In redistricting clash, Texas GOP flexes power to shut down Democrats’ last tool of resistance
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse.
Colin Allred wants voters to know “I’m just as angry as they are” in new Senate bid
Allred says he has learned to show up more in his attempt at a Senate do-over. But critics contend he’s not generating enough attention.
TribFest lineup adds CNN’s Abby Phillip, former AG Eric Holder, and new generation of Texas leaders
Reps. Caroline Fairly and James Talarico, along with Texas attorney general candidate Aaron Reitz, also join us to talk Texas’ future this November
Trump blasts ‘Too Late’ Powell again, threatens lawsuit over Fed’s $3B HQ renovations
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ramped up his pressure on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, threatening to allow a lawsuit over the central bank’s $3.1 billion renovation project to move forward. Trump took to Truth Social to blast Powell, who has refused to adjust rates despite repeated demands by the president as inflation remains steady, holding at 2.7% in July. “Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell must NOW lower the rate,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social. THE FED’S FOOLISH INTEREST RATE POLICY IS STOPPING AMERICA’S ECONOMY FROM BOOMING “Steve ‘Manouychin’ really gave me a ‘beauty’ when he pushed this loser. The damage he has done by always being Too Late is incalculable. Fortunately, the economy is sooo good that we’ve blown through Powell and the complacent Board.” Trump then went on to dangle the prospect of the legal action, although it is unclear what lawsuit Trump was referring to. “I am, though, considering allowing a major lawsuit against Powell to proceed because of the horrible, and grossly incompetent, job he has done in managing the construction of the Fed Buildings. Three Billion Dollars for a job that should have been a $50 Million Dollar fix up. Not good!” The comments are Trump’s latest public attack against Powell despite appointing him as the Federal Reserve chair in 2017. A Fed spokesperson declined to comment. GOOD ECONOMIC DATA IS BAD NEWS FOR TRUMP’S INTEREST RATE PUSH The Federal Reserve’s renovation is focused on two historic buildings in Washington, D.C.: The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Building and the adjacent 1951 Constitution Avenue structure, also known as the FRB-East Building. Powell and the Fed have previously defended the ongoing renovations, emphasizing that they’re necessary structural updates and not luxuries, and are in full compliance with plans approved by the National Capital Planning Commission in 2021. Powell and Trump toured the site last month. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump slammed the costs of the overhaul. “We are not going to allow people to spend $3.1 Billion Dollars on fixing up a building, like the Federal Reserve, which could have been done in a far more elegant and time sensitive manner for $50 to $100 Million Dollars,” Trump wrote. “The Renovation would have actually been better, and would have saved $3 Billion Dollars, Traffic Jams and never-ending Construction.” Earlier this month, Trump urged the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors to take control from Powell if he resisted immediate interest rate cuts. The Fed has held its benchmark interest rate range between 4.25%-4.5%, which Trump has argued stifles American economic growth. The Federal Reserve determines its interest rate policy collectively through a 12-member panel known as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which votes on those decisions with each member – including Powell – receiving one vote. The FOMC isn’t scheduled to meet again until Sept. 17–18, meaning an emergency meeting would be the only way to cut rates beforehand. Last month, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., referred Powell to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for criminal charges, accusing him of lying about lavish amenities at the Federal Reserve’s Eccles Building and misrepresenting its state of maintenance. Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Eric Revell and Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
Texas GOP seeks to ‘domesticate’ rogue Dems for breaking quorum through nationwide civil arrest warrants
Texas Republicans, Attorney General Ken Paxton and House Speaker Dustin Burrows are seeking nationwide civil arrest warrants for the Texas House Democrats who broke quorum when they fled the state for Illinois and California. In the latest escalation of the redistricting debate taking national politics by storm, Paxton and Burrows are seeking to “domesticate” civil arrest warrants in Illinois and California for the Texas Democrats who fled the Lone Star State to block a Republican-led redistricting plan that could protect Republicans’ slim U.S. House majority. “We are pursuing every legal remedy at our disposal to hold these rogue legislators accountable,” Paxton said in a statement. “Texas deserves representatives who do their jobs instead of running away at the behest of their billionaire handlers. If there’s one thing Texans can’t stand more than losers, it’s cowards.” Burrows emphasized that “all options are on the table” to ensure House members return home to Texas to “fulfill their constitutional obligations.” TEXAS ASKS ILLINOIS COURT TO ENFORCE ARREST WARRANTS FOR DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS “The State has no choice but to pursue additional legal remedies to compel their return from other states. Our full focus is on stopping this dereliction of duty and restoring quorum in the Texas House as soon as possible so we may return our time, attention and resources where they most matter—on the critical issues of the special session call,” the Republican House Speaker said. ABBOTT, PAXTON LAUNCH LEGAL BLITZ ON FLEEING DEMOCRATS IN REDISTRICTING SHOWDOWN Burrows issued arrest warrants on Aug. 4 for the Democrats who fled Texas, under Article III, Section 10 of the Texas Constitution and Rule 5, Section 8, of the Rules of the Texas House of Representatives. According to the attorney general’s office, it allows for “[a]ll absentees for whom no sufficient excuse is made may, by order of a majority of those present, be sent for and arrested, wherever they may be found.” More than a week later, as Democrats have yet to return, Paxton and Burrows are seeking to implement their warrants in Illinois and California, through the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution. While the Texas Republicans argue that other states are obligated to adhere to official acts by the state of Texas, both Govs. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Gavin Newsom of California have come out in support of the rogue Texas Democrats, as their home states float their own redistricting plans to balance the scales if Texas Republicans are successful. The Democrats will not be detained and escorted back to Texas unless a state court in Illinois and California accepts Texas’ civil arrest warrants. Once lawmakers leave the state, they are beyond the legal jurisdiction of Texas authorities who can compel their return, according to GovFacts, a nonpartisan educational resource that explains U.S. government legalities. However, if they were to return to Texas, the Texas Constitution would allow legislative leaders to “physically compel the attendance” of missing members through civil arrest warrants, allowing law enforcement to find the missing Democrats and return them to the Capitol. Paxton has also filed a lawsuit with the Texas Supreme Court, requesting that 13 House Democrats’ seats are declared vacant because they fled the state to avoid the Trump-backed redistricting vote. The conservative attorney general also filed a lawsuit against former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, for allegedly conspiring to aid and abet Democrats’ effort to break the quorum. According to the Courthouse News Service, Republican Tarrant County Judge Megan Fay issued a temporary restraining order against O’Rourke and his Super PAC, Powered by People, hours after the suit was filed “to stop using funds to pay for Democrats’ travel expenses and conduct fundraising to pay for such expenses in the future.” When reached for comment, a Pritzker spokesperson pointed to his past comments, addressing the threat of nationwide civil arrests, in which he said Illinois law enforcement will protect “everybody” in Illinois. And a Newsom spokesperson flagged his X posts, trolling the Texas Republicans and urging them to “come and take” democracy. O’Rourke did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
As Trump intervenes in DC’s crime crisis, another violent city’s DA gets a challenger from inside the tent
A former municipal judge who lost to Philadelphia’s Soros-linked city prosecutor in the May Democratic primary announced over the weekend he would be registering for the Republican Party line in November’s election, as President Donald Trump brings a new focus on urban crime. Philadelphia Judge Patrick Dugan, of the city’s Far Northeast, earned enough write-in votes in May’s contest – where no Republican was on that party’s primary ballot – to be able to run on the party line in November. However, it wasn’t until the weekend that Dugan formally announced he would take the GOP mantle in hopes of ousting Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. Trump, meanwhile, announced on Monday he is usurping control of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., for the statutory 48 hours allowed under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973 due to violent crime he declared is on par with several capitals in Central America. SOROS-BACKED PHILADELPHIA DA SURVIVES PRIMARY CHALLENGE, BUT POTENTIAL GOP WRINKLE AHEAD Dugan said in a statement that he expects Krasner to try to tie him to Trump and call him an “extremist,” but only “because he knows his record is one of failure, and he cannot defend the rampant crime his policies have caused.” “I know that Philadelphians are smart enough to believe their eyes, and what they see is more crime, more drugs, more victims abandoned, more shootings, and more criminals let loose on the streets,” Dugan said in a statement. The former jurist also reportedly said that although he will be on the Republican line, he identifies as an “Independent-Democrat.” That wasn’t enough to quell Philadelphia Democratic Party boss Bob Brady, who called Dugan a “disgrace” and appeared to kick him out of the party. “He’s got zero integrity… he’s out of our party… I don’t need liars in our party,” the former congressman told the Philadelphia Inquirer. SOROS-BACKED PHILLY DA COULD FACE UPHILL BATTLE FOR RE-ELECTION IF GOP WRITE-IN SCHEME SUCCEEDS The Associated Press had called the Krasner-Dugan primary with the incumbent earning at least 60% of the vote. Dugan, however, garnered 53,000 Democratic votes and a shocking 6,400 write-ins. Because Pennsylvania is a closed-primary state, those voters were likely – if not entirely – Republicans. Dugan said Saturday he would be a DA for “all of Philadelphia,” regardless of party affiliation. “I cannot stand by and allow Mr. Krasner’s failed policies to continue to hold our city hostage. Every Philadelphian has a real choice this fall, and I believe they will stand with me for common sense and safety.” Philly GOP chair Vince Fenerty added that the city now has a “real choice” between Dugan and Krasner, a “proven advocate for the very criminals he is supposed to prosecute.” Pennsylvania state Sen. Joe Picozzi, a fellow Northeast Philly Republican, called Dugan a “proven leader” and said “firing Larry Krasner” is a top priority for him. Picozzi himself shocked the commonwealth when he unseated a Democrat in 2024, making him the first Republican state senator to represent America’s birthplace in decades. Krasner criticized Dugan for being a Democrat embraced by Republicans. Since Krasner’s rise, Philadelphia has battled a crime crisis, as well as the prosecutor’s penchant not to prosecute marijuana possession, certain sex work offenses and other low-level crimes. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, during some of the looting amid the George Floyd riots, Krasner indicated there had been 550 arrests for burglary and that he would “vigorously prosecute” many of them. “Some of them, on the other hand, are an 18-year-old who’s never had contact with the criminal justice system before, not even an arrest, who’s going in through a broken window and coming out with a T-shirt,” he added, according to CBS News. Violent crime as a category, however, has declined some in the past few years, with a decrease of about 17%, according to the Penn Capital-Star, to which critics have pointed to the custom of dropping charges on some crimes. Trump previously called Krasner the “worst district attorney,” and asked Philadelphians who attended a 2019 rally in Hershey to “get yourself a new prosecutor.” In a January statement after Trump took office, Krasner hit back, telling the president in a statement that “arrests and prosecutions are based on probable cause, not on whether you agree or disagree with a political position.” “Unlike the current president, who this week pardoned or commuted sentences for over 1,000 lawfully convicted and sentenced insurrectionists, my office and others will continue to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law,” Krasner said.
Minneapolis Democratic socialist Omar Fateh vows to protect illegal immigrants from ‘hostile’ Trump admin
Democratic socialist and Minneapolis mayoral hopeful Omar Fateh says his first priority in office would be protecting illegal immigrants from President Donald Trump’s “hostile federal government.” Fateh made the statement during an interview with KARE 11 News in Minnesota, doubling down on his identity as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but denying his policies are “radical.” “Day one, if you were elected, what would be some of your top two or three priorities for the city?” the reporter asked in an interview aired Friday. “The first I would say would be a hostile federal government, with not only Donald Trump in office, but he essentially has a trifecta with both chambers of Congress and the Supreme Court. A lot of our neighbors, especially our undocumented residents are very concerned,” Fateh responded. THE PLOT TO STOP MAMDANI: DEMOCRATS SCRAMBLE TO BLOCK FAR-LEFT TAKEOVER IN NEW YORK The candidate went on to say public safety would be his second priority, but he declined to endorse the Democratic Socialist platform of abolishing the police entirely. “That’s not going to happen, absolutely,” Fateh said of abolition. “What we envision is a public safety system that works for everyone, and that means we have an accountable police force and a police force that is an important part of our public safety system, but making sure that when we call 911 we get an appropriate response.” Fateh argued that half of 911 calls in Minneapolis “don’t need to be responded to with armed officers.” He argued funding should be directed toward social workers and others who can respond to such calls instead. Fateh secured the endorsement of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, the name for the Democratic Party in Minnesota, in July. The party endorsed him over incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat. Frey is running for a third term and has decided to stay in the race. Some have dubbed Fateh the “Mamdani of Minneapolis,” referencing New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Both are the children of immigrants, with Fateh hailing from Somalia and Mamdani from Uganda. RNC CHAIR ARGUES MAMDANI ‘FACE OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fateh has previously pledged that, if elected mayor, he will raise city’s minimum wage, increase the supply of affordable housing, and combat what he calls police violence. Similar to Mamdani, Fateh calls for replacing some of the police department’s duties with community-led alternatives. He also wants to issue legal IDs to undocumented immigrants. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
Female military recruits surge across all service branches
FIRST ON FOX: Female military recruits have sharply increased across all service branches so far in fiscal year 2025. Around 7,260 more women have enlisted so far this fiscal year than at this point last fiscal year: from 16,725 to 23,985, according to Pentagon figures seen by Fox News Digital. “The media’s narrative that the female recruitment numbers have either fallen or stayed the same under Secretary Hegseth and President Trump is 100% Fake News,” a defense official said. “Leadership matters and women are excited to serve under the strong leadership of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump.” The Army surpassed its overall recruitment goals in June, four months before the end of the fiscal year: the service branch announced that month it had signed contracts with more than 61,000 future soldiers, which is more than 10% higher than the 55,000 recruits targeted in fiscal 2024. ARMY SURPASSES FISCAL 2025 RECRUITING GOAL 4 MONTHS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE After record-low recruitment in 2022, the trend began to reverse in 2024, with the armed forces bringing in 12.5% more personnel than the year prior. In 2025, all service branches are on track to meet or exceed their recruiting goals. This year, a survey by the Defense Department found 87% of those between the ages of 16 and 21 were probably or definitely not considering military service. Three out of four were worried about physical injury and two thirds had concerns about the emotional toll. However, Hegseth’s team has credited a “Trump bump” and a returned focus on the “warfighter” for a rise in recruits, despite the broad youth sentiment. PENTAGON FREEZES OUT DC THINK TANKS IN NEW MOVE, CITING ‘AMERICA LAST’ CONCERNS “They see leadership … that says, ‘We want you to be warriors. We’re not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We’re doing war fighting,’” Hegseth said during a visit to Normandy in June. Additionally, Congress passed three straight pay raises for troops, between 4% and 5%, and an additional 10% for junior enlisted soldiers. “The bottom line is this administration and Secretary Hegseth has prioritized lethality and mission readiness over political pandering. That’s exactly why women, and men, all across the country are more trusting of their leadership and more willing to serve,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., an Air Force Veteran, said. Hegseth has come under media scrutiny for his comments about women in combat and the removal of a number of women who served in top Pentagon roles under the Biden administration. His leadership claims they don’t discriminate: they’ve removed men from top roles too. HEGSETH VOWS TO RESTORE WARRIOR MENTALITY AND RAISE STANDARDS IN SWEEPING MILITARY TRANSFORMATION Prior to his confirmation, the secretary had publicly questioned the effectiveness of including women in direct ground combat roles — arguing such integration complicates operations and compromises battlefield effectiveness. During his confirmation hearing, Hegseth explained that he believed women should be allowed to serve in combat but should have to meet the same fitness standards as men. Recently, Hegseth reassigned Adm. Yvette Davids from superintendent of the Naval Academy to the position of deputy chief of naval operations. While some accused leadership of de-elevating a female leader, officials insisted the move was a promotion: Davids is now on a path that could lead her to becoming a four-star admiral. This week, critics seized on a moment in a CNN interview with a pastor, Douglas Wilson, affiliated with Hegseth’s church’s denomination, that the secretary reposted on X. “Women are the kind of people that people come out of,” Wilson said in the interview. “The wife and mother, who is the chief executive of the home, is entrusted with three or four or five eternal souls.” In another moment of the interview, a member of the denomination, Josh Prince, was asked if he saw his wife Amy as his equal. “Yes and no,” he responded. “He is the head of our household and I do submit to him,” Amy added. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I’m not a White nationalist, I’m not a fascist, I’m not a racist, I’m not a misogynist,” Wilson insisted. In his repost of the clip, Hegseth added, “All of Christ for All of Life.”
Mamdani zings Cuomo in rent-stabilized housing spat during anti-Trump tour stop
Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee, continued his “Five Boroughs Against Trump” tour in Brooklyn on Tuesday, as President Donald Trump’s agenda continues to take center stage on the New York City campaign trail. Speaking at the Flatbush Gardens Community Center, Mamdani’s second anti-Trump event of the week was focused on housing, a hot-button issue in the New York City mayoral race as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has spent days criticizing Mamdani’s rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria. “We must remember that Andrew Cuomo has spent more time talking about my apartment than asking why so many New Yorkers are being forced out of theirs. He has spent more time criticizing me than he has in criticizing the legislation that Donald Trump has passed,” Mamdani said on Tuesday. Mamdani began his week-long tour alongside Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., in Manhattan on Monday morning. After visiting Brooklyn on Tuesday, Mamdani will travel to Staten Island on Wednesday, the Bronx on Thursday and Queens on Friday, Fox News confirmed. CUOMO PROPOSES ‘ZOHRAN’S LAW’ TO PROTECT RENT-STABILIZED HOUSING FROM THE WEALTHY The 33-year-old self-described socialist’s tour is a rejection of the Trump administration’s sweeping second-term agenda and his so-called “authoritarian” attack on working New Yorkers, with Tuesday’s event focused on housing. ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR ACROSS FIVE BOROUGHS IN NEW YORK CITY “While housing experts are ringing the alarm, Andrew Cuomo is ringing Donald Trump,” Mamdani said. During Mamdani’s events on Monday and Tuesday, reporters peppered the 33-year-old socialist candidate with questions about Cuomo’s latest policy proposal – “Zohran’s law.” The former governor, who lost the Democratic mayoral primary to Mamdani in June, began trolling the assemblyman over the weekend with an edited video of Mamdani admitting he pays “$2,300 for my one bedroom in Astoria.” “Rent-stabilized apartments when they’re vacant should only be rented to people who need affordable housing, not people like Zohran Mamdani,” Cuomo told reporters in a video posted on social media. Cuomo said “Zohran’s law” was designed to prevent high-income individuals from occupying rent-stabilized apartments. But Mamdani fired back at Cuomo’s criticism on Tuesday, telling reporters, “It pains me to say that in our disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s mind, these units, these buildings, these tenants are but a political pawn.” Chief among Mamdani’s now-infamous progressive policy proposals is his commitment to freezing rents. “As Mayor, Zohran will immediately freeze the rent for all stabilized tenants, and use every available resource to build the housing New Yorkers need and bring down the rent,” according to Mamdani’s campaign website. Mamdani has accused incumbent Mayor Eric Adams of appointing Rent Guidelines Board members to raise rents on stabilized apartments. While landlords and advocates argue the freeze would be illegal, Mamdani can accomplish this goal by appointing members to the board who wouldn’t vote to increase the rent. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s board voted to freeze the rent three times during his tenure. Cuomo had previously called the democratic socialist’s plan to freeze rent a “politically convenient posture,” and said such a move would hurt landlords who would be “unable to maintain their buildings.” As Cuomo’s fiery social media posts about Mamdani’s rent-controlled apartment made the rounds, de Blasio – who has yet to endorse a candidate in the race to run the nation’s most populous city – fired back at his former governor. “I did a rent freeze and almost 2 million hard-working New Yorkers benefited. @ZohranKMamdani wants to do a rent freeze. You know who doesn’t want to do a rent freeze? @andrewcuomo, and he thinks he can trick us into forgetting that,” de Blasio trolled on X. During the first stop on his anti-Trump tour on Monday, Mamdani responded to Cuomo’s freshly proposed law “that will keep the rich out of New York’s affordable housing.” “What do we know about this policy proposal beyond the fact that it seeks to evict me from my apartment?” Mamdani questioned on Monday. “Like so much of Andrew Cuomo’s politics, it is characterized by a petty vindictiveness. It leaves far more questions than it has answers. How many New Yorkers would this apply to? How many New Yorkers would be evicted from their apartments? How many New Yorkers would have their lives upended by a former governor who is responding to the fact that he was handily beaten by a tenant of a rent-stabilized apartment?” Mamdani asked. “I live rent-free in his head,” Mamdani trolled Cuomo, arguing that he had many years to implement such policies as governor but is now only focused on trying to reckon with a “political defeat.” Soon after Mamdani’s criticism, the Cuomo campaign unveiled his proposal to protect rent-stabilized apartments from being occupied by high-income individuals. “Under Cuomo’s proposal, when a rent-stabilized apartment becomes vacant, the incoming individual income would be capped so that the annual rent makes up at least 30 percent of that income. For example, if an apartment rents for $2,500 a month ($30,000 per year), the new tenant’s income could not exceed $100,000,” according to the plan. The Cuomo campaign also clarified that “Zohran’s law” would only apply to vacant apartments. Mamdani poured cold water on Cuomo’s plan during the press conference on Tuesday, telling reporters, “What is so absurd to me about Andrew Cuomo’s proposal is that it wouldn’t even apply to me. The way that he has put forward this language does not actually apply to me, and yet he uses my name in it.” When reached for comment regarding Mamdani’s anti-Trump tour, White House spokeswoman, Abigail Jackson, told Fox News Digital, “Comrade Mamdani is the American people’s worst nightmare. His communist policies will crater our economy, increase crime, crowd out Americans with free health care for illegal immigrants, and defund the brave men and women of law enforcement who keep us safe.” The White House added that “Mamdani’s idea of ‘immigration reform’ is no borders and amnesty for all the violent criminal illegal aliens that Joe Biden released into our country. The American people have repeatedly rejected
Unearthed emails reveal White House nixed Biden visiting ship because of ‘how many steps were involved’
FIRST ON FOX: Unearthed emails as part of a FOIA request show Biden administration agencies scrapping a plan to visit a vessel at an event because it would have required then-President Joe Biden to take too many steps. Records show, as part of a FOIA request by Protect the Public’s Trust obtained by Fox News Digital, that Biden was set to visit a National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) while touring a Philadelphia shipyard in July 2023. However, according to the emails, that visit to the vessel was scrapped because of “how many steps were involved to get on the ship.” The emails show that the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) was engaged in a major project at the Philadelphia shipyard at the time that Biden was planning to visit to tout offshore wind and clean energy jobs. WATCHDOG FINDS ‘NO EVIDENCE’ BIDEN KNEW OF CRUCIAL CLIMATE EOS, DEMANDS ANSWERS ON WHO SIGNED AUTOPEN A MARAD official emailed members of the Office of Secure Transportation, with the Department of Transportation cc’d, on July 17, 2023, that said, “No visit to the NSMV vessel is planned after the WH realized how many steps were involved to get on the ship. {True – lots of steps on grating}.” The email exchanges also show a lack of coordination between the White House and MARAD, an agency of the DOT, as the next day an email between DOT officials said, “MARAD hasn’t had anyone reach out to them from WH. All info they have received has been from Philly shipyard. S2 team reached out to WH Advance, and that is how we confirmed the visit was scheduled. Nothing else heard and no further call made or received on this event that I am aware of.” ‘RINGS HOLLOW’: BIDEN RIPPED FOR WARNING OF OLIGARCHY ‘TAKING SHAPE’ IN US DESPITE DEEP TIES TO BILLIONAIRES The decision to skip visiting the vessel in the shipyard came a little more than a month after Biden faced questions over his mental and physical sharpness when he stumbled and fell on stage at an Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on June 1, 2023. The White House said at the time that the president tripped over a sandbag and that he was not injured by the fall. Around the same time, White House officials were rejecting concerns from conservatives about Biden’s health and insisting he was able to perform his duties at a high level. Roughly a week after the event in Philadelphia, then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre bristled at a question about Biden’s age and whether the White House could assure people there was nothing to be concerned about by outlining the president’s accomplishments. “Look, we’ve been asked this question multiple times,” Jean-Pierre said. “And you have a president who — I just went through his Unity Agenda — what we’ve been able to do in a bipartisan way as it relates to issues that really matter to the American people — right? — the Cancer Moonshot, which is actually going to make a difference with people and family — fam- — Americans who have family members dealing with cancer. That is something that this president has been able to do.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office and the Philadelphia shipyard for comment. “There’s an awful lot wrong here, beginning with the White House planning a presidential visit to one of the most important shipyards in the nation without bothering to give a heads-up to the Department of Transportation, which has major ongoing projects there,” Protect the Public’s Trust Director Michael Chamberlain told Fox News Digital. “That’s amateurish. Second and far more critical, the president’s staff was proscribing events he couldn’t physically handle more than a year before he dropped out of the re-election race, all while lambasting anyone who claimed he wasn’t fit enough to complete the Ironman Competition. I realize there’s an elevator down to the White House Situation Room, but most voters would like to think they’re pulling the lever for a president who could take the stairs in an emergency.” A former Biden aide pushed back on that narrative, saying that it is “ironic that an organization called ‘Protect the Public Trust’ is more interested in how many steps the former president took than the current president’s cost-raising agenda and close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.” “The group is presenting a deceptive story with this ‘don’t look at Epstein’ bait based on a single email with no context and they know it.” A former Biden administration official reached by Fox News Digital referenced the massive size of the shipyard and that the size would be considered when planning events like this, adding that the email references steps and not stairs specifically. The former official also pushed back on the person sending the email not having spoken directly with someone at the White House and explained that several teams are involved in arranging events like the one at the shipyard, considering accessibility, security risks, visuals and other factors.