Republicans troll Dems’ El Salvador visits with offer to foot travel bill – in exchange for one thing
The House GOP’s elections arm is offering to foot the bill for any future Democratic lawmakers’ trips to El Salvador after multiple progressive lawmakers traveled there in protest of the Trump administration’s deportation policies. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) made the public offering on Monday – but any takers have to provide real-time video evidence of the visit. “If out-of-touch House Democrats are so desperate to cozy up to violent gang members, the least they can do is let Americans watch the show,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said. “We’ll pay for the plane tickets, they just can’t forget to smile for the camera while they sell out their constituents.” KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA SUSPECTED OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN REPORT OBTAINED BY FOX NEWS Progressive Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., was in El Salvador last week, where he met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant married to an American citizen. The administration says Abrego Garcia is an MS-13 gang member with a violent history. Democrats, in contrast, have painted him as a Maryland father and husband wrongfully deported under the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration plans. Four House Democrats – Reps. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore. – are currently in El Salvador with Abrego Garcia’s family lawyer in an effort to secure his release. Frost told Fox News host Will Cain on Monday that they had not been able to meet with him. In their press release announcing the trip, the group said it was not funded by taxpayer dollars, though it did not say how it was funded. OREGON LAWMAKER LATEST DEMOCRAT TO VISIT EL SALVADOR FOR DEPORTED ILLEGAL MIGRANT ABREGO GARCIA It comes amid President Donald Trump’s standoff with the courts over his administration’s deportation of suspected Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members to El Salvador. Democrats and human rights groups argue that the White House is denying due process rights to deported individuals, while supporters say the illegal immigrants’ hearings and deportation orders are sufficient evidence of due process. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision earlier this month that ordered the Trump administration to arrange Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S. The court ordered the U.S. “to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” Republicans, meanwhile, are eager to tie Democrats to suspected criminals being deported to an El Salvador prison – particularly after border security and immigration proved potent issues for the GOP in the 2024 elections. SEN VAN HOLLEN POURS COLD WATER ON ‘MARGARITA-GATE’ PHOTO-OP AFTER EL SALVADOR TRIP The NRCC’s Senate counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), released a video on X with a message to Democrats: “¡Bienvenidos a El Salvador Senate Dems! Democrats should feel free to make their trip to hang out with MS-13 gangbangers one-way.” The 40-second video is a vacation-style clip advertising El Salvador as “the destination for Democrats seeking the thrill of bringing violent criminal illegal aliens back to America.” “Come witness Trump Derangement Syndrome in its purest form,” the voiceover says. “So, what are you waiting for, Senate Democrats?”
Democrats’ identity crisis: Youth revolt rocks party after Trump comeback
The tract of political land where Democrats reside is unique. It’s not the same political street address where they took up shop in 1995 after losing the House and Senate to the “Republican Revolution” of 1994 – which flipped control of the House to the GOP for the first time in 40 years. They still held the presidency then with President Bill Clinton. It’s not the same zip code after the legendary House blowout in 2010 where they dropped an historic 63 seats. President Barack Obama remained in the White House. It’s even a different electoral co-op for Democrats compared to 2016, when President Donald Trump unexpectedly prevailed over Hillary Clinton, winning in the Electoral College. Democrats controlled neither the House nor Senate in 2017. But a lack of support for Trump in Congress and his inexperience at governance undercut sizable portions of his legislative agenda. DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR IGNITES CIVIL WAR, TARGETING ‘ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL’ INCUMBENTS IN PRIMARIES Fast-forward to 2025. President Trump is back in the White House – this time after winning the popular vote and Electoral College, scoring a decisive knockout over former Vice President Kamala Harris. Republicans clung to power in the House and flipped the Senate. And the political real estate Democrats now occupy is a very foreign locale. They’re out of power in Washington. But President Trump returned to power resoundingly and emboldened. And this time, congressional Republicans – MAGA Republicans – stand foursquare behind Mr. Trump. So it’s natural there’s Democratic infighting about what went wrong, who deserves blame and, more importantly, what direction the party should take next. Here’s the schism: Younger, more progressive Democrats are trying to weed out senior lawmakers and power brokers who have been in office for years. Let’s start with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. She’s the best known of younger, energetic, left-leaning Democrats. She’s also the most-experienced figure in the Democrats’ youth movement. Ocasio-Cortez arrived on the scene, upsetting former Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in a 2018 primary. “We got them on their back foot. We’ve got them scared,” said Ocasio-Cortez recently about MAGA-aligned Republicans. They’re brash. “Let’s go kick some a–! Let’s go win our young people back,” thundered 25-year-old Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chairman David Hogg. And they’re blunt about Democratic errors and missteps. “What if we didn’t suck?” asked 26-year-old Kat Abughazaleh, the Democratic Illinois congressional candidate and TikTok influencer. SEN. VAN HOLLEN POURS COLD WATER ON ‘MARGARITA-GATE’ PHOTO-OP AFTER EL SALVADOR TRIP: ‘NOBODY DRANK ANY’ Younger Democrats are trying to banish party veterans. “We’ have to have a whole rebrand of the Democratic Party,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. “New leaders. Not the old guard.” Hogg is now spending $20 million to coax younger Democrats to primary longtime congressional incumbents. “What we’re trying to do here is not just focus on primaries where there’s potentially an older incumbent. But more than anything, an ineffective person in that position. And replace with a generational leader,” said Hogg on MSNBC. Abughazaleh is primarying 80-year-old Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who is progressive. But she first came to Congress in 1998. She’s been a member of the House of Representatives longer than Abughazaleh has been alive. “You have to look to the exceptions for real leadership, as the majority work from an outdated playbook. We need a makeover,” said Abughazaleh. But devouring your own is risky. “Beating the other side is more important to many voters [rather] than who exactly is representing your own team,” said University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth. But Farnsworth concedes that unrest brews on the Democratic side of the aisle. “What we’re talking about here is a pretty powerful, generational clash within the Democratic Party over how to aggressively challenge President Trump,” said Farnsworth. “The Democratic Party has to figure out where the sweet spot is. You have to be energized enough to motivate those voters who might stay at home.” Some top political handicappers like Nate Silver now believe that Ocasio-Cortez could be the odds-on favorite to emerge as the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nominee. Now 35 years old, the New York Democrat is old enough to become president. Ocasio-Cortez has kept busy during the congressional recess by barnstorming the country with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the 83-year-old former Democratic presidential candidate. “We’re here together because of an extreme concentration of power, greed and corruption which is taking over this country like never before,” Ocasio-Cortez declared during a whistlestop in Missoula, Montana. DEMOCRATIC PARTY’S FAVORABLE RATINGS DROP TO HISTORIC LOWS So Democrats are searching for a toe-hold against the president. Younger voters favored Democrats for years. But a Fox News voter analysis found a staggering 11-point spike in voters under age 30 favoring Trump in 2024 compared with 2020. “In the 2024 election, Democrats lost a lot of voters who had voted for Biden four years ago. Some of them went to Trump,” said Farnsworth. “It seems to me that a more aggressive messaging strategy is certainly one way of connecting with voters who didn’t feel as warmly toward the Democrats in 2024 as they did in 2020.” Republicans found themselves at a loss in late 2012. They were perhaps overconfident that they were going to blow out President Obama. Republicans retreated to backrooms in Washington to conduct an “autopsy” about reaching out to minorities and retrenching the party. The party didn’t rely on the findings of that postmortem much. Republicans held the House and finally flipped the Senate after they tried to get control dating back to 2006. FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICAN PARTY SHOWCASES MASSIVE HAUL Republicans also won the House in 2010 after Obama’s big 2008 victory. In 2009, many Republicans felt it was best if the GOP took a couple of cycles to retrench their bench and agenda during the echoes of the presidency of George W. Bush. But Republicans found themselves in control of the House following the 2010 midterms. The party was more than happy to be back in power in
Al Gore compares Trump admin to Hitler’s Third Reich
Former Vice President Al Gore compared the Trump administration to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party while speaking at a climate change event in San Francisco on Monday. Gore was delivering the keynote speech at a science museum to kick off the city’s Climate Week event when he said the Trump administration was “trying to create their own preferred version of reality.” “I understand very well why it is wrong to compare Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich to any other movement,” Gore said. “It was uniquely evil, full stop. I get it. But there are important lessons from the history of that emergent evil.” Gore then went on to cite what German philosophers had called their “moral autopsy” of Hitler’s Third Reich following the end of World War II. CHRIS MATTHEWS SAYS TRUMP IS DOING THE SAME THING HITLER DID ‘IN THE HOLOCAUST’ WITH ABREGO GARCIA “It was [Jürgen] Habermas’ mentor, Theodore Adorno, who wrote that the first step in that nation’s descent into hell was, and I quote, ‘the conversion of all questions of truth into questions of power,”’ Gore said. “He described how the Nazis, and I quote again, ‘attacked the very heart of the distinction between true and false.’ End quote. The Trump administration is insisting on trying to create their own preferred version of reality.” Gore then launched into an attack against what he asserted were the views of the Trump administration on climate change and efforts to undo Democratic policies. “They say the climate crisis is a hoax invented by the Chinese to destroy American manufacturing,” Gore said of the Trump administration. “They say coal is clean. They say wind turbines cause cancer. They say sea-level rise just creates more beachfront property.” PHOTOS: BIDEN’S ‘AMBITIOUS CLIMATE GOALS’ GO DOWN IN LITERAL FLAMES BY POPULAR AMERICAN BEACH “We have to deal with the democracy crisis in order to solve the climate crisis,” the former vice president said. Gore isn’t the first politician who tried to compare Trump to Hitler. During the 2024 presidential campaign, some of Trump’s political rivals and some liberal media outlets invoked comparisons between the president and Hitler and other fascist leaders.
‘Sharbat Jihad’: On Hamdard’s petition about Ramdev’s allegation on ‘Rooh Afza’, Delhi High Court said…
While hearing a suit filed by Hamdard Laboratories against Ramdev, Justice Amit Bansal made strong observation. Hamdard accused Ramdev of making defamatory and communal statements targeting its product.
Noem, DHS outline next step to speed up deportation process
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its plan to rework the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, an online database used by law enforcement to identify the noncitizen status of individuals in the U.S. DHS shared exclusive details with Fox News Digital Tuesday, which include eliminating fees for database searches, streamlining mass immigration status checks, integrating criminal records, and creating a “user-friendly interface” to “prevent non-citizens from exploiting taxpayer benefits of voting illegally.” The SAVE program, established in 1987, allows local law enforcement officials and various government agencies to input biographic info as well as noncitizen documentation such as I-94 number, SEVIS ID, or Alien number, to pull up immigration information on related individuals. LEAVITT GOES OFF ON DEMOCRAT FOR TAXPAYER-FUNDED TRIP TO SUPPORT DEPORTED SUSPECTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER “Illegal aliens have exploited outdated systems to defraud Americans and taint our elections,” a DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “This revamped SAVE system ensures government officials can swiftly verify statuses, halting entitlement and voter fraud.” DHS will work alongside the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to maximize the effectiveness and update the program. FLORIDA HALTS MIGRANT ARRESTS AFTER JUDGE REBUKES STATE OVER IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT The move to overhaul the SAVE program comes after the Trump administration sparred with federal judges on mass deportations. Most recently, the Supreme Court halted the administration’s removal of Venezuelan migrants under the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act. The highest court, however, did not issue a full stop. Rather, the ruling stated that Venezuelan migrants held in a Texas detention center are not to be removed “until further order of this court.” MORE THAN 500K IMMIGRANTS MISSED THEIR COURT HEARINGS ON BIDEN’S WATCH: ANALYSIS Justice Samual Alito, who offered the dissenting opinion on the decision, stated that the “Court issued unprecedented and legally questionable relief without giving the lower courts a chance to rule, without hearing from the opposing party, within eight hours of receiving the application, with dubious factual support for its order, and without providing any explanation for its order.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The number of migrant encounters at the borders has fallen dramatically under President Donald Trump.
Likely Dem gubernatorial candidate in key swing state praises DEI at Sharpton event: ‘Stay woke’
FIRST ON FOX: Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat running for governor in the key swing state, recently attended the National Action Network’s convention and urged the audience to “stay woke” while defending businesses who push DEI. Ford, who stood up and cheered when New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James walked into the room at Al Sharpton’s event before embracing her, touted the “affirmative action scholarship” that he received to attend Texas A&M University while speaking at the convention earlier this month. “When they talk about the opposite of equity, its inequity, you know what that means. You work hard, but you don’t get the same thing everyone else gets for the same work that they’ve done,” Ford said, before praising companies who have refused to scrap DEI policies. “Whether it’s Costco… whether it’s Delta, whether it’s the Cleveland Cavaliers, I know I’m in the wrong city for that, but the point I’m making is these places that adamantly and continue to support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we should support because they support us,” Ford said. CONTROVERSIAL DEFENSE PROGRAM TIED TO DEI-LADEN CONTRACTOR COULD BE IN CROSSHAIRS OF DOGE: ‘POSTER CHILD’ Ford then suggested that the term “woke” was a badge of honor rather than a negative. “Here’s what’s happening right now, they don’t want you to ‘wake up everybody,’” Ford said, referencing a Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes song. “That’s why they’ve got a war on woke, you understand? They don’t want you asking what’s going on? They want you ignorant, they want you complacent. That’s why they changing history books right before your eyes, and so it’s important that you stay woke and that you continue asking questions and hold folks accountable. That’s what you can do and you can do that anytime, every time whenever you feel like making it happen.” DESPITE TRUMP’S ORDER, A SURPRISING NUMBER OF DEI PROGRAMS REMAIN ‘ACTIVE’ AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Fox News Digital reached out to Ford’s office for comment. Ford, who has said he plans to run for governor against Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo as a Democrat in a state President Donald Trump narrowly won in 2024, made his comments touting DEI shortly after Trump began his push to rid DEI from the federal government. Additionally, companies across the country have been moving away from DEI. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sharpton, the president of National Action Network, has called on his followers to boycott companies that have moved away from DEI, including Target. Sharpton recently met with the retail giant’s CEO in a meeting that Sharpton reportedly asked for. “You can’t have an election come and all of a sudden, change your old positions,” Sharpton said. “If an election determines your commitment to fairness, then fine, you have a right to withdraw from us, but then we have a right to withdraw from you.”
GOP lawmaker touts $19M Trump tariff success story in her district: ‘New model for American manufacturing’
FIRST ON FOX: An Indiana lawmaker is celebrating an American bicycle company opening a new manufacturing plant in her district after President Donald Trump launched his aggressive tariff campaign against China. Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital that Guardian Bikes is starting with a new $19 million investment in Seymour, Indiana to expand their operations there – which she said will create new local jobs. “The number of job opportunities that are available, the investment right here in southern Indiana, that’s money that’s staying right here at home and not going outside the country. And certainly away from China,” Houchin said in her first interview on the topic. TRUMP SHREDS BIDEN, ‘RADICAL LEFT LUNATICS’ IN EASTER MESSAGE The Indiana Republican, now in her second term, said she first visited Guardian Bikes shortly after being elected to Congress. At the time, they had just 16 employees, she said. “At the time, they talked to us about their desire to become a 100% made in the USA bicycle factory,” Houchin said. “Currently, over 97% of bicycles are made outside of the United States. Many are assembled in the United States, but their component parts mostly come from China.” Guardian Bikes specifically relied on Chinese imports for 70% of its production, she said. After Trump’s election in November 2024, however, she said “they have been slowly working toward being 100% made in the USA.” “They just announced $19 million in financing with JPMorgan Chase to launch the first large-scale bicycle frame manufacturing operation in the United States,” Houchin said. “This has been made possible by President Trump’s trade policies…it’s just pretty incredible that we have a president right now that is focused so much…on creating a level playing field for American companies.” Houchin said the company is aiming to increase its “mass market” bicycles manufactured in the U.S. from 100,000 to over 1 million. “That’s just very, very exciting,” she said. Guardian Bikes also currently has locations in California and Pennsylvania, with two more expected in Texas and Georgia this year, according to the company’s website. The site also touts the company’s plans to manufacture its bike frames in Indiana, and vows to be “rapidly” moving toward being made entirely within the United States. “We brought Guardian Bikes production to the U.S., because we believe the future of manufacturing is local, fast, and data-driven. Indiana, and specifically Seymour, offers the perfect combination of workforce, infrastructure, and proximity to our customer base,” Guardian Bikes CEO Brian Riley told Fox News Digital. “It’s not just about making bikes – it’s about building a new model for American manufacturing.” WHAT THE FINANCIAL MARKETS ARE SCREAMING ABOUT TRUMP’S TARIFFS It comes as critics of Trump’s sweeping tariff plans have accused him of upending the global economy. Supporters of the plan, however, have hailed it as both a potent negotiating strategy and a long-needed solution to jobs moving overseas. A cornerstone of Trump’s policy has been a 10% tariff on all imports to the U.S. Plans for additional reciprocal tariffs, which Trump announced earlier this month, were dropped against countries that have not retaliated against the U.S. However, Trump has levied a massive 145% base tariff across all of Beijing’s exports in a bid to crack down on the U.S.’s growing reliance on Chinese manufacturing. When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital, “Trillions in historic investment commitments from industry leaders – now including Guardian Bikes – since Election Day only reinforces what President Trump has been saying all along: if you make your product in America, you don’t have to worry about tariffs.”
Florida protester screams at Rep. Byron Donalds during tense town hall
A protester was captured on video yelling at Rep. Byron Donalds and being escorted away by security during a town hall hosted by the Florida Republican. Tensions escalated inside the auditorium at Estero High School Monday night after a woman began shouting at Donalds – a staunch ally of President Donald Trump who is running to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – over the war in Gaza. “The Palestinians have voted for Hamas and they have not done anything to remove Hamas. So you want to have a shouting match with me? Let’s have a shouting match on the facts,” Donalds said. “The truth is, is that Hamas held elections one time. One time. And they never held elections again. Because they would prefer to keep the Palestinian people under their boots.” “So if you’re going to ask who has blood on your hands, it is Hamas and it is the people that empower them…. That’s the truth. If you want to continue to have a shouting match with me at least come with the facts. Next question,” Donald told her, drawing applause from other members of the crowd. VIDEO: PROTESTER FORCIBLY ESCORTED OUT OF REPUBLICAN TOWN HALL HOSTED BY MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE However, the woman continued yelling at Donalds. “What you’re doing is yelling now and you’re being disrespectful. You, ma’am, you are being disrespectful. And I will respect you. And I will honor the fact that you are here trying to get answers,” Donald said. “But if you’re gonna hold this thing up and be disrespectful, then it’s time for you to be removed. You can leave.” The protester was then seen being escorted away by law enforcement. As she was being led out of the auditorium, she shouted, “Free, free Palestine!” Donalds also encountered a hostile reaction from his audience while responding to a question about oversight being imposed on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). HOW DEMOCRATS INFILTRATED ‘THUNDEROUS’ GOP TOWN HALLS “First and foremost, when it comes to what Elon Musk is doing, he’s everything that he does right now is in the auspices of being a special employee under the presidency of Donald Trump. So how this works is the president’s allowed to have special employees. Every president basically had these special employees. They’re tasked with specific duties, specific responsibilities. Some of them have been tasked with going overseas, trying to negotiate climate policy. That was John Kerry when he was the climate czar under President Biden,” Donalds told the crowd. “And this instance, Elon Musk is essentially the head of the DOGE that Donald Trump has set up in his administration.” The crowd eventually started groaning and grew restless as Donalds spoke. “Are you going to allow me to answer the question? OK. So like I said, what he, what they doing is under the directions of the president of the United States. If you’re going to talk about what oversight is doing, we actually have to let the DOGE committee, the DOGE department actually finish its work,” Donalds continued. “What they are examining right now is inefficiency in a federal system.” “You can boo if you want to, but those are the facts. Because if you go back in time, back to 2009,” he added. “Then-President Obama famously said that he wanted to examine the efficiencies or lack thereof in the federal government. Elon Musk is doing the exact same thing.”
Schumer sinks, AOC soars in new poll as liberal voters demand harder line on Trump
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s poll numbers in his home state of New York are taking a hit. The top Senate Democrat and longtime lawmaker faced intense backlash from within his own party in March for supporting a Republican-crafted federal government funding bill that averted a government shutdown and was backed by President Donald Trump but opposed by most congressional Democrats. That anger by Democrats appears to be reflected in a new poll of New Yorkers conducted by Siena College. Schumer’s favorable rating stands at 39% favorable and 49% unfavorable among New York state voters questioned in the poll, which was conducted April 14-16 and released on Tuesday. HEAD HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING It’s the worst showing by Schumer in the 20 years Siena College has been conducting polls in New York state. “A first in a Siena College poll: Schumer is 10 points underwater, with a plurality of voters viewing him unfavorably,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. Fueling the deterioration of Schumer’s numbers is a plunge in favorability among Democrats. PROGRESSIVE LEADER SAYS SCHUMER FACES ‘UPHILL CLIMB’ TO WIN BACK DEMOCRATS’ TRUST “While he continues to be viewed unfavorably by more than two-thirds of Republicans and a majority of independents, Schumer saw his standing with Democrats, particularly liberals, fall dramatically,” Greenberg said. “Democrats view Schumer favorably 52-38%, down from 68-23%, and he’s still viewed favorably by a plurality of liberals, 47-41%, but that’s down from 68-21%.” While the poll shows that Schumer’s favorable ratings are taking a hit, it also indicates that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s numbers are soaring. Ocasio-Cortez, the four-term Democrat from New York City and a progressive champion, stands at 47% favorable and 33% unfavorable among New York state voters. That’s a jump from 38%-39% the last time Siena asked about Ocasio-Cortez among a statewide sample of respondents, four years ago. According to the poll, 64% of Democrats view Ocasio-Cortez in a favorable light, more than Schumer or Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Six in 10 Republicans questioned in the poll view Ocasio-Cortez in a negative way, with independents evenly divided. BERNIE SANDERS, AOC, AND OTHER ANTI-TRUMP PROGRESSIVES HAUL IN BIG BUCKS Schumer has repeatedly argued that voting to advance the GOP federal funding bill was the best of two bad options and a government shutdown would have given more power to Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the president’s special White House advisor who’s aggressively chopping the federal workforce as he steers DOGE. While facing calls by fellow Democrats to be more vocal in his opposition to Trump, Schumer to date has kept his control of the Senate Democratic Caucus. While the Senate minority leader isn’t up for re-election until 2028, there are already suggestions that Ocasio-Cortez could wage a primary challenge against Schumer, with some early polling suggesting that she would top him. Hochul, who is running next year for a second four-year term as New York governor, is enjoying a rise in her approval and favorable ratings, according to the poll. The governor’s approval rating stands at 48%-45%, up from 46%-48% in Siena College’s March poll. And Hochul’s favorable ratings now stand at 44%-43%, up from 40%-50% last month. While only 39% of voters are prepared to re-elect Hochul in 2026 – with 48% saying they would like to see “someone else” – her standing is an improvement from March, when only 34% wanted to see her re-elected and 56% preferred someone else. Greenberg noted that when it comes to the governor’s approval and favorable ratings, “Hochul improved most among upstate and women voters.” Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik and Mike Lawler, and Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman, are all considering launching GOP campaigns for governor against Hochul. Pointing to the latest poll results from Siena, Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe argued, “New Yorkers strongly support Governor Hochul’s leadership because she is fighting to get results on the priorities that matter to them – from public safety to lowering costs.”
Parents tell SCOTUS: LGBTQ storybooks in classrooms clash with our faith
The Supreme Court heard arguments on Tuesday from religious parents who say young children can’t be expected to separate a teacher’s moral messages from their family’s beliefs—raising the question of whether exposure to LGBTQ-themed storybooks in elementary classrooms constitutes “coercion.” Eric S. Baxter, the attorney representing Maryland parents in Mahmoud v. Taylor, told the justices that Montgomery County Public Schools violated the First Amendment by denying opt-out requests for books that “contradict their religious beliefs,” even while allowing exemptions for other religious objections — such as books depicting the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. “There’s no basis for denying opt-outs for religious reasons,” Baxter said during oral arguments. “Parents, not school boards, should have the final say on such religious matters.” Justice Clarence Thomas asked Baxter about whether children were merely “exposed” to the books or actively instructed by them. “Are the books just there and no more, or are they actually being taught out of the books?” he asked. Baxter said that teachers were required to use the materials in class. “When the books were first introduced in August of 2022, the board suggested they be used five times before the end of the year. One of the schools, Sherwood School, in June for Pride Month said that they were going to read one book each day.” SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SWOOPS IN TO SAVE TRUMP FIRING DECISION Parents, supported by religious freedom organizations, argue that this policy infringes upon their First Amendment rights by compelling their children to engage in instruction that contradicts their religious beliefs. The Fourth Circuit Court, a federal appeals court, ruled last year that there was no violation of religious exercise rights, stating that the policy did not force parents to change their religious beliefs or conduct and that parents could still teach their children outside of school. Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Baxter whether exposure to same-sex relationships in children’s books could be considered religious coercion. “Is looking at two men getting married… is that the religious objection?” she asked, referencing the book, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding.” “The most they’re doing is holding hands.” Baxter maintained that it depends on the family’s faith. “Our parents would object to that,” he said. “Their faith teaches… they shouldn’t be exposed to information about sex during their years of innocence without being accompanied by moral principles.” LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Justice Samuel Alito inquired about the developmental capacity of young children as young as 4 to question classroom teachings and moral instruction. “Would you agree that there comes a point when a student is able to make that distinction?” he asked. “That my teacher… isn’t necessarily going to be correct on everything. It is possible for me to disagree with him or her on certain subjects?” Baxter agreed. “That’s right,” he said. “And many of our clients’ objections would be diminished as their children got older.” But Baxter stood strong on the point that age matters, especially in this case. He argued even Montgomery County school officials had acknowledged some books were not age-appropriate and criticized their attitude toward religious perspectives. “In a situation where Montgomery County’s own principals objected that these books were inappropriate for the age, they were dismissive of religion and shaming toward children who disagree,” Baxter said. “The board itself withdrew two of the books for what it said were content concerns, because it finally agreed that what parents and petitioners — and its own principals — are saying was accurate.” SCOTUS RULINGS THIS TERM COULD STRENGTHEN RELIGIOUS RIGHTS PROTECTIONS, EXPERT SAYS Mahmoud v. Taylor is one of three major religious cases the Supreme Court has on the docket for this year. Earlier this month, the high court heard a case brought by a Wisconsin-based Catholic charity group’s bid for tax relief, which could alter the current eligibility requirements for religious tax exemptions. At issue in that case is whether the Wisconsin branch of Catholic Charities, a social services organization affiliated with Catholic dioceses across the country, can successfully contest the state’s high court determination that it is ineligible for a religious tax exemption because it is not “operated primarily for religious purposes.” The third case is about whether a Catholic online school can become the first religious charter school in the U.S.