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Some House Republicans are already privately worrying about how a partial government shutdown would affect their electoral chances in November.

“If we shut down, we lose,” one lawmaker told Fox News Digital.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled his plan to avoid a partial shutdown in a private call with House GOP lawmakers on Wednesday morning, four sources told Fox News Digital.

It involves a six-month extension of fiscal 2024’s federal funding levels known as a “continuing resolution” (CR) – to buy House and Senate negotiators more time to hash out next year’s spending priorities – and would be linked to a bill adding a proof of citizenship requirement to the voter registration process.

CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION

But with both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the White House publicly opposing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, it’s highly likely Johnson’s plan would be dead on arrival if it passed the House.

“My problem isn’t with the policy, which I support. My problem isn’t with the messaging, which I think is strong. My problem is that I just don’t think Chuck Schumer is going to agree to it,” a second House Republican said of their concerns about the plan.

If the Senate and House don’t agree on a way forward by Oct. 1, the country could be wracked by a partial government shutdown roughly a month before Election Day.

Past government shutdowns like those seen under the Obama and Trump administrations in 2013 and 2019, respectively, have traditionally seen Americans blame the GOP. 

JOHNSON UNVEILS TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE GOP PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, SETS UP BATTLE WITH SCHUMER

“In general, the voters seem to have a strong bias for blaming Republicans for shutdowns, which is understandable,” the second Republican continued.

“We often have the more combative rhetoric leading up to a shutdown. We often are the ones who are most quick to claim that a shutdown isn’t a real problem. And so I think we kind of telegraph to voters that we’re OK with that. I think that makes it a little easier for the Democrats to try to stick us with [it].”

They added at the end of their explanation, “But it takes two to tango, and I don’t think what we’re asking for is too much.”

Meanwhile, two sources familiar with the Tuesday House GOP call said questions were raised about what Johnson’s next step would be if the Senate sent back a “clean” CR with no attachments, and concerns were aired about how a possible shutdown would affect vulnerable Republicans.

“The Republicans have the majority today because we won seats in California and [other blue states]. Those seem to be members who’d be most disadvantaged by a shutdown in the four weeks before an election,” the second GOP lawmaker said.

Veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye said a possible shutdown could have less of an impact given it’s a presidential election year, but he conceded “that’s a real risk to take.”

“Republicans usually get blamed for shutdowns, and that could play into Harris’ ‘Trump-as-chaos’ argument,” Heye said.

MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT

He added, however, “that’s not a bet I’d make. Especially when the speaker has offered a path to avoid this.”

Other Republicans dismissed fears of political blowback in the event of a government shutdown.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who is not committed or opposed to Johnson’s plan, told Fox News Digital this week, “The legacy media makes these shutdowns worse than they are. … Nobody loses their house, nobody loses a dime. They all get made whole.”

A partial government shutdown would see some non-emergency federal services halted and potentially thousands of government employees furloughed.

Any federal payments paused during a shutdown are retroactively made to their recipients, however. 

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Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of the architects of the SAVE Act, would not say whether he’d want a shutdown if the Johnson plan failed to pass.

“I’m not going to play the shutdown game … the press wants to make it about a shutdown. Democrats want to make this about a shutdown,” Roy said. “We’re offering to fund the government – all manners of sin, by the way, in that government…we’re willing to do that, but these guys need to make sure our elections are secure.”

“If [Democrats] want to shut the government down, that’s on them.”

A federal judge last week ruled in favor of a whistleblower advocacy group that sued the Justice Department to unseal documents related to its secretly obtaining communications about congressional staffers who were investigating the DOJ.

Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research won a partial victory in a lawsuit it filed in May, when a federal court ordered the DOJ to release documents. The victory on Friday came days after the group filed a second lawsuit to force the Justice Department to unseal additional records.

“The requested records are likely to show a startling failure by DOJ to respect the long-established separation of powers in the United States Constitution,” the recent Empower Oversight complaint said. “These records will show the lengths to which DOJ went starting in 2016 to secretly surveil various congressional staff members (of both political parties) who were actively engaged in oversight of the DOJ pursuant to their constitutional authorities.”

The Justice Department subpoenaed Google in 2017 for records of Google email addresses and Google Voice phone numbers. Empower Oversight found that the DOJ scooped up records of multiple Republican and Democratic attorneys for the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Intelligence Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, panels that were engaged in oversight of the department.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR DOJ WHISTLEBLOWERS

The Justice Department kept this secret for six years through gag orders it obtained in Washington, D.C., federal court against providers such as Google, according to Empower Oversight.

“This is a massive, massive separation of powers issue,” Tristan Leavitt, president of Empower Oversight, told Fox News Digital.

He questioned whether the Justice Department properly informed the court that subpoenas were for congressional lawyers conducting oversight of the department.

PROSECUTORS WANT 2-YEAR PRISON TERM FOR EX-SENATE INTEL STAFFER JAMES WOLFE IN LEAK CASE

“Congressional oversight is supposed to have safeguards. If the security apparatus allows the DOJ to see when a congressional committee is communicating with a whistleblower, that will out the whistleblower,” Leavitt added.

Empower Oversight founder Jason Foster, a former senior staffer for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., learned earlier this year that the Justice Department obtained his records through Google.

A Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an email, “The department will decline to comment on on-going litigation.”

However, the New York Times reported that Carlos Felipe Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, wrote to the House Judiciary Committee in January to say the department would change its subpoena policies and largely blamed the Trump administration. “The new policies require additional consultations and approvals,” the letter said.

The subpoenas of the Google email and phone records appear to be related to a federal leak investigation of confidential information about the surveillance warrant of Carter Page, a 2016 Trump campaign aide. The leak probe led to the eventual guilty plea of James Wolfe, former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, for lying to the FBI about his relationship with a New York Times journalist.

WATCHDOG GROUP ASKS TO UNSEAL RECORDS OF DOJ’S SUBPOENAS OF CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS’ MESSAGES

Still, after the Wolfe conviction, the Justice Department continued getting annual renewals of the secret gag orders from the federal court.

This is the second lawsuit, as Empower Oversight filed an earlier public records lawsuit in May for documents about the department’s subpoenas related to court filings that justified the years of secrecy the DOJ imposed on providers like Google.

Under the recent judgment, Empower Oversight will obtain the underlying documents it was seeking in the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The group submitted public record requests to the Justice Department in October, November and June about the department’s use of grand jury subpoenas to get personal and official communications records of attorneys for congressional oversight committees investigating the department. The department did not provide the initial records.

A spokesperson for Google did not respond to an inquiry for this story.

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However, in a May statement to Fox News Digital, a Google spokesperson said, “We’re seeing non-disclosure orders issued for an increasing number of court orders, warrants, and subpoenas from U.S. authorities. Delayed notice results in users not having the opportunity to assert their rights in court to contest demands for their data. For these reasons, we support the bipartisan NDO Fairness Act, which would ensure that gag orders are issued only when warranted and for reasonable periods.”

A non-disclosure order (NDO) is commonly referred to as a gag order. The NDO Fairness Act —sponsored by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Mike Lee, R-Utah —would require the federal government to adhere to established legal norms for electronic searches that apply to physical searches, such as notifying individuals unless a higher standard to delay such notice is met. 

The White House suggested Thursday President Biden will not pardon his son after Hunter Biden’s attorneys indicated that he intends to change his plea in the federal tax case against him.

“It’s no, it’s still no,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday when they questioned whether the plea had affected President Biden’s decision on whether he would consider a pardon for his son. “I’m not able to comment on it, but I can say that it is still very much a ‘no’ to the questions I have gotten about if the president is going to pardon [Hunter].” 

Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, made the announcement about the plea Thursday in court, the same day jury selection was slated to begin for an expected trial.

The expected guilty plea will spare the president’s son from a public trial over his alleged failure to pay taxes while he spent lavishly on drugs, escorts, luxury hotel stays, clothing and other personal items, according to prosecutors. 

The reversal came as a surprise to prosecutors. According to NBC News, it followed a private meeting Thursday between Hunter Biden’s attorneys and the presiding judge, Mark Scarsi. 

The conditions of Hunter Biden’s proposed plea were not immediately disclosed, nor was any indication on whether Scarsi plans to accept the plea.

Hunter Biden’s reversal comes after he was convicted of three felony gun charges in June. The first son, according to prosecutors, lied on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. Following the conviction, President Biden indicated he did not plan to pardon his son. Hunter Biden is scheduled to be sentenced for the gun charges Nov. 12.   

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT

The president’s son was indicted in December on three felony and six misdemeanor counts alleging he evaded paying at least $1.4 million in taxes while he was simultaneously spending money on “drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes,” according to the December indictment.

POLL COMPARES WHTHER TRUMP, HUNTER BIDEN SHOULD GET PRISON SENTENCES, ACCORDING TO US ADULTS

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Prosecutors also allege the tax returns Hunter Biden ultimately did file falsely claimed that things like prostitutes, strip club visits, porn website subscriptions, a sex club membership and other personal expenses were actually deductible business expenses. The aim, according to the indictment, was to “evade assessment of taxes to reduce the substantial tax liabilities” that Hunter Biden faced.

LAS VEGAS, NV – Former President Trump suggested that he could win up to half of the Jewish vote in the 2024 election as he criticized Jewish Americans who don’t support him in his showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris.

“We’re probably around the 50 percent mark,” Trump said on Thursday in live-streamed comments as he addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada.

And the former president and GOP nominee claimed, without evidence, that Israel “will no longer exist” if Harris wins the White House in November’s election.

Trump addressed the group of Republican Jewish leaders, donors, and activists, days after the bodies of six Israeli hostages, including Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were recovered in Gaza. The hostages were taken by Hamas last October during an attack on Israel that ignited the eleven-month-long war in Gaza.

TRUMP AND HARRIS ON COLLISION COURSE AS 2024 CAMPAIGN ENTERS FINAL STRETCH

The Harris campaign, responding to Trump’s address, pointed to the former president’s past criticism of Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating Biden on his 2020 election victory over Trump.

“Donald Trump has made it obvious he would turn on Israel in a moment if it suited his personal interests, and in fact he has done so in the past,” Harris national security spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein wrote in a statement. “Meanwhile, the Vice President has been incredibly clear: She has been a lifelong supporter of the State of Israel as a secure, democratic homeland for the Jewish people.”

ELECTION SEASON STARTS A LOT EARLIER THAN YOU THINK

While supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself, President Biden’s relationship with Netanyahu has grown increasingly strained during the current war. On Monday, the president said he didn’t think the Israeli leader was doing enough to help foster a hostage deal with Hamas.

The vice president has aimed to balance her support for Israel – which she spotlighted last month during her address at the Democratic National Convention – with her acknowledgment of the high civilian death toll caused by Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. While Republicans are unified in support of Israel, many progressives in the Democratic Party have been vocal in their criticism of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Trump, who has repeatedly questioned how Jewish Americans could vote for the Democrats, reiterated “I don’t understand how anybody can support them — and I say it constantly — if you had them to support and you were Jewish, you have to have your head examined.”

“Who are the 50 percent of Jewish people that are voting for these people that hate Israel and don’t like the Jewish people?” Trump asked as he once again charged that the Democrats “have been very bad to you.”

NEW FOX NEWS POLL NUMBERS IN 4 KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES

Ari Fleischer, a Republican Jewish Coalition board member, spotlighted the rising Jewish support for GOP presidential candidates as he spoke with reporters following Trump’s speech.

Fleischer, a longtime Republican strategist, former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor, said that former President George H.W. Bush won 11% of the Jewish vote in 1992, but that his boss, former President George W. Bush, won 25% of the Jewish vote in his 2004 re-election. Trump won approximately 30% of the Jewish vote four years ago.

Fleischer wouldn’t predict what percentage of the Jewish vote Trump would capture this year, but said it could near 50% in some battleground states, as they consider casting Republican ballots.

“The ears of the Jewish community are open this cycle more than previously, because of the events around the world and what we see in America,” Fleischer said. “It’s one thing for it to be theoretical, it’s now physical. It’s palpable on the American street.”

He added that “what’s changed in this cycle is this palpable sense of fear because of what’s happening in America, because of what’s happening on campuses, because of what happened in Israel on October 7, and every day since…the American Jewry has never had their ears more open to potentially voting Republican than in this cycle.”

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Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks told reporters that the group’s political arm has beefed up its data operations by building what he touted as “the only real viable voter file of Jewish voters in the country” to turnout the vote.

“We have quietly been building under the radar over the last several years. We have been putting staff and deploying resources,” Brooks shared. “So we now have staff in Nevada, we have paid staff in Georgia, we have paid staff in Michigan, we have paid staff in Pennsylvania and in Arizona. And we have been doing this quietly since the last election, building up to this moment.”

Brooks said the group is spending millions of dollars on digital and TV ads, direct mail, phone calls and door knocking and other canvassing efforts to get out the vote – what he described as “the whole gamut.”

Trump was introduced at the gathering by Miriam Adelson, the billionaire Republican megadonor, who along with her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson were major backers of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

Adelson, who is currently helping bankroll a super PAC that supports Trump, called him “our best friend” and added that she’s “eagerly awaiting for him to enter the White House and to save the Jewish people.”

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

The House Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena for information on Vice President Kamala Harris’ efforts in her capacity as “border czar” amid concerns about unaccompanied migrant children.

Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, subpoenaed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on Wednesday over accusations that the Biden administration has lost track of thousands of children who crossed the border unaccompanied by a parent or guardian.

“According to new Committee estimates, ‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris and HHS have LOST contact with 145,000+ unaccompanied alien children after placing them with sponsors, including ILLEGAL ALIENS,” the committee posted on X. “We’re subpoenaing more information from ‘Border Czar’ Harris and HHS about these UACs.”

TRUMP OUTPERFORMING 2020 SUPPORT AMONG HISPANICS, WHO PREFER HIM ON IMMIGRATION, POLL SHOWS

Jordan compelled Becerra to turn over documents “sufficient to show the number of unaccompanied alien children whom HHS has been unable to contact directly through Safety and Well-being Calls after such UACs’ release to a sponsor,” according to a copy of the subpoena obtained by Fox News Digital.

“[A]lthough HHS claims to be unaware of the information that the Committee is seeking, HHS has known about the Committee’s specific request and subpoena for more than six months and appears to possess responsive documents and information,” Jordan wrote. “Indeed, in calls with Committee staff, HHS has acknowledged it understands the Committee’s requests.”

Instead of heeding those requests, Jordan alleged that HHS “spent more than a year obstructing the Committee’s oversight, including by disingenuously framing the Committee’s request for data regarding UACs who fail to answer Safety and Well-being calls as separate and distinct from the Committee’s request for the number of UACs HHS has been unable to contact.”

TRUMP UNLEASHES ON HARRIS, TALKING IMMIGRATION, CHINA IN EXCLUSIVE ‘LIFE, LIBERTY & LEVIN’ INTERVIEW

“In light of HHS’s continued obstruction, and in an effort to facilitate the prompt production of the material the Committee seeks, the Committee is left with no choice but to issue another subpoena to compel the production of information regarding the total number of UACs who themselves have failed to answer a Safety and Well-being call after being placed with a sponsor,” the subpoena letter said.

While the subpoena does not target Harris directly, Jordan’s actions are part of broader House Republican efforts to scrutinize the Democrat presidential nominee’s record as President Biden’s vice president in the lead-up to the November election.

VIDEO SHOWS ARMED GANG AT TROUBLED COLORADO APARTMENT BUILDING BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN OVER BY MIGRANTS

Harris’ candidacy has renewed GOP scrutiny of her role in tackling the root causes of mass migration from Central and South America, a mission handed to her early on in Biden’s term.

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In addition to the letter and subpoena for Becerra, Jordan’s committee is planning two hearings on “the Biden-Harris Border Crisis” – a Friday panel in Harris’ home state of California and another hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

HHS said it does not comment on ongoing litigation, when reached for a response. Fox News Digital also reached out to the vice president’s office for comment.

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

Here’s what’s happening…

– Top 5 moments from Trump’s town hall

– Nikki Haley gets a new job

A Switch in Time

Hunter Biden plans to change his plea to guilty on federal tax charges brought against him by special counsel David Weiss, his attorney said in court Thursday, shocking federal prosecutors.

Abbe Lowell, the first son’s attorney, said Thursday in federal court that President Biden’s son intends to switch his plea and intends to plead guilty. He initially pleaded not guilty. 

Federal prosecutor Leo Wise said that “this is the first we are hearing about this.”

A source familiar with the special counsel’s team told Fox News digital that this is not a done deal for Hunter Biden, and that it’s currently just an offer the defense put on the table. 

The development comes after Hunter Biden’s lawyers had prepared to argue he was too high or drunk to pay his taxes, the New York Post reported Thursday. ….Read more

White House

SPENDING SURGE: Biden throws $7.3B at ‘clean energy’ with national debt at $35T …Read more

HUNTER ON TRIAL: Hunter Biden’s federal tax trial begins with jury selection …Read more

TRUMP TRIAL: Jack Smith’s new indictment against former president goes to court Thursday …Read more

Capitol Hill

RUSSIA HOAX 2.O: Republicans ‘skeptical’ of DOJ move to block Russian election interference …Read more

EVERYTHING UNDER THE ‘SUN’: House GOP demands answers from Hochul over ex-aide accused of being agent for China …Read more

COMPLEX PROBLEMS: House GOP bill to detain migrant gang members unveiled amid Aurora chaos …Read more

Tales from the Trail

COLLUSION CLAIM REDUX: Harris fundraiser hints Trump working with foreign leaders to win election …Read more

‘FAILED’: Former senator launches ad campaign against anti-Trump DA Fani Willis …Read more

BATTLE FOR THE SENATE: New poll gives edge to Republican aiming to oust red-state Democrat  …Read more

‘BIGGEST TAX INCREASE’: Trump makes grave prediction about economy if Harris wins …Read more

WHO’S SECOND BANANA?: Where Vance, Walz favorability ratings stand 60 days to Election Day …Read more

‘TOUGHEST ON RUSSIA’: Trump touts foreign policy chops at Fox News town hall …Read more

‘WORLD WAR III TERRITORY’: Top 5 moments from Trump’s Fox News town hall in key battleground state …Read more

Across America

NORTHERN EXPOSURE: Expert explains dramatic influx of migrants crossing border from Canada …Read more

‘COMING NEXT’: Nikki Haley finds a new job …Read more

TURN THEM OVER: America First Legal sues Judge Merchan for financial disclosures …Read more

‘RICHER AND STRONGER’: Trump lays out economic plan in NYC address …Read more

UNDER PRESSURE: Canada launches sudden crackdown on immigration: report …Read more

‘CLARIFY THE FACTS’: Melania Trump memoir says she’s been victim of media ‘misrepresentation’ …Read more

‘AUTHORITARIAN’ PLAYBOOK: NYT publishers details how Trump could ‘increase his attacks’ on press in 2nd term …Read more

‘STARTLING FAILURE’: Watchdog group notches win over DOJ in case about secret surveillance of Congress …Read more

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

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

No proof? No vote.

As in, proof of citizenship.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., convened a conference call Wednesday with House GOPers, just days before the House returns to session for the first time since late July. Johnson advocated that the House adopt an interim spending bill running into the first quarter of next year to avert a government shutdown on Oct. 1. But House Republicans will attach the so-called SAVE Act to the bill. That’s short for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. It’s legislation the House adopted in July, requiring people to show proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. 

All Republicans voted yea two months ago. Five Democrats voted yea.

ON CAPITOL HILL, IT’S ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’ ALL OVER AGAIN

“If you’re here illegally and interfere in our elections, you deserve a pair of handcuffs, not an ‘I voted’ sticker,” said Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, during the floor debate. 

The House Freedom Caucus pitched the interim spending bill/citizenship voting plan to the speaker. First of all, some conservatives believe that a number of persons in the U.S. could illegally vote. So, they want to protect against that. Secondly, there is concern that local jurisdictions like Oakland, Calif., now allow noncitizens to cast ballots for school board and city council. The Freedom Caucus frets there aren’t proper guardrails to prevent those people from voting for federal offices. Third, FOX is told that Republicans believe the SAVE Act is a good campaign issue. It puts Democrats on the spot as GOPers curate a narrative about consequences of the border crisis. And fourth, former President Trump is pushing Republicans to take this approach.

“President Trump wants to see us pick a fight,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. “All Republicans support it. It’s only Democrats standing in the way of a commonsense measure to ensure all American citizens vote in American elections.” 

Also, this move helps Johnson, who earned criticism from the right for not handling spending bills the way they wanted in the spring. So, the voting maneuver would bolster Johnson in efforts to keep opponents at bay. The approach creates unity for Republicans and strengthens the hand of the speaker while simultaneously applying pressure on Democrats.

BORDER SENATOR AND FORMER HARRIS VP SHORT-LISTER CLAIMS ‘NO EVIDENCE’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS VOTE

Conservatives usually balk at stopgap spending bills, especially long-term ones, but perhaps not one that extends into 2025. Conservatives are banking on the idea that the GOP will hold the House, flip the Senate and return former President Trump to the White House. If the GOP achieves that trifecta, it can then put its own stamp on spending bills at an earlier date.

If Congress approves an interim spending bill this month – then gloms all of the other spending bills together in one omnibus package in November or December – President Biden and the Democrat-controlled Senate will have achieved their spending priorities through Sept. 30, 2025. However, a stopgap bill that simply renews all current funding until early next year truncates the Democrats’ influence. That scenario gives Republicans and Mr. Trump the opportunity to place their own imprimatur on spending much sooner.

But this plan must first pass the House.

The GOP would like to score some political points if the five Democrats who voted for the SAVE Act earlier vote no this time around. Republicans can then deploy this roll-call vote against those Democrats, some of whom are vulnerable this fall.

However, it’s not guaranteed that all Republicans would go for this plan. Some Republicans automatically vote against all interim spending bills. It’s about the math. So, it’s unclear if this game plan has the votes.

But let’s say the combo bill passes the House. The Democrat-controlled Senate would likely strip out the SAVE Act and send back to the House a shorter interim spending bill. Many Senate Democrats, and some Republicans, aren’t keen on the Freedom Caucus’s idea.

“This is a solution looking for a problem. There is no evidence that undocumented migrants vote,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. “The problem doesn’t exist, and it’s creating a new system and requirements. There doesn’t seem to be any necessity.”

SCHUMER SOUNDS OFF ON GOP PLAN TO TIE CITIZENSHIP VOTING REQUIREMENT TO SPENDING BILL

Then the onus is on the House to align with the Senate before the Sept. 30 deadline.

That leaves Johnson with a major decision to make. Does he stick to his guns and flirt with a shutdown – weeks before the election – as control of the House swings in the balance? Or does he accept the Senate position and pass the bill with a combination of Democrats and Republicans. In fact, it’s possible the House would advance that version of the spending bill with more Democrats than Republicans. That would infuriate the right and possibly resurrect internal political problems for Johnson.

“We need to have a fallback position,” said one senior House Republican. “We tend to pick fights we can’t win.”

So, let’s say the citizenship/2025 spending plan fails on the floor. Then Republicans must likely accept the Senate’s position, no matter what. Or they face a government shutdown. It’s particularly challenging for Republicans if they fail to approve any bill whatsoever.

The House meets next week for four days, then four days the week after that. The big finale before the election is five days the week of Sept. 22. But it’s possible the House could give back the final week of September if Congress funds the government and shutdown scenarios are quashed.

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Many Republicans hanker to abandon Washington early to campaign. When asked about the chances of the House leaving early, a senior House GOP leadership characterized the chances as “high.” So, some Republicans may be willing to accept anything just to escape D.C. early and hit the hustings.

Or here’s a more likely scenario: Some Republicans will crow about the House “not fighting for the conservative position” or “not doing enough to help former President Trump” with this spending plan. But secretly, they will be more than happy to see the original plan torpedoed and accept a shorter-term spending package that runs until late fall if they can go home and campaign a week earlier than expected.

The last thing Republicans need to wrestle with is a government shutdown just before the election. GOP fundraising is down. Which party controls the House comes down to a handful of races. And more time fighting over government spending in Washington versus campaigning is not the politically wise move at this stage with the House, Senate and White House all on the line.

A longtime former California Democratic legislative leader announced Wednesday she no longer “recognize[s her] party,” while noting she still considers many of its historical figures, including former President John F. Kennedy, her “heroes.”

Gloria Romero, who served as the state Senate majority leader for three years of her more than 10-year stint in Sacramento, slammed the current state of her former party.

Romero said she had been a delegate to the Democratic National Convention for both Jesse Jackson and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., adding that many Latinos and Latinas are leaving the party for similar reasons.

“Today, I say ‘Goodbye – adios’ — I’ve had enough,” the former San Gabriel Valley lawmaker said in her announcement.

CALIF BILL AIMED AT MAKING IT EASIER FOR MIGRANTS TO BUY HOMES MAKES MAJOR ADVANCEMENT

“I am now another near-lifelong Democrat who is joining the growing number of people … who are leaving the Democratic Party.

“Today, I join the Republican Party to make America great again, and I am ready to do my part as America prepares to vote,” Romero said, adding she has received a warm reception from her onetime political opposition.

She claimed she could not stand by as Democrats took “a giant leap to authoritarianism [and] censorship,” noting former President Reagan warned that if fascism rose in the U.S. it would come under the guise of liberalism.

“It is terrifying to see how language has been modified so that, as a feminist and a former professor … I would be condemned for saying that I can define a woman and distinguish between biological sex and gender identity,” Romero said.

“While I am pro-choice, I will not support a party that advocates for abortion to full term. I am a mother and refuse to call myself a ‘birthing person.'”

BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS WREAKING HAVOC ON K-12 SCHOOLS SAYS TOP GOP LAWMAKER

“The Republican Party has become the party of peace while the Democrats have marched towards endless war.”

She also took aim at the Green movement within the Democratic Party, voicing opposition to regulations on appliances. 

“[A]s a Latina, I will not give up my gas stove; you cannot toast a tortilla on an electric range,” she quipped.

Standing on the steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento, Romero said she officially aligns with the GOP under former President Trump, who she said is the true champion of working people and the Reaganesque “big tent.”

“I will vote for Donald Trump this fall,” she said. 

Asked about Romero’s move, Los Angeles Democratic officials dismissed her official announcement as “old news.”

“We knew then about Gloria what California Republicans know best: the grift is real,” Mark Gonzalez, the former chairman of the county party, told the Los Angeles Daily News.

Another former party staffer said on X, formerly Twitter, the GOP is “drudg[ing] up old news to stay relevant.”

State Sen. Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego, the top Republican in the state chamber, welcomed Romero to the party, saying in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that Romero had unsuccessfully tried to “wake up” her former party to its leftward shift.

“Her leadership and experience have always been about serving the people, not partisan politics. It takes real courage to step away from the party you’ve led and stand for what is right,” Jones said. 

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“The pendulum is swinging in California — Sky-high prices, increasing crime, and record homelessness are the direct results of a broken government…”

Current state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil of Jackson also switched to the GOP in early August. 

At the time, Alvarado-Gil said her former party is also “unrecognizable” and “lacks the will to fix the problems plaguing the state.”

Senator Chuck Grassley released FBI records on Thursday showing that Iranian-backed plotters sought to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other prominent American political figures in relation to the killing of Qasem Soleimani. Soleimani was the head of the Quds Force, part Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC).

The records, provided to Grassley through legally protected whistle blower disclosures, reveal that Iran potentially targeted “politicians, military people or bureaucrats” including President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former candidate Nikki Haley.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: GRASSLEY DEMANDS SECRET SERVICE ANSWER EXPLOSIVE CLAIMS IN BODYCAM FOOTAGE

“Bad actors are determined to wreak havoc on our country, and American political leaders across both parties are sitting squarely in the crosshairs,” said Senator Grassley in a statement. “In this extraordinarily heightened threat environment, federal agencies ought to be laser focused on building up public trust and reassuring the American people of their efforts to carry out their protective missions.”

“I won’t stop pressing for answers until Congress and the American people are afforded the transparency they deserve,” Grassley concluded.

A native of Pakistan with ties to Iran, Asif Merchant, has been charged for his involvement in the assassination plot. Merchant provided evidence to the FBI in a proffer agreement.

According to the FBI records, Merchant believed he was in for a kill-for-hire scheme that would offer him a cut of $50,000 for successful completion. In his interrogation, Merchant provided options for shooting former President Trump at both indoor and outdoor speaking engagements.

BODYCAM FOOTAGE TAKES VIEWERS TO PENNSYLVANIA ROOFTOP MOMENTS AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Merchant further expressed that he could hit a target up close or from further away, that a pistol would be best for indoors, but a rifle was necessary otherwise. He believed he had about a 50% chance of success, according to the FBI records.

Asif Merchant communicated with Iran via English language notes smuggled in packages for different extended family members.

Some congressional Republicans have argued that the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July was plotted by foreign actors from Iran or Pakistan. Grassley’s office has been behind the release of bodycam footage from local police in Pennsylvania since the assassination attempt, demanding accountability from multiple agencies.

Grassley said that a DHS-FBI briefing from earlier this week “yet again failed to provide full transparency, necessitating this letter and the public disclosure of the unclassified proffer.”

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The FBI did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan will not hold the trial for former President Donald Trump on charges stemming from special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation until after the 2024 presidential election. 

Chutkan held a status hearing Thursday morning in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in which lawyers for former President Trump pleaded not guilty on his behalf related to charges from Smith’s new indictment after the Supreme Court ruled a president is immune from prosecution for official acts in office.

In an order Thursday afternoon, Chutkan set deadlines for replies and paperwork from federal prosecutors and Trump’s legal team for Nov. 7th–after Election Day. 

Trump did not appear in court Thursday. His lawyers pleaded not guilty on his behalf. Smith was in court Thursday morning. 

The case pertains to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Last week, the former president was indicted and issued revised criminal charges by Smith, who alleges Trump pressured former Vice President Mike Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes, in addition to mounting fake electors in key states that went to President Biden and to attest to Trump’s electoral victory.

The new indictment keeps the prior criminal charges but narrows and reframes the allegations against the Republican presidential nominee after a Supreme Court ruling that conferred broad immunity on former presidents.

Specifically, the indictment has been changed to remove allegations involving Department of Justice officials and other government officials. It clarifies Trump’s role as a candidate and makes clear the allegations regarding his conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence in his ceremonial role as president of the Senate.

The new indictment removes a section of the previous indictment that had accused Trump of trying to use the Justice Department to undo his 2020 loss. The Supreme Court recently ruled in a 6-3 decision that Trump was immune from prosecution for official White House acts.

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Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Those charges, to which Trump pleaded not guilty, remain. 

Smith alleges Trump participated in an effort to enlist slates of fake electors in key states won by Biden to attest that Trump had in fact won and that Trump pressured Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes.

The special counsel’s office said the updated indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., was issued by a grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in the case. The new grand jury has only heard this new information.

Sources familiar with the matter tell Fox News that discussions surrounding the superseding indictment will likely not speed things up, and it is unlikely it will go to trial before the November election. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is organizing to target Republican voters with new outreach through paid media and grassroots-driven digital efforts, while touting recent endorsements from GOP dissenters, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Harris campaign spokesman Ian Sams told Fox News Digital that Harris “has Republican momentum right now.” 

TRUMP ADDS RFK JR., TULSI GABBARD TO HIS TRANSITION TEAM AS HE RECRUITS SUPPORTERS ‘ACROSS PARTISAN LINES’

The Harris campaign pointed to recent endorsements from Republicans and former Republicans, like former Rep. Liz Cheney; former Rep. Adam Kinzinger; Jimmy McCain, the son of late-Sen. John McCain; and more than 200 staffers who served under Republican administrations.

Cheney lost re-election in 2022, after being ousted from her role as the House GOP Conference chair due to her role on the House Jan. 6 Committee and anti-Trump statements. Kinzinger, who also sat on the House Jan. 6 Committee, retired from Congress in 2022. 

“We are proud of the bipartisan groundswell behind Vice President Harris,” Sams told Fox News Digital. “And we will continue working every day to earn the support of Republican voters who want a president like her who still believes in patriotism, freedom, and our Constitution.” 

RFK JR DEFENDS ‘MAGA,’ TEASES MORE TO JOIN TRUMP ‘UNITY GOVERNMENT’

A Harris campaign official also touted the half a dozen Republican speakers at the Democratic National Convention last month, including Kingzinger; former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye; and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. 

A Harris campaign official also pointed to the “Republicans for Harris” program it launched last month, which included endorsements from former GOP Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, former GOP New Jersey Gov. Christine Temple Whitman; and former GOP Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh. 

The Harris campaign also told Fox News Digital it has a “National Republican Engagement Director,” who is dedicated to “furthering the campaign’s outreach to Independents and moderate Republicans. The campaign has spent more than 7-figures communicating with those voters, it said. 

But the Trump campaign blasted the Harris campaign’s claims of “Republican momentum.”

WHITE HOUSE LAWYERS WHO ADVISED REAGAN, BUSH ENDORSE HARRIS OVER TRUMP IN 2024 SHOWDOWN

“Kamala’s team is desperately grasping at straws because they are threatened by President Trump’s endorsements from influential former Democrats like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “No conservative in their right mind will be voting for radical Marxist, weak-on-crime, open border, high tax Kamala Harris.” 

“We do agree with Liz Cheney on one thing,” Leavitt said, pointing to Cheney’s Aug. 11, 2020 tweet, in which she blasts Harris as a “radical liberal.” 

Former President Donald Trump, last month, landed endorsements from former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and former Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. 

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RFK Jr. and Gabbard officially joined the Trump transition team last week—a move that broadened Trump’s coalition of supporters “across partisan lines.” 

President Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced new efforts to crack down on Russian election interference on Wednesday, but Republicans say they are “skeptical” of the new moves so close to the November election. 

“We’ve seen this before. In 2016, the same people pushed the Russia hoax and we now know it was totally bogus. Now, it may be true this time, but I am extremely skeptical,” House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital. 

The DOJ on Wednesday announced it is seizing 32 websites it says were linked to the Russian government and used to spread disinformation. The Justice, State and Treasury departments also indicted a pair of employees at Russian state-controlled outlet RT. 

The indictment claimed that RT, in a $10 million scheme, had duped US-based influencers into sharing content “deemed favorable to the Russian government” through a Tennessee-based company believed to be Tenet Media. 

The DOJ accused RT of “conspiring to commit money laundering and to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act.”

The content was designed to amplify “U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine.” 

TWO RUSSIA-BASED RT EMPLOYEES INDICTED, INTERNET DOMAINS SEIZED 

Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump advisor, wrote on X: “The biggest election interference in American History is the DOJ’s weaponization of the security state — surveillance, fake intelligence, sham indictments, raids, mass censorship, importing illegal voters — to target President Trump, his aides and supporters. Third world tyranny.”

“Russian interference again says the Democrat’s DOJ,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. “We would hate for Russian influence to convince Americans that the Democrats and Kamala Harris caused all this crippling inflation, wide open deadly border invasion by tens of millions of illegal migrants, and funded senseless foreign wars and cause Americans to vote for Trump!!”

RUSSIA LAUNCHES ONE OF THE DEADLIEST STRIKES AGAINST UKRAINE, KILLING 41: ZELENSKYY

Attorney General Merrick Garland pushed back on the skepticism and 2016 parallels: “This is deadly serious, and we are going to treat it accordingly.”

When asked by Fox News Digital about its reaction to the allegations, RT said, “We certainly have a reaction. Actually, we had several, but we couldn’t decide on one (we even thought of running an office poll), so here they are.” 

“2016 called and it wants its clichés back,” was among them, as were: “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the U.S. elections,” “We gotta earn our Kremlin paycheck somehow,” and “Somewhere Secretary Clinton is sad that it’s not because of her.” 

MONGOLIA IGNORES ICC DEMANDS TO ARREST PUTIN DURING STATE VISIT

The indictments included several internal propaganda project proposals put together by the Kremlin. The proposals aimed at sowing racial discord and the threat of “widespread poverty” due to inflation.

According to project “Good Old USA,” they increase the belief that the U.S. “has been doing way too much to support Ukraine” to 51 percent, up from 41 percent in a November Gallup poll.

Under their “targeted audiences” section, the project said it would focus its efforts on U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent, American Jews, American gamers and Reddit users and residents of swing states. 

“The Guerilla Media Campaign” said that it was not aimed at justifying Russia as no American politicians could be classified as “pro-Putin,” but rather on bolstering beliefs that the policies of “Candidate B,” believed to be Biden, are “encroaching on their rights.” 

The Russians deemed Republicans to be “advancing a relatively pro-Russian agenda.”

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It directed surrogates to hone in on spreading content about “record inflation,” “risk of job loss for White Americans,” “privileges for people of color, perverts and the disabled,” “threat of crime from people of color and immigrants (including new immigrants from Ukraine),” and “overspending on foreign policy at the expense of interests of white US citizens.” 

It also aimed to spread the message: “We are being drawn into war. Our guys will die in Ukraine.” It called for a “minimum of fake news and a maximum of realistic information.” 

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

NEW YORK CITY — Former President Donald Trump delivered a major economic address in New York City on Thursday, announcing his plan to cut the corporate tax rate to 15% and create a “government efficiency commission” led by Elon Musk, while vowing to “make America richer and stronger” if elected in November. 

Trump made the announcement during a speech to The Economic Club of New York. 

The former president touted the strength of the U.S. economy under his first administration, while blasting his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, for her “Kamalanomics” and tying her to the rising inflation and negative economic impacts of Biden-Harris administration policies. 

ALL THE REASONS WHY TRUMP’S TAX-FREE TIPS PLAN IS BRILLIANT

Trump said Harris and her “radical left agenda” poses “a fundamental threat to the prosperity of every American family and America itself.” 

“I’m here today to lay out my plan to rescue our country from this nightmare, and to bring back to its citizens the American dream — bigger, better and stronger than ever before,” Trump said. 

Trump said that during his administration, he “fought for American workers like I would fight for my own family.” 

“I took care of our economy like I would take care of my own company in every decision. I asked, will I create jobs here, or will I be sending jobs overseas? Will it make America richer and stronger, or will it make our country weaker and poorer?” Trump asked. “I always put America first every single time. And when our country was hit by the China virus, we saved the economy. We rescued tens of millions of jobs.” 

“We delivered an economic miracle, which Kamala and Joe turned into an economic disaster, just like they turned the border and indeed the whole world into a catastrophic surrender. Starting on day one, Kamala launched a war on American energy and orchestrated a nation-wrecking border invasion with illegal aliens pouring in from countries all over the world,” Trump said, adding that President Biden and Harris “formed the worst presidency in vice presidency, by far, in the history of our country.” 

“This election will decide whether we reward Kamala Harris with re-election and four more years of crime, economic calamity and international humiliation, or whether we change that direction and once again build the greatest economy in the history of the world, which we had during the Trump administration,” Trump said. 

HARRIS PROPOSES MAJOR CORPORATE TAX HIKE, REVERSING TRUMP ERA CUTS

Trump warned that Harris “fundamentally rejects freedom and embraces Marxism, communism and fascism.” 

“She is promising communist price controls, wealth confiscation, energy annihilation, reparations. The largest tax increase ever imposed, and mass amnesty and citizenship for tens of millions of migrants who will consume trillions of dollars in federal benefits and destroy Social Security and Medicare,” he said. 

“I am promising low taxes, low regulations, low energy costs, low interest rates, secure borders, low, low crime and surging incomes for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed,” Trump continued. “My plan will rapidly defeat inflation, quickly bring down prices and reignite explosive economic growth.” 

Trump said Harris “will take more money out of American pockets,” but said his plan “will leave the typical family with many thousands of dollars more than they have right now.” 

First, Trump said he would “end Kamala Harris’ anti-energy crusade and implement a policy of energy abundance, energy independence and even energy dominance.” 

Trump said his plan “will cut energy prices in half or more than that within 12 months of taking office.” 

“It will be an economic revival of our country like no one has ever seen before,” he said. “Energy was what caused our problem initially. Energy is going to bring us back.” 

Trump said that if elected, he would “immediately issue a national emergency declaration to achieve a massive increase in domestic energy supply.” 

TRUMP: DEMOCRATS WANT TO DESTROY SOCIAL SECURITY, I’LL SAVE IT

Trump said “electricity is desperately needed for AI.” 

“So we’ll be the leader in AI and every other form of technology with these sweeping authorities,” Trump said. “We will blast through every bureaucratic hurdle to issue rapid approvals for new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new electric plants and reactors of all types.” 

He added, “Prices will fall immediately in anticipation of this tremendous supply that we can create rather quickly.” 

Trump also said he plans to rescind all unspent funds under the Biden-Harris’ “misnamed” the “Inflation Reduction Act.” 

The former president also vowed to end the electric vehicle mandate and “stop the appalling waste,” which he said will “save taxpayers an estimated $1 trillion.” 

“I will launch a historic campaign to liberate our economy from crippling regulation. My first term, I pledged to cut ten old regulations for every one new regulation, and we did much better than that,” he said. 

Trump also stressed he will make America “the world capital for crypto and Bitcoin.” 

Meanwhile, Trump said that he would create a Government Efficiency Commission “at the suggestion of Elon Musk,” who he said has “given me his complete and total endorsement.” 

The government efficiency commission would be tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms. 

Trump said Musk “has agreed” to lead that commission. 

TRUMP-MUSK INTERVIEW: 5 BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION TO THE US BORDER CRISIS

Trump also announced he would cut the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% “solely for companies that make their product in America.” 

Harris has proposed the corporate tax rate increase to 28%. The Harris campaign describes that move as “a fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.”

Trump also said he plans to make his “Trump tax cuts permanent.”

“They are massive tax cuts,” Trump said.  

“We will have no tax on tips — something which they copied four weeks after I said it,” Trump said, in a swipe at Harris, who seemingly stole his plan. “She got up, said no tax on tips. I said, that she is actually copying a lot of my plan.” 

Trump also said his plan would not tax Social Security benefits. 

“We’re not going to tax their benefits. We have so many different ways of making so much money — it is so incredible. We do not have to take it away from people on Social Security,” he said. “We’re not going to do that.” 

Trump said his message “is simple.” 

“Make your product here in America and only in America,” Trump said. “We are not going to be taken advantage of anymore.” 

Trump also said he would “work on national debt” and “work on getting it down.” 

Meanwhile, Trump said that during his administration, he “got to know Washington well.” 

“I know the smart ones and the dumb ones. I know the ones that can help make us great, and the ones that can only take us into bad territory. I got to know a lot of people, probably as many as anybody at that level, and we have incredible talent that we’re going to be using that talent,” Trump said. “They did a great job on trade.” 

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However, Trump said he will “do things that we didn’t do even the first time.” 

Trump vowed that if elected, he would ensure “inflation will be gone, our energy will be unleashed, our economy will be set free, our sovereignty will be restored, our citizens will thrive.” 

“Growth will come roaring back, and America’s future will be brighter than ever before,” Trump said. 

A new poll in a key Senate battle that may decide if the GOP wins back the chamber’s majority indicates the Republican challenger with the edge over the Democratic incumbent.

Republican Senate nominee Tim Sheehy holds a six-point 51%-45% advantage over Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana in an AARP survey released on Thursday in a two-way match up.

And the poll suggests Sheehy leading Tester 49%-41% in a multi-candidate field, with Libertarian Party candidate Sid Daoud at 4% and Green Party candidate Michael Downey polling at 1%. Four percent are undecided.  

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Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL and Purple Heart recipient who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and who serves as CEO of Bridger Aerospace, a Montana-based aerial firefighting and wildfire surveillance services company, enjoys the backing of former President Trump, who headlined a rally in Montana last month. Trump carried red-state Montana by 16 points over President Biden four years ago.

The poll indicates Trump is ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats’ 2024 nominee, by 15 points.

TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN CRISS-CROSSES THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN ‘MAKE OR BREAK’ MOMENT TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

Sheehy also has a strong ally in Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, the chair of the Senate GOP’s campaign committee.

Tester is considered of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats running for re-election this year, and Republicans are heavily targeting the incumbent.

The poll’s release highlights that “with Republicans accounting for 39% of likely voters and Democrats only 24%, Tester will need to boost his edge with Independents or gain among Republicans to pull ahead.”

But beating Tester, a Montana farmer and former state lawmaker who’s running for a fourth six-year term in the Senate and has a history of winning tough contests, is far from an easy task.

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAMPAIGN CHAIR GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH FOX NEWS

Democrats control the Senate by a razor-thin 51-49 margin, and Republicans are looking at a favorable election map this year with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs.

One of those seats is in West Virginia, a deep red state that Trump carried by nearly 40 points in 2020. With moderate Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Manchin, a former governor, not seeking re-election, flipping the seat is nearly a sure thing for the GOP.

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And in Ohio, which Trump comfortably carried four years ago, Republicans are aiming to defeat Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Five more Democratic-held seats are up for grabs this year in crucial presidential-election battleground states.

With Democrats trying to protect their fragile Senate majority, former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan of blue-state Maryland’s late entry into the Senate race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory. Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.

The new AARP survey in Montana was conducted by the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (R) & David Binder Research (D). The firms interviewed 1,064 likely voters from August 25-29, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

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

A member of Vice President Kamala Harris’ national finance committee says that her social media posts questioning if former President Donald Trump is colluding with Israel, Russia and Saudi Arabia to boost his election hopes are “absolutely valid,” and she denies being a “conspiracy theorist.” 

DNC National Finance Committee member Lindy Li has posted to X several times in recent days, speculating about potential coordination between the GOP presidential nominee and numerous foreign governments.

“Did Trump collude with Netanyahu to block a ceasefire to help him win the election? Did Trump conspire with the Saudi Crown Prince to jack up gas prices to help him win? Did he and Putin agree to delay ending the war in Ukraine til after the election?” Li posted on Tuesday. “Americans deserve answers.”

Li is a Philadelphia-area Democratic activist and strategist who serves as a national finance committee member for the Harris-Walz campaign. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro appointed her last year as a commissioner for the state to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Affairs, and Li is considered one of the top “influencers shaping the 2024 election,” according to Wired. 

TIM WALZ’S BROTHER IS ‘100% OPPOSED’ TO DEMOCRAT VP NOMINEE’S POLITICS: ‘DON’T AGREE’

Li denied she was promoting any conspiracy theories and told Fox News Digital in a phone interview that she is simply asking questions.

“I’m not a conspiracy theorist,” Li said, noting that “there have been media articles on each of” the points she made in the X post. 

She added, “Trump himself has admitted to speaking with Putin. He even admitted it on a debate stage, literally, in June. … And then there’s been extensive reporting about Trump speaking with MBS. And then, when asked what they were talking about, he refused to say. But there’s also been reporting that before every election, the Saudis will do everything in OPEC to jack our prices.”

To support her case, Li cites what she views as Trump’s history of leveraging issues to help his election hopes, accusing Trump of helping to scuttle a bipartisan immigration bill to keep illegal immigration “a salient campaign issue.” 

“Given Trump’s widely reported destruction of the bipartisan immigration deal in order to keep it a salient campaign issue, I think it’s absolutely valid to ask if he would the same thing with a ceasefire deal, especially given how close Netanyahu and Trump are,” she said. 

While Trump opposed the border deal, Senate Republicans mobilized against the deal, arguing it would allow 5,000 migrants into the country each day and hand Democrats “more authority, more funds, and frankly, more flexibility” on handling the border.

Li’s post followed news this weekend that Hamas terrorists killed six hostages Saturday as Israel Defense Forces launched an operation in Gaza. Among the bodies recovered was Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who had been held by the Hamas terrorists since Oct. 7, when war first broke out between Hamas and Israel. 

HARRIS SLAMS TRUMP OVER ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY ALTERCATION, PROMPTING FIERY RESPONSE FROM JD VANCE

Protests erupted in Israel this week over the six hostages’ deaths, with residents demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu solidify a cease-fire deal and bring home the remaining hostages. Netanyahu said this week he will “not give in to pressure” for a cease-fire, saying Israel needs control of the narrow section of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt. 

Li added in a follow-up message on X that “Nixon delayed ending the Vietnam War to finagle his way into office” while building the argument that Trump might be working with world leaders to bolster his odds of winning back the White House.

“Trump, who considers Nixon to be his spiritual predecessor, would stop at NOTHING to win, even if it means continuing the immense suffering in Gaza to boost his own electoral chances,” she wrote.

WALZ FACED ANOTHER ACCUSATION OF MISREPRESENTATION IN UNEARTHED, BLISTERING LETTER: ‘REMOVE ANY REFERENCE’

Li argued that President Ronald Reagan also leveraged a world event to bolster his election effort. 

“Reagan made a deal with Iran to DELAY the release of U.S. hostages til AFTER the election,” Li posted. “Nixon made a deal with the Vietnamese to delay ending the war til AFTER the election.”

TRUMP-VANCE TICKET HAS DONE COMBINED 37 INTERVIEWS SINCE LAST MONTH COMPARED TO ONLY ONE FOR HARRIS-WALZ

“Trump likely made a deal with Netanyahu to block a ceasefire til AFTER the election. Same damn playbook.”

Li said that her questions and posts are ideas already put forth by other media pundits, pointing Fox Digital to a Steven Beschloss post from Monday and a New York Times op-ed penned by Thomas Friedman, titled, “How Netanyahu Is Trying to Save Himself, Elect Trump and Defeat Harris.”

The ongoing war in Israel has increased pressure on the Biden-Harris administration to lock down a cease-fire, as Trump accuses Harris of being weak on foreign policy. 

“The Israeli attack was made because we are perceived as being weak and ineffective and with a really weak leader,” Trump said during a campaign rally in Iowa the day Hamas first attacked Israel in October. 

“All over the world things are not what they were just three years ago,” he added.

Trump has gone on to say that if he were in office, wars in both Israel and Ukraine would not have occurred. 

KAMALA HARRIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ‘PUSHED HARDER’ ON BIDEN’S MENTAL FITNESS DURING INTERVIEW: WAPO COLUMNISTS

“I will end every single international crisis that the current administration has created, including the horrible war with Russia and Ukraine, which would’ve never happened if I was president and the war caused by the attack on Israel, which would’ve never happened if I was president,” Trump declared during his nomination acceptance speech at the RNC in July. 

“Iran was broke. Iran had no money. Now Iran has $250 billion. They made it all over the last two and a half years. They were broke. I watched the other day on a show called Deface the Nation. Has anyone seen it? And they had a Congressman who was a Democrat, say, ‘Well, whether you like him or not, Iran was broke dealing with Trump.’”

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Fox Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment on Li’s X posts but did not receive a response.

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

FIRST ON FOX: The super PAC of former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler has launched a six-figure ad campaign that the PAC said is aimed at exposing the “failures” of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis ahead of the election in November. 

The $100,000 ad campaign, launched by Greater Georgia on Thursday, will include digital ads, direct mail and text messages – all of which will run over the next nine weeks, reaching Atlanta-area voters ahead of the election on Nov. 5, the group said. 

The ad titled, “Failed,” will run on streaming services and programmatic media including Fox News, CNN, WSB-TV, Hulu, Roku and Fubo.

“On Fani Willis’ watch, dangerous crime is everywhere in Fulton County – murders, rapes, burglaries are all on the rise,” the ad narrates. 

FANI WILLIS NOTCHES LEGAL WIN IN TRUMP CASE AFTER MONTHS OF SETBACKS

“She’s focused on herself, her political ambitions, high profile prosecutions and profiting off partisan lawfare, all at the expense of families living in fear and innocent lives lost. We deserve a district attorney who will do the job to keep us safe,” the ad says. 

The campaign alleges rising homicides in Fulton County under Willis, and her “wasting” of taxpayer funds “and profiting off prosecutions,” and “pursuing personal ambition over public safety to advance her political career and celebrity.”

Willis did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Willis, who will face a Republican contender for office in November, rose to national prominence after she indicted former President Donald Trump last year with sweeping racketeering charges. 

Early this year, Trump and co-defendants alleged that Willis should be disqualified from the case after it was revealed that she was having an “improper” affair with Nathan Wade, whom she hired as special counsel. 

FANI WILLIS FACES NOTHING BUT SETBACKS IN CASE AGAINST TRUMP, THE LATEST PENDING WITH SUPREME COURT

The case to disqualify Willis is set to be heard in December in the Georgia Court of Appeals. 

Greater Georgia said that since Willis was elected, homicides increased by 8% in Fulton County from 2021 to 2022, and since 2023, homicides have increased by 13% in Atlanta. In 2023, 13,787 people were arrested for felonies but never indicted. At the end of 2023, the DA still had a backlog of 11,700 unindicted cases, the group said. 

Greater Georgia also claimed that of the felons that have been indicted, many have gone on to commit more crimes while awaiting trial.

GEORGIA COURT PUTS PAUSE ON FANI WILLIS’ SWEEPING ELECTION CASE AGAINST TRUMP

The group noted that in 2021, Willis was accused of misappropriating $488,000 in grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and was later subpoenaed over the allegations by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Separately, members of the U.S. Senate launched an investigation into Willis related to accusations that she misused $2,000,000 in DOJ funds earmarked for clearing sexual assault cases.

“Fani Willis had one job when voters took a chance on her in 2020: put criminals behind bars and protect the families of Fulton County. Instead, she’s spent the last four years focused only on chasing vanity cases instead of criminals in an attempt to grow her celebrity, line her pockets, and fuel her political ambitions,” said Loeffler.

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“On her watch, prosecutions are down, crime is up, and more citizens have become victims – denied justice because she is too distracted and too incompetent to deliver it. Fani Willis is a profound embarrassment to the state of Georgia, a threat to public safety, and the number one local official who must be ousted this November in order to get Georgia’s safety back in line,” she said.

EXCLUSIVE: America First Legal (AFL) is suing New York State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan for refusing to turn over his financial disclosures amid questions about his daughter’s work at a Democratic firm, Fox News Digital has learned. 

AFL sued Merchan, who presided over former President Donald Trump’s six-week-long trial in New York v. Trump, stemming from the yearslong investigation out of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office. They also sued the New York State Unified Court System’s Ethics Commission.

Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump has appealed the ruling and called on Merchan to overturn the verdict. 

Fox News Digital first obtained the lawsuit. 

JIM JORDAN SUBPOENAS COMPANY LED BY DAUGHTER OF NY V. TRUMP JUDGE

The lawsuit comes after the AFL sent a demand letter last week for Merchan’s financial disclosures, threatening legal action. The AFL previously requested those records in June. 

Under New York law, judges are required to file annual financial disclosures, which are required to be made available upon request. 

“The law is clear that judicial financial disclosures must be released to the public,” AFL Vice President Dan Epstein told Fox News Digital. “New York’s highest court has stated that such disclosures are necessary for parties before the courts to get a fair shake.” 

Epstein said the public “needs to know what Judge Merchan is hiding or even if he failed to file financial disclosures at all.” 

“This is especially important given the fact that Merchan appears to have engaged in unlawful campaign contributions and is on the precipice of criminally sentencing the former president of the United States,” Epstein said. “Fundamental fairness dictates a resolution of America First Legal’s suit in its favor.” 

JORDAN INVESTIGATES DAUGHTER OF JUDGE IN NY V. TRUMP CASE OVER HER WORK FOR KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATS

The AFL is seeking the records amid longstanding concerns of a conflict of interest in Merchan’s role in the trial amid his daughter’s political work. 

Loren Merchan sits as the president for Authentic Campaigns — a company that has done political work for top Democrat clients like President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“Clearly, Justice Merchan’s daughter and her clients stand to profit handsomely from lawfare against President Trump,” the AFL wrote in its lawsuit. 

They also noted that Judge Merchan has donated to Democratic causes, including to Biden’s campaign and a group called “Stop Republicans.” 

In July 2023, the Commission on Judicial Conduct cautioned Merchan for his “improper political donations to the Biden campaign and ‘Stop Republicans,’” the lawsuit states. 

‘ELECTION INTERFERENCE’: TRUMP LAWYERS CALL FOR DELAYED SENTENCING IN BRAGG CASE

“Given the magnitude of the Criminal Matter and Justice Merchan’s readily apparent political bias, conflict, and partiality, public-interest organizations such as AFL have a keen interest in obtaining the Requested Disclosures and shining light on his finances,” the lawsuit states. 

Republicans have accused Judge Merchan of political bias over his daughter’s political work. Trump’s legal team asked Merchan to recuse himself before the trial began, which he did not.

A New York state ethics panel backed Merchan’s decision in a June 2023 decision.

The House Judiciary Committee, last week, subpoenaed Authentic Campaigns after the company refused to provide information and records related to the prosecution of former President Trump in New York v. Trump. 

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said that Judge Merchan’s “impartiality” has come into question over his daughter’s work and his “refusal to recuse himself from the case in light of his apparent conflicts of interest and biases.” 

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The CEO of Authentic reacted to the subpoena last week, saying the allegations against the company are “completely false and purely politically motivated.” 

“This is a blatant attempt to intimidate us and divert attention from Donald Trump’s conviction,” CEO Michael Nellis said. “We refuse to be bullied, and we will not allow House Republicans or MAGA extremists to spread lies about our work.” 

Meanwhile, Trump’s sentencing has been set for Sept. 18. He has requested that it be delayed until after the November presidential election. 

Merchan has yet to make a decision on the matter. 

Former President Donald Trump declared during his Fox News town hall on Wednesday that the U.S. will fall into an economic depression if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the general election on Nov. 5. 

“This country will end up in a depression if she becomes president. Like 1929, this will be a 1929 depression. She has no idea what the hell she’s doing,” Trump said from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

“I gave you the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country. If you let them. If you let the Trump tax cuts expire, which she wants to do, she wants to terminate them. If you do that, you will suffer the biggest tax increase in history. There’s never been a tax increase like it, on top of which she wants to add a lot of tax,” Trump argued of Harris’ economic agenda.

Trump joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity for the town hall on Wednesday evening, when he spoke about top voter concerns, including the economy and ongoing inflation woes. 

Harris proposed a 28% tax on long-term capital gains on Wednesday for households pulling in an annual income of $1 million per year, which is lower than President Biden’s proposed 39.6% rate in his 2025 fiscal year budget.

HERE’S WHAT KAMALA HARRIS’ TAX ARMAGEDDON WILL COST YOU AND THE US ECONOMY

“What if unrealized capital gains taxes were implemented, what would that do?” Hannity asked Trump following the Harris campaign’s announcement. 

“She wants to do that. This is where you have something, you don’t even know what the value is. I tell you what, if that’s going to happen, go out and open an appraisal company because you’re going to make a fortune. That’s about the only group that’s going to make it. And accountants, it is the craziest idea,” Trump responded.

“And remember this, very rich people and big international corporations, they don’t have to stay in the United States, and they will be forced to leave for other countries. They can’t afford to do a thing like that. They may have great wealth and no cash, and they’re going to have to pay cash. Where are they going to get the cash? If they do that, the unrealized capital gain, it’s, you know, it’s been talked about for a few years by ultra-left Marxists,” he continued. 

Trump then said Harris’ father is a Marxist economist. 

WHO IS KAMALA HARRIS’ ‘COMBATIVE MARXIST ECONOMIST’ FATHER, DONALD J. HARRIS?

“Her father’s a Marxist teacher of economics. Can you believe this? But if that happened, this country and I think forgetting about that … shes got a lot of things that are just as bad. If she gets in, I think we will have a depression, 1929-style depression. That’s what I think will happen to our country already. They’ve set us on a path,” he said. 

NUMBERS SHOW HARRIS TAX PROPOSAL WOULD GIVE TO SMALL BUSINESS WITH ONE HAND, TAKE WITH THE OTHER

Harris’ father, Donald J. Harris, who coincidentally shares the same first name as Trump, is a retired Stanford University professor of economics, whose economic background is steeped in Marxist theory, which earned him the description from the Economist this year as a “combative Marxist economist.” 

Trump also brushed off Harris characterizing crippling inflation as “price gouging” and her vow to install price controls on companies to combat the issue if elected to the Oval Office. 

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“Every time it’s been tried, no matter over hundreds of years, not just over hundreds of years, price controls, you end up with no product. You end up with massive inflation, and you end up with [destruction],” Trump said. 

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

Sen. JD Vance is trailing behind Gov. Tim Walz in favorability ratings as the pair push toward Election Day, according to a new poll from USA Today and Suffolk University.

A survey conducted after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago found that 36% of likely voters have a favorable view of Vance, while 48% approve of Walz. Former President Trump’s running mate fared similarly among independents, where 47% said they had an unfavorable view of Vance, but just 36% said they had an unfavorable view of Walz, who is running alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.

USA Today and Suffolk University surveyed 1,000 likely voters from August 25-28 over cellphone and landlines. The poll advertises a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

The polling comes after Vance has adopted a media blitz strategy of accepting interviews even with outlets seen as hostile to the Trump campaign. Meanwhile, Walz and Harris have faced criticism for their relative lack of media transparency.

KAMALA HARRIS HAS YET TO DO FORMAL PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Harris and Walz conducted a joint, pre-recorded interview with CNN’s Dana Bash last week, but the pair have avoided more rigorous press events.

Trump and Vance have sat down for at least 38 combined interviews since Harris revealed Walz as her running mate.

KAMALA HARRIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ‘PUSHED HARDER’ ON BIDEN’S MENTAL FITNESS DURING INTERVIEW: WAPO COLUMNISTS

Since Aug. 6, Trump has spoken with Fox News’ “Life, Liberty & Levin” host Mark Levin, NBC News, the Daily Mail, Dr. Phil, Fox News’ Alicia Acuna, Hugh Hewitt Radio, FOX Business, podcaster Theo Von, the New York Post, WBRE News Wilkes-Barre, WLOS News 13 Asheville, Univision, and “FOX & Friends” twice. He’s also made at least two other cable news appearances and sat down with supporter Elon Musk for a lengthy conversation, according to a Fox News Digital review.

The former president also sat down with podcaster Lex Fridman in an interview that was posted on Tuesday and a New Hampshire radio show on Wednesday, followed by a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

HARRIS-LED OFFICE, ATF STONEWALLING PROBE INTO ‘COLLUSION’ WITH ANTI-GUN GROUP LAWSUIT: HOUSE OVERSIGHT CHAIR

Vance, who has been critical of Harris dodging the press, has spoken to “FOX & Friends,” CNN’s John Berman, WBAY2, News 5 Cleveland, NBC News, “Meet the Press,” No Spin News, WALB 10, “CBS Evening News,” “The Brett Winterble Show,” “Jesse Watters Primetime,” “Fox News Sunday,” “The Dan O’Donnell Show,” ABC’s “This Week,” CBS’ “Face the Nation” and CNN’s “State of the Union” over that same time period.

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Vance also appeared on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday.

Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report

Former President Donald Trump joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he fielded top policy questions weighing on voters in the key battleground state, just days ahead of his first debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Trump spoke before a crowd of voters during the Hannity-moderated town hall at the New Holland Arena in the Keystone State, which has again emerged as a crucial state this election cycle that will likely help determine the outcome on Nov. 5. Trump won the state in 2016 when he earned 44,292 more votes than the Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The state then elected President Biden in his match-up against Trump in 2020 at a 1.17% margin. 

Both Harris and Trump have repeatedly visited Pennsylvania in recent weeks, with Harris most recently joining the state on Monday with Biden in the president’s first campaign event for the Harris-Walz ticket since he bowed out of the race in July. 

Ahead of the Fox News town hall, Trump was most recently in PA last Friday at a rally in Johnstown, in the western part of the state. Trump was also attending a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July when a shooter attempted to assassinate the 45th president, injuring him, two others and killing a local father and fireman, Corey Comperatore. 

2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP HEADS TO A CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE FOR A FOX NEWS TOWN HALL MODERATED BY HANNITY 

Trump and Harris will take the same stage next week on Tuesday, when the election foes will again travel to Pennsylvania, for their first, and perhaps only, debate, which will be held in Philadelphia. 

Fox News Digital compiled the top five moments of Trump’s town hall as he gears up for his debate against Harris. 

Trump addresses tragic Georgia school shooting 

Trump vowed to “heal our world” if he’s re-elected after Hannity cited the mass shooting in Georgia that left at least four people dead and Trump’s heightened security following the assassination attempt on his life in July. 

“It’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons and we’re going to make it better. We’re going to heal our world. We’re going to get rid of all these wars that are starting all over the place because of incompetence,” Trump said Wednesday from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

“We’re going to hopefully do very well. We have an election coming up … We’re going to be, I think, we’re going to be very well set up to do a great job,” Trump added. 

TRUMP VOWS TO ‘HEAL OUR WORLD’ AFTER FATAL GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTING: ‘SICK AND ANGRY’

At least four people were killed Wednesday at Apalachee High School, when 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray allegedly opened fire around the 10 a.m. hour. Officials said the four victims killed were two students and two teachers. An additional nine others were injured in the shooting. 

Trump slams Biden and Harris as ‘clowns’ leading US to ‘World War III’ 

Trump warned the U.S. is heading towards “World War III territory” as wars abroad rage under the Biden-Harris administration, whom he slammed as “clowns.”

“We’re heading into World War III territory, and because of the power of weapons, nuclear weapons in particular, but other weapons also, and I know the weapons better than anybody because I’m the one that bought them,” Trump said from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

“We won’t have World War III when I’m elected. But with these clowns that you have in there now, you’re going to end up having World War III, and it’s going to be a war …  like no other.” 

War broke out in Ukraine in 2022, when Russia invaded the nation. Another war broke out in the Middle East last October, when Hamas terrorists launched attacks on Israel. 

TRUMP WARNS US APPROACHING ‘WORLD WAR III TERRITORY’ UNDER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN: ‘CLOWNS’

Trump argued that if he were in the Oval Office over the last three and a half years, wars would not have sparked in Ukraine or Israel. 

“We have things going on in the world right now with Israel and with the Middle East. … It’s blowing up. We have Ukraine and Russia. That would never happen. That would have never happened. October 7th would have never happened if I were the president. It would have never happened. And everybody knows it. Iran was broke. They didn’t have the money for Hamas and for Hezbollah. They didn’t have the money for anybody. They wanted to get by, and we would have made a fair deal with them,” he said.

Trump slams ‘border czar’ Harris

Trump slammed Harris for spiraling illegal immigration that has plagued the U.S. since 2021, citing that “she was in charge of the border” as illegal immigration surged to record levels. 

TRUMP RIPS ‘BORDER CZAR’ HARRIS IN FOX TOWN HALL: ‘WORST BORDER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD’

“They want open borders,” Trump told Hannity. “She wants open borders. Now she’s all of a sudden said, oh, I think we’re closing the borders. She was the border czar, whether you like it or not, but even if you don’t want to use that term. She was in charge of the border.”

“It’s the worst border in the history of the world, not just here. There’s never been a country that allowed 21 million people to come in over a three-year period. There’s never been. And 21 million people, many of whom are from prisons, many of whom are murderers and drug dealers and child traffickers.”

Immigration is the second most important issue to voters, behind the economy, heading into the 2024 election, according to recent Fox News polling.

NYT COLUMNIST DETAILS SCENARIO IN WHICH ‘TRUMP WINS’ AND KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATS ‘BLOW IT’

“And, by the way, women traffickers, you know, women trafficking is the biggest, and they’re traffickers in women. And they’re coming in now and they’re putting them in our Social Security accounts, and they’re putting them in Medicare. And just one thing, if you take a look, take a look. Over the last week, I said this was going to happen,” Trump continued. “And it’s happening because these people are tougher than our criminals are, our criminals are nice people by comparison.”

Trump says US will face ‘1929-style depression’ if Harris wins

Trump predicted that the U.S. will fall into an economic depression if Harris wins the general election on Nov. 5.

“This country will end up in a depression if she becomes president. Like 1929, this will be a 1929 depression. She has no idea what the hell she’s doing,” Trump said from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIM THAT THEY WERE ‘WOEFULLY UNPREPARED’ TO PROVIDE SECURITY

“I gave you the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country. If you let them. If you let the Trump tax cuts expire, which she wants to do, she wants to terminate them. If you do that, you will suffer the biggest tax increase in history. There’s never been a tax increase like it, on top of which she wants to add a lot of tax,” Trump argued of Harris’ economic agenda.

Trump cited Harris’ proposals on capital gains taxes and her plan to install price controls on companies to combat “price gouging” as evidence the U.S. would hit further financial woes similar to the Great Depression if Harris is elected to the Oval Office. 

KAMALA HARRIS BEATING TRUMP IN ‘VIBES,’ SAYS CNN’S FAREED ZAKARIA

Amid the conversation, Trump said that Harris’ own father is a “Marxist” economist. 

“Her father’s a Marxist teacher of economics. Can you believe this? But if that happened, this country and I think forgetting about that … shes got a lot of things that are just as bad. If she gets in, I think we will have a depression, 1929-style depression. That’s what I think will happen to our country already. They’ve set us on a path,” he said. 

Harris’ father, Donald J. Harris is a retired Stanford University professor of economics, whose economics background is steeped in Marxist theory, which earned him the description from the Economist this year as a “combative Marxist economist.” 

Trump touts ‘toughest’ stance against Russia 

Trump declared that he was the “toughest” on Russia when he served as president, while again arguing wars in foreign nations would not have sparked if he were in the Oval Office. 

“I was the toughest on Russia. Putin would even say, you know, if you’re not the toughest guy, you are, you’re killing us,” Trump said while discussing his opposition to the Nord Stream pipeline. 

“This was the biggest job they’ve ever had and I stopped it.”

The 45th president continued that the “whole world” was a safer place when he was in office, while touting that wars would have not broken out in Ukraine and Israel if he had won re-election in 2020. 

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“[Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban] said, you bring back Trump, everybody. Now I’m not saying it, but he said it because I’d rather say respect. But he said everybody is afraid of Trump. You bring him back, you’re not going to have any problems. It’s all going to go away,” he said. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

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