NY Rep. George Santos, who flipped blue seat, says he won’t run for re-election in wake of ethics report

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in the wake of a House ethics report. 

"If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the ‘Ethics committee’, they would have not released this biased report. The Committee went to extraordinary lengths to smear myself and my legal team about me not being forthcoming (My legal bills suggest otherwise)," Santos wrote on X. "It is a disgusting politicized smear that shows the depths of how low our federal government has sunk. Everyone who participated in this grave miscarriage of Justice should all be ashamed of themselves. We the People desperately need an Article V Constitutional Convention."

"I will continue on my mission to serve my constituents up until I am allowed. I will however NOT be seeking re-election for a second term in 2024 as my family deserves better than to be under the gun from the press all the time," he wrote. "Public service life was never a goal or a dream, but I stepped up to the occasion when I felt my country needed it most. I will 100% continue to maintain my commitment to my conservative values in my remaining time in Congress."

Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., plans to file a motion to expel Santos on Friday during session, Guest's personal office told Fox News Digital Thursday.

HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE HEAD TO MOVE TO EXPEL GEORGE SANTOS AFTER RELEASE OF DAMNING REPORT

The ethics committee released a damning report that accused Santos of having "used campaign funds for personal purposes" and "engaged in fraudulent conduct," among other allegations. Guest filing the resolution tees up an expected vote on whether to boot Santos from the House sometime after lawmakers return from the Thanksgiving break on Nov. 28.

In the 56-page report, the bipartisan subcommittee unanimously agreed that Santos "knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct in connection with RedStone Strategies LLC; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure (FD) Statements filed with the House."

FORMER SANTOS CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISER CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD, IDENTITY THEFT

That includes $50,000 in campaign donations that were wired to Santos' personal account on Oct. 21, 2022 and allegedly used to, among other things, "pay down personal credit card bills and other debt; make a $4,127.80 purchase at Hermes; and for smaller purchases at OnlyFans; Sephora; and for meals and for parking."

On Thursday, Santos also said, "We are quickly approaching $34 trillion dollars in debt, the government is continuously on the verge of a shutdown, our southern border is wide open, our current President is the head of an influence peddling crime family, and all this Congress wants to do is attack their political enemies with tit for tat unconstitutional censures, impeachments, expulsions and ethics investigations. THE TIME IS NOW FOR THE STATES TO RISE UP AND COMMENCE AN ARTICLE V CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION!"

"I’ve come to expect vitriol like this from political opposition but not from the hallowed halls of public service," he wrote. "I will remain steadfast in fighting for my rights and for defending my name in the face of adversity. I am humbled yet again and reminded that I am human and I have flaws, but I will not stand by as I am stoned by those who have flaws themselves."

Santos, who flipped a Democratic House seat on Long Island red in the 2022 midterm elections, was thereafter exposed as having lied on his resume, namely over his Jewish heritage, business experience on Wall Street and as having attended college. He has long refused calls from his own Republican Party to resign, even after federal prosecutors charged him in multiple fraud schemes. Last month, federal prosecutors announced a superseding indictment accusing Santos of stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. 

Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Morning Digest: New Jersey’s first lady enters Senate race, setting up a major showdown

The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.

Subscribe to The Downballot, our weekly podcast

Leading Off

NJ-Sen: Former financier Tammy Murphy, who had reportedly been preparing a Senate bid, kicked off her campaign on Wednesday, and she's already earned some important establishment support. But Murphy, the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, was also greeted by a new poll that shows her trailing her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Rep. Andy Kim.

That survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling for the Kim campaign, finds the congressman beating Murphy 40-21 among primary voters, with indicted Sen. Bob Menendez scraping together just 5%. While Menendez has recently sounded as though he wants to run again, his share of the vote is one of the lowest we've ever seen for an incumbent—apart from a similar PPP poll taken last month that also had him at 5%.

Menendez also sports an atrocious favorability rating, with just 10% of respondents saying they have a positive view of the senator, compared to 68% who see him negatively. Murphy and Kim, by contrast, are both well-liked though not universally known, with scores of 50-9 and 45-5, respectively. If Menendez does seek reelection after all, he could plumb new depths at the ballot box, especially since his trial on federal corruption charges is set for May 6—just a month before the primary.

Whatever Menendez decides, the battle for his seat is likely to come down to Murphy and Kim. In a new interview with the New Jersey Globe, Murphy suggested that she doesn't have many ideological differences with Kim ("I suspect that Andy and I stand for a lot of the same policies"), but the two cut very different profiles politically.

Kim, who is the son of Korean immigrants and went on to work at the State Department, first won office in 2018 with the support of Joe Biden and Barack Obama but has portrayed himself as an outsider in this race—and is largely getting treated like one. Murphy, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, is a consummate insider.

And insiders have almost always had the advantage when seeking office in the Garden State, due in large part to its unique approach to ballot design. In 19 of the state's 21 counties, leaders of both parties can award special placement on the ballot to their preferred candidates, known as the "county line." These candidates appear together in a single column of the ballot, often the first one, that has a name on every line (you can see an example in column 1 of this sample ballot). Other hopefuls are relegated to more distant columns amid a sea of blank space.

Research has shown that the county line can confer a major benefit—often an enormous one: One forthcoming study finds that candidates with the line run on average 38 points ahead of those without it. Immediately after launching her bid, Murphy secured the county line in populous Hudson County, which also happens to be Menendez's home base. (Menendez slammed Hudson leaders in response. "At the end of the day, I don't need the party line to win in Hudson," he insisted, while also warning, "I know where all the skeletons in closets are.")

She also won the backing of the party chair in Somerset County, which doesn't guarantee she'll get the line there but is a strong signal that it'll go to her. Other counties are likely to follow suit. (Politico reported last month that "the state party establishment" was "miffed" by Kim's decision to jump into the race prior to the state's legislative elections, which concluded last week.) Kim, though, could potentially earn the line in the South Jersey counties that make up his district, even though he's said he thinks the practice should be abolished.

But the county line might not play as potent a role in this contest as it so often does in others. In many races further down the ballot, candidates tend to be little-known. In those less salient elections, voters have less incentive to go hunting across and down their ballot to find alternatives who lack official party blessing. In this high-profile showdown for the Senate, though, both Kim and Murphy will head into the primary with wide name recognition, and their supporters will know to look for those names wherever they might appear.

The Downballot

We talk about North Carolina non-stop on "The Downballot," so it's only natural that our guest on this week's episode is Anderson Clayton, the new chair of the state Democratic Party. Clayton made headlines when she became the youngest state party chair anywhere in the country at the age of 25, and the story of how she got there is an inspiring one. But what she's doing—and plans to do—is even more compelling. Her focus is on rebuilding the party infrastructure from the county level up, with the aim of reconnecting with rural Black voters who've too often been sidelined and making young voters feel like they have a political home. Plus: her long-term plan to win back the state Supreme Court.

Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard, meanwhile, turn to the avalanche of political developments that have followed last week's off-year elections, with big new candidate announcements in New Jersey's Senate race and Virginia's 2025 contest for governor. They also finally get to discuss the unusual Democratic primary unfolding in the nation's newest Black-majority House seat in Alabama. And then there are all the retirements to recap! So, so many retirements.

Subscribe to "The Downballot" on Apple Podcasts to make sure you never miss a show—new episodes every Thursday! You'll find a transcript of this week's episode right here by noon Eastern time.

Governors

NJ-Gov, NJ-05: Politico reports that Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer has launched a "six-figure" digital ad buy that could serve as a prelude to a 2025 campaign for governor, which he's previously said he's considering. Gottheimer has no notable GOP challenger for 2024 in his 56-43 Biden district, but he did have an enormous $15.8 million in his campaign account at the end of September. It's unclear how much of that he could transfer to a state campaign, but spending it on what is nominally his House race is one way he could use those funds to increase his name recognition ahead of 2025.

VA-Gov: Rep. Abigail Spanberger, who launched her campaign for governor earlier this week, just secured an endorsement from the last Democrat who held the post, Ralph Northam.

House

AK-AL: Following Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom's Tuesday announcement that she will challenge Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola next year, national Republican groups have already signaled that they view her favorably. The NRCC's press secretary called Dahlstrom "a top-tier recruit," while the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is the House GOP's main allied super PAC, called her candidacy a "recruiting coup" and a "[g]ame changer in Alaska."

Dahlstrom is competing to be the GOP's standard-bearer with businessman Nick Begich, who unsuccessfully ran for this seat last year. All candidates regardless of party will run on the same primary ballot, and the top four finishers will advance to a general election using ranked-choice voting.

IL-07: The Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday that the city's Board of Ethics found "probable cause" that city Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin committed ethics violations by firing two aides who had accused her of abusing her powers. The Tribune writes that the board may not make a final decision for months, which could result in a fine, though the matter threatens to derail her challenge to longtime Rep. Danny Davis just four months before the March 19 Democratic primary in this dark blue district.

The allegations against Conyears-Ervin surfaced earlier this year when the city released a 2020 letter where two of her former top aides—Ashley Evans and Tiffany Harper—accused the treasurer of misusing government money and personnel. The pair claimed Conyears-Ervin hired an unqualified employee "for personal services;" used official resources for electoral matters, including sending money to religious organizations that supported her; and threatened to retaliate against any subordinates who wouldn't help her. Evans and Harper later received a total of $100,000 in a 2021 settlement after arguing they were fired in just such an act of illegal retaliation.

While that settlement was public knowledge, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was a Conyears-Ervin ally, spent years trying to keep this letter from becoming public. However, new Mayor Brandon Johnson, a fellow Democrat who defeated Lightfoot and other challengers in elections earlier this year, released the letter earlier this month.

ME-02: Mortgage broker Rob Cross, who announced a campaign in April but reported raising just $20,000 in the third quarter of the year, has dropped out of the GOP primary to take on Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. National Republicans won't be displeased, though: Just before the end of the quarter, they landed state Rep. Austin Thierault, who is reportedly their preferred choice.

NJ-03: State Senate Majority Whip Troy Singleton, a Democrat, has announced he won't run here to succeed Democratic Senate candidate Andy Kim next year.

NY-18: In a recent Digest, we incorrectly described a poll commissioned by the Congressional Leadership Fund, the top Republican super PAC involved in House races. That survey, conducted by the Republican pollster Cyngal, did not test Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan against Republican challenger Alison Esposito. Rather, it pitted Ryan against an unnamed Republican candidate. Such matchups do not reflect what voters will see when they cast their ballots and are therefore of limited analytical value.

For that reason, Daily Kos Elections seldom reports such polls, since they do not meet our standard for inclusion. We regret the error.

VA-05: Del. John McGuire, a Republican who just won a solidly red seat in the state Senate last week, has announced that he'll wage a primary challenge against far-right Rep. Bob Good in the 5th District. Although Good is a hard-liner and was one of the eight Republicans who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy from the speakership last month, McGuire appears to be challenging him from the right. In announcing his campaign, McGuire attacked Good for having insufficient fealty to Trump; the incumbent endorsed Ron DeSantis for president earlier this year.

VA-07: Semafor reported Wednesday that former National Security Council adviser Eugene Vindman, who is a retired Army colonel, will join the Democratic primary to succeed Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger and has already set up a fundraising page, though he had yet to officially declare he was running.

Vindman gained national attention in 2019 when he and his identical twin brother, former National Security Council official Alexander Vindman, helped blow the whistle on Donald Trump's attempt to extort Ukraine's government into undermining Joe Biden's presidential campaign. Alexander Vindman testified before Congress about Trump's abuse of power, which helped lead to his first impeachment by the House that year.

Eugene Vindman and his brother were both born in Ukraine in 1975 when it was under Soviet control, but they immigrated to the United States as young children and later served as career military officers. While the Washington Post described Vindman as a "newcomer to Virginia politics," his role in Trump's impeachment, along with growing hostility from congressional Republicans to providing funding for Ukraine's resistance against Russia's invasion, could give him the prominence needed to run a strong race.

VA-10: Del. Dan Helmer became the latest Democrat to announce he's running in the crowded primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jennifer Wexton next year. Helmer served as the campaign chair for the state House's Democratic caucus this year, which saw his party regain a majority last week.

Helmer ran for the previous version of the 10th District in 2018 but took a distant fourth place in the primary behind Wexton, who went on to oust Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock that fall. However, his political career bounced back the next year when he flipped a GOP-held state House seat, and Helmer won a third term by 59-41 last week.

Meanwhile, Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, a Democrat, has announced she won't run for Congress next year following her reelection victory last week. Several other Democrats had previously announced they were running, including former state House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, Del. David Reid, and former state Education Secretary Atif Qarni.

Ballot Measures

NE Ballot: Abortion rights supporters have launched a ballot initiative effort to put a constitutional amendment before voters next year that would protect abortion rights in a state where Republicans this year enacted a ban on the procedure after 12 weeks of pregnancy. To get onto the ballot, supporters will need to gather signatures from 10% of registered voters, which is roughly 125,000 at present. However, the exact requirement won't be known until the July 5, 2024 filing deadline because it's based on the registration numbers at the time.

Importantly, supporters will also need to gather signatures from 5% of registered voters in at least two-fifths of the state's 93 counties. This requirement significantly hinders progressives—but not conservatives—because the “bluest” two-fifths of counties include ones that Donald Trump won by landslide margins of up to 78-19. However, abortion rights advocates were able to overcome a similar requirement this year in Ohio, where voters approved an abortion rights amendment by 57-43 earlier this month.

Legislatures

MI State House: Michigan Democrats, who just won control of the state House last year for the first time in more than a decade, have now lost their majority—and it will likely be some time before they get it back.

That's because two incumbents are about to depart after winning mayoral races in their hometowns in last week's local elections. As a result, the chamber will be tied at 54 seats for each party, and the prospect of quick special elections to fill the two vacancies appears to have faded, according to a new report from Bridge Michigan's Jonathan Oosting.

While Democrats would have liked to hold primaries in January and then general elections on Feb. 27, when the state will conduct its presidential primary, state House Speaker Joe Tate said this week that such a timetable would not be "feasible." It's not clear what the schedule will ultimately look like, though Tate says he's discussing a "spring timeframe" with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose responsibility it is to call the elections.

Whenever those specials do finally happen, both Democratic seats should remain blue. According to Dave's Redistricting App, Joe Biden carried Kevin Coleman's 25th District 59-40 and won Lori Stone's 13th District 64-35. One thing that won't happen in the interim, said Tate, is any sort of power-sharing agreement, pointing out that the chamber's rules for addressing ties only apply when there's a 55-55 split and all seats are filled.

NJ State Assembly: The New Jersey Globe reports that Democrat Anna Katz has ousted GOP Assemblyman Brandon Umbra in the 8th Legislative District following the counting of provisional ballots and mail ballots that were postmarked by Election Day but didn't arrive until days later. With Katz's victory, Assembly Democrats have flipped six seats and expanded their majority to 52-28.

VA State House: The race for Virginia's 82nd District in the state House may go to a recount after final tallies cut Republican Rep. Kim Taylor's lead over Democrat Kimberly Pope Adams to 74 votes. Including write-ins, the difference between the two candidates stands at 0.27%, which is below the 0.5% threshold that would allow Adams to request a recount paid for by the state. Adams, however, has not yet decided whether to ask for one, and despite the seemingly small margin, a recount would be unlikely to change the outcome.

In the 41st District, meanwhile, the spread between Republican Chris Obenshain and Democrat Lily Franklin tightened considerably, but the final margin of 0.74% left the race just outside of state-paid recount territory. That prompted Franklin to concede, though the result was much closer than most analysts had expected, particularly given Obenshain's name recognition as the cousin of state Sen. Mark Obenshain.

If the result in the 82nd District holds, Democrats would have a 51-49 majority in the House to go along with their 21-19 advantage in the state Senate when the legislature reconvenes in January.

Prosecutors and Sheriffs

Loudoun County, VA Commonwealth's Attorney: Final results of last week's elections confirm that Democrat Buta Biberaj, the top prosecutor in Virginia's third-largest county, has lost her bid for a second term to Republican Bob Anderson, who reclaimed the post he last held two decades ago. Anderson's 300-vote margin, equal to 0.2% of the vote, would have allowed Biberaj to seek a recount, but she said on Wednesday that she would not.

Biberaj had been attacked by conservatives for her reformist approach to certain criminal prosecutions, as many progressive prosecutors have. However, she had also come under fire for her day-to-day management of her office and had clashed with Loudoun County's Board of Supervisors, which is controlled by Democrats. Those conflicts helped spur a primary challenge from defense attorney Elizabeth Lancaster, who earned an endorsement from the Washington Post (an influential outlet in the area) and held the incumbent to a 55-45 win.

Biberaj was also likely hampered by the timing of her election and the lack of party labels on the ballot. Loudoun, which is home to more than 400,000 people in the highly educated Washington, D.C., suburbs, has been a key driver of Virginia's transformation from a red state to a blue one. Just two decades ago, it twice voted for George W. Bush by double digits. By 2020, however, it was supporting Joe Biden by a 62-37 margin. In off years, though, it's usually been much more favorable to Republicans.

Kari Lake gets another big boost while GOP increasingly sees her as standard-bearer for major Senate seat flip

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake got another big boost Wednesday with a major endorsement from GOP leadership, a sign the party is increasingly viewing her as the standard-bearer in its bid to flip what is expected to be one of 2024's most contested seats.

"Kari Lake is a proven conservative fighter who will secure the border, reduce the cost of living, protect our values, and save America," House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik told Fox News Digital.

"Control of the Senate and the fate of our Republic will be determined in Arizona. I am proud to fully endorse Kari Lake for Senate in Arizona, making her the first E-PAC Senate endorsement of the 2024 cycle," she added.

KARI LAKE OFFERS SOLUTION TO REPUBLICAN ELECTION LOSSES, PREDICTS GOP VOTERS WILL ‘SHOW UP’ FOR ONE MAJOR NAME

Lake told Fox she was "humbled by the endorsement," and praised Stefanik as "a proven conservative warrior and leader for the American people."

"Elise has stood in the breach against the Radical Left, including exposing the sham impeachments against President Trump, and ending Andrew Cuomo's corrupt career. I look forward to working with her in Congress to get our country back on track," she said.

Stefanik's endorsement follows a number of other high-profile Republicans to back Lake, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a number of state and local elected officials in Arizona.

KARI LAKE BUILDS MOMENTUM WITH MORE BIG-NAME BACKING IN RACE TO FLIP ARIZONA SENATE SEAT

Through Elevate PAC, or "E-PAC," Stefanik is leading a national effort to elect more conservative women to Congress, an effort that has lead to millions of dollars being raised and donated to women candidates since the group's founding in 2018.

During the 2020 election cycle, the first cycle E-PAC was in operation, 228 Republican women ran for the House of Representatives, of which a record 94 won their primaries. That year, 11 of the 15 districts flipped by the GOP were won by E-PAC endorsed women.

With those wins, the number of Republican women in Congress doubled to the highest ever in U.S. history, a feat it later added to during the 2022 midterms when it recruited a record number of Republican Hispanic women to run.

KARI LAKE PICKS UP FIRST MAJOR ENDORSEMENT IN RACE TO FLIP ARIZONA SENATE SEAT RED

Lake's only major challenger in the race for the Republican nomination so far is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.

Recent polls have shown Trump leading President Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup in Arizona, which, should it hold, would likely boost the Republican Senate nominee in a matchup with Phoenix-area Rep. Ruben Gallego, the likely Democrat nominee.

Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who currently holds the seat, has not yet said whether she will run for re-election.

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

Speaker Johnson calls for ‘key witnesses’ to testify under oath in Biden impeachment inquiry

EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., suggested that the impeachment inquiry of President Biden would be moving into the next "appropriate step," which includes gathering key witness testimony.

Johnson got an update on the impeachment inquiry earlier on Wednesday from the three House GOP committee chairmen who are leading the probe: Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo.

"At this stage, our impeachment inquiry has already shown the corrupt conduct of the president’s family and that he and White House officials have repeatedly lied about his knowledge and involvement in his family’s business activities," Johnson told Fox News Digital afterward.

SPEAKER JOHNSON: BIDEN ENGAGING IN ‘COVER-UP’ OF ROLE IN HUNTER BUSINESS DEALINGS, IMPEACHMENT PROBE CONTINUES

"It has also exposed the tens of millions of dollars from foreign adversaries being paid to shell companies controlled by the president’s son, brother and their business associates," he added.

Johnson said the impeachment inquiry is moving ahead with his support.

"Now, the appropriate step is to place key witnesses under oath and question them under the penalty of perjury to fill gaps in the record," Johnson said.

HOUSE GOP TO PRESENT EVIDENCE AGAINST BIDEN IN FIRST IMPEACHMENT HEARING

"I commend the good work of Chairmen Comer, Jordan and Smith. As we move forward toward an inflection point in this critical investigation, they have my full and unwavering support."

House Republicans have accused Biden and his family of bribery and influence peddling, including with foreign actors. The president’s allies have dismissed the allegations as political attacks.

Last week, Comer subpoenaed both the president's son and brother, Hunter Biden and James Biden, as well as several associates, including the gallery owner who hosted Hunter's foray into the professional art world, Georges Bergès.

Johnson, who was a constitutional lawyer before being elected to Congress, has taken a careful and meticulous approach to the possibility of impeaching the president.

COMER SUBPOENAS PERSONAL, BUSINESS BANK RECORDS FOR HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN AS PART OF IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

He’s made no secret of his own opinions, including as a member of the Judiciary Committee before becoming speaker, but Johnson has urged Republicans to follow due process to build a case.

Johnson said at a press conference this month that House Republicans were "coming to a point of decision" on impeachment "very soon."

"We have to follow due process, and we have to follow the law," he said. "That means following our obligation on the Constitution and doing appropriate investigations in the right way at the right pace, so that the evidence comes in and we follow the evidence where it leads."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Johnson's Wednesday statement.

Fox News Politics: ‘Squad’ Dem’s secret Facebook group

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

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

What's happening:

-President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in San Francisco 

-Randi Weingarten questions presence of only men at all male Jewish service

-Republicans struggle to hold President Biden accountable on border crisis

Rep. Rashida Tlaib was caught being part of a secret social media group in which its members have glamorized Hamas in its war against Israel. 

The Michigan Democrat is a member of the Palestinian American Congress group on Facebook. The group is hidden from non-members and does not appear on the platform's search engine, though Fox News Digital was able to gain access to it.

The group's founder, Maher Abdel-qader — who has extensive ties to Tlaib and has also been linked to other liberal politicians — has come under fire in the past for his antisemitic social media posts, including questioning if the Holocaust ever occurred.

TARGETING TRUMP: Hunter Biden asks judge to subpoena former president in gun case …Read more

'OUTRAGEOUS' EXCEPTION: Biden admin blasted for extending waiver on $10 billion Iranian funds …Read more

'INTENSE DIPLOMACY': Biden, Xi to meet on sidelines of APEC Conference in Bay Area …Read more

'FATAL MAULINGS': Biden admin blasted for trying to release grizzly bears near local communities …Read more

BOMBS AWAY: DoD releases videos of 2 airstrikes Iranian proxies in Syria …Read more

'AN IMPORTANT WIN': Biden admin's effort to block oil leasing struck down by federal appeals court …Read more

BIG LABOR 'GIVEAWAY'?: Republicans call on DOL to reject farm worker rule …Read more

'DYNAMIC' THREATS: House Homeland Chair Green to warn US is at 'one of the most dangerous times' in history during threat hearing …Read more

COMING UP EMPTY: Republicans struggle to hold Biden admin accountable for ongoing border debacle …Read more

ON THE BALLOT: Michigan judge tosses challenge to Trump eligibility …Read more

FIRST LADY SEEKS NEW ROLE: New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy announces Senate bid …Read more

TAKING SIDES: Senate showdown: East Palestine leaders take sides in Ohio's Republican primary showdown …Read more

SNUBBED: New Hampshire to formally reject Biden, DNC primary schedule …Read more

'COMPLETELY UNHINGED': Critics rip Nikki Haley over vow to require all social media users be verified …Read more

300 VOTE DIFFERENCE: Controversial Soros-backed prosecutor ousted from office in Virginia …Read more

SECRET MILLIONS: Left-wing group funneled $150M in secret cash to progressive crusades in 2022, tax forms reveal …Read more

'LEFT-WING MINDSET': DeSantis digs up George Floyd tweet to blast Haley's leadership resume …Read more

OH, RANDI: Randi Weingarten bashed online for comments on lack of women at an Orthodox Jewish prayer service …Read more

'HONOR THEM': Climate activist vandalizes DC exhibit honoring Black Civil War soldiers …Read more

PRO-LIFE ISSUE: March for Life president reacts to infant Indi Gregory's mandated removal from life support in UK …Read more

'FOR EVERY CHILD': 'March for Life' reveals theme for 2024 event in post-Roe United States …Read more

POLICY CHANGE: Massachusetts town approves permit to fly Palestinian flag on public flagpole …Read more

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

Hunter Biden asks judge to subpoena Trump, former officials in gun case

Hunter Biden's legal team called on the judge overseeing his Delaware firearm charges case to subpoena former President Donald Trump and several former Trump administration officials on Wednesday.

Biden attorney Abbe Lowell argues that the investigation into the president's son arose only due to "incessant, improper, and partisan pressure." In addition to Trump, Biden is seeking subpoenas against former Attorney General Bill Barr, former acting Deputy AG Richard Donoghue and former acting AG Jeffrey Rosen.

"The initial investigation was born out of a wider probe into Mr. Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings, " the request reads. "Public reporting reveals certain instances that appear to suggest incessant, improper, and partisan pressure applied by then President Trump to Messrs. Rosen, Donoghue, and Barr in relation to an investigation of Mr. Biden."

"Mr. Biden seeks specific information from three former DOJ officials and the former President that goes to the heart of his defense that this is, possibly, a vindictive or selective prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration, in violation of Mr. Biden’s Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution," it continued.

DOJ TAX OFFICIAL SAYS WEISS NEEDED APPROVAL FROM HIS DIVISION BEFORE BRINGING HUNTER BIDEN CHARGES: TRANSCRIPT

Trump's legal team has yet to respond to Biden's move. The others named in the request have also yet to respond.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT 'DAD,' 'BIG GUY' DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

Biden's gun crimes trial is not set to begin until after January 2024. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He faces one count of making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; another of making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one other count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

This summer, Biden agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and would have also avoided prosecution on the gun charges had he stayed out of trouble for two years. It was the culmination of a yearslong investigation by federal prosecutors into the business dealings of the president's son, and the agreement would have dispensed with criminal proceedings and spared the Bidens weeks of headlines as the election loomed.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS' PROBE

But the deal fell apart after a judge raised several questions about the arrangement.

Meanwhile in Congress, House Republicans are searching for a link between Hunter Biden's business dealings and his father as part of an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024 amid the political tumult.

READ BIDEN'S REQUEST FOR A SUBPOENA AGAINST TRUMP - APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Shutdown odds have dropped precipitously. But Senate stopgap passage timing remains in flux.

Something close to a holiday miracle is cooking in Washington: It now appears a question of when, not if, the Senate will pass Speaker Mike Johnson's "two-step" short-term government spending patch.

No Senate votes are scheduled yet on the measure, but with Thanksgiving looming — and the vibes very much off on Capitol Hill — it wouldn't surprising if jet fumes move the process along.

"I’m happy the House passed this bill that excludes hard-right partisan cuts and poison pills with a strong bipartisan vote. I’ll now work with Leader McConnell to pass this bipartisan extension of funding as soon as possible," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement following House passage Tuesday.

McConnell, by the way, also endorsed the legislation on Tuesday: "It’s nice to see us working together to prevent a government shutdown."

While we wait: Senators are expected to vote on a disapproval resolution this afternoon from Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on President Joe Biden's latest student loan repayment plan.

Over in the House: Lawmakers will continue work on two spending titles — the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill and the Commerce-Justice-Science measure.

More fireworks on the horizon? The House Homeland Security Committee meets at 9 a.m. to hear from FBI Director Christopher Wray and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for a hearing on threats to the homeland. That comes just a couple days after the House narrowly punted an effort to impeach Mayorkas.

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Mayorkas impeachment flop marks latest blow to GOP efforts to tackle border crisis

A defeat for House Republicans in their efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Monday marks the latest blow to Republicans in Congress as they seek to move forward with solutions to the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

Eight Republicans joined with House Democrats in voting to table a motion that would have impeached Secretary Mayorkas, a move that Republicans have been teasing since they took the House in early 2023.

While it does not necessarily mark the end of impeachment efforts against Mayorkas — an investigation is still ongoing into his conduct in the House Homeland Security Committee — it is a significant defeat for Republicans in the House.

DEMOCRATS BLOCK EFFORT TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS WITH REPUBLICAN SUPPORT 

The Department of Homeland Security responded by urging Republicans to stop "wasting time and to do its job by funding the government, reforming our broken immigration system, reauthorizing vital tools for DHS and passing the administration’s supplemental request to properly resource the department’s critical work to stop fentanyl and further secure our borders.

"Secretary Mayorkas continues to be laser-focused on the safety and security of our nation. This baseless attack is completely without merit and a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities," the statement added.

The defeat comes after Republicans upset conservatives and border hawks earlier this year when they tried and failed to attach H.R. 2 — the House Republicans’ signature border security and asylum overhaul legislation — to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open. 

Instead, the House ended up passing a "clean" continuing resolution, which in turn led to the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. On Tuesday evening, the House passed another continuing resolution to avoid a pre-holiday season shutdown. That too did not contain policy riders, including those related to border security.

In the upper chamber, Senate Republicans last week introduced a series of border security proposals to be included as part of negotiations over the White House’s supplemental aid request. That package is expected to contain funding for Israel, Ukraine and the border. 

WHITE HOUSE, SENATE DEMS REJECT GOP BORDER SECURITY PROPOSALS: ‘TOTAL NON-STARTER’ 

However, the initial Republican proposals were immediately rejected by Senate Democrats as a "non-starter," while the White House also dismissed the proposals. Immigration hawks, meanwhile, were critical that the proposals missed out on some parts of H.R. 2.

"If Republicans want to have a serious conversation about reforms that will improve our immigration system, we are open to a discussion. We disagree with many of the policies contained in the new Senate Republican border proposal," a White House spokesperson said.

However, negotiations are still ongoing as a bipartisan Senate group discusses potential provisions that could be included in a supplemental aid package with support for Ukraine. But it remains to be seen what such a package will look like. Legislation would need to pass both the GOP-controlled House and prevent a Senate filibuster in the Democrat-controlled chamber.

In the House, some conservative Republicans have been sounding the alarm and criticizing their own caucus’ work so far, including the failure to pass border security legislation. 

"We promised the American people we would stand athwart this administration, cut spending, secure the border. We've delivered on none of that so far," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" Tuesday.

Roy also warned that, in terms of upcoming negotiations, he would not be receptive if lawmakers "try and sell me something and call it border security if it's not."

"Don't come to me with some nonsense with Ukraine and border security that doesn't actually secure the border, or we're going to have to call BS on that," he said.

Immigration hawks have also told Republicans they should keep the border at the top of their priority list.

"The border crisis is only getting worse, and Republicans' resolve to fix it cannot fade as budget negotiations continue," Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. 

"In the matter of just a few days, the House has let Mayorkas skate on impeachment while the Senate works on a proposal to undermine H.R. 2, which is the only serious solution to the crisis we face. A border disaster of this magnitude must not fall to the back burner in favor of politics and wrong priorities."

The border crisis continues. Numbers published by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Tuesday show there were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October, down only slightly from the monthly record set in September, when there were more than 269,000 encounters.

Republicans have continued to blame the policies of the Biden administration for the crisis, while the administration has called for more funding and policy changes to fix what it says is a "broken" system.

Fox News' Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

Impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas failed, no thanks to GOP ‘moderates’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was not impeached by the House of Representatives Monday—barely. Georgia’s contribution to the debasement of Congress, namely Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, filed the privileged resolution against Mayorkas last week on the charge that he has violated his oath of office by, in part, “allowing the invasion of approximately 10,000,000 illegals across our borders.” (Greene apparently wrote this one up all by herself.)

Eight Republicans voted with Democrats to punt on the resolution, essentially killing it (for now) by referring it to the House Homeland Security Committee. Yes, a mere eight Republicans, despite the fact that there have been no impeachment hearings held about Mayorkas and his job performance. There has been no evidence presented to any committee that he has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. But 201 Republicans—including 17 of the 18 GOP members representing districts that Joe Biden won in 2020—didn’t care about any of that.

The only one of the “Biden 18” to vote against the impeachment was California Rep. John Duarte. Eleven other Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, did not vote.

Those supposed GOP “moderates,” like Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, love to bitch about having to cast hard votes for amendments on appropriations bills that will never become law. “So they make us take votes that don’t make sense, right?” Bacon complained just last week, whining about how extreme his party has become.

Meanwhile, he—and the rest of them—lined up with the repugnant Greene on this absolutely bogus impeachment resolution. This is what they endorsed Monday night:

Darrell Issa is right, I am a hardworking member of Congress who puts the American people first. But we all know what Darrell Issa lacks… 🏈🏀⚾️🎾🎱 https://t.co/j4YX9Gc5Fp

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 14, 2023

And this:

https://t.co/BKnV2GaR6x pic.twitter.com/V4IMVNW82i

— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) November 14, 2023

Once more, they proved the conventional wisdom: The GOP’s so-called “moderates” will always cave to the extreme right.

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Campaign Action

Just one word explains why Democrats had such a massive election night on Tuesday: abortion. On the newest episode of The Downballot, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard recap all the top races through the lens of reproductive rights, which continue to motivate Democrats and even win over a key swath of Republican voters. Nowhere was that more evident than in Ohio, which voted to enshrine the right to an abortion into the state constitution by a double-digit margin, despite countless GOP attempts to derail the effort.

Migrant crisis could cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year: GOP report

A new House Homeland Security Committee report has found that the ongoing migrant crisis at the southern border could cos taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars each year, as Republicans blame what they say are "open borders" policies from the Biden administration.

The report is the committee’s fourth interim report on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of the border crisis, which saw more than 2.4 million migrant encounters at the southern border in FY 23. The report focuses on the financial costs of the crisis, which it attributes to the Biden administration’s policies.

"Only a small fraction [of the costs] is ever recouped from the taxes paid by illegal aliens, with the rest falling on the shoulders of American citizens and lawful residents," the report says. "Mass illegal immigration, accelerated by Mayorkas’ open-borders policies, now represents a massive cost to the federal government and state governments alike, as well as the pocketbooks of private citizens and businesses.

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER SET NEW RECORD FOR OCTOBER: DATA

It cites studies by the hawkish Center for Immigration Studies, which found that the annual cost to care for and house illegal immigrants could reach up to $451 billion. It separately cites estimates from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which advocates for lower immigration levels, that the annual net burden as of 2022 is more than $150 billion.

It also points to the costs of housing and sheltering — particularly in the enormous costs seen in cities like New York City where tens of thousands of migrants have traveled after being released into the U.S., and the costs to ranchers and local businesses near the border. New York City Mayor Eric Adams earlier this year estimated the city's crisis alone could cost $12 billion by 2025. 

"It is morally unacceptable that American taxpayer dollars should be funneled to those who violate our laws and demand expansive, taxpayer-funded benefits like education, health care, housing, and more. Many of these individuals will likely represent a drain on American society for the remainder of their days in the United States, constantly absorbing more benefits from the state than they ever contribute — to say nothing of the fact that they have no lawful basis to remain in the country to begin with," the report says.

"Mayorkas’ policies have enabled this mass waste and abuse of taxpayer resources. His policies and actions have encouraged millions of people to cross our borders illegally. His department has released millions of illegal aliens into the United States rather than detaining or removing them, as required by law. And there is no end in sight," it says.

The report drew criticism from DHS, which accused Republicans of wasting time on attacking Mayorkas.

STATE AGS URGE SPEAKER JOHNSON TO EXPEDITE BILL GIVING STATES POWER TO TACKLE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION 

"While the House Majority has wasted months trying to score points with baseless attacks, Secretary Mayorkas has been doing his job and working to keep Americans safe," a DHS spokesperson said. "Under his leadership, the Department of Homeland Security is stopping unprecedented amounts of fentanyl from entering the country, countering threats from the Chinese government, helping communities recover from natural disasters, and working to protect our nation from cyberattacks, terrorism, and targeted violence." 

"Instead of continuing their reckless impeachment charades and attacks on law enforcement, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix," they said.

DHS has also previously highlighted its efforts to support states and communities hit by the migrant crisis, including $770 million to 69 organizations in the last fiscal year to support those receiving migrants, as well as moves including speeding up work permit applications and teams of experts to provide services in cities like New York and Boston.

Democrats on the committee were similarly critical of the report. Ranking Member Bennie Thompson said it is a "bald-faced lie that immigrants are a financial burden on our country — a claim that has been consistently debunked by immigration experts on both the right and left for decades."

"This report, full of racist rhetoric for the extreme MAGA base of the Republican Party, is just the latest attempt to get support for Republicans’ completely baseless attempt to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. Instead of politically motivated attacks on the Secretary, Republicans should support Democrats’ efforts to provide border personnel the resources they need," he said.

The White House has requested $14 billion for border operations, which includes grants to local governments, and more immigration officers to speed up work documents for migrants. The Biden administration has also called for a comprehensive immigration reform bill to be passed in Congress — but Republicans have rejected it due to the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

Republicans, meanwhile, have passed their own immigration and border security legislation — which includes border wall construction and limits on parole and asylum — but that has so far been rejected by Democrats.