‘Political stunt’: Critics dismiss Harris’ expected Arizona border visit as immigration remains top issue
Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly planning on a visit to the southern border in Arizona, as immigration remains a top election issue and her campaign attempts to present her as tough on border security — but critics say any border visit is just a “political stunt.” Multiple outlets reported that Harris’ campaign is considering a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, although details have not been decided. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Should Harris visit the border, it would be her first since she visited El Paso, Texas in 2021 as she faced pressure over the then-escalating crisis at the southern border and her role overseeing root causes of migration — which led her to being dubbed the “border czar.” VIDEO RESURFACES OF HARRIS CHANTING ‘DOWN WITH DEPORTATION’ AT 2018 PARADE WITH DISGRACED ACTOR It comes as a number of polls show she trails former President Donald Trump significantly on the issue of illegal immigration and border security, in the wake of a massive migrant crisis which shattered records as millions flooded to the border each year under the Biden administration’s watch. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 46% preferred Trump on immigration over the 36% who preferred Harris. Republicans tied the surge to the “open borders” policies of the administration and the rolling back of Trump-era policies, including wall construction and the Remain-in-Mexico policy. The Biden administration says it needs more funding and reforms from Congress, and has pointed to a sharp drop in encounters since President Biden signed an executive order in June putting limits on asylum entries. They have also pointed to both Harris’ role in the administration as it oversaw the enormous migrant crisis, and also her past policy positions as a senator and a presidential candidate in 2019. Fox News Digital reported Monday on video of her chanting “down, down with deportation” at a parade in 2018. HARRIS SHIFTS KEY POSITIONS ON BORDER, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS CAMPAIGN PROMISES ‘PRAGMATIC’ APPROACH Harris also has repeatedly called for various forms of amnesty for illegal immigration, including the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) by executive order. She also said she would use parole authority to create a “parole in place” program to put those illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. She still backs an “earned pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigration by Congress. She had also backed cuts to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). However, since becoming a presidential candidate this summer, her campaign confirmed to Fox earlier this month that she changed her positions on a number of immigration and border-security policies, including decriminalizing illegal crossings and closing immigration detention centers. Republicans have pushed back against the push to reframe her positions. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., dismissed the visit to the border as a “political stunt.” “She is not going when it was at its height, She’s going to probably get a totally cleaned up photo op. And my guess is…she’s going to probably get the same treatment some others get,” he said. “They’re going to clean up the desert, clean everything up so it looks clean for her, instead of as bad as it is environmentally, as well as a danger for the people coming across.” “This isn’t even being cynical. It’s just being a realist. I mean, she’s going down there so she can get some pictures taken over at the border looking like she knows what’s going on,” he said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS A Harris campaign adviser told Fox this month that her positions have been “shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration.” The campaign says now that she is “continuing to ensure sufficient resources to enforce our laws and prioritize detention and removal for individuals who pose threats to public safety and national security, as well as ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and decisions, including removal.” She has also repeatedly supported a bipartisan border security bill that would increase funding for the border while also placing a limit on asylum entries into the U.S. — and has hammered former President Trump for torpedoing the bill amid conservative claims that it would only make the crisis worse. She has also emphasized her record as a prosecutor targeting members of transnational criminal organizations. “As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that [Trump] killed, and I will sign it into law. I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border,” she said at the Democratic National Convention. But Republicans and immigration hawks have pushed back against the framing by the Harris campaign, arguing that while there may be a short-term drop in apprehensions, the way to solve the border crisis is to change strategy. Fox Digital asked Biggs what he hopes Harris learns on any trip to the border. “That they could stop this almost immediately by reinstating Title 42, reinstating Remain-in-Mexico. They need to stop the CBP One app because in the last 15 months, 815,000 roughly, they brought in. They need to stop the Cuba, Haiti Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) program. There are things they could do now, almost immediately shut us down. And I want her to understand that. And I don’t think she’s going to understand that.” RJ Hauman, President of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) and visiting adviser at The Heritage Foundation, was also dismissive of the visit, asking: “What is Kamala Harris planning to do, oversee the installation of ballot drop boxes? Shake hands with illegal aliens as they cross?” “Her entire campaign is built on gaslighting the American people — that she doesn’t believe what she actually believes, that she didn’t do what she actually did. The immigration issue is a shining example of this,” he said.
Trump reveals tax deal he will be ‘offering to every major company and manufacturer on Earth’
Former President Trump on Tuesday is vowing to “launch a historic buildup of American manufacturing muscle and might” through an economic and tax deal he says he will be offering to “every major company and manufacturer on Earth.” Trump, speaking during a campaign event in Savannah, Georgia, said his plan for the U.S. economy – which is centered around a “15% Made in America” corporate tax rate – will “create millions and millions of jobs, massively raise wages for American workers, and make the United States into a manufacturing powerhouse like it used to be many years ago.” “Here is the deal that I will be offering to every major company and manufacturer on Earth — I will give you the lowest taxes, the lowest energy costs, the lowest regulatory burden. And free access to the best and biggest market on the planet,” Trump said. “But only if you make your product here in America. It all goes away if you don’t make your product here. And hire American workers for the job. If you don’t make your product here, then you will have to pay a tariff, a very substantial tariff.” TRUMP GIFTS PENNSYLVANIA MOM OF THREE WITH $100 AT GROCERY STORE CHECKOUT: ‘COMPLETE SURPRISE’ Trump argued that “with the vision I’m outlining today, not only will we stop our businesses from leaving for foreign lands, but under my leadership, we are going to take other countries’ jobs. “We’re going to take their factories,” Trump continued. “We’re going to bring thousands and thousands of businesses and trillions of dollars in wealth back to the good old USA.” “Under my plan, American workers will no longer be worried about losing your jobs to foreign nations. Instead, foreign nations will be worried about losing their jobs to America and to bring them back,” he declared. “And we will take in hundreds of billions of dollars into our treasury and use that money to benefit the American citizens, and it will not cause inflation, by the way,” Trump said. The current U.S. corporate tax rate is at 21%. Lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% for all businesses would lower tax revenue by $460 billion per a dynamic analysis by the Tax Foundation, to $673 billion, according to the Tax Foundation’s static analysis. The Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates that tax revenue would be $595 billion lower over a decade under the policy. EARLY MAIL-IN VOTING DATA SIGNALS GOOD NEWS FOR REPUBLICANS, TRUMP: EXPERT Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from the current 21%, after she had previously supported a 35% corporate tax rate during her short-lived presidential campaign in the 2020 cycle. The Harris campaign has described this as a “fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.” The CRFB’s analysis found that increasing the corporate tax rate to 28% would raise tax revenue by $1 trillion from fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2035. The Tax Foundation’s analysis also projected that it would raise taxes by $1 trillion, while the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated it would raise $1.2 trillion in revenue in that period. Trump ripped Harris during his speech in Savannah on Tuesday, calling her the “tax queen.” “They love her in other countries because she forces everybody out of our country into their hands. The tax queen is demanding a 33% tax hike on all domestic production,” he said. “Now, you know you can hate companies and all that, but they still fuel growth and they fuel jobs, they fuel everything.” Trump also announced Tuesday that “we will set up special zones of federal land with ultra-low taxes and regulations for American producers” which will be “ideal spots for relocating entire industries that we’ve taken in from other countries. He added that he will “appoint a manufacturing ambassador whose sole task… will be to go around the world and convince major manufacturers to pack up and move back to America, where they want to be.” FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
Johnny Cash monument unveiled on Capitol Hill: ‘Embodies the American spirit’
Johnny Cash will be saying “Hello Out There” to myriad tourists visiting the U.S. Capitol from now on – after congressional leaders got together to unveil a statue of the legendary musician. Both Republican and Democratic leaders joined members of Cash’s family for the ceremony, which attracted hundreds of other attendees on Tuesday. The statue is the latest to be unveiled in the halls of Congress and the first of a professional musician – something House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., noted in his opening remarks. CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION “Johnny Cash is the perfect person to be honored in that way. He was a man who embodies the American spirit in a way that few could. He was an everyday man. He loved to fish, and he suffered the pain of loss. He was the son of southern farmers and of the Great Depression,” Johnson said. “Americans related to Johnny Cash.” He acknowledged that some people may wonder why Cash was being honored in the way of historic trailblazers, past presidents and dignitaries. “The answer is pretty simple. It’s because America is about more than laws and politics,” Johnson said. “Johnny Cash gave a voice to the struggles of the people who were downtrodden and marginalized and who were too often forgotten.” “When we forgot about the factory line worker, there was Johnny Cash singing about that fellow who built the car one piece at a time. When we had forgotten about our troops, there was Johnny Cash, the man in black, remembering the 100,000 who died for that [flag]. When we forgot about the Native American, there was Johnny Cash, reminding us of the petrified but justified Apache tears.” MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., noted in his own remarks that music has long been a part of American culture. “From the very beginning, in the DNA of this great country, artistic creativity has been recognized as incredibly important to our growth, our culture and to the American experiment,” Jeffries said. “Throughout his life, he created a catalog of profoundly powerful works that cannot be ascribed to a single genre. At different times, he was country, blues, rock and roll and gospel.” “At all times, Johnny Cash was uniquely American. He was a trailblazing, transformational and trend-setting figure.” SHUTDOWN FEARS MOVE HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PROTECT MILITARY PAYCHECKS Cash’s relatives participated in the ceremony as well – Adm. Carey Cash, a chaplain and the musician’s great-nephew, delivered the opening prayer. The statue shows Cash with a guitar on his back and a Bible in hand. His is one of three statues at the Capitol holding the Bible, another being Billy Graham’s. Each state selects two statues to be represented in the halls of the U.S. Capitol. Arkansas’ state legislature voted in 2019 to replace statues of two lesser-known figures with Cash and civil rights activist Daisy Bates. The latter statue debuted earlier this year. The Cash statue was created by Little Rock artist Kevin Kresse. It’s a nod to Cash’s own roots, growing up in Dyess, Arkansas, on a cotton farm before going on to become one of the best-selling musical artists in history.
Crisscrossing PA to register voters, Scott Presler says he’s ‘moving the needle’ as key counties flip red
A Republican activist who leads the group Early Vote Action has been crisscrossing Pennsylvania since January, working to register new Republican voters and meeting others to encourage them to cast their ballots early. Fox News Digital followed Scott Presler as he made his near-weekly stop at the massive Green Dragon flea market in Ephrata, outside Lancaster. The Friday-only market is a popular stop for tourists and locals alike, including the area’s Mennonite and Amish population. Amish, Mennonites and Brethren make up a large portion of the county population, and when they come out to vote, they typically also lean Republican. Both Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump courted the Anabaptist community during their administrations. “And as you can see, we’re out at fairs, we’re going to farmer’s markets, fraternity houses, American Legions, gun stores, supermarkets, gas stations. Our motto is to meet people where they are,” Presler said. SCOTT PRESLER ON EARLY VOTING AND THE AMISH VOTE’S IMPACT “We want to bring our conservative message to the voter and get everybody registered to vote.” In an interview with Fox News Digital at his second stop of the day, the Solanco Fairgrounds in Quarryville, Presler said Democrats are down 300,000 registered voters in the commonwealth from where they were four years prior. “Pennsylvania is trending to the right. And at Early Vote Action, we want to deliver Pennsylvania for Donald J. Trump,” he said. At the Green Dragon, Presler was joined by a family from Charleston, West Virginia, who decided to volunteer to make a difference in Pennsylvania this year after Trump handily won the Mountain State twice. In addition, Joe Brady from nearby East Earl said he’s been following Presler’s work for months and decided he would answer the call for more Pennsylvania volunteers. Brady, who has volunteered weekly at Presler’s booth at the Green Dragon, said Early Vote Action averages 20 to 30 new registrants each outing. SCOTT PRESLER TRAVELS AMERICA CLEANING UP LIBERAL CITIES FAILED BY DEMOCRATIC POLICIES “In addition to that, [there have been] a lot of great conversations with local residents and even out-of-towners. Everybody’s sentiment seems to be moving in the same direction. Everybody seems very positive about Trump. I think we’re doing good work here. I think we’re really helping move the ball,” Brady said. One of those locals who stopped by was Denver Mayor Rod Redcay. The chief executive of the smaller of the two Denvers that’s located along I-76 praised Presler’s work and said it has added to the “excitement” in Lancaster County. Redcay said the 100 Trump signs his group brought to the Denver fair were gone in three hours. “There’s a lot of passion and motivation for those who are supporting Trump to get out the vote and visit their neighbors and connect with those to talk about the issues,” Redcay said. “We’re not talking about personality here. We’re talking about issues; what’s important to us, what’s important to our community. And we want safe communities. We want economic development in our community.” “So, whatever we can do to close the border, we want to get back to an economy wherein we can afford our food again.” One man who approached Presler had recently been released from prison. Presler informed the man that in Pennsylvania, felons who have completed their sentences are eligible to vote, and the man filled out the form and expressed support for the GOP ticket. As Presler moved south to Quarryville, he noted that Bucks County – while represented in Congress by Republican Brian Fitzpatrick – had long been a Democrat majority. That changed this month, he said, taking credit for helping move the Philadelphia suburb “from blue to red.” “Four years ago, there were 15,000 more registered Democrats. Now there are nearly 2,000 more registered Republicans. That’s a shift of 16,004 years to the right and a county outside of Philadelphia. That does not happen,” he said. Luzerne County, where Democrat nominee Vice President Harris recently rallied, was within a few dozen votes of flipping red as well, he said. One day after Presler’s comments, the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader reported the county is now (+83) voters for the GOP. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP After the Solanco Fairgrounds flea market, it was three hours up to State College ahead of what turned out to be a blowout of visiting Kent State at Beaver Stadium. Outside one of the largest stadiums in the country, Presler and his group of local volunteers, which included officials from the Centre County GOP, set out to register new voters, including out-of-state-native students who can legally vote in Pennsylvania. While a few Harris supporters jeered Presler as his crew walked among the tailgaters, many chanted “Trump!” and sought out selfies. “Centre County is 1,100 voters away from flipping. The Democrats are working tirelessly to keep that county blue. But I’ll tell you, we are going to be at every single Penn State University game, including on Nov. 2nd, three days before Election Day. We are leaving no community unturned going into November, and that includes young people,” he said. Another one of Presler’s volunteers in State College was Bobby Jeffries of Dauphin County, who said he’d already launched a 2026 State House bid against a moderate GOP lawmaker to seek, in his words, to have its representation match the county’s conservative lean, sans Harrisburg. “I recently registered a voter. She was born in 1965. She’s never voted. She said, ‘Scott, I’m voting this year because I can’t afford anything. Life is unaffordable,’” Presler later added. While Centre County’s environs and politics away from the university match its deep-red neighbors in Cameron, Clinton, Elk and Blair, throngs of students in State College have been enough to keep the county reliably Democrat for decades. “If young people want to be able to afford a home, vote Trump. If young people want peace, not war, vote Trump. If young people don’t want the government getting involved in your life, like
Dems look to force votes on emergency abortion as abortion pill deaths make headlines
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate President Pro tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., and others revealed on Tuesday their plans to force votes on abortion-related bills in the wake of two pregnant women’s deaths after taking abortion pills. In floor remarks, Schumer said, “What happened in Georgia is a direct example of how abortion bans continue to exacerbate the racial disparities in maternal death. Amber’s doctors didn’t perform the medical procedures they knew she needed because of Georgia’s law.” “It was the law overruling their good medical judgment. She went into septic shock and her heart stopped – all while doctors did everything except the medically-sound treatment she needed,” he said, in reference to ProPublica‘s reporting on the deaths of Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman. JOHN CORNYN FLEXES FUNDRAISING CHOPS AS BATTLE TO SUCCEED MITCH MCCONNELL RAMPS UP Both of the women died in Georgia after taking abortion pills and suffering complications. In Thurman’s case, according to ProPublica, doctors waited a prolonged period of time before performing the necessary dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, which is not an abortion. Miller was found unresponsive by her family after suffering from the pill’s complication. “Today, as you heard from the leader, we’re going to try and pass this resolution, and we’re going to see if the Senate can come together with one voice and tell women, ‘Women, we want to put your health first,’” Murray said at a press conference. The Washington Democrat will attempt on Tuesday afternoon to advance her resolution to affirm “the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care” for a vote by unanimous consent. However, this is expected to be objected to by a Republican. ACCUSATIONS OF IMPROPER TAX BREAKS FLY IN CRUCIAL SENATE RACE: ‘RULES DON’T APPLY’ The Democrats’ plan to seek forced votes on abortion items comes in response to the deaths of Miller and Thurman, which have caused a dispute over what is to blame. “Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are two Black mothers who lost their lives in Georgia due to the state’s draconian abortion ban. Women who could have survived if they had been able to get the health care they needed. These are the consequences of Trump abortion bans,” Murray claimed earlier this month. Roe v. Wade was overturned in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022, which turned the authority to determine limitations on abortion back to the states. Former President Trump’s appointment of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett is largely credited for giving conservative justices the majority and pushing the decision over the edge. ENIGMATIC VOTER GROUP COULD SPLIT TICKET FOR TRUMP, DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN ARIZONA Other Democrats have echoed Murray’s sentiment, including Vice President Kamala Harris, blaming the overturn of Roe v. Wade for the women’s deaths. Some conservative leaders and groups have pushed back on Democrats’ characterization of the women’s deaths, including top pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement, “Pro-life laws are clear, yet politicians and the media are sowing confusion at women’s expense. Across the nation, pro-life laws allow doctors to provide emergency care, and doctors who fail to provide necessary medical care should be held accountable.” “Pro-abortion Democrats and the abortion industry fearmonger and exploit tragedies resulting from abortions themselves, like the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller – leaving women confused about the law and scared to get care in emergency situations. These lies have real consequences, and we urge pro-abortion Democrats to value women’s safety over limitless abortion,” she said. ‘PRETTY DAMN SIGNIFICANT’: SLOTKIN SUFFERS BLOW IN MICHIGAN AS FARM BUREAU JILTS DEMS TO ENDORSE GOP CANDIDATE During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on “Threats to Reproductive Health Care,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., questioned Dr. Christina Francis, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, on the safety of the abortion pill. “Obviously, we have recent cases of Candi Miller dying from a chemical abortion. FDA has changed the rules of late, to be able to say, ‘Don’t give us information about consequences. Don’t even report that. Don’t turn it in.’ You don’t have to get to a doctor to be able to get access to a chemical abortions. There’s been lots of conversations I’ve heard from my Democratic colleagues saying chemical abortions are as safe as Tylenol. Can you tell me a little bit more about chemical abortions?” he asked. “Incomplete abortion, where all of the tissue, from all of the fetal tissue and placental tissue don’t pass after taking these drugs, occurs in 5 to 10% of women. That may sound like a small number, but when you look at the number of chemical abortions that are done in this country every year, that’s a significant number of women that are experiencing this complication,” Francis responded. She further warned that abortion pills are not on par with Tylenol, remarking, “These are not safe drugs, and women deserve to have accurate information about that.”
Harris calls for eliminating filibuster to pass ‘Roe’ abortion bill into federal law
Vice President Kamala Harris said she backs eliminating the 60-vote filibuster requirement in order to reinstate Roe v. Wade, which would federalize abortion access nationwide, during a Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) interview Tuesday. The filibuster is a Senate rule that allows a minority to block legislation pending a supermajority vote, so ending it would make it easier to pass laws related to abortion rights. “I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” Harris said on the “Wisconsin Today” show. “And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.” YOUNG SWING STATE VOTERS DELIVER ADVICE FOR KAMALA HARRIS: ‘THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE TRANSPARENCY’ The vice president’s remarks were made during her fourth campaign visit to the battleground state and drew attention from West Virginia independent Sen. Joe Manchin, a strong supporter of the filibuster. Although the former Democrat had indicated earlier this month that he would endorse Harris, he reversed his position due to her comments on Tuesday. “Shame on her,” Manchin said at the Capitol, CNN reported. “She knows the filibuster is the Holy Grail of democracy. It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then this would be the House on steroids.” “That ain’t going to happen,” Manchin said, regarding backing the VP for president in November. Harris also said in the WPR interview that, “It is well within our reach” to keep a Democratic Senate majority and “take back the House.” “I would also emphasize that while the presidential election is extremely important and dispositive of where we go moving forward, it also is about what we need to do to hold onto the Senate and win seats in the House,” Harris said. NEW POLL INDICATES WHETHER HARRIS OR TRUMP HAS THE EDGE IN THIS KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE While Harris first said she would support ending the filibuster to reinstate Roe v. Wade era abortion protection in 2022, she has since made abortion a major issue in her Democratic bid for presidency this election cycle. She also supported ending the filibuster to pass the progressive Green New Deal climate legislation in 2019. “With just two more seats in the Senate, we can codify Roe v. Wade, we can put the protections of Roe in law,” Harris said in September 2022. “With two more seats in the United States Senate, we can pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Two more seats.” “You know, our President, Joe Biden, he’s been clear. He’s kinda done with those archaic Senate rules that are standing in the way of those two issues,” Harris said of the Senate filibuster in 2022. “He’s made that clear and has said that he will not allow that to obstruct those two issues. And, you know, for me, as vice president, I’m also president of the Senate.… I cannot wait to cast the deciding vote to break the filibuster on voting rights and reproductive rights. I cannot wait! Fifty-nine days.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Johnson to sidestep GOP rebels on government funding, seek Dem support to avoid shutdown
House GOP leaders are poised to skirt Republican opposition to their federal funding plan as they race the clock against a partial government shutdown. “We’ve got a lot of people that honestly think a government shutdown is a good idea, or at least don’t want to take responsibility for avoiding one,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Tuesday. “It’s not good for the American people, it doesn’t work politically…and you’re sent up here to be responsible.” Normally, a bill would have to advance through the House Rules Committee and then receive a House-wide procedural vote, known as a “rule vote,” before lawmakers decide on the measure itself. However, rule votes traditionally fall along party lines, regardless of who supports the bill itself. JOHNSON’S PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS REPUBLICANS REBEL Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus who sits on the Rules Committee, told Fox News Digital on Monday night that he would support the rule advancing through the panel but would reject it on the House floor. With opposition bubbling up and just a three-seat majority, House GOP leaders likely do not have the votes to pass the rule. Instead, multiple people told Fox News Digital they expect Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to put the measure up for a vote under suspension of the rules – meaning it forgoes the House-wide rule vote in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds of the chamber. The bill is a short-term extension of this year’s government funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), through Dec. 20. The goal is to give Congress more time to negotiate spending priorities for fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1. A significant number of Republicans are opposed to a CR on principle, arguing it is an unnecessary extension of government bloat. SHUTDOWN FEARS MOVE HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PROTECT MILITARY PAYCHECKS However, a government shutdown just weeks before Election Day could come at a heavy political cost for Republicans – something Johnson pointed out to GOP lawmakers at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning, three people told Fox News Digital. Johnson also promised lawmakers they would not be forced to vote on an end-of-year “omnibus” spending bill, which wraps all 12 annual appropriations bills into a massive vehicle – something nearly all Republicans oppose. Johnson was always expected to need Democratic votes to pass his December CR. Dozens of Republicans have voted against such measures in the past. Putting the bill up under suspension of the rules, however, appears to be an indirect acknowledgment that Democrats will need to carry much of the weight for it to pass. “Having to rely on liberal Democrats to pass anything is very disappointing,” Norman said after Tuesday morning’s meeting. MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital, “A CR, an appropriations bill, under suspension? That’s not the way to run a railroad.” Both said they expected Congress to be forced into an omnibus bill, jammed up against the holiday recess. Johnson did get some backup from House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., however. “I take the speaker at his word that he will not do that,” Harris said when asked about an end-of-year omnibus. Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters that the CR would get a vote on Wednesday, suggesting suspension of the rules was their likely option. Last week, a more conservative CR – one that would’ve kicked the funding fight into March and attached a measure cracking down on noncitizens voting in U.S. elections – was defeated by 14 Republicans and all but three Democrats. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., one of the 14 rebels who voted against that plan, gave Johnson grace for the position he was in. “Speaker Johnson’s on the spot,” Burchett told reporters. “He has to do what he has to do.”
GOP urges ‘transparency’ on whether Walz admin removing noncitizens from Minnesota voter rolls
FIRST ON FOX – House Republicans from Minnesota joined the Republican National Committee (RNC) in demanding that Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz’s administration provide an update on voter roll cleanup efforts, after it was discovered that noncitizens and otherwise ineligible individuals were improperly registered to vote under the state’s automatic voter registration process. Reps. Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber signed onto a follow-up letter RNC election integrity counsel Kevin J. Cline and Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hann sent this week. The letter, addressed to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson, acknowledged communication between their offices for over a month. The Republicans said they provided Simon and Jacobson’s offices “with the information necessary to remove known noncitizens from the Minnesota voter rolls over a month ago,” and “despite our continued efforts to receive updates on the actions your office is taking, it took over three (3) weeks to get any information, which came on the same day you released the information to the public.” “Commissioner Jacobson’s September 12 letter admits there were approximately 1,000 individuals who may have been improperly registered to vote under the automatic voter registration (‘AVR’) process,” Cline and Hann wrote. “This leads us, and others, to consider all means necessary to obtain transparency from your office. To this end, we are now joined by Congressman Tom Emmer, Congressman Brad Finstad, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach, and Congressman Pete Stauber, to demand you provide further answers on this disastrous failure.” RNC BLASTS WALZ ADMIN’S NONANSWER ON HOW NONCITIZENS MADE IT ONTO MINNESOTA VOTER ROLLS: ‘NO HYPOTHETICAL’ The letter demands the Walz administration provide “the exact number of individuals who were inactivated,” answer what “the different categories of information the individual records were missing” are, and “provide how many individuals were inactivated for each category of missing information.” It also asks Simon and Jacobson how many of the inactivated individuals have voted in a past election, how many of the inactivated individuals were sent ballots in past elections, and if those people will “be able to register and vote in the November election?” “Would eliminating any of the inactivated individuals’ votes have changed the outcome of any past elections?” the letter asks. It also asks both Walz administration officials when they plan to “complete your confirmation of each individual’s voter registration information?” “It is imperative that Minnesota voters trust in the State’s election system, which includes knowing the voter rolls only consist of legally registered voters,” Cline and Hann wrote. Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of both Simon and Jacobson regarding the letter but did not immediately hear back. The RNC and Minnesota GOP first wrote to the Walz administration in August flagging how a noncitizen, legally living in the state and fearful of jeopardizing his status, came forward to report receiving a primary ballot without having registered to vote. In past letters, Cline and Hann have cited how Walz in March 2023 signed a bill into law allowing noncitizens to receive driver’s licenses, also known as “Driver License for All.” Less than two months after signing that bill into law, Walz signed the “Democracy for the People Act,” permitting automatic voter registration through the Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). MINNESOTA GOP DEMANDS PROBE AFTER NONCITIZEN CLAIMS RECEIVING PRIMARY BALLOT WITHOUT REGISTERING TO VOTE The Republicans claim that Jacobson in particular has only described how the DVS division is supposed to function to ensure each applicant is a U.S. citizen – and has not explained how noncitizens “made it through that process and ultimately made it onto Minnesota’s voter rolls.” In early September, Cline and Hann wrote to Jacobson: “This is no hypothetical; lawfully present noncitizens were registered to vote through your department, and Minnesota voters deserve transparency from your department to understand how this failure occurred and how it is being addressed.” In a Sept. 12 news release, Simon’s office admitted that “DVS flagged a small number of applicant files as needing additional confirmation of voter registration information, including address, name, and citizenship.” The announcement focused on how 65,339 Minnesotans had registered to vote and 25,572 16- and 17-year-olds preregistered to vote but also explained “changes made to internal processes.” The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State said it was partnering with the DVS division “to ensure the process works as expected and that only eligible Minnesotans are being registered to vote.” “That partnership includes a manual, two-layer review by DVS of all applicant files it sends to the Office of Secretary of State to be registered or pre-registered to vote. During this review, DVS flagged a small number of applicant files as needing additional confirmation of voter registration information, including address, name, and citizenship,” the release says. “Out of an abundance of caution,” the release continues, “the Office of the Secretary of State has inactivated the voter registrations of any individuals whose registrations DVS flagged. These individuals may be still eligible to vote, but due to human error their documentation was misclassified or not properly saved to the DVS database. The impacted individuals will be notified that if eligible to do so they will need to register to vote online, with their local election office, or in-person at their polling place on Election Day.” Simon’s office said that in order to “add additional quality assurance to the process to catch and correct the instances of human error,” DVS is now using “two distinct staff areas to double check all documentation at DVS before applicant files are sent to be registered to vote.” His office also said that “DVS is making sure workers who classify documents are getting increased training, and that automatic voter registration has been paused in certain situations.
Josh Shapiro blasted for signing missile alongside Zelenskyy in Biden’s hometown: ‘Party of war’
Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was lambasted online after he took time to autograph a missile over the weekend that is potentially bound for Russian assets in the Ukraine war. Shapiro, considered the runner-up to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, posted a video of him signing the missile at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP), in President Biden’s hometown. “We must all do our part in the fight for freedom – from the workers in Scranton who make Pennsylvania the arsenal of democracy to the brave Ukrainian soldiers protecting their country,” Shapiro captioned his video. “We stand with Ukraine in their just defense of their homeland in the face of Russian aggression.” However, response from the right was brisk – with conservative commentator David Harris Jr. saying the situation showed “Democrats are now the party of war, and they’re proud of it. Sad.” “The U.S. should be negotiating peace not fueling war,” added Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. “I am 100% against this and so are most Americans,” she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The U.S. is funding the Ukraine Gov at $1 billion/month to keep it running and funding most of the war by providing weapons, ammo, and equipment.” ECONOMY, BORDER, ABORTION DIVIDE BIDEN’S HOMETOWN AFTER NATIVE SON’S FIRST TERM Other critics contrasted the autograph with Shapiro’s criticisms of former President Trump. “Zelenskyy just essentially endorsed Kamala in Pennsylvania while with Josh Shapiro autographing ammunition,” wrote Philadelphia commentator Joey Mannarino on X. “He called Trump and Vance ‘radical’. He also said Trump has no idea how to end the war. How is this not some sort of violation from a man who we are funding?” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. – locked in a tight re-election race with businessman David McCormick – was seen shaking hands with Zelenskyy as Shapiro wrote a message on the missile. Other critics pointed out that chaos was erupting elsewhere in the commonwealth while Shapiro, Zelenskyy and Casey were touring the ordnance plant. SCRANTON OPENS UP ABOUT ‘BIDENOMICS’ Philadelphia native Jack Posobiec, a right-wing commentator and senior editor at Human Events, shared video of that city enveloped in illegal “car meets” and the responding police activity. At least three people were arrested and a police official told WCAU they have photos of numerous others who took over Center City, set off fireworks, did donuts with their cars, injured police officers and caused mayhem into the wee hours of the morning, disrupting neighbors. Video posted to X also appeared to show an Apple Store in Center City being looted Monday night. “This was going on in Philadelphia while Josh Shapiro was taking selfies with artillery shells and Zelensky,” Posobiec said on X. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In an official statement, Shapiro said Pennsylvania is the “birthplace of American freedom” and Pennsylvanians therefore stand with Ukrainians in their fight against “naked aggression.” He also noted Pennsylvania will sign an agreement with the Ukrainian state of Zaporizhizhia that will “foster collaboration for years to come.” In regard to the agreement, Pennsylvania Secretary of Community & Economic Development Rick Siger told WHTM that the pact will “help support the future economic revitalization of Ukraine, while boosting our economy and creating jobs for Pennsylvanians.” Fox News Digital reached out to Shapiro and Casey for further comment but did not receive a response at press time.
Red state Dem Senate candidate hit with blistering ad after refusing to endorse VP Harris: ‘Unacceptable’
FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic candidate is facing criticism from his GOP opponent in a new radio ad after he declined on multiple occasions to endorse VP Kamala Harris as he runs to represent his deep red state in the U.S. Senate. “I didn’t join the race to decide who the president is or to tell other people how to decide to vote for the president,” Missouri Senate candidate Lucas Kunce told NBC’s Kristen Welker last week when asked if he would be endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket. Kunce, who declined multiple times to endorse Harris when pressed by Welker in the interview, is now the subject of a minute-long radio ad in Missouri from GOP Sen. Josh Hawley that will run this week, mocking Kunce for not standing by the nominee of his own party. “People are excited about voting for Kamala Harris,” a woman says to another woman in the radio ad, which is running on statewide African American radio. “But not this guy Lucas Kunce.” HAWLEY DEMANDS SECRET SERVICE ADDRESS TRUMP GOLF COURSE ‘VULNERABILITIES’ EXPOSED BY WHISTLEBLOWER “He says he’s a Democrat, but get this, Lucas Kunce is scared to admit he’s voting for Kamala Harris,” the woman says. “Wait, Lucas Kunce is not voting for Kamala Harris?” another woman responds. “He’s too scared to answer the question. The press asked him not once, not twice, not three times, but four different times,” the ad continues. “What is Lucas Kunce afraid of? Kunce comes into our community asking us for our vote, but he won’t tell us about his vote.” TRUMP GIFTS PENNSYLVANIA MOM OF THREE WITH $100 AT GROCERY STORE CHECKOUT: ‘COMPLETE SURPRISE’ The ad continues, “It’s weak. It’s unacceptable. I don’t agree with Josh Hawley a lot. But, you always know where he stands. You sure do.” Kunce has previously declined to endorse Harris, including in a recent debate, which Hawley has focused on in social media posts. “So @LucasKunceMO won’t endorse Kamala Harris,” Hawley posted on X. “Why not? Is he embarrassed of her for some reason? Is he supporting @realDonaldTrump?” Fox News Digital reached out to the Kunce campaign for comment but did not receive a response. Hawley won the Senate race in Missouri by six points in 2018 and recent polling shows him leading by roughly 10 points in the race with just over 40 days left until the election.