Texas county cuts over 100 polling sites as Trump attacks mail-in voting nationally
The decision in Tarrant County comes amid growing concern about GOP efforts to limit voting access ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
Gov. Greg Abbott asks for new penalties for lawmakers who flee to halt legislative sessions
The governor announced he was expanding his special session agenda shortly after the Texas House passed a congressional map that Democrats had delayed by leaving the state.
FIRST ON FOX: Navy slashes civilian public affairs jobs in push for military readiness
FIRST ON FOX: The Navy is taking bold steps to cut red tape and sharpen its focus on the fight. A new memo signed by Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan orders a 35% cut to civilian Public Affairs Officer (PAO) billets and moves all hiring and contracting decisions under tighter control. Leaders say the goal is to make the force leaner, faster and more disciplined while saving taxpayer money. “The memo was signed with the intent to make a more lethal and agile force, placing the most capable people in the right positions to support the warfighter,” a Navy official told Fox News Digital on background. “It seeks to prioritize warfighting readiness, reinforce standards and discipline, as well as accelerate decision-making.” NAVY SECRETARY PUSHES REVIEW BOARD TO PURGE DEI FROM NAVAL ACADEMY AND RESTORE ‘WARRIOR ETHOS’ “The Department of the Navy must ensure public affairs resources are aligned to warfighting readiness, standards and discipline, and rapid decision-making,” the memo states. From now on, any civilian public affairs hiring must be approved by the Navy’s Chief of Information (CHINFO) or the Marine Corps Communications Directorate (CD). Contracts for media and messaging support will also be pooled into one system so commands across the fleet can use the same process. The memo directs that “civilian public affairs billets in headquarters, staff support, and non-operational environments shall be reduced or eliminated.” PENTAGON EYES 50% REDUCTION IN PERMANENT CHANGES OF STATION AS MILITARY FAMILIES BRACE FOR MOVING HIGH SEASON The changes come after a review found the civilian public affairs workforce had grown far beyond what was needed. The study flagged overlapping jobs, inconsistent messaging and inefficient spending. Navy leaders say the overhaul will not only trim costs, but also ensure that every communication effort supports readiness and the men and women on the front lines. The Marine Corps is not included in the cuts because it is already going through a separate review. GABBARD LAUNCHES ‘ONDI 2.0,’ WITH PLAN TO CUT WORKFORCE BY 40% For the Navy, the memo notes that “some billets may be realigned to active-duty or reserve Public Affairs Officers,” putting more uniformed leaders in charge of telling the Navy’s story. The directive also requires CHINFO and CD to “document projected cost savings and assess opportunities to reinvest in fleet support and uniformed public affairs capacity.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This is about discipline, efficiency and lethality,” a senior Navy official told Fox News Digital. “Every resource we save here is a resource we can put back into readiness and the fight.”
Tea Party bus vandalized in Phoenix during nationwide tour, group says they ‘will not be intimidated’
FIRST ON FOX: The national Tea Party’s “Only Citizens Vote” tour bus had its tires slashed last night during a stop in Phoenix as the group has been traveling across the country to support the SAVE Act. Pictures provided to Fox News Digital show the vandalism that took place Tuesday night ahead of the tour bus’ planned stops in Tuscon and Scottsdale. The bus is wrapped in decals promoting the Tea Party and election integrity. “ONLY CITIZENS VOTE” the bus reads in big bold letters. HOSTILITY AGAINST CHURCHES A ‘GROWING TREND,’ AS STUDY FINDS HUNDREDS OF ATTACKS ON U.S. CHURCHES IN 2024 “This cowardly act is not just an attack on a vehicle, it’s an attack on the millions of Americans who believe in free speech, civic engagement, and secure elections,” Tea Party Patriots Action honorary chairperson, Jenny Beth Martin, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Tea Party Patriots Action will not be intimidated,” she continued. “Our tour continues as planned, and we will keep rallying Americans to support this necessary legislation.” The tour, which had its first stop in Garden Grove, California, in mid-August, shows stops in 16 states. The tour’s finale will then be held in the nation’s capital, during which the group will deliver petition signatures to members of Congress in an effort to rally support for the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act aims to mandate that potential voters provide proof-of-citizenship documents when registering to vote. The bill would prohibit states from processing national voter registration forms without certain proof-of-citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, government-issued driver’s licenses, or military identification card. ALBUQUERQUE GOP HEADQUARTERS TARGETED IN ALLEGED ARSON: ‘DIRECT ASSAULT ON OUR VALUES’ The vandalism of the National Tea Party bus comes after a spate of other vandalism attempts targeting Republican entities and figures. Within the last month, the district office of Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Penn., was vandalized with red spray paint that scribbled messages, like “Mental illness is not a crime,” and “GOP = racism, rape, child rape, cover up,” according to images shared by CBS News. Meanwhile, earlier this year, several GOP headquarters across the country in multiple states, such as New York, Virginia and New Mexico, were reportedly hit as well. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fearing a potential increase in violence following President Donald Trump’s move back into the White House this year, the head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., told fellow Republican colleagues back in March to stop holding in-person town halls. Tuesday’s vandalism also follows incidents of property damage and assault against federal buildings and immigration officials in Los Angeles amid the Trump administration’s deportation crackdown there in June. Earlier this year, there was also a spate of violence against Tesla dealerships and Tesla cars during Elon Musk’s tenure working as a “special government employee” for Trump.
Texas Dem abruptly leaves call with Newsom, other party members after being told she’s committing felony
Texas Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier abruptly left a call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic Party members after claiming she was told she was committing a felony by participating in the meeting from a state Capitol bathroom. Collier was speaking on a call with Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, Newsom and several others while the Texas House of Representatives was simultaneously debating a redistricting bill backed by President Donald Trump. While speaking on the call, Collier claimed that the Texas redistricting bill violates the Voting Rights Act and “will prevent black and brown individuals from selecting the candidates of their choice because they’re cracking and packing these districts.” While Martin was speaking about 30 minutes into the call, Collier suddenly interrupted, saying, “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this.” ABBOTT SCORES BIG WIN IN REDISTRICTING BATTLE AS TEXAS DEMOCRATS’ BLOCKADE COLLAPSES “Apparently I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” she continued, before turning to address someone off camera. “You told me I was only allowed to be here in the bathroom,” she told the person off camera before turning back to the call and saying, “No, hang on. Bye everybody. I’ve got to go.” Both Newsom and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., immediately expressed outrage over Collier’s sudden departure. “That is outrageous,” said Booker. “Let me tell you something, Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office.” “There you go,” Newsom responded, nodding his head. NEWSOM-STYLE REDISTRICTING EFFORTS CRITIQUED BY CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATS AS RECENTLY AS JULY, STATEMENTS SHOW “What they’re trying to do right there is silence an American leader, silence a black woman, and that is outrageous,” Booker added. “What we just witnessed, them trying to shut her down and saying it’s illegal for her to be in the bathroom and on this call, this is the lengths that they’re going to in Texas.” This comes after dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House fled the state and refused to return to the legislature for two weeks to hold up the redistricting bill by breaking quorum. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders ordered the rogue Democrats to be arrested and threatened to have them removed from office if they did not return to fulfill their duties. After the Democrats’ return to the legislature, members faced heightened security measures designed to ensure a quorum was maintained. Democratic lawmakers said Texas Department of Public Safety officers followed them around Monday at the state Capitol and either guarded their offices or stayed in them and tailed them when they left. They said they had to sign “permission slips” and accept the surveillance to leave the building. ‘TIRED OF DEMOCRACY DYING’: NEWSOM REDISTRICTING PUSH FACES GOP BACKLASH OVER VOTER RIGHTS Rather than comply with the measures, Collier stayed on the House floor in the Texas Capitol on Monday night and Tuesday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite the Democrats’ standoff, the Texas House finally approved maps Wednesday. Newsom announced he would advance a redistricting map in California to counter the Texas redistricting bill. On Friday, California Democrats and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released a new district map that would likely eliminate five GOP congressional seats, theoretically nullifying the five additional seats Republicans would gain if Texas’ redistricting push is successful. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Booker and Newsom but did not immediately receive a response. Collier’s office declined to comment, citing the House still being in session.
Obama calls Newsom’s California redistricting move a ‘responsible approach’ to GOP tactics
Former President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he respects California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push for a redistricting plan to add more Democratic seats in the blue state. “I believe that Gov. Newsom’s approach is a responsible approach. He said this is going to be responsible. We’re not going to try to completely maximize it,” Obama said at a fundraiser Tuesday on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, according to excerpts obtained by The Associated Press. “We’re only going to do it if and when Texas and/or other Republican states begin to pull these maneuvers. Otherwise, this doesn’t go into effect,” he added. OBAMA PRAISES DEMOCRATS WHO FLED TEXAS REDISTRICTING VOTE AS ‘INSPIRING’ In a post Wednesday on X, Obama said gerrymandering shouldn’t be a part of politics. Instead, it should be a “fair fight” between Republicans and Democrats based on the competition of ideas. Changes in Texas and California’s House seats could shift control of Congress in 2026. Some analysts say Democrats could pick up as many as five additional seats in California if Newsom’s plan succeeds, potentially canceling out Republican gains in Texas. The plan by Newsom is intended to counter a move by Texas over congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s midterm elections. In Austin, the GOP-dominated state House of Representatives last week resumed meeting at a second straight special session called by conservative Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. But Republicans in the Texas House were prevented from holding votes on a new map for two weeks when dozens of Democratic state representatives fled the state to deny the GOP a quorum in the Texas House. NEWSOM UNVEILING CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING EFFORT TO COUNTER TRUMP-BACKED PUSH IN TEXAS “Since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom has approached this,” Obama wrote on X. The former commander in chief said Newsom put forward a “smart, measured approach” designed to address “a very particular problem at a very particular moment in time.” Newsom is moving to hold a special election this year to get voter approval to undo the constitutional amendments that created the nonpartisan redistricting commission, Fox News Digital previously reported. California Republican lawmakers have vowed to fight it. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Jasmine Baehr and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Abbott scores big win in redistricting battle as Texas Democrats’ blockade collapses
The Texas State House on Wednesday passed a new congressional map, blasting through a Democratic roadblock in a bid to bolster the GOP’s chances of holding onto the U.S. House next year. The map passed the Republican-controlled House in a 88-52 vote, setting up a new look for the upcoming 2026 midterm elections with the addition of five Republican-leaning congressional districts in the Lone Star State. Still, the map must make its way through the Texas State Senate before it lands on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. TEXAS DEMS END WEEKSLONG QUORUM STANDOFF IN REDISTRICTING FIGHT Abbott pushed for the creation of a new map to adhere to President Donald Trump’s desire to not see a repeat of the 2018 election cycle, when Democrats handily regained the majority in the House and acted as a foil to the president’s legislative desires toward the end of his first term. While Republicans control a supermajority in deep-red Texas and already passed the map through the state Senate, Democrats still needed to create a quorum in the House to actually move the process along. ABBOTT, TEXAS REPUBLICANS LAUNCH NEW TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH AS FLEEING DEMOCRATS PLAN TO END WALKOUT Dozens of Texas Democrats fled the state to stall the process, creating a national media frenzy and generating support from Democratic donors, including groups linked to George Soros and Beto O’Rourke, to help pay for their fines, travel and lodging. It generated pushes to have them arrested by Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as a request from Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to have the FBI track them down and the DOJ to launch an investigation into the political action committees funding their escape. O’ROURKE, SOROS-LINKED GROUPS FACE CALL FOR DOJ PROBE OVER ALLEGED FUNDING OF TEXAS DEM WALKOUT Democratic leaders announced Monday they would return for the second special session following California’s plan to redraw its maps to soften the blow from the Lone Star State, ending the blockade and allowing Republicans to charge ahead. Texas House Democrats accused the GOP of crafting a map that was illegal and racially discriminatory, and they tried and failed on the House floor to add amendments to the bill that would have halted the process. Despite Democrats’ best efforts, Texas House Republicans shot down a dozen amendments to the bill. “Members, it breaks my heart to see how this illegal and rigged, mid-decade redistricting scheme is dividing our state and our country,” Rep. Chris Turner, a Democrat, said. “This is Texas, it’s not Washington D.C. The impulses of outside politicians and their billionaire backers shouldn’t dictate what we do in this chamber, in this House.” Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican who wrote the bill for the new map, countered that four of the five new districts were “majority-minority Hispanic,” noting that each of the new districts now trended Republican. Still, he had no qualms as to why Republicans were pursuing changes to the congressional maps. “The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward, [to] improve Republican political performance,” he said. The Democrats’ blockade ended on Monday, when Abbott called for a second special session after their demands for California to also begin a redistricting cycle were met in an effort to nullify the map Texas Republicans were creating. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democrats unveiled their new map last week, which, if passed, would create five new Democratic-leaning congressional districts that would counteract the Texas legislature’s new map.
Fed court of appeals grants Trump admin pause on protections for 60K immigrants
A federal appeals court in San Francisco granted the Trump administration an emergency stay, halting a lower-court order that preserved Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 60,000 immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal. The National TPS Alliance, which represents people with TPS in the U.S., as well as those from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal who challenged the decision to terminate TPS, argue the action was unlawful and at least partially motivated by racial bias. Judge Trina Thompson, a federal judge in California, delayed the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to terminate protections for immigrants from the three countries on July 31, adding to legal hurdles for the Trump administration as it pushes out its deportation agenda. In her decision, Thompson said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s terminations of TPS were likely “preordained decisions” that violated the Administrative Procedure Act. She also agreed with the National TPS Alliance, noting Noem’s motives were driven by racial animus. VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS, PROGRESSIVE GROUP SUE TRUMP ADMIN AFTER NOEM NIXES BIDEN-ERA ‘PROTECTED STATUS’ “The freedom to live fearlessly, the opportunity of liberty, and the American dream. That is all Plaintiffs seek,” Thompson, a Biden-appointee, wrote in an order. “Instead, they are told to atone for their race, leave because of their names, and purify their blood. The Court disagrees.” The appeals court panel was made up of three judges appointed by former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, as well as President Donald Trump. In its decision the panel paused Thompson’s decision while the appeal proceeded. It also suspended the existing briefing schedule and requested all parties to propose new schedules after a related case – National TPS Alliance v. Noem – is decided. FEDERAL JUDGE FINDS ‘RACIAL AND DISCRIMINATORY ANIMUS’ IN TRUMP MOVE TO CANCEL TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS But the panel also refused to put a freeze on any activity in the district court related to this case, stressing the docket management is up to the trial judge. The lawsuit was brought by a group representing TPS holders, including some who have lived in the country for more than two decades. Attorneys wrote in court papers on behalf of the immigrants that they were “laborers, health care workers, artists, and caretakers” who have “relied on TPS to provide the most basic forms of human security — a stable place to live and a chance to work for a living during a time of severe crisis in their home countries.” FEDERAL JUDGE HALTS TRUMP TPS POLICY, ACCUSES DHS OF MAKING MIGRANTS ‘ATONE FOR THEIR RACE’ They argued that Noem declining to extend their TPS status was, by law, supposed to be reached based on an individualized analysis of each country. The judge found that Noem likely failed to condition TPS termination on factors specific to the immigrants’ countries of origin. They also said Noem had given the immigrants a historically short notice period of 60 days before they would lose their TPS status. And she and other Trump administration officials have normalized using “racist invective” to explain their TPS decisions, the attorneys said. The TPS program gives the DHS authority to permit immigrants who might otherwise have no legal status to temporarily reside in the United States because of extraordinary circumstances in their home countries, such as wars or natural disasters. The plaintiffs argued that roughly 61,000 people would lose their TPS as a result of Noem’s decision, which would end the immigrants’ legal status and work authorizations and make them eligible for deportation. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
Gabbard launches ‘ODNI 2.0,’ with plan to cut workforce by 40%
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced a transformation of the agency Wednesday that will cut the “bloated” ODNI by more than 40% by the end of the year and save taxpayers more than $700 million annually, all while executing its core national security and intelligence mission “in the most agile, effective, and efficient way.” Gabbard, on Wednesday, announced what she described as a “long-overdue” transformation, that will refocus ODNI and eliminate offices that were involved in the politicization of intelligence. GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY “Over the last 20 years, ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,” Gabbard said. “ODNI and the IC must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers. Ending the weaponization of intelligence and holding bad actors accountable are essential to begin to earn the American people’s trust which has long been eroded.” Gabbard said that “under President Trump’s leadership, ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, always grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.” ODNI was first created after the 9/11 terror attacks and exposed systemic failures across the intelligence community. ODNI’s purpose was to integrate intelligence from and provide oversight over all intelligence community elements in order to ensure the intelligence provided to the president and policymakers was “timely, accurate, and apolitical.” “Unfortunately, two decades later, ODNI has fallen short in fulfilling its mandate,” an ODNI spokesperson said. ODNI 2.0 is set to eliminate “redundant missions, functions and personnel,” and is set to make “critical investments” in areas that support Trump’s national intelligence priorities. GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY ODNI officials said that ODNI 2.0 will focus on rebuilding trust, exposing politicization and weaponization of intelligence, holding bad actors accountable, saving American tax dollars, and focusing on their “core mission,” which is to protect “the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.” As part of the effort, Gabbard is closing ODNI’s Reston Campus and moving the National Intelligence Council to the main ODNI campus, which will ensure the all essential intelligence functions are kept “under one roof,” which officials say will “enable savings,” and will ensure “greater efficiency and oversight, and integration across the ODNI and IC.” Gabbard is also leading intelligence community-wide reforms for “efficient and effective operations.” Gabbard is expected to issue guidance to create a streamlined contracting authority for companies that pursue emerging technologies, and that are already approved for business with the IC to provide services quickly. Gabbard is also leading an IC-wide effort to “rebalance and optimize” its civilian and contractor workforce to “reduce bloat, increase analytic capability, remove stovepipes, eradicate politicization and analytic bias, accelerate information sharing, and increase efficiency to ensure mission success,” officials said. Meanwhile, Gabbard has also ended non-merit-based recruitment of intelligence community professionals. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP As for ODNI components, the National Counterterrorism Center is building capability to increase two-way information sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement to secure borders and communities. As for the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Gabbard is calling for a renewed focus on security clearance reform, deterring counterintelligence threats, and oversight of investigations and probes of unauthorized leaks of classified information.
Trump’s DHS compares term ‘undocumented immigrant’ to ‘they/them’ pronouns, defends ‘alien’
The Department of Homeland Security tweeted on Wednesday that the term “undocumented immigrant” is the political equivalent of “they/them” pronouns. “DHS has no interest in the left’s open borders pronouns,” the department said in its statement. DHS said “alien” is the technical and legal term for what are also called illegal immigrants in the press. “Illegal” is the only way to correctly describe lawbreakers, the agency added. “Next thing you know you will be calling burglars ‘undocumented houseguests,’” said the statement. TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ACLU FOR COMPARING ICE CENTER TO JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMP: ‘DERANGED AND LAZY’ Federal law includes multiple references to the term “illegal alien” or “alien” in describing persons who incur into the U.S. illegally or without proper documentation. In 8 U.S.C (U.S. Code) 1182 and 1227 – provisions dealing with admission and removal of foreign nationals – the terms “inadmissible aliens” and “deportable aliens” are used. In federal statute delineating employment and public benefits, 8 U.S.C. 1324(a) and 8 U.S.C. 1611 describe the “unlawful employment of aliens” and “aliens ineligible for federal public benefits.” ILLEGAL TRUCKER ‘DEPORTED HIMSELF’ TO CALIFORNIA, LAWMAKER SAYS, REVEALING SYSTEMIC CRISIS IN TRANSPORTATION In criminal law, 8 U.S.C. 1324 describes the transgression of “bringing in and harboring certain aliens.” The statute was often referred to by right-wing commentators during the Biden administration to highlight the textual precedent for using the term “illegal aliens.” Another reference occurs in 8 U.S.C. 1325: regarding “improper entry by [an] alien.” UNION BOSS COMPARES ICE TO AL PACINO MOBSTER AS MORE DEMS PILE ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT “‘Alien’ is the technical legal term, and that is what DHS will use,” the department said in its statement. DHS cited three recent media stories using the term undocumented immigrant, including in Indiana, Texas and New Jersey press outlets. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In June, a high school student in Davidson County, North Carolina won a $20,000 payday and apology after he was suspended from class over use of the term “alien” to refer to wrongfully present foreign nationals. The 16-year-old had asked his English teacher if the term “alien” meant “space aliens or illegal aliens who need green cards.” Administrators ruled the comment racially insensitive and suspended the boy, whose family then sued, claiming mischaracterization of racial bias and First Amendment violations. Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.