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It has been over three decades since a Republican carried New Jersey in a presidential election.

One has to go back to then-Vice President George H.W. Bush, who carried the state in the 1988 election on his way to winning the White House. Since then, Democrats have won the state eight straight times in presidential elections.

However, former President Trump thinks he can clear the high hurdles he faces in the reliably blue state.

“We’re going to try and win the state of New Jersey. I want the people to know that I love it,” Trump predicted in a Friday morning local radio interview on New Jersey 105.1 in the Garden State. “You know, it’s not just going to be like, gee, maybe we can get close. We’re going to win it.”

WHERE THE BIDEN-TRUMP REMATCH STANDS SIX MONTHS UNTIL ELECTION DAY

Trump added that New Jersey “is supposed to be a Democrat state. I think it’s going to flip to Republican.”

The former president spoke on the eve of returning to the Garden State.

“We have a tremendous rally and hope you’re all going to be there. It’s in Wildwood, New Jersey. It’s going to be a big crowd,” the former president touted on Friday.

TRUMP TRIES TO CLOSE HIS FUNDRAISING GAP WITH BIDEN

Wildwood, at the southern tip of the Jersey Shore, is part of the Garden State’s Cape May County, a heavily Republican county in a longtime blue state.

Trump held a rally in Wildwood in January 2020. However, Trump ended up losing New Jersey by 16 points to President Biden. 

Four years earlier, he lost the state to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by 14 points.

For Trump, the weekend rally is a short distance from New York City, where he is spending his weekdays in court, making history as the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case.

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Democrats do not appear to be taking Trump’s prediction very seriously.

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, a Biden surrogate, told reporters on Friday that “Jersey is not going to be a welcoming place for Trump.”

Additionally, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler noted that “Trump’s team is talking about New Jersey. They’re talking about holding concerts in Madison Square Garden to turn out voters in states like New York. I think here on planet earth in the Biden campaign, we’re going to remain laser focused on winning 270 electoral votes.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., formally filed articles of impeachment against President Biden on Friday over his recent comments about withholding offensive weapons aid to Israel, drawing parallels to House Democrats’ first impeachment of former President Trump.

The first-term House Republican told Fox News Digital it was his “constitutional duty” to do so.

His legislative text, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accuses Biden of “abuse of power” and charges that he tried to force Israel into changing its own defense policies by leveraging lethal aid.

“In violation of his oath to faithfully execute the office of President and to uphold the Constitution, President Biden abused the powers of his office by soliciting a ‘quid pro quo’ with Israel while leveraging vital military aid for policy changes. This egregious action not only compromised the credibility of the United States but also undermined the interests of our longstanding ally, Israel. Therefore, President Biden’s conduct warrants impeachment, trial, removal from office, and disqualification from holding any future office under the United States,” Mills said in a statement.

ANTI-ISRAEL OCCUPIERS COULD LOSE FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS UNDER NEW GOP SENATE BILL

Fox News Digital was first to report Mills’ intent to file the impeachment articles on Thursday. He and other GOP lawmakers have drawn comparisons between Biden’s comments on Israel and Trump’s leveraging of lethal aid to Ukraine unless Kyiv announced an investigation into the Bidens.

“Joe Biden is pressuring Israel, our biggest ally in the Middle East, by pausing their funding that has already been approved in the House, if they don’t stop all operations with Hamas. It’s a very clear message, ‘this for that,'” Mills said Thursday. “These are the same accusations made against President Trump, which resulted in his impeachment by Democrats. The same must happen for Joe Biden, which is why we’re drawing up articles of impeachment now.”

Biden made the high-stakes ultimatum to Israel’s government in a CNN interview that aired Wednesday night as it prepares for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The city is currently home to more than a million Palestinians who left other parts of the Gaza Strip, where Israel has conducted its mission to eradicate the terrorist group Hamas.

Biden said Israel would continue to see U.S. support for its defensive systems, like the Iron Dome, in the CNN interview. He added, however, that “if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”

‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO IMPEACH BIDEN OVER DELAYED ISRAEL AID, GOP SENATOR SAYS

Mills’ legislative text argues that in making those comments, Biden “used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and its ally Israel.”

It’s highly unlikely for the push to reach the level of a Senate trial, with the House’s current ongoing impeachment inquiry into Biden still searching for smoking gun evidence amid accusations of improper behavior and bribery, all of which the White House has denied.

But it shows the sky-high tensions that have taken over Washington amid Israel’s war on Hamas after the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack.

A White House official told Fox News Digital that Mills’ push was “ridiculous” on Thursday.

BIDEN’S DECISION TO PULL ISRAEL WEAPONS SHIPMENT KEPT QUIET UNTIL AFTER HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ADDRESS: REPORT

“Senior administration officials had already made multiple public statements about Rafah similar to the President’s, including that we are also ensuring Israel gets every dollar appropriated in the supplemental. Trump failed to spend dollars appropriated by Congress that he was legally required to spend. This is about a purchase made by a foreign government and our decision whether to deliver that purchase right now, which could enable an operation we’ve publicly and privately objected to,” the official said.

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Meanwhile, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, “As the President said, Israel has not yet launched such an operation, so he was talking about what would happen in the future if they did.  That is a choice Israel will have to make.  We hope they don’t. We will keep working with them to develop alternative approaches that we think have a better chance of strategic success and a better chance of eliminating the threat that Israeli people still face from Hamas.”

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

Michael Cohen, ex-lawyer for former President Donald Trump, is expected to testify on Monday, Fox News has learned. 

Cohen is expected to be the star witness for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his team for his role in arranging a $130,000 payment in 2016 to adult actress Stormy Daniels to reportedly keep her story that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in the early 2000s. 

Trump, later, made several payments of $35,000 to Cohen, who was his personal attorney at the time. Trump has denied the encounter happened.

Those payments served as the basis for Bragg’s indictment of Trump on charges of falsifying business records. Bragg is trying to prove those payments were reimbursements for the payment to Daniels.

HOUSE GOP GOES AFTER ‘CONVICTED LIAR’ MICHAEL COHEN, URGES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO INVESTIGATE RECENT LIES

But Trump defense attorneys say that the $35,000 payments were “not a payback,” but instead, legal payments.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. 

MICHAEL COHEN TIKTOK VIDEOS, FUNDRAISING STUN LEGAL OBSERVERS: MAY HAVE ‘TORPEDOED CASE AGAINST TRUMP’

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

The former president has previously called Cohen a “proven liar.” 

HOPE HICKS: COHEN CALLED HIMSELF ‘MR. FIX IT’ ONLY BECAUSE HE ‘BROKE IT’

Earlier this week, press secretary for the 2016 Trump campaign and White House communications director, Hope Hicks, testified that Cohen would call himself “Mr. Fix It,” but only because “he first broke it.” 

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She testified that he would often frustrate campaign staff and do things that were not helpful. 

The unprecedented trail of the former president and presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 election resumed Friday for day 15 of witness testimony. 

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

Former President Donald Trump is demanding President Biden coordinate a presidential debate after both 2024 candidates have expressed enthusiasm for the idea.

Trump wrote a short “letter to Joe” on Thursday via his proprietary social media platform, Truth Social.

“Dear Joe, now that you’ve committed to Debate on the now dying Howard Stern Show, no less, [sic] let’s set it up right now. I’m ready to go anywhere that you are,” Trump said.

BIDEN GIVES 3-WORD RESPONSE WHEN ASKED WHEN HE’LL DEBATE TRUMP

The former president reiterated venue ideas he’s mentioned in previous debate challenges, including the White House and New York City.

“We could do it in D.C., even pinpoint the White House, or in New York when your Radical Left Fascists are finished with ELECTION INTERFERENCE against your Political Opponent, ME,” Trump continued.

The two presidential candidates have traded challenges back and forth since Biden said that he would be “happy” to debate the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee two weeks ago on the Howard Stern Show.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS BIDEN DEBATE HIM ‘MUCH EARLIER’ AND MORE OFTEN

The same day Trump posted his short “letter to Joe”, Biden was asked whether he would debate the former president prior to the election.

“Set it up,” Biden told reporters following a ceremony celebrating the WNBA Champions, the Las Vegas Aces, on Thursday afternoon.

Despite the bluster from both presumptive candidates, no progress seems to have been made setting up a debate.

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The Commission on Presidential Debates will proceed with its original schedule despite requests for earlier events.

“The CPD’s criteria […] will be applied in early September; afterward, the Commission will extend debate invitations to qualifying candidates,” the CPD told Fox News Digital last month.

The first presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. The second debate will be in Petersburg, Virginia, on Oct. 1, and the third will be held in Salt Lake City on Oct. 9. A vice presidential debate is scheduled for Sept. 25 in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: In the lead up to Mother’s Day, moms on the Trump campaign are pulling no punches in their criticisms that the Biden administration has left “working moms and families behind.” 

“Joe Biden can’t even define what a ‘woman’ is and his Administration disrespectfully refers to mothers as ‘birthing people.’ Joe Biden has left working moms and families behind by creating the worst inflation crisis in decades, welcoming millions of illegal immigrants into our country to commit crimes, and allowing violent protests to erupt on college campuses,” Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in exclusive comment to Fox News Digital. 

The comments come ahead of celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday. The Biden administration has faced ongoing scrutiny for the use of “woke” terms that are viewed as degrading to mothers, as well as for recent policy changes that opened the doors to biological males playing against females on youth sports teams, and even changing a federal prison policy that allows inmates to be housed based on their gender identity instead of biological sex. 

The use of the term “birthing people” gained national attention during President Biden’s first year in office, when an Office of Management and Budget proposal removed the word “mother” with the gender-neutral term. 

Later that same year, when Democrats introduced a $3.5 trillion spending package, they also made use of “woke” terms to describe moms, dubbing them “pregnant, lactating, and postpartum individuals.”

PARENTS STRUGGLE TO AFFORD BASIC BABY NEEDS AS DIAPER PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE

RNC co-Chair Lara Trump, former President Trump’s daughter-in-law, told Fox News Digital that Trump is the only candidate vowing to “give rights back to parents” and “protect our children” from inappropriate lessons in schools. 

WOKE LIBERALS PUSH TO REPLACE ‘MOTHER’ WITH ‘BIRTHING PARENT’ TO APPEASE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

“Not only did Donald Trump show his commitment to working families while President through policies like extending the child tax credit and paid family leave, but, he is also the only candidate for President who has vowed to give rights back to parents, protect our children from learning inappropriate topics in our schools and keep all Americans, including and especially our children, safe from the disasters that have resulted from Joe Biden’s open border policy,” she said. 

“As the mother to two of President Trump’s grandchildren, I see daily how they follow in his footsteps of exuding love for this country and standing up for what they know is right, even in the face of unprecedented obstacle.”

INFLATION IS AFFECTING PARENTS’ ABILITY TO PAY FOR EDUCATION: SURVEY  

A campaign official noted to Fox News Digital that the Trump campaign employs dozens of moms this election cycle, including Leavitt who is expecting a baby this summer, and a top adviser for the campaign, mother and grandmother Susie Wiles. He has also hired hundreds of working moms since 2016, including high-profile names such as Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Kayleigh McEnany. RNC and Trump campaign senior adviser Danielle Alvarez and Trump’s legal spokeswoman Alina Habba are also both mothers of young kids. 

LAKEN RILEY’S MOTHER BLASTS BIDEN AS ‘PATHETIC’ FOR GETTING DAUGHTER’S NAME WRONG DURING SOTU

“Everywhere we go on the campaign trail with President Trump, we hear from mothers who have lost children due to Biden’s soft-on-crime policies and have courageously spoken out against Biden and in support of President Trump,” the spokesperson said, citing Gold Star moms whose children were tragically killed during Biden administration’s botched exit from Afghanistan in 2021, and the moms of both Laken Riley and Maddie Hines, who tragically died allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants. 

GOLD STAR FAMILIES OUTRAGED BY BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘OBVIOUS’ LIES ON AFGHAN EXIT: ‘I’M NOT STUPID’

As the presidential election cycle continues to heat up, the economy and ongoing inflation is a top concern for voters. FOX Business reported last year that a whopping 67% of parents reported in a poll that inflation is affecting their ability to pay for their children’s education, school supplies and extracurricular activities. Diapers and the cost of child care, for example, both spiked by 32% last year compared to 2019 when Trump was president, while baby formula hit an all-time high under Biden. 

GOP LAWMAKERS SLAM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS FOR ‘GENDER IDENTITY’

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“If mothers want a President who will build a prosperous economy for future generations, empower law enforcement to keep their neighborhoods safe, and bring peace back to this world — there is only one option to vote for in November, and that option is President Trump,” Leavitt concluded. 

A proposal that would reassign Air National Guard troops to the Space Force without the consent of governors is an “existential threat” to the part-time force that would erode operational efficiency and eliminate a longstanding precedent, critics say.

Legislative Proposal 480 was submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee by the Department of Defense in an effort to bolster the Space Force, the U.S. military’s youngest branch created during the Trump administration. The move would override a longtime tradition that requires the Department of Defense to acquire gubernatorial approval before transferring Guard members to another military branch.

“This is really a wholesale harvesting of the units, the people, the structure, the equipment and the facilities in transferring them out of the National Guard from the governors and just placing them in the active component Space Force,” retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, president of the National Guard Association, told Fox News Digital.

US ARMY SOLDIER DETAINED, CHARGED IN RUSSIA WITH CRIMINAL MISCONDUCT: OFFICIALS

Under LP480, Air National Guard troops who perform space missions could be brought over to the Space Force and designated as part-timers without approval from the governor of the state where the unit is based. 

The National Guard and Air National Guard are the primary combat reserve components for the active-duty Army and Air Force. They are called upon to perform a variety of missions when they respond to requests from civilian authorities during emergencies, including disaster relief and security.

The National Guard falls under the authority of the respective governors of the 55 states and territories of the United States, until they are federalized, such as when they are deployed to war zones. 

“The original intent of the National Guard was to have a force ready to respond to the needs of their state and country,” according to the more than 80 congressional lawmakers from both parties who were part of a Tuesday letter to the Senate and House Armed Service committees. “Because of this, authority was placed in the hands of each state’s individual governor. This is more than a matter of governance; governors bear the responsibility to protect the safety of their citizens by maintaining the readiness and deployability of their National Guard units.”

US AIR FORCE SECRETARY KENDALL FLIES IN COCKPIT OF PLANE CONTROLLED BY AI

All 55 governors have come out against the plan, arguing that it would usurp their authority. Several of them have spoken with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III to express their opposition to the measure.

“Federal law requires consultation and approval from Governors on any decisions to move National Guard units, plain and simple,” reads a Thursday statement from the National Governors Association (NGA) chair, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, and the vice chair, Democrat Colorado Gov. Jared Polis. “Until Air Force leaders withdraw LP 480, they are in violation of federal law. We cannot have productive conversations on this matter until LP 480 is set aside. Governors are united on this point.”

Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has mobilized National Guard soldiers to assist local authorities in handling illegal immigration at the southern border, called LP480 a “power grab.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Space Force and Kendall’s office. In a May 3 letter from Kendall to Cox, the Air Force secretary said the intent of the proposal isn’t to set a precedent or disregard the role of governors. 

AIR FORCE SETS SIGHTS ON HIGH-TECH LASER WEAPONS

“Rather, the proposal would help complete the standing up of the U.S. Space Force,” reads the letter, which was obtained by Fox News Digital from a source familiar with the issue.

Kendall noted that the Space Force has integrated space missions previously performed by the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The Air Force has decided that such missions performed by the Air National Guard should also become part of the Space Force, he said. 

LP408 could impact 1,008 Air Guard troops across 14 units in seven states, according to Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Michael Bruno, the National Guard Association chair of the Space task force. The Space Force as a whole is made up of only a few thousand Guardians, Bruno told Fox News Digital.

Several Air National Guard members are part-time and hold civilian jobs, said Bruno, who noted that a majority would refuse to transfer, which could impact national security because new people would have to be recruited and trained to be mission capable. 

“What would happen is we would have a seven- to 10-year gap in capability and readiness,” Bruno said. “That capability gap for national security is the most important piece that we would lose, and they’re willing to take that risk.”

The Space Force states its mission is to protect the U.S. to operate freely in space as well as keep it secure, “stable and accessible for military space power and new waves of innovation.”

“Right now, we are providing 30% of the space missions in the National Guard for the total Space Force, and we’re providing 60% of the electronic warfare missions,” said McGinn, who added that many airmen surveyed said they would prefer to remain in the Air National Guard. 

“They joined the Guard for a reason,” he added. “They want to stay in their community. They like doing the state mission. They don’t have to relocate. So, they’re not going to go.”

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Another issue that will hamper operations in the future will be recruiting Guard members to fill the mainly administrative roles they will be assigned if transferred to the Space Force, McGinn said.

“No one is going to sign up for that,” he said. “And if they do get anyone dumb enough to be recruited, they’re not going to be retained because they’re going to be bored, and they’re going to leave.”

Former President Trump’s criminal trial will resume Friday after Judge Juan Merchan, for the second time, denied his defense attorney’s request for a mistrial following salacious testimony from Stormy Daniels. 

Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, took the stand for cross-examination Thursday morning after hours of questioning Tuesday that even the judge called “unnecessary” and “irrelevant.”

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges stem from a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The charges are related to alleged payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence Daniels about an alleged 2006 extramarital affair with Trump.

But the former president and presumptive Republican presidential nominee declared, “We are so innocent.” 

TOP 5 MOMENTS OF TRUMP TRIAL AFTER ‘SALACIOUS’ STORMY DANIELS TESTIMONY

Trump defense attorney Susan Necheles vs. Stormy Daniels

Susan Necheles, after cross-examination, said Stormy Daniels’ story about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president keeps changing because the affair never happened. 

Necheles pointed to a statement Daniels signed in 2018 denying an encounter with Trump ever took place. Daniels said she did not write the statement but signed it. 

Necheles pointed to another statement in which Daniels denied having a sexual relationship with Trump. In part, the statement said, “I’m denying this affair because it never happened.”

Daniels maintained that she signed the statements, entered a non-disclosure agreement and took a $130,000 payment, which prosecutors allege was illegally marked as legal expenses, for protection. But Trump’s team aimed to show that Daniels was after a payday and changed her story when it would lead to profit. 

Daniels denied ever requesting money from Trump. Facing pressure from Necheles, Daniels added, “I never asked for money from anyone in particular. I asked for money for telling my story. … I was asking for money from publications to sell my story, to get the truth out.”

Daniels admitted to selling the story for nearly $1 million, when she agreed to write her book, “Full Disclosure,” for $800,000. But she claimed she did not receive all that money.

When asked for specific details about the alleged sexual encounter in 2006 on the sidelines of a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Daniels appeared to tell a different story in court than when she first spoke about the incident, or in her book. 

“You told In Touch a completely different story,” Necheles said, which Daniels denied, adding there were just “parts in the middle I didn’t remember.” 

STORMY DANIELS’ SALACIOUS AFFAIR STORY KEEPS CHANGING BECAUSE ENCOUNTER NEVER HAPPENED, TRUMP TEAM CLAIMS

“You made it up,” Necheles said. 

“No,” Daniels replied.

Necheles asked Daniels if she knew or understood why Trump was indicted in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case. She said she did not, adding he was “indicted for a lot of things.”

Former White House aide gets emotional discussing time in Trump admin

Madeleine Westerhout, who previously served as former President Trump’s personal secretary in the White House, was brought to tears Thursday on the stand as she described her experience in the administration.

The emotion came as Westerhout outlined the former president’s relationship with his wife, Melania Trump.

Westerhout said the couple’s relationship was one of mutual respect and that they laughed often when they were in the Oval Office.

Westerhout said Melania would sometimes text Trump, reminding him that it was past dinner time and asking when her husband was coming home.

Getting emotional as she reflected on her time in the White House under Trump, Westerhout said she has “grown so much” and said she really respects Trump and thinks he’s been treated unfairly.

Prosecution decides not to call Playboy model Karen McDougal 

After Stormy Daniels’ testimony, prosecutors said they would no longer call Playboy model Karen McDougal as a witness in the trial. 

McDougal also allegedly received a payment to keep silent about an alleged affair with Trump. She sold her story to the National Enquirer, which never published it, in exchange for $150,000. McDougal’s payout is not part of the criminal charges.

Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass defended the decision not to call McDougal, saying prosecutors did not “change their minds” about calling her. Instead, prosecutors never formally decided if they would use her as a witness during trial. 

Judge denies request for gag order modification, mistrial after Stormy Daniels testimony

Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump defense attorneys’ request for a mistrial and a modification of a gag order Thursday, arguing the former president should be able to defend himself against Stormy Daniels’ salacious and “prejudicial” testimony.

Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche first requested a mistrial Tuesday after Daniels’ first day on the stand but was denied. Merchan did, however, admit Daniels was a difficult witness to control and said much of her testimony was “unnecessary” and “irrelevant” to the charges.

Trump attorneys on Thursday again requested a mistrial.

Blanche said the prosecution asked Daniels “a whole host of questions” that never should have been asked, pointing to questions about the porn actress’s childhood and her alleged interaction with Trump. Blanche argued they were “things that are irrelevant to the facts of this case.”

Blanche reminded that the case is not about sex and again stressed that Daniels’ testimony was “extraordinarily prejudicial for the jury to hear.”

NY V. TRUMP: JUDGE DENIES REQUEST FOR GAG ORDER MODIFICATION, MISTRIAL AFTER STORMY DANIELS TESTIMONY

“It is so dangerous, so prejudicial, it borders on a problem from the beginning,” Blanche said, adding that Daniels’ testimony and story about the alleged sexual encounter kept changing.

But Merchan denied the request and reminded Blanche that, during his opening argument, he denied Trump had a sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels. 

“Your denial puts the jury in a position to decide who to believe,” Merchan said, adding the defense could have objected many times during Daniels’ testimony “but didn’t.” 

With regard to one explicit detail, Merchan said he agreed that “shouldn’t have come out … but for the life of me, I don’t know why Ms. Necheles didn’t object.”

Merchan told Blanche he made decisions to strike things from the record to “protect” Trump and said he disagrees with any changing narrative while adding that the details “add a sense of credibility.” 

Blanche also requested a modification to the gag order, arguing Daniels made false statements about Trump, and the former president should be allowed to defend himself now that her testimony is complete. 

The judge denied that request. 

Trump declares: ‘We are so innocent’

“So, what happened today? I don’t think we have to do any expert explaining. I’m not allowed to anyway because this judge is a corrupt judge. This judge, what he did and what his ruling was, is a disgrace,” Trump said after court adjourned, adding Merchan is “totally conflicted.” 

Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, said he’s “got to get back on the campaign trail.” 

“I’m not supposed to be here,” Trump said. “We are so innocent. There’s never been anything like it.

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“I’m innocent, and I’m being held in this court with a corrupt judge who’s totally conflicted.” 

The former president said it is “a disgrace to the city of New York, to the state of New York and to the country.” 

Republican Congressman Darrell Issa told Fox News Digital it would be a “huge help” if President Biden disavowed and rejected donations from progressive groups that are fueling the anti-Israel protests nationwide, while also explaining that the tepid response from Democrats shows the rise of anti-Semitism within the party.

“If the president would come out, whether it’s George Soros or a host of other supporters and be honest and say that, you know, not only would he send the money back but he wants them to stop funding people who support violence it would be a huge help,” Issa said. “I don’t expect him to do it.”

The anti-Israel protests have been organized by groups fueled by progressive donors, including George Soros, some of whom have also donated to the Democratic Party and Biden, Fox News Digital reported last month.

Soros recently gave $250,000 to help Biden win re-election and Politico reported earlier this month that some major Biden donors have also funded groups associated with the college protests. 

‘SHAMEFUL’: GOP LAWMAKER SHREDS ‘AWOL’ BIDEN FOR THROWING JEWS ‘UNDER THE BUS’ AMID ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

Issa told Fox News Digital that the response to the protest from Democrats has been an example that anti-Semitism has found a home within the party. 

“The growth of The Squad and people who think the same and are willing to talk the same, or at least support them has certainly caused people to realize that the party of the Democrats of Robert F Kennedy, John Kennedy and for that matter of Steny Hoyer is gone,” Issa told Fox News Digital this week.  

“They’re no longer willing to stand up for Israel or against anti-Semitism and it’s now coming home to be seen in these incredible amounts of votes where they won’t support Israel.”

Issa told Fox News Digital he is “deeply disappointed” by President Biden’s response to the anti-Israel protests on college campuses nationwide and explained that the president’s desire to “placate” both sides is an indicator that anti-Semitism has been festering in the Democratic Party for years. 

BIDEN VOWS TO WITHHOLD WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL IF NETANYAHU GOES FORWARD WITH RAFAH INVASION

“I think President Biden is trying to placate both sides, tell both sides that he’s in the middle,” Issa said. “He’s managed to upset the Middle Eastern community many of whom wanted decisive action and the Israel and pro-Israel community who see him as hurting the effort to bring to an end, if you will, Hamas and their allies.”

“I’m really sad because, historically, they’ve enjoyed both Arab and Israeli pro-Israel votes, Jewish votes and the Republicans have always been the party that has supported Israel. George W Bush, no stronger friend, President Trump, no stronger friend. You know, president after president promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem. President Trump did it. So, when you really look at it you realize that for a long time we’ve been the pro-Israel party. Only now are people realizing that real anti-Semitism exists in the Democratic Party, and it’s condoned there.”

President Biden waited 9 days before giving on-camera remarks about the anti-Israel violence on campus which Issa said was a key reason why the protests spread the way they did. 

“President Biden needed to say on day one to all the governors of either party that you act or I will act because, in fact, the civil disobedience that turns into violence is a federal issue,” Issa said. “Had he done that, had he challenged the governors to go in aggressively and quickly, this would be over instead of watching it grow.”

Issa, who was in high school in Ohio during the unrest and shootings at Kent State University in 1970, told Fox News Digital he is concerned that history is repeating itself.

“As someone who was in high school when Kent State had its riot and not only did they close after May 4th but so did almost every university around the country, I see history repeating itself in a nasty way,” Issa said. “The protests against the Vietnam War were fine, violence wasn’t fine, and they were slow to get past it because many of the professors were on the same side as the students.”

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Issa continued, “This is the same situation, the anti-Semitism on campus, the elite are part of that. They’ve been teaching it for a long time, and as a result, they have a hard time enforcing. Very few states, even governors have been willing to do what Governor Youngkin in Virginia and others did, which was act quickly and if it didn’t work, act again. In my home state of California, it’s amazing that UCLA was able to build a building faster than anyone in California is allowed to get a permit. They built it out of plywood and everyone watched as they did it and then they finally tried to slow it down or stop it, and it was too late.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

New York City is facing a lawsuit from a gay male employee who argues that the city’s policy of only providing in vitro fertilization coverage to women is discriminatory.

The Thursday lawsuit was filed by former assistant district attorney Corey Briskin and his husband, who say they had to put off plans for IVF due to the lack of financial support.

City policy currently only covers IVF procedures in cases where the employee or their partner are infertile.

The lawsuit comes as the New York City Council is considering legislation that would change the city’s rules, mandating IVF coverage for all employees regardless of marital status or sexual orientation, Reuters reported.

FOLLOWING IVF RULING, BIDEN TO SEND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY TO VISIT ALABAMA

“No court has yet opined on the issue of whether gay men can be denied IVF benefits given to other employees,” Peter Romer-Friedman, a lawyer for Briskin and his husband, told the outlet.

ALABAMA PROVIDERS SUSPEND IVF TREATMENTS AFTER STATE COURT’S RULING AS FERTILITY EXPERTS WEIGH IN

The lawsuit claims that withholding IVF coverage violates the city’s guarantees against discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as the equal rights and due process protections in the U.S. Constitution.

IVF issues have been thrust into the spotlight in recent months thanks to questions about how the practice interacts with some abortion restrictions.

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling caused three state fertility clinics to stop offering IVF services. The Alabama ruling prompted a wave of national Republicans to come out in support of IVF, while some conservatives said it is an issue best left to individual states.

ALABAMA HOUSE, SENATE PASS PROTECTIONS FOR IVF AFTER COURT RULING

Democrats, however, have used the ruling as a political cudgel against the right, claiming that Republicans would crack down on IVF access and reproductive health measures nationwide – an attack that those on the right have denied.

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Just one cycle of IVF treatment could cost between $15,000 and $30,000, depending on the clinic and a person’s medical history. Briskin and other gay male employees would only be able to access IVF through surrogacy.

More than 20 red states are filing suit after the Biden administration’s recent Title IX changes that redefine sex and expand the definition of sex discrimination to include gender identity.

“Joe Biden is once again perverting the law; this time to put a radical transgender ideology ahead of the safety of women and girls,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey told Fox News Digital on Thursday. 

Bailey said he takes the law “personally” as the father of a young daughter and that he’s “proud” to be leading a coalition of states opposing Biden’s “unconstitutional rewrite of Title IX.” 

Other states filing suit against the Education Department include: Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Montana, Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisiana, Indiana, South Carolina and Idaho.

6 STATES SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS FOR TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS

Several states in the last week – Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota and Oklahoma – joined the legal battle and filed two additional lawsuits.

Up until Biden’s revision, the 1972 law promoted gender equality and allowed sex-segregated spaces like bathrooms and locker rooms.

“The interpretation of the Biden administration is completely inconsistent with the statute and the way it’s been interpreted for decades,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said at a news conference announcing the suit alongside Bailey on Tuesday.

“We have seen this coming for a while, and we are considering what options we have to stop this rule,” Griffin said, adding that it poses a threat to the First Amendment by compelling people to “speak in a particular way or risk a sort of harassment charge.”

GOP SENATOR LEADS CHARGE TO RECOGNIZE ‘AMERICAN GIRLS IN SPORTS DAY’ AMID BIDEN’S TITLE IX OVERHAUL

Meanwhile, other red states like Florida are encouraging institutions not to comply with the new regulations. 

“Florida rejects Joe Biden’s attempt to rewrite Title IX,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a video posted to X. “We will not comply, and we will fight back.” 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a letter to the White House last month that his state will not implement the changes either. 

“Title IX was written by Congress to support the advancement of women academically and athletically,” the letter states. “The law was based on the fundamental premise that there are only two sexes – male and female. You have rewritten Title IX to force schools to treat boys as if they were girls and to accept every student’s self-declared gender identity.”

Other conservative lawmakers, like Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, said fellow Republican officials refusing to abide by the Biden administration’s revisions to Title IX “undermines the rule of law” and instead encouraged GOP states to fight back using the courts.

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“I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to skip the legal process,” Skrmetti told Fox News Digital last week. 

The new rules revised the ways in which sexual harassment and assault claims are adjudicated on campus.

RILEY GAINES SLAMS NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS AS ‘MOST ANTI-WOMAN’ PURSUIT OF BIDEN ADMINISTRATION

Under the revision, sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Schools are prohibited from separating people based on their biological sex, except in limited circumstances, under the provisions. Critics say the change will permit transgender people in locker rooms and bathrooms that contradict the sex appearing on their birth certificate.

LGBTQ+ students who face the new standards of “discrimination” will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek recourse from the federal government.

Missing from the new rule, however, is a policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes competing against biological females.

Fox News’ Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., is preparing impeachment articles against President Biden over his threat to halt U.S. offensive aid to Israel, the first-term lawmaker told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Mills accused Biden of forcing Israel into a “quid pro quo” situation by leveraging U.S. dollars against the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, drawing parallels to Democrats’ first impeachment of former President Trump over his handling of Ukraine aid.

“The House has no choice but to impeach President ‘Quid pro Joe’ Biden. As Vice President, Biden was caught threatening to withhold funding and aid to Ukraine unless they fired the attorney general investigating Burisma, a company financially benefiting his son Hunter, not to mention the 10% share for ‘the big guy’ himself,” Mills said in a statement.

“Now, Joe Biden is pressuring Israel, our biggest ally in the Middle East, by pausing their funding that has already been approved in the House, if they don’t stop all operations with Hamas. It’s a very clear message, ‘this for that.’”

MANY ISRAELIS FEEL ‘BETRAYED’ FOLLOWING BIDEN THREAT TO WITHHOLD ARMS TO DEFEAT HAMAS IN RAFAH

“These are the same accusations made against President Trump, which resulted in his impeachment by Democrats. The same must happen for Joe Biden, which is why we’re drawing up articles of impeachment now,” Mills finished.

Biden made the high-stakes ultimatum to Israel’s government in a CNN interview that aired Wednesday night as it prepares for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The city is currently home to more than a million Palestinians who left other parts of the Gaza Strip, where Israel has conducted its mission to eradicate the terrorist group Hamas.

Biden said Israel would continue to see U.S. support for its defensive systems, like the Iron Dome, in the CNN interview. He added, however, that “if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem.”

BIDEN’S DECISION TO PULL ISRAEL WEAPONS SHIPMENT KEPT QUIET UNTIL AFTER HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ADDRESS: REPORT

The remarks prompted a flurry of backlash from Republicans and some moderate Democrats. Several more GOP lawmakers voiced support for impeaching Biden over the decision, arguing there are parallels to Trump’s withholding of weapons aid to Ukraine in exchange for announcing an investigation into the Biden family.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., called on the House to open an immediate impeachment inquiry, arguing that Biden was motivated by political reasons.

“Given Democrats’ Trump-Ukraine precedent, President Biden’s decision to withhold lethal aid to our ally, Israel, for political gain is undoubtedly an impeachable offense. Clearly, the nefarious motive behind our commander in chief’s move to condition U.S. aid to Israel is to appease radical leftists and Hamas sympathizers ahead of the 2024 election,” Clyde said. “The House must immediately open an impeachment inquiry due to the president’s disastrous decision to play politics with national security.”

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital, “The Democrats made their bed, and now they’re [lying] in it. This is just the latest on a long list of reasons to impeach Biden, including the deadline withdrawal in Afghanistan and allowing more than 9 million illegal immigrants to invade our southern border.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION INVESTIGATING EMORY UNIVERSITY FOR ALLEGED ANTI-MUSLIM DISCRIMINATION 

It’s highly unlikely for the push to reach the level of a Senate trial, with the House’s current ongoing impeachment inquiry into Biden still searching for smoking gun evidence amid a mountain of accusations of improper behavior and bribery. 

But it shows the sky-high tensions that have taken over Washington amid Israel’s war on Hamas after the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., stopped short of calling for impeachment, but said, “The president is essentially threatening an arms embargo on our closest ally in the Middle East that is fighting a terror army holding American citizens hostage. Withholding critical munitions that Congress appropriated and Biden himself signed into law is wrong.”

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The first member of Congress to make the call was Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posting on X early on Thursday morning, “The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection. Only with Biden, it’s true.”

When reached for comment, the White House referred Fox News Digital to remarks made on Thursday morning by White House national security communications adviser John Kirby saying, “The president and his team have been clear for several weeks that we do not support a major ground operation in Rafah, where more than a million people are sheltering with nowhere safe to go.

“We propose alternative methods of defeating Hamas that do not involve a major ground operation in Rafah. Those conversations with the Israeli government are ongoing. The president said yesterday that if Israel in fact proceeds with a major ground operation in Rafah, he will not provide certain categories of weapons to support such an operation. The Israeli government has understood this for some time now.”

President Biden gave a three-word response when he was asked whether he would debate former President Trump prior to the election.

“Set it up,” the Democratic president told reporters following a ceremony celebrating the WNBA Champions, the Las Vegas Aces, on Thursday afternoon.

Biden’s statement came after Trump repeatedly said he would debate Biden “anywhere, anytime, anyplace.”

Two weeks ago, Biden said that he would be “happy” to debate the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. 

TRUMP SUGGESTS WHITE HOUSE AS VENUE FOR DEBATE WITH BIDEN: ‘WOULD BE VERY COMFORTABLE’

“I am, somewhere. I don’t know when,” the president said in an interview with broadcaster Howard Stern on Friday, April 26. “I’m happy to debate him.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS BIDEN DEBATE HIM ‘MUCH EARLIER’ AND MORE OFTEN

Shortly after Biden’s interview with Stern, Trump posted to his Truth Social account inviting Biden to debate him at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. 

“In the alternative, he’s in New York City today, although probably doesn’t know it, and so am I, stuck in one of the many Court cases that he instigated as ELECTION INTERFERENCE AGAINST A POLITICAL OPPONENT – A CONTINUING WITCH HUNT!” Trump posted to Truth Social. “It’s the only way he thinks he can win. In fact, let’s do the Debate at the Courthouse tonight – on National Television, I’ll wait around!” 

The former president also suggested the White House as the venue, saying it would be “very comfortable” for the pair. 

“We’ll do it at the White House,” Trump said. “That would be very comfortable, actually. You tell me where. We’re ready.” 

Trump has repeatedly told reporters that he is “ready, willing and able” to debate Biden.

“We’re ready, willing and able. We don’t see him and I don’t think he’ll be here. Maybe next week he’ll do it,” Trump told reporters at the Manhattan Criminal Court.

“I doubt it,” Trump said. “But maybe next week.”

Biden has not nailed down a date to debate Trump, saying last month that his participation would depend on the former president’s behavior.

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“Depends on his behavior,” Biden said. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Biden’s campaign for comment, but has not yet heard back.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed two measures into law on Thursday that are aimed at better protecting personal data online from Big Tech, including a bill making Maryland the second state to try to create strong limits on information collected on children.

The measure, known as the Maryland Kids Code, seeks to limit data that could be collected from children online and protect them from being flooded with harmful material they were not trying to find.

“Look, the bottom line is Big Tech has been preying on and victimizing our children for way, way too long,” said state Sen. Ben Kramer, a Democrat in the suburbs of the nation’s capital.

SENATE MULLS TIKTOK BAN AS TRUMP-ZUCKERBERG BATTLE BREWS IN BACKGROUND

Big Tech companies sought to assure lawmakers that the industry could take care of problem without interference from the government, Kramer noted. “But the fact of the matter is, leaving the fox to guard the chicken coop has left Big Tech fat and greedy, because they have prioritized cash over our kids,” the senator said.

Supporters say the new law aimed at protecting children was crafted to withstand court challenges like one that halted a California law. For example, the measure incorporates case law and established consumer protection law, supporters said.

Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of NetChoice, said the group shares lawmakers’ desire to better protect children online. “But this goal can be achieved in ways that don’t violate the Constitution and leave a litany of serious, unintended consequences in their wake,” he said.

NetChoice is a commercial association whose members include Google, Amazon, Meta and TikTok. It challenged the California law.

“Unfortunately, the law Gov. Moore signed today will fail to accomplish its goal — creating a safer online environment for young Marylanders. An unconstitutional law will not keep anyone safe. By discounting the rights and privacy of their citizens, Maryland lawmakers have unfortunately signed onto a path that will make everyone worse off — especially children,” Szabo said in an email.

Under the law, businesses would not be able to profile a child by default, with some limited exceptions, or process personal data that is not reasonably necessary to provide an online product with which the child is actively and knowingly engaged.

Del. Jared Solomon, a bill sponsor, said lawmakers were careful to make sure the measure is not meant to moderate available content. He said protective language was added to ensure a child could not be prevented from searching for content online.

“If you want to go and you want to look for things that you probably shouldn’t be looking at, we are not scrubbing that from the internet,” Solomon, a Montgomery Democrat, said. “But what we are saying to companies is you should not be essentially be accumulating data on somebody and making assumptions that that is the content that they want to see.”

Design It For Us, a coalition advocating for safer social media and online platforms for children, praised the new law.

“We hope this will bring urgency to other states to pass and adopt much needed Kids Code legislation and end Big Tech’s power over our safety and privacy,” said Zamaan Qureshi, a co-chair of the group.

The governor, a Democrat, also signed the Maryland Online Data Privacy Act of 2024.

The new law will impose certain duties on businesses to protect an individual’s personal information. For example, a business in possession of personal information will be required to implement and maintain security procedures and practices to protect the information from unauthorized access, use, modification or disclosure.

“It puts guardrails up on the amount of data that companies can collect on people online and also what they do with that data, and it gives consumers more control over their own data,” said Del. Sara Love, a Montgomery County Democrat who sponsored the measure.

The new law also will create consumer protections and rights, as well as disclosure obligations, relating to online personal data controlled or processed by certain entities that conduct business in Maryland or provide services or products that are targeted to residents of the state.

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A consumer also will have the right to opt out of the processing of personal data for the purposes of targeted advertising, the sale of personal data and certain profiling activities.

Two months after ending her White House bid, Nikki Haley will huddle early next week with some of the top donors to her Republican presidential campaign, sources confirmed to Fox News. 

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Trump’s administration will use the two-day gathering Monday and Tuesday in Charleston, South Carolina, to thank her major contributors.

But a source in Haley’s orbit says the former presidential candidate isn’t expected to encourage donors to contribute to Trump’s general election campaign and that no endorsement of the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is pending.

TRUMP’S LAST 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RIVAL LANDS A NEW GIG

The news was first reported Thursday by the Wall Street Journal.

Haley launched her presidential campaign in February 2023, becoming the first major candidate to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. And she was the final rival to Trump, battling the former president in a two-candidate showdown from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March.

Haley announced she was suspending her White House campaign March 6, the day after Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday.

WHAT KIND OF FUTURE DOES HALEY HAVE IN A TRUMP DOMINATED GOP?

However, Haley made it clear when she exited the Republican presidential nomination race she intends to keep speaking out.

“While I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in,” she emphasized as she spoke at her presidential campaign headquarters on Daniel Island in her hometown of Charleston.

To date, Haley has declined to endorse Trump.

“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” Haley said in March, as she pointed to those who supported her during her White House run.

Haley has not spoken with Trump since exiting the race, the source in her orbit confirmed to Fox News.

Some top members of Haley’s campaign, including some from the fundraising team, are expected to attend next week’s gathering. Haley and groups aligned with her campaign hauled in over $160 million from nearly 300,000 donors. 

HALEY ENDS HER WHITE HOUSE BID BUT DECLINES TO ENDORSE TRUMP

In a sign of potential trouble for Trump in his general election rematch with President Biden later this year, Haley continues to grab votes in the Republican primaries even though she’s long gone from the presidential nomination race.

Haley won nearly 22% of the vote in Tuesday’s GOP presidential primary in Indiana, which was open to not only Republicans but also independents and Democrats.

Last month, Haley joined the Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute, a research organization focused on foreign and domestic policy, national security, economics and international relations.

“Nikki is a proven, effective leader on both foreign and domestic policy,” Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters said in an announcement. “In an era of worldwide political upheaval, she has remained a steadfast defender of freedom and an effective advocate for American security and prosperity. We are honored to have her join the Hudson team.”

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During her White House bid, Haley advocated a muscular U.S. foreign policy to deal with global hot spots such as the war between Russia and Ukraine and the fighting between Israel and Hamas, often offering a stark contrast with Trump’s America First agenda of keeping the nation out of international entanglements.

Haley traded fire over America’s overseas role with rival Vivek Ramaswamy, an advocate of Trump’s America First philosophy, during the GOP presidential primary debates.

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

The Biden administration on Thursday announced a narrow new rule that would allow officials to remove some illegal immigrants considered a public safety or national security threat much earlier in the asylum process.

The rule would allow statutory denials to asylum typically applied later in the asylum process to be applied earlier at the initial screening process, which typically happens within days of someone arriving at the border. It would apply to those considered a risk to national security, including terrorists, or public safety.

A epartment of Homeland Security (DHS) senior official who briefed reporters noted it would likely only affect a small population but said it would be “an important additional tool in our toolbox that will allow us to remove individuals much more quickly who may pose a risk to the United States, enhancing our security at the border, while at the same time saving taxpayer money.”

TAXPAYER-FUNDED ID PROGRAM FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS EXPECTED TO BEGIN THIS SUMMER

The administration also announced revised guidance that allows asylum officers to consider whether an asylum seeker could instead relocate to a different part of his home country when assessing if he has a basis for asylum. 

The administration says it wants to see more sweeping changes to what it says is a “broken” system but says those changes can only come from congressional action.

“The proposed rule we have published today is yet another step in our ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the American public by more quickly identifying and removing those individuals who present a security risk and have no legal basis to remain here,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. 

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO PROPOSE NARROW ASYLUM REGULATION AS BORDER CRISIS REMAINS TOP ISSUE: REPORT

“We will continue to take action, but fundamentally it is only Congress that can fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system,” he said.

The Biden administration last year enacted a broader asylum rule that makes illegal immigrants ineligible for asylum if they have crossed multiple countries without claiming asylum. But it is unclear what effect that has had. Numbers have dropped in recent months, but only after hitting a record high of more than 200,000 encounters in December. 

The rule is unlikely to satisfy Republican critics, who have blamed the administration for rolling back Trump-era policies and enacting what they say are “open border” policies. 

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., called the rule “an unserious, politically motivated attempt to address a significant problem the Biden administration itself created.”

“The rule will not impact or reduce the millions of illegitimate asylum claims being filed by economic migrants. The department currently cannot properly vet the vast majority of illegal aliens crossing the border, as numerous tragic reports from our communities make clear. The Biden administration, however, would have us believe that vetting under this rule will somehow be effective,” Green said, responding to reports of the rule on Wednesday and adding “nothing will change.”

The administration has rejected claims it is embracing “open border” policies and has pointed to stats it says show more than 720,000 removals or returns of illegal immigrants since May 2023, more than in every full fiscal year since 2011.

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.

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

What’s happening? 

– Biden faces backlash for reported plan to withhold some weapons from Israel…

– Hunter Biden loses attempts to dismiss criminal charges…

– Trump’s stormy day in court…

‘We are so innocent’

Stormy Daniels wrapped up her testimony in the Trump trial, before a smattering of other witnesses were called to the stand. Judge Juan Merchan also handed Trump a double denial – rejecting motions for a mistrial, and defense attorneys’ request to modify the gag order now that former porn performer Daniels has finished her testimony. 

Trump’s team argued that Daniels’ time on the stand was highly prejudicial, and had nothing to do with the charges about falsifying business records for a $130,000 payment to Daniels to sign and NDA, and not share her story of having sex once with Trump. 

Trump has denied Daniels’ claims consistently, and defense attorney Susan Necheles worked hard Thursday to point out how Daniels’ story has changed over the years. Trump’s attorneys argued that now, with the porn actress’ testimony concluded, he should be able to defend himself publicly. But Merchan disagreed, saying that though Daniels was a difficult witness to control, and much of some of her testimony was “unnecessary” and “irrelevant,” the gag order would stand.

“We are so innocent,” Trump said after court adjourned Thursday. He railed against Merchan as “totally conflicted” and “corrupt.” 

White House

UNDER WRAPS: Biden decision to pull Israel weapons shipment reportedly kept quiet until after Holocaust address …Read more

‘QUID PRO JOE’: Biden impeachment articles coming over threats to Israel aid, GOP lawmaker says …Read more

‘FALSE AND INSULTING’: FBI pushes back on report that it urges employees to use warrantless wiretaps on Americans …Read more

DENIED: Federal court rejects Hunter Biden appeal in Delaware case …Read more

Capitol Hill

CALLED TO CONGRESS: House GOP invites disgraced Georgia prosecutor Nathan Wade to ‘interview’ with Judiciary committee …Read more

ACT FAST: Dems push Biden on amnesty for illegals before possible Trump victory …Read more

CAVING IN: GOP furious as Dems take victory lap over Biden’s threat to Israel weapons aid …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

BIDENOMICS BLASTED: Billionaire CEO blasts Bidenomics agenda, gives it a failing grade …Read more

ALL IN THE FAMILY: Barron Trump to enter politics as Florida delegate at GOP convention …Read more

Campus Chaos

‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’: University investigates after female student confronted trans woman in bathroom …Read more

‘NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT’: Universities would ‘pay a hefty price’ for allowing encampments under new legislation …Read more

Across America

TEAMING UP: 22 Red states form alliance and sue Biden admin over Title IX changes …Read more

IVF FOR ALL: NYC sued for denying in vitro fertilization coverage to gay male employees …Read more

‘REASON TO SUSPECT’: Missouri AG files FOIA requests for DOJ communications with Trump prosecutors …Read more

‘GOTAWAYS’: Hundreds of illegal immigrants evading Border Patrol each day …Read more

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

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

Judge Juan Merchan denied Trump defense attorneys’ request for a mistrial and a modification of the gag order on Thursday, arguing that the former president should be able to defend himself against Stormy Daniels’ salacious and “prejudicial” testimony. 

Trump defense attorney Todd Blanche first requested a mistrial on Tuesday after Daniels’ first day on the stand but was denied. Merchan did, however, admit she was a difficult witness to control and said much of her testimony was “unnecessary” and “irrelevant” to the charges. 

Trump attorneys on Thursday again requested a mistrial.

Blanche said that the prosecution asked Daniels “a whole host of questions” that never should have been asked, pointing to questions about the porn actress’ childhood and her alleged interaction with Trump. Blanche argued they were “things that are irrelevant to the facts of this case.” 

Blanche reminded that the case is not about sex, and again stressed that Daniels’ testimony was “extraordinarily prejudicial for the jury to hear.” 

Blanche continued that many of the questions asked by the prosecution were “prejudicial.” 

STORMY DANIELS’ SALACIOUS AFFAIR STORY KEEPS CHANGING BECAUSE ENCOUNTER NEVER HAPPENED, TRUMP TEAM CLAIMS

“It is so dangerous, so prejudicial, it borders on a problem from the beginning,” Blanche said, adding that Daniels’ testimony and story about the alleged sexual encounter kept changing. 

Defense attorney Susan Necheles declared earlier Thursday that Daniels “made it up.”

Meanwhile, Blanche was referring to salacious and sexually explicit questions asked of Daniels during questioning by the prosecution, stressing that the questions had nothing to do with the alleged falsification of business records–which are the only charges Trump is facing,  

Prosecutor Josh Steinglass defended Daniels and her testimony, saying that it “is not a change of story.” 

“They’re trying to have their cake and eat it too,” Steinglass said. 

Merchan explained that at each trial, evidence comes in different ways. 

Merchan reminded Blanche that during his opening argument, he denied Trump had a sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels. 

“Your denial puts the jury in a position to decide who to believe,” Merchan said, and added that the defense could have objected many times during Daniels’ testimony, “but didn’t.” 

With regard to one explicit detail, Merchan said he agreed that “shouldn’t have come out…but for the life of me, I don’t know why Ms. Necheles didn’t object.”

Merchan told Blanche that he made decisions to strike things from the record to “protect” Trump, and said he disagrees with any changing narrative, while adding that the details “add a sense of credibility.” 

Merchan denied the motion. 

The prosecution, on Thursday, also said they would no longer call Playboy model Karen McDougal as a witness, who also allegedly received a hush money payment about an alleged affair with Trump. 

Steinglass defended the decision, saying they did not “change their minds” about calling her, and said prosecutors never formally decided if they would use her as a witness during trial. 

TOP 5 MOMENTS OF TRUMP TRIAL AFTER ‘SALACIOUS’ STORMY DANIELS TESTIMONY

Meanwhile, Blanche also asked Merchan to modify the gag order imposed upon the former president, which blocks him from discussing court staff and witnesses. Blanche requested Trump be released to discuss Daniels. 

Blanche said that Trump should be able to respond to allegations of a sexual encounter in 2006 with Daniels—especially now that her testimony is complete and she is no longer an active witness. 

Prosecutors, however, argued that the defense “lives in an alternate reality,” and defended the gag order, saying it is working. Prosecutors also said Trump allies are making his case for him in news interviews. 

But Merchan denied the request, saying his “concern is not just protecting Daniels.” 

“My concern is protecting the integrity of these proceedings as a whole,” Merchan said, adding that the reason the gag order is in place is due to the nature of potential Trump attacks. 

“Your client’s track record speaks for itself,” Merchan said to Blanche. 

Merchan, though, said he would be mindful of witnesses using the gag order imposed upon Trump as a shield. 

Merchan imposed a gag order on the former president, an order he has ruled Trump to have violated at least 10 times. He has fined Trump $10,000 so far, and warned of jail time for further violations.

“The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said Monday. “You are [the] former president and possibly the next president.” 

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges stem from a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

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The charges are related to alleged payments made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence Daniels about an alleged 2006 extramarital affair with Trump.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg must convince the jury that, not only did Trump falsify business records related to alleged hush money payments, he did so in furtherance of another crime — conspiracy to promote or prevent election, which would be a felony. 

On their own, falsifying business records and conspiracy to promote or prevent election are misdemeanor charges. 

Shortly after President Biden announced Wednesday that he would withhold weapons from Israel if it entered the southern Gaza city of Rafah, former Vice President Mike Pence accused him of hypocrisy, in light of how his former boss was impeached on similar grounds.

On Wednesday, Biden lamented Gazan civilian casualties to CNN host Erin Burnett, telling her he “made it clear if they go into Rafah… I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah; to deal with the cities, to deal with that problem.”

“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently. It’s just wrong.”

On X, formerly Twitter, Pence tore into Biden, calling his comments “totally unacceptable.”

JOHNSON: ‘I HOPE ITS A SENIOR MOMENT’ WHEN BIDEN THREATENED TO PULL ISRAEL SUPPORT

“I’m old enough to remember when Democrats impeached another president for supposedly withholding foreign aid that had been approved by Congress,” he said.

“Stop the threats, Joe. America Stands with Israel.”

In comments to Fox News Digital, Pence said Biden abandoned Israel in order to “win over the Hamas apologist wing of his party.”

“Israel is our ally and the only message we should be sending is that we will stand beside them until they finish the job in Gaza and eradicate Hamas, once and for all,” Pence said. 

“Congress passed the legislation, President Biden signed it, and it is his job to execute it. He can’t withhold aid for political convenience.”

The Indiana Republican said Democrats used the same exact argument to impeach then-President Trump over his 2018 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump reportedly asked Zelenskyy to look into the Hunter Biden-Burisma affair while dangling $214 million in U.S. security assistance, which Democrats considered an act of soliciting foreign election interference.

“Israel is our most cherished ally,” Pence went on to say. “And they deserve American support to defeat Hamas – not to be used as a political pawn.” 

On Thursday, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., took his criticism a step further by calling on the House to initiate similar impeachment proceedings against the incumbent.

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“The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection,” he said.

“Only with Biden, it’s true.”

In Trump’s case, Democrats claimed it was “undisputed” that Trump asked Zelenskyy for a political favor in return for security assistance.

In opening remarks by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., at a December 2019 impeachment inquiry hearing, he alleged Trump’s call with Zelenskyy was part of “concerted effort” to “solicit a personal advantage in the next election – this time, in the form of an investigation of his political adversaries by a foreign government.”

In an apparent response to Biden’s warning, Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, introduced the Immediate Support for Israel Act on Friday, which she said would force the administration to deliver aid and support passed by Congress.

“Weeks ago, Congress came together in a bipartisan manner to pass an aid package for Israel. In an unprecedented move, President Biden not only halted the shipment of aid but also unilaterally added conditions to that very same aid – defying Congressional intent. Israel is currently engaged in a war with a terrorist organization that is still holding over 100 civilian hostages. There is simply no excuse for this delay,” Van Duyne said in a statement obtained by Fox News.

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In a statement in Hebrew on the eve of Israeli Independence Day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “If we need to stand alone, we will stand alone.”

“I have said that, if necessary, we will fight with our fingernails.”

Meanwhile, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who has been vocally critical of antisemitism on campus, responded to a clip of Biden’s CNN interview with the comment: “Crazy: This is one of the worst acts against an ally of a sitting president ever.”

“Hopefully, this means he won’t be sitting for much longer,” Ackman wrote on X.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Pence’s reaction.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

Democratic lawmakers are pushing President Biden to grant amnesty to undocumented migrants before they can be deported by a potential future Trump administration.

“We urge your Administration to take all available actions to streamline pathways to lawful status for undocumented immigrants, providing certainty to the American businesses, communities, and families who rely on them,” reads a letter to Biden on Wednesday that was signed by over 80 lawmakers.

The letter comes as the White House has continued to fight the ongoing border crisis, which has seen over 7 million illegal immigrants cross the border with the U.S. since Biden took office in 2021.

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While the administration has promised steps aimed at stemming the flow, the more than 80 lawmakers in the letter urged the president to instead look forward and hedge against the potential of a victory for former President Trump in November’s election, arguing the president needs to take concrete steps to protect the legal status of millions of undocumented migrants.

“Deporting all such individuals — as former President Donald Trump has threatened to do if reelected — would devastate the American economy and destroy American families,” the letter reads. “Alternatively, streamlining pathways for undocumented immigrants with no criminal history and deep ties to the United States to obtain parole or a lawful immigration status would provide stability to their families, require them to pay taxes, and to check in with the U.S. government regularly.” 

Among the steps the president should take is a streamlining of the process DACA recipients, those who entered the country illegally as children, can use to update their legal status, the lawmakers argue. Other steps include permitting the spouses of Americans to work while green card applications are pending and creating a process to grant parole to the undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens.

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Trump has promised to deport millions of undocumented migrants if he regains the presidency next year, going so far as to say he would use the National Guard to help carry out the massive operation.

“If I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military,” the former president said in an interview with Time magazine last month. “We have to have safety in our country. We have to have law and order in our country. And whichever gets us there, but I think the National Guard will do the job.”

The possibility of another Trump term has seemingly become more realistic in recent months, with a Wall Street Journal poll last month showing the former president with a lead in six out of the seven key battleground states.

Trump held a lead over Biden in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, the poll found, with only Wisconsin, where the president held a three-point lead, being the only outlier.

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That possibility has some lawmakers pushing the president for action now, with the letter concluding that doing so would “provide much needed relief for undocumented immigrants and the American businesses, families, and communities that rely upon them.”

Neither the White House nor the Biden campaign immediately responded to Fox News Digital requests for comment.