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‘Squad’ Dems to rally for Cori Bush as she fights for her political life

‘Squad’ Dems to rally for Cori Bush as she fights for her political life

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is getting a boost from her allies in the House’s left-wing “Squad” on Monday, as her anti-Israel comments have her fighting for her political life in this week’s primary elections. “We have just ONE DAY ahead of us before primary Election Day. Come join Cori & some very special guests on Election Day eve to rally together and get out the vote!” Bush’s campaign wrote on Instagram announcing the event. It’s a virtual rally to be held on Zoom at 5 p.m. Eastern Time alongside Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Summer Lee, D-Pa. THIS HOUSE DEMOCRAT BECOMES THE FIRST SQUAD MEMBER DEFEATED IN A PRIMARY Bowman’s appearance comes after he lost his own primary re-election bid to a more moderate, pro-Israel Democrat, Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Bush has been viewed as the second-most embattled Squad member after Bowman, with pro-Israel groups actively campaigning against both progressive leftists.  The two-term progressive Democrat is one of Congress’ harshest critics of Israel and its operation in Gaza. She has accused Israel’s government of waging a genocide on Palestinians and consistently voted against emergency funding for the Middle Eastern ally. AOC EASILY WINS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY It has earned her opposition from within her own party, with the group Democratic Majority for Israel backing her opponent, Wesley Bell. He has also got the support of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a bipartisan pro-Israel lobbying group. Tlaib, one of the Bush allies rallying for her Monday night, is Israel’s most outspoken critic in the House, having been censured over her verbal attacks against the Middle Eastern country. She also held up a sign accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being a “war criminal” during his speech to Congress last month. Bell, Bush’s opponent, is prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County. He’s leaned to the center with his campaign, contrasting with the Democratic incumbent’s progressive policies.  DEMOCRAT CHALLENGER SLAMS BOWMAN’S ‘THEATER OF CONFLICT,’ SAYS PROFANITY-LACED RALLY JEOPARDIZES PARTY ‘UNITY’ She and her allies have sought to paint him as a right-wing operator, however, citing his past volunteer work for anti-abortion conservative Mark J. Byrne. CLICK HERE TO GET FOX NEWS APP Bush is also going into Tuesday with the backing of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his top two deputies. Bell was endorsed by the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, one of the district’s largest newspapers, late last month.

‘Serious loophole’: GOP widens probe into ActBlue, Dem fundraising platform helping Harris raise millions

‘Serious loophole’: GOP widens probe into ActBlue, Dem fundraising platform helping Harris raise millions

FIRST ON FOX: A key House committee is widening its probe into the major Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the Committee on House Administration, is investigating ActBlue over accusations it’s skirting campaign donation laws that allow for rampant fraud on the site. In a letter sent to top officials on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Monday, Steil urged them to “immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the card verification value (‘CVV’) of donors who contribute online using a credit or debit card, and to prohibit political campaigns from accepting online contributions from a gift card or other prepaid credit cards.” Republicans on the committee and other GOP officials have for months accused ActBlue of lax donor verification standards. IN SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP, DEMOCRATS MOVE TO MAKE HARRIS NOMINATION OFFICIAL “Following widespread allegations of fraudulent donations being reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, this emergency rulemaking is necessary to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking the necessary steps to protect its donors,” Steil wrote. According to his committee, whistleblowers who approached the panel in recent weeks have accused ActBlue of deliberately not using CVV numbers for donations to reduce the bar for verification.  Whistleblowers have also reported the receipt of a significant number of donations from retirees living on a fixed income, and hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual, according to the committee. The site has been used to raise millions of dollars for Vice President Kamala Harris as she seeks to take on former President Trump in November. As of Monday morning, however, a CVV number was required on the page accepting credit card donations for the vice president. HARRIS LEANS IN ON BORDER SECURITY AND TRUMP RELISHES THE FIGHT A CVV number was also required for credit card donations to several Democratic House candidates’ ActBlue pages checked by Fox News Digital, though donations were also accepted via Paypal, Venmo and Google Pay, which did not require the user to input such information. As of spring last year, however, the FEC did not impose specific rules requiring CVV numbers for online political donations. Steil’s letter also argued that the site’s acceptance of prepaid credit cards and gift cards fueled a “very real possibility that straw donors are making campaign donations with funds provided by another person or an unlawful donor including a foreign national. These issues present a serious loophole to the transparency and integrity of the campaign donation process, and an emergency rulemaking is required to rectify these issues.” The committee said whistleblowers have also claimed prepaid gift cards and credit cards are being used to launder campaign contributions that would otherwise violate campaign finance laws. 2024 AD WARS: TRUMP, HARRIS RACE TO DEFINE VICE PRESIDENT It comes after similar investigations were launched by the GOP attorneys general of Virginia, Wyoming and Missouri last week. ActBlue told Newsweek in response to those probes, “This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic to undermine the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors. We welcome the opportunity to respond to these frivolous claims.” The FEC declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital. ActBlue and the Harris campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Harris VP search comes down to the wire, with Dems divided over Shapiro, Walz, Kelly

Harris VP search comes down to the wire, with Dems divided over Shapiro, Walz, Kelly

Vice President Kamala Harris’ search for a running mate is quickly coming to a close, but Democrats remain divided over who should join her on the party ticket. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is widely considered to be the top contender, but she conducted interviews with a number of finalists on Sunday. Harris is scheduled to make her first appearance with her running mate at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The three contenders that Harris spoke to on Sunday were Shapiro, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Figures within the Democratic Party are deeply divided over who would be the best pick for Harris to help carry her momentum toward Election Day. HOW LONG WILL THE KAMALA HARRIS HONEYMOON IN THE POLLS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP LAST? Harris has already improved on President Biden’s position in polling, with most showing the race neck-and-neck, with Trump maintaining only a slight advantage. THE STATE OF THE RACE WITH 100 DAYS TO GO UNTIL THE NOVEMBER ELECTION The campaign is expected to announce Harris’ running mate via an online message to supporters. Four years ago, Biden’s campaign announced Harris as his running mate via a text to supporters on Aug. 11, 2020. The range of candidates shows Harris is conscious that she needs a running mate who will help her appeal to more moderate voters, given her far-left voting record in the Senate. “I think she needs to pick someone who’s more moderate than her. I think she needs to pick someone that’s got more governing experience at the ground level,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on ABC News’ “This Week.” KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTERS UNSURE WHEN ASKED ABOUT VP’S POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS He argued Harris should pick up Shapiro, saying it is not a “hard choice.” Shapiro would also offer a presumed advantage on Election Day, with Pennsylvania being a major swing state. Meanwhile, Walz’ Minnesota is more reliably blue. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., reportedly warned Harris against picking Shapiro. He reportedly argued that Shapiro is too focused on “his own personal ambitions.” The pair had reportedly clashed over the years during their interactions in Pennsylvania state politics. Reuters contributed to this report

Trump endorses second GOP candidate in primary to replace pro-impeachment congressman

Trump endorses second GOP candidate in primary to replace pro-impeachment congressman

Former President Trump has endorsed a second GOP candidate in the primary for Washington’s 4th Congressional district in an effort to oust Rep. Dan Newhouse, who is one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach him in 2021 following the January 6 Capitol protests.  Trump, in a post on Truth Social ahead of Tuesday’s vote, said, “Tiffany Smiley is a tremendous America First Candidate running to represent the Great People of Washington’s 4th Congressional District!”  “Likewise, Jerrod Sessler, who I have Endorsed in the past, would be fantastic, fighting for the same things that Tiffany, and I, want for our Country,” Trump continued. “They are both running against a weak and pathetic RINO, Dan Newhouse, who stupidly voted to impeach me for absolutely no reason, and he now strongly wishes he didn’t make that Decision. The other Impeachers are mostly all gone, a good thing for the U.S.A….”  “Newhouse has to go, and Republicans need to unite behind a WINNER to ensure we have a tremendous Victory in November. Therefore, I give my Complete and Total Endorsement to both Tiffany Smiley and Jerrod Kessler – EITHER OF WHICH WILL DO A TREMENDOUS JOB, AND NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” he also said.  WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVE BANNED TRUMP AND WHY? AN OVERVIEW  Trump described Smiley as a “Triage Nurse, Veterans Advocate, Army Wife, Loving Mother, and a Strong Supporter of our Movement to Make America Great Again,” who “will be an INCREDIBLE Fighter in Congress who will work hard to Stop Inflation, Grow our Economy, Secure our Border, Strengthen our Incredible Military/Vets, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.”  Newhouse, who is seeking his sixth term in office, told KEPR in May that “[s]ome people are still very adamant in their opposition to me,” following his vote to impeach Trump on Jan. 13, 2021,”but I gotta tell you, there are a lot of people that will come up to me and say, ‘Hey Dan maybe I disagree with that one vote but I support you on all the other things you’re doing, I’m beyond that.’”  FLASHBACK: THESE ARE THE 10 REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED TO IMPEACH TRUMP  “And that’s a good thing because we have so many issues that we face as a nation,” he added.  Smiley told KEPR the same month that if elected, she will focus on preserving dams in the lower Snake River, keeping illegal drugs out of communities in the central part of Washington state, and boosting agriculture.  “The party here in this district is so divided and it’s confusing, so this district deserves true representation, a representative who really reflects who we are in this district,” she said.