Fox News Politics: Day of double denials

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

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

What's happening?

- Jill Biden reportedly urging husband to end the war in Gaza

- Vulnerable Senate Dems at further risk from Mayoraks impeachment

- Democratic Governor to decide on making coercive abortion a felony

Former President Donald Trump has suffered two defeats in his court cases as judges in Georgia and Florida struck down motions from his legal team.

In Georgia, former President Donald Trump's motion to dismiss his 2020 election interference indictment on the grounds of First Amendment protection was rejected on Thursday.

"After considering the extensive briefing, the argument of counsel, and the indictment, the Court finds these vital constitutional protections do not reach the actions and statements alleged by the State. Nor do the statutes themselves facially violate the First Amendment," Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Thursday.

"They argue this prosecution violates the First Amendment’s protections of political speech and activity, freedom of association, and the right to petition Congress as-applied to their alleged conduct, and further contend that the indicted charges are overbroad," he said.

In Florida, the federal judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified records case on Thursday denied his motion to dismiss the charges based on the Presidential Records Act.

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, last month, also dismissed Trump's motion to dismiss charges of retaining classified documents on the grounds of "unconstitutional vagueness."

'STOP IT NOW': First Lady reportedly telling Biden to end war in Gaza immediately …Read more

RUNNING LOW: Biden admin plan to refill SPR faces major setback …Read more

'MASSIVE ADVANTAGE': Biden voter drive order targets welfare recipients, gets legal challenge …Read more

SMOKED OUT: Biden set to finalize menthol cigarette ban over opposition …Read more

ELECTRIC SLIDE: Biden targets vital power grid technology in latest climate action …Read more

MEDIA BLACKOUT?: Biden parole program not facing same scrutiny as DeSantis flights …Read more

NOT GOING ANYWHERE: Biden administration rule makes firing federal workers harder as Trump promises 'deep state' revamp …Read more

BORDER BIND: Vulnerable Senate Dems to face heat over Mayorkas impeachment trial as border becomes top election issue …Read more

COVID ORIGINS: EcoHealth Alliance president to testify publicly before Congress next month …Read more

FIRING THE 'SQUAD': Pro-Israel PAC takes aim at two progressive House Dems with primary challenges …Read more

SHOT DOWN: Nebraska legislature rejects Trump-approved 'winner-take-all' electoral system bill …Read more

NECK AND NECK: California Democrat tied with challenger in wild congressional primary …Read more

'LAVISH GIFTS': 'World's sexiest albino' accused of launching bogus BLM charity has his day in court …Read more

HARSHER PUNISHMENT: Dem governor to decide on bill making coercive abortion a felony …Read more

THROWING DOWN THE HAMMER: Liberal groups sue to block new Alabama voting law banning ballot harvesting …Read more

BRACING FOR BATTLE: Nevada senator makes multimillion-dollar ad reservation as re-election hopes dwindle …Read more

INFECTED AMERICA: Tuberculosis breaks out at Chicago migrant shelters following measles cases …Read more

OFF THE CHARTS: Amid migrant surge, liberal PM warns his country must get immigration 'under control' …Read more

PURSESTRINGS: Kansas Republicans use 'power of the purse' to tie up immigration, DEI provisions …Read more

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

Biden holds narrow lead over Trump in new poll despite concerns he’s ‘too old’ for a second term

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by just two points in a new poll of Pennsylvania registered voters, despite the enduring belief of many that he is too old to serve as chief executive for another term.

Biden narrowly beat Trump in a new Franklin & Marshall Poll released on Thursday, winning with Pennsylvania voters 42% to 40%.

Pennsylvania is one of the critical battleground states that is expected to help determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. The state was notably won by Trump in 2016 but then swung back to Democrats to help Biden win in 2020. Biden took the state in the last election by less than two points.

GOP SENATE HOPEFUL RAKES IN $2.2 MILLION TO TAKE ON DEM INCUMBENT IN SWING-STATE NEVADA

Illustrating the close race, a separate survey from The Wall Street Journal showed Trump ahead of Biden in six of the seven key battleground states, including Pennsylvania. Trump also defeated his opponent in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

While he managed to surpass Trump in the Franklin & Marshall poll, Biden still faced a significant portion of Pennsylvanians who say he is "too old," at 81, to carry out a second term. By the end of a potential second term, Biden would be 86.

VULNERABLE NEVADA DEMOCRAT TOUTS BIPARTISANSHIP DESPITE VOTING WITH BIDEN 99% OF TIME

Four in 10 registered voters in Pennsylvania agreed Biden's age was too advanced to serve a second term. This number has remained steady in Franklin & Marshall's surveying since October 2023. An additional 40% said age is an issue for both of the candidates' abilities to serve another term.

Only 6% of respondents said Trump is "too old." The former president is 77.

"With just 35% job approval, Joe Biden is floundering in his home state of Pennsylvania," said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement to Fox News Digital, referencing the approval rating reported by the poll.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL POISED TO PRESSURE THESE VULNERABLE SENATE DEMS

"Between higher gas prices, surging crime, and failed Democrat policies crushing families at every corner, it's no wonder that Pennsylvanians across the commonwealth are increasingly rejecting the failed Biden agenda and supporting President Trump," she added.

While voters said Trump was a better choice to handle the economy over Biden, the president managed to sustain his advantage over Trump on questions of trustworthiness and character.

The survey also showed Biden's margin expanding in a one-on-one match-up with Trump. In such a scenario, Biden garnered 48% to Trump's 38%, extending his two-point lead to 10. According to the poll, the change in Biden's margin when third-party candidates are included is "because support for the president declines among registered Democrats as more of them opt for a third-party candidate."

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni told Fox News Digital that the poll was "more proof" that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is being set up "to be a spoiler in this race."

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RULE MAKES FIRING FEDERAL WORKERS HARDER AS TRUMP PROMISES 'DEEP STATE' REVAMP

Despite Biden's increased odds in a two-man race, it's unlikely that such a race would play out in the Keystone State. Several prominent people have launched campaigns for the White House in 2024, including Kennedy, as an independent; Jill Stein on the Green Party's ticket; and Cornel West as an independent.

Kennedy's campaign website lists its effort to achieve ballot access in Pennsylvania as "in progress" with months until the state's August filing deadline.

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

Nevada Dem dumps $14M into ads as critical Senate race shifts to ‘toss up’

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen revealed a whopping $14 million ad reservation for the general election season as she braces for a tough challenge from Republicans.

The multimillion-dollar reservation was made for ads that will run from July through Election Day in November. It is also the largest such reservation ever made in Nevada by a Senate candidate. The ad buy will include media markets in Las Vegas and Reno.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL POISED TO PRESSURE THESE VULNERABLE SENATE DEMS

Rosen's latest move comes one day after the Nevada Senate race was shifted from "Lean Democrat" to "Toss Up" by the nonpartisan elections analyst, the Cook Political Report. The matchup joins Senate races in Ohio, Arizona and Montana in the category.

"While her extreme Republican opponents are busy trying to out-MAGA each other, Jacky Rosen is reaching Nevada voters for the general election and sharing her record as one of the most bipartisan and effective senators," said Stewart Boss, Rosen's campaign manager, in a press release. The Republicans vying for her Senate seat are in the midst of a crowded primary that won't be determined until the election on June 11.

VULNERABLE NEVADA DEMOCRAT TOUTS BIPARTISANSHIP DESPITE VOTING WITH BIDEN 99% OF TIME

The $14 million reservation is larger than a similar one made by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., during her 2022 re-election bid. The senator reserved $10 million worth of ad space on the airwaves between Labor Day and Election Day during the campaign. This was the largest such reservation at the time.

Cortez Masto ultimately narrowly defeated her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt.

GOP SENATE HOPEFUL RAKES IN $2.2 MILLION TO TAKE ON DEM INCUMBENT IN SWING-STATE NEVADA

"She’s going to need it," said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Mike Berg, referencing the recent ratings change. He said she was in "a dangerous spot" for an incumbent.

"Jacky Rosen is scrambling to cover up her record of being in lockstep with Joe Biden," remarked Nevada Republican strategist Jeremy Hughes.

After Rosen released an ad this week touting herself as bipartisan, critics pointed out that she voted in alignment with President Biden nearly 99% of the time in 2023.

TRUMP RAKES IN HEFTY MARCH FUNDRAISING HAUL AS CAMPAIGN AIMS TO CLOSE CASH GAP WITH BIDEN

While her $14 million ad reservation is the largest of its kind in a Nevada Senate race, political advertising spending is notorious for being high in the state. In the 2022 Senate race, $161 million was spent by candidates and related groups on political advertising for the general election, per AdImpact. This included $32 million from Cortez Masto, $30 million from the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC, $28 million from the Republican-aligned Senate Leadership Fund, $12 million from the conservative Club for Growth Action, $11 million from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, $9 million from the conservative One Nation, $3 million from Laxalt, and $6 million in a coordinated buy from Laxalt and the NRSC.

The 2022 Senate race was a component of what made Nevada's general election the third most expensive in the country, according to AdImpact.

Rosen could face a slate of possible Republican opponents. However, former U.S. Army Capt. Sam Brown has proven to be the frontrunner, garnering national media attention and high-profile endorsements. Former Trump official Jeff Gunter, veteran Air Force pilot Tony Grady and former state Assemblyman Jim Marchant are other prominent Republican candidates seeking the Senate nomination.

Mayorkas impeachment trial poised to pressure these vulnerable Senate Dems

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Democrats up for re-election in battleground states face a bind in the Senate as the impeachment trial for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is expected to begin this month over his role in the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

Several Republican Senate sources told Fox News Digital they expect the pressure to ramp up for lawmakers such as Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bob Casey, D-Penn., who face competitive re-election races in November.

Voters in each of the senators' states have indicated strong concerns over the state of the border.

Republican senators recently accused Tester of being unwilling to vote on border or immigration-related amendments during negotiations over the $1.2 trillion spending package that caused a brief partial government shutdown before being passed last month. Tester's office denied the claims.

BATTLEGROUND STATE DEM SHOWS ZERO SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS REMEMBERING LAKEN RILEY BUT REPEAT POSTS ON GEORGE FLOYD

One senior Republican Senate source predicted Tester would be similarly pushed during the impeachment trial procedure: "He’ll have to go on the record with it. No way out," the source said. They noted that Brown would also be put to the test in the Mayorkas trial.

A representative for Tester told Fox News Digital on Wednesday, "Senator Tester will review the articles when they are sent over to the Senate."

The House passed two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in early February but held onto them until after the appropriations process finished. In a letter last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., revealed his intention to deliver the articles to the Senate on April 10 and urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to move quickly on a trial.

When the articles are delivered, "all senators have to be sworn in as jurors and sign the book," a senior GOP source said.

"We actually go into trial mode, but Schumer will put forward a vote to dismiss it," the source predicted.

SEAN HANNITY: BORDER CRISIS A MODERN-DAY 'BLOODBATH'

Schumer's office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

"Everything is simple majority," the source noted, meaning only 51 of the 100 senators are necessary to move forward with any action.

While Senate Democrats have largely dismissed the charges against Mayorkas as meritless and political posturing, the lawmakers who are competing in close races in the general election may be influenced by the growing concern over the border among their constituents. In a March Fox News Poll, 41% of all registered voters agreed the situation at the southern border is an emergency. This included 65% of Republicans, 31% of independents and 20% of Democrats.

As a result, the vulnerable Democrat senators are certain to be met with attacks on the campaign trail from their Republican opponents, who will pose the question of their seriousness on the border crisis. In a February memo from National Republican Senatorial Committee political director Tim Edson that was obtained by Fox News Digital, Senate candidates were advised to hold their Democrat counterparts accountable.

"We cannot allow Senate Democrats to sweep the Biden Administration's failures at the southern border under the rug," it reads. "Democrats caused this crisis, and voting to acquit Mayorkas is a vote to allow the continued invasion of our country."

Tester's opponent, Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, said in a statement that "the Senate should hold a full impeachment trial."

"Senator Jon Tester wants to avoid a trial and let Mayorkas off the hook because they BOTH support the radical Left’s push of open borders and letting illegal immigrants flood into America. We deserve accountability!" he continued.

TRUMP SPOTLIGHTS 'BIDEN'S BORDER BLOODBATH' DURING STOP IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE HE LOST IN 2020

Representatives for Rosen, Baldwin, Brown and Casey did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

"If Bob Casey is serious about securing the border, he'll urge Chuck Schumer to move this inquiry forward and hold them accountable," said Pennsylvania Republican Senate front-runner Dave McCormick in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Spokesperson Ben Voelkel for Wisconsin Republican Senate front-runner Eric Hovde said in a statement, "Sen. Baldwin needs to hold [Mayorkas] accountable. If she doesn't, Wisconsin voters will hold her accountable for her inaction."

"If Sherrod Brown cares about hardworking Ohioans who have been impacted by the border invasion and fentanyl crisis, he will hold Mayorkas accountable in the Senate trial," said Reagan McCarthy, spokesperson for Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has occasionally been out of step with Democrats, appears likely to stick with his caucus in the likely case they look to dismiss the trial quickly. In February, he told Politico that the forthcoming impeachment was "Pure crap," adding that he wants "No trial at all."

Manchin's office referred Fox News Digital to his previous comment.

Republican strategist Brian Walsh, a former staffer for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, "It highlights a huge political vulnerability for Democratic Senators like Jon Tester, Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey going into the 2024 election."

WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON WHETHER BIDEN BELIEVES BORDER CROSSERS COULD BE IN US PLOTTING TERROR ATTACK ON AMERICA

They will be forced to "pick a side" between their base and "the majority of voters, including independents" who say the border is the most important problem in the country, Walsh added.

As the senators face a difficult decision, it's not clear that all Republicans will be on board to continue the trial. Each vote matters, given the Senate's narrow 49-51 split between Republicans and those in the Democrat caucus.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, criticized the idea of a trial in late February, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it "might be great politics, but it’s not the remedy for bad policy & would set a terrible constitutional precedent."

Romney's office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Other concerns for the impeachment effort are Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who have gone against the conference previously. Neither of their offices provided comment to Fox News Digital on the subject.

Meanwhile, Mayorkas is set to appear on Capitol Hill on April 10, the same day the articles of impeachment are expected to be delivered to the Senate, for an unrelated hearing before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee regarding the department's fiscal 2025 request.

DHS did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Trump eyes dual strategy to flip script against Biden amid legal hurdles: ‘We have the messaging’

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Donald Trump heads out on the stump Tuesday in Michigan and Wisconsin, two Midwestern battleground states he narrowly lost to President Biden four years ago, as he looks to take advantage of a weekday campaign rally ahead of his upcoming hush-money trial in a couple of weeks.

The former president's team said the presumptive GOP nominee will take aim at what they charged was President Biden's "Border Bloodbath" during the first stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Trump's campaign swing is his first in two and a half weeks since he headlined a rally in Ohio on March 16 on behalf of the Republican candidate he was backing in the Buckeye State's GOP Senate primary.

The infrequent weekday campaign rallies may become even rarer this spring and summer as Trump becomes the first current or former president in the nation's history to go on trial.

TRUMP AIMS TO TOP BIDEN'S NEW $26 MILLION FUNDRAISING RECORD

As of now, Trump's hush-money trial is set to begin in New York City on April 15. The former president – who is being tried on 34 state felony charges – is accused of falsifying business records in relation to hush-money payments during the 2016 election he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress.

Trump has repeatedly denied falsifying business records as well as the alleged sexual encounter with Daniels.

TRUMP HUSH-MONEY TRIAL SET TO START ON THIS DATE

During the Republican presidential primaries, Trump used the multiple criminal and civil cases he faces – including two for his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden and another for mishandling classified documents – to cast himself as a victim, which fired up support among GOP voters and boosted fundraising.

"HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, INCLUDING CROOKED AND CORRUPT PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES THAT ARE DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO INTERFERE WITH THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2024, AND PUT ME IN PRISON," Trump said Sunday in a social media post.

The former president is required to attend the court proceedings in the hush-money trial, which are scheduled for weekdays, except Wednesdays, and will ground the 74-year-old Trump in the city where he was born and raised and called home until changing his residence to Florida nearly five years ago.

Sources in the former president's political orbit tell Fox News that a schedule's being mapped out that includes making the most of Wednesdays, when court is not in session, as well as weekends, when Trump usually holds rallies and other campaign events.

"We have the message, the operation, and the money to propel President Trump to victory on November 5," Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita predicted last week in a statement.

While Trump's been mostly off the campaign trail, Biden has stopped since delivering the State of the Union address in early March in all six of the crucial battleground states where he narrowly edged Trump to win the White House in 2020. And last week Biden visited North Carolina, which Trump won by a razor-thin margin four years ago.

The trips are aimed at pumping up the president's anemic poll numbers and also to paint a contrast with Trump, who has been sidetracked due to numerous court appearances in New York City and Florida.

In a video posted on X last week, the president's re-election team highlighted Biden's busy schedule and contrasted it with Trump playing golf.

"I’ll tell you this: There’s a difference between the two candidates in this election," Biden wrote in the social media post after Trump bragged on his Truth Social platform about winning two golf championships at a course he owns.

But Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt predicted that the upcoming trial would give the former president a boost against his successor in the White House, and she said in a statement that "Joe Biden and the Democrats’ entire strategy to defeat President Trump is to confine him to a courtroom."

"President Trump has been attacked by the Democrats for eight years. He has stood strong through two sham impeachments, endless lies and now multiple baseless political witch hunts," Leavitt told Fox News Digital in February. "The Democrats want Donald Trump in a courtroom instead of on the campaign trail delivering his winning message to the American people, but nothing will stop him from doing that."

While he'll be sidetracked four out of five weekdays when the trial gets underway, Trump is expected to continue his practice of grabbing the cable news spotlight with his courtroom arrivals and departures.

And the former president has also used his social media postings on his Truth Social platform to make headlines and drive the campaign conversation.

"Trump can dominate the message environment anytime he wants," longtime Republican strategist Dave Carney told Fox News. "We've never seen anything like this where one guy – whatever he says – gets full coverage. It's a phenomenon. Whether it's social media or cable TV or even broadcast TV, he just dominates the news."

And Carney, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns, forecast "there will be such coverage of his court cases that at times I would bet there will be more reporters covering his stakeout than covering the president."

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

Hunter Biden seen with president at White House Easter Egg Roll as House GOP mulls criminal referrals

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Hunter Biden was spotted attending Monday's White House Easter Egg Roll alongside his father, President Biden, as House Republicans reportedly mull potential criminal referrals against them to the Department of Justice.

Hunter arrived at the White House on Sunday evening with his wife, Melissa Cohen, and their son, Beau, after spending the Easter weekend at Camp David with the president and First Lady Jill Biden. The five were photographed exiting Marine One at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

The family getaway came as Republicans on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees are jointly investigating alleged Biden family corruption as part of an impeachment inquiry into the president, and are reportedly floating possible criminal referrals in lieu of an impeachment vote.

SWING STATE HOUSE HOPEFUL CHANGES TUNE AFTER SCRUBBING VIOLENT CRIME DEFENSES FROM LAW FIRM WEBSITE

Reports that Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., was considering criminal referrals followed the two committees' joint hearing last week that included testimony from multiple former business associates of Hunter who testified to the extent of Biden's involvement in his son's business dealings, which the White House has denied.

Although Comer hasn't specified who these criminal referrals would target, they could provide a way for Republicans to please those anxious for the Biden family to face some sort of consequences from the alleged influence-peddling scheme as the party looks unlikely to have the votes to successfully impeach the president.

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRAT FACING PRESSURE TO RESIGN AFTER MOCKING EASTER ONLINE WITH DRAG, ABORTION REFERENCES

Hunter's appearance at the White House capped a multi-day schedule that included his attendance at his dad's swanky, but controversial, New York City fundraiser held last Thursday, the same day as the wake of an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty.

Last year, the White House faced flak for omitting Hunter's visits and extended stays from its visitor logs from the beginning of the Biden administration through Feb. 2023 despite claiming it was "the most transparent administration in American history."

While many of the events attended by Hunter were ceremonial and a tradition at the White House, Fox News Digital previously reported how Hunter sought to use such events for his personal financial gain during the Obama administration.

Republicans warm to Social Security, Medicare reform as 2024 election nears

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Lawmakers have long shied away from serious discussions about entitlement reform, but the issue appears to be coming back into focus for Republicans who are wary about the growing national debt.

"I definitely have noticed it," veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital of the uptick in GOP-led discussions on the issue. "Republicans have talked about this for a long time, not always with specifics. But what tends to happen is, they talk about it, they get attacked, they fall back."

Congress just ended the fiscal year 2024 government-funding fight with President Biden signing a $1.2 trillion spending package into law last week and averting a partial government shutdown. But the ugly battle, which took six additional months after the end of fiscal year 2023, only accounted for the government’s discretionary spending – which makes up just over a quarter of annual federal funds.

The vast majority of federal funding is classified as mandatory spending, which includes entitlement programs like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known colloquially as "food stamps."

HOUSE PASSES $1.2 TRILLION GOVERNMENT SPENDING BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Discussions about raising the Social Security eligibility age or cuts to Medicare are always politically fraught. But economists are now warning that without changes, those programs are headed for forced cuts anyway, due to insufficient funds – with Medicare expected to become insolvent in 2028, and Social Security in 2033.

"I do think we should be willing to have real conversations about this, but I wouldn’t say this is a new issue," Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., chair of the pragmatic House Main Street Caucus, told Fox News Digital.

Johnson noted that "every ten years" or so, Washington officials assemble task forces and commissions to discuss the national debt or the solvency of programs like Social Security and Medicare.

TERM LIMITS, PREVENTING LEADER ‘MONARCHY’ BECOME TOP CONCERNS IN POST-MCCONNELL GOP

"I think what is maybe ripening this issue a bit more now is the [threat of insolvency]," he said. "It is closer than ever."

Johnson himself has led the charge in pushing for work requirements for federal food benefits, something Democrats have used as a political cudgel, despite the programs’ ballooning costs. But in recent months, more Republicans are declaring their support for curbing entitlements.

Meanwhile, House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., openly called for entitlement reform in his announcement that he would be running for House Appropriations chair.

"You cannot solve the U.S. deficit problem exclusively in the Appropriations Committee, as discretionary spending only amounts to roughly 28 percent of U.S. expenditures," Cole said earlier this month. "If we are going to produce a balanced budget, which I strongly believe we should be striving to do, we should be having serious discussions on how to fund and reform our entitlement programs, which makes up approximately 60 percent of all spending."

The Republican Study Committee, a 175-member House GOP group led by Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., recently released a budget proposal that called for raising the "retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy" as well as restructuring Medicare to compete with private options.

Democrats up to the White House pounced on the proposal, accusing Republicans of trying to gut Social Security and Medicare. Seizing on the looming November election as well, Biden’s campaign has sought to link any Republican victory to deep cuts to the programs.

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T 'CALL THE SHOTS' ON WHEN IMPEACHMENT IS OVER

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., told Fox News Digital that he expects that Republicans will take on entitlement reform if they win the White House, House and Senate.

"My hope would be that if we have full control of government that we will take the steps necessary to preserve and protect Social Security and Medicare for the current retirees who are depending on it, those nearing retirement, depending on the next few years, [and] so that it's there also for people like you," Good said.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumed GOP nominee for 2024, has not been explicit about his stance regarding entitlement reform.

He told CNBC earlier this month that "there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting." His spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, later told NBC News, "President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term."

But Paul Winfree, Trump’s former White House budget policy director and current president of the Economic Policy Innovation Center (EPIC), backed entitlement reform to reduce the national deficit and save the programs themselves.

"Interest rates are significantly higher and so too are debt service payments. At the same time, the Fed has had a hard time getting inflation fully under control," Winfree told Fox News Digital. "Those are market signals that the deficit really needs to come down. And the sooner policymakers begin to confront the biggest drivers of the deficit, specifically what is spent on federal health programs, the more likely it will be that they can protect programs for the most vulnerable."

The federal government spent $2.2 trillion on Social Security and Medicare in 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office, out of $3.8 trillion in mandatory spending.

Strategist Doug Heye, who’s pessimistic about the talk becoming action, suggested that it was precisely because reforms seem too out of reach that Republicans are able to be vocal.

"Entitlement reform, depending on who you talk to, is – it's a tool to show either voters or portions of conservative media that you're fighting, and it doesn't mean that any of this is going to happen. In fact, that's sort of irrelevant to the process, showing the willingness to fight becomes paramount," Heye explained.

Speaker Johnson meets Gov Abbott in Texas to talk border action, Mayorkas impeachment

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the latter’s home turf on Thursday, where they discussed the ongoing border crisis and the House GOP’s response to it.

The meeting came hours after Johnson revealed that the House of Representatives would send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10.

"By opening the border to criminals, traffickers, and cartels, the Biden administration is actively endangering the American people, our families, ranchers, and law enforcement. When the federal government fails to perform its constitutional duty to protect our borders, states have no choice but to fill that role," Johnson said in a statement after the meeting.

CALIFORNIA BORDER OFFICERS FIND THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF METH IN SHIPMENT OF CARROTS

"Right now, we’re witnessing a gross abuse of power as Biden’s Department of Justice uses the judicial system to go after the state of Texas for attempting to safeguard its citizens. Texans, and all Americans, deserve better."

Johnson expressed support for Abbott’s efforts to secure the border between Texas and Mexico, the speaker’s office said, and that the two discussed ways to "hold the Biden administration accountable."

The Louisiana Republican also briefed Abbott on the House readying to transmit the impeachment articles to the Senate, Johnson’s office said.

Abbott, in turn, urged Johnson to "pass border security legislation that will help stop illegal crossings between ports of entry along the southern border," the governor’s office said.

ICE ARRESTS 216 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS WITH COCAINE, FENTANYL AND HEROIN CONVICTIONS

"The Governor also implored Speaker Johnson to support the state's ongoing fight against President Biden's attacks on Texas' historic border mission and his refusal to secure the border," Abbott’s office said.

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

Abbott has been in a standoff with President Biden for months over differing views on how to handle the migrant crisis at the border.

The White House has criticized Abbott and Texas officials for actions carried out under Operation Lone Star, which has included putting up razor wire at the border and transporting migrants to Democrat-run cities like New York and Chicago. Texas officials have accused the White House, however, of not doing enough to stop the migrant crisis on the federal level.

MEXICAN PRESIDENT SAYS THE ‘FLOW OF MIGRANTS WILL CONTINUE’ UNLESS THE US MEETS HIS DEMANDS

House Republicans have similarly pressured Biden over the border crisis, repeatedly hammering him and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for failing to take up a strict border security bill, H.R.2, which Democrats have dismissed as a nonstarter.

Johnson sent a letter to Schumer on Thursday informing him that House impeachment managers would send the impeachment articles to his chamber on April 10 and urged him to hold a trial "expeditiously."

"As Speaker and impeachment managers of the U.S. House of Representatives, we write to inform you that we will present to you upon the Senate’s return, on April 10, 2024, the duly passed articles of impeachment regarding Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. We urge you to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously," Johnson wrote alongside the 11 Republicans selected as impeachment managers.

Democratic leader has 2 words for Republicans looking to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., shared a brief post on social media Thursday evening, criticizing Republicans who are pushing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"Extreme MAGA Republicans are demanding a full impeachment trial in the Senate," Jeffries wrote in a post on X. "They want to continue the phony political stunt targeting the Homeland Security Secretary."

He added: "My response? Get lost."

The post comes as the U.S. Senate is going to receive House-passed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas next month.

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On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., notified Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that the House of Representatives would formally send over the impeachment articles to his chamber on April 10.

In his letter to Schumer, Johnson urged him to hold an impeachment trial "expeditiously."

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In February, all but three House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas over his handling, or mishandling as Republican content, of the U.S. southern border. It was the first time since 1876 that a cabinet secretary had been impeached.

Schumer‘s office told Fox News Digital that the Senate would initiate the impeachment trial once it receives the impeachment articles.

"As we have said previously, after the House impeachment managers present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside."

The trial is highly unlikely to result in a conviction.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Biden rolls out new endorsements for controversial judicial nominee as Dem support dwindles

Posted on March 29, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The White House is moving forward with its campaign to confirm judicial nominee Adeel Mangi and pushing back on claims that he is antisemitic or against law enforcement, despite several Democratic senators expressing concern over the nominee's organizational ties and casting doubt on his chances of garnering enough votes.

According to a White House official, Biden's team is keeping the pressure on senators to confirm Mangi, who is nominated to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, dismissing attacks on him as false. The official said those focused on lobbying senators to support the nominee are White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Shuwanza Goff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs Ali Nouri, White House Counsel Ed Siskel, and White House senior counsel in charge of nominations Phil Brest.

Zients said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Some Senate Republicans and their extreme allies are relentlessly smearing Adeel Mangi with baseless accusations that he is anti-police."

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"That could not be further from the truth and the close to a dozen law enforcement organizations that have endorsed him agree," he said, pointing to several new endorsements of Mangi by three former attorneys general in New Jersey, two former U.S. attorneys who served in the state, the International Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

"The Senate must confirm Mr. Mangi without further delay," Zients said.

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Chances of Mangi being confirmed have appeared grim in recent weeks as allegations of antisemitism have been spotlighted due to his previous role on the board of advisers for the Rutgers University Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR). The center has sponsored events, including one on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with controversial speakers like Hatem Bazian, who in 2004 called for an "Intifada," according to video from an anti-war protest in San Francisco, and Sami Al-Arian, who in 2006 pleaded guilty to "conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," according to the Justice Department.

The CSRR has also hosted an event with Noura Erakat, who had previously been advertised as a panelist for a separate event alongside Hamas commander Ghazi Hamad.

Mangi has also been accused of being against law enforcement because of his role as a current advisory board member for the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ). The alliance's founding board member, Kathy Boudin, pleaded guilty to the felony murder of two police officers in 1981 after they died during the robbery of an armored truck. The robbery was carried out by Boudin's group, the Weather Underground Organization, which was recognized as a domestic terrorist organization by the FBI.

Neither the CSRR nor AFJ provided comments to Fox News Digital.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "It is unsurprising that Mangi’s record has split Senate Democrats, and the White House should recognize their error, withdraw Mangi’s nomination, and instead nominate a candidate who can garner widespread bipartisan support."

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Mangi's "well-known ties to this extreme organization that supports terrorists and cop killers makes him wholly unqualified to serve as an appellate judge."

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Biden's White House has previously hit back at criticism of Mangi, calling it a "malicious and debunked smear campaign" prompted by the nominee's potential to become the first Muslim appellate judge.

While Judiciary Republicans had already sounded alarm bells over Biden's pick last year after probing Mangi about his connections to the groups, Democratic senators appeared likely to fall in line behind the president's choice.

However, after a recent report indicated Biden was being privately warned that Mangi may not have enough votes for confirmation, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., revealed she was one of the lawmakers to reach out to the White House with concerns.

The senator previously confirmed her stance against the nominee to Fox News Digital, citing his connection to AFJ.

Several other Democratic senators recently refused to say whether they would support Mangi.

The office of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., confirmed to Fox News Digital that he is also committed to voting against Biden's pick.

Cortez Masto and Manchin were recently joined by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who said in a statement, "Given the concerns I’ve heard from law enforcement in Nevada, I am not planning to vote to confirm this nominee."

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, the law firm at which Mangi is a partner, did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

The loss of any Democratic support is a concern for Mangi's confirmation prospects, given the Senate's close 51-49 split in favor of the Democratic caucus.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on Biden last week to withdraw the nomination, and now Republicans are reinforcing their campaign against Mangi's confirmation.

"The White House can’t defend Adeel Mangi’s record. So, they’re launching personal attacks against anyone who notices the ties to cop-killers and antisemites that Mr. Mangi has forged of his own free will," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said in a statement.

He added, "It’s not Islamophobic for senators to recognize" a nominee's failure to meet qualifications.

"Now even his own Democrat party is rebelling against [Biden]," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., remarked in a statement, attributing it to the president's "push for radical, anti-Israel nominees."

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary GOP revealed three additional law enforcement groups were opposing Biden's choice, bringing the total to 17. The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and Pennsylvania State Troopers Association penned a joint letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Ranking Member Graham; and Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, who are both Democrats.

The court that Mangi has been nominated to serve on is located in Philadelphia.

The Pennsylvania-based groups noted their letter is on behalf of over 40,000 members requesting that the Senate "reject the nomination" of Mangi, citing his AFJ affiliation.