Democrats, left empty-handed in shutdown, turn fury on Schumer
Frustration is boiling over among Democratic ranks against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., after walking away from the longest government shutdown on record largely empty-handed. Some argue that Schumer squandered key leverage and failed to steer his caucus through the chaos to victory. “I think that people did what they could to get us out of the shutdown, but what has worked in the past isn’t working now,” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said. “And so, we need to meet the moment, and we’re not doing that.” Slotkin, like others in the Senate Democratic caucus, “wanted something deliverable on the price of healthcare.” The core of their shutdown strategy was to force Republicans and President Donald Trump to make a deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies, but that didn’t happen. SENATE VOTE TO END GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IGNITES DEMOCRAT CIVIL WAR Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., argued that getting rid of Schumer would be difficult. “Chuck Schumer is part of the establishment,” Sanders told MSNBC. “You can argue, and I can make the case, that Chuck Schumer has done a lot of bad things, but getting rid of him — who’s going to replace him?” Other Democrats weren’t so resigned. Graham Platner, a Democratic Senate candidate running to replace Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, placed the collapse of Senate Democrats’ unified front squarely on leadership. “The Democratic Party at the leadership level has become entirely feckless,” Platner said in a video posted by Our Revolution, a political action organization started as an offshoot of Sanders’ presidential campaign. “What happened last night is a failure of leadership in the most clear terms,” he said after the Senate passed the bipartisan deal Monday, sending it to the House. “Sen. Schumer is the minority leader. It is his job to make sure his caucus is voting along the lines of what’s going to be good for the people of the United States. He could not maintain that.” Schumer and congressional Democrats walked away from the shutdown stalemate in the Senate largely empty-handed, save for some victories on ensuring furloughed federal workers would receive back pay, the reversals of firings made by the Trump administration during the shutdown and future protections for workers. Still, they fell far short of their goal to extend the expiring subsidies, which are set to sunset at the end of this year. Those subsidies, initially passed as an emergency response to COVID-19 in 2021, were always supposed to be temporary. But Democrats fear that their sudden expiration could leave millions of policyholders with substantially higher premiums overnight if allowed to expire. But as mounting pressure grew — and no sign of Republicans wavering on the subsidies — eight Democrats voted to put the government on the path to reopening. To some onlookers, Schumer had held the party line for as long as possible. SENATE DEMOCRATS EYE EXIT FROM RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN AS PRESSURE INTENSIFIES Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., one of the eight Democrats who voted with Republicans to reopen the government, said she respected Schumer’s leadership. “He’s done a good job,” Masto said. “He kept us in the loop and was open to our conversations.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., argued that the problem wasn’t Schumer, it was his colleagues. “Sen. Schumer didn’t want this to be the outcome, and I pressed hard for it not to end like this,” Murphy said. “He didn’t succeed, let’s not sugarcoat that. But the problem is, the problem exists, inside the caucus. The caucus has to solve it.” Republicans, however, spent much of the shutdown arguing that Schumer had waged the shutdown to appease his base — a base that had wanted to see some sort of resistance to Trump. “This is how it always would end,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on Monday evening. “Chuck Schumer has a political problem. He’s afraid of being primaried from the left. And so, the Democrats inflicted this shutdown on the American people in order to prove to their radical left-wing base that they hate Donald Trump.” “I think a lot of Americans have suffered as a result of this political stunt,” Cruz added. SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN SCHEME EXPLAINED: DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON OBAMACARE CREDITS AS STANDOFF DRAGS ON On the other hand, many Democrats made it clear they believed Schumer had failed to effectively mount resistance to Trump’s agenda on healthcare. CNN data analyst Harry Enten compiled polls dating back to 1985 comparing the popularity of Democratic leaders among Democratic voters. Schumer, he found, was the least popular of them all. “Chuck Schumer — his days are over. If he cannot keep his caucus together, he needs to go,” Sunny Hostin, a co-host of “The View,” told audiences on Monday. “Chuck Schumer has not met this moment, and Senate Democrats would be wise to move on from his leadership,” Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom summed up his thoughts in a one-word post to X. “Pathetic,” Newsom said.
Red state judge chooses new congressional map in fight that could reshape House control
In a blow to Republicans, a Utah district judge rejected a congressional district map drawn up by the state’s GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans currently control all four of the red state’s congressional districts, but Utah District Judge Dianna Gibson ruled late Monday that a map drawn up by GOP lawmakers “unduly favors Republicans and disfavors Democrats.” Utah is the latest battlefield in the high-stakes redistricting showdown between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to shape the midterm landscape in the fight for the House majority. The faceoff over redistricting in Utah, a state Trump carried by nearly 22 percentage points in last year’s presidential election, was triggered by a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, which prompted Gibson to throw out the state’s current congressional map. NEWSOM TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER LANDSLIDE REDISTRICTING VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA Gibson’s move required state lawmakers to draw a new map, which the legislature approved last month. The judge had ordered lawmakers to draw a map in compliance with a 2018 ballot measure approved by Utah voters that reformed redistricting standards, in order to prevent the drawing of districts to favor a political party, which is a practice known as gerrymandering. Gibson rejected the Republican lawmakers’ map and instead ruled in favor of one of two presented by the plaintiffs. It keeps nearly all of heavily populated Salt Lake County in one congressional district. The current congressional map divides the Democratic-dominated county among all four of the state’s districts. The judge had said she would rule by Monday, which was the day Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said any new congressional map must be in place to be used in next year’s elections. Democrats have not controlled a congressional seat in Utah since the current map went into effect at the beginning of the decade. “The DNC applauds the decision to choose a fair, impartial map that reflects the diversity and ideological makeup of the state. Utah Republicans gerrymandered the maps because they knew they were losing power in the state. Republicans doubled down when they chose to submit another gerrymandered map, but today, they were once again thwarted by impartial Courts,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin argued in a statement. And Martin vowed that “Democrats will continue to fight for fair maps in Utah, regardless of what Donald Trump and Utah Republicans try next.” TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH TURNS MIDWESTERN STATE INTO NEXT POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND Republicans, who have argued that Gibson does not have legal authority to enact a map not approved by the legislature, criticized the ruling. “Judge Gibson has once again exceeded the constitutional authority granted to Utah’s judiciary. After stretching the law to justify taking control of redistricting, she has now rejected Map C — the only option that respected the Legislature’s constitutional role — and imposed a map of activists who are not accountable to Utahns,” Utah Republican Party chair Robert Axson argued. And Axson charged, “This is not interpretation. It is the arrogance of a judge playing King from the bench.” The ruling in Utah comes six days after California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which would counter the passage earlier this year in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. “California stepped up. Now, we are taking this fight across the country — helping Democrats in other states push back against Trump’s election rigging,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to Fox News Digital last week, as he pointed to the push by Trump and Republicans for rare mid-decade redistricting. It’s part of a broad effort by Trump’s political team and the GOP to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are moving towards redistricting or are seriously considering, as are the red states of Indiana, Kansas, and Florida.
From combat boots to the campaign trail: Army veteran marches into Michigan congressional race
On the heels of a nine-month deployment to Iraq, Army Veteran Captain Michael Bouchard told Fox News Digital that he is ready to take the fight to Washington, D.C. Last week, Bouchard announced his campaign to represent Michigan’s 10th Congressional District in the race to replace Rep. John James, R-Mich., who is retiring from Congress to run for governor next year. Ahead of Veterans Day, the Army veteran, paratrooper and Bronze Star recipient shared his vision for Michigan with Fox News Digital. “This race, it’s gonna be tough,” Bouchard said. “I’m ready for that fight. I just got back from fighting a war abroad, and I didn’t take a vacation. I’m here. I’m ready to go right now for the people of this district and for everyone who loves this country.” Throughout his military career, Bouchard said he felt the impact and ramifications of the decisions made in the nation’s capital. SCOOP: COMBAT VETERAN LAUNCHES CONGRESSIONAL RUN IN BID TO FLIP LONGTIME DEMOCRAT-HELD SEAT RED “I spent about nine years in the Army, most of it was active duty,” Bouchard said. “I was an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division, and I did intel for the 82nd. And then after that, I got out and joined the National Guard. And as soon as I got back, they asked me to go to Iraq, so I spent the last nine months in Iraq. I got back from Iraq two weeks ago, and we’re hitting the ground running.” FIRST ON FOX: RETIRED AIR FORCE COLONEL WHO PILOTED LAST FLIGHT OUT OF AFGHANISTAN REVEALS NEW MISSION After former President Joe Biden completed the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, when 13 U.S. service members were killed in the Kabul airport bombing, Bouchard said he expected Russia, China and North Korea to become “more aggressive in their spheres of influence.” About six months later, Russia invaded Ukraine. “Peace through strength isn’t just a slogan to me,” Bouchard told Fox News Digital. “I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. I’ve led soldiers on the frontline that serve under what those decisions mean.” Bouchard said his military background has been central to his decision to run for Congress. The Michigander said he has witnessed first-hand what happens when leaders step up and “stand for this country,” as well as what happens when they don’t. “I’ve led soldiers at the ground level. I’ve led negotiations at the strategic level. And I’ve made life and death decisions to hunt down our enemies abroad. And then the other part is, I have served at our border here. So I’ve faced down terrorists abroad, and I’ve defended our country here,” Bouchard said. Speaking to Fox News Digital ahead of Veterans Day, Bouchard said he is committed to supporting military families, expanding career resources and improving healthcare efficiency at the Department of Veterans Affairs. “When someone’s in the military, their whole family serves,” Bouchard said before adding, as someone who just returned from serving in Iraq, “I can tell you those systems are really hard to go through, that they’re not efficient and available to everyone who gets out, so that needs to be reformed a little bit, and I want to help pass some policy that addresses that.” Bouchard is a third-generation Michigander and the son of Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard. His grandfather served in the Army during World War II before working for General Motors for 33 years. “I love this state. I grew up here. I was born here. I live in this district, and this is home to me,” Bouchard said. Bouchard described the residents of Michigan’s 10th Congressional District as the “salt of the earth,” explaining that Michiganders ultimately want to work hard, raise a family, send their kids to good schools and live their lives without politics coming into play. “I want to rebuild this economy to, not just win future wars, but to prevent them. I think if we truly stand up this economy to what it can be, we won’t have the future war that everyone keeps talking about because we have built the best equipment in this district,” he said. Given his background, Bouchard said security is his number one priority, but housing affordability is also top of mind. “Right now, housing costs are through the roof,” he said. “The interest rates are too high, and people can’t afford to buy the home that they want. There are a lot of things that we can do at the federal level to reduce that regulation, cut red tape and make it easier for people who are starting families to buy a house, move into the house that they want and own that home.” Bouchard emphasized that maintaining Republican control of the House runs through Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. “This race has national ramifications,” he said. “If we lose this seat and a couple others, we will lose the House. If that happens, I’m worried that the Democrats are gonna impeach the president for the next two years, so I want to stand with him and prevent that from happening.”
Trump doubles down on plan for 600,000 Chinese student visas despite MAGA backlash
President Donald Trump on Monday defended his administration’s plan to offer 600,000 visas to Chinese students — a move that has drawn criticism from within conservative circles. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham pressed Trump during an interview on “The Ingraham Angle,” questioning how the proposal was “pro-MAGA” if it crowded out spots for American students and whether universities were “getting rich” from Chinese money. Trump argued that foreign students — particularly from China — are vital to keeping U.S. universities financially stable, adding that cutting the number of Chinese students in half would cripple the system. “We do have a lot of people coming in from China. We always have, China and other countries. We also have a massive system of colleges and universities. And if we were to cut that in half, which perhaps makes some people happy, you would have half the colleges in the United States would go out of business,” he said. SURVIVOR OF CHINA’S CULTURAL REVOLUTION WARNS AGAINST LETTING 600,000 CHINESE STUDENTS STUDY AT US COLLEGES “I actually think it’s good to have outside, countries. Look, I want to be able to get along with the world, not the French, though,” he added. “The Chinese, they spy on us, they steal our intellectual property,” Ingraham shot back. “Do you think the French are better?” Trump said. “Yeah,” Ingraham replied. “I’m not so sure,” Trump said, citing French tariffs. Trump continued to frame the issue in economic terms, saying Chinese students pay far more in tuition than Americans and help sustain the system. TRUMP IGNITES CONSERVATIVE BACKLASH AFTER OPENING DOOR TO 600,000 CHINESE STUDENTS: ‘WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?’ “It’s not that I want them, but I view it as a business,” he said. “One thing you don’t want to cut half of the people, half of the students from all over the world that are coming into our country, destroy our entire university and college system. I don’t want to do that.” Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea last week, saying the two leaders reached agreement on “almost everything.” Following the meeting, China reportedly held off on some of its toughest export restrictions for critical minerals, while the U.S. delayed plans to impose triple-digit tariffs. The remarks mark a reversal from earlier this year, when the Trump administration said it would “aggressively revoke” Chinese student visas amid espionage concerns. In August, Trump changed course and announced plans to expand the program dramatically. More than 277,000 Chinese students studied in the U.S. during the 2023–2024 school year, according to the Institute of International Education — the second-largest foreign student population after India. That figure is down from a peak of over 372,000 in 2019–2020. The comments come as the State Department has intensified its visa crackdown, revoking more than 80,000 nonimmigrant visas — including about 8,000 student visas — since the start of Trump’s term. Officials say many were revoked over criminal activity or participation in rallies against U.S. support for Israel. Former national security advisor Michael Flynn criticized Trump’s comments on X, writing: “Sorry Mr. @POTUS if we didn’t allow 600K Chinese spies to steal even more intellectual property and other ideas about how to dominate are our way of life, it wouldn’t make a dent in U.S. colleges and universities.” “We simply don’t need to help the Chinese anymore with their plans to be the sole superpower this century,” Flynn added. “They’ve been ripping us off for years. Because of that they have significant advantages over us now—and they have zero desire nor intent to make America great again.” China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law requires all citizens to cooperate with Chinese Communist Party intelligence efforts in the name of national security. China expert Gordon Chang, whose father fled Mao Zedong’s communist government after earning a master’s degree in the U.S., called the visa proposal “wrong-headed.” “Taking away spots in schools from Americans and giving them to future Chinese Communists is wrong, and admitting students who have been weaponized by the CCP to commit acts of espionage is extraordinarily dangerous,” Chang told Fox News Digital. “American presidents for decades have allowed China’s regime to maintain in our country organizations and extensive networks of agents and diplomats that surveil, intimidate, and coerce Chinese and other students.”
Likely end of government shutdown in sight as House lawmakers poised to clear final hurdles
The House of Representatives appears to be on a glide path to ending the longest government shutdown in history, with lawmakers racing back to Capitol Hill after six weeks out of session. The House Rules Committee will meet to consider the Senate’s amended federal funding plan sometime after 5 p.m. Tuesday, two sources told Fox News Digital. In other words, the 42-day shutdown — which has led to thousands of air travel delays, left millions of people who rely on federal benefits in limbo, and forced thousands of federal workers either off the job or to work without pay — could come to an end before the end of this week. The House Rules Committee is the final hurdle for most legislation before it sees House-wide votes. Lawmakers on the key panel vote to advance a bill while setting terms for its consideration, like possible amendment votes and timing for debate. MIKE JOHNSON SPEAKS OUT AFTER SENATE BREAKTHROUGH ON GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN The funding bill at hand is expected to advance through the committee on party lines. Democrats on the panel are likely to oppose the measure in line with House Democratic leaders, while Republicans have signaled no meaningful opposition. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., the two Republicans on the committee who have most often opposed GOP leaders’ legislation for not being conservative enough, both suggested they would be supportive of the funding measure. Roy told Fox News Digital on Monday night that he would vote “yes” on the bill on the House floor, meaning he would likely not oppose it in the House Rules Committee. The Texas Republican is currently running to be attorney general of the Lone Star State. Norman told Fox News Digital via text message Tuesday morning, when asked about both his Rules Committee and House floor votes, “My support is based on READING the FINE PRINT as it relates to the 3 bills especially VERIFYING the top line spending limits as we previously passed.” “If ‘THE FINE PRINT MATCHES’ what’s being reported, I will be a yes,” Norman said. THE 5 LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS IN HISTORY: WHAT HAPPENED, HOW THEY ENDED The South Carolina Republican, who is running for governor, was referring to three full-year spending bills that are part of the latest bipartisan compromise passed by the Senate on Monday night. Terms of the deal include a new extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Jan. 30, in order to give congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on FY 2026 spending. It would also give lawmakers some headway with that mission, advancing legislation to fund the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction; and the legislative branch. They are three of 12 individual bills that are meant to make up Congress’ annual appropriations, paired into a vehicle called a “minibus.” In a victory for Democrats, the deal would also reverse federal layoffs conducted by the Trump administration in October, with those workers getting paid for the time they were off. It also guarantees Senate Democrats a vote on legislation extending Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are set to expire at the end of this year. JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY Extending the enhanced subsidies for Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was a key ask for Democrats in the weekslong standoff. No such guarantee was made in the House, however, so Democrats effectively folded on their key demand in order to end the shutdown — a move that infuriated progressives and left-wing caucus leaders in Congress. The full House is expected to take up the measure sometime after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a notice sent to lawmakers. There will first be a “rule vote” for the bill where lawmakers are expected to green-light debate on the House floor, followed by a vote on the measure itself sometime Wednesday evening. House schedules for both Tuesday and Wednesday were left intentionally fluid to allow for lawmakers to return to Washington amid nationwide flight delays and cancellations, mostly imposed by the shutdown. The House was last in session on Sept. 19, when lawmakers passed legislation to keep the government funded through Nov. 21. It passed with support from one House Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and opposition from two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind. No further House Republicans have signaled public opposition to the new measure so far.
Sexual harassment allegation that derailed Democrat’s congressional campaign results in defamation settlement
A sexual harassment allegation in the 11th hour of a congressional campaign that derailed a Virginia Democrat has resulted in two settlements from defendants in a defamation lawsuit he filed after the campaign ended. “The matter was settled to the satisfaction of the Parties, and the terms are confidential,” Virginia House of Delegates member Dan Helmer said in a press release in late October. The press release stated Helmer reached a settlement with two of the three defendants he sued for defamation: Avram Fechter and attorney Charles King. The statement described these settlements as “an important step in finally closing the dark chapter for Delegate Helmer” and said his defamation case against the woman who he claims made the allegations, the third defendant Lissa Savaglio, is still open. Two weeks before the Democratic primary for Virginia’s 10th Congressional District last June, Helmer was leading in several polls and looked to be the frontrunner heading into the general election in the Democrat-heavy district. VA DEMS REJECT RESOLUTION CONDEMNING POLITICAL VIOLENCE WHILE HOUSE SPEAKER CUTS OFF JAY JONES REFERENCES But, just a week before the election, that changed after a media report revealed that members of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee were accusing Helmer of sexual harassment. Days later, King, an attorney for the alleged victim, released the following statement. “After a political event in 2018, Mr. Helmer groped my client’s breast,” King wrote. “In later conversations with others, Helmer sexually described the woman’s physique and talked about different sexual positions he wanted to try with her and other women.” Helmer denied the claims, but ultimately lost his race for Congress by four percentage points to Democrat Suhas Subramanyam. After the election, Helmer filed a defamation lawsuit in Fairfax County Circuit Court against King, Fechter and Savaglio. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER SEALS HISTORIC VIRGINIA WIN, ENDING GOP’S GLENN YOUNGKIN ERA In Helmer’s $15 million defamation lawsuit, he alleged a coordinated effort by Helmer’s political opponents and Loudoun County Democrats to push allegations of sexual misconduct they knew were false. Helmer’s suit claims that the alleged groping could not have physically taken place because photographs from the evening in question showed he and Savaglio did not attend the same political event. The suit also alleges that Savaglio told Helmer after the fact that he had “never acted inappropriately toward her.” “Because of a mix of personal, political, and financial motivations, Savaglio intentionally published known falsehoods to harm [me],” the lawsuit states. An attorney who spoke to Fox News Digital suggested that the settlements represented a political victory for Helmer. “They must have had enough black and white to force them to the table and force them to settle and that’s pretty remarkable,” Virginia attorney Jeffrey Breit told Fox News Digital. “It’s unusual to see that in political cases.“ “What makes it interesting in this case is defamation cases are very very hard to win nationwide and in Virginia because of so much you have to show for intent, truth, lots of issues that you have to do in a defamation case which makes them very, very hard,” Breit explained. “And so the fact that he could file a suit having lost because of what was said and force these people, one to the table, and two to settle, to me shows they had real evidence that this was false.” When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, Fechter said the terms of the settlement prohibit him from commenting on the matter. King told the Loudon-Times Mirror that he is limited on what he can comment on but did tell the outlet he is “very, very satisfied.” Fox News Digital reached out to Savaglio for comment but did not receive a response. Democrats had a big night in Virginia last Tuesday across the board on election night, including the House of Delegates where they expanded their majority control. Helmer won re-election in District 10, defeating a Republican challenger.
Parents’ rights group releases scathing ‘Lookout’ warning targeting top 2 teachers unions: ‘Indoctrination’
FIRST ON FOX: A top parents’ rights organization is sending a “Lookout” warning to parents urging vigilance against two of the top teachers unions in the United States, making the case that they are “prioritizing radical agendas” at the “expense of educational outcomes.” The warning, sent by the American Parents Coalition, targets the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and National Education Association (NEA) and, in addition to concerns about student outcomes not being the priority, highlights a report that it says shows the unions “have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in woke organizations.” The APC warning hits the NEA and AFT for pushing a variety of far-left causes, including boycotts in support of DEI, legal and activist campaigns against the Trump administration, denouncing a Supreme Court ruling that “enabled parents to opt their children out of age inappropriate and one-sided LGBTQ+ content,” and climate activism. “Teachers’ unions were created to support educators and improve classroom instruction. Instead, they have transformed into radical political organizations that exploit their influence to push far-left ideology instead of prioritizing student academic success,” APC Executive Director Alleigh Marré told Fox News Digital in a statement. CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST “Parents should be aware of the outsized influence these unions have on their child’s school, because these organizations may be pushing policies that undermine parental trust and do nothing to further a child’s education. Every year the teachers’ unions funnel millions of dollars into campaigns and activist causes that almost exclusively favor Democrats, while students continue to fall further and further behind on foundational subjects. Families expect schools to teach reading, writing, and math, not political slogans. It is time for teachers’ unions to prioritize academic teaching, restore transparency, and refocus on the purpose of education to prepare children for success, not indoctrination.” The warning also focused on the NEA 2025 Handbook, which the APC claims “exposed the organization’s radical beliefs” and “attacks homeschooling.” “The handbook touted the use of preferred names and pronouns as of the ‘utmost importance’ while blaming ‘white supremacy culture’ as the ‘primary root cause of institutional racism,’” the APC warning states. TEACHER UNION SENDS MAP ERASING ISRAEL TO ITS MILLIONS OF MEMBERS FOR ‘INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY’ Fox News Digital reached out to the NEA and AFT for comment. The warning also provided templates for parents to formally file complaints and call on their local school boards to take action prioritizing student performance. “Parents have the right to know what their children are taught, approve sensitive content, see who influences the classroom, and hold decision-makers accountable,” the report states. “It’s time to reclaim parental authority, and to demand teachers’ unions focus on academic success and not divisive ideologies.” Fox News Digital reported earlier this year that the NEA and AFT have poured tens of millions into far-left causes, including left-wing philanthropic behemoths like the Tides Network, New Venture Fund, Sixteen-Thirty Fund and Future Forward. The unions also forked over significant amounts of cash for groups that focus on supporting left-wing candidates for public office, such as the Democratic Governors Association, Democrat’s House Majority and Senate Majority PACs. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Trump asks Supreme Court to overturn E Jean Carroll case verdict
President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a jury’s civil lawsuit verdict that he sexually abused and later defamed former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s lawyers argued in a filing that allegations leading to the $5 million verdict were “propped up” by a “series of indefensible evidentiary rulings” that allowed Carroll’s lawyers to present “highly inflammatory propensity evidence” against him. “President Trump has clearly and consistently denied that this supposed incident ever occurred,” Justin Smith, one of Trump’s lawyers, and his co-counsel wrote in the filing, according to The Associated Press. “No physical or DNA evidence corroborates Carroll’s story. There were no eyewitnesses, no video evidence, and no police report or investigation.” Carroll sued Trump twice after she released a book in 2019 that claimed Trump raped her during a brief encounter in a department store dressing room in New York City in the 1990s. Trump vigorously denied the claims, saying he had never met Carroll, that she was not his “type” and that she fabricated the incident to sell books. His vocal and repeated criticisms and denials led to Carroll’s defamation allegations. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS $83.3 MILLION E. JEAN CARROLL JUDGMENT AGAINST TRUMP Trump’s lawyers accused the trial judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, of warping federal evidence rules to bolster Carroll’s “implausible, unsubstantiated assertions.” They also said that by upholding the verdict, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was in conflict with other federal appeals courts on how such rules should be applied. In September, when Trump’s lawyers first indicated they would appeal to the Supreme Court, Carroll’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, said, “We do not believe that President Trump will be able to present any legal issues in the Carroll cases that merit review by the United States Supreme Court,” the AP reported. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told the AP the Supreme Court appeal was part of the president’s crusade against “Liberal Lawfare.” “The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes,” the statement said. TRUMP ARGUES SCHUMER ‘MADE A MISTAKE’ AMID DEMOCRAT LEADER’S PARTY INFIGHTING A three-judge appellate panel upheld the verdict in December 2024, rejecting Trump’s claims that Kaplan’s decisions spoiled the trial. Then in June, 2nd Circuit judges denied Trump’s petition for the full appellate court to take up the case. That left Trump with two options: accept the result and allow Carroll to collect the judgment, which he’d previously paid into escrow, or fight on in Supreme Court. Trump skipped the 2023 trial but testified briefly at a follow-up defamation trial last year that ended with a jury ordering him to pay Carroll an additional $83.3 million. The 2nd Circuit upheld that verdict on Sept. 8, with a three-judge panel calling the jury’s damages awards “fair and reasonable.” Trump has since asked the full appellate court to hear arguments and reconsider the ruling. Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Ashley Oliver and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Mamdani’s top incoming aide was ‘chief architect’ of radical proposal overhauling NYPD
Zohran Mamdani’s latest hire to his incoming staff includes the mayor-elect’s long-time chief advisor, who has been dubbed the “chief architect” of Mamdani’s campaign proposal to have social workers respond to certain non-violent 911 calls in New York City. The heavily criticized proposal was drummed up by the Ivy League-educated, California-native Elle Bisgaard-Church, a relative political newcomer affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Bisgaard-Church was tapped by Mamdani Monday to once again be his chief adviser while running the helm at New York City’s City Hall after serving in the same post during his campaign and during his state assembly days. Bisgaard-Church has been credited with being pivotal to getting Mamdani’s message to voters and campaign staff dub her the “chief architect” behind Mamdani’s Department of Community Safety proposal, according to CBS News. When developing the Department of Community Safety proposal, which aims to replace police officers with mental health professionals to deal with non-life-threatening emergencies with a focus on subway stations, Bisgaard-Church reportedly spoke to mental health experts, public safety officials from other cities and former New York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Department Rodney Harrison. The new department will cost approximately $1.1 billion, according to a campaign proposal on Mamadani’s website. TOP MAMDANI TRANSITION LEADER WAS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY SOROS NETWORK DURING BIDEN ADMIN In addition to leading Mamdani’s much-maligned Department of Community Safety proposal, Bisgaard-Church was a key player setting up weekly standing meetings with the New York City DSA chapter throughout the campaign to incorporate leadership from the groups that helped Mamdani win. During a feature interview last month ahead of the looming mayoral election, the former student at private liberal arts Swarthmore College and the Ivy League’s Columbia University, compared her motivations to those of the DSA. “I still feel daily, deeply ashamed to live in a place where we allow people to sleep on concrete at night … and I fundamentally believe it doesn’t have to be that way. It represents (a) political choice,” Bisgaard-Church told New York’s City & State. “The place where I have seen that shared sense of rage at such a moral failure has been in a handful of movement organizations, including New York City DSA.” REPUBLICANS TARGET 2 KEY DEMOCRATIC RACES WITH MAMDANI CONNECTION STRATEGY It was apparently seeing five democratic-socialist candidates win their 2020 primaries in local races in Brooklyn and Queens that initially galvanized Bisgaard-Church to apply for a role on Mamdani’s team while he was a state representative, according to her City & State feature. It was a public affairs fellowship that initially brought her to the Big Apple, but Bisgaard-Church reportedly thought she would just end up working at some government agency after a couple stints at various nonprofits in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Bisgaard-Church, who does not keep an active social media presence and infrequently comments in the media, gained a reputation of being relatively “low-profile” and has been credited with playing a major role in securing the DSA’s endorsement of Mamdani’s electoral campaign. Her history with the DSA includes helping form their legislative analysis team and helping form a guiding document for the group in 2021 about how the group should interact with elected leaders, according to City & State. In comments following her appointment, Bisgaard-Church said it was “the honor of a lifetime” to lead Mamdani’s campaign, and is now ready to roll up her sleeves and deliver on Mamdani’s “affordability agenda” while “demonstrating what a well-run City Hall can do for everyday New Yorkers.” Mamdani’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
US Senate passes bill to end longest ever government shutdown
The measure still needs to be approved by the House and signed by US President Donald Trump. Published On 11 Nov 202511 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share The United States is moving closer to ending its record-breaking government shutdown after the Senate took a critical step forward to end its five-week impasse. The Senate on Monday night approved a spending package by a vote of 60 to 40 to fund the US government through January 30, and reinstate pay for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The spending bill next moves to the House of Representatives for approval and then on to President Donald Trump for a sign-off before the shutdown can finally end. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would like to pass it as soon as Wednesday and send it on to Trump to sign into law. The vote in the Senate follows negotiations this weekend that saw seven Democrats and one Independent agree to vote in favour of the updated spending package to end the shutdown, which enters its 42nd day on Tuesday. Also included in the deal are three-year funding appropriations for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, military construction projects, veterans affairs and congressional operations. The bill does not, however, resolve one of the most central issues in the shutdown – extending healthcare subsidies. Senate Republicans have agreed to vote on the issue as a separate measure in December. US legislators have been under growing pressure to end the government shutdown, which enters its forty-second day on Tuesday, as their constituents feel the impact of funding lapses for programmes like food stamps. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been furloughed or required to work without pay since the shutdown began on October 1, while Trump has separately threatened to use the shutdown as a pretext to slash the federal workforce. Advertisement Voters have also felt the impact of the shutdown at airports across the US after the Federal Aviation Administration last week announced a 10 percent cut in air traffic due to absences from air traffic controllers. The cuts have created chaos for US air travel just as the country is heading into its busiest travel season of the year. Adblock test (Why?)