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The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas torched former President Joe Biden’s open borders policies as he races to clean-up past comments amid criticism he is too radical to be elected in Texas.

James Talarico hardened his stance on border security and pitted himself against the former president during a podcast interview on “Cogdell Law Uncensored” earlier this week.

The Democrat member of the Texas legislature has a far-left track record that includes calls to “tear down” Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE), an agency which he has called “secret police,” and claiming the border should act as a “welcome mat” for illegal immigrants.

He is now the Democratic nominee taking on Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton in the race for a Senate seat in Texas in November.

JAMES TALARICO SAYS BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WAS CONVINCED BORDER SECURITY WAS ‘RACIST’

“I called out Joe Biden for failing to secure our southern border and I got a lot of heat from my own party for doing that,” he told podcaster and attorney Dan Cogdell. “But I remember talking with my colleagues in the legislature who represent border communities and they told me about the utter chaos caused by President Biden’s policies.”

Those calls and his more moderate immigration stance emerged only after Talarico launched his Senate bid in the most populated U.S. red state where the most illegal immigration happens.

When asked repeatedly by Fox News Digital, Talarico’s campaign officials could not produce evidence to support the progressive candidate’s claims he was ever at odds with Biden on the issue of border security before his Senate campaign began and while Biden was still in office.

Millions of illegal aliens poured undetected into the United States during the previous presidency, while Talarico occupied his seat in the Texas House legislature.

Talarico said in the podcast: “The Democratic Party, we’re the ones that should be about making government work for people and our immigration system is a prime example of government not working for people. So I’m a border security Democrat. I believe we’ve gotta have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who’s coming into our country.”

While he has accused ICE of “terrorizing our country,” called for Americans to “stand up and fight back” and in 2019 slammed Texas Republicans for passing an “anti-immigrant bill” that funded President Donald Trump’s border wall project, Talarico said on the podcast this week that public safety should be a priority.

TEXAS DEM TALARICO’S ‘CULTURE OF VIOLENCE’ REMARKS RESURFACE AS HE DENIES DEFUND POLICE TIES

“But I also think we need to keep out folks who want to do us harm, and public safety is the most important thing the government does,” he said.

Under Trump, ICE has been tasked with zeroing in on the “worst of the worst” illegal aliens for arrest and deportation, especially those with violent criminal records.

“James has never supported abolishing ICE and supports more border security — which is why he’s authored legislation to modernize our ports of entry and called for more Border Patrol agents,” Talarico’s press secretary JT Ennis told Fox News Digital.

“Both parties have failed us on the issue of immigration, so James is running for Senate to keep our country safe by deporting criminals instead of hunting down moms, babies, and small business owners who have been contributing to our economy for decades.”

Speaking to Cogdell, Talarico also pitched himself as a defender of the Second Amendment while simultaneously calling for strict gun control methods.

TEXAS DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATES SIDESTEP ISLAMIC TERRORISM CONCERNS FOLLOWING DEADLY AUSTIN ATTACK

“I am a believer in the Second Amendment. I don’t pick and choose between the Bill of Rights. I believe in the Second Amendment just as much as I believe in the First,” he said. “We have a right to bear arms, to protect ourselves, our families. We have a right to own weapons for sport or for hunting, but like any freedom in the Bill of Rights, it’s not absolute.”

“We’ve gotta keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals. We’ve gotta make sure that we’ve got safe storage laws and background checks so that we’re keeping everybody safe,” the candidate qualified.

He positioned himself during the conversation as a moderate Democrat, chastising people on the political left who are “trying to take away people’s guns” and people on the political right who “don’t want to see any regulations.”

MS NOW ANALYST ADMITS TALARICO ‘NOT A MODERATE,’ HAS PROGRESSIVE VIEWS LIKE CROCKETT

But only a few months ago, Talarico said he favored “red flag laws,” which allow judges to order Americans to be stripped of their firearms if they think a person is a danger to themselves or others. Talarico also once accused Republicans of loving guns more than children.

“You can’t be the party of freedom and control women’s bodies,” he said at a 2024 event with the Travis County Democratic Party. “You can’t be the party of family and love your guns more than our kids. You can’t be the party of faith and worship at the feet of Donald Trump.”

Ennis said that the candidate has “always believed, like the vast majority of Texans, that we must protect the Second Amendment while also enacting popular, common sense measures like universal background checks that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals.”

MARK HALPERIN: IS DEMOCRAT JAMES TALARICO THE REAL DEAL — OR BETO 2.0 HEADED FOR A TEXAS FLOP?

Talarico also distanced himself from child sex change surgeries, sometimes called “gender affirming care,” and said he does not support them despite often earning criticism for his comments regarding children who identify as the opposite of their biological sex.

“I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors,” he told Cogdell, claiming “the people that are in power” are trying to distract from “corruption in our government.”

“So they’re gonna use a tried and true playbook to get out of this,” he said. “Distraction and division. That is how corrupt public officials stay in power.”

‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY

Talarico’s emphatic support for transgender children has raised eyebrows since he’s entered the national spotlight.

He has said he loves them on multiple occasions, including on a podcast in 2023 when he was asked to name something that he loved other than his friends and family.

“I love, I’m just saying this because it’s all on my mind, the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state capitol to advocate for their humanity,” he said on the Superbloom Podcast.

At the time, he had voted against a state bill to ban cross-sex hormones for minors.

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“I just want to say, I love you and so do a lot of people in this room, and so do a lot of people around this big state. I know it may not seem like it tonight, but you are loved beyond measure,” Talarico also said in 2023 on the Texas House floor, according to the Houston Chronicle.

“James opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors,” said Ennis. “While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and support Texas families.”

Paxton’s campaign did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Talarico’s apparent flip-flop on the border, Second Amendment or transgender youth

The Small Business Administration (SBA), in collaboration with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), is removing nearly two dozen foreign products from its official catalog that supplies government agencies, citing fears that some of them may be misrepresenting their sourcing.

Kelly Loeffler, SBA administrator, raised concerns that China-based companies were falsely marketing their products as “made in America” on the Advantage! platform — a listing service the government uses to connect vendors with agencies.

“As part of our commitment to rebuilding American industry and supply chains, the Trump SBA believes that every taxpayer dollar spent by the federal government should go to support American businesses, workers and products,” Loeffler said.

SBA’s crackdown furthers efforts by the Trump administration to double down on American manufacturing and aims to reduce the risk associated with purchasing or implementing compromised China-sourced goods.

REPUBLICANS LOOK TO STOP CHINA’S ‘BACKDOOR’ TARIFF DODGING SCHEME

The concerns first arose at the White House Small Business Summit where a New York-based small business, Sherrill Manufacturing, communicated suspicions to SBA that China-based companies were only partially assembling or finishing their products in the U.S.

Sherrill, according to the SBA, is the only manufacturer of stainless steel flatware that is 100% made in America.

“When foreign companies were caught falsely claiming ‘Made in America’ status in the federal procurement system, President Trump directed the SBA and GSA to take aggressive action,” Loeffler said.

Even in his first term, Trump used executive orders to maximize the use of domestically sourced raw materials such as iron, aluminum and cement. He issued a similar executive order earlier this year.

INTEL RIVAL SKYWATER PITCHES ITSELF AS ALL-AMERICAN FIRM AS TRUMP MULLS MORE EQUITY DEALS

But sourcing protections for federal materials didn’t start with him.

For security reasons, the Berry Amendment, implemented in 1941, requires the Department of War to purchase only American-sourced steel.

Similarly, the Buy American Act (BAA), a Great Depression-era law that passed in 1933, requires federal agencies to prioritize American-made goods over certain value thresholds.

Loeffler explained that companies like Sherrill Manufacturing can be put unknowingly at risk of violating those requirements if vendors aren’t honest about their sourcing.

“The Trump Administration is sending a clear message that we will not tolerate foreign impostors that hijack Made in America labels, or those that undercut honest, generational, American small businesses like Sherrill Manufacturing,” Loeffler said.

The company’s CEO, Matthew Roberts, praised the SBA’s work and thanked the Trump administration.

“The factory where Sherrill Manufacturing and Liberty Tabletop produce their flatware has a manufacturing history dating back to supplying America’s armed forces during World War I,” Roberts said.

18 BRANDS STILL MAKING COOKWARE AND KITCHEN TOOLS IN THE U.S. — FROM SKILLETS TO SPATULAS

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“We deeply appreciate President Trump, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and GSA Administrator Ed Forst, along with their offices, for their continued efforts to keep American manufacturing alive and restore pride in products made in the USA,” he added.

SBA did not list which specific vendors have been removed from the Advantage! platform.

A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for UFC Freedom 250 to proceed at the White House and Lincoln Memorial this weekend, rejecting a last-minute court challenge just days before the high-profile event.

U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, an Obama appointee, denied an emergency request by two Washington-area residents to halt the mixed martial arts showdown, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to sue in the first place and had not demonstrated a sufficient injury.

The lawsuit challenged plans for “UFC Freedom 250,” a mixed martial arts event tied to celebrations surrounding the nation’s 250th anniversary. The event includes a June 12 news conference and fighter face-offs at the Lincoln Memorial and a June 14 fight card on the White House South Lawn. It is expected to bring thousands of viewers.

The plaintiffs argued that the events violate National Park Service regulations governing special events, that the UFC staging ring, known as “The Claw,” erected on the South Lawn lacked congressional authorization, that federal officials failed to conduct environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act, and that the government’s actions exceeded its legal authority.

TRUMP ADMIN OFFERS BLUNT ADVICE TO WHITE HOUSE UFC CRITICS AS 11TH-HOUR LAWSUIT LOOMS

Mehta did not decide whether any of those claims were legally valid. Instead, he determined that the plaintiffs’ alleged injuries were largely aesthetic and emotional in nature and did not demonstrate the kind of concrete, personal harm required under Article III of the Constitution. The plaintiffs had described the massive UFC staging structure known as “The Claw” as visually offensive and argued that the “unauthorized, commercial exploitation of the national monuments caused harm.”

Mehta rejected this notion, writing that “general emotional harm, no matter how deeply felt, cannot suffice for injury-in-fact for standing purposes.”

Citing precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court, Mehta wrote that a threatened injury must be “certainly impending” to qualify as an injury in fact. He found that one plaintiff’s assertions that he might encounter the event while driving for work were too speculative, while the other plaintiff’s plans to attend protests near the sites did not fit within traditional aesthetic-injury cases.

UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT

“[W]e can find nothing in the existing case law to suggest that a person who incidentally views something unpleasant has suffered an injury-in-fact for purposes of standing,” Mehta ruled.

The ruling noted that President Donald Trump publicly proposed hosting a UFC event at the White House in 2025 and that preparations had been visible for weeks before the lawsuit was filed. According to the opinion, the plaintiffs waited until days before the event to seek emergency relief despite longstanding public knowledge that the event was planned.

Mehta also emphasized the temporary nature of the disputed structures and activities. Construction associated with the event is scheduled to be dismantled shortly after the fight card concludes.

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The opinion cited nearly a year of planning, extensive coordination among federal agencies, the involvement of hundreds of workers and contractors, and an estimated $60 million investment by UFC and affiliated organizations.

The ruling also referenced the expected attendance of thousands of spectators and the anticipated remote audience of millions.

President Donald Trump on Friday night announced the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) “delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike” to successfully execute Niño Guerrero, the “infamous” leader of Tren de Aragua, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State.

“Before I returned to office, Joe Biden opened our Southern Border to millions of Illegal Criminals, and allowed this foreign army to rape, maim, and murder American Citizens with total impunity,” Trump wrote in a statement on Truth Social. “During my Campaign, I pledged to expel these monsters from our Country, and bring Justice to the families of those they slaughtered, including the precious 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, 22-year-old Laken Reilly, and countless other beautiful souls.”

The president said with Friday’s action, the U.S. military “has brought retribution for them, their families, and their loved ones.”

“Early in my Administration, I delivered on my promise to designate Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, deport thousands of evil criminals, and wage war against the Cartels, who have long been waging war against our Citizens, while weak leaders left America helpless and defensive,” Trump wrote. 

“This action was coordinated closely with our friends in Venezuela, with whom we are working very well,” he continued. “As a result, Tren de Aragua terrorists no longer have safe haven in Venezuela or anywhere else and, under my leadership, we will find these vicious murderers and drugs lords anytime, anyplace, and send them to the depths of hell where they belong.”

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

Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt posted a fiery video on social media teasing his plans for “Phase III” of his effort to clean up the city and teasing information he has that could force one of the candidates still in the race to resign if elected.

“I’m moving on to the next more interesting phase. Listen, I spent a lot of time slaying everybody. I’ve ridiculed everyone on the roster,” Pratt posted on Instagram after finishing third in the mayoral race earlier this month, following a strong election night performance that suggested he’d finish in the top two and move on was eventually erased by a surge in mail-in votes over the next week. 

“You think you can get rid of me that easily? I know a lot of dimwit jerks thought I was in this for a grift, that I was gonna roll up and leave town if I didn’t get into City Hall. Hey morons, I didn’t get in this for political power. I got in to expose this corrupt machine, and nothing has changed.”

Now that he is not a candidate, Pratt says that he doesn’t have to “worry about offending CNN viewers” and doesn’t have a “campaign hamstringing me now.”

SPENCER PRATT’S UNEXPECTED POLITICAL RISE FROM MTV VILLAIN TO KAREN BASS’ CHALLENGER

“It’s war,” Pratt said. “It’s zero hour for Los Angeles. Angelenos are now stuck with two morons responsible for all their problems and they have to choose between dumb and dumber. That’s not a choice. That’s the machine protecting the machine. And now every problem that plagues Los Angeles because of these two corrupt communists is going to accelerate.”

Pratt then floated a claim that a video recording in his possession could rock the political landscape in the city, but that he is waiting until the city makes its final choice in November between current Mayor Karen Bass and progressive councilwoman Nithya Raman.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION YANKS FUNDING FROM LA HOMELESS AGENCY AMID EXPLOSIVE FRAUD PROBE: ‘NECESSARY STEP’

“My goal hasn’t changed, I’ve been laser-focused on stopping these commie animals, and I will stop them if you think we uncovered a lot of fraud and evil in the campaign, just wait,” Pratt explained, “We have some recordings of one of your exalted candidates doing insane something that would make her resign in shame I was saving it for the general election go ahead and pick your demon certify your choice and then you get to see it.”

Pratt asked Raman and Bass to “ask yourself” is it “possible one of your employees may have a recording of you doing or saying something they would force you to resign in disgrace?”

Pratt then sarcastically told both candidates he hopes they “sleep well at night” over the next five months, unlike his mother and all the others who lost their homes in the devastating wildfires under Bass’ watch last year as well as the moms who are subjected to the homelessness and crime issues facing the city.

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Pratt painted a grim picture of what the city will look like in four years, regardless of which of the “corrupt communists” left in the race wins in the November election.

“You have no idea how many major developers, hoteliers, business owners, entrepreneurs have been texting me saying they’re packing up and leaving town,” Pratt said. “More of your favorite restaurants will be shuttering. That means less tax revenue. That means the city has to cut services. More potholes, less firefighters, less police patrols, more criminals, more drug addicts terrorizing your communities. You have no idea how bad things are about to get for this city.”

The video ends with a clip from the TV show Ozark, suggesting that if the political establishment wants to “stop him,” they are “gonna have to f—— kill me!”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Bass and Raman campaigns for comment on the video, which racked up over 20,000 likes within 45 minutes of being posted.

A federal judge on Friday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, even as another federal judge earlier this week declined to intervene after the Justice Department said the fund was no longer moving forward.

The court disputes have heightened pressure on the administration to formally dismantle the fund. While Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the fund would not move forward, the settlement agreement and departmental directives that created the fund have not been formally rescinded. Critics argue this leaves open the possibility that the fund could still proceed in the future.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Clinton-appointed judge, extended a court order Friday preventing implementation of the fund, concluding that public assurances from administration officials were insufficient to eliminate concerns that it could later be revived.

Brinkema noted how Trump, “says he’s disappointed that something is not going forward,” suggesting this was evidence that the fund may “rear its head” at some point in the future.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP DOJ’S NEARLY $2B ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND

Over the weekend Trump shared on “Meet the Press” that he’d like to continue with the fund.

“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed,” Trump said.

Brinkema gave the Justice Department a week to put in writing that the Anti-Weaponization Fund is being terminated and will not be reinstated.

The ruling comes days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon rejected a separate request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) seeking emergency intervention, saying he was willing to rely on Justice Department representations that the fund had effectively been abandoned.

ACTING AG BLANCHE REVEALS FATE OF TRUMP’S ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND’ UNDER PRESSURE FROM HOUSE LAWMAKERS

But Leon, a George W. Bush-appointed judge, simultaneously warned administration officials not to treat his decision as permission to revive the program.

“I give the Justice Department this warning: Don’t play possum with me,” Leon said from the bench.

Blanche announced during a hearing earlier this month that the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was born out of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit settlement with the IRS, would not be proceeding. The fund was intended to compensate alleged victims of government “lawfare,” but its creation sparked immediate backlash from Democrats, who characterized it as a “slush fund” that could ultimately benefit Trump’s political allies and individuals charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Justice Department attorney Andrew Block argued before Leon that Blanche’s congressional testimony effectively mooted CREW’s challenge because the government had publicly committed not to move forward.

Leon repeatedly questioned why Blanche has not formally rescinded a May 18 order that established procedures for the fund in the first place, a question Block could not answer.

CREW attorney Nikhel Sus argued the settlement agreement that established the fund remains legally operative and contains upcoming deadlines requiring action.

WAY HARDER THAN IT SHOULD BE: WHY CONGRESS MAY BALK ON $1.7B COMPENSATION FUND

According to Sus, a five-member board overseeing the fund must be established by June 17, while funding transfers are scheduled by July 17.

“On paper, the fund is still a legally operating entity,” Sus argued.

However, Leon ultimately accepted the government’s assurances for now that the fund is moot, but he noted that he can sanction attorneys who make false representations to the court.

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He also indicated he will continue considering CREW’s request for a preliminary injunction and suggested he could intervene if evidence emerges that the administration is attempting to revive the fund.

California Democrats are facing accusations that the state’s sanctuary policies are leaving vulnerable migrant children unchecked after California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office warned that local police welfare visits on unaccompanied minors using information from federal authorities could violate state law.

The warning from Bonta has become a flashpoint in a broader lawsuit brought by the City of El Cajon against California’s sanctuary state policies. City officials, like Mayor Bill Wells and City Councilman Steve Goble, argue that the state is putting law enforcement in an impossible position, such as forcing them to make a determination on whether to check on potentially vulnerable children flagged by federal immigration authorities and risk violating state law, or leave the vulnerable unaccompanied minors unchecked.

Goble told Fox News Digital he was informed during a February 2025 meeting with San Diego-area Homeland Security officials that federal authorities had a list of unaccompanied migrant children, including 52 with addresses in El Cajon. He said federal officials asked whether local police could help “ensure these kids are safe” through welfare checks, prompting Goble to seek guidance from Bonta’s office before dispatching officers.

I’M A MAYOR TRYING TO FOLLOW LAW BUT CALIFORNIA IS MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR COPS

“It’s kind of hard to imagine why they’re choosing this hill to die on,” Wells told Fox News Digital. “What they basically want to say is, ‘Because our narrative is so important, and protecting illegal aliens is so important, that, yeah, if a few kids get sex trafficked along the way — you know, you’re just making this up. You’re just using this as a way.’ I mean, these are real people. These are real children. I think it’s an incredibly insensitive argument.“

Goble had asked Bonta’s office in a March 2025 letter whether local police could conduct the checks using contact information provided by federal authorities, writing that the city wanted to ensure all children were safe “regardless of citizenship or resident status.” 

In the letter, Goble cited the inspector general’s concerns that unaccompanied minors are at heightened risk of trafficking, exploitation and forced labor, and wrote that “time is of the essence” in determining whether the children were safe.

Meanwhile, Bonta’s office responded in a June 2025 letter, warning that local law enforcement pursuing wellness checks “alongside or based on information provided by federal immigration authorities” could implicate conduct prohibited by SB 54, known as the California Values Act. 

Bonta’s letter said these violations could include if officers confirmed location information provided by ICE, or reported the results of the check back to federal immigration authorities.

But Goble told Fox News Digital that the city was not asking police to act as immigration agents, but primarily wanted to confirm whether the children are safe.

CALIFORNIA TOWN WITH LARGE MIGRANT POPULATION MIGHT REVOKE SANCTUARY STATUS

“All I care about is, is the kid safe?” Goble told Fox News Digital. “I don’t care the immigration status or citizen status of anybody else in the room.”

The welfare-check dispute is one piece of a broader legal challenge El Cajon filed against Bonta on April 28, 2026, seeking relief from California’s sanctuary policies impacting how local law enforcement do their jobs, including SB 54, the TRUST Act and the TRUTH Act. In a May 20 motion for a preliminary injunction, the city asked the court to temporarily block Bonta from enforcing those laws against El Cajon while the case proceeds, arguing the policies are preempted by federal immigration law and put local police in the position of choosing between state restrictions and federal obligations.

The May 20 injunction motion specifically cites the Goble-Bonta exchange as an example of how the city says California’s sanctuary laws prevent El Cajon officers from engaging in “basic public safety work.” The filing argues that the state’s legal framework forces officers to spend time navigating “legal hairsplitting” instead of responding quickly to public-safety concerns, including checks on children in the community.

“Every time an El Cajon police officer steps out onto the street, they’re going to be breaking one of two laws,” Wells said to Fox News Digital. “They’re either going to be breaking federal law or they’re going to be breaking state law. And you cannot put police officers in that situation.”

BLUE STATE COUNTY FACES BACKLASH AFTER FAILED VOTE TO SCRAP ‘SUPER SANCTUARY’ POLICY: ‘FRINGE DEMOCRATS’

El Cajon’s lawsuit is not limited to the welfare checks. The April 28 complaint broadly asks a San Diego County court to declare California’s sanctuary restrictions invalid and to stop Bonta from enforcing them against El Cajon police.

Bonta’s office’s June 2025 response said it “share[s]” El Cajon’s concern for children who may be at risk of harm, but suggested county social service agencies may have a role when there is no evidence of criminal activity requiring law enforcement.

Wells and Goble pushed back on that argument; however, arguing Bonta’s suggestion ignored San Diego County’s December 2024 vote restricting county resources from being used to assist federal immigration enforcement.

“That means we’re not going to let our social service workers go do welfare checks on unaccompanied minors for the Department of Homeland Security,” Goble told Fox News Digital. “It’s another rock and a hard place.”

EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL’S CAMPAIGN FACES HEAT AS MISSING CHILDREN SCANDAL RESURFACES: ‘VOTERS DESERVE BETTER’

Wells added that it was difficult to accept Bonta’s suggestion that county agencies could serve as a neutral fallback for welfare checks tied to information from federal authorities. “This is the same county we would be deferring to, to check on these kids,” Wells added. “They’re not neutral. They’ve been very, very clear.”

Immigrant-rights advocates nationally have warned that ICE “welfare checks” on unaccompanied migrant children can function as immigration enforcement under the banner of child safety. The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights has called the Trump administration’s ICE “wellness checks” harmful enforcement “in disguise,” while other advocates have warned that DHS visits can discourage sponsors from coming forward or expose families to deportation fears.

But Wells and Goble rejected that framing, arguing local police could check on children without reporting immigration violations discovered during the visit.

“That doesn’t make us federal immigration officers,” Wells said. “It just means that our officers could do their job like they’ve always done in the past before this unconstitutional law of SB 54 was passed.”

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“All a welfare check on anybody in our city, regardless of immigration status, is: Are they okay?” Goble added. “If they are, thank you very much. Have a good day. See you later.”

Wells noted the lawsuit is not about deputizing local police as immigration agents, but about ensuring officers can do basic public-safety work without running afoul of state law.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bonta’s office, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Kennedy Center board on Friday asked a federal appeals court to temporarily block a judge’s order requiring references to President Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the institution’s signage and official materials, as signage bearing Trump’s name remained visible on the building’s facade late Friday afternoon.

In an emergency motion filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the board requested both a stay pending appeal and an immediate administrative stay, arguing that physical changes to the building should not occur before appellate judges review the dispute. 

The filing asks the court to issue an administrative stay by 7 p.m. Friday.

Fox News Digital observed Friday afternoon that Trump’s name remained mounted on the Kennedy Center facade as of 5:30 p.m. ET, with scaffolding erected around portions of the signage.

Earlier Friday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper denied the board’s request to pause enforcement of his ruling while the appeal proceeds, finding that the defendants had not demonstrated either a likelihood of success on appeal or irreparable harm.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE WITH TIES TO ANTI-TRUMP CONSPIRACY THEORY HIT WITH MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT

The Kennedy Center board argued in its emergency filing that removing and potentially reinstalling signage would force it to incur costs that could not be recovered if it ultimately prevails on appeal.

The board also argued that removing Trump’s name could impair fundraising efforts and create public confusion if the Center’s name changes again following a successful appeal. The motion further contends that the case raises significant questions regarding the board’s authority and whether Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, had standing to bring the lawsuit.

The latest filing stems from Cooper’s May 29 ruling that Congress, not the Kennedy Center board, has authority over the institution’s name. The judge ordered the removal of Trump’s name from physical signage, digital materials and official branding and directed the Center to comply within 14 days.

BOARD VOTES KENNEDY CENTER TO BE RENAMED ‘TRUMP-KENNEDY CENTER,’ LEAVITT SAYS

In a lengthy opinion, Cooper wrote that the Kennedy Center‘s governing statute “makes crystal clear” that the institution is to be named for President John F. Kennedy and cannot be formally renamed through unilateral board action. 

The judge concluded that Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name and that only Congress can change it.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Beatty, who serves as an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board.

Following the May 29 decision, Kennedy Center Vice President of Public Relations Roma Daravi said the board intended to appeal.

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP-LED KENNEDY CENTER NEARLY DOUBLES FUNDRAISING FROM BIDEN ERA, SMASHING RECORD WITH $23M HAUL

“We will review the decision carefully though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration — a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges,” Daravi told Fox News Digital at the time.

“With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place, and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”

Beatty praised the ruling, saying in a statement that the Kennedy Center “belongs to the American people, not to Donald Trump.”

Trump’s name was added to the venue in December after a unanimous vote of the board. Signage bearing the president’s name was installed above the existing Kennedy Center lettering shortly afterward.

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As of Friday afternoon, the appeals court had not publicly ruled on the emergency request, leaving unresolved whether Trump’s name would remain in place beyond the court-ordered compliance deadline.

The emergency appeal asks the D.C. Circuit to preserve the status quo while it considers the board’s broader appeal of Cooper’s ruling.

The White House and a representative for the Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this reporting.

A federal judge on Friday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, even as another federal judge earlier this week declined to intervene after the Justice Department said the fund was no longer moving forward.

The court disputes have heightened pressure on the administration to formally dismantle the fund. While Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the fund would not move forward, the settlement agreement and departmental directives that created the fund have not been formally rescinded. Critics argue this leaves open the possibility that the fund could still proceed in the future.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Clinton-appointed judge, extended a court order Friday preventing implementation of the fund, concluding that public assurances from administration officials were insufficient to eliminate concerns that it could later be revived.

Brinkema noted how Trump, “says he’s disappointed that something is not going forward,” suggesting this was evidence that the fund may “rear its head” at some point in the future.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP DOJ’S NEARLY $2B ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND

Over the weekend Trump shared on “Meet the Press” that he’d like to continue with the fund.

“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve. People have been destroyed. Lives have been destroyed,” Trump said.

Brinkema gave the Justice Department a week to put in writing that the Anti-Weaponization Fund is being terminated and will not be reinstated.

The ruling comes days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon rejected a separate request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) seeking emergency intervention, saying he was willing to rely on Justice Department representations that the fund had effectively been abandoned.

ACTING AG BLANCHE REVEALS FATE OF TRUMP’S ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND’ UNDER PRESSURE FROM HOUSE LAWMAKERS

But Leon, a George W. Bush-appointed judge, simultaneously warned administration officials not to treat his decision as permission to revive the program.

“I give the Justice Department this warning: Don’t play possum with me,” Leon said from the bench.

Blanche announced during a hearing earlier this month that the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was born out of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit settlement with the IRS, would not be proceeding. The fund was intended to compensate alleged victims of government “lawfare,” but its creation sparked immediate backlash from Democrats, who characterized it as a “slush fund” that could ultimately benefit Trump’s political allies and individuals charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Justice Department attorney Andrew Block argued before Leon that Blanche’s congressional testimony effectively mooted CREW’s challenge because the government had publicly committed not to move forward.

Leon repeatedly questioned why Blanche has not formally rescinded a May 18 order that established procedures for the fund in the first place, a question Block could not answer.

CREW attorney Nikhel Sus argued the settlement agreement that established the fund remains legally operative and contains upcoming deadlines requiring action.

WAY HARDER THAN IT SHOULD BE: WHY CONGRESS MAY BALK ON $1.7B COMPENSATION FUND

According to Sus, a five-member board overseeing the fund must be established by June 17, while funding transfers are scheduled by July 17.

“On paper, the fund is still a legally operating entity,” Sus argued.

However, Leon ultimately accepted the government’s assurances for now that the fund is moot, but he noted that he can sanction attorneys who make false representations to the court.

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He also indicated he will continue considering CREW’s request for a preliminary injunction and suggested he could intervene if evidence emerges that the administration is attempting to revive the fund.

FIRST ON FOX: Federal immigration agents arrested several convicted killers, a rapist and multiple drug traffickers in a single day Thursday, underscoring the Trump administration’s push to target what Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials call the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

“Yesterday, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] arrested multiple murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers from our communities,” Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

“Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.,” she said. “Every day, our officers are putting their lives on the line to remove criminals from our communities.”

According to DHS, Thursday’s arrests include:

DHS ARRESTS 5 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES INCLUDING MANSLAUGHTER, CHILD ASSAULT

Roque Cinto-Mejia

Roque Cinto-Mejia, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of manslaughter in Brooklyn, New York.

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of voluntary manslaughter in San Bernardino, California.

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is convicted of rape, assault and battery of a family member in Fairfax, Virginia.

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Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda

Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of trafficking methamphetamine in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Manuel Soto

Manuel Soto, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was twice convicted of drug possession and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Boston, Massachusetts.

Law enforcement officials responded to Washington, D.C.’s National Mall on Thursday after a giant “8647” message appeared to be etched into the grass, prompting an investigation as federal authorities remain on heightened alert over political threats and violence. 

“The deranged vandalism on our National Mall will not be tolerated,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Any threat against the President is taken very seriously by the Department, and our U.S. Park Police will investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable.”

The marking was etched into the grass between the Washington Monument and the World War II memorial. The administration has previously interpreted the number “86” as a political threat, pointing to its common use in the restaurant industry to mean removing or refusing service, while 47 appears to refer to Trump as the 47th president.

The administration has previously treated “86 47” messages as threatening, arguing that “86” can mean to get rid of or remove, per restaurant industry slang, while “47” refers to Trump as the 47th president.

EX-FBI CHIEF COMEY’S POST TO ‘86’ TRUMP CONDEMNED BY WHITE HOUSE AS ATTEMPT TO PUT ‘HIT’ ON PRESIDENT

U.S. Park Police responded to the incident around noon, FOX 5 reported. Grass samples were also collected for testing and examination in the area by investigators.

“Anyone who engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “They should also immediately seek psychiatric help to treat their severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has warped their brains and made them sick in the head.”

The incident took place days before Trump’s birthday on Sunday, which coincides with the UFC Freedom Fight taking place on the South Law, which is expected to attract 4,000 spectators to the White House.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was set up near the Lincoln Memorial for a weigh-in event on Friday.

America’s 250th birthday brings major events to the nation’s capital as D.C. braces for massive crowds, tight security, road closures and heightened law enforcement presence.

FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT

Trump has repeatedly been targeted by violence, including just in April at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

There were two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.

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The incident comes amid heightened administration scrutiny of “86 47” messages after the Department of Justice charged former FBI Director James Comey over a similar message. 

Comey was charged with two federal counts over an Instagram post last year showing seashells arranged to read “86 47,” and faces a maximum 10 years in prison if convicted. Comey has denied wrongdoing, saying he did not intend the post as a call for violence and removed it once critics interpreted it as a threat.

A controversial memo issued by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 aimed at addressing the alleged threat posed to school boards by dissatisfied parents caused an internal revolt at the Justice Department, according to documents obtained by Fox News. 

As parents across the nation took to school board meetings to vent their dissatisfaction with COVID-era learning restrictions as well as how race and gender were being taught in classrooms, the National Association for School Boards appealed to the Justice Department for assistance, claiming that some actions taken by angry parents could be classified as “domestic terrorism.” 

The Justice Department in October 2021 issued a memo to coordinate a response to what the department described as an “increase in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers in our nation’s public schools” by parents. 

Newly released emails, however, indicate that high-ranking officials at the DOJ were skeptical of this move, predicting that it could transform into a political headache for the Biden administration.

MAJOR PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD SIMULATES PARENT ‘TERRORIST’ ATTACK AFTER FATAL ACCIDENT KILLS STUDENT

“I don’t think it’s possible to state how strongly I object to this. It will completely and totally nuke our election threats efforts, and will damage the reputation of the Public Integrity Section into the bargain,” one deputy assistant attorney general wrote on an internal email chain. “It’s like they’ve affirmatively trying to make this thing not work and look political.”

“If they do this, they might as well rename the damn thing the Anti-MAGA Task Force,” they continued. 

“Exactly!” the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section chief responded. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Some at the DOJ also questioned whether or not the agency had the authority to address purported threats to school board members in the way that was being proposed.

ANDREW MCCARTHY: BIDEN-HARRIS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TANGLES WITH RED STATES ON ELECTION DAY

“We will not do this,” one principal deputy assistant attorney general wrote. “There is no conceivable connection to [public integrity] (indeed, I’m not seeing a federal interest of any kind.). And if they’re going to make the AG’s memo to the field about this and election threats, I’m going to strongly recommend that they not send it.”

The Public Integrity section chief chimed in that the memo could turn the Justice Department and the FBI into the “threat police” and that it contained “no limiting principle at all.”

After sparking a firestorm of criticism from GOP lawmakers, state officials, pundits and parents’ groups, the NSAB formally apologized for its letter to the Biden administration calling for legal scrutiny to apply to disgruntled parents.

 CNN HOST RECALLS HOW COVID CAUSED THE ‘RADICALIZATION’ OF PARENTS

“On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter,” the organization wrote in a memo to its members. “There was no justification for some of the language included in the letter. We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance. We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations.”

Though Garland was pressed to retract his memo or apologize, he instead opted to defend his decision.

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“The obligation of the Justice Department is to protect the American people against violence and threats of violence and that particularly includes public officials,” he said of the memo.

The DOJ and Garland did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Friday.

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. 

James Talarico, a candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, once swapped out the term “woman” with “pregnant individual” in a bill that would have created protections for abortion in the Lone Star State.

The bill would have prevented “the prosecution of a pregnant individual on whom an abortion is performed or induced” and eliminated any Texas law that would have regulated or prohibited an abortion.

It never made it past consideration in committee.

Despite its stalled progress, the 2023 bill runs counter to Talarico’s efforts to paint himself as sufficiently conservative to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate as he wages an uphill campaign to defeat Republican challenger Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general.

‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY

“I’ve called out the extremes in both parties,” Talarico said in an interview with CBS last month.

When asked about his position on gender and previous comments that there were as many as six sexes, Talarico clarified his stance.

“I know there are two sexes, men and women. I also know there’s a very small percentage of people who have these chromosomal abnormalities and I believe they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

When asked about the bill, Talarico’s campaign emphasized the abortion-related aspect of the bill, leaving the gender wording unaddressed.

“James agrees with a majority of Texans that women should make decisions about their own bodies. While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and support Texas families,” JT Ennis, a campaign spokesperson, told Fox News Digital.

The bill’s resurfacing coincides with a very similar bill making its way through the New York legislature.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

That bill would “adjust language in the law to a more inclusive and gender-neutral form.” Among other changes, it swaps out the term “mother” for “gestating parent.”

Having cleared the New York General Assembly and the New York Senate, it is poised to receive Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature to become law.

Although Talarico’s bill falls short of similarly reframing the state’s entire legal language, his opponents believe the very attempt to pass a bill using the same kind of terminology is emblematic of someone out of step with Texans’ principles.

“James Talarico’s entire career has been dedicated to replacing the Christian and family values of Texans with his transgender-for-all agenda,” RNC spokesperson Zach Kraft said.

BILL REPLACING ‘MOTHER’ AND ‘FATHER’ WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS PASSES IN NEW YORK, HEADS TO HOCHUL’S DESK

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“He is a threat to Texans’ way of life and a truly insane individual who has been fully broken by the woke mind virus.”

A former Biden White House aide, who has been slammed by conservatives online for years for his aggressive defense of then-President Joe Biden’s mental and physical fitness, has reemerged into the news cycle over the last couple of weeks for speaking out against former First Lady Jill Biden’s comments during her book tour and joining the communications staff for Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

Andrew Bates, who currently serves as the managing director of Orchestra’s public relations advisory service where he often uses his X account to fire back against GOP messaging and the Trump administration, promotes himself as a “seasoned communications strategist” with a “reputation for tenacity and an ability to navigate complex challenges with precision,” according to the website of his WolfPack Strategies advisory firm that he launched during the first week of the Trump administration last year.

While Bates was often praised by some of his colleagues as one of the most “loyal” defenders of the Bidens during his administration, Jill Biden recently lashed out at him when pressed on a quote he gave to the New York Post about her book tour.

“We had a duty to win and we didn’t,” Bates said, referring to Biden’s disastrous 2024 debate and him dropping out. “I think about that all the time. But I don’t see why that painful conversation for the party needed to be publicly reopened right now.”

When pressed on the quote, the former first lady told a reporter, “I want to say to Andrew: Call me up, and say it to my face, buddy.” While they appeared to have made up in a phone call shortly afterward, social media erupted with conservatives and Democrats weighing in on the exchange, including Tommy Vietor, a former National Security Council staffer for then-President Barack Obama.

“No one was more loyal to the Biden family and fought harder for them than Andrew Bates. S—ty to see that loyalty was a one-way street,” Vietor wrote in a post, scolding the former first lady.

“The former first lady would still be known as the former second lady without Andrew Bates,” a source told Axios reporter Alex Thompson, referring to the Bidens’ role in the Obama administration.

“Just a whole lot I could say about this, but I will leave it at being so, unbelievably disappointed,” former top Biden White House aide Rob Flaherty said. However, Jill Biden’s former spokesperson Michael LaRosa ripped Bates on X, saying, “He is one of the LEAST sympathetic former Biden staffers, a notorious liar, stonewaller and gaslighter.”

“This is who the Bidens are. Andrew Bates KILLED himself for the Bidens to the point of damaging his own reputation and appearing at times like a Baghdad Bob,” journalist Yashar Ali said, referring to Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, who was notorious for pushing propaganda and giving false statements to the media.

Conservatives also weighed in, with many taking shots at the former first lady, including Targeted Victory’s chief communications officer Matt Gorman, who said, “The Bidens are pathetic, self-serving, and loyal only unto themselves.”

“Jill Biden vs Andrew Bates is the fight we’ve all been waiting for,” Sen. Bernie Moreno’s, R-Ohio, chief of staff Philip Letsou posted on X. 

Newsbusters news analyst Jorge Bonilla said, “Not the first loyal comms person the Bidens throw under the bus.”

BIDEN CRASHES JILL’S BOOK TOUR WITH AWKWARD ‘LOVE’ QUESTION THAT LEAVES VIEWERS CRINGING

Bates’ reemergence isn’t just limited to the viral spat that took off on social media.

News that Bates had joined Gallego’s team as a communications advisor broke earlier this week in an Axios report following revelations earlier this year that Gallego, who would later distance himself from disgraced gubernatorial candidate Eric Swalwell and denied knowledge of his sexual misconduct, had a close personal friendship with him for over a decade.

Swalwell abandoned his campaign — and ultimately resigned his seat in mid-April — when testimony from several women surfaced chronicling instances of sexual misconduct and alleged abuse. 

Gallego’s communications director, Jacques Petit, told Fox News Digital that the Arizona senator hired Bates because Gallego has been planning “to help Democrats take the majority in 2026 and is weighing all options for his political future” and that he “brought on Andrew to help navigate those processes.”

However, a number of onlookers online haven’t seen it that way. The hire, which occurred in late April, quickly drew accusations that Bates had been brought on to mask more political liabilities ahead of Gallego’s potential presidential campaign — just as he had helped navigate Biden’s cognitive decline and helped push the narrative that the videos of Biden walking around confused were “cheapfakes.”

Bates, who became a punching bag for many Trump campaign operatives and would often spar with them on social media, went viral a couple of weeks after the disastrous June 2024 debate performance that many believe was the beginning of the end of Biden’s presidential campaign. The X post, which amassed over 5 million views, was widely mocked and has resurfaced several times.

“To answer the question on everyone’s minds: No, Joe Biden does not have a doctorate in foreign affairs,” Bates said. “He’s just that f—ing good.”

The X post came during a critical press conference two weeks after the disastrous debate performance. Less than two weeks later, Biden announced he was dropping out of the race.

The campaign account for Kari Lake, a former challenger for Gallego’s Senate seat, ripped Bates and Gallego in a post.

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“You don’t hire a political fixer and Biden regime hatchet man like Andrew Bates unless the walls are closing in and the skeletons are about to tumble out of the closet. Rotten Ruben Gallego is VERY worried,” the account wrote.

“He’s the lawyer you hire when everyone already knows you’re guilty,” Jim Geraghty, a political commentator, wrote in a post to social media. 

“Who is the most expensive, least talented person we can find to make sure I don’t get Swallwell’d? Is Ian Sams available? Okay, how about Andrew Bates?,” Brent Scher, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire wrote in a post to X, referring to another former White House political operative.

As part of the Pride Month celebration on Tuesday evening, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani touted the work his administration has done to expand services for LGBTQ+ communities, calling New York City a “haven” for people with alternative gender identities.

In particular, Mamdani doubled down on promises of $15 million in funding for trans communities.

“The threats will continue and so will our relentless protection of trans people across this city,” Mamdani said, referring to challenges he said LGBTQ+ communities face.

“As a first step, my administration has made a $15 million investment in gender-affirming care over the next two years, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to make sure every trans and gender non-conforming New Yorker can live with the dignity, safety and freedom they deserve.”

MAMDAMI MARKS PRIDE MONTH, SAYS HONORING ‘QUEER AND TRANSGENDER’ CONTRIBUTIONS WOULD TAKE MORE THAN 30 DAYS

Mamdani’s speech builds on similar efforts in other cities and looks to follow through on campaign promises Mamdani made on the road to his mayoral victory.

It’s unclear where, exactly, the $15 million request is being allocated from or how it will be disbursed as New York City Council members continue consideration of the 2027 budget, but taxpayer dollars will be on the hook for the investment.

Progressive-led subsidized transgender initiatives have also advanced in San Francisco.

Like New York, San Francisco established an Office of Transgender Initiatives and, through its Department of Public Health, has funded guidance for hormone therapy, surgery and mental health case management.

MASSACHUSETTS TOWN VOTES TO BECOME A TRANSGENDER ‘SANCTUARY CITY’ AFTER WILD CITY COUNCIL MEETING

If implemented, Mamdani’s initiative would go further, directly funding procedures.

Despite pushing the envelope on city-led programs for trans services, the New York funding falls short of the vision Mamdani painted while on the campaign trail.

“The Mamdani administration will budget $65 million in funding to explicitly support and expand access to Gender Affirming Care (GAC) in NYC,” Mamdani’s campaign website read.

That plan detailed that up to $57 million would go to public hospitals, community clinics, health centers and nonprofits that could perform procedures.

Although Mamdani’s plan for the $15 million remains hazy, he said his support of the LGBTQ community was proven — and would only grow.

GRAMMY-WINNING MUSICIAN FIGHTS TRUMP’S TRANS EXECUTIVE ORDER BY DONATING TO PEOPLE SEEKING GENDER SURGERIES

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“As your mayor, I was proud to establish New York City’s first-ever office of LGBTQIA+ affairs within the first 100 days of our administration,” Mamdani said.

“This office focuses on the well-being of queer New Yorkers so that you know you have a champion and advocate within city government.”

The Justice Department is escalating its clash with California over voter-roll access, accusing state officials of blocking a federal audit — though Golden State officials warn the demand threatens voter privacy and oversteps federal authority.

The dispute centers on voter roll maintenance and access to registration records, not any publicly identified allegation of impropriety in a specific California race.

“If California genuinely wants voters to trust its elections, it should open its records, not fight to keep them closed,” Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said in a lengthy post on X that included a copy of a letter U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ office enforcing federal voting-rights laws, sent to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber last year demanding the state’s voter rolls for inspection. 

“What are they afraid of?,” Essayli questioned.

MORE THAN 500,000 CALIFORNIANS DEMAND VOTING OVERHAUL, BACK ‘STRAIGHTFORWARD’ ID LAW

Dhillon’s letter followed an Aug. 8 response from Weber’s office raising concerns about privacy protections that could be implicated by the state voter-registration data sought by the federal government. A spokesperson from California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that “every federal court to consider the issue has ruled U.S. DOJ’s demands violate federal law,” adding that “unlike this federal administration, we don’t do things that are illegal.”

Weber’s office offered to let DOJ inspect a redacted voter-registration database by appointment in Sacramento, arguing that satisfied their legal obligations, but Dhillon rejected that proposal and demanded an electronic copy of the statewide voter list “with all fields,” according to legal filings from the ongoing dispute taking place in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“We also have serious concerns about how California maintains its voter rolls,” Essayli wrote in his X post, calling out California Democrats for blocking the federal audit of their voter rolls. “There are open questions about whether the state is promptly removing deceased voters, people who have moved, and individuals convicted of disqualifying felonies.” 

Essayli also highlighted how California’s rules allow certain first-time voters who do not provide a Social Security number or driver’s license when registering to verify their identity with documents including gym membership cards, employer IDs, credit or debit cards, prescription labels and insurance cards — a policy his office says warrants scrutiny.

NONCITIZENS ON VOTER ROLLS IN DEMOCRAT-RUN STATE EXPOSED AS RNC CHAIR PLEDGES SECURE ELECTIONS

“On top of that, California allows third parties to collect and turn in ballots on voters’ behalf (a practice known as ballot harvesting) with few restrictions,” Essayli added. “This makes it difficult to track who actually received, completed, and submitted each ballot.”

The California Attorney General’s office pushed back on Essayli’s framing, noting that DOJ had already lost the case at the district court level and that the pending Ninth Circuit fight stems from the federal government’s appeal of that dismissal.

A U.S. District Judge dismissed the DOJ’s lawsuit in January, with the presiding judge writing that the department was seeking “an unprecedented amount of personal information” from California’s unredacted voter rolls, including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses, voting history and other sensitive information from nearly 23 million Californians. The judge also wrote that DOJ could not use federal election laws in a way that “wholly disregards the separation of powers provided for in the Constitution.”

FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP ADMIN LAWSUIT SEEKING MICHIGAN VOTER ROLLS

A spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office highlighted in a statement to Fox News Digital that the DOJ has brought approximately 30 voter roll lawsuits nationwide and has lost all eight voter roll cases that have been decided to date.

The fight for federal access to California’s voter rolls comes as voter roll maintenance has been a concern of President Donald Trump and Republicans nationally.

“If fraudsters do it right, it can be many, many more votes like this,” Illinois GOP Chairman Bob Grogan told Fox News Digital two weeks ago after a Democratic city official in his state turned herself in for allegedly using her dead mother’s name to vote. Grogan expressed particular concern with mail-in balloting, even though he did recognize its necessity in some cases.

TRUMP-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE TOSSES DOJ LAWSUIT SEEKING ARIZONA VOTER DATA

“Mail ballots are especially vulnerable, which is why they should be secured, should never be mailed without a specific request from the voter, and should always be verified before they are tabulated. This case also shows how essential it is to maintain clean voter rolls,” Jason Snead, who runs the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital about the Illinois case. “Had the list maintenance process been slower, it is possible this illegal vote would have been counted before the fraud was discovered. Unfortunately, too many states — particularly blue states — actively resist commonsense safeguards, which begs the question: how many other illegal votes have slipped through the system?”

Dead registrants have also fueled broader scrutiny of voter roll maintenance nationally. 

North Carolina election officials said in April they identified roughly 34,000 deceased people still listed on the state’s voter rolls after a federal database comparison, while other recent local controversies have included allegations or investigations involving deceased voters appearing on registration lists or absentee-ballot records.

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Republicans have argued cases such as these show why states should be more transparent about how they maintain voter lists. RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital that the New Jersey records were “eye-opening” and said the party has sought voter roll maintenance information from nearly every state.

DOJ has already pursued a similar records fight inside California, suing Orange County’s registrar last year for allegedly refusing to provide records to help remove noncitizens from its voter-registration list. At the time, Dhillon said removing noncitizens from California’s voter rolls was “critical” to ensuring the state’s rolls are accurate and that elections are conducted without fraudulent voting.

Ken Salazar, former U.S. ambassador to Mexico under President Joe Biden, considered running for president against his former boss in 2024, he revealed.

“I should run for president,” Salazar told himself, after Biden’s disastrous July 2024 debate performance, according to a book excerpt obtained by Politico.

Salazar also claimed that he begged for a border czar and early on advised Biden to refer to the U.S. border situation as a crisis.

“There was political failure to understand the reality of the crisis at the border, and the political consequence it would have on Democrats in the 2024 election.

HOW IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY DOMINATED 2024 AND DECIDED AN ELECTION

Salazar claimed that within the administration, officials used the word “crisis” all the time, “even if at that time the White House refused to acknowledge it as such.”

When Salazar advised then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to use the word, Mayorkas apparently told him: “Ken, I have a lot on my plate already. I’m about to be impeached for all this border stuff. The Republicans have it out for me.”

Salazar never ended up declaring himself as a candidate despite recruiting a team and drafting a presidential platform, Politico reported.

BIDEN AIDES WARNED DONORS DROPPING OUT AND RUNNING KAMALA HARRIS WOULD BE A MISTAKE: BOOK

He had planned to throw his name into consideration when Biden dropped out, but the Democratic Party never held open primaries, instead choosing to coronate Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s candidate unilaterally, a decision Salazar called “a mistake,” per Politico.

Salazar criticized Harris’ action, or lack thereof, on the border after she was tasked with stemming the flow of migration. Harris was dubbed the border czar, a position Salazar had pushed for the Biden White House to create, but he was unhappy with the nature of her work in the position.

“But sadly, her designation in this position was having no effect on migration flows,” he wrote.

HOW HARRIS WAS DOGGED BY ‘BORDER CZAR’ LABEL, PAST RADICAL IMMIGRATION VIEWS DURING FAILED CAMPAIGN

“[Harris] had been placed in charge of getting at the ‘root causes’ of migration, but many felt she had been ineffective,” he continued.

“For whatever reason, she had been unable to help with the border and migration crisis, even though she’d sat next door to the Oval Office for almost four years.”

Salazar, a Colorado-born lawyer of Mexican descent and his state’s first Hispanic senator, praised Biden’s eventual decision to effectively shut down the border in 2024, but acknowledged it was too late.

MARK KELLY EYES 2028 WHITE HOUSE RUN WHILE FIGHTING TRUMP DEMOTION THREAT

“This should have been a moment of vindication — after all, American voters were demanding action on the border — but it was too late, and images of an out-of-control border would dominate the closing months of the presidential election,” he wrote, per Politico.

Salazar also revealed in his book, titled “Borderlands: My Fight For An Inclusive America,” that he’s been giving out advice to potential Democratic presidential candidates, pitching them on his “borderlands platform,” an immigration policy that he says acknowledges the U.S. immigration system is broken and “must be fixed,” according to Politico.

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He has already met with Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both Democrats, and plans to meet with Illinois’ Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, Politico reported.

Fox News Digital contacted Salazar, Pritzker, Gallego and Kelly for comment.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas predicted “disaster” in the upcoming midterms and thinks that President Donald Trump will then face “the most miserable two years of his life” during the final stretch of his White House tenure,” the New York Times reported.

Cornyn lost the Texas Republican U.S. Senate primary runoff to President Donald Trump-endorsed Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton last month.

The contest was not even close — Paxton shellacked the long-serving incumbent senator in the race. Cornyn has served in the Senate since late 2002.

MAGA TRIUMPH: TRUMP ALLY KEN PAXTON DEFEATS JOHN CORNYN IN BITTER TEXAS GOP PRIMARY WAR

Trump backed Paxton a week before the May 26 contest, as early voting was already underway.

“I had really thought that we’d gone on so long with no endorsement that he was just going to stay out of it,” Cornyn said, according to the Times. “But he couldn’t resist.”

“If he would do that to me, he would do that to anybody,” Cornyn said, according to the outlet. “There’s never going to be good enough for him, other than 100 percent, you know, slavish adherence to whatever he wants. But obviously that’s not what the senator’s role is supposed to be, especially in terms of checks and balances.”

TRUMP FLEXES MAGA MUSCLE IN TEXAS SENATE RUNOFF CLASH BETWEEN CORNYN AND PAXTON

In a May 27 Truth Social post, Trump said Cornyn “will remain my friend for a long time to come, as we both watch Ken become a fantastic, common sense Senator, one who is respected by all.”

“If that’s the way friends treat you, you wonder about his enemies,” Cornyn said, according to the Times.

KEN PAXTON DIDN’T NEED TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENT TO BEAT CORNYN, TEXAS VOTERS SAY

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“It’s going to make things harder, certainly more expensive in Texas, and make it harder around the country,” Cornyn said, predicting the president will eventually regret his actions, according to the Times. “I don’t say that with any sort of desire for vengeance; I just think that’s the way it’s going to be. He’s going to have the most miserable two years of his life in the last two years of his term, I think, because I think November is going to be a disaster.”

Britain’s defense secretary resigned Thursday after accusing Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of failing to adequately fund the military despite rising threats from Russia and growing NATO demands, delivering a major political blow to the prime minister ahead of July’s alliance summit.

In a sharply worded resignation letter, John Healey said the government had failed to commit the resources needed to execute Britain’s long-term defense strategy, arguing the country’s armed forces risk being left short of the money, personnel and industrial capacity needed to meet mounting security challenges.

“This new era for defence required further investment through the Defence Investment Plan,” Healey wrote. “Since then, you have been unable, and the Treasury has been unwilling, to commit the resources that the nation needs to defend the country at this time of rising threats.”

While European governments have pledged major increases in defense spending and warned that Russia poses a long-term threat to the alliance, many continue to struggle with the political and fiscal realities of rebuilding armed forces after decades of post-Cold War cuts. The debate has taken on added urgency as Trump pushes European nations to assume a greater share of responsibility for their own defense.

UK DEFENSE MINISTER WARNS PUTIN OF ‘SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES’ AFTER COVERT UNDERWATER MILITARY OPERATION

Healey’s departure appears to stem from a dispute over the pace and scale of future defense spending. In his letter, he argued that Britain should commit to spending 3% of gross domestic product on defense by 2030 and criticized a government funding plan that he said would reach only 2.68% by the end of the decade.

“The Government cannot warn about Russia, Iran and China, then produce a Defence Investment Plan that leaves the Armed Forces short of the money, people, stockpiles and industrial capacity needed to meet that threat,” Retired British Army Major Andrew Fox, senior associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital. 

“For Keir Starmer, this is now a test of seriousness. A Defence Secretary resigning over national security tells our allies, our enemies and our own troops that Britain’s defence ambitions are not being properly funded.” 

Healey had been one of Starmer’s most loyal cabinet allies, publicly defending the prime minister during recent internal Labour Party unrest.

LABOUR MP PUTS CABINET ‘ON NOTICE,’ THREATENS TO TRIGGER LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE AGAINST STARMER BY MONDAY

The resignation intensifies pressure on Starmer, who already is battling questions about his political future after a series of electoral setbacks and growing unrest within his own Labour Party.

The dispute arrives at a pivotal moment for NATO. Alliance leaders recently agreed to significantly increase defense spending targets amid continued concerns about Russia’s military ambitions and growing pressure from President Donald Trump for European allies to assume a greater share of the burden for their own defense.

Healey himself had been telling Parliament that Starmer was determined to publish the Defence Investment Plan before the upcoming NATO summit July 7. Healey learned the final details of the spending settlement only days before his Monday resignation, according to the Guardian. 

EUROPE’S $116B FIGHTER JET ‘FAILURE’ RAISES FRESH DOUBTS ABOUT ABILITY TO DEFEND ITSELF WITHOUT US

In recent weeks, Europe’s flagship Future Combat Air System sixth-generation fighter project collapsed after years of disputes between France and Germany, raising fresh doubts about the continent’s ability to execute major defense initiatives despite repeated pledges to strengthen its military posture.

Robert Jenrick, now one of Reform UK’s most prominent figures, praised Healey and directly blamed Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves. 

“Good on Healey. Shame on them. Reeves and Starmer should go too.”

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Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey likewise argued the resignation demonstrated the need for the government to devote greater resources to national defense, saying Labour must “get serious about funding our armed forces properly.”

Britain remains one of NATO’s most important military powers, but there is growing debate about whether its armed forces are large enough and adequately funded to sustain the leadership role successive governments have promised. 

Britain’s own parliamentary defense committee recently warned that while the UK remains a leading European military power, its ability to maintain that position is under pressure.

A leading nonpartisan political handicapper shifted three Senate races toward the Democrats Thursday and predicted that, with just under five months to go until the midterm elections, the Democrats have a “clearer path to winning the Senate majority.”

But Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia adds that, despite the shifts, “we still favor Republicans in the overall race for the Senate.”

Republicans control the Senate 53-47 but are battling stiff political headwinds because the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms. 

The GOP also faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the race in battleground North Carolina from toss-up to lean Democrat. Former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is facing off against former Republican National Committee Chair Mike Whatley in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

It moved the Senate showdown in Alaska, where GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan is expected to face off against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, from lean Republican to toss-up.

And in Ohio, where appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted is being challenged by former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, it shifted the rating from lean Republican to toss up.

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

The movement toward the Democrats in the Ohio race comes a week after a Fox News poll indicated Brown up by eight points, 53%-45%, over Husted.

Democrats need a net gain pickup of four seats in the midterms to win back control of the Senate they lost in the 2024 elections.

Pointing to the four races it now considers toss-ups, Sabato’s Crystal Ball said, “There are now enough Toss-up races to give Democrats a clearer path to winning the Senate majority. … But Republicans can block Democrats by winning just one of the Toss-ups, meaning that they’re still better-positioned to hold the majority.”

The ratings shift by Sabato’s Crystal Ball comes a month after another top nonpartisan political handicapper, the Cook Report, moved its rankings of four key Senate races in favor of the Democrats.

DEMOCRATS EYE NARROW PATH TO CAPTURE SENATE MAJORITY, BUT ONE WRONG MOVE COULD SINK THEM

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is optimistic Democrats can flip the chamber. Gillibrand told Fox News Digital earlier this year she sees “all the makings of a blue wave.”

Gillibrand’s rival, National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Tim Scott of South Carolina, acknowledged in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this year that “there’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult.”

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But Scott emphasized he remains “incredibly optimistic, not only about holding the majority, but still expanding the majority.”

And NRSC National Press Secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital Thursday that “no battleground races can be taken for granted. While Democrat candidates lurch further left to appease their radical base, Republicans are staying focused on lowering costs, investing in American workers, and doing the work required to defend the majority.”