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Year: 2026

Swing-seat Republican sidelined by ‘serious’ illness misses 88 votes as majority hangs by thread

Swing-seat Republican sidelined by ‘serious’ illness misses 88 votes as majority hangs by thread

An absent House lawmaker is expected to miss several more weeks of work after vanishing from Capitol Hill and the campaign trail due to an undisclosed illness. Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., has not voted in more than two months as House Republicans’ slim majority races to approve must-pass legislation ahead of the midterm elections. His father, former Gov. Tom Kean Sr., R-N.J., says his son may not return to Washington until June or later as he recovers from a “serious” illness. “You can’t say definitely, but their best guess is now he’ll be out in two or three weeks,” Kean Sr., told NJ.com in an interview last week, referring to his son’s doctors. “Any time you’ve been through a serious illness, you can’t be 100% the day you get back. You’re gonna be able to do things, but gradually ramping up.”  SPATE OF HEALTH SCARES AND VIOLENT THREATS HIGHLIGHT GROWING VULNERABILITIES FOR LAWMAKERS ON CAPITOL HILL “When he can start to go to Congress again, that’s something the doctor wants to reserve judgment on,” he added. Kean Jr., 57, last voted on March 5 and has missed all 88 roll call votes in the lower chamber since then, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional absences. Representatives for the New Jersey Republican have contended for weeks that he will restart his congressional duties “soon,” but that timeline has remained vague.  A spokesperson for Kean Jr. did not immediately respond to a request for comment about when the two-term lawmaker plans to return to Washington. Kean Sr. did not elaborate about where his son is receiving treatment for the undisclosed diagnosis, but confirmed he is under the care of multiple doctors. He also declined to disclose the nature of his son’s illness, telling CNN, “That’s up to him.” The former two-term governor added that doctors expect Kean Jr. to make a full recovery. Since March, Kean Jr.’s office has characterized the congressman’s diagnosis as a “personal health matter” and declined to share specifics. A top aide for Kean Jr. told The New York Times last week, “There’s no cameras where Tom is.”  The public last heard from Kean Jr. in late April when he released a public statement, saying, “I will be back to the job I love very soon.” DEMOCRAT TINA SHAH CALLS TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE FOR CHILDREN A ‘NO BRAINER’ IN COMPETITIVE NJ HOUSE RACE Kean Sr. also said that he expects his son to run for re-election despite his disappearance from the campaign trail. “I think that’s the way he’s going, yeah,” he told the outlet. Kean Jr.’s ongoing health issues come as national Democrats are aggressively targeting the swing seat Kean Jr. has represented since 2023. Four relatively well-funded challengers, including emergency room physician Tina Shah, are vying for the Democratic nomination ahead of a June 2 primary. Kean Jr. is running unopposed for the GOP nomination. Republicans in Washington have grown increasingly concerned about Kean Jr.’s prolonged absence, which has an outsize impact on GOP lawmakers’ fragile majority. The House is expected to vote on legislation this week funding President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, where House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will likely need near-full attendance from Republicans amid widespread opposition from Democrats. Johnson told reporters last week that he is praying for Kean Jr’s swift recovery but is in the dark about the nature of the New Jersey Republican’s ailment. “He said he was out on a medical issue, and he’ll be back as soon as possible,” the speaker said. “That’s the full extent of what I know about it. It’s a personal thing, and obviously I told him that we’re praying for him, and I need him to get back as soon as he can.”

Jackson protests as Supreme Court uses Louisiana gerrymandering ruling to instruct lower courts

Jackson protests as Supreme Court uses Louisiana gerrymandering ruling to instruct lower courts

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson protested the Supreme Court’s decision to use their recent ruling in a Louisiana gerrymandering case to instruct lower courts on how to define the Voting Rights Act, a move that could wipe out previous legal victories for voting rights groups. The Court on Monday sent a Mississippi case back down to U.S. District Court “for further consideration” following their ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which rejected race-based gerrymandering. “This case presents only the question of Section 2’s private enforceability, which our decision in Louisiana v. Callais … did not address,” Jackson dissented, referencing Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. “Thus I see no basis for vacating the lower court’s judgment.” The Supreme Court last month limited the scope of section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which restricts how states draw districts affecting minority voters, in its ruling in the case of Louisiana v. Callais. SUPREME COURT RULES ON KEY VOTING RIGHTS ACT RULE AS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS WAGE REDISTRICTING WAR Louisiana v. Callais centered on whether Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map, which had added a second majority-Black district, amounted to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. Though the justices acknowledged that compliance with the Voting Rights Act can be considered by states as a compelling interest in redistricting, they said that it did not require Louisiana to add the creation of a second, majority Black district, siding with a lower court that had also blocked the state’s use of the map. JUDGES SAY THEY’LL REDRAW LOUISIANA CONGRESSIONAL MAP THEMSELVES IF LAWMAKERS CAN’T The high court’s ruling in that case could trigger a new wave of legal challenges over congressional boundaries and make it harder for plaintiffs to challenge the maps in question, as it requires them to prove a racially discriminatory motive. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.

Trump’s China thaw leaves Taiwan decision looming as ex-NBA star warns island holds key to US AI race

Trump’s China thaw leaves Taiwan decision looming as ex-NBA star warns island holds key to US AI race

President Donald Trump returned from Beijing touting warmer trade ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but the summit left unresolved one of the most consequential flashpoints in U.S.-China relations: Taiwan. “Taiwan is the center of the global technology race,” former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview. “If you want to understand the future of AI dominance, economic power and national security, you have to understand Taiwan.” Former Boston Celtics player and outspoken human-rights activist known for his criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, Freedom, said the lack of progress showed Taiwan remains a major unresolved issue at the center of America’s economic and national security competition with China. Freedom noted in his remarks that, “Trump has always understood that communist China is America’s biggest long-term geopolitical challenge.”  “I think President Trump has constantly emphasized that peace is preserved through strength. I believe maintaining stability in the Taiwan Strait requires strong American leadership, strategic clarity, and a credible deterrent that leaves no room for miscalculation for authoritarian regimes,” said Freedom. TAIWAN DISPATCHES NAVY, AIR FORCE AFTER CHINA LAUNCHES LIVE-FIRE DRILLS WITH NO WARNING The pending decision comes as Taiwan continues seeking U.S. weapons meant to harden the island against a potential Chinese attack.  Trump has not publicly committed to whether to move forward with a new Taiwan arms package while the talks produced no publicly announced breakthrough on Taiwan or other key strategic disputes, making the pending arms decision a closely watched signal for both Beijing and Taipei. A senior White House administration official told Fox News Digital that Trump will make a determination in a fairly short time regarding a new Taiwan arms package and also noted he approved $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan in December 2025, which is “consistent with U.S. policy since the 1950s.” “In his first term, President Trump approved more arms sales to Taiwan than any other President in history,” the official added. In his second term, President Trump approved more in his first year than all four years under President Biden.” Trump was joined in China by top American tech CEOs, including leading AI executives during the summit, underscoring how the U.S.-China rivalry over artificial intelligence has become both an economic and geopolitical arms race. TRUMP LEAVES CHINA WITH BREAKTHROUGHS — AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS ON XI’S BIGGEST FIGHTS Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said in a Facebook post Sunday that arms purchases from the U.S. are “the most vital deterrent” of regional conflict. “Long-standing security cooperation and arms sales between Taiwan and the U.S. are grounded in the Taiwan Relations Act,” said Lai.  “This serves not only as a testament to the United States’ security commitment to Taiwan but also as the most vital deterrent force against actions that undermine regional peace and stability—a role it has fulfilled for decades.” “Taiwan is deeply connected to America’s economy, military readiness, and AI futures. So this is not just about Asia, this is about who controls the technologies that will define the next century. For that reason, I think America needs Taiwan, and Taiwan needs America,” said Freedom. Chips produced in Taiwan are used across a wide range of technologies, including consumer electronics, communications systems, and advanced defense applications. CHINA’S GLOBAL AGGRESSION CHECK: TAIWAN TENSIONS, MILITARY POSTURING, AND US RESPONSE IN 2025 Major chip designers including Apple, Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm rely heavily on Taiwan-based contract manufacturing. The U.S. International Trade Administration describes Taiwan as being “dominated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co” and central to global semiconductor manufacturing. “The rapid rise of Korea and Taiwan has been due to the long-term megatrend of semiconductors as ‘the new oil’ — the key input to economic activity — combined with the latest price-insensitive boom in AI investment,” said Ian Samson, a portfolio manager at Fidelity International to Bloomberg. He added it demonstrates “the oligopolistic nature of leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing.” China has recently increased military pressure around Taiwan through large-scale air and naval activity.  A Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson posted on X Thursday, that “‘Taiwan independence’ and cross-Strait peace are as irreconcilable as fire and water. Safeguarding peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the biggest common denominator between China and the U.S.” ENES KANTER FREEDOM SOUNDS ALARM ON CHINA’S ‘WAR’ WARNING: ‘WAKE UP AMERICA’ Freedom will be visiting the island, where basketball is very popular, this October to help organize basketball camps for the next generation of athletes. INSIDE THE ‘DIGITAL LOCKDOWN’ FOR US OFFICIALS AS TRUMP ARRIVES IN CHINA “I think my biggest goal during this trip is to document everything and also share with the world. I want people to see what Taiwan truly represents… a free country, vibrant, democratic society that refuses to bow down to intimidation,” said Freedom. Freedom said he wants to do whatever he can to bring attention to what he described as China’s genocide against Uyghurs, as well as the struggles faced by Hong Kongers, Tibetans, Falun Gong practitioners, and, more recently, what he called the harassment of the Taiwanese people.

Maryland ballot blunder triggers GOP push for federal review of blue state’s voter rolls

Maryland ballot blunder triggers GOP push for federal review of blue state’s voter rolls

A Maryland primary ballot mix-up has renewed Republican calls for a federal review of the state’s voter rolls after some of the 400,000 primary voters requesting a mall-in ballot received the ballot of the wrong party this weekend. Maryland’s conservative Freedom Caucus is demanding that state elections officials release Maryland’s voter rolls to the federal government for an audit after a vendor error forced the state to resend thousands of mail-in primary ballots. “The Maryland Freedom Caucus is calling on Secretary of the Election Board, Jared DeMarinis, to immediately release Maryland’s voter rolls to the federal government so a proper audit can be conducted to determine the sources of the mistake,” the caucus wrote in a statement. “We caution against reissuing another 400,000 ballots and we demand to know how the state intends to differentiate between the first and second printing of these ballots.” “The citizens have a right to know the exact process by which ballots will be scrutinized,” the statement continued. “With 400,000 double ballots in circulation, we need to be absolutely sure that there is one vote, one person.” WHY DOJ IS CAUGHT UP IN TWO DOZEN COURT FIGHTS OVER VOTER ROLLS The group claimed that he mistake undermines confidence in the June 23 primary, pointing the finger at Democrats and the State Board of Elections. “The Maryland Democrats and the bureaucrats over at the Board of Elections have proven once again that they are the biggest purveyors of voter suppression tactics in the state of Maryland,” the statement read. “After it was brought to light that roughly 400,000 mail-in ballots were sent out incorrectly, voters who received these flawed ballots will now receive a second ballot, according to the state. Many people’s mail-in votes could be erroneously submitted using the old ballot and their vote suppressed because of the negligence of the Maryland Board of Elections and the Maryland Democrats.” MARYLAND DODGES SPECIFICS IN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT VOTER-ROLL CASE AS CONGRESS VOWS TO KEEP DIGGING Maryland State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis said Friday that the state was “diligently working” to eliminate doubts over the accuracy of the process. “Mail-in voting is an integral facet of the electoral process,” DeMarinis wrote in a statement. “With over 500,000 voters requesting mail-in ballots, we want to eliminate any doubt in its integrity or accuracy; that is why I have arranged the sending of replacement ballots.” “Please be assured that we are actively answering phones and responding to emails and will remain transparent as we navigate through this situation,” he added. “We will make every effort to ensure that everyone affected knows the situation and how to cast their ballot. Every vote matters, your voice will be heard, and our elections will remain verified, open, transparent, and secure.” POSTAL SERVICE THRUST INTO MAIL-IN BALLOT FIGHT AS TRUMP ORDER GETS TIED UP IN COURT Taylor Print & Visual Impressions (TPVI), Inc., the vendor, admitted the error and apologized. “A portion of voters received ballot packets intended for a different voter segment,” the TPVI Election Services Team wrote in a statement. “We understand the seriousness of this matter and the importance of accuracy and trust in all election-related communications.” Notably, “all ballots will be remailed by 5/29/2026,” according to the vendor, which is leaving it up to the recipients to destroy the first ballot they received: “Voters should securely discard or destroy the original ballot materials they received and use only the replacement ballot sent in the new mailing.” HOUSE OVERSIGHT PROBE PUTS MINNESOTA ELECTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY OVER NONCITIZEN VOTING CONCERNS “There is no risk of duplicate voting as a result of this issue,” TPVI added in a statement. “Election officials have safeguards in place to ensure that only the corrected ballots included in the replacement mailing will be accepted and counted.” The error affected ballots requested and mailed before May 14, more than a month before the June 16 deadline for voters who want a ballot mailed to them. Voters who requested web-delivered ballots — which can be downloaded, printed and mailed — were not affected. This latest issue only increases Republicans’ election integrity scrutiny in the state. The Republican National Committee had already been active in pursuing the state’s voter rolls, suing in December for Maryland failing to properly maintain voter rolls and comply with federal transparency requirements, pointing to registration figures the plaintiffs say are implausibly high. “Marylanders deserve to have confidence in their elections and to know that their state is properly maintaining its voter rolls,” RNC Chair Joe Gruters wrote in a statement. “The State Board of Elections has failed to do its job and remove ineligible or deceased voters from its rolls. Marylanders have a right to accurate voter rolls, which is why the RNC is suing today.” The complaint also alleged that at least two of Maryland’s most populous counties have more registered voters than adult citizens over 18, while other counties report registration rates above 95%, despite Census data showing Maryland’s statewide registration rate at about 75.6%. The RNC argued that federal law requires states to update voter rolls, remove ineligible registrations and allow public inspection of voter list maintenance records, alleging that Maryland has repeatedly fallen short. The suit followed similar action in Hawaii and New Jersey and public records requests sent last year to nearly every state. Fox News reached out to the RNC’s election integrity unit for comment.