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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration in two key immigration cases on Thursday, drawing strong opposition from blue state Democrats and prompting a prominent House Republican to break ranks over concerns of a looming healthcare “crisis.”

In a 6-3 decision in Mullin v. Doe, the high court ruled that Haitian and Syrian nationals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cannot turn to federal courts to postpone the revocation of their legal status while challenging the Trump administration’s policies. 

In a separate ruling, the court also held that migrants turned away at the southern border before entering the U.S. are not entitled to apply for asylum.

Democrat leaders in New York and Massachusetts immediately held news conferences to denounce the Supreme Court’s decisions and pledge local resistance.

SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP TWO MAJOR IMMIGRATION VICTORIES

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state would push back by designating “sensitive locations” to block ICE agents and banning masks for immigration enforcers.

“This is New York. We fight back. We defend our people,” Hochul said. “For those who think they can come here and just tell us that that’s going to be the different way that it is, you got to get to us first.”

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams delivered some of the harshest rhetoric, accusing the Trump administration of operating with a “White supremacist lens.”

“This is another day in Trump’s America where we have someone in the White House who believes in fascist rules with a White supremacist lens,” Williams said. “He is doing that because his policies are based on treating people like they are not human beings, particularly if they’re Black and Brown.”

TRUMP FOES MELT DOWN THAT SCOTUS IS UNLEASHING ‘RACIAL TERROR’ ON US WITH ICE RAID RULING

In her dissenting opinion on the ruling, Supreme Court Justice Elena argued there is evidence the Trump administration was motivated by “racial animus” when revoking Haitians’ TPS, citing statements Trump made during the lead-up to the 2024 election, including claims that Haitians were “eating pets in Ohio.”

However, Justice Samuel Alito, who authored both majority opinions for the Supreme Court’s decisions, noted the respondents themselves suggested the administration might simply oppose TPS as a general policy matter rather than targeting a specific group.

Meanwhile, New York Attorney General Letitia James called the ruling a “betrayal of who we are supposed to be as a nation,” and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the activation of a free municipal legal hotline to help affected immigrants.

“The people of New York City are going to show up for you as we face down a Supreme Court ruling that just opened the door to fear instability and the threat of deportation for so many,” said Mamdani, whose wife is Syrian-American. “… We don’t let those who are afraid of what makes this city great try to divide us. We reject the politics of fear.”

FEDERAL JUDGE HALTS TRUMP TPS POLICY, ACCUSES DHS OF MAKING MIGRANTS ‘ATONE FOR THEIR RACE’

In Massachusetts, which hosts roughly 45,000 TPS holders, Gov. Maura Healey slammed the decision, arguing it “makes no sense for our families, our economy, our communities, [or] our country.” 

A visibly emotional Boston Mayor Michelle Wu addressed migrants directly, telling them, “You belong here.”

The ruling also exposed a rift within the GOP, as Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., strongly criticized the move to end TPS for Haitians.

While Lawler noted he does not dispute the president’s legal authority to end TPS, he warned that doing so now could trigger a disaster for the U.S. healthcare system, which heavily relies on Haitian workers.

“Of the 350,000+ lawful Haitian TPS holders, roughly 1/3rd work in our healthcare system,” Lawler wrote in an X post. “Immediately shutting off TPS will create a crisis in our hospitals, nursing homes, and in the I/DD community.”

Lawler also pointed to the rampant gang violence in Haiti, citing the State Department’s Level 4 travel advisory, as proof that the situation “continues to warrant an extension” of protections.

DHS FIRES BACK AT ‘ACTIVIST JUDGES’ BLOCKING TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS CRACKDOWN

He urged the administration to allow an “orderly process” over the next six months for Haitian TPS holders to maintain their work authorizations and called on the Senate to take up his legislation to temporarily extend their status.

Following the decision, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) celebrated the rulings as a win for the rule of law.

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“This ruling is a tremendous win for the Trump administration,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what President Trump has always maintained: temporary protected status is, by definition, temporary. It was never intended to be a pathway to permanent status or legal residency.”

Similarly, DHS General Counsel James Percival posted on X that  “the T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty.”

“This is a win for the rule of law and common sense,” Percival said.

Ahead of this week’s closely watched Democratic congressional primaries in New York, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani stressed that the party “must change.”

On Tuesday, the 34-year-old democratic socialist mayor of the nation’s most populous city took a major step toward that goal as three far-left congressional candidates he endorsed and campaigned tirelessly for defeated more mainstream Democrats, including two incumbents.

The victories by the Mamdani-backed candidates guarantee that the number of Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates will at least double in the next Congress and give Republicans further ammunition as they continue to portray all Democrats as far-left radicals.

A decade after progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont came close to capturing the Democratic presidential nomination, and eight years after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez burst onto the national stage by ousting then-House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley in a shocking primary upset, the far left appears further emboldened as it takes on the center-left establishment in a high-stakes battle for the future of the party.

LURCHING LEFT: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST ESTABLISHEMENT DEMOCRATS

Darializa Avila Chevalier, the 32-year-old Mamdani-backed community organizer and democratic socialist who narrowly topped incumbent Democrat Adriano Espaillat, the 71-year-old Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair and the first Dominican American elected to the U.S. House, called her victory a “clear mandate.”

Mamdani-endorsed state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who won her primary on Tuesday in New York’s 7th District, emphasized in her victory speech that “we haven’t just won an election. We have declared that this movement is durable — that it is growing, and that it will not stop until working people are no longer asked to just build the table, no longer just offered a seat at the table, but will run the table.”

In the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez, Valdez topped the congresswoman’s handpicked candidate, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, by over 20 points.

Mamdani, whose kingmaker status was dramatically boosted by the primary victories, said Wednesday that he sees “these results as a reflection of the fact that New Yorkers are hungry for a new kind of politics.” 

And possibly looking to the national stage, the mayor added, “My goal is to make America a place that every American can afford.”

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, one of the most visible national progressive leaders and a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, said the results in New York City “shows we have a new party.”

Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told Fox News Digital that “New York’s clean sweep was a political earthquake that shows voters want shake-up-the-system fighters who are not owned by corporate interests, billionaires, or corrupt Trump allies like AIPAC,” referring to the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group.

The results will give Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top two Democrats in Congress, major headaches in their own backyard of New York.

The 75-year-old Schumer, who is certain to face a primary challenge from the left if he seeks re-election in 2028, repeatedly pointed to Republican President Donald Trump when asked about the victories by the far-left candidates.

“We have a great unified party, and we’re going to stop Trump,” Schumer told reporters.

WHAT TUESDAY’S BALLOT BOX SHOCKERS MEAN FOR AOC

Jeffries is also likely to be targeted from the left.

The crowd at the Valdez victory party chanted “you’re next” as a cable news interview with Jeffries appeared on the big screens on Tuesday night.

Jeffries told reporters on Wednesday, “I’m going to continue to stand behind every single Democratic incumbent, while of course, continuing to focus on what we actually need to do for this country, which is to take back control of the House of Representatives.”

Matt Bennett, one of the leaders at the Third Way, a leading center-left Democratic organization, acknowledged that “there is enormous energy around the far left in very, very blue places, like New York City” and that “they are succeeding in their mission to oust incumbents or mainstream Democrats from blue seats and make them bluer.”

But outside what has been labeled New York City’s “Commie corridor,” which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens where voters in recent years have consistently backed far-left and socialist candidates, more mainstream Democrats prevailed in Tuesday’s primaries.

In the high-profile showdown to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan, former Nadler staffer Micah Lasher came out on top.

Miles north of New York City in the state’s swing 17th Congressional District, Army veteran Cait Conley won the primary and will challenge GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in a key midterm contest that is one of a handful which will determine if Republicans hold the slim House majority.

In Utah, former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams defeated progressive rivals to win the primary in the newly redrawn and blue-leaning1st Congressional District. And in Maryland, just outside of Washington D.C., in the race to succeed longtime Rep. Steny Hoyer, Adrian Boafo, who was supported by Hoyer, topped a crowded and diverse Democratic primary field.

Bennett said that the New York City races grabbing outsized attention “are not representative districts, and it remains the case that the far left, in the Trump era, has failed to flip a single seat in Congress from red to blue, House or Senate.”

“They’re doing nothing to put a check on Trump or get power back,” he argued. “And in fact, they’re making it harder, because they’re handing Republicans very potent ammunition to use against Democrats in swing districts the way the GOP used ‘defund the police’ very effectively in 2020.”

Since Mamdani’s shocking Democratic mayoral primary win a year ago, Republicans have used him as a cudgel as they work to hold their razor-thin House majority in this year’s midterm elections.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella argued that “Zohran Mamdani’s socialist brand is as toxic as it comes.”

Pointing to Tuesday’s results, Marinella charged that “it was the night the Democrat establishment officially surrendered to Zohran Mamdani and the socialist wing of their party. Every House Democrat, in safe and competitive districts alike, will now answer to the radicals calling the shots. And Americans should be terrified by where the Democrat Party is headed.”

REPUBLICANS RELENTLESSLY USE MAMDANI AS SOCIALIST CUDGEL TO BASH VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS

Mamdani says bring it on.

“We’ve heard from Republicans time and again that they’re going to try and make these candidates the face of the Democratic Party. To them. I say that we are ready for that,” the mayor said on Wednesday.

Tuesday’s primaries were just one chapter in the ongoing struggle between the far left and the establishment. More battles are ahead, including next Tuesday’s congressional primaries in blue-leaning Colorado, the high-profile Democratic Senate primary in Michigan, the gubernatorial showdown in Wisconsin in early August, and the Los Angeles mayoral general election in the fall.

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And the fight will continue after the midterms, as the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination race officially gets underway.

“For Democrats to win at the national level, they need candidates who span the political spectrum. The party has always had a big tent. But the old battle lines of progressive versus moderate are less important now than insider versus outsider,” Democratic strategist Chris Moyer told Fox News.

Moyer, a veteran of multiple Democratic presidential campaigns, said, “More than anything else today, the authenticity question is decisive. Too many politicians are full of s—, and voters have never been better at spotting phonies.”

Reading. Writing. And AI algorithms.

The Senate is now wrestling with how students — and teachers — might use Artificial Intelligence in the classroom.

It’s inevitable.

“The question is not whether AI is going to impact education. The real question is whether we will shape its use thoughtfully. Responsibly,” said Delaware Secretary of Education Cindy Marten during a recent Senate hearing.

Lawmakers are focusing not just on what AI teaches students. But how.

“What do we know when it comes to long term cognitive impact of the use of this technology?” asked Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., at the hearing.

SCHOOLS TURN TO HANDWRITTEN EXAMS AS AI CHEATING SURGES

“We have no causal studies on long term impact on social or cognitive development,” replied Erin Mote, who, as CEO of InnovateEDU and the EDSAFE AI Alliance, works on technological innovation in the classroom.

Pushing students onto screens, iPads and Chromebooks in the classroom was all the rage about 12 years ago. But since that rush to technology, the percentage of high school seniors performing at grade level in math and reading is down four points from 2009, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP), sometimes known as the report card of the nation.

“The students did not learn the content better and their social and emotional health has suffered greatly. We need to ensure as we move forward teaching about and with AI that we do not become overly tech reliant and that critical thinking skills remain imperative” said David Slykhuis of Valdosta State University at a House hearing earlier this year.

That’s why lawmakers are skeptical that AI can boost classroom performance.

“Kids have outsourced critical thinking. Have outsourced friendship. Have even outsourced moral advice to AI,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

95% OF FACULTY SAY AI MAKING STUDENTS DANGEROUSLY DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY FOR LEARNING: SURVEY

There are also privacy concerns. AI can glean what each student learns and knows.

AI could harvest what lessons they’ve covered. How fast students picked up different concepts. AI or data brokers could then track that for decades as students head to college or even enter the workforce.

“These tools are getting more access to more information about our students that we may not even be aware of,” warned Marten.

Teachers are already leaning on AI to develop lesson plans and grade papers. Elementary teachers can certainly deploy AI to grade simple multiplication tables and spelling. But it could spell trouble if teachers or professors use an AI rubric to grade subjective assignments such as creative writing or a term paper.

“For those that start using AI, there’s a tendency to trust everything that it spits out that can create serious problems,” said Joshua Jones at the Senate hearing. He’s CEO of QuantHub, an education AI literacy firm.

Some lawmakers doubt that AI can do everything. And some aspects of education are hard to copy.

“The foundational relationship between a child and a teacher is not something that AI is going to recreate. It’s not something that I will substitute for,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.

WHY A CLASSICAL EDUCATION MAY BE THE KEY TO HUMANITY’S FUTURE IN THE AI ERA

Educators want to know how AI may shift their roles. And if the concept of a “teacher” or a “professor,” tomorrow is the same as what we think of today.

“The idea of pulling that away is probably really scary to teachers who think this is what teaching looks like. But we know that it’s not an effective way for teaching or for learning. And so it’s going to require some real ecosystem shifts,” said educator Emily Cherkin, who has written about AI.

Graduating college seniors showered several tech CEOs with a chorus of boos at commencement exercises around the country this spring. The reason? These students may have earned a diploma. But they wonder if that’s sufficient for gainful employment in the age of AI.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently met with a host of bipartisan lawmakers at the Capitol about their hopes and fears about AI.

“I understand that college students have a lot of anxiety about the future,” said Altman. “I think there will be a lot of jobs in the future. I think that the impact on jobs has been less than many people in our field expected. And it doesn’t mean that it will always stay that way in the future.”

Moreover, students may question the value of an education if they can’t get work due to artificial intelligence.

“(High school seniors) were saying that they can’t find jobs. Saying that 30 to 40 percent of them are unemployed and they blame AI for this,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “We’ve got to make some choices about AI to make sure it actually is good for the American workforce. And I think a lot college grads don’t think it is.”

AI RISKS TO KIDS, WORKERS RISING FASTER THAN REGULATION, NEW GROUP WARNS

Hawley believes Congress should take action on AI. But not in the ways you might think.

“We ought to pass legislation right now that would require these tech companies to turn over the data on how many jobs they’re creating or how many they’re destroying,” said Hawley.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., is one of the leading voices in Congress on AI. He recently helped draft a bipartisan framework for legislation to regulate AI. Obernolte says he hears what college students are saying.

“It’s an indication that we collectively have done a terrible job at articulating to the American public the optimistic case for AI deployment,” said Obernolte. “AI will probably be the most powerful tool for enhancing human productivity that we have ever invented. And that will not only have positive economic consequences for our country and our world, but could create this rising wave of prosperity that literally lifts all the boats.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wants to pass an AI regulation bill by the end of the year. But the Congressional calendar is especially clogged. The House skipped out of town a day early this week. Even next week’s schedule may be in jeopardy thanks to a dispute over the SAVE America Act. That’s the GOP bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote.

But it’s unclear how a bill may address the specifics of AI in the classroom.

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That means AI may continue unbridled in primary, secondary and even collegiate education.

And unless lawmakers move fast, AI may school us all.

The Supreme Court’s Thursday decision to restrict asylum applications, hailed by immigration hawks, could actually end up increasing illegal crossings, according to the three dissenting justices and immigration nonprofit involved in the case. 

On Thursday, the Supreme Court held in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado that migrants must physically set foot in the United States in order to be eligible for asylum, reversing lower court rulings that had required the government to process certain asylum seekers turned away at ports of entry. While the decision is broadly viewed as making asylum claims more difficult to secure, an objective of the Trump administration, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Al Otro Lado both argue that it may have unintended consequences.

“This Court has previously recognized that immigration statutes and procedures should not be construed to ‘create a perverse incentive to enter at an unlawful rather than a lawful location. ​​Yet, the majority’s construction does exactly that,” Sotomayor wrote in her dissent. “It tells asylum seekers that they may apply for asylum if they can make it across the border illegally but that they cannot apply if they patiently wait at the edge of a port of entry.”

Al Otro Lado argued on similar lines, stating in a court filing that restricting asylum access to those who physically enter the United States would”create a perverse incentive to cross the border between ports of entry” as people who do so will receive greater rights than those stopped at ports.

SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP TWO MAJOR IMMIGRATION VICTORIES

It is unclear if the Department of Homeland Security, which celebrated the decision, has prepared for the potential uptick in asylum seekers illegally crossing the border. DHS did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

 The conservative majority, led by Justice Samuel Alito, downplayed this possibility, calling the concern “overstated.”

DOJ ACCUSES COURTS OF UNDERCUTTING EXECUTIVE POWER IN HIGH-STAKES SUPREME COURT BORDER CASE

“Metering does not permanently bar any alien from arriving in the United States and then applying for asylum,” Alito wrote for the majority. “Illegal entry, on the other hand, may be expensive and dangerous, and it carries adverse legal effects. Entry at an improper location is a crime. An alien becomes ineligible for asylum if he unlawfully re-enters the country after having been removed.”

“An alien whose admission and inspection are delayed due to metering would need a powerful reason to apply for asylum immediately for it to be preferable to run all the risks of illegal entry,” he added.

TRUMP ADMIN EASES ASYLUM FREEZE FOR VETTED MIGRANTS, KEEPS BANS ON ‘HIGH-RISK’ NATIONS

Metering refers to the practice of limiting how many asylum seekers can approach or enter a U.S. port of entry each day for processing. Under the policy, migrants were often told to wait in Mexico until U.S. officials determined the port had capacity.

Alito’s rationale was not enough to convince Sotomayor and the other dissenting justices.

“The point, however, is not that illegal entry always produces a net windfall for asylum seekers; it is that Congress was unlikely to devise a system in which asylum is available to those who unlawfully set foot over the border, but not to those who attempt to comply with the law and are physically blocked from entering at the threshold of a port of entry by an immigration officer,” she wrote. “It is also the unfortunate reality that, despite the adverse consequences the majority cites, many asylum seekers are desperate enough to flee the persecution they face in their home countries that they are willing to run significant risks to apply for asylum.”

Sotomayor went on to cite a 2018 DHS Office of the Inspector General report that found metering had “unintended consequences” which “le[d] some aliens who would otherwise seek legal entry into the United States to cross the border illegally.”

The report was published before lower courts held that migrants turned away at the border could apply for asylum, meaning that the conditions it covered are comparable to the new status quo set by the Supreme Court.

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“This administration has demonstrated that the border can be secured against illegal entries. As border wall construction continues, the ability to deter illegal crossings will only improve,” Matt Crapo, the director of litigation at the right-wing Federation for American Immigration Reform, told Fox News Digital.

“So long as the federal government makes border security a priority, illegal crossings should not be a major concern,” he added.

Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., who serves on crucial subcommittees of the House Armed Services Committee, is leading a charge to phase out Chinese-manufactured drones from use in U.S. law enforcement.

“Here in the United States, we’ve allowed China to dominate much of the global drone market while American agencies continue relying on systems built by companies tied to the Chinese Communist Party,” Harrigan said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“That’s a strategic mistake,” he continued.

The bill, titled the American Drone Manufacturing Dominance Act of 2026, would offer domestic law enforcement an off-ramp for whatever Chinese-made drones they might be currently using. It also furthers legislative ways in which Republicans have sought to step away from Chinese manufacturing and supply in sensitive areas. It also makes federal grant funding conditional on not acquiring any foreign-made drones after Jan. 1, 2027.

SEN WICKER: ENDING CHINA’S DRONE DOMINANCE WITH A MADE-IN-AMERICA REVIVAL

In its current form, the bill sets aside $1.5 billion in federal funding, funded through Trump’s Section 301 tariffs, to accelerate the removal of Chinese-made drones and would subsidize a domestic drone manufacturing base with defense applications.

Harrigan said drones have become a clear security issue in light of their use in overseas conflicts and their growing sophistication.

“One of the clearest lessons from Ukraine is that drones are no longer a niche capability; they’re a foundational part of modern warfare,” Harrigan said.

Almost all major U.S. cities have implemented restrictions on the use of drones. In Washington, D.C., for instance, drones are completely banned from use due to the federal Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) that governs highly restricted airspace.

Even so, their use has climbed in recent years — especially in border security, where their fast-moving capabilities have allowed border agents to monitor wide swaths of land.

BORDER ON THE BRINK AS CARTEL DRONES FORCE US TO ACT AFTER YEARS OF PARALYSIS

In 2020, an internal memorandum authored by then U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott signaled CBP’s intent to significantly expand their use.

“These unmanned technologies will achieve levels of detection, response and interdiction efficiencies not realized by current CBP technological capabilities,” the memorandum states.

Local law enforcement also uses drones, but is reliant on Chinese manufacturers like Da Jiang Innovations (DJI). In Texas, for instance, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Texas, for instance. The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) said that of the 966 drones registered to police and sheriff’s departments in the Lone Star State in 2024, 879 were produced by DJI.

Harrigan believes drone use isn’t going away. But even as their use expands, he believes lawmakers should prioritize American safety through U.S. manufacturing.

I’M A DRONE CEO. OUR SKIES ARE DANGEROUSLY EXPOSED — HERE’S THE SOLUTION

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“If drones are going to play a central role in national security, public safety, and critical infrastructure, America needs to be able to build them here at home,” Harrigan said.

It’s unclear when Harrigan’s bill would reach the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.

The Pentagon’s massive funding request to pay some of the costs of the Iran war is going to be a hard sell for Senate Democrats, and a key issue buried deep in the multibillion-dollar request could divide Republicans. 

Congress received the nearly $88 billion package Wednesday afternoon after months of speculation about whether it would ever come, and exactly how much it would cost. The current price tag is drastically lower than earlier estimates, which project the package could reach as high as $200 billion. 

But after roughly four months and a tenuous peace deal in place, Democrats appear unwilling to support the funding that would replenish munitions, despite sweeteners that appear geared toward attracting their support. 

CLOSED-DOOR OUTBURST TURNS INTO VICTORY FOR TRUMP’S IRAN NEGOTIATIONS

“It seems designed to repel Democratic votes,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said. “They’re clearly not trying to pass this.”

Those sweeteners, which include $11 billion in aid for farmers and $1.4 billion to fight the Ebola outbreak in Africa, didn’t sway Murphy, who charged that the farm assistance in particular was a “war cost.” 

The package isn’t getting any love from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., either, who accused President Donald Trump of “asking taxpayers to clean up his messes.” 

“After dragging America into a reckless war, he now wants Congress to hand him tens of billions more to paper over the damage — while families are still paying higher prices,” Schumer said on X. “We should be lowering costs for the American people, not writing another blank check for Trump.”

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wasn’t surprised that Senate Democrats appeared ready to bat down the package, which will need at least 60 votes to pass in the Senate, arguing that “they haven’t supported anything this year, or last year.” 

IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD

“It’s literally true. I mean, including stuff that they negotiated,” Hawley said. “FISA, they negotiated, which I didn’t like when they negotiated, but still, you know, they negotiated and said, ‘No,’ they negotiated all the appropriations bills then said, ‘No.’
I mean, so, you know, I’d be shocked if they did support it.”

The bulk of the request is geared toward the Pentagon and includes $67 billion for the War Department, including $21 billion to replenish missile stockpiles depleted during the Iran offensive, known as Operation Epic Fury, $17 billion for military operations, $2.4 billion for drones and $5.1 billion for cybersecurity and autonomy.

Another $12 billion of the War Department funding would go toward classified programs. The request also includes $2 billion for the Coast Guard and $800 million for the National Guard.

The administration is also seeking $672 million for the removal of Iranian nuclear materials, inspections and verification efforts, and other counterproliferation activities.

According to the proposal, the funding would support the removal of Iranian nuclear materials, including uranium hexafluoride (UF6), uranium in various forms and research reactor fuel, including highly enriched uranium.

The proposal would also fund potential U.S. verification activities in Iran, subject to site access, support inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, strengthen nuclear-smuggling detection efforts and expand Nuclear Emergency Support Team operations across the Middle East.

The funding comes as U.S. and Iranian negotiators work to translate the recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) into a more detailed agreement governing Iran’s nuclear program and stockpile of enriched uranium.

While the memorandum established downblending as the minimum acceptable method for handling Iran’s enriched uranium, negotiators have not publicly disclosed whether the material would ultimately remain in Iran, be transferred to another country or be destroyed.

TRUMP SEEKS $672M TO STOP IRANIAN NUKES AS NEGOTIATORS WEIGH FATE OF URANIUM STOCKPILE

While Democrats shake their fists at the supplemental spending package, one provision tucked into the legislation could also give Republicans heartburn. 

Among the farm aid provisions is a policy to permanently extend the sale of gasoline with a blend of ethanol, a liquid biofuel made from corn, known as E15. 

The E15 issue showed a rare rift in Senate Republican leadership, and one that ripples through the Senate GOP based on geography.

“Promising a year-round E15 mandate is a check the president can’t cash,” a Republican source said. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., backs it, particularly for the benefits it could give candidates running for election or re-election in states where corn crops are king. 

But his second-in-command, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., bucked the House’s year-round E15 bill when it passed last month and has argued that allowing a mandate on the fuel blend would hurt small refiners and undo strides for energy production made in Trump’s flagship legislation, the “big, beautiful bill.”

“America’s small refiners are unsung heroes of affordable American energy. Washington D.C., often overlooks them. Working families depend on them,” Barrasso said on the Senate floor earlier this week. “I represent several small refineries in Wyoming. The refineries employ thousands of people.”

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“They make gasoline prices more affordable,” he continued. “They strengthen our nation’s energy security. Proposed new mandates on small refineries would harm them and the people who work for them.”

Since the House bill passed, Thune said he has continued to have conversations to find a “path forward” on the issue. 

“We’re working with the stakeholder community and our members on both sides to figure out if that’s something we can execute on and get done,” Thune said.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a proponent of the provision, argued that he viewed it as an “incentive,” but acknowledged there was a chance it could be amended out of the broader supplemental package. 

“I mean it makes a better deal, and I don’t know why they would want to take it out,” Rounds said.

A House oversight hearing on the Department of Homeland Security derailed Thursday after purple-haired Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., pointed her finger at Secretary Markwayne Mullin and demanded the committee chairman “put him in his place.”

DeLauro and Mullin got into several shouting matches during her questioning, while House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Mark Amodei, R-Nev., struggled to maintain order in the room.

At one point, while DeLauro was ripping the Trump administration for a border policy that she said meant “3,900 children were separated from their family,” Mullin interrupted, saying, “450,000 kids were lost under the Biden administration, and you didn’t say a word about that.”

In response, DeLauro became visibly agitated, pointing her finger and shouting, “Mr. Secretary, Mr. Secretary, do not interrupt.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS

Mullin shot back, “Don’t you point your finger at me.”

“I will point my finger at you,” DeLauro retorted.

“Don’t be a hypocrite. You should be as upset about the 450,000 kids that were lost [under Biden],” said Mullin.

After DeLauro said, “I am upset,” Mullin pressed further, saying, “You didn’t say a word about it. For four years you never said a word.”

After this, Amodei attempted to intervene, saying, “Mr. Secretary.”

Turning to the secretary at the center of the dais, DeLauro said, “Could you put him in place?”

TRUMP PUTS ASYLUM LAWYERS ‘ON NOTICE’ WITH NEW FRONT IN WAR ON FRAUD

To this, Amodei turned back to DeLauro and said, “Well, don’t yell at me.”

“You should be put in your place,” prodded Mullin.

Finally, the chair slammed his gavel, saying, “We are going to have something resembling order here.” Turning to Mullin, he said, “If you would like to respond later on there are methods to do that but it’s not a who can talk louder into the mic.”

Despite this, Mullin said, “I will not sit here and listen to her lie and accuse something this ridiculous,” to which DeLauro said, “Do not accuse me of lying, do not.”

“Then don’t,” said Mullin.

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“There is concern for children across the board,” continued DeLauro. “We care deeply about what is happening to children. I went to the border and I watched children in those fenced in places years ago and what was happening to them. So, I have a long history, Mr. Secretary, in this area. 3,900 kids were separated.”

The same day as the hearing, the Supreme Court handed the Trump administration two major immigration wins. The court ruled that Homeland Security officials may resume turning back immigrants claiming asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border before they enter the country to apply for asylum. The court also allowed the administration to end Temporary Protected Status for roughly 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians while limiting judicial review of future TPS decisions.

The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump two major immigration victories on Thursday morning, both having to do with his administration’s efforts to reduce asylum claims.

In the first case, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the court held that migrants who are turned away at the border before entering the United States are not entitled to apply for asylum. In the second case, Mullin v. Doe, the court ruled that Haitian and Syrian nationals in the United States with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) could not receive judicial relief postponing the revocation of their status while they challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke it in court.

Together, the rulings mark a shift in the legal fight over who can seek protection in the United States, giving the Trump administration a new avenue to limit asylum claims at the border and more leeway to move forward with ending temporary protections for certain migrants already in the country. The rulings also remove key legal obstacles to the administration’s broader push to reduce border crossings and accelerate removals.

Writing the opinion in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, Justice Samuel Alito argued that a migrant who reaches the southern border but is turned away before entering has not, for legal purposes, “arrive[d] in” the United States. The holding is significant because current law provides that anyone who “arrives in the United States” has the right to apply for asylum.

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“This case presents a straightforward question: whether an alien who seeks to enter the United States from Mexico ‘arrives in the United States’ when he or she is still in Mexico,” Alito wrote. “In the decision below, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit answered ‘yes.’ That is wrong. In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person ‘arrives in’ a place — for example, a house, a city, or a country — before the person enters that place.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who wrote the dissenting opinion for the case, did not see it as being so straightforward.

Joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Jackson, Sotamyor argued that the majority’s rationale was overly simplistic and ignored other contexts where immigrants about to enter the United States are considered to be “arriving.” 

“We had to go all the way to SCOTUS to vindicate the principle that an alien is not ‘in the United States’ until he is, in fact, in the United States. We have yet AGAIN been vindicated by the Supreme Court. This decision opens up an important tool to continue securing our southern border,” Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival told Fox News Digital. 

Also writing the opinion in Mullin v. Doe, Alito held that the law establishing TPS explicitly blocks recipients from legal relief unless their claims have a constitutional basis. 

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“In these cases, we consider whether respondents, who challenge the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for aliens from Syria and Haiti, are entitled to orders postponing the terminations during litigation,” Alito wrote. “We hold that they are not.”

The dissenting justices, led by Elena Kagan, argued that the Haitian asylees may have a constitutional argument to block the revocation of their status. According to Kagan, there is evidence suggesting that the Trump administration was motivated by “racial animus” when it decided to revoke TPS for Haitians.

To support this argument, she cites statements the president made about Haitians in the lead-up to the 2024 election, including claims that they were eating pets in Ohio, as well as other remarks he has made about migrants of African descent. If race was a factor in denying TPS status to Haitians, they could argue that their constitutional right to equal protection under the law was being violated, enabling lower courts to shield them from deportation pending litigation.

Kagan also took issue with the revocation on procedural grounds, arguing that the Department of Homeland Security failed to take the steps required under the law to revoke TPS status for Haitians and Syrians.

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“The TPS statute plainly bars consideration of respondents’ non-constitutional claims. It allows ‘no judicial review of any determination . . . with respect to the . . . termination’ of a TPS designation,” Alito continued.

Alito added that a racial explanation for the change is unlikely to be proven, given that the respondents themselves suggested that the Trump administration may simply oppose TPS as a point of policy, without respect to any particular group.

“In our second Supreme Court win of the day, the Court vindicates DHS yet again. The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense,” Percival continued. 

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Both TPS and court rulings recognizing asylum-processing rights for migrants stopped just outside U.S. ports of entry had become flashpoints for conservatives, with immigration hawks arguing they facilitated abuse.

By making asylum applications more difficult and green-lighting the termination of Temporary Protected Status for some people already in the country, the Supreme Court’s decisions give the Trump administration an advantage in its effort to reduce asylum claims.

U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner indicated to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters, D-Mich., during a Wednesday hearing that under a proposed rule, if a state declined to furnish the federal government with its absentee voter list, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would not mail election ballots in that state.

Peters asked Steiner whether, under the proposal, the USPS would mail ballots from a state that “refuses” to provide the federal government with the state’s absentee voter list.

“Under our proposed regulation, no,” Steiner said.

DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES

“All that does, senator, is make sure that we match the ballots that a state believes they’re sending out to what actually gets sent out,” he said.

Part of the proposed rule, which pertains to federal election balloting, would create a process in which states “will notify the Postal Service of the individuals to whom they are mailing a mail-in or absentee ballot, along with the unique barcode applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelope for such individuals such that the name and barcode of the voter will be included on a Mail-In and Absentee Participation List,” according to the text of the proposal.

The states “may thereafter add to or modify the list of enrollees until the last day that ballots may be mailed out to individuals under state law,” the proposal notes, adding that “the Postal Service will provide to each state’s chief election official a final State-Specific Mail-In and Absentee Participation List for each state compiling the names of all enrolled individuals in such state, along with the barcodes associated with such individuals’ mail-in or absentee ballots.”

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Peters said the “effort by this administration to nationalize elections and have the federal government having this information is incredibly dangerous precedent.”

“We need to protect the integrity of the voting rolls. We need to protect the separation of elections from federal government and ensure that our state and local governments are the one administering their own elections,” he declared.

POSTAL SERVICE CAN’T BE SUED FOR INTENTIONALLY NOT DELIVERING MAIL, SUPREME COURT RULES IN 5-4 SPLIT

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Most Americans, including majorities of Republicans and self-identified MAGA Republicans, say keeping the United States in NATO is important to the nation’s security and prosperity, according to a new poll. 

The Reagan Institute Summer Survey found that 73% of Americans say remaining in NATO matters to U.S. security and prosperity, including 64% of Republicans and 61% of MAGA Republicans. Fox News Digital obtained a preview of the survey, which will be made public Sunday.

The poll also found bipartisan support for NATO’s collective defense principle. After respondents were told that NATO members are obligated to come to one another’s defense if attacked, 76% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 69% of MAGA Republicans said they would support the U.S. responding with military force if a NATO ally were attacked. 

The findings come as President Donald Trump continues to press NATO allies to shoulder more of the burden for the alliance’s collective defense. During a White House meeting Wednesday with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump criticized several European allies for what he described as insufficient support during the recent U.S. operation against Iran, even as Rutte praised Trump’s leadership and credited him with pushing NATO members to boost defense spending.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICANS SEE TWO PATHS ON IRAN — AND SUPPORT BOTH ALMOST EQUALLY

The Reagan Institute Summer Survey was conducted May 26 through June 3 among 1,555 respondents nationwide and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The survey used a mixed-mode methodology that included live telephone interviews, an online panel and text-to-web responses.

To better reflect the U.S. population, the results were weighted using demographic benchmarks from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey, including age, gender, race, region and education levels. The poll also included an oversample of 331 MAGA Republicans under age 30, a group with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.

The Reagan Institute is a Washington-based policy organization that advocates the Reagan foreign-policy tradition of “peace through strength” and sustained American leadership abroad.

Trump met with Rutte Wednesday, who once again offered effusive praise for the American president during their White House meeting.

TRUMP PUSHED NATO TO SPEND BIG — NOW COMES THE HARDER QUESTION: CAN EUROPE ACTUALLY FIGHT?

“I really want to make clear how important it is what you are doing on Iran,” Rutte told Trump. “This is first of all about the nuclear capability Iran was very near to getting its hands on,”

Trump, meanwhile, criticized several European allies for what he described as insufficient support during the U.S. operation against Iran.

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“I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK,” he said. “We were disappointed with Germany and France. We’re disappointed with most of them. Spain is a horror show.”

“We don’t need their money, we don’t need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world by far, but I just want loyalty,” Trump said.

NATO’s collective defense principle, known as Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, has been invoked only once in the alliance’s 77-year history. NATO allies unanimously invoked the provision after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, declaring the attacks on the United States an attack on all members of the alliance. 

Trump has long criticized NATO members for failing to meet alliance defense spending commitments — at times even threatening to pull out of the alliance — arguing the U.S. has carried a disproportionate share of its security burden. 

During both his first and second terms, he has pushed allies to significantly increase military spending while warning that the U.S. should not bear the costs of Europe’s defense alone.

The White House and NATO could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The socialist backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani who won Tuesday night’s primary election in New York’s 13th Congressional District founded a group in college that called for the total destruction of the West. 

Darializa Avila Chevalier, 32, a Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress who made career out of “community organizing,” wrote in her biography for an opinion piece in independent news outlet The Electronic Intifada that she “helped launch the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign Columbia University Apartheid Divest.”

“We are Westerners fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization,” the group said in a now-deleted 2024 Instagram post.

In May 2024, eight years after she graduated from Columbia, Chevalier was back on campus advocating alongside the group she founded, known as CUAD, wearing a keffiyeh and a t-shirt emblazoned with the group’s name.

Avila Chevalier was interviewed by the Associated Press at the school’s infamous encampment against Israel that year, which was later broken up by police.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST WITH HISTORY OF ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC WINS VICIOUS DEM PRIMARY RACE

Only months after that, CUAD, caused a firestorm when it reportedly posted its goal of eradicating Western Civilization.

“We stand in full solidarity with every movement for liberation in the Global South,” the post continued. “Our Intifada is an internationalist one — we are fighting for nothing less than the liberation of all people.”

“We reject every genocidal, eugenicist regime that seeks to undermine the personhood of the colonized,” the group added.

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Columbia University has roundly denounced CUAD, and says it is not affiliated in any way with the school.

Avila Chevalier was born in Florida to Dominican immigrants. She converted to Islam in recent years.

‘PARTY OF ZOHRAN’: MAMDANI EMERGES AS DEMOCRATIC KINGMAKER AFTER SOCIALIST ALLIES SWEEP NYC PRIMARIES

The surfacing of her affiliation with the group has sparked intense online backlash, including from elected Democrats.

“Anti-Israel. Anti-America. Anti-Western Civilization. Why am I the only Democrat in the U.S. Senate that refuses to excuse this or defend any of those self-identified communists?” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said on X Wednesday evening.

Avila Chevalier also infamously expressed anti-white women and anti-American sentiments in deleted social media posts, one time calling her home country “a f—ing disgrace.”

LETITIA JAMES FUMES AS MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK PRIMARIES

“I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” she said in another deleted post.

“This lady founded an organization with a stated goal of Eradicating Western civilization, & a bunch of rich white progressives who know she means them, said ‘please do,'” X personality Sean Fitzgerald said.

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“The real ‘country over party’ test isn’t going to be about Trump,” said RealClearInvestigations writer Mark Hemingway. “It’s going to be over communist Congress members who literally say they want to eradicate Western civilization.”

In a deeply blue district, Avila Chevalier is likely to waltz her way into Congress in November.

Fox News Digital reached out to Avila Chevalier’s campaign.

FIRST ON FOX: Following a string of high-profile victories by socialist candidates, New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman warned the Democratic Party has veered too far left and predicted establishment Democrats will increasingly back Republicans.

Speaking exclusively to Fox News Digital in the wake of Tuesday’s wins, Blakeman said the results underscored the growing influence of the party’s progressive wing and exposed a widening divide within the Democratic coalition.

“The lunatic left has taken over the Democratic Party,” he said just hours after three socialists backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their primaries in New York districts. “They’ve lost control of their party.”

The rise of socialist victories against traditional Democrats have intensified debate over the Party’s future and the growing influence of its far-left flank. Republicans have seized on those wins as evidence the party is moving away from moderate voters on issues such as taxes and public safety.

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Blakeman, who is running to unseat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, argued that socialists have effectively taken control of the Democratic Party, creating an opening for Republicans among moderate and working-class voters in the state.

“They’ve offered everybody free stuff,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital, adding that progressive candidates are making unrealistic promises to voters. “They’re never going to do what they say they’re going to,” he continued, warning that such proposals would ultimately prove impossible to deliver.

He argued voters are being sold an unrealistic vision in which “everything in New York could be free,” while longtime Democrats increasingly feel disconnected from the party’s recent direction.

“The traditional Democrats are going to vote for Republicans this year,” Blakeman predicted. “They know their party has gone off the deep end.”

The Republican hopeful pointed to Mamdani’s meteoric rise as evidence of what he described as the growing influence of socialists within the party. Blakeman acknowledges that proposals such as government-run grocery stores and other publicly funded programs may be politically popular but claims they would ultimately fail to deliver on their promises.

“Free grocery stores, I mean, that’s complete nonsense,” Blakeman said. “Government should not be competing with the private sector.”

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Blakeman said many of the policies being championed by progressive candidates could harm small businesses and accelerate the outflow of residents and employers from New York. Instead, he argued, the state should focus on lowering taxes, reducing utility costs and creating a more business-friendly environment.

During his interview with Fox News Digital the night after sweeping socialist victories in New York, Blakeman accused Hochul of being just as radical and failing to stand up to the Democratic Party’s left flank as progressive figures like Mamdani gain prominence.

“They’re in league together,” Blakeman said of Hochul and Mamdani. “I now call her Comrade Kathy.”

Though he ran uncontested, Blakeman’s campaign received a boost earlier this year when he secured President Donald Trump‘s endorsement as he seeks to unseat Hochul in deep blue New York, the president’s longtime home state.

Asked about Trump’s support, Blakeman said it’s valuable but urged voters to focus on shared concerns such as affordability, public safety and lowering taxes.

Blakeman argued that the Democratic Party’s growing embrace of socialist candidates could ultimately benefit Republicans, particularly among suburban and working-class voters who he believes feel increasingly disconnected from the party’s priorities.

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“Traditional Democrats see their party going off the deep end. They don’t like it,” Blakeman said. “They’re going to come on board with us because it’s the only way to stop their party from becoming an extinct party.”

Mamdani’s office and Hochul’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: The Senate’s newest member is reviving an issue that has echoed through the halls of Congress for years, and one that, if successful, could turbocharge energy production in the U.S.

Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., who was appointed to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin earlier this year, has one priority in the few months that he has been the Sooner State’s junior Senator: permitting reform. 

It’s not one of the sexy, bombastic issues on the Hill, but it’s one that has percolated among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for years. And one that has never quite made it to the finish line. 

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But for Armstrong, who stepped down as CEO of the Oklahoma-based natural gas processor and transporter Williams Companies before joining the Senate until the end of the year, the only issue that matters is gutting red tape and legal hurdles for new energy infrastructure projects that proponents argue, in the long run, could provide a boom in America’s economic competitiveness, particularly against China.

“There’s no magic, overnight fix to lower prices, but comprehensive, meaningful permitting reform will ensure that the U.S. remains the global leader in energy,” Williams said in a statement. “When we can build our own infrastructure and produce our own supply, our allies will be far less reliant on adversarial sources for their energy.” 

“The U.S. cannot afford to remain idle while our global competitors move ahead, and the cost of inaction will be paid directly by American consumers through higher utility bills,” he continued. 

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Williams has produced a package of bills geared toward permitting reform that combines ideas from the House and Senate, dubbed the American Energy and Mineral Infrastructure Act of 2026.

The package would ultimately alleviate time and money spent on the permitting process for pipeline developers, liquid natural gas (LNG) export companies and natural gas producers, among others, as they navigate the dense and slow-moving permitting process. 

Armstrong’s legislation, which so far has the backing of Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Rick Scott of Florida, and Katie Britt of Alabama, along with nearly two dozen oil and gas companies, would make the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC) the lead agency in approving interstate pipelines and LNG terminals, a change in current law that would prevent a single state from blocking a federally approved interstate project. 

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It would also require “evidence-based” review when it comes to environmental-based decisions in the permitting process, and would expand the usage of Nationwide Permits under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a broader standardized approval process for certain projects. 

The package also creates standardized requirements for projects that affect wetlands and waterways and would make it easier for mining, particularly of critical minerals, to take place on federal lands.

And it would broadly reform the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that requires federal agencies to study environmental impacts before approving many projects to narrow what agencies analyze, clarify that NEPA is largely a procedural law, limit expansive environmental analyses and establish clearer rules for review in court. 

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“America has got to be able to build again, or else we are leaving our kids a worse country than the one we inherited from previous generations,” Armstrong said. “I’m glad that my presence in the Senate these last few months has reinvigorated this conversation, and rest assured, I won’t be stepping off the gas.”

A public university in the American heartland spent more than two decades educating executives tied to China’s military-industrial complex through a business program that allegedly received taxpayer support, a new watchdog report claims. 

The report, titled Heartland for Hire, compiled by the geopolitical research firm Strategy Risks, alleges that Missouri State University (MSU) operated an MBA and Executive MBA pipeline that trained more than 1,500 Chinese executives, government officials and state-owned enterprise managers beginning in 2001, including personnel connected to China’s defense sector. 

Graduates of the program, according to the report, included executives linked to Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China’s largest state-owned aerospace and defense conglomerate. AVIC has been designated by the U.S. Defense Department as a Chinese military company and has faced U.S. sanctions and investment restrictions over its ties to Beijing’s military establishment.

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The report’s authors argue the program occupied a blind spot in Washington’s scrutiny of U.S.-China academic ties, which Fox News Digital has extensively reported on.

“Congressional and executive branch attention to American universities’ ties to the CCP has been focused almost entirely on three areas: STEM research theft, issues involving free speech and harassment of Chinese students, and Chinese military-affiliated graduate students in defense-relevant doctoral programs,” the report states. “This cadre training problem falls into a gap between existing oversight frameworks.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Missouri State University said the school was aware of the report and denied that any taxpayer dollars were used to fund the program. 

“As the report further acknowledges, the students studied a ‘conventional business curriculum’ with no evidence of espionage, intellectual property theft, misconduct, false affiliations or complaints of harassment,” the spokesperson said. “Students admitted to the program were required to comply with all student visa regulations administered by the U.S. State Department.”

The report also alleges that participants were largely recruited and selected through Chinese government agencies, state-owned enterprises and CCP-linked organizations rather than through the university’s standard admissions process.

“One of the most significant features of this program is that the CCP – and not MSU – selected the students,” the report said.

According to the report, Chinese government documents described the partnership as a “China-U.S. state-to-state cooperation project.” The report also identified graduates who later held positions at U.S.-restricted organizations, including AI company iFLYTEK. It alleges the partnership continued after some participating entities were added to U.S. restriction lists.

The report cited Chinese recruiting materials that described portions of the program’s costs as being covered by U.S. government or Missouri state-supported subsidies, potentially amounting to tens of millions of dollars. However, the report acknowledges that no public U.S. records confirm those taxpayer-funded payments and that the total amount cannot be independently verified.

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“What we uncover instead is evidence of China’s state apparatus using a public American university, American accreditation, and American taxpayer dollars to enhance the management and technical capabilities of the individuals who run the CCP’s defense industrial base,” according to the report.

The report concludes that the Missouri State program reflects a gap in oversight.

“No comparable attention has reached degree-granting pipelines, defense industry participants, or the regional public universities under which the system actually took place,” the report said.

Amid growing alarm over Chinese influence in higher education, the report raises fresh questions about national security risks and foreign interference on college campuses.

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A December report from Strategy Risks and the Human Rights Foundation warned that top U.S. universities, including MIT, Stanford, Harvard and Princeton, have partnered with Chinese AI labs tied to Beijing’s surveillance state and, in some cases, co-authored thousands of papers with entities linked to efforts targeting Uyghur Muslims.

Last year, the House Select Committee on China launched an investigation into universities partnering with PRC’s China Scholarship Council (CSC), citing concerns that the program serves as a covert pipeline for Beijing to gain access to sensitive American research and technology and contributes to “systemic CCP infiltration” in U.S. academia. In a September report, American universities were found to be educating thousands of Chinese nationals with ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Two months later, multiple Chinese nationals were charged in November with conspiring to smuggle biological materials into the United States while working at a University of Michigan laboratory, prompting renewed calls for stronger safeguards at U.S. research institutions.

Committee Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged the National Science Foundation in March to review a $67 million research security initiative over universities’ ties to Chinese military-linked institutions.

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Lawmakers have also introduced legislation aimed at limiting Chinese influence. In June, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, introduced the Espionage Protection Act, which would prohibit federal funding for university intelligence-related programs if schools maintain relationships with organizations alleged to have ties to the CCP.

Following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, President Donald Trump said he is not in favor of banning Chinese students from studying in the United States, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that the move would strain relations with China.

More than 260,000 Chinese students were enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities during the 2024–25 academic year, according to the Institute of International Education’s Open Doors Report.

EXCLUSIVE: It is “only a matter of time” before the type of drone attacks seen on battlefields overseas reach the United States, FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia warned in an interview with Fox News Digital — as investigators race to prepare for rapidly evolving technology that could eventually allow operators thousands of miles away to pilot aircraft targeting Americans.

“I think the biggest threat right now, kind of the five-yard target, if you will, is going to be that threat from a drone,” Raia said.

Federal officials increasingly have become concerned that advances in commercially available drone technology are giving individuals and small groups capabilities once associated with larger organizations, lowering the barriers to carrying out potentially devastating attacks.

“I’m less concerned about a mass 9/11-style attack than I am a lone single person, a single attacker,” Raia said.

Raia’s warning comes as federal authorities grapple with the rapid proliferation of inexpensive drone technology, lessons learned from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, and an alleged domestic plot targeting the White House UFC event that prosecutors say involved plans to use explosive-laden drones. The FBI is also in the midst of securing the FIFA World Cup, one of the largest domestic security operations in recent U.S. history.

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In Ukraine, relatively inexpensive drones have transformed warfare, carrying out surveillance, targeting and attack missions once reserved for sophisticated military systems. Similar tactics also have appeared in conflicts across the Middle East, where armed groups have used drones to strike military and civilian targets.

Investigators are particularly focused on the next generation of drones, which could operate via 5G and LTE cellular networks rather than relying solely on short-range radio-frequency links that generally require operators to remain nearby.

“We have seen that overseas, and it’s only a matter of time before somebody brings that type of attack, that threat vector here to the United States,” Raia said.

Most commercially available drones today rely on direct radio-frequency links, Wi-Fi-style connections or other short-range communications that generally require operators to remain relatively close to the aircraft. But Raia said the FBI is increasingly preparing for systems that could be controlled from much greater distances.

“That means somebody in China can control a drone over New Orleans,” he said.

Such a shift, he warned, could make it more difficult for investigators to identify operators and disrupt attacks before they occur.

He encouraged the public to keep calling in tips of suspicious drone activity. 

“Especially all these drone hobbyists out there that are flying drones for non-nefarious purposes,
 Raia said. “They know better what somebody out of the ordinary looks like than we do.”

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The FBI’s focus on drones has intensified during the FIFA World Cup, which federal authorities have described as one of the largest security operations in recent U.S. history.  Agents have already seized more than 300 drones and made eight arrests tied to unauthorized drone activity during the tournament, according to Raia. 

Federal prosecutors say concerns about drone misuse are not merely theoretical. Court records allege members of the alleged UFC conspiracy discussed using explosive-laden drones to trigger a mass evacuation, while a newly charged defendant allegedly exchanged messages about acquiring drones, payloads and specialized equipment for the operation.

Newly unsealed court records suggest investigators also were examining whether members of the alleged UFC conspiracy discussed targeting a FIFA World Cup match scheduled for July 3 in Kansas City, Missouri. In one affidavit, an FBI agent wrote that he believed messages exchanged among alleged conspirators referenced the event and preparations for travel to Missouri.

Federal officials worry both about what bad actors can do with increasingly capable drone technology, and also how they organize, recruit and plan attacks out of public view.

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The alleged UFC conspiracy highlighted another challenge for investigators: encrypted communications platforms that are largely hidden from law enforcement scrutiny.

“That is a gap for us in encrypted communications platforms,” Raia said.

Raia said the bureau attempts to overcome that challenge through confidential human sources, undercover operatives and public tips. But he acknowledged investigators do not have visibility into every encrypted conversation where criminal activity may be occurring.

“I think I would be foolish to think that we’re in every single one of those rooms,” he said.

In the alleged UFC conspiracy, investigators got a rare break.

According to Raia, the case began with a concerned parent.

FBI REVEALS WHY TRUMP WHITE HOUSE UFC EVENT WENT AHEAD DESPITE ALLEGED TERROR PLOT

“We had a concerned parent that really launched this entire UFC 250 case off,” Raia said.

The tip from Tycen Proper’s mother reportedly prompted investigators to take a closer look at her son’s online activity. After obtaining a warrant for Proper’s phone, investigators uncovered what prosecutors describe as an alleged network of encrypted chats discussing drone operations, sniper positions, rendezvous points and attack planning tied to the White House event.

Court records show Proper’s phone allegedly contained a primary Signal chat with approximately 19 participants, along with smaller operational chats organized by role and location.

For investigators, the case underscored how emerging technology and encrypted communications can allow small groups of individuals to coordinate sophisticated attack plans while remaining largely hidden from public view — a threat landscape the FBI believes will only continue to evolve.

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino recently issued a similar warning, arguing that the rapid evolution of commercially available drone technology is outpacing traditional security assumptions.

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“This technology is evolving on probably weekly, if not monthly cycles now,” he told Fox News June 16. “And don’t think that people looking to commit malicious acts, terrorists and others, haven’t picked up on this. It’s cheap. It’s very difficult to defeat.” 

President Donald Trump announced a last-minute cancellation of the signing of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Wednesday, issuing an ultimatum to get the SAVE Act passed.  

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

House lawmakers passed the Housing Act by a 358–32 vote Tuesday, reflecting widespread agreement on the need to help Americans facing housing affordability challenges. The bill seeks to expand the supply of homes and will lower costs while also giving individual buyers a leg up by banning large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Trump called the act an “Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren centric housing bill,” writing that it is “of minor importance compared to lower interest rates, and even FISA, pales in comparison to passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT.” 

TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT

Trump still attended a previously planned GOP Senate lunch at the Capitol where he was set to sign the bill.

While walking into the lunch, Trump was asked by a member of the press if the “election legislation” was more important than housing. 

“Every election is important. We’re doing very well. They want a lot of communists to come in. I’m saying it a little bit differently, but the people that they’re pushing are communists,” the president responded. 

“This country is not going to have communists,” he continued, referencing the trio of socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani winning their primary races Tuesday.

The Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act includes Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification as midterms loom ahead.

House Speaker Mike Johnson held a press conference following the cancellation announcement, sharing he agreed with Trump’s decision and hopes to advance a similar election-integrity proposal through the budget reconciliation process.

“I spoke to the president for 20 minutes before I went in and gave that rousing speech to the House Republicans this morning. He and I’ve talked about this a lot. He has expressed his priority and preference for the Save America Act,” Johnson said at the news conference. “We share that. We passed it three times in the House. The latest version was passed a few months ago, and it has proof of citizenship to register to vote and proof of showing a photo ID when you show up to vote.”

“Basic issues that 90% of Americans agree: 70% of Democrats think you ought to have a photo ID to vote and citizenship to vote in an American election is already in the law,” Johnson added. “But we have to enforce it because you’ve got a few blue states that don’t do that.” 

BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE

The scrapped bill signing sparked backlash from Democratic senators, openly criticizing the move.

“Huge bipartisan majorities in Congress passed a bill to lower housing costs. But at the 11th hour, Donald Trump is refusing to sign it into law. His policies have made your costs go up — and he doesn’t care,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote on X.

“The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act would lower costs for millions and open the door for families across the country to afford their first home. And the President is refusing to sign it. It couldn’t be more clear how little he cares about everyday Americans,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. 

“‘Cancelled.’ Donald Trump just cancelled signing a bill that’s strongly supported by Republicans and Democrats to help Americans afford a home. Rent, home ownership, affording a place to live, all of it is a big challenge for millions of Americans. But again, Donald Trump doesn’t care,” Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly wrote on X. 

Trump and administration officials have sounded the alarm on the importance of passing the SAVE America Act, which has faced obstacles and pushback.

“That is what Americans, both Dumocrats, Republicans, and everyone else, care about. Get the bad Republicans to approve it or, better yet, Terminate the Filibuster and approve it, AND EVERYTHING ELSE REPUBLICANS HAVE EVER DREAMED OF,” Trump added on Truth Social. “The Dumocrats will do it in hour one, 100%. Republicans will feel very stupid if they don’t do it first. I’ll be watching with tears in my eyes!!!”

The housing package comes after months of House-Senate negotiations over restrictions on private equity investors and a temporary ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), an unrelated proposal championed by GOP privacy advocates. 

The bill would loosen regulations surrounding factory-built homes and ease federal environmental reviews for housing. It also encourages local governments to update zoning policies to support more home construction and address housing shortages.

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Many Americans have struggled when it comes to buying a home, with the median nationwide price tag topping $400,000, according to Realtor.com.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack contributed to this report.

Eight years after bursting onto the national stage by ousting then-House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley in a shocking primary upset, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political options look brighter than ever.

The four-term progressive firebrand from New York City, who on Tuesday easily crushed two primary challengers in her own race for renomination, is eyeing a potential 2028 bid for the White House or to challenge longtime Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer.

And the sweeping victories by three far-left congressional candidates backed by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over the party establishment appear to be giving the 36-year-old Ocasio-Cortez, better known by her nickname AOC, even more political clout.

LEFTWARD LURCH: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES TOPPLE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT

“AOC has built a political brand that certainly has staying power,” Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital. “Her influence has grown exponentially since defeating Crowley.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who teamed up with Sanders last year on the senator’s ongoing coast-to-coast “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, appears to be in position to inherit the 84-year-old senator’s political mantle.

Sanders joined Mamdani in backing socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier, who narrowly topped incumbent Democrat Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair and the first Dominican American elected to the U.S. House.

They also supported state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, another socialist who defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso by more than 20 points in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

And they backed progressive Brad Lander, who crushed incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman. Lander, the former New York City comptroller, ran against Mamdani last year in the crowded Democratic primary field but became one of his biggest backers in the general election.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Unlike Mamdani and Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, who has endorsed sparingly this election cycle, stayed out of the New York City congressional primaries.

But the victories by the left over the party establishment should further boost Ocasio-Cortez as she looks to the future.

“New York’s clean sweep was a political earthquake that shows voters want shake-up-the-system fighters who are not owned by corporate interests, billionaires, or corrupt Trump allies like AIPAC. This is obviously good news for AOC in whatever race she runs next,” Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told Fox News Digital.

Tuesday’s results will give Schumer and House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the top two Democrats in Congress, major headaches in their own backyard of New York.

The embattled Schumer faces re-election in two years, and Ocasio-Cortez has not ruled out a primary challenge or a possible White House bid.

AOC PRIMARY LANDSLIDE VICTORY SPARKS FURTHER 2028 SPECULATION

“Could I be president? Could I not be president? Maybe, maybe not,” Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the Bronx and Queens-anchored 14th Congressional District, replied when recently asked by Fox News Digital if she might seek the presidency in 2028.

The Democratic Socialists of America, as first reported by Politico, is asking its membership across the country who they have their eyes on in the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination race, with a vote coming next year at the group’s national convention.

When it comes to the possibility of a presidential run by Ocasio-Cortez, or Rep. Ro Khanna of California, another progressive leader in Congress, some pundits caution about reading too much from Tuesday’s ballot box results and note that the far-left portions of deep blue New York City are far from a representation of the rest of the country.

Outside of what’s been labeled New York City’s “Commie corridor,” which includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens where voters in recent years have consistently backed far-left and socialist candidates, more mainstream Democrats prevailed in Tuesday’s primaries.

In the high-profile showdown to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler in Manhattan, former Nadler staffer Micah Lasher came out on top.

North of New York City, in the state’s swing 17th Congressional District, Army veteran Cait Conley won the primary and will challenge GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in a key midterm contest that is one of a handful that will determine if Republicans hold the slim House majority.

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And in Utah, former Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams defeated progressive rivals to win the primary in the newly redrawn and blue-leaning 1st Congressional District.

Caiazzo noted that Tuesday’s contests show “there is certainly an appetite among New York City Democratic primary voters for progressive policies. Considering other primary results, it remains unclear if that same enthusiasm is shared across the country.”

The Senate was left in a state of confusion and anger in the wake of President Donald Trump’s last-minute declaration that he would not sign into law a colossal housing package filled with his own priorities. 

It comes as Trump is expected to have a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans who are already frustrated with a laundry list of his recent decisions that have either derailed or blown up their attempts to move forward with his agenda. 

Trump said he wouldn’t sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Package into law, which passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support, unless Republicans ram through the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a voter-ID and citizenship verification package that doesn’t have the votes to succeed in the Senate. 

TRUMP HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL FOR PIVOTAL MEETING AS SENATE GOP DIVISIONS DEEPEN

“Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,” Trump said on Truth Social.

The sudden decision had some Republicans accusing Trump of handing Democrats a victory. 

“There is a huge group of people who really appreciate what the president’s doing right now, and it’s the Democratic Party,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. “And we’ve got to get our act together and stop surprising people and start having … working messages. 

“This housing bill was a very clear, bipartisan effort to address some of the basics of affordability, and we are here,” he continued. “It makes no sense.”

TRUMP-BACKED HOUSING OVERHAUL TARGETING WALL STREET INVESTORS CLEARS SENATE

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., one of the chief architects of the housing package, was furious that Trump refused to sign the bill into law. 

“Can I underline crisis three times? We have a bill that Republicans and Democrats have built. It is good for urban America, rural America, first-time homebuyers, renters, seniors, families that are expanding,” Warren said. “It’s a bill about doing good things. And Donald Trump says he just doesn’t care.” 

Before torpedoing the housing package, Trump had already earned the frustration of Republicans with his decision to derail the process of reauthorizing the nation’s key counter-terrorism tool, the memorandum of understanding with Iran, and his push for an “anti-weaponization” fund that nearly blew up a $70 billion immigration enforcement package.

The GOP is hungry for a stream of wins to push on the campaign trail as they inch closer to midterm elections where several incumbent Republicans are running in tight races. 

TRUMP SCORES MAJOR WIN AS CONGRESS PASSES HOUSING CRACKDOWN ON WALL STREET INVESTORS

But for now, they are mired in debate over whether they can pass the SAVE America Act, which Trump is expected to push for during the lunch. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, described the situation as “inexplicable.”

“I mean, this, this is not — I don’t know if there is precedent for it,” Cornyn said. 

When asked if Trump would be any more successful in generating the votes to pass the legislation, Cornyn acknowledged that the president had a lot of sway, but that if the solution was to eliminate the filibuster, the votes similarly weren’t there.

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“At some point, we got to deal with reality,” he said. 

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who worked on the housing package, agreed with Trump that Republicans should try to pass the SAVE America Act and explore all options to do so, like attaching it to a third budget reconciliation package or forcing debate on the floor.

But he acknowledged that the votes currently weren’t there to pass it. 

“I will stand on one leg and bark like a dog if that’s what it takes to help this pass,” Kennedy said. “But you can’t make people vote in a way that they don’t want to do. I mean, that’s what we’re up against.”

NEW YORK CITY – New York City’s primary night produced clear political winners and losers as Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s slate of socialist candidates swept establishment-backed Democrats.

WINNER: MAMDANI

Mamdani, sworn into office in January of this year, flexed his political might in the city after three congressional candidates that he endorsed in the primary, Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, were all victorious on Tuesday night, and are expected to cruise to victory against their Republican opponents in November.

All three candidates ran on platforms broadly aligned with Mamdani’s socialist economic agenda, anti-Israel posture and opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while facing candidates backed by the establishment wing of the party.

FAR-LEFT SURGE: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST DEM ESTABLISHMENT INCUMBENTS

“I think it was an incredible night,” Mamdani said about the results before pointing to his own primary victory that shook the political landscape last June. “It is an incredible night and I think New Yorkers have shown that last June was not the end, it was the beginning.”

LOSER: INCUMBENT DEMOCRATS

Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who has served in the House of Representatives since 2017, was defeated by Mamdani-backed socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier on Tuesday night in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District. 

Avila Chevalier, who has called America a “f—— disgrace,” supported the abolition of prisons and borders and said Israel “doesn’t exist,” was victorious despite a variety of controversies, most recently after claiming that criminal illegal immigrants should not be deported regardless of their crime.

Another established Democrat in Congress, Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., was handily defeated by Mamdani-backed Lander after having served in Congress since 2022.

Goldman, one of the most recognizable anti-Trump Democrats in Congress, and who was once viewed as a rising star in the party, lost his race to Lander. It was a race that became increasingly focused on Israel as Lander attacked Goldman for voting for U.S. military aid to Israel and slammed him for refusing to call the war in Gaza a genocide.

MAMDANI-BACKED ‘LIBERAL ZIONIST’ OUSTS DEM WHO LED TRUMP IMPEACHMENT IN BID TO TAKE NYC HOUSE SEAT

Meanwhile, Goldman defended his support for Israel’s existence as a Jewish state and argued that voters in the district were more focused on domestic issues.

“As history has taught us: Antisemitic tropes and stereotypes, some of which I heard personally on this campaign, will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out, even if it’s not politically expedient,” Goldman said in his concession speech, a day after a Brooklyn coffee shop banned him over his pro-Israel views.

WINNER: NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA

At least a dozen candidates endorsed by NYC-DSA across the state of New York were victorious on Tuesday night, signaling the embrace of Mamdani’s socialist policies and the reach of his influence in the party.

Avila Chevalier and Valdez were both endorsed by DSA, a group that promotes defunding the police, abolishing ICE, abolishing prisons, government-controlled housing and healthcare, and accusing Israel of genocide. 

In October, Fox News Digital reported that DSA was primed to play a significant role in the Mamdani administration and last summer DSA members discussed in a panel how they were closely collaborating with Mamdani and positioning the organization to “seize state power.”

LOSER: DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP

Perhaps the most common response on social media to Tuesday night’s results was that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are in trouble going forward if they want to keep power.

“The Democrat party has officially become the party of Zohran, AOC, & Bernie,” Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, posted on X on Tuesday night.

“No, I think the future of the Democratic Party is going to fall, as far as we’re concerned, relative to the House Democratic Caucus and members who are doing great work all across the country,” Jeffries said in November as Mamdani was set to become the next mayor of New York City. 

Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe posted on X, “Hardest hit in tonight’s NY primaries: Chuck Schumer. I’d be shocked if he seeks re-election in 2028.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’s and Schumer’s offices for comment. 

“You’re next,” socialist supporters at Valdez’s election night party were seen shouting at the television to Jeffries on Tuesday night. 

Jeremy Carl, a senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, argued that the outcomes reflected broader ideological and demographic shifts within New York City, warning that the city had become a “post-American city” and predicting similar changes nationwide.

“The radicalism of these soon-to-be Congressmen is going to be a headache for Democrat leadership in the House and a gift to the GOP,” Carl wrote.  

“The future of the Democrat party is radical and post-American in it’s (sic) orientation. Since all of these candidates are in the world’s media capital, they are going to get tons of attention,” Carl continued. “That isn’t going to play well for the Dems in 2026 and 2028.”

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Wednesday introduced new legislation aimed at combating America’s rural healthcare crisis, telling Fox News Digital that Congress must intervene to keep rural emergency rooms open.

“Americans in rural communities across the country are confronted with a concerning shortage of access to emergency medical care,” Hawley said. “In Missouri alone, 12 rural hospitals with emergency rooms have closed in as many years, and those that remain open are struggling to keep the lights on.

“Congress must act swiftly to protect the necessary emergency care hardworking rural families deserve.”

Hawley’s comments come as he pushes the Rural Hospital Emergency Room Guarantee Act, legislation aimed at saving rural hospitals from closing at a “breakneck pace.”

‘IT JUST BAFFLES ME’: SENATE REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM OVER MEDICAID CHANGES, SPENDING IN TRUMP MEGABILL

Since 2005, nearly 200 rural hospitals have shut down nationwide, a trend that is creating “widespread emergency-room deserts” and forcing some residents to drive an hour or more just to reach lifesaving emergency care, according to the senator’s office.

The situation is particularly dire in Hawley’s home state of Missouri, where 12 rural hospitals with emergency rooms have closed since 2014. 

Records show that nearly half of all rural hospitals in Missouri currently operate at a loss, with 10 hospitals, or roughly 20%, at “immediate risk of closure.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS LOOK TO SWEETEN MEDICAID POT TO SILENCE DISSENT ON TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

To keep the lights on and emergency room doors open, the proposed legislation would establish a mandatory, 10-year dedicated funding stream administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, according to the senator’s office.

If the bill were to pass, eligible rural hospitals would receive a guaranteed baseline distribution of $1 million per year to cover normal emergency room operating expenses, which would be distributed on a quarterly basis and indexed for inflation, along with additional funding depending on a hospital’s specific geographical, financial and patient-injury characteristics.

Participating rural hospitals facing an immediate risk of closure would also receive a one-time emergency payment of up to $250,000.

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The senator’s office noted affected hospitals receiving the new guaranteed funding will not face negative impacts on their eligibility for any other federal healthcare programs, designations or grants.

Hawley is expected to announce the Rural Hospital Emergency Room Guarantee Act at a news conference scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Wednesday.

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