was Santos, the outlandish, lying, fabricating lawmaker who won the seat with a made-up resume, was expelled by the House and is under indictment. Voters felt hosed by the Republican publicity hound, and maybe the Dems were more motivated to vote.

Sure, Suozzi deserves credit for seizing on illegal migration and crime rather than avoiding such explosive issues – and doggedly distancing himself from President Biden. But he also has to run again in the fall.

NATO CHIEF SAYS TRUMP CRITICISM ‘DOES UNDERMINE THE SECURITY OF ALL OF US’

Trump, for his part, blamed Pilip, “running in a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence,’ when she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America…I STAYED OUT OF THE RACE, ‘I WANT TO BE LOVED!’” 

A subtle Valentine’s Day message?

Trump

Republican presidential hopeful and former US President Donald Trump looks on, flanked by son Eric Trump (L) and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, during an Election Night Party in Nashua, New Hampshire, on January 23, 2024. Donald Trump won the key New Hampshire primary Tuesday, moving him ever closer to locking in the Republican presidential nomination and securing an extraordinary White House rematch with Joe Biden.  (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images))

The move against Mayorkas, the first against a Cabinet officer in 150 years, is about the politics of symbolism. Republicans know full well the Democratic-controlled Senate is not going to convict him. This was about keeping the spotlight on one of the GOP’s best issues.

But if the press saddled Johnson with a humiliating defeat last week, it has to credit him with a big win now.

Both episodes shed light on the fractious politics of the Hill. Just when it looked like the Senate might pass a bipartisan border security bill–which included military aid to Ukraine and Israel–Donald Trump ripped it and the package was dead.

YOU DON’T NEED COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM TO SECURE THE BORDER: MARC THIESSEN

Now the Senate appears ready to pass a stand-alone military aid bill by a filibuster-proof majority. But Johnson says he won’t bring it up for a House floor vote.

That would bury it, unless a handful of Republicans join with Democrats to force a vote through a discharge petition.

Think about it: the United States, unable to help two major allies because of election-year politics, especially Ukraine, which remains under siege by Vladimir Putin.

And that’s why Biden took the rare step of delivering a televised speech on Tuesday.

His predecessor gave him an opening by saying he wouldn’t protect any NATO member who didn’t pay its fair share in military costs. And if that were the case, Putin and Russia could “do whatever the hell they want.”

Biden

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 13: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the Senate’s recent passage of the National Security Supplemental Bill, which provides military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, in the State Dining Room of the White House on February 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. During his remarks Biden urged House Republicans and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) to move the legislation through the House of Representatives. (Anna Moneymaker)

Biden, in his speech, accused Trump of siding with the Russian dictator, calling the comments “dumb,” “shameful,” “dangerous” and “un-American.”

Put aside whether Biden is right or Trump is trying to pressure delinquent allies. Joe Biden passed up a softball Super Bowl interview. So why is he getting in front of the cameras now?

One, he’s trying to get push Congress to pass the military aid bill.

Two, he’s trying to change the subject from his own questionable memory in that wake of that stinging special counsel’s report.

Three, he is finally heeding the advice of those who say he needs to do more television to prove his competence and dim the focus on every gaffe or misstatement.

What’s fascinating is the spin of each party when it comes to backing their candidate.

Democrats are hitting the airwaves saying Biden is sharp and laser-focused in private, and counsel Robert Hur has no business airing his personal criticism of the president’s mental acuity.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Republicans are saying Trump would not actually abandon NATO and that he doesn’t mean what he’s saying.

And everyone is getting sustained exposure to a system that generally favors political maneuvering over actual results.



Source link

Special counsel Jack Smith asks SCOTUS to reject Trump request to delay 2020 election case


Special counsel Jack Smith has requested that the U.S. Supreme Court reject former President Donald Trump’s bid to delay his 2020 election interference from going to trial. 

Trump’s legal team requested the delay be extended earlier this week as the court considers whether to take up the question whether the former president is immune from prosecution for official acts in the White House. Two lower courts have overwhelmingly rejected that argument, prompting Trump to ask the high court to intervene.

Prosecutors responded to Trump’s appeal within two days even though the court had given them until next Tuesday.

trump and jack smith

Donald Trump and Jack Smith (Getty Images)

Though their filing does not explicitly mention the upcoming November election or Trump’s status as the Republican primary front-runner, prosecutors described the case as having “unique national importance” and said that “delay in the resolution of these charges threatens to frustrate the public interest in a speedy and fair verdict.”

Smith’s team charged Trump in August with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

TRUMP DEMANDS DOJ ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION

Trump’s lawyers, meanwhile, have argued that he is shielded from prosecution for acts that fell within his official duties as president — a legally untested argument since no other former president has been indicted.

The trial judge and then a federal appeals court rejected those arguments, with a three-judge appeals panel last week saying, “We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter.”

Former President Donald Trump

The Trump campaign said NBC News reporter Vaughn Hillyard was not banned or barred based on his reporting.  (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The proceedings have been effectively frozen by Trump’s immunity appeal, with U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan canceling a March 4 trial date while the appeals court considered the matter. No new date has been set.

Earlier Wednesday, prosecutors urged the court to reject Trump’s petition to hear the case, saying that lower court opinions rejecting immunity for the former president “underscore how remote the possibility is that this Court will agree with his unprecedented legal position.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But if the court does want to decide the matter, Smith said, the justices should hear arguments in March and issue a final ruling by late June. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  



Source link

George judge set to hear evidence against DA Fani Willis in Trump case that could disqualify her


The Georgia judge overseeing the sweeping racketeering case against former president Donald Trump is set to hear evidence Thursday related to allegations that district attorney Fani Willis is having an “improper” affair and should be disqualified from the case. 

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee will hold an evidentiary hearing on Thursday starting at 9:30 a.m. and into Friday on allegations first brought by co-defendant GOP political operative Michael Roman earlier this year. 

The allegations in Roman’s court filings, which have been echoed by three subsequent co-defendants in the case, include that Willis was engaged in an “improper” relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade whom she hired to help prosecute Trump. 

Willis has admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but has denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. 

JUDGE IN TRUMP GEORGIA CASE SAYS DA FANI WILLIS’ ALLEGED ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR ‘COULD RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION’

Scott McAfee

Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee  (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Judge McAfee said on Monday that depending on his findings after hearing the evidence presented from both sides, Willis could be disqualified from the case. 

“In studying the law that’s been filed up to this point, I think it’s clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. And the filing submitted on this issue so far have presented a conflict in the evidence that can’t be resolved as a matter of law,” he said. 

McAfee was appointed to the bench by Republican Governor Brian Kemp in 2021. 

“Specifically looking at defendant Roman’s motion, it alleges a personal relationship that resulted in a financial benefit to the district attorney. And that is no longer a matter of complete speculation. The state has admitted a relationship existed. And so, what remains to be proven is the existence and extent of any financial benefit,” the judge said. 

“So, because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” he said. 

Ashleigh Merchant, lawyer for Michael Roman, will take center stage Thursday in presenting what she believes is enough evidence to disqualify Willis and her team. 

ashleigh merchant in court

Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for Michael Roman, listens next to her husband John Merchant.

Terrence Bradley, Wade’s former law partner, will testify first on Thursday. His testimony will determine whether others will be required to testify. 

In legal filings last month, Roman alleged that Wade billed Fulton County for 24 hours of work on a single day in November 2021, shortly after being appointed as a special prosecutor, and that Willis financially benefited from her alleged lover’s padded taxpayer-funded salary by taking lavish vacations together on his dime. 

According to the court documents, Wade, who has no RICO and felony prosecution experience, billed taxpayers $654,000 since January 2022.  

Judge McAfee said Monday that “the particulars” of Wade’s experience will not be relevant in the evidentiary hearing, which will take place on Thursday, Feb. 15, adding, “in my mind as long as a lawyer has a heartbeat and a bar card that lawyer’s appointment standing alone is a matter within the District Attorney’s discretion.”

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ADMITS PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PROSECUTOR BUT DENIES CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis poses for a portrait

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

McAfee said the issues “at point” here are “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues. And that’s only relevant because it’s in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship.” 

Willis responded to the allegations in a court filing and admitted to having a “personal” relationship with Wade but denied any conflict of interest. She also argued that, according to Georgia law, in order for a district attorney to be forcibly removed from a case, the conflict of interest has to be harmful to a defendant’s case. 

GEORGIA WHISTLEBLOWERS LINING UP TO TESTIFY AGAINST FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS, STATE LAWMAKER SAYS

Fani Willis and Nathan Wade

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Wade Wade has reached a temporary divorce settlement with his estranged wife. (Getty Images)

Willis told the Superior Court that while the allegations against her are “salacious,” they have no “merit.”

Willis claims that while she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” there was “no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021 at the time of Wade’s appointment, and that Roman and his lawyers “offer no support for their insistence that the exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal relationship.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Willis’ filing said Roman’s motions “attempt to cobble together entirely unremarkable circumstances of Special Prosecutor Wade’s appointment with completely irrelevant allegations about his personal family life into a manufactured conflict of interest on the part of the District Attorney.”

The state has also revealed that DA Willis’ father will be testifying on Thursday, remotely from California.



Source link

Several Republican lawmakers want Schumer to reconvene Senate ‘immediately’ for Mayorkas impeachment trial


Some Senate Republicans want the upper chamber to reconvene “immediately” to proceed with an impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border. The House voted to impeach Mayorkas Tuesday night in a tight 214-213 vote. 

Mayorkas is the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached by the U.S. Congress since 1876.

“Schumer should reconvene the Senate immediately and proceed to trial,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in a post on X Tuesday night. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer’s office for comment and did not hear back by time of publication. But in a statement Tuesday night after the vote, Schumer said the impeachment trial will begin later this month. The Senate is scheduled to return from recess on Feb. 26.

“The House impeachment managers will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate following the state work period,” Schumer said in a statement. “Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day.”

HOUSE VOTES TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS

Josh Hawley (Left) Secretary Mayorkas (Right)

Sen. Josh Hawley sounds off on Secretary Mayorkas after Tuesday’s House vote. (Getty Images/Fox News)

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a post that the Senate “cannot fail” to “uphold” its constitutional duty and “conduct an impeachment trial for Secretary Mayorkas, who has ignored his duty to protect our country.”

“Chuck Schumer is trying to sweep this travesty under the rug by violating the constitution and foregoing a trial. Republican leadership cannot stand idly by and let him,” he wrote. 

Echoing the urgency, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. urged the upper chamber to take quick action: “The Senate must take this up immediately.”

“While some in the Senate sided with securing Ukraine’s border before our own, I’m glad to see House Republicans do the right thing and hold this lawless administration accountable,” he wrote Tuesday night.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., compared how Democrats treated Trump’s impeachment trials versus “the cabinet member responsible for 9 million illegal migrant entries on the southern border.” 

“They show zero interest in demanding real accountability,” Schmitt said. “This impeachment coming to the Senate will undoubtedly show how unserious Democrats have become when it comes to responsibly leading the country and protecting Americans. Mayorkas’ impeachment proceedings should be brought to the Senate floor ASAP, but don’t hold your breath for any meaningful change at the border while Democrats are in charge.”

Schmitt’s sentiments are shared by several Senate Republicans who opposed the failed border bill that was in the national security supplemental package, citing concerns about increased power for President Biden and Mayorkas. They argued that shifting asylum claim responsibilities to the secretary of Homeland Security undermines immigration court processes.

HERE ARE THE 3 HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO TORPEDOED MAYORKAS’ IMPEACHMENT VOTE

Migrants in NYC

Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, which was converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City, on Sept. 27, 2023. (Selcuk Acar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The Senate ultimately voted to remove the border bill text and passed a standalone $95 billion foreign aid bill. 

“I don’t think it ever made sense to many Americans that we’re negotiating a border deal with the person we’re trying to impeach,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the vote on Tuesday. 

“I welcome the impeachment,” Marshall said. “He didn’t enforce the law of the land, he broke his oath to Americans as well. So I think, for all those reasons, he should be impeached.”

Tuesday evening’s vote marked House Republicans’ second attempt at impeaching Mayorkas. GOP lawmakers targeted the Biden official over the ongoing migrant crisis at the U.S. southern border, accusing him of deliberately flaunting existing immigration law and worsening the situation.

OVER 40 LAWMAKERS SIGN BRIEF TO SUPPORT TEXAS IN IMMIGRATION FIGHT WITH BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Sen. Roger Marshall said of Secretary Mayorkas, seen here with President Biden, “He didn’t enforce the law of the land, he broke his oath to Americans as well. So I think, for all those reasons, he should be impeached.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment. In a statement following the House’s vote, DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said: “House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border. While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment.

“Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country. Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe,” Ehrenberg added.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 



Source link

Trump ahead of Biden in North Carolina with 50% support


Former President Donald Trump won the Tar Heel State by small margins in the last two presidential elections, and it looks as though the GOP frontrunner could take the state a third time, according to a new Fox News Poll of North Carolina registered voters.

The survey, released Wednesday, finds Trump (50%) ahead of President Joe Biden (45%) by 5 points in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup. That’s inside the poll’s margin of sampling error.

In 2016, Trump won North Carolina by less than 4 points. In 2020, it was even closer, with Trump edging out Biden by a little more than a single point.

TIM SCOTT TO JOIN TRUMP ON STAGE AT CAMPAIGN RALLY AMID VP PICK RUMORS

Fox News Poll

Trump receives strong support from his base, including Republicans (94%), White evangelicals (78%), White men without a college degree (71%), and rural Whites (67%). Self-identified independents also break for Trump by 11 percentage points (48% Trump vs. 37% Biden), which is still within the error of margin for this small subgroup.

Biden is ahead among his key coalition groups but to a lesser degree than Trump is with his: Democrats (91%), Black voters (75%), suburban women (59%), urban voters (57%), and voters with a college degree (55%). 

MEDIA, DEMOCRATS INSIST BIDEN HAS ‘STRONG MENTAL ACUITY’ AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE HITS HIS ‘POOR MEMORY’

Additionally, 95% of 2020 Trump voters back their candidate again, while 90% of 2020 Biden voters say the same (5% defect to Trump and 4% wouldn’t vote or are unsure).

Voters under age 30 and those ages 65 and over are relatively split in their support between Biden and Trump.

Fox News Poll

Third-party candidates will likely be on the November ballot, and the survey shows they hurt Biden more than Trump.  When other candidates are included, Biden slips to 37%, Trump is still ahead, but drops to 46%, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. 8%, Jill Stein 2%, and Cornel West 1%. 

Twice as many Biden supporters as Trump supporters break ranks in the five-way race. Fourteen percent of those who backed Biden in the one-on-one matchup against Trump say they would vote third party, while for Trump, that number is 7%. 

“Biden’s coalition is scattered in North Carolina — less than 8 in 10 Democrats are supporting him when third-party candidates are involved,” says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Republican Daron Shaw. “But if partisans come to believe a third-party vote equals a vote for Trump, this race could tighten quickly, especially if Trump is convicted of something.” 

What about Trump’s legal battles and concerns over Biden’s mental acuity? A quarter of Trump backers (23%) say they would be very or somewhat likely to rethink their support because of his legal problems, while almost twice as many Biden backers (40%) say the same about issues surrounding his mental soundness. Still, majorities of both candidates’ supporters say it’s unlikely they’ll change their mind.  

Fox News Poll

Trump backers under age 35 (39%) and non-MAGA Republicans (29%) are those most likely to rethink supporting him, while among Biden backers it’s also those under 35 (66%), plus women (43%) and Black voters (39%). 

Meanwhile, Biden’s job rating is underwater: 41% approve vs. 59% disapprove. What’s more, North Carolina voters are more than twice as likely to strongly disapprove (45%) than strongly approve (20%).   

More than 4 in 10 (44%) North Carolinians feel they are falling behind financially — that’s more than three times as many as say they are getting ahead (13%).  Forty-two percent say they’re holding steady.  

The economy is the number one issue voters are considering when deciding their vote for president.  Sixty-six percent say the economy is extremely important to their vote, followed by health care (54%), election integrity (52%), immigration (49%), abortion (44%), foreign policy (35%), climate change (28%), and the war between Israel and Hamas (25%).  

The top 3 issues among Democrats are health care (63%), abortion, and the economy (55% each) while for Republicans it’s the economy (77%), immigration and border security (75%), and election integrity (57%). 

Fox News Poll

On the top issue of the economy, Trump is seen as better able to handle it than Biden by 16 points (56% Trump vs. 40% Biden). Trump’s also the choice for immigration/border security (+19 points), Israel-Hamas war (+15), and foreign policy (+8). 

Voters are split on other priorities such as health care (Biden +1) and election integrity (Biden +2). The story is similar on abortion (Biden +2), although Biden has a stronger hold on climate change (+8).

Voters largely back Trump when it comes to handling the Middle East conflict, and 6 in 10 North Carolinians side more with the Israelis than the Palestinians (59% vs. 22%).  Those backing the Israelis support Trump in the head-to-head, while those supporting the Palestinians go for Biden.

“North Carolina has been fool’s gold for Democrats in recent years, and these early results are daunting,” says Shaw. “If Biden can make the election about health care, abortion, and election integrity, he might be able to reclaim enough support among Democrats and independents to make a go of it. Right now, though, he’s leaking support among constituencies he desperately needs.”

Fox News Poll

What about Haley?

In a hypothetical head-to-head, Nikki Haley also bests Biden by 5 points, but doesn’t reach the 50% support Trump does: 46% Haley vs. 41% Biden. That’s because while 75% of Trump supporters from the 2-way matchup against Biden would back her, 6% go for Biden here and 18% would vote third-party, not vote at all, or are unsure. Haley’s helped by 15% of the 2-way Biden supporters backing her.

HALEY CALLS FOR ‘DIMINISHED’ BIDEN, TRUMP TO TAKE MENTAL ACUITY TESTS

However, when the race is expanded to include third-party candidates, Haley finds herself trailing Biden by 2 points: 31% Haley vs. 33% Biden. Kennedy comes in third with 19% support, while West and Stein receive 2% apiece.

Fox News Poll

CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS

These results for Haley can also be attributed to defections among the 2-way Trump supporters as 3% would support Biden, 47% Haley, 29% Kennedy, 7% other, 7% undecided, and 7% would not vote at all.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Conducted Feb. 8-12, 2024 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,099 North Carolina registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (178) and cellphones (668) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (253). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. When necessary, weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of survey respondents are representative of the registered voter population.



Source link

Fox News Poll: Biden and Trump in close race in Michigan


Despite Michigan voters disapproving of the job President Joe Biden is doing, many also say their family finances are holding steady or getting better — and that leads to a tight race between the incumbent and former President Donald Trump in the Wolverine State.

In a hypothetical 2024 presidential matchup, Biden receives 45% support to Trump’s 47% in a Fox News survey of Michigan registered voters. Trump’s 2-point edge is well within the survey’s margin of sampling error. 

Biden won Michigan in 2020 by less than 3 points. In 2016, Trump took the state by less than half a point — and that’s the only time the state went red since 1988.

Biden’s best groups include those that traditionally go Democratic, including liberals, Black voters, suburban women, those voting on the abortion issue, and voters with a college degree. He’s also ahead with those living in union households, voters ages 65 and over, and women.

NATO MEMBERS BRACE FOR TRUMP WIN AS RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS MOVE TO MEET SPENDING PLEDGES

Fox News Poll

While he still has a substantial lead among Black voters, Biden’s 68% share today is down significantly from the 93% he won in 2020, according to the Fox News voter analysis election survey. He’s also lagging his 2020 numbers among women, voters under age 45, men under 45, and independents. 

In 2020, Biden won voters under 45 and independents, but both groups now favor Trump.

Fox News Poll

Trump’s strongest support comes from conservatives, those saying immigration and border security are extremely important to their vote, White evangelical Christians, Whites without a college degree, and rural voters. He’s also favored by younger voters, men, White voters, and independents.

In addition, party loyalty also plays a big role in Trump’s advantage, as 93% of Republicans back him compared to 89% of Democrats for Biden.

Fox News Poll

In a potential 5-way race, Trump’s advantage over Biden widens to 5 points (42% vs. 37%), with third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy receiving 11%, Jill Stein 3%, and Cornel West 2%.

In this scenario, 77% of 2020 Biden voters stick with him, compared to Trump holding onto 87% of his 2020 voters. 

“Third-party candidates are draining twice as much support from Biden as from Trump,” says Democratic pollster Chris Anderson, who conducts Fox News surveys with Republican Daron Shaw. “While many currently supporting third-party candidates will gravitate back to major party candidates by Election Day, a low level of third-party support could make a difference in a close election if the defections come disproportionately from Biden.”

The economy is the top issue in Michigan, as 6 in 10 say it will be extremely important in deciding their presidential vote. About half say the same about election integrity, immigration and border security, and health care. Fewer cite abortion, foreign policy, climate change, and the Israel-Hamas war.

Of course, partisans see things differently on the issue front. Three-quarters of Republicans prioritize the economy and immigration/border security. For Democrats, the top two issues are health care and abortion, as over half say those will be extremely important to their decision. Election integrity comes in third among both Democrats (48%) and Republicans (57%). 

MEET 5 DEMOCRATS WHO HAVE BEEN FLOATED AS POSSIBLE BIDEN REPLACEMENTS

Republicans are three times more likely than Democrats to prioritize immigration/border security, while Democrats are four times more likely than Republicans to say climate change is extremely important. 

More Michigan voters trust Biden than Trump to handle climate change, abortion, election integrity, and health care.

More prefer Trump on the issues of immigration/border security, the economy, Israel-Hamas, and foreign policy. 

Fox News Poll

Each candidate is favored on four issues, but Trump is trusted by double-digit margins on two of the highest priorities, including the top issue the economy, while Biden is preferred by smaller single-digit margins on ones that are somewhat less important to voters. 

“Even though Trump is the challenger and has had to negotiate a competitive primary, he has locked down almost all Republican partisans,” say Shaw. “The issue climate isn’t terrible for Biden here, but he has significant work to do to recover Democrats and traditionally Democratic constituencies. If he can’t improve his showing with African Americans and younger voters, he is heading toward a one-term presidency.”

In the Middle East conflict, Michigan voters are twice as likely to side with Israelis over Palestinians.

Looking at views among voting blocs show some of Biden’s challenges on this issue. While most Republicans side with Israel, Democrats split between Israelis and Palestinians, and liberals and young voters are more likely to favor Palestinians. 

Overall, Biden’s job rating in Michigan is negative by 12 points: 44% approve of his performance as president, while 56% disapprove. That’s a touch more positive than how he’s doing nationally. 

Fox News Poll

Michigan voters feel fairly positive about their finances, with over half saying their situation is holding steady or improving — and both of those groups heavily support Biden.

Some voters have concerns about Biden and Trump. 

A minority of Trump supporters, about 2 in 10, say it is at least somewhat likely that concerns about his legal problems could cause them to rethink voting for him.

That number is a it higher for Biden, as about 3 in 10 of his backers say it is at least somewhat likely worries about his mental soundness could make them reconsider their support.

Poll-pourri

Some 18% of Michiganders who voted for Biden in 2020 disapprove of the job he’s doing today and 12% don’t support him in the 2-way matchup against Trump. In fact, 6% of 2020 Biden voters currently back Trump.

One-third of voters who “somewhat” disapprove of Biden’s job performance still back him over Trump in the 2-way race. 

HALEY BLAMES TRUMP FOR GOP LOSS IN KEY SPECIAL ELECTION AS SOUTH CAROLINA SHOWDOWN INTENSIFIES

Biden leads former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by 9 points in the 5-way ballot test. Kennedy gets almost as much support as Haley in this scenario – in part because she only gets 50% of Republicans while 30% of them go for Kennedy.

Donald Trump wearing a red make america great again hat

Former President Donald Trump is the frontrunner in the GOP presidential primary race. (Sean Rayford)

It tightens to a 1-point Haley edge when it’s a head-to-head matchup.

Among the Republicans who identify as MAGA movement supporters (Above 4 in 10 Republicans), only 70% back Haley over Biden in the 2-way matchup, with 11% saying they woulnd’t vote.

CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS

Over half of both Democrats and Republicans say they are extremely interested in the 2024 election.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Conducted February 8-12, 2024 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,106 Michigan registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (202) and cellphones (626) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (278). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. When necessary, weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of survey respondents are representative of the registered voter population.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.



Source link