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Trump lands endorsement of top investor who hosted $12 million San Francisco fundraiser for former president

Trump lands endorsement of top investor who hosted million San Francisco fundraiser for former president

Former President Trump’s stop in the blue bastion of San Francisco turned out to be fruitful in more than one way. Not only did the presumptive Republican presidential nominee haul in roughly $12 million at a fundraiser on Thursday evening, he also officially landed the endorsement of a major tech investor. The fundraiser was hosted by David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, two of the heaviest hitters in Silicon Valley and co-hosts of the hot “All-In” podcast. And it was held at Sacks’ multimillion-dollar home in the tony Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. TRUMP HEADS TO BLUE BASTION TO RAISE CAMPAIGN CASH Tickets at the sold-out event ranged from $50,000 per person to get in the door all the way up to $500,000 per couple for special access and a photo with Trump. A couple of hours before the fundraiser, Sacks took to social media to formally endorse Trump. “I give to many, but endorse few. But today I am giving my endorsement to our 45th President, Donald J. Trump, to be our 47th President. My reasons rest on four main issues that I think are vital to American prosperity, security, and stability – issues where the Biden administration has veered badly off course and where I believe President Trump can lead us back,” Sacks wrote on X. THIS IS HOW MUCH A TOP PRO-TRUMP SUPER PAC HAULED IN LAST MONTH Sacks said that “the voters have experienced four years of President Trump and four years of President Biden. In tech, we call this an A/B test.” “With respect to economic policy, foreign policy, border policy, and legal fairness, Trump performed better. He is the President who deserves a second term,” he argued. According to sources familiar with the fundraising dinner on Thursday, Sacks reiterated his praise for Trump and explained why he’s supporting the presumptive GOP nominee in his 2024 election rematch with President Biden. While his official endorsement came on Thursday, Sacks first signaled his support for Trump during a March meeting that he had with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son, in Washington, D.C. The impromptu meeting at the Conrad Hotel, held hours after Trump clinched the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by Fox News. It was at that meeting that Sacks indicated he was all-in for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT IN CRIMINAL TRIAL FIRES UP HIS FUNDRAISING  Vance, who is a Trump ally and a potential 2024 running mate who is close to Trump Jr., spent time a few years back in the San Francisco area working for hedge funds in the tech sector. Sources say he was instrumental in putting the top-dollar fundraiser together. According to sources, Sacks said at the fundraiser that “this all started with JD Vance calling and asking if we could host an event for President Trump. Without JD’s advice and encouragement, this would never have happened.” Trump heads south to Beverly Hills for a Friday fundraiser and a Saturday finance event in Newport Beach in Orange County. The trip doesn’t mean the Trump campaign thinks overwhelmingly blue California may be in play.  Instead, Trump’s appearances — like those of two sold-out fundraisers in the Bay Area on Wednesday headlined by Vice President Harris and President Biden’s San Francisco area fundraisers last month — are the latest proof that the Golden State remains a crucial ATM for campaign cash. Trump’s campaign on Monday said it and the Republican National Committee (RNC), fueled in part by the former president’s guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, hauled in a stunning $141 million in fundraising in May. Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. The former president’s campaign highlighted that in the first 24 hours following last week’s verdict, it and the RNC brought in nearly $53 million in fundraising, which counted toward May’s total.  The Biden campaign has also been fundraising off of the Trump verdict, and a source familiar told Fox News that “the 24 hours after the verdict were one of the best fundraising 24 hours of the Biden campaign since launch.” Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the RNC for the first time outraised the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee.  Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of candidates and their campaigns. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

‘Putting our girls at risk’: Biden’s Title IX changes challenged by nearly 70 GOP lawmakers

‘Putting our girls at risk’: Biden’s Title IX changes challenged by nearly 70 GOP lawmakers

A group of nearly 70 House Republicans are moving to block the Biden administration’s recent Title IX reforms that expand protections for transgender students. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., led 67 GOP lawmakers on a bill earlier this week that would reverse the new Department of Education policy. “Joe Biden is undermining years of progress women have made in securing their rights under Title IX. For more than half a century, Title IX has protected women and girls, ensuring they have equal opportunities in education,” Miller argued in a statement. “However, the Biden Administration is putting our girls at risk by allowing men to access women and girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. This divergence is a blatant violation of the protections Title IX was meant to guarantee, and it undermines the very foundation of women’s rights and security in their private spaces.” SIX STATES SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS FOR TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS The bill is supported by House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., and House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the No. 4 House Republican leader. Title IX is a longstanding civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in schools and other education centers that receive federal funding. The latest update, from April, expands the definition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity – a move that critics say would undermine hard-won protections for women and girls.  GOP SENATOR LEADS CHARGE TO RECOGNIZE ‘AMERICAN GIRLS IN SPORTS DAY’ AMID BIDEN’S TITLE IX OVERHAUL LGBTQ+ advocates, however, have hailed the change as necessary to protect transgender students. The rule is set to take effect August 1. Foxx said the rule change “hacks Title IX into pieces and expunges decades of progress for women and girls across the nation.” “This is a clear and present threat, and one that cannot go unaddressed,” Foxx said. RILEY GAINES SLAMS NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS AS THE ‘MOST ANTI-WOMAN’ PURSUIT OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP As of mid-May, there are multiple lawsuits against the Biden administration over the rule change from at least 26 different GOP-led states. The most recent lawsuit was filed by the attorneys general of Kansas, Utah, Alaska and Wyoming. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Education for comment.

Schumer justifies congressional invite to Netanyahu amid liberal outrage

Schumer justifies congressional invite to Netanyahu amid liberal outrage

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., clarified his choice to join House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in extending an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the move prompted backlash by progressive Democrats. “I have clear and profound disagreements with the Prime Minister, which I have voiced both privately and publicly and will continue to do so,” Schumer prefaced in a statement late Thursday night. “But because America’s relationship with Israel is ironclad and transcends one person or prime minister, I joined the request for him to speak,” he said. BIDEN ADMIN ACCUSED OF PLAYING POLITICS WITH FLORIDA FUNDING IN PRO-UNION PUSH The majority leader’s statement came on the heels of a date being announced for Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress. The Israeli leader will deliver remarks to the lawmakers on July 24, ahead of the August recess.  The invitation was accepted by Netanyahu, who said, “I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world.” TRUMP VP CONTENDER LEADS GOP EFFORT TO REACH BLACK VOTERS AS BIDEN LOSES GRIP Prior to Schumer’s clarifying statement, progressive lawmakers made their disapproval known, with some revealing their plans not to attend Netanyahu’s address.  “It is a very sad day for our country that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited – by leaders from both parties – to address a joint meeting of the United States Congress,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said in a recent statement, also slamming Netanyahu as a “war criminal.” OBAMA STRESSES CRITICAL DEM SENATE MAJORITY FOR APPOINTING PREFERRED JUDGES The International Criminal Court (ICC) requested warrants last month for both Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Netanyahu. The body suggested that all parties had committed “war crimes.” The ICC decision has been widely criticized by Democrats and Republicans, including President Biden.  Sanders said he would not be attending the address.  MCCONNELL TAKES AIM AT ‘ISOLATIONIST’ COLLEAGUES IN SCATHING D-DAY ESSAY “I don’t plan to attend, and I will plan to participate in whatever advocacy is being done to push for Netanyahu and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire,” Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., suggested she may not go either, recently saying, “I certainly do not approve of it, potentially may not attend.” Schumer’s office did not provide comment when asked whether his statement was a direct response to displeased progressives. The majority leader called on Israel to hold new elections earlier this year, specifically urging the country to replace Netanyahu as its prime minister. At the time, Schumer claimed the Israeli leader had “lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.”  Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Northwestern University accused of stonewalling anti-Israel unrest investigation by House panel

Northwestern University accused of stonewalling anti-Israel unrest investigation by House panel

Congressional investigators are accusing Northwestern University’s president of stonewalling their investigation into the university’s response to anti-Israel unrest on its campus. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, sent a letter to Northwestern University leaders on Friday, slamming their failure to respond to lawmakers’ questions sent nearly a month ago. “Unfortunately, rather than being cooperative and transparent, Northwestern has obstructed the committee’s investigation,” Foxx wrote. Foxx told Fox News the lack of response by Northwestern suggested the university hasn’t been taking the threat of antisemitism on its campus seriously and that Jewish students there aren’t any safer today than they were a month ago. READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE. MARYLAND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FACES BACKLASH OVER PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, ‘MANDATORY PATRIOTISM’ “We do not want to see these students going back on the campuses where they don’t feel safe, where they are not safe. We have to get to the bottom of this,” the congresswoman said. The House committee launched its investigation after a group of students and faculty held a week of demonstrations on campus that included an encampment on Deering Meadow in late April, which ended after university officials reached a negotiated agreement with the protesters. Northwestern President Michael Schill defended those negotiations at a hearing on Capitol Hill on May 23, 2024, claiming he didn’t give in to any of the protesters’ demands, while also refusing to answer many of lawmakers’ questions. Two weeks later, Foxx said school officials still were refusing to cooperate. “Northwestern produced a mere 13 pages of documents responsive to the committee’s priority requests that were not already public,” Foxx wrote. “Despite the committee’s specific request for records such as notes, summaries, and recordings that would offer real insight into the board’s deliberations, Northwestern failed to produce any such responsive documents or certify that they do not exist.” Fox News has reached out to Northwestern University for comment. MAYOR SAYS JEWISH CLUB YEARBOOK PHOTO REPLACED WITH MUSLIM STUDENTS IN ‘BLATANT ANTISEMITIC’ ACT Congressional investigators are giving Northwestern one week – until June 13 – to respond to their requests. If the university fails to meet that deadline, Foxx said Northwestern will become just the second institution of higher education to be subpoenad by the House Committee on Education and Workforce going back to 1867. Earlier this year, Harvard became the first, over its refusal to cooperate with investigators looking into antisemitism on its campus. Also at stake for Northwestern is the hundreds of millions of dollars it receives each year in federal funding. In 2023 alone, the university received over $682 million in federal research grants. Foxx said if school officials were to continue ignoring Congress’ demands, that funding ultimately could be cut off. “Northwestern’s capitulation to its antisemitic encampment and its impeding of the committee’s oversight are unbecoming of a leading university. Northwestern’s federal funding is predicated on adherence to its legal obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI),” Foxx wrote. “It is inappropriate to expect taxpayers to continue providing federal funding while Northwestern appears to be in violation of its obligations to its Jewish students, faculty, and staff under Title VI and defies the Committee’s oversight.” Fox News’ Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.

WATCH: House lawmakers parachute out of WWII-era plane at Normandy

WATCH: House lawmakers parachute out of WWII-era plane at Normandy

A group of House lawmakers parachuted from a World War II-era plane on Friday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day. A tradition first started by Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., the event included 10 lawmakers this year – nine Republicans and one Democrat, all of whom served in the U.S. military.  Fox News Digital obtained video of the lawmakers landing in Mont Saint-Michel, a commune in Normandy, France, as well as footage from Waltz’s Go Pro video during the jump. They donned World War II military uniforms and parachuted into Normandy from a U.S. C-47 military transport plane that was extensively used during the war. US AGENCY IDENTIFIES 3 SOLDIERS WHO WENT MISSING DURING THEIR SERVICE Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., said in a video after the jump that he was doing it in honor of Peter Arthur Durante, a World War II veteran with the 119th Battalion who is living in his district and just turned 100 earlier this month. He told Fox News Digital earlier this week before jetting off to France, “The fact that we’re in Normandy, and you’re wearing that uniform … and you’re jumping from that plane that isn’t what we’re used to from our [service], you’re stepping back in time in a way, and you’re really trying to think about how many sacrifices that were made.” “This is one of the greatest opportunities that I’ve had since I’ve been in Congress: to be able to literally recreate and reenact what they had done in 1944,” he said. “And so, [what is] really going to be one of those things I think about is how many we lost and then also how lucky we truly are as Americans,” he said. Asked what he’d be thinking about as he jumps out of the plane, Mills joked, “This is either going to be a great jump or we might not be the majority any longer.” He also noted that it’s likely one of the last D-Day anniversaries that will actually have the aging veterans of that war in attendance. MASSACHUSETTS SAILOR KILLED AT PEARL HARBOR FINALLY GETS PROPER BURIAL AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY Mills and his colleagues are part of a wider group of lawmakers who will be in Normandy along with President Biden to mark the anniversary of what’s widely considered to be the turning point of the war in Europe, when Allied forces went on to defeat the Axis powers led by Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler. They are not, however, part of the formal congressional delegation sent by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Crow, a former Army Ranger, said he, like Mills, served in the 82nd Airborne Division; both of Crow’s units played critical roles in the June 6, 1944, operation. “To be able to honor the veterans who served in those units before me, actually conducting the jump, is certainly a real privilege,” he said. The Colorado Democrat said he and Waltz first came up with the idea on the House floor: “I thought that it would be a good way, both as former paratroopers, to actually participate and honor our veterans.” AMERICAN WWII VETERANS TRAVEL TO FRANCE TO BE HONORED FOR 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY Another participant, Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, age 57, quipped to Fox News Digital, “It’s probably not the smartest thing to do at my age. But you know what? I’m going to do it.” “It’s just awesome. I mean, it’s going to be one of the last D-Day anniversaries where you actually have, you know, veterans that were there,” Jackson said. Other lawmakers who participated were Reps. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., Rich McCormick, R-Ga., Keith Self, R-Texas, and House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn.