‘Rage’ politics the latest hurdle for GOP to clear; how prior battles made conservatives stronger: Dave Brat
EXCLUSIVE: Much has changed in the political landscape since former Rep. Dave Brat’s upset win over then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., though conservatives have repeatedly managed to gain ground over time. Democrats have been lambasted as of late for heated political rhetoric that has led – whether directly or indirectly – to death threats and attacks on Republicans and conservatives. Brat, now vice provost at Liberty University in Lynchburg, noted he was speaking for himself and discussed how the politics of “rage” made their way to Virginia in recent weeks. FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: HEGSETH REJECTS ‘WOKE’ POLICIES Recordings of former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, telling crowds to “let your rage fuel you” have made the rounds amid already heightened political tensions following assassination attempts on President Donald Trump, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the murder of Charlie Kirk. “I was on a radio show earlier this morning and Spanberger — all political views are my own again — gave out the secret sauce on the left: Let your rage out, right. That’s her new line,” Brat said, citing those remarks. Spanberger dismissed any contention that she is encouraging violence, telling Fox News Digital through a spokesperson that she will “continue to condemn comments that continue to make light of or justify violence of any kind – full stop.” Brat was unconvinced, adding that he has looked into “psychological underpinnings” of political movements including the nascent transgender rights issues that have been front-and-center in Virginia schools and public spaces. “We (Republicans) believe in protecting the rights of all people. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness for everybody. We’re the ones where the Judeo-Christian West is the tradition. They gave you human rights in the 12th century all the way up through protections in our Constitution. So that’s now what’s at stake.” WATCH: LAWMAKERS WRESTLE WITH HOW TO APPROACH HATEFUL POLITICAL RHETORIC IN WAKE OF KIRK ASSASSINATION Within the last week, multiple reports of death threats against Virginia lawmakers came to light. Del. Geary Higgins, R-Lovettsville, told Fox News Digital a man allegedly threatened to shoot him at his next rally in response to a defense of GOP gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears after she was faced with racist signage at a protest. Del. Kim Taylor, R-Petersburg, faced a similar threat – telling Fox News Digital a man allegedly threatened to kill her while claiming Republicans are ruining the country. Some on the left have harnessed such “rage” politics in their latest attempt to paint the Judeo-Christian right as the “judgmental, bad people” as they have in past elections, Brat said. “When minority [groups] get to act like they’re the majority and put these crazy sexual stuff in kindergarten textbooks. That’s we’re against. And then when the trans folks are out with quotes saying ‘When we come alive and find out who we are, the emotions come out full force. And it ends up, you know, letting us, in a sense of rage’ — and this is in quotes out on the web all over the place, a bunch of other emotions as well,” Brat said. EXPERTS WARN LEFTIST CELEBRATIONS OF CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH SIGNAL A DANGEROUS MAINSTREAM SHIFT IN POLITICS “And so, for the left to be using these folks as a political tool, for me, it’s just obscene.” The right, he said, is the actual political wing that created the “protection of minority rights.” Similar public derision by conservatives is not new, and is something he had to deal with during his own time in office, Brat contended, when asked what has changed in the decade-plus since. “What else has changed: There’s been a MAGA revolution,” he said – adding it was much different even on the right when he was in office and conservatives were out of vogue. WHO IS VIRGINIA’S NEXT GLENN YOUNGKIN: HOW THE GOP WINS STATEWIDE AGAIN Brat spoke about the friction he and the new crop of conservatives had with the proverbial “old guard” during their time, remarking that now-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard – then a Hawaii Democrat – was one of few to even acknowledge them. “We were backbenchers. Tulsi Gabbard would come back and hang out with us because we were fun,” he quipped. Brat also clashed with top Republicans including anti-Trump then-Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., the leader of the House Ethics Committee. Dent later denied Brat’s claim he wanted to kick the Freedom Caucus out of the GOP conference for not toeing the line. The Freedom Caucus, which included Brat, also played a pivotal role in ousting then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio – a role for which the man Brat beat, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., was seen as heir apparent. I’M A DEMOCRAT, AND CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER MUST UNITE ALL AMERICANS AGAINST VIOLENCE While the caucus remains, currently under the leadership of Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, the “MAGA Revolution” and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s split from the Silicon Valley establishment have greatly affected body politic, Brat said. Those, he said, should be a boon to Earle-Sears and the Virginia GOP ticket. “So nothing’s really changed, it’s the same ingredients.“ Brat said the one condition of U.S. politics that has changed since his own win or Youngkin’s win has been events like the murder of Charlie Kirk, which also connects to the theme of rage in politics. Brat said that after 9/11, church attendance briefly rose and “nationalism kicked in” – but faded quickly. Kirk’s murder and other recent threats against lawmakers are likely to stick longer in voters’ minds, Brat predicted. Kirk’s murder has also been linked by some to leftist “rage.” Kirk combined faith with constitutional principles, Brat said, adding younger people are becoming educated in that way through people like the TPUSA leader. “Charlie was all about faith and reason together in the university — that’s what a university is supposed to do is unite faith and reason,” said Brat. “If that comes to fruition right now, we could see some
Trump’s presidency faces crucial tests as Supreme Court begins pivotal term
The Supreme Court will launch its new term Monday with a focus on controversial prior rulings and a review of President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive agenda. After a three-month recess, the nine justices met together for the first time this week to reset their docket, and discuss appeals that have piled up over the summer. The high court will resume oral arguments to confront issues like gender identity, election redistricting, and free speech. But looming over the federal judiciary is the return of Trump-era legal battles. The administration has been winning most of the emergency appeals at the Supreme Court since January, that dealt only with whether challenged policies could go into effect temporarily, while the issues play out in the lower courts — including immigration, federal spending cuts, workforce reductions and transgender people in the military. In doing so, the 6-3 conservative majority has reversed about two dozen preliminary nationwide injunctions imposed by lower federal courts, leading to frustration and confusion among many judges. FEDERAL JUDGES ANONYMOUSLY CRITICIZE SUPREME COURT FOR OVERTURNING DECISIONS WITH EMERGENCY RULINGS Now those percolating petitions are starting to reach the Supreme Court for final review — and legal analysts say the bench may be poised to grant broad unilateral powers to the president. The justices fast-tracked the administration’s appeal over tariffs on dozens of countries that were blocked by lower courts. Oral arguments will be held in November. In December, the justices will decide whether to overturn a 90-year precedent dealing with the president’s ability to fire members of some federal regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission. And in January, the power of President Trump to remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors will be tested in a major constitutional showdown. For now, the Biden-appointed Cook will remain on the job. “A big fraction of the Supreme Court’s docket will present the question: ‘can President Trump do?’— then fill in the blank. And that could be imposing tariffs; firing independent board members; removing illegal aliens; sending the military into cities like Los Angeles,” said Thomas Dupree, a prominent appellate attorney and constitutional law expert. “So, much of what the Supreme Court is deciding this term is whether the president has acted within or has exceeded his authority.” The tariffs dispute will be the court’s first major constitutional test on the merits over how broadly the conservative majority high court views Trump’s muscular view of presidential power, a template for almost certain future appeals of his executive agenda. In earlier disputes over temporary enforcement of those policies, the court’s left-leaning justices warned against the judiciary becoming a rubber stamp, ceding its power in favor of this president. After a late August high court order granting the government the power to temporarily terminate nearly $800 million in already-approved health research grants, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said her conservative colleagues had “ben[t] over backward to accommodate” the Trump administration. “Right when the Judiciary should be hunkering down to do all it can to preserve the law’s constraints, the Court opts instead to make vindicating the rule of law and preventing manifestly injurious Government action as difficult as possible. This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins.” But some of Jackson’s colleagues have denied they are paving the way for Trump’s aggressive efforts to redo the federal government. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT WEIGHS TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER AS ADMIN OUTLINES ENFORCEMENT DETAILS “The framers recognized, in a way that I think is brilliant, that preserving liberty requires separating the power,” said Justice Brett Kavanaugh earlier this month at a Texas event. “No one person or group of people should have too much power in our system.” And Justice Amy Coney Barrett told Fox News’ Bret Baier three weeks ago that she and her colleagues “don’t wear red and blue, we all wear black because judges are nonpartisan … We’re all trying to get it right. We’re not playing for a team.” Barrett, who is promoting her new book, “Listening to the Law,” said her court takes a long-term view, and is not reflexively on Trump’s side. “We’re not deciding cases just for today. And we’re not deciding cases based on the president, as in the current occupant of the office,” Barrett told Fox News. “I think the judiciary needs to stay in its lane … we’re taking each case and we’re looking at the question of presidential power as it comes. And the cases that we decide today are going to matter, four presidencies from now, six presidencies from now.” KAVANAUGH CITES 3 PRESIDENTS IN EXPLAINING SUPREME COURT’S BALLOONING EMERGENCY DOCKET These sharp court fractures between competing ideologies will likely escalate, as the justices begin a more robust look at a president’s power, and by dint, their own. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” Trump cryptically posted on social media a month after retaking office. Federal courts have since been trying to navigate and articulate the limits of the executive branch, while managing their own powers. Yet several federal judges — appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents — have expressed concern that the Supreme Court has been regularly overturning rulings by lower courts dealing with challenges to Trump administration policies — mostly with little or no explanation in its decisions. Those judges — who all requested anonymity to speak candidly — tell Fox News those orders blocking enforcement have left the impression they are not doing their jobs or are biased against the President. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TORPEDOES SCOTUS WITH EMERGENCY REQUESTS AND SEES SURPRISING SUCCESS Those frustrations have spilled into open court. “They’re leaving the circuit courts, the district courts out in limbo,” said federal appeals Judge James Wynn about the high court, during oral arguments this month over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to Social Security data. “We’re out here flailing,” said Wynn, an Obama
‘Consumed with hate’: Winsome Sears, Jason Miyares unload on Democrat Jay Jones over violent texts
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears delivered a blistering one-two punch this weekend, saying Democratic AG candidate Jay Jones has disqualified himself from office after texts emerged in which he wished for the death of a Republican rival’s children. The coordinated condemnations marked the most aggressive escalation yet in a controversy that has thrown Virginia politics into a fever pitch heading into the nationally watched 2025 election. “Jay Jones has shown he’s reckless, biased, and willing to trade away his integrity,” Miyares wrote in an open letter to Virginians, posted to social media late Saturday. “This conduct is disqualifying.” Hours later, Sears took the stage to deliver remarks and accused Democrats of being “consumed with hate.” YOUNGKIN SAYS DEMOCRAT AG CANDIDATE JAY JONES MUST ‘STEP AWAY IN DISGRACE’ OVER TEXTS ABOUT FORMER GOP LEADER “The enemy is among us, devouring us in Virginia and in America today,” Sears said in a fiery speech. “Jay Jones fantasizes about murdered little children lying lifeless in their mother’s arms. And yet he runs for attorney general, our chief law enforcement officer.” The uproar followed the publication of private 2022 text messages in which Jones, then a rising Democrat star, said he hoped former Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert’s children would die. When challenged, Jones doubled down, saying that such grief might be “a good thing” if it advanced his politics. Jones has since apologized, calling the remarks “embarrassing and shameful,” and said he had reached out personally to Gilbert and his family. VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE ONCE REFERENCED PUTTING ‘TWO BULLETS TO THE HEAD’ OF GOP LEADER, TEXTS SHOW But Virginia Republicans said the damage is irreversible. Miyares, who has served as attorney general since 2022, wrote that as a prosecutor he has “sat with crying victims and grieving families” and heard “the cries of a parent who has lost a child.” He said no one, “least of all a candidate for Virginia’s top law-enforcement office, should ever treat such pain as a political tool.” Miyares’ letter put the race’s stakes in plain language. “If you believe it is okay to wish death upon a political opponent — vote for my opponent,” he wrote. “If you believe it is worth the death of children to advance your political goals — vote for my opponent. If you want to give a green light to violent lunatics — vote for my opponent.” The attorney general said his own oath of office obligates him to protect every Virginian, “regardless of whether they are a Democrat or Republican.” He added: “I cannot imagine someone running for this job who advocates for violence.” Sears broadened her criticism beyond Jones, tying his comments to a culture of what she called Democrat “rage politics.” “The leadership of the Democrat Party is inciting violence as a strategy to win power,” Sears said. She noted that gubernatorial candidate Rep. Abigail Spanberger urged her supporters to “let your rage fill you.” “Well, words have meaning,” Sears continued. “Rage is defined as violent, uncontrolled anger.” She warned Virginians to take notice, citing past threats and attacks on Republicans nationwide, from the 2022 attempt on Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s life to school shootings targeting Christians. “The unstable pull the triggers,” Sears added, “but they are inspired by the hate tolerated and encouraged by the leadership of the Democrat Party.” Both Republicans framed the controversy as a turning point in the 2025 election. “Prior to this week, this race was about competing views on public safety,” Miyares wrote. “Now it’s about basic fitness for public office.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sears closed her speech with a plea for unity and faith: “As an immigrant, I have seen what happens when leftists destroy the foundations of freedom.” “Let each of us act to protect our beloved Commonwealth of Virginia and the gift from God that is the United States of America,” Sears concluded. Fox News Digital did not receive responses on requests for comment from Sears, Miyares or Jones at the time of publication. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman, Danielle Wallace and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
Zubeen Garg’s wife issues BIG statement on conspiracy charges: ‘If someone has done wrong…’
Garima Saikia Garg, wife of Zubeen Garg, has expressed faith in the legal system over the probe into the death of her husband in Singapore and said that everything needful should be done to get justice. She also responded to a question about the remand note in which the singer’s bandmate, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, has alleged that he was “poisoned” in Singapore and his manager Siddharth Sharma and festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta had deliberately chosen a foreign venue to conceal their conspiracy.
BAD news for Pakistan! India to procure high-speed 30mm multi-barrel air defence guns, with range up to…, set to be deployed on Pak borders
Months after India’s successful Operation Sindoor, Indian Army has taken a step ahead to strengthen India’s air shield from Pakistan’s attacks. Indian Army is all set to procure six AK-630 air defence guns.
India condoles death of Hyderabad student shot dead in Texas: ‘In touch with family and extending assistance’
Chandrashekhar, who had completed his BDS from India before moving to the US for higher studies, was reportedly shot dead on Friday night. His family members confirmed the tragic incident and appealed to the government to facilitate the repatriation of his mortal remains to Hyderabad.
Cyclone Shakti turns severe: IMD warns of heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Vidarbha, Marathwada from…; Gujarat braces for storm
The powerful cyclonic storm, which formed after the monsoon season, previously led to the issuance of significant alerts along the Maharashtra coast, including Mumbai.
Nitish Kumar’s minute-long ‘folded hands’ gesture during virtual meet with PM Modi goes viral, watch
During a portion of the event where another leader was reading out the program details, Kumar remained seated with his hands folded in a posture of deference or deep concentration for nearly a minute, occasionally moving his hands slightly and glancing sideways. Watch viral video here,
Cough Syrup Row: Doctor, who prescribed ‘toxic’ Coldrif, arrested in Madhya Pradesh
Police registered an FIR against the doctor, paediatrician Dr Praveen Soni, who had prescribed the contaminated cough syrup linked to the fatalities.
Federal judge blocks Trump administration from sending teen migrants to adult detention centers
A judge on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from sending underage migrants to adult detention centers once they turn 18. U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras said the new policy violates an order he issued in 2021 that instructed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement not to send any migrant to an ICE detention center after they turn 18. Underage migrants aren’t held in ICE detention centers. They’re held in centers run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment. CONSERVATIVES RALLY AROUND APPLE REMOVING ICE-TRACKING APPS TO PROTECT LAW ENFORCEMENT The Trump administration is now offering teen migrants a $2,500 stipend to leave the United States voluntarily, according to several reports citing a letter sent Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement to shelters housing migrant children. Several immigration rights groups had asked Contreras to intervene in the filing made just after midnight Saturday morning. Last month, another judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting certain Guatemalan minors to their home country after the government walked back claims that it intended to reunite the youths with their parents. Judge Timothy Kelly, who issued the order, said the Trump administration could not show that any parents wanted their children back. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFERS TEEN MIGRANTS $2,500 TO LEAVE US VOLUNTARILY: REPORTS “That explanation crumbled like a house of cards about a week later,” Kelly wrote in his order. “There is no evidence before the Court that the parents of these children sought their return.” Michelle Lapointe, a lawyer for the American Immigration Council, one of the organizations involved in the filing, told The Associated Press, “All of these are pieces of the same general policy to coerce immigrant youth into giving up their right to seek protection in the United States.” Migrant children in the U.S. are often released into foster care or to family members as long as they’re not considered a flight risk or a danger. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Lawyers for some of the migrants said they heard that ICE was telling shelters that children turning 18 would be taken to ICE detention centers even if they already had plans to be released and that they could only be released on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit.” Fox News’ Ashley Oliver and Michael Dorgan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.