Nancy Pelosi, 83, will run for her seat in Congress again in 2024

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., will seek a 20th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, announcing Friday she is running for re-election in 2024. 

Pelosi, 83, declared her candidacy for California's 11th Congressional District representing San Francisco in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

"Now more than ever our City needs us to advance San Francisco values and further our recovery. Our country needs America to show the world that our flag is still there, with liberty and justice for ALL," Pelosi said. "That is why I am running for reelection — and respectfully ask for your vote."

Pelosi stepped down from serving as leader of the House Democratic Caucus last year, passing the torch to current House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. She now serves among the rank-and-file, though Democratic lawmakers have dubbed her as "Speaker Emerita" out of respect for her more than 35-year tenure in the House.

PELOSI SAYS MANY TRUMP SUPPORTERS DON'T VALUE HUMAN DIGNITY FOR EVERYONE

First elected to Congress in 1987, the Democratic leader made history becoming the first female speaker in 2007, and in 2019 she regained the speaker's gavel.

Pelosi led the party through substantial legislative achievements, including passage of the Affordable Care Act, as well as turbulent times with two impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

PELOSI CALLS TRUMP INDICTMENTS ‘BEAUTIFUL,’ SAYS A TRUMP WIN IN 2024 WOULD BE LIKE ‘THE WORLD BEING ON FIRE’

Her announcement puts to rest any suggestion of retirement, though it comes amid concerns over the advanced age of numerous elected officials, including octogenarian Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; 90-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.; and President Biden, who is 80.

McConnell, 81, renewed concerns about his age and fitness for office after he froze in front of news cameras last month for the second time this year. 

McConnell’s physician medically cleared him to continue with business as usual and did not find any evidence of a stroke or a seizure after several tests, per an announcement Tuesday. 

NANCY PELOSI ANNOYED BY MSNBC QUESTION ABOUT IMPEACHING BIDEN: ‘WITH ALL DUE RESPECT … THIS IS FRIVOLOUS’

Even so, the episode prompted critics like Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley to deride the Senate as a "privileged nursing home." At least one House member, Rep. John James, R-Mich., introduced a resolution to amend the Constitution to impose an age limit on holding federal office. James' proposal is to bar anyone who would be 75 or older from running for president, vice-president or either house of Congress. 

Biden has not escaped scrutiny over his age, either. A recent Wall Street Journal poll found two-thirds of Democrats think he is too old to run for president again. Pelosi has come to the president's defense, however, calling age "relative." 

"I think the president should embrace his age, his experience, the knowledge he brings to the job. Actually, the leader on the other side is not much younger. I don’t like to use his name, but you know who I mean. He’s not that much younger. So I don’t think — age is a relative thing. It is — and I think this president, our country is very well served by his leadership, again, his experience, his knowledge, and it counts for a lot," she said. 

Pelosi added that Biden is "a kid to me." 

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Hanna Panreck and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Texas AG Ken Paxton pleads not guilty to impeachment charges after Senate advances case to trial

The Texas Senate voted Tuesday to deny all of Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s motions to dismiss the impeachment charges against him, clearing the way for a historic trial.

Paxton had each article of impeachment read to him aloud in the chamber afterward Tuesday. Paxton's lawyer, Tony Buzbee, responded "not guilty" to each count.

House lawyer Rusty Hardin objected to Buzbee's interjections, but Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting as "judge" of the impeachment trial, sustained.

"Absolutely not guilty," Buzbee said on the next count.

IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF TEXAS REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON SET TO BEGIN

Paxton, a close ally to former President Donald Trump who led several lawsuits in December 2020 to challenge election results in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, won reelection in 2022 but was ultimately suspended from office in May when the GOP-controlled House voted, 121-23, to impeach him on 20 articles that range from bribery to abuse of public trust.

Most of the articles deal with Paxton using his office to benefit Austin real estate developer and wealthy donor Nate Paul, prompting eight of the attorney general's top deputies to report him to the FBI in 2020. Three other charges date back to Paxton’s pending 2015 felony securities fraud case, including lying to state investigators.

Paxton faces trial by a jury of 31 state senators stacked mostly with his ideological allies.

The closest vote Tuesday was along a 20-10 margin.

Patrick ruled that Paxton cannot be compelled to testify. The seven Republican senators who voted against all of Paxton’s pretrial motions to dismiss were Pete Flores, Kelly Hancock, Joan Huffman, Phil King, Mayes Middleton, Robert Nichols and Drew Springer. 

Meanwhile, five Republicans – state Sens. Brian Birdwell, Bryan Hughes, Charles Schwertner, Kevin Sparks and Charles Perry – voted for some, but not all, of Paxton’s pretrial motions.

A supermajority of 21 is needed to convict, meaning the Senate requires at least nine Republican voters to convict, assuming all 12 Democrats vote to do so.

TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON HIRES PROMINENT LAWYER FOR IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Patrick on Tuesday also went over scheduling for the historic impeachment trial. He said it would run from 9 a.m. until at least 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. It will not continue on Saturday this week, but it could run to Saturday next week. There will be 20-minute breaks every 90 minutes.

The lieutenant governor also emphasized rules that Paxton’s wife, Texas Sen. Angela Paxton, would not get a vote for her husband’s trial.

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The Senate was not immediately taking up the three charges related to the 2015 felony securities fraud case or a fourth related to Paxton's ethics filings in the impeachment trial, according to the Associated Press. Paxton had said he expected to be acquitted and that the charges are based on "hearsay and gossip, parroting long-disproven claims."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Impeachment Bistro: Republicans continue to keep impeachment on the menu

Bonsoir.

"Table pour 218, s’il vous plait?"

Welcome to the Impeachment Bistro.

This is where impeachment is on the menu.

Better hope you’re not famished when you walk in.

Perhaps boissons until the meal is ready?

WHITE HOUSE SAYS 'THERE WAS NO INDICATION' DESANTIS WOULD SNUB BIDEN VISIT AFTER IDALIA

It’s a long tease for Republicans. The GOP has talked impeachment for months to sate the appetite of its conservative, often pro-Trump, but vehemently anti-Biden base.

President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, FBI Director Christopher Wray and even Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have been on the bill of fare for impeachment.

But obviously, most Republicans interested in impeachment are angling for the President. And they’re simultaneously trying to contain angry conservatives demanding impeachment back home.

"If you hang on just a little bit longer, I think you’ll see it really quickly," implored Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., on Fox Business about impeachment. "So be patient for just a little bit longer."

It’s hard for Republicans to keep the expectations in check as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., began talking about impeachment in earnest earlier this summer. He’s done so for nearly two months.

MTG SAYS WHITE HOUSE 'ATTACKING' HER FOR HOLDING OUT GOVERNMENT FUNDING VOTE UNTIL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY BEGINS

"I would move to an impeachment inquiry if I found that the attorney general has not only lied to the Congress, the Senate, but to America," said McCarthy in July about Garland and the Hunter Biden case.

At the time, McCarthy was trying to quash an effort by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to force the House to vote on the spot on impeaching President Biden. Boebert’s effort came without any formal investigation, review, depositions, hearings or official preparation of the resolution. Boebert just deposited the measure on the floor. McCarthy moved to kill it.

To McCarthy, Boebert’s plan was impeachment tartare. Uncooked and politically unfit to ingest. 

The Speaker argued that if the House were to pursue impeachment, it must be fully prepared and appropriately garnished. For McCarthy, impeachment of the president is too serious to just throw flippantly throw it on the Congressional grill and expect lawmakers to consider it a bona fide meal.

But McCarthy’s remarks about Garland were just an impeachment apéritif

BIDEN CITES BUSY SCHEDULE WHEN ASKED ABOUT VISITING EAST PALESTINE, OHIO: 'IT'S GOING TO BE AWHILE'

A few days later, the California Republican pivoted from the attorney general and to the president of the United States.

"This is rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry," McCarthy said about Biden on Fox in July.

McCarthy followed up that political amuse bouche with this offering about Mr. Biden and his son’s business dealings.

"When more of this continues to unravel, it rises to the level of an impeachment inquiry where you would have the Congress have the power to get to all these answers," said McCarthy.

Then Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., introduced four formal articles of impeachment for the President. But unlike Boebert, Steube didn’t just plop his articles on the floor.

GOP REP. CALLS FOR MERRICK GARLAND'S IMPEACHMENT OVER ROLE IN BIDEN'S 'COVERUP': HE'S THE 'HEAD OF THE SNAKE'

McCarthy hasn’t gotten to the impeachment le plat principal yet. But he’s certainly well into the impeachment hors-d’oeuvres.

"If you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry," said McCarthy last week on Fox.

After this much palette preparation, some Republicans are salivating. It’s hard to see how McCarthy doesn’t push ahead with impeachment of the President. The anticipation of the gourmet meal is too great on the right. In fact, if McCarthy doesn’t serve up the impeachment version of pheasant under glass, his own goose may be cooked.

The right isn’t going to go for any petit-dejeuner or a croque monsieur at this stage.

If you’ve ever been to a restaurant where the waiter keeps coming over, pouring more wine and telling you please be patient, the meal is coming, you usually know something is up in the kitchen.

KAMALA HARRIS MET WITH GEORGE SOROS HEIR, TOP DONORS AT HER PRIVATE RESIDENCE, RECORDS SHOW

The same is true on Capitol Hill.

This meal just isn’t ready yet. That is, unless you’ll settle for some crudites. And if you follow politics closely, you know that hasn’t worked out well recently.

It’s hard to see exactly what impeachment looks like, since McCarthy has signaled that he’d like to begin some sort of formal inquiry later this month.

Launching a formal impeachment investigation requires the House to vote on an impeachment resolution. In fact, House GOPers railed against Democrats who were in the majority in 2019 for not voting to begin an official impeachment inquiry until late October of that year. Some Republicans have suggested that they could do an impeachment inquiry – without taking a vote on a formal investigation. This will be about the math. Republicans hold a narrow four-seat majority. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is now likely out for a while, suffering from cancer. The worst-case scenario for McCarthy would be to put some form of a measure regarding impeachment on the floor and watch it fail. 

There are plenty of House Republicans who are skeptical about the House even flirting with impeachment. They don’t think it will be popular with their voters – especially the 18 House GOPers who represent district President Biden won in 2020. They’re concerned about "normalizing" impeachment – almost flipping the U.S. into a parliamentary system where the legislature holds a vote of "no confidence" for a leader.

HALEY CALLS FOR TERMS LIMITS AFTER MCCONNELL’S FREEZE: ‘WE NEED PEOPLE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME’

Some Republicans would prefer to talk about bread-and-butter issues. And they’re less than convinced that House investigators have revealed any smoking gun that shows that the President benefitted from his son’s overseas business dealings. Some of these same Republicans also know that no matter what the House does, the Democratically controlled Senate will euthanize the impeachment articles rather quickly – perhaps without a trial.

Moreover, McCarthy has insisted that he wants to do impeachment by the book. Not the way Boebert offered up her resolution in June. So McCarthy could need to backtrack if the House somehow forges ahead with impeachment without an impeachment inquiry vote.

This is why some Republicans are treading carefully around impeachment.

"(McCarthy’s) pushed back on the word ‘impeachment,’" said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. "We’re not doing an impeachment. We’re not looking at impeachment directly. But we are realizing, as the question implies, that there’s enough there, there. There should be a concerted, bipartisan investigation."

It’s possible that McCarthy could finesse "impeachment" in a way to convince reluctant Republicans to greenlight an impeachment investigation just because they want to "get to the facts." But actually voting to impeach the President would be a real challenge.

So, back to the kitchen for now.

And if McCarthy doesn’t somehow whip up some impeachment meringue that satisfies the stomachs of some Republicans, the Impeachment Bistro should brace for a series of brutal reviews on Tripadvisor.

Rep. Stefanik reportedly plans $100M ‘guerilla warfare’ campaign push to hold off New York Democrats offensive

The third top ranking House Republican is reportedly planning to flood $100 million of campaign dollars into strategic districts in her home state of New York to hold off the Democratic there offensive next year.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, who’s made her northern New York district – which runs through the Adirondacks not far from the Canadian border – a lock for the GOP, revealed her plans in a recent interview with Politico. 

Stefanik said she recently brought House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to the Hamptons for a previously unreported fundraiser with wealthy Long Island donors and shared a vast digital database of contributors with the state GOP. Her strategy is to flood key New York swing districts with $100 million in campaign funding, as the Republican control of the House and her own political future depend on the Empire State holding ground. 

ELISE STEFANIK BACKS BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY: 'OH, ABSOLUTELY'

Last year, the GOP flipped three battleground U.S. House seats in the Hudson Valley and Long Island. After previously supporting Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., in 2022, she is not allowing Long Island Republicans decide his congressional fate as he battles federal indictment. 

"It’s a guerilla warfare mentality," an unnamed Stefanik advisor told Politico of the congresswoman’s pledge to ensure her Republican New York colleagues have the resources to win. 

"I’ve been underestimated from the beginning," Stefanik reportedly told Politico from a dairy farm in her district. "That’s been a trend my entire time in Congress."

SPEAKER MCCARTHY REVEALS RED LINE FOR POSSIBLE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

More than a year out from 2024 election day, Republican campaign offices are popping up in the Hudson Valley, central New York and Long Island seeding with GOP staffers. Stefanik, who has been a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, will lead the Republican charge in New York at the same time Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries plans an offensive to regain lost seats from last cycle. 

New York GOP chairman Ed Cox told Politico that Stefanik’s involvement "is a tremendous asset to our party not just nationally, but here in New York state." 

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The $100 million to be raised through a coordinated effort with the Republican National Committee will help bolster first-year Republican Reps. Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro in the Hudson Valley; Long Island’s Anthony D’Esposito and Brandon Williams in Central New York. Stefanik vowed to raise at least $150,000 for each vulnerable new lawmaker, and Republicans also have their sights on taking on first-term Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan in the Hudson Valley, who won a special election a year ago. 

Two more Trump co-defendants surrender in Georgia election fraud case

Two more co-defendants have surrendered in the Georgia election fraud case against former President Donald Trump.

Former Coffee County Republican Party Chairwoman Cathy Latham and Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer were granted bond Tuesday after surrendering themselves. 

Latham, who is facing 12 charges in the case, including violations of the RICO Act and conspiracy to defraud the state, was released on $75,000 bond. 

GEORGIA INDICTMENT: 2 TRUMP CO-DEFENDANTS BOOKED IN FULTON COUNTY JAIL

Shafer was also released on a $75,000 bond.

Latham and Shafer are not the first co-defendants to surrender themselves to Georgia authorities.

Scott Hall, an Atlanta-based bail bondsman, and John Eastman, a former Trump attorney, were each booked Tuesday at the Fulton County Jail, records show. 

TRUMP BOND SET AT $200,000 AFTER GEORGIA INDICTMENT; HE WILL BE PROCESSED THURSDAY

Hall has been assigned a $10,000 bond for seven charges. Eastman accepted a $100,000 bond. 

The two men were indicted last week alongside Trump and 16 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Joe Biden out of the White House. 

It was the fourth criminal case brought against the Republican former president.

Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University Law School in Southern California, faces charges related to his advice to Trump on how the former president could overturn the 2020 election. 

Hall is accused of conspiring to unlawfully access voter data and ballot counting machines at the Coffee County Election office on Jan. 7, 2021. His seven charges include one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud Georgia, and three felony counts related to his alleged actions in Coffee County. 

Eastman said in a statement provided by his lawyers that he was surrendering "to an indictment that should never have been brought." 

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

Georgia Judge blocks provision prohibiting the distribution of water at voting polls

A federal judge in Georgia temporarily blocked a provision in the state's voting law barring people from giving food and water to voters waiting in line to vote on election day, and stopped a requirement that voters include their date of birth on their absentee ballots.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee is still allowing the enforcement of penalties against people who provide food and water to voters waiting in line if they are within 150 feet of the building where voting is taking place. But the judge paused enforcement of the ban in other areas within 25 feet of a voter standing in line.

"Central to this conclusion was the fact that, unlike the Buffer Zone’s reasonable 150-foot radius, the Supplemental Zone has no boundary," he wrote. "S.B. 202 prohibits organizations (such as Plaintiffs) from engaging in line relief activities in the Supplemental Zone, i.e., if they are within twenty-five feet of a voter—even if the organizations are outside the 150-foot Buffer Zone."

Boulee also blocked a part of the law requiring voters to provide their date of birth on the outer envelopes of absentee ballots. He wrote that the state "did not present any evidence that absentee ballots rejected for failure to comply with the Birthdate Requirement were fraudulent ballots."

GEORGIA EARLY VOTING SETS ALL-TIME RECORD FOR MIDTERM ELECTION DESPITE CLAIMS OF VOTER SUPPRESSION

But the judge rejected the groups' claims that certain restrictions imposed by the law deny voters with disabilities meaningful access to absentee voting.

The Election Integrity Act was passed by state lawmakers and signed into law by GOP Gov. Brian Kemp in the spring of 2021. Other provisions in the law include requiring identification to vote, extending the early voting period and ensuring a ballot drop box will be available in every county.

The controversial election law seeking to strengthen voting rules came shortly after the 2020 election and prompted criticism from Democrats and large corporations, including Major League Baseball and Coca-Cola. The MLB moved its 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta to Denver in response to the election law.

Critics of the law, including President Biden and twice-failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, claimed it would restrict voting access, particularly for people of color. But Georgia saw record turnout in the primary and general elections in 2022, leading Republicans to argue the criticism was not justified.

Several civil rights and voting rights groups filed a lawsuit challenging the law.

DESANTIS MEETS WITH KEMP AMID TRUMP CASE, IMPEACHMENT CALLS AGAINST FANI WILLIS

Both sides declared victory after Boulee's mixed ruling on Friday.

NAACP Legal Defense Fund assistant counsel John Cusick said in a statement that the decisions "are important wins for our democracy and protecting access to the ballot box in Georgia."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the Peach State "continues to have one of the most secure and accessible voting systems in the country for all voters, including voters with disabilities." 

"I am glad that the court upheld Georgia's common sense rules banning ballot harvesting and securing absentee ballot drop boxes," he said in a news release. "Georgia's voting system is accessible to all voters, with multiple options for voters to choose how they want to exercise their right to vote."

A ruling on Texas' election law, which is similar to the one in Georgia, was also handed down Friday from a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez struck down a provision of Texas' law requiring mail voters to provide the same identification number they used when they registered to vote. He ruled the requirement violated the U.S. Civil Rights Act because it prevented people from being able to cast ballots over an issue irrelevant to whether they are registered.

The provision led to skyrocketing mail ballot rejections in the first election after the law was passed in September 2021, and the U.S. Department of Justice challenged the provision.

"This ruling sends a clear message that states may not impose unlawful and unnecessary requirements that disenfranchise eligible voters seeking to participate in our democracy," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement after the ruling.

Several election integrity bills have passed in GOP-controlled states since 2020 after the election that year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More than 60 Utah Republicans endorse primary challenger to Mitt Romney

More than 60 Republican lawmakers from Utah are pushing to end Sen. Mitt Romney’s career on Capitol Hill.

Utah state House Speaker Brad Wilson has taken the first steps toward challenging Romney, the Republicans' 2012 presidential nominee, by forming a Senate exploratory committee in April.

The committee on Thursday announced that Wilson’s possible run is already being endorsed by three quarters of his GOP colleagues in the statehouse’s lower chamber and two-thirds of Republicans in the Utah Senate.

UTAH REPUBLICAN RAISES MORE THAN $2 MILLION AS HE EXPLORES 'LIKELY' BID TO TAKE ROMNEY'S SENATE SEAT

"I am honored and encouraged to have the support of so many leaders from all corners of this great state," Wilson said. "Utah needs a bold, conservative fighter in the U.S. Senate and I am humbled at the support and encouragement we’ve received so quickly."

Romney has, at times, had a fraught relationship with Republicans in his state, particularly other elected officials, over his willingness to criticize and votes to convict former President Donald Trump after his impeachments. Utah’s Weber County GOP voted to censure him for it in May 2021.

Trump swept the state in 2020 during his race against President Biden.

'IF I RUN, I WIN': MITT ROMNEY CONFIDENT HE WOULD WIN RE-ELECTION IN 2024, BUT REMAINS UNSURE IF HE WILL RUN

Romney has not announced whether he plans to run for re-election in 2024, but he filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission earlier this year. It would be his first re-election campaign after winning his seat in 2018.

Early fundraising data show both he and Wilson are gearing up for an expensive fight.

'ENOUGH IS ENOUGH': UTAH MAYOR ANNOUNCES BID TO TAKE ROMNEY'S SENATE SEAT

Romney has raised nearly $1.8 million so far this year for a possible re-election bid. Wilson’s war chest is currently larger with just over $2.2 million in receipts, but $1.2 million of that is a loan from the candidate himself.

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Wilson’s exploratory committee website touts him as "pragmatic and conservative" and a lifelong Utah resident. "Brad is exploring a run for the U.S. Senate in 2024 and knows Utahns deserve a bold, proven, and conservative fighter to represent them and their values in our nation’s capital," the site said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Romney’s office to inquire about any updates to his electoral plans, but did not immediately hear back.

Trump allies cry election interference after former president arrested over 2020 race

Former President Donald Trump’s allies are painting his Thursday arraignment as an attempt by President Biden to crush his political rival ahead of the 2024 election and distract from bribery allegations against his own family.

Trump pleaded "not guilty" to four federal counts stemming from alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden. It’s his second federal indictment and third criminal indictment in the span of less than five months. 

His Republican allies in Congress have continued to stick by him, however. GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 leader in the House, echoed Trump’s repeated insistence that investigations into his conduct are "witch hunts."

"The unconstitutional and unprecedented arrest of President Donald J. Trump is truly a chilling chapter in Joe Biden’s weaponization of the Department of Justice against his leading political opponent who is beating Biden in many independent polls. President Trump had every right under the First Amendment to correctly raise concerns about election integrity in 2020," Stefanik, R-N.Y., said. 

TRUMP INDICTED ON CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO JAN 6

"The American people are smart, and they know this is a politically charged witch hunt orchestrated by Joe Biden’s corrupt DOJ in a desperate attempt to distract the American people from the mounting evidence of Joe Biden’s direct involvement in his family’s illegal influence peddling scheme," she added,

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., cited a 2014 statement from Biden expressing concern about Malaysia’s encroachment on its own rule of law.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH SAYS JAN 6 ‘FUELED BY LIES’ FROM TRUMP, PRAISES ‘HEROES’ WHO DEFENDED CAPITOL

"Today, Joe Biden's DOJ did what Joe Biden used to condemn other countries for doing: arrest his political opposition to silence and intimidate them," Miller said. 

Another House Republican, Rep. Diane Harshbarger, R-Tenn., went a step further than condemnation and called for both a congressional investigation and Biden’s immediate impeachment. 

"Today’s politically-motivated arraignment of President Trump marks a dark day for our nation. Joe Biden’s persecution of President Trump is a blatant power grab and an attempt to silence the voices of millions of Americans," Harshbarger said. "I call on Congress to launch a full investigation into the politicization of our government agencies, and for an immediate impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, who is directly responsible for this despicable witch hunt."

TRUMP'S 2024 GOP RIVALS WEIGH IN ON FORMER PRESIDENT'S JAN. 6 PROBE INDICTMENT

Both Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also accused Biden of trying to tip the scales, despite the White House’s repeated insistence that the DOJ is independent.

"Trump is being targeted because the left knows he’s Biden’s greatest political threat," Blackburn said.

Greene said, "Biden’s DOJ is actively participating in election interference by trying to put his top political opponent, President Donald Trump, behind bars. It’s pure corruption."

Trump himself made similar comments after his arraignment and just before boarding his plane. "This is a very sad day for America," the former president said. "When you look at what's happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent."

Democrats not ready to ditch Biden over Hunter scandal fallout, strategists say

They aren’t thrilled with 80-year-old President Biden as their party’s standard-bearer in the 2024 election, but Democrats appear far from ready to cut bait with the president due to his connections to his son Hunter Biden’s expanding legal scandals.

Former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer on Monday told members of the House Oversight Committee in a closed-door interview that the younger Biden included his father on speakerphone while meeting with business associates at least 20 times. The Republican controlled panel is investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings with foreign companies and what, if any, role his father played in those interactions.

The closed-door interview revelations will likely fuel Republican attempts to link the president to Hunter Biden’s business transactions, which could politically wound the elder Biden as he runs for re-election in 2024 to a second term in the White House.

But a Democratic lawmaker on the committee argued that Archer’s testimony does not show that then-Vice President Biden was involved in son Hunter’s business dealings.

A TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS DEVIN ARCHER INTERVIEW ‘VERY PRODUCTIVE’ IN BIDEN FAMILY PROBE

"The witness indicated that Hunter spoke to his father every day, and approximately 20 times over the course of 10 year relationship, Hunter may have put his father on the phone with any number of different people, and they never once spoke about any business dealings," Rep. Dan Goldman of New York told reporters on Capitol Hill.

"As he described it, it was all casual conversation, niceties, the weather, ‘What’s going on?’" Goldman added. And he emphasized that "there wasn’t a single conversation about any of the business dealings that Hunter had."

WHAT FORMER HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE SAID ON CAPITOL HILL

Devon Archer’s interview comes in the wake of a whistleblower’s allegations that the FBI and the Justice Department are in possession of an unverified document that claims a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently floated that the Republican majority in the chamber could consider an impeachment inquiry into the president over the unproven claims of financial misconduct.

The president’s approval ratings have been underwater for nearly two years and polls suggest Democrats are anything but enthused with Biden seeking a second four-year term in the White House. But regardless, Democrats don't appear buying – at least right now – what the Republicans appear to be selling.

Veteran Democratic consultant and pollster Doug Schoen argued in an opinion piece this past weekend that Hunter Biden’s multiplying legal controversies "are now Joe Biden’s problems." 

But Schoen, a top political adviser to then-President Bill Clinton and on Michael Bloomberg’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign, told Fox News Digital on Monday that "from what I have seen, there still has been no direct evidence, or even testimony today from Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former partner, that President Biden was involved in their business dealings."

"At this point there is nothing to lead me to say anything about the president's likely candidacy being impacted by any developments in the Hunter Biden case," Schoen emphasized.

WHAT THE COLLAPSE OF THE HUNTER BIDEN PLEA DEAL MEANS FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN IN 2024

Asked if Democrats would look to jettison Biden as their party’s nominee if the president becomes increasing entangled in his son’s legal predicaments, Democratic strategist and communicator Chris Moyer told Fox News "no way."

Moyer, a presidential campaign veteran, scoffed at suggestions that party leaders would consider asking Biden to step aside in 2024, adding that "Republicans are always going to try to find something to drum up."

"There’s good news about the economy almost every day. That’s what’s going to matter most not just to Democrats but also to key swing voters in the general election," he argued.

Longtime political scientist Dante Scala of the University of New Hampshire emphasized that "until Democrats are confronted with incredibly solid evidence that the father himself has some wrongdoing in all this, their default is to confine the sins of Hunter Biden to Hunter Biden."

Hunter Biden’s legal saga and the mounting inquiries come as the battle for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is heating up, and as Biden faces long-shot Democratic presidential primary challenges from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - the environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine critic, and scion of arguably the nation’s most famous family political dynasty – and best-selling author and spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson, who’s making her second straight White House run. And progressive activist and professor Cornel West has launched a third-party bid for president that has some in the party nervous he might siphon votes from Biden in November 2024.

"The Hunter Biden circus is a concern for Democrats if President Biden’s opponents in the primary begin to bang the same drum as Republicans," warned longtime progressive strategist and communications consultant Michael Ceraso.

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Ceraso, a veteran of Sen. Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign and now-Transportation Secy. Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 White House bid, noted that "we have a short-term memory in politics, but Bernie benefited from the allegations stacked against Secretary Hillary Clinton. Her past propelled him to be competitive. Whether West or RFK lean in and step in line with Republicans to propel themselves in the primary is anyone’s guess. But six months of weathering Hunter-related attacks from primary challenges before advancing to the general election is not ideal for the president - especially when he needs to drum up support from voters around the policies the Democrats and his White House passed."

"Many Americans - those who are likely to elect to stay home on Election Day, or flip parties based on the candidate and their personality, and not the issues - need convincing that the president deserves a second term," Ceraso argued.

Pence’s political advocacy group calls for Congress to declare an invasion at southern border

Former Vice President Mike Pence’s political advocacy group is calling for a declaration of an invasion at the southern border as part of a legislative agenda to tackle the ongoing migrant crisis.

Advancing American Freedom, which was founded by the 2024 presidential candidate, released its agenda Monday to secure the border and end illegal immigration.

It calls for legislation to declare an "invasion" in response to the crisis that has seen record numbers of migrants hit the southern border since 2021.

OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY BORDER IS IN CRISIS OR ‘MAJOR PROBLEM’: POLL

"The United States Constitution declares that the federal government shall protect states from invasion. So long as the Biden administration refuses to do this job, Congress should officially declare an invasion so that states have the legal authority to secure the border for themselves," the agenda states.

The use of the term "invasion" has grown in Republican circles in recent years to describe the crisis. Both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have used the term as part of their presidential campaigns – with DeSantis promising to "stop the invasion" as part of his border strategy.

Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has cited the "invasion" clause to authorize the return of illegal immigrants to the border with Mexico. That comes after there were more than 1.7 million migrant encounters at the southern border in FY 2021 and 2.4 million in FY 2022.

Democrats have taken aim at the use of the term, saying it is dangerous and encourages anti-immigrant sentiment.

"The invasion narrative some members push in this hearing room is bigoted, fact-free and dangerous," Jerry Nadler, House Judiciary Committee ranking member, said at a hearing last week.

The policy proposals put forward by Pence’s group also call for Congress to explore a possible impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas – something that has been called for by a number of House members. 

DHS has responded to those calls by urging Congress to pass legislation to fix a "broken" immigration system and provide the funding requested by the Biden administration.

DOJ TO SUE TEXAS OVER FLOATING BORDER BARRIER; ABBOTT SAYS 'SEE YOU IN COURT' 

Separately, the AAF agenda calls for an end to "chain migration" – which allows for immigrants to sponsor relatives for green cards into the U.S. – and also for reforms to temporary visa programs like the controversial H-1B visa program. Critics have said such visas are used by companies to replace American workers with cheaper foreign nationals.

It also backs legislation already introduced in Congress – including the GOP House border security package passed earlier this year. Other bills supported are Kate’s Law, as well as measures to end the visa lottery, allow victims of illegal immigrant crime to sue sanctuary cities, reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols, and continue border wall construction at state level.

 "Congress needs to hold President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and the Department of Homeland Security accountable for their dangerous failings at the border, while also passing legislation that gives our border agents the resources and restored powers they need to do their jobs and enforce the law, AAF Executive Director Paul Teller said in a statement. "Advancing American Freedom believes that a country without a secure border and the rule of law isn’t a country at all and will continue to call for decisive action from Congress and the administration to keep our country safe." 

The policy rollout, which will be followed by a visit by AAF staff this week, is the latest indicator of how the border crisis is likely to continue to be a top political and 2024 issue – even as the Biden administration has touted a recent drop in numbers at the border since the end of Title 42 in May.

Republicans have blamed the crisis on the Biden administration, with 2024 candidates rallying around calls to restore policies implemented when Pence was vice president. The Biden administration has said it is expanding lawful pathways while punishing illegal immigration as part of its post-Title 42 strategy.

However, the recent torpedoing of its asylum rule after a left-wing legal challenge has raised new fears that a potential new surge could be coming soon.