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House Democrats scored a rare victory on Wednesday after the chamber voted to advance a security package providing new military aid for Ukraine and imposing steep sanctions on Russia.

The Democrat-sponsored legislation cleared a procedural vote 218-204 with all Democrats present voting in the affirmative. Seven members of the House Republican conference supported the measure in a notable display of defiance against GOP leadership. 

The defecting Republicans included Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Michael McCaul, R-Texas, Max Miller, R-Ohio, and Joe Wilson, R-S.C. Additionally, Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., an independent who caucuses with Republicans, also voted to advance the bill. 

The security package would reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO, authorize more than $1 billion in new military assistance, support Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, and impose new sanctions on Russia and entities that support its war effort if Moscow continues the war, among other provisions. 

ANOTHER NATO ALLY SIGNS ONTO EUROPEAN NUCLEAR UMBRELLA AS CONTINENT BOOSTS SELF-DEFENSE

The measure now heads for a vote on final passage, where it is expected to pass as soon as Thursday. 

Its fate in the Republican-controlled Senate remains uncertain, where a bipartisan effort to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia has stalled for more than a year despite overwhelming support. Trump is expected to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

The vote came after Democrats and a handful of Republicans teamed up to force consideration of the legislation over the objections of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who controls the floor. 

Fitzpatrick, Bacon and Kiley crossed party lines to sign the Democratic-led discharge petition, a legislative maneuver that allows lawmakers to trigger a vote on legislation with majority support.

“This is our opportunity to provide the leverage that could prove decisive in ending this conflict on acceptable terms in a way that will deter future Russian aggression,” Kiley, an independent lawmaker, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“It’s just inconceivable that we should not be having additional sanctions against working with Putin,” Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who supported the underlying bill’s advancement, told Fox News. “Over and over again, we need to be standing with the courageous people of Ukraine.”

“We need to stop what Putin is doing, which is trying to resurrect the Soviet Union,” he added.

6 HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP ON KEY AGENDA ITEM IN DEM-PUSHED VOTE

The measure was vigorously opposed by Republican leadership, who argued the pro-Ukraine measure was poorly drafted and undermined the administration’s efforts to end the years-long conflict, which has been estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands.

The bill calls for NATO countries to increase defense spending to 2% of GDP prior to NATO’s Washington Summit — an event that occurred nearly two years ago in July 2024. Trump also secured a newer commitment from allies in 2025 to hike defense spending to 5% of their economic output over the course of a decade. 

Additionally, the legislation mandates that Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a taxpayer-funded outlet, have its funding restored after the Trump administration sought to cut off the outlet’s congressionally approved funding in 2025. Federal courts later ordered the funding restored amid an ongoing legal battle.

The Russia-Ukraine war has continued with no end in sight, despite Trump’s vow to end the conflict upon returning to office.

Proponents of the Ukraine Support Act argue that the legislative branch should pressure the Trump administration to take a harder line against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This is the moment for Congress to assert itself,” Kiley told Fox News Digital. “We’re seeing just further brutality on the part of Russia now, and so I think that if Congress gets involved in a meaningful way, it could provide the decisive leverage to finally bring about a resolution.”

The successful discharge petition is the latest instance in which a majority of lawmakers have worked around Johnson’s opposition to put legislation on the floor. 

“Democrats have repeatedly governed in the minority as if we were in the majority, and we’re going to do so again this week,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Tuesday, arguing his party is displaying support for “the free world, for democracy, for truth and the Ukrainian people” by forcing a vote on the security package. 

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The use of discharge petitions, a rarely used tool historically deployed by the minority, has exploded under Johnson’s leadership.

A coalition of Democrats and a handful of Republicans has used the legislative maneuver to force votes on legislation compelling the release of the Epstein files, extending legal protections to Haitian nationals and overturning a regulation targeting federal employees’ collective bargaining rights.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Wednesday’s House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing “a circus” after Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., questioned him about a pair of shoes he received as a gift from President Donald Trump.

The exchange came after Jacobs criticized Rubio’s testimony regarding the recent conflict with Iran, arguing that he was unwilling to acknowledge facts.

“Mr. Secretary, it seems like you have an issue admitting facts… You couldn’t admit the shoes the president bought you were too big,” she said.

Rubio appeared puzzled by the remark.

DEMS’ HEARING MELTDOWNS A PLAY TO THE BASE, ANALYSTS SAY, AS TRUMP NOMS KEEP PUSHING BACK IN VIRAL MOMENTS

“I don’t know about the shoes. I mean, [Trump] gave me some Florsheim shoes that are actually pretty good, they fit fine, I don’t know what she’s talking about,” he said.

Jacobs then returned to the topic moments later, complimenting Rubio’s footwear.

“Your shoes look very nice today, Mr. Secretary,” she told him.

“How can you see them? They’re way down here. We’re talking about shoes. Are you guys kidding me? I mean, is this the Foreign Affairs Committee or is this, like, a circus? What is this?” Rubio responded.

RUBIO CRACKS UP AT TRUMP’S REACTION TO NATO LEADER CALLING PRESIDENT ‘DADDY’

The exchange came amid a combative hearing in which Democratic lawmakers repeatedly challenged Rubio over the Trump administration’s handling of foreign policy, including the recent conflict with Iran.

Earlier in the hearing, Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., questioned Rubio about whether Trump’s personal financial interests could have influenced decisions related to military action against Iran.

Rubio forcefully rejected the suggestion.

“Not once. Just to be clear, not a single time, not even for a millisecond, has the president ever discussed his personal economics and relations to war or any public policy that he’s made, for that matter,” Rubio said. “And I’ve been in every one of his foreign policy meetings for the most part.”

RUBIO SLAMS ‘FALSE’ INTELLIGENCE LEAKS DOWNPLAYING SUCCESS OF TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES

As Democratic lawmakers continued pressing Rubio throughout the hearing on issues ranging from Trump’s finances to allegations of corruption within the administration, the secretary grew increasingly frustrated with the tenor of the proceedings.

Later in the hearing, Rubio again complained that lawmakers were not allowing him enough time to answer questions.

“What kind of thing is this? What is this? You know, you get asked questions for five minutes and you don’t get time to answer. It’s not a hearing,” Rubio said.

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As the exchange continued, he added, “Is this a dunk tank? What is this?”

Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Scandal-plagued democratic socialist Graham Platner’s continued controversies have led his former primary rival to speak out and remind Mainers that she remains on the ballot despite having suspended her campaign.

Platner has been hit with one controversy after another, though he remains the heavy favorite heading into next Tuesday’s primary contest, as his only active opponent, David Costello, has failed to gain traction.

But Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign for Senate earlier this year, dropped a potential bombshell in comments to a Lewiston Sun-Journal columnist by suggesting Democrats could still vote for her in their effort to unseat 30-year incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, New England’s last remaining federal Republican officeholder.

“People have the impression that I withdrew or dropped out,” Mills said, according to columnist Steve Collins.

“I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot,” said Mills — an outspoken Trump critic who got publicly reprimanded by the president during a White House lunch earlier this year over the subject of biological men in girls’ sports.

DEM PRIMARY TURNS UGLY: MILLS UNLEASHES BRUTAL ATTACK ON SANDERS-BACKED PLATNER IN CRUCIAL SENATE SHOWDOWN

While fundraising struggles were cited in Maine media reports as a key reason Mills paused her campaign, Platner has charged ahead through one controversy after another.

His “Totenkopf” chest tattoo — one used by German Nazi concentration camp guards — has been the controversy most frequently cited by Republicans, while his campaign also became embroiled in a separate controversy when a consultant asked Massachusetts-based sports media personality David Portnoy to collaborate on an anti-private-equity campaign against the Boston Red Sox front office.

Portnoy balked at the suggestion, citing his Jewish faith and Platner’s Nazi tattoo.

Platner also defended himself after a Reddit post resurfaced in which he called former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels a “dumb motherf—-er” for being badly wounded in a Taliban siege, blaming “poor marksmanship” by the Afghan terrorists for the Republican’s survival.

Otherwise dormant since April 30, Mills’ campaign X account sprang back to life June 1 with a post commemorating Pride Month.

PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION

“Everyone deserves the freedom to live authentically and marry who they love without fear. I’m proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community, today and every day,” Mills said.

Meanwhile, Steve Collins wrote in the column containing Mills’ comments that an increasing number of female independent and Democratic voters in Maine are troubled by Platner’s scandals.

He wrote that their collective umbrage is “more likely to kill [Platner’s] campaign… than greedy millionaires.”

Susan Collins’ counterpart in the Senate is registered Independent Sen. Angus King Jr., who caucuses with Democrats and reliably votes with them.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign and Mills’ office for comment.

The Pine Tree State’s primary is June 9.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., suddenly found himself on the defensive at a budget hearing on Wednesday when, amid levying accusations of the Trump administration’s “corrupt” dealings, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired back by bringing Wyden’s son’s investments into the exchange.

“We would like to hear what Adam Wyden and Jeffrey Epstein talked about,” Bessent said, referring to unearthed emails drawing a connection between the senator’s son and the disgraced financier.

“Did your son and Jeffrey Epstein talk about pole dancing as he begged him for money?”

The moment continues the political fallout for the many names associated with Epstein that — despite not amounting to proof of wrongdoing — continue to prompt embarrassment and scandal at even the smallest mention.

TOP FIERY MOMENTS AS DEMOCRATS CLASH WITH TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT IN CHAOTIC HILL HEARINGS

Epstein, a former financier, died while in prison on charges of sex trafficking minors in 2019, leaving behind questions of whether he facilitated illegal sexual encounters for his vast network of rich and powerful figures.

Amid public demands for transparency on the matter, the Department of Justice released troves of documents on Epstein late last year, unveiling a slew of new names with all manner of ties to the infamous figure ranging from purely innocuous to alarming.

Among them, emails surfaced indicating that Adam Wyden, Ron Wyden’s son, went to Epstein, hoping to gain his support for a business venture.

UNEARTHED EMAILS REVEAL DEM SENATOR’S SON WANTED EPSTEIN TO JOIN HIS FUND: ‘ENJOYED OUR CONVERSATION’

“Jeffrey, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation and hope my passion and dedication for my business came through in the meeting. I live and breathe this business and take my returns, integrity and reputation quite seriously,” the younger Wyden said in an email in April 2016.

“I intensely appreciate like-minded individuals and would very much look forward to having you join us at the fund.”

The emails came after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida in 2008.

It’s unclear what the business venture discussed by Adam Wyden and Epstein may have been or what, specifically, had been discussed in their conversations.

Even so, Bessent reminded viewers that the younger Wyden had a history of investing in off-color markets at Wednesday’s hearing.

DEMOCRATS ARE HAMMERING REPUBLICANS ON EPSTEIN, BUT ONE SENATOR BRUSHED OFF THE ISSUE YEARS AGO

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“Your son’s largest investment position was Rick’s Cabaret,” Bessent said, referring to a series of strip clubs.

Wyden, who has widely panned the Trump administration and its many officials for their own connections to Epstein, didn’t respond to Bessent’s jabs.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted Vice President JD Vance’s anti-fraud efforts and claimed Republicans are uncovering enough government fraud to potentially balance the federal budget, while accusing Democrats of resisting investigations because they are “in on the act.”

In a Truth Social post, Trump praised Vance and Republican officials for what he described as a nationwide effort to identify fraud and waste in government spending.

“Vice President JD Vance and Republicans are doing a great job hunting down Fraud in the various States,” Trump wrote. “Billions of Dollars is being found, and we’ve just started!”

Trump’s comments come as the administration has sought to highlight anti-fraud efforts led by Vance. In April, Fox News Digital reported that Vance’s newly created anti-fraud task force had identified nearly $6.3 billion in government contracts believed to be tied to potentially fraudulent businesses.

Officials said nearly 400 businesses would be required to prove they had legitimate operations and physical addresses.

JD VANCE’S TASK FORCE FLAGS NEARLY $6.3B IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS GOING TO POTENTIALLY FRAUDULENT BUSINESSES

The president argued that the amount of fraud being uncovered could have major implications for federal spending and taxes.

“If we found it all, we would literally be able to balance the Budget, and simultaneously reduce Taxes, cutting them even more than I have already done, which is a RECORD!” Trump wrote.

Trump did not provide evidence that fraud findings identified by Republicans would be sufficient to eliminate the federal deficit. While the president argued uncovering fraud could eventually balance the budget, the administration has not publicly released figures showing identified fraud totals approaching the size of the annual federal deficit.

BESSENT SAYS MINNESOTA FRAUD RECOVERY COULD HELP FUND TRUMP’S $1.5T DEFENSE PLAN

The anti-fraud task force was established by executive order in March, and is chaired by Vance. The administration has said the initiative is designed to identify fraud, waste and abuse across federal programs and government contracts as part of a broader effort to reduce spending and strengthen oversight.

Trump also sharply criticized Democrats, saying he was surprised efforts to uncover fraud had not received bipartisan support.

“Amazingly, Dumocrats are fighting us all the way,” Trump wrote. “This is something that I am surprised at, because I thought this would be a Bipartisan effort.”

JD VANCE WARNS BLUE STATE OFFICIALS COULD FACE PRISON OVER BILLION-DOLLAR FRAUD EPIDEMIC

Trump went on to suggest Democrats may oppose such investigations because they have a vested interest in preventing further discoveries.

“It’s looking like they’re in on the act,” Trump wrote.

The president further claimed Democrats do not want Republicans to uncover what he described as “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars of FRAUD!”

Trump later compared Democratic opposition to anti-fraud efforts with several other issues that have become central themes of his political messaging, including transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, mail-in ballots, voter identification requirements and proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting.

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The administration has made rooting out waste, fraud and abuse a recurring focus of its messaging as it seeks to reduce government spending and defend broader fiscal policy initiatives.

Democrats have argued Republicans frequently conflate fraud, waste and policy disagreements when discussing federal spending reductions and have questioned whether projected savings touted by the administration can ultimately be realized.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was caught on video calling Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin a “racist” during a House committee meeting Wednesday focused on department funding.

Following the initial outburst, Green proceeded to tell Mullin to “shut up.”

The Homeland Security secretary could be seen cocking his head in apparent surprise, as Green continued the verbal attack, repeating “shut up.”

“Did you just tell me to shut up,” Mullin asked.

DEMS THROW HOUSE INTO CHAOS AFTER 10 MODERATES JOIN GOP TO PUNISH AL GREEN

As the sound of the gavel rang out, Green shouted back, “It’s my time.”

“I’m not going to let anybody call me a racist chairman,” Mullen calmly told Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-New York, who serves as the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.

Green denied making the comment before again asking Garbarino to “tell him to shut up.”

The chairman called for the encounter to be suspended following Green’s escalation at the House gathering.

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Green has a history of aggressive outbursts, having been ejected from President Donald Trump’s primetime address to a joint session of Congress for a second year in a row in February.

He was recently defeated in the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District by freshman Rep. Christian Menefee.

President Donald Trump carried Ohio by more than 11 percentage points in 2024, but a new Fox News survey finds his standing in the Buckeye State has deteriorated — a development that is benefitting Democrat Sherrod Brown in the Senate race. 

By a 15-point margin, Ohioans view Trump negatively: 42% hold a favorable opinion and 57% an unfavorable one. That’s more than a 20-point swing compared to his +6 net positive rating (52-46%) in the November 2024 Ohio Fox News Voter Analysis election survey.

The poll of Ohio voters, released Wednesday, finds Trump’s ratings are about on par with views of Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted (41% favorable, 50% unfavorable), while challenger and former Ohio Senator Brown is viewed significantly more positively (53% vs. 44%).

That helps Brown outperform Husted by a 53% to 45% margin in the race to fill the state’s Senate seat.  His 8-point lead is outside the poll’s margin of sampling error.  

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS SEE AI REGULATION AS URGENT, RANK SAFEGUARDS AHEAD OF INNOVATION

Brown garners fully 98% support among Democrats compared to Husted’s 86% among Republicans.  Brown also receives backing from outside the democratic base: 31% of non-MAGA Republicans and 13% of all Republicans.  Only 2% of Democrats pick Husted. 

Husted is favored by White evangelical Christians (+32 points), rural voters (+11), and White men without a college degree (+7).  Brown is preferred by voters under age 35 (+33), independents (+18), and women (+14). 

Non-white voters favor Brown by 58 points, while the race is a dead heat among White voters (49% each).  And the candidates are nearly tied among voters ages 45 and over (49-48%), while Brown leads by 23 points among those under age 45.

The candidates are competing for the Senate seat Husted currently holds after being appointed to replace JD Vance when Vance became vice president. Brown is hoping to return to the U.S. Senate after he narrowly lost his seat to Bernie Moreno in 2024. 

About 7 in 10 of both Brown’s (73%) and Husted’s supporters (69%) are certain of their choice. Overall, about one in four say they may change their mind before voting. 

FOX NEWS POLL: ‘RESILIENT DISCONTENT’ DEFINES THE US MOOD AT 250TH ANNIVERSARY

By a 6-point margin, more Democrats (82%) than Republicans (76%) say they are extremely or very motivated to vote this November. 

Most Brown supporters, 68%, describe their vote as mainly for him rather than against Husted (30%).  Those who are backing Husted are less enthusiastic about their candidate, with 58% saying their support is mainly for him rather than against Brown (39%).

In a state Trump carried with 55% of the vote, the survey finds being too close to him is now more of a liability than being too liberal.  Some 39% of Ohioans are concerned Brown is “too liberal,” including 13% of his supporters. For Husted, 46% overall are worried he is “too close” to Trump, including 10% of his backers. 

Inflation dominates, with 43% saying it is the most important issue in their Senate vote.  All others trail far behind, including healthcare (12%), immigration and border security (11%,) political divisions (9%), jobs (8%), Iran (7%), abortion and crime (4% each).  Notably, inflation is the top issue among independents (50%), Democrats (44%), Republicans (40%), MAGA (34%), and 2024 Trump voters (39%).

Voters focused on inflation favor Brown by 14 points, as do healthcare voters by 44 points, while those prioritizing immigration and border security go for Husted by 76.

On their family’s financial situation, 39% of Ohio voters say they are falling behind, up from 32% who said the same in the 2024 FNVA survey.  The largest number, 49%, say their family is holding steady, down 9 points.

“There’s good reason for the Democrats to be bullish on Ohio,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson. “The state remains solidly Republican, but Democrats are united against Trump allies and independents prefer Brown.”

In the race for governor, Ohio voters are divided: half back Democrat Amy Acton (50%) and nearly half favor Republican Vivek Ramaswamy (49%). Fourteen percent who prefer Brown in the Senate race cross-party lines to support Ramaswamy. 

Most Democrats (93%) go for Acton, while most Republicans favor Ramaswamy (89%). Independents back Acton by 8 points (51-43%).

Nearly twice as many Acton supporters (38%) as Ramaswamy backers (21%) say their vote is mainly “against” the other candidate.

Seven in 10 of each candidate’s supporters are certain of their choice.

Although views of Acton are positive by 9 points (46% favorable vs. 37% unfavorable), 16% are unable to rate her. Ramaswamy’s ratings are positive by 1 point (45-44%), while Vance’s are underwater by 7 (45-52%), and opinion splits on sitting GOP Gov. Mike DeWine (48-48%).

By more than 2-to-1, Buckeye voters oppose having an AI data center built in their area (32% favor, 65% oppose).  That opposition is across the political spectrum, as majorities of Democrats (72%), independents (64%), and Republicans (59%) are against building data centers.

Conducted May 28-June 1, 2026 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,015 Ohio registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file.  Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (109) and cellphones (653) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (253).  Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ± 3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher.  In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.  Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population.  Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. 

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., lashed out at towel-clad Republican staffers outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s (DSCC) headquarters this week after they confronted him and other top Dems over their support for scandal-plagued Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.

Video obtained by Fox News Digital shows the Republican protesters, including staffers from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), dressed in towels to mock a sexually suggestive Kik profile photo of Platner that showed the Democratic Senate hopeful shirtless with a towel around his waist.

“Do you support Graham Platner even though he’s on Kik?” one protester asked Sanders outside the DSCC headquarters in Washington, D.C., where Platner and other top Dems were seen entering and exiting to meet with the embattled candidate ahead of his June 9 primary.

Platner’s campaign has been dogged by controversies, including a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol that he has since covered up, resurfaced Reddit posts that blamed rape victims, pushed racial stereotypes, mocked a Purple Heart veteran, and encouraged political violence, among other controversial comments on the popular blogging platform.

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

Meanwhile, Platner’s issues continued just days ahead of his primary after it was reported Platner had exchanged sexually-explicit text messages with other women during his marriage and had an active Kik profile featuring a shirtless mirror selfie with a towel around his waist, a photo GOP staffers appeared to mock outside the DSCC by showing up in towels. Kik is an anonymous messaging app linked to child exploitation cases, which child-safety groups have criticized as a “predator’s paradise.”

Chants of “Platner is a creep!” and “Delete your Kik!” alongside signs that read “PEDO PLATNER MESSAGED KIDS” could be seen in video of the demonstration caught by Fox News Digital.

“Are you with the Republican party?” Sanders shot back in response to the protester’s question about Platner’s Kik account.

CORY BOOKER ADMITS GRAHAM PLATNER ‘HAS QUESTIONS TO ANSWER’ FOLLOWING LATEST SCANDAL

“It doesn’t matter,” the protester returned before Sanders lashed out about Republican “morality” amid the heated back-and-forth.

“Are you talking about morality and corruption? With President Trump?” Sanders shouted at the protesters as he pointed back at them. “Have a nice day,” he said before walking off.

Fox News Digital has found no evidence that Platner communicated with minors on Kik. The controversy surrounding the account centers on the app’s child-safety reputation, the sexually suggestive profile photo and its emergence alongside separate reporting about Platner’s sexually explicit messages with women during his marriage.

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Meanwhile, Platner has disputed portions of the reporting surrounding his personal life, while his wife has criticized the disclosure of private details about their marriage. He has also apologized for past online comments and said the tattoo, which he has since covered, was obtained years ago without knowledge of its Nazi associations.

The confrontation outside the DSCC underscored the increasingly public effort by Republicans to turn Platner’s controversies into a liability for national Democrats, including Sanders and other top party figures who have continued to stand by him ahead of Maine’s June 9 Democratic Senate primary.

A campaign staffer for congressional candidate Stefany Shaheen repeatedly shoved a pastry into the camera of an America Rising tracker as he questioned her about whether she supported Graham Platner’s U.S. Senate campaign. Shaheen did not respond.

Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Maine’s open Senate seat, has faced a string of controversies over the past year. Reports from last month revealed that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with up to a dozen women while married. The scandal follows earlier scrutiny over inflammatory past Reddit posts and a tattoo resembling the Nazi-era Totenkopf symbol, which Platner has said he did not understand was associated with the SS when he got it.

Shaheen is running for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, a seat left open by Rep. Chris Pappas’ Senate bid to succeed her retiring mother. Although neither Shaheen nor her mother, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., has publicly supported Platner, Republicans seized on Shaheen’s refusal to answer questions about him.

“Nepo baby Stefany Shaheen had the chance to condemn Graham Platner’s vile behavior. Instead, she chose to stay radio silent while her staffer attacked a questioner with a donut,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told Fox News Digital. “Granite Staters deserve a representative who doesn’t glaze over simple questions and whose team knows not to weaponize a baked good.”

LONGTIME DEMOCRAT SENATOR’S DAUGHTER TAKES AIM AT TRUMP, MUSK, RFK JR, IN LAUNCH FOR KEY HOUSE SWING SEAT

Fox News Digital reached out to Stefany Shaheen’s campaign for comment.

Despite Platner’s mounting controversies, several prominent Democrats have continued to stand by him. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have all maintained their support for Platner’s campaign, arguing that control of the Senate remains the party’s top priority heading into November.

“The issue right now is not Graham Platner’s marriage. The issue right now is how we address the crises facing working families in this country,” Sanders said of the sex scandal plaguing Platner’s campaign.

WATCH: CHUCK SCHUMER SIDESTEPS PLATNER SCANDALS, CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CONTROVERSIAL DEM

Sanders endorsed Platner just two weeks after he launched his campaign. Throughout the campaign trail, Platner has echoed Sanders’ calls to take on billionaires but has stopped short of labeling himself a democratic socialist.

Schumer endorsed Platner just hours after Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign and dropped out of the race in April.

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Democratic leaders have continued to support Platner while emphasizing the importance of reclaiming the Senate. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said “so much is riding on Democrats taking control of the Senate,” while Schumer has repeatedly framed the race in terms of defeating Susan Collins and winning back the chamber.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio forcefully pushed back Wednesday against a Democratic lawmaker’s suggestion that President Donald Trump may have considered personal financial interests when making decisions related to the recent conflict with Iran.

Rubio called the allegation “completely false” and said he has never heard the president discuss his own finances in connection with war or foreign policy.

The exchange came during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, when Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., pressed Rubio about whether he warned Trump that military action against Iran could increase costs for Americans and whether the president’s personal stock holdings created a potential conflict of interest.

HOW TRUMP HANDED THE DEMOCRATS A GIFT BY SEEMING TO DISMISS FINANCIAL WORRIES OF AMERICANS

“Not once. Just to be clear, not a single time, not even for a millisecond,” Rubio said. “Has the president ever discussed his personal economics and relations to war or any public policy that he’s made, for that matter? And I’ve been in every one of his foreign policy meetings for the most part.”

Rubio’s remarks came after Meeks questioned whether Trump had been warned that “personal stock purchases and companies profiting from the war that he launched could present a conflict of interest.”

“I’m not aware of the president’s stock purchases,” Rubio responded. “I don’t deal that. And I don’t even know what you’re saying is true.” 

When Meeks asserted that Trump’s financial information was public, Rubio replied, “You say so. I don’t read the president’s financial disclosure, but I don’t believe that.”

Meeks’ line of questioning followed the release of Trump’s annual financial disclosure, which showed more than 3,600 securities transactions executed in investment accounts managed for the president’s benefit during the first quarter of 2026. 

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment on Meeks’ line of questioning. Trump representatives have said the accounts are managed by outside financial professionals and that the president does not direct individual trades.

The hearing also featured a tense back-and-forth after Meeks repeatedly asked whether Rubio warned Trump that the conflict could drive up costs for gas, food, travel and shipping. 

Rubio declined to provide a direct yes-or-no answer, telling the congressman, “I don’t do yes or no answers.”

As Meeks continued pressing him, Rubio responded, “You’re running out your five minutes. Did you? I don’t do yes or no. Quiet. You want to ask me a question? I’ll answer.”

Meeks did not cite a specific stock purchase or financial transaction connected to the U.S. operation against Iran during the hearing.

TOP FIERY MOMENTS AS DEMOCRATS CLASH WITH TREASURY SECRETARY BESSENT IN CHAOTIC HILL HEARINGS

As Democratic lawmakers repeatedly challenged Rubio throughout the hearing on issues ranging from Trump’s finances and decision-making to broader allegations of corruption within the administration, the secretary grew increasingly frustrated with the tenor of the proceedings.

“Is this the Foreign Affairs Committee, or is this like a circus? What is this?” Rubio asked during one exchange.

At another point, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., showed videos he argued depicted Trump falling asleep during meetings and accused Rubio of misleading Congress when he denied it.

“I’ve never seen him fall asleep,” Rubio responded, later defending Trump’s work habits by saying the president “literally doesn’t sleep” and “works day and night, long hours every single day.”

Lieu also questioned Trump’s cognitive fitness, prompting Rubio to fire back that “we had a cognitively impaired president in office a few years ago,” an apparent reference to former President Joe Biden.

Later in the hearing, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., accused the administration of a lack of transparency surrounding Venezuela oil contracts and alleged corruption involving Trump allies. Rubio called the accusations “false” and “defamatory” and repeatedly complained that lawmakers were not allowing him to answer questions before reclaiming their time.

“What kind of thing is this? What is this? You know, you get asked questions for five minutes and you don’t get time to answer. It’s not a hearing,” Rubio said.

As the exchange continued, Rubio added, “Is this a dunk tank what is this?”

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Rubio made the earlier “circus” remark during a separate exchange with Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., in which the congresswoman criticized his handling of the administration’s foreign policy and referenced a pair of shoes Trump had allegedly given him. Rubio responded that the shoes fit fine before expressing disbelief that the committee was discussing footwear.

“Are you guys kidding me?” Rubio said.

GOP Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said a communications staffer was reprimanded after making a “stupid” and “hurtful” social media post.

“Earlier today while working on the farm, my phone began going crazy because of a post made by a member of my comms team. The post was stupid, hurtful and a complete distraction from my America First focus. The employee has been reprimanded,” Ogles said in a post on Tuesday night.

The House Republican appears to have been referring to a post on his @RepOgles X account that read, “Homosexuality has no place in America. Happy Nuclear Family Month.”

REPUBLICAN SAYS ‘MUSLIMS DON’T BELONG IN AMERICAN SOCIETY,’ DRAWS FIERCE DEMOCRATIC BACKLASH

Fox News Digital reached out to Ogles’ office on Wednesday.

Gov. Bill Lee signed a resolution that cleared the Tennessee state legislature to designate June 2026 as “Nuclear Family Month.”

CHICAGO COLLEGE REMOVES LGBTQ PRIDE FLAG OVER INSTITUTIONAL NEUTRALITY CONCERNS

“Homosexuality exists. In America. In fact Andy, you have family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and constituents who are gay and lesbian. It doesn’t make them less than or somehow unworthy of being an American. What an absolutely idiotic statement to make,” Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York wrote on X.

Ogles’ post appears to have been deleted from X.

On Monday, Lawler wished a “Happy Pride Month” to those who celebrate it in June.

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

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“June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate love, acceptance, and the freedom to be yourself. Happy Pride Month to all who are celebrating!” Lawler declared in a post on X.

Senate Republicans may need more convincing from the Trump administration that the “anti-weaponization” fund is officially dead, even after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spelled out its doom on Tuesday. 

Many Republicans demanded that the administration make it crystal clear that not only was the nearly $2 billion fund done, but that it would never come back. And at stake is a multibillion package to fund immigration enforcement operations. 

During a closed-door meeting Tuesday, Senate Republican leadership assured members that Blanche would lay out the fate of the fund, and hoped that it would be enough to quell dissent among the ranks. 

TRUMP ADMIN BACKS OFF CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND, CLEARING PATH FOR STALLED GOP IMMIGRATION BILL

And he did during a hearing in the House, where he repeatedly said that the administration was not moving forward with the fund.

“The reasons for the fund, I think, remain as important as they were before, but we are not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said. 

The fund was announced last month as part of a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service, and pitched as a mechanism for people who felt they were targeted by the government to get a financial kickback. Republicans were concerned that without proper guardrails, people convicted of assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill could access the taxpayer cash flow.

Some in the GOP wanted President Donald Trump to come out and officially kill the fund. 

“I assume if Blanche is saying it, the president must agree,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said.

GOP DEMANDS TRUMP KILL CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND BEFORE REVIVING ICE FUNDING PACKAGE

But some Republicans want an even more concrete show from the administration that it’s actually dead and gone. 

“I’m not sure that’s gonna be good enough for some people,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said. 

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., contended that if the administration really meant it, it would support legislation to permanently prevent the fund from returning in any form. He planned to push an amendment to the broader, roughly $70 billion reconciliation package that would make sure of that.

“I just feel like we just need to do a Wayback Machine and just pretend like this never existed and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure it can never exist or disperse,” Tillis said. “Not in the current environment.” 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that Blanche previewed his remarks on the fund to him, and hoped that it would be enough to unite the fractured Republicans to move forward with budget reconciliation this week. 

GOP’S PRIMED FOR PRIMARY SEASON PAYBACK ON TRUMP’S MOST AMBITIOUS, CONTROVERSIAL POLICY

“I think, as I’ve conveyed to you before, everything comes down to a function of math,” Thune said. “It’s do we have the votes? Do we have 50 votes to execute on getting a bill like that across the floor? Because we have to have Republicans hanging together in order to do that.”

Republican leadership hopes to launch the process on Wednesday in order to get the roughly $70 billion package to the House by the end of the week. 

Some Republicans are hopeful that it will be enough to get the process back on track. 

“If it goes like we’re told it will go, well, there’s a reasonable possibility, then we will move pretty quickly to the reconciliation,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. 

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Part of the issue is that if Republicans aren’t on the same page, several Democratic amendments that would both tackle the fund and halt momentum for the package could pass.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was one of several critics of the fund, and she hoped that Blanche would make it “crystal clear that the administration is not going to proceed” with the issue. Whether she or others in the same camp would vote against amendments remained an open question. 

“I’m not going to predict what’s gonna happen to a very fluid situation,” Collins said.

The judge who ordered President Donald Trump‘s name removed from the Kennedy Center is married to an attorney who has represented a former anti-Trump FBI lawyer, served as counsel to the House Jan. 6 committee and currently represents former President Joe Biden — relationships that Trump blasted as clear conflicts of interest following the ruling.

Trump claimed in a heated Truth Social post that U.S. District Court of D.C. Judge Christopher Cooper’s wife, Amy Jeffress, a former Obama-era Justice Department attorney turned top lawyer of Trump’, encouraged her husband to reject Trump’s Kennedy Center renovation plans and remove his name from the building.

He pointed to Jeffress’ past and current clients, which include some of his most prominent critics, as evidence that she is “a Radical Left Democrat” who is influencing her husband to rule against him.

“Trump Hating Judge wants to keep it open because his wife probably told him to do so!” Trump wrote of Cooper, referring to his rejection of Trump’s plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years for renovations.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP’S NAME REMOVED FROM KENNEDY CENTER, SAYS ONLY CONGRESS CAN RENAME IT

Cooper issued his ruling on May 29, finding that the Kennedy Center board exceeded its legal authority when it voted to rename the institution to include Trump’s name. He ruled that only Congress can change the institution’s name based on the Kennedy Center’s founding statute, which makes clear that the venue is dedicated to President John F. Kennedy.

Trump also alleged Jeffress “doesn’t use the ‘Cooper’ name because they, as a couple, don’t want people to know that she has a Conflict of Interest with an important Judge.”

The president pointed to Jeffress’ professional background, which included serving as a counselor to Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration. Trump and his allies have accused the Obama administration of politicizing intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election and promoting allegations of ties between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin. The FBI named its investigation into Russia’s alleged ties to Trump’s campaign Crossfire Hurricane.

WHO IS NORM EISEN? MEET THE ANTI-TRUMP ATTORNEY REPPING FBI AGENTS SUING THE DOJ

Thousands of text messages exchanged between Peter Strzok, a senior investigator on the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe, and his then-lover Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer and adviser to Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, became public in 2018. Although Page was not involved in the Russia investigation, the pair’s anti-Trump messages prompted criticism from some who argued the exchanges revealed political bias within the FBI.

Jeffress represented Page during congressional scrutiny of the FBI’s handling of its investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official State Department business. Page was not involved in the Clinton email investigation itself.

She later represented Page again in a civil lawsuit against the FBI and the Justice Department, in which she argued that the disclosure of the text messages was improper.

Years later, Jeffress served as outside counsel to the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, advising members on legal issues involving evidence, witness testimony and executive privilege claims. The committee examined the causes of the riot, efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and Trump’s actions leading up to the attack.

TRUMP’S NAME ADDED TO KENNEDY CENTER FOLLOWING UNANIMOUS BOARD VOTE TO RENAME HISTORIC BUILDING

The president also pointed to Jeffress’ law firm, Hecker Fink LLP, formerly known as Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, which represented E. Jean Carroll in her civil lawsuit against him.

Since July 2025, Jeffress has served as Biden’s personal attorney and is representing the former president in a lawsuit seeking to block the Justice Department from releasing transcripts and audio recordings of Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents.

“Amy is totally wired into the Left System, from her husband down, and it is impossible for me to be treated fairly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He has a total Conflict of Interest, and should be brought up on charges for not revealing these facts.”

Appointed by President Barack Obama, Cooper has served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in Washington, D.C., since 2014.

The criticism facing Cooper is not the first time he has been accused by Trump or his allies of having a potential conflict of interest. Cooper previously drew scrutiny during Special Counsel John Durham’s prosecution of former Clinton campaign-linked attorney Michael Sussmann, with critics arguing that he should have recused himself because his wife, attorney Amy Jeffress, represented former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, a figure tied to the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation.

The Sussmann case stemmed from Durham’s probe into the origins of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. Prosecutors alleged that Sussmann falsely told the FBI he was not acting on behalf of any clients when he presented allegations about a purported communications channel between the Trump Organization and Russia’s Alfa Bank during the 2016 election. Cooper rejected Sussmann’s effort to dismiss the case before trial and allowed Durham’s prosecution to proceed, but a jury ultimately acquitted Sussmann in May 2022 after a two-week trial overseen by Cooper.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Cooper’s office, Jeffress, a representative for former President Joe Biden, Page, a representative for Garland, and Hecker Fink LLP for comment.

Cooper and Jeffress have been married since 1999. Their wedding was officiated by former Biden Justice Department Attorney General Merrick Garland, who at the time was a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Though California voters are heading to the polls tonight, they may not know the results of several key primary races for days – a fact that has people across the political spectrum raising concerns.

“The fact that California elections often can’t be resolved for weeks is kind of insane and not common in other electoral systems around the world,” Nate Silver, a top political data analyst, wrote on X on Tuesday afternoon. “Like honestly ‘it’s going to take us several weeks to tell you who won the election’ is failed state sh-t and should be much more stigmatized. The fact that it’s tolerated is bad too a textbook example of learned helplessness.”

Lengthy vote counts in California are a product of the state’s reliance on mail voting and its thorough review process. Under California law, every registered voter receives a mail-in ballot and votes that arrive at election offices up to a week after election day are considered valid so long as they were postmarked by election day.

RNC RAILS AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S LATE MAIL-IN BALLOT COUNTING AMID NATIONAL LITIGATION: ‘IT IS ABSURD’

In tight primaries where a handful of votes decide outcomes, this process can cause voters to go weeks without knowing who will advance to the general election.

“Every other state manages to count its votes in a somewhat timely manner,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent who caucuses with the GOP, wrote on X. “California’s inability to competently handle the basic administration of democracy is embarrassing. It’s also indicative of why our state has so many other problems.”

TRUMP MAKES LATE-NIGHT ENDORSEMENTS IN SIX STATES AHEAD OF TUESDAY PRIMARIES, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA

Florida famously tweaked its election laws after the state failed to declare a winner during the 2004 presidential election and has since had relatively few problems in providing quick and accurate counts.

Some, however, defend California’s system, arguing that the slow pace of counting is a worthwhile trade-off to ensure greater access for voters.

USPS GIVES CRITICAL WARNING ABOUT MAIL-IN BALLOTS AS ELECTION DAY LOOMS NEXT WEEK

“The delayed count is in service of maximizing turnout and access,” Democratic strategist Addisu Demissie wrote on X. “LA County is bigger than 40 states, but, well, a county.”

He added that critics were being unreasonable, as knowing the results of the elections by the end of the week, which he says is acceptable.

David Dayen, executive editor at The American Prospect, a liberal magazine, pointed out that fraud prevention efforts – such as checking all ballot signatures against a master file – lengthen the counting process.

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 In a different vein, Logan Dobson, a conservative political operative, argued that California’s slow vote counting could throw the nation into disarray if the United States moved to a national popular vote system, leaving the results of presidential elections unclear for days or even weeks.

“This is correct and extremely embarrassing for US democracy,” Princeton Professor Arthur Spirling wrote, responding to Silver’s criticism. “What’s also bad is the number of people, political scientists among them, who show up to tell you there’s no other way and you’re damaging the civic fabric by pointing out how ridiculous it is.”

Democrat Rebecca Bennett will face Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., an embattled lawmaker sidelined for months by an undisclosed health issue, in November’s general election. 

Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, won the Democratic nomination in a crowded primary for a battleground New Jersey House seat, according to The Associated Press. 

Kean, who has not appeared in public since early March, ran unopposed for the GOP nomination.

Bennett’s primary victory sets up what could be the two-term incumbent’s toughest re-election fight yet. The suburban swing district is considered critical to House Republicans’ efforts to hold their slim majority.

VIDEO SHOWS DEM CANDIDATE DODGING TRUMP VIOLENCE QUESTION AS CAMPAIGN ISSUES RESPONSE

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., narrowly carried the northern New Jersey swing seat during her gubernatorial race in 2025. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rated the contest as a “toss-up.” 

The brewing general election battle comes as Kean has faced mounting scrutiny for a prolonged absence from Congress that has left even House GOP leadership in the dark.

“He’s had a medical issue, and he’s gonna be fully transparent and disclose all that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters in May. “I mean, that’s what he told me. But I don’t even know the details, and I have to respect that.”

Kean released a written statement shortly before polls closed Tuesday saying he will be “completely transparent” about his medical issue when he resumes in-person work, which he said he expects to do “within a matter of weeks.”

“I understand the need for transparency on this matter, and I look forward to sharing my experience with the public,” he continued, without further elaborating on his condition.

DEMOCRAT TINA SHAH CALLS TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE FOR CHILDREN A ‘NO-BRAINER’ IN COMPETITIVE NJ HOUSE RACE

Kean previously said in mid-May that he would resume work “in the next couple of weeks,” according to the New Jersey Globe.

The New Jersey Republican has missed all 104 of the most recent roll call votes, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional absences. He last voted March 5.

His office has continued to post on social media and Kean has even introduced legislation during his absence.

President Donald Trump highlighted his endorsement of Kean in a post on social media, stating the incumbent lawmaker “WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.”

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Tina Shah and Michael Roth — two former Biden administration officials — challenged Bennett for the Democratic nomination. Brian Varela, a businessman running on a progressive platform, also launched a bid for the seat.

Bennett, a first-time candidate, ran a less progressive campaign than the other Democrats in the race. She was the lone Democrat to stop short of calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Kean defeated Democratic challenger Sue Altman by roughly 5 points in 2024. He is the son of former two-term New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, who led the Garden State throughout much of the 1980s.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, immediately criticized Bennett following her primary win.

“The truth is, Bennett is a tax-and-spend liberal who worships the socialist Squad and wants to make life more expensive for New Jerseyans,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement Tuesday. 

A Senate Appropriations Committee hearing was derailed Tuesday after Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin got into a heated exchange, prompting the Democrat to tell Mullin to “calm down.”

Van Hollen, who is best known for flying to El Salvador to meet with controversial illegal immigrant and alleged gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, accused the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of having a “pattern” of abuse while enforcing immigration law. He pointed to several recent DHS-involved shootings, including those involving Venezuelan national Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.

Mullin pushed back against the allegation as an “exaggeration of words,” saying, “When you say there’s a pattern, there’s not a pattern.”

“Oh, I would say three in a row is a pattern,” retorted Van Hollen, to which Mullin shot back, “No, sir … a pattern of three people when we average 1900 a day is not a pattern.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NAMES ROSARIO ‘PETE’ VASQUEZ TO SERVE AS NEXT US BORDER PATROL CHIEF

Van Hollen insisted “there was a pattern.” As the two talked over each other, Van Hollen shook his head, saying, “Let’s get out the dictionary, put your semantics aside, the reality is this is a big problem.”

He pressed Mullin to commit to sharing evidence from the federal officer-involved shootings to Minnesota authorities.

“It sounds like you’re not willing to share evidence with the state authorities who are trying to get to the bottom of this. And I will just say, Mr. Secretary, that given the statements that came out of this administration, including the White House, it is hard to trust this administration to do an independent investigation,” said Van Hollen.

“But yet you trust your last administration?” Mullin fired back.

“I’m just saying if we’re calling an apple what an apple is and an orange what an orange is, don’t sit there and start cherry-picking one administration to believe and another administration not to believe,” Mullin continued.

In response, Van Hollen raised his hands and said, “Mr. Secretary, just, just please calm down.”

MARKWAYNE MULLIN GOES OFF ON DEMS’ ‘GARBAGE’ MEMORIAL DAY ‘POLITICAL STUNT’ AT ICE FACILITY

During the hearing, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pressed Mullin to commit to abiding by court orders, citing a federal judge’s claim that DHS had violated just under 100 orders in Minnesota. Murphy also criticized DHS for “spending money like stone drunk sailors,” including on “the massive detention centers that you are building.”

Murphy asked Mullin, “Now that you are on the job, can you commit to us that if a court judges something ICE is doing, something DHS is doing as illegal, unconstitutional, tells you to stop, that you will comply with the court order?”

Mullin answered, “We will never break the Constitution, and we’re not going to break the law, but we’re going to enforce our nation’s laws, and we’re going to enforce the laws that you guys passed and that we implement. We will never go outside that. And if we do, we’ll hold each other accountable for that.”

“But that doesn’t sound like the same thing as committing that you will obey a court order,” pressed Murphy. “Will you, or will you not implement court orders?”

GOP DEMANDS TRUMP KILL CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND BEFORE REVIVING ICE FUNDING PACKAGE

In response, Mullin said, “If we didn’t think courts were politicized, then I would probably be able to answer that. But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.”

He chided Murphy, saying, “Don’t put words in my mouth,” adding, “What I’m saying is we will enforce the law, and we’re never going to break the Constitution.”

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Looking aside to his colleagues on the committee, Murphy remarked, “Listen, if you’re a Republican or Democrat on this committee, you should be really, really freaked out.”

“We should be really concerned about the rulings that come out of the courts, and how often they get overturned,” retorted Mullin.

Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson of Iowa on Tuesday captured her party’s Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

Hinson, a former TV news anchor who is in her third term representing Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, defeated former state senator and former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Carlin in the GOP Senate primary, The Associated Press reported.

The Republican-controlled seat in Iowa is a top target for Democrats, and the race is one of about a dozen crucial showdowns in this year’s midterm elections that will determine whether the Republicans hold on to their current 53–47 majority in the chamber.

Hinson was backed by President Donald Trump; Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune; the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP; and by Ernst as she cruised to her party’s nomination. Hinson, who in 2020 flipped a Democratic-held seat that covers the northeastern portion of Iowa, is seen as a rising star in the party.

THE MIDTERM RACES THAT COULD TIP THE BALANCE OF POWER IN THE SENATE

“It has been working Iowans from all 99 counties – and I’ve visited every single one of them – who powered this campaign and delivered a resounding victory tonight,” Hinson said in a statement released moments after her race was called.

And she emphasized, “We’re going to continue fighting every day to make life more affordable for Iowa families, to take on Big Pharma and Big Health Insurance, and to root out corruption in Washington by banning Members of Congress and their spouses from trading stocks and participating in prediction markets.”

Iowa was once a top battleground state that former President Barack Obama carried in his 2008 and 2012 White House victories. But the state has shifted to the right in recent election cycles, with Trump carrying the state by nine points in 2016, eight points in 2020, and by 13 points in November 2024.

Republicans hold both of the state’s Senate seats — Ernst and longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley — and all four of Iowa’s congressional districts, as well as all statewide offices except for state auditor.

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

But Democrats are energized heading into the midterms, when the GOP as the party in power will face traditional headwinds, a challenging political climate thanks to persistent inflation and sky-high gas prices due to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and Trump’s sinking approval ratings.

And Iowa Democrats, in particular, are energized after flipping two GOP-held state Senate seats in special elections last year.

Hinson will face off in the general election against state Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympian. Turek defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls in an expensive and contentious Democratic Senate primary.

Wahls, a progressive who Republicans have likened to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, had the backing of liberal champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Turek, the more moderate Senate contender who flipped a GOP-held Iowa House seat in 2022, was backed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and had the tacit support of longtime Democratic Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. And VoteVets, an establishment-aligned outside group, has spent big bucks on behalf of Turek.

“Josh Turek is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who has represented his country on the world stage and has built a reputation in the legislature for working across the aisle to get things done for Iowans,” Schumer and Gillibrand said in a statement. “His nomination tonight puts the Iowa Senate seat firmly in play, and in November, Iowans will reject Ashley Hinson’s self-serving politics and send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate.”

But National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell said that “Chuck Schumer spent $10 million dollars to coronate Josh Turek as his rubber stamp for Democrats’ radical tax-and-spend agenda. In November, Iowans will reject him and elect Ashley Hinson to keep fighting for Iowa families, farmers, and workers.”

And the NRSC quickly went up with a digital ad targeting Turek for what Republicans argued is his “radical agenda.”

Hinson is aiming to succeed Ernst, a retired Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard officer who served in the Iraq War and was first elected to the Senate in 2014.

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Ernst grabbed plenty of national attention in that campaign with her “make ’em squeal” ads as she won the high-profile Senate election to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

Fox News’ Sally Persons contributed to this report.

Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek of Iowa on Tuesday captured his party’s Senate nomination in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

Turek, a Paralympian, defeated state Sen. Zach Wahls in Iowa’s Democratic Senate primary, The Associated Press reported, and will now face off against Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, who cruised to the GOP nomination.

The Republican-controlled Senate seat in Iowa is a top target for Democrats, and the race is one of about a dozen crucial showdowns in this year’s midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans successfully hold onto their slim majority in the chamber.

THE MIDTERM RACES THAT COULD TIP THE BALANCE OF POWER IN THE SENATE

Turek, a moderate Democrat who flipped a GOP-held Iowa House seat in 2022, was backed by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and had the tacit support of longtime Democratic Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. And VoteVets, an establishment-aligned outside group, has spent big bucks on behalf of Turek.

“Josh Turek is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who has represented his country on the world stage and has built a reputation in the legislature for working across the aisle to get things done for Iowans,” Schumer and Gillibrand said in a statement. “His nomination tonight puts the Iowa Senate seat firmly in play, and in November, Iowans will reject Ashley Hinson’s self-serving politics and send Josh Turek to the U.S. Senate.”

But National Republican Senatorial Committee Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell said that “Chuck Schumer spent $10 million dollars to coronate Josh Turek as his rubber stamp for Democrats’ radical tax-and-spend agenda. In November, Iowans will reject him and elect Ashley Hinson to keep fighting for Iowa families, farmers, and workers.”

Wahls, a progressive candidate who Republicans likened to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, was endorsed by liberal champion Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The Democratic primary grabbed plenty of national attention and drew tons of outside money.

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

Hinson, a former TV news anchor who is in her third term representing Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, defeated former state senator and former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Carlin in the GOP Senate primary, The Associated Press reported.

Hinson was backed by President Donald Trump; Senate Majority Leader John Thune; the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is the campaign arm of the Senate GOP; and by Ernst as she cruised to her party’s nomination. Hinson, who in 2020 flipped a Democratic-held seat, is seen as a rising star in the party.

Iowa was once a top battleground state that former President Barack Obama carried in his 2008 and 2012 White House victories. But the state has shifted to the right in recent election cycles with Trump carrying the state by nine points in 2016, eight points in 2020 and by 13 points in November 2024.

Republicans hold both of the state’s Senate seats — Ernst and longtime Sen. Chuck Grassley — and all four of Iowa’s congressional districts, as well as all statewide offices except state auditor.

But Democrats are energized heading into the midterms, when the GOP, as the party in power, will face traditional headwinds, a challenging political climate thanks to persistent inflation and sky-high gas prices due to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, as well as Trump’s sinking approval ratings.

And Iowa Democrats, in particular, are energized after flipping two GOP-held state Senate seats in special elections in 2025.

The general election winner will succeed Ernst, a retired Army Reserve and Iowa National Guard officer who served in the Iraq War and was first elected to the Senate in 2014.

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Ernst grabbed plenty of national attention in that campaign with her “make ’em squeal” ads as she won the high-profile Senate election to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin.

Fox News’ Sally Persons contributed to this report.

Former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull has clinched the GOP nomination in New Mexico’s open-seat gubernatorial race.

Hull, widely viewed as a leading contender entering Election Day, campaigned on public safety, government experience and economic growth.

He defeated businessman Doug Turner and former New Mexico Human Services Secretary Duke Rodriguez. 

Turner pitched himself as a business-minded conservative and political outsider focused on jobs and education reform. Rodriguez, a healthcare executive and former state cabinet secretary, emphasized addiction treatment, healthcare and government reform.

2026 MIDTERMS: PRIMARIES, KEY RACES AND ELECTION RESULTS

Throughout the race, Hull argued New Mexico needs tougher approaches to violent crime, fentanyl trafficking and border security while criticizing Democratic leadership in Santa Fe.

Hull’s victory solidifies Republican support behind a candidate many in the party see as a strong statewide contender heading into November.

THE RED STATES RACING AHEAD IN AMERICA’S POWERFUL WEALTH BOOM — AND THE STATES FALLING BEHIND

He will now face former President Joe Biden’s Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in the general election as Republicans attempt to flip the governor’s office in New Mexico for the first time since 2019.

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The gubernatorial race to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in November is expected to be one of the most closely watched political contests in the state in 2026. 

Trump-backed Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, conceded to MAHA-backed Republican Zach Lahn after the polls closed Tuesday night in Iowa’s GOP gubernatorial primary.

Lahn, a farmer and businessman who campaigned on an “Iowa First” message, pulled off a surprising upset over Feenstra in the race to succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. 

Besides Feenstra, Lahn beat out former state Rep. Brad Sherman, former Iowa Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen and state Rep. Eddie Andrews in his bid to move on to the November general election and eventually the governor’s mansion. 

The result marked a major setback for Feenstra, who represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District and entered Election Day as the best-known Republican in the race. Feenstra had a congressional profile, a fundraising advantage, support from prominent Iowa Republicans, including former Gov. Terry Branstad, and a late endorsement from President Donald Trump. 

TRUMP-ENDORSED HINSON SECURES IOWA SENATE NOMINATION AS DEMOCRATS EYE GOP SEAT

Lahn had just around a 1,600-vote lead ahead of Feenstra shortly after midnight Eastern Time with 99% of the votes counted, according to The Associated Press’ elections tracker.  

“I just called Zach Lahn, and said, ‘Hey, you got to carry this torch. We got to keep this state red. You got to make sure you beat Rob Sand.’ And I’m all in to help him out,” Feenstra said to supporters at his election night gathering, according to a video recording shared by Iowas News Now reporter Skylar Tallal.  

Trump endorsed Feenstra just days before the primary, calling him “MAGA all the way” and giving him his “Complete and Total Endorsement.” Feenstra campaigned as a close ally of the president, highlighting his support for Trump’s agenda on border security, tax cuts, energy production and agriculture.

Lahn, meanwhile, ran as an outsider candidate and drew support from MAHA Action, the political group aligned with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. His campaign website describes him as a father, farmer and businessman advancing an “Iowa First” agenda.

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The race opened after Reynolds announced she would not seek reelection despite being eligible to run again, creating Iowa’s first open gubernatorial contest since 2006. Republicans have controlled the governor’s office since 2011.

Lahn will now face Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand in November. Sand, Iowa’s only Democratic statewide officeholder, advanced unopposed through the Democratic primary and has built a political profile centered on government accountability and anti-corruption efforts.

Early ratings have suggested the general election could be competitive. The Cook Political Report moved the race from “Lean Republican” to “Toss Up” in April, while Inside Elections has rated the contest “Lean Republican.”

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If Sand were to win in November, he would become the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa since Chet Culver’s victory in 2006.