Capitol Hill sex scandals trigger new push to redraw the line for lawmakers
Efforts to bar lawmakers from dating congressional staff are gaining momentum following multiple high-profile cases of alleged sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill. Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., introduced legislation on Tuesday that would bar members of the House of Representatives from having sexual relationships with any congressional staffers unless the House Ethics Committee determines the contact does not constitute a conflict of interest. The proposal follows a number of sexual controversies facing lawmakers such as former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., former Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., and Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. A Gallego spokesperson told Fox News Digital the lawmaker supports the House bill and hopes to see Republicans who engage in relationships with staffers held accountable. Members of Congress are already prohibited from dating their personal employees or staff serving on their committees. Crank’s proposal would expand that prohibition to all congressional staff pending approval from the ethics committee. ‘DISTURBING’ ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UNNAMED SENATOR UNDER REVIEW IN WAKE OF SCANDALS ROCKING CONGRESS Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., signaled that he is on board with the movement. “I think it’s inappropriate, as it would be in any workplace,” Johnson told Axios on Tuesday when asked for his thoughts on relationships between representatives and staffers. “We should, at a bare minimum in Congress, have, you know, rules and traditions that are adhered to in corporate America, so that’s an easy one for me.” During a press conference that same day, he endorsed establishing a new rule proposed by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., that would ban members from having sex with any congressional staffers. SEX CRIMES COULD COST LAWMAKERS TAXPAYER-FUNDED PENSIONS UNDER HAWLEY’S NEW PROPOSAL “Even if a relationship is consensual, there is an inherent power imbalance that can undermine trust and create an appearance of impropriety,” McClain wrote on social media. “The goal should be protecting staff and maintaining confidence in the institution.” The push among Republicans to impose new rules on workplace relationships came after the New York Post reported that Gallego had allegedly engaged in consensual sexual relationships with at least two House staffers employed by other Democratic lawmakers while he served in the House. ARIZONA GOV HOBBS SIDESTEPS WHETHER SHE BELIEVES GALLEGO’S ANSWERS ON SWALWELL While the senator did not deny the allegations, he stated that he would not “engage in gossip.” Gallego’s alleged sexual relationships with staff occurred before he was married. Focus on this issue intensified in April when multiple women accused Swalwell, a longtime friend of Gallego, of unwanted sexual contact, including rape. Swalwell, who maintained his innocence but apologized for unspecified “mistakes in judgment,” suspended his campaign for California governor and resigned from Congress after his accusers went public. Gonzales, meanwhile, resigned from Congress in April after admitting to an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide. Gonzales denied that the affair contributed to her death.
Khanna demands answers from CCP-linked company accused of undercutting US manufacturers
FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., sent a letter to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., one of the world’s leading automotive glass manufacturers with U.S. headquarters in Ohio, demanding information on the company’s operations and finances amid allegations of labor violations. The letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, asks for extensive documentation of Fuyao’s business operations in the U.S., its labor practices, its ties to the CCP and more. Khanna, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, cited allegations that Fuyao has been violating U.S. labor laws by, among other things, importing foreign workers to undercut American labor. “They have serious allegations against them of suppressing prices because they’re being subsidized by the Chinese Communist Party, allegedly, of bringing people into this country who are undocumented and violating our immigration laws, and then exploiting those workers and having them work long hours with little pay,” Khanna told Fox News Digital. CHINA IS BUILDING A MASSIVE SHIP THAT SHOULD SCARE AMERICANS ABOUT THE FUTURE A 2024 federal raid on Fuyao’s Ohio properties resulted in a civil asset forfeiture of $126 million that included the seizure of luxury goods, vehicles, and 12 commercial and residential properties, including what the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described as “boarding houses” to accommodate migrant workers. “It is alleged that many of the workers were illegally smuggled into the United States, primarily through Mexico, and encouraged to travel to the Dayton area to be employed by one of the target entities and serve as a workforce at the various factories. Most of the workers are of Chinese or Hispanic nationality. Workers allegedly lived at ‘family style hotels’ (boarding houses) owned by the target entities and were driven to and from work in transportation provided by the target entities,” the DOJ said in a press release. CHILL COMING FROM TRUMP’S SUMMIT WITH XI IS PROOF OF A NEW COLD WAR WITH CHINA Among the many pieces of information Khanna requested from Fuyao was data on whether the company was being subsidized by the CCP, allowing them to undercut U.S. competitors, who he argued were being negatively affected by Fuyao’s practices. “They are hurting. American glass manufacturers, one of them that we met on our Heartland tour in Western Pennsylvania. And they are putting American workers out of business,” Khanna told Fox News Digital. “And at the same time, they are exploiting our laws. Now we have requested the findings from the Justice Department that undertook an investigation. And they still have not released the findings. And so I am going to take on myself, with the China Committee, to investigate Fuyao.” In the 2025 press release, the DOJ said a criminal investigation into Fuyao is ongoing. Khanna also asked the company to reveal the degree to which the CCP is involved in the company’s operation. “We need to understand a lot more. I want to understand whether they’re getting subsidies from the CCP. I want to understand whether any CCP government official is on their board or on their executive team,” he said. “I want to understand if they’re providing reports to the CCP, I want to understanding if the CCP is helping them to lower prices where they can undercut American competition. And I certainly want to know if the CCP is helping them smuggle in people who are undocumented. So these are unanswered questions that we need to answer.” Like all Chinese companies, Fuyao is required to have a CCP representative in their company ranks. The company’s vice president He Shimeng is also a CCP secretary, according to the Made In China Journal. HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE TO MAKE TRUMP’S BORDER POLICIES PERMANENT When asked if the U.S.’s southern border’s porousness under former President Joe Biden relative to the border under President Donald Trump’s administration contributed to Fuyao’s ability to import foreign workers, Khanna said that a strong border is necessary. Notably, migrant encounters at the southern border are at a 50-year low under the second Trump administration, according to the Pew Research Center. “I’ve said that we need border security, and I’ve also been candid that we allow too many people to come in without the proper vetting in 2024,” Khanna told Fox News Digital. “I disagree with the ICE raids that are taking place very strongly, but I believe we need a secure border,” he said, adding, “as an American, we should be outraged that you have a Chinese-funded company that is undercutting American jobs, potentially exploiting workers, and potentially breaking our immigration laws. So with that. That is wrong. And so I am going to make sure that we stand up for American workers and for our laws.” Fuyao was the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary “American Factory,” which captured the company’s takeover of a former General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. One of the film’s major themes was Fuyao’s million-dollar effort to crush the area’s local unions. “Once the focus begins to shift… to the fight over an upcoming vote on unionization — with [Fuyao founder] Cao [Dewang] paying ‘consultants’ over a million dollars to lecture workers at length on the horrors of unions and then telling them that ‘you have a voice’ — the film begins to toughen considerably as it shows how corporate manipulation works,” Roger Ebert critic Peter Sobczynski wrote in 2019. The alleged union-busting is a major focus of Khanna’s inquiry. “What is Fuyao’s reasoning for its opposition to unionization efforts at facilities in the United States?” Khanna’s letter asked. “Has Fuyao retaliated against any whistleblower (without regard to whether the subject matter of the whistleblower allegation related to collective bargaining), including but not limited to through actions impacting employment, hours, pay, employment records, or other workplace decisions?” Khanna also queried. In addition to requesting the comprehensive information packet from Fuyao, Khanna is also requesting an on-site visit to the company’s
WATCH: Brandon Gill corners law school gatekeeper with DEI question she won’t answer
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, put American Bar Association President Michelle A. Behnke in the hot seat Wednesday, repeatedly pressing her on whether the ABA’s diversity principles would justify rejecting a third Black Supreme Court justice. The tense exchange came during a House Oversight Committee Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Constitutional Abuses hearing examining the ABA’s role in law school accreditation. Republicans argued the organization has used its accreditation authority to advance race-conscious DEI policies throughout the legal profession, while the ABA defended its commitment to diversity, saying it strengthens the profession without supporting racial quotas. Gill, who chairs the task force, has accused the ABA of using its accreditation power to pressure law schools into adopting race-conscious admissions policies and mandatory DEI-related coursework. “DEI is a cancerous ideology that promotes unlawful discrimination and steals opportunities from Americans who would otherwise earn jobs and law school admissions spots on merit,” Gill said ahead of the hearing. CONGRESS TO PUT AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION IN HOT SEAT OVER DEI RULES TIED TO LAW SCHOOL ACCREDITATION During one of the hearing’s sharpest exchanges, Gill questioned Behnke about statements on the ABA’s website promoting judicial diversity. He cited the ABA’s position that judges should reflect the diversity of American society, then asked whether a racially representative Supreme Court would be beneficial. “The ABA believes that diversity in all of its forms is important,” Behnke responded, but repeatedly declined to give Gill a yes-or-no answer. DISCRIMINATORY ‘SHADOW’ REVIEW PROCESS LOCKS WHITE, ASIAN STUDENTS OUT OF CALIFORNIA MED SCHOOL, DOJ ALLEGES Gill followed up by asking whether the Supreme Court should “roughly resemble America’s racial makeup.” “The ABA does not support quotas,” Behnke replied. “I’m not asking about quotas,” Gill responded. “I’m asking if it should roughly resemble America’s racial makeup.” “It should represent all of what people are,” Behnke said. Gill responded by noting that two of the Court’s nine justices are Black, representing roughly 22% of the Court compared with about 13% of the U.S. population, and asked whether that meant the Senate should reject a third Black nominee based solely on race. “ABA does not support quotas,” Behnke said. JACKSON SCOLDS COLLEAGUES IN SOLO DISSENT AFTER COURT JUMPS INTO ROUTINE POLICE-STOP CASE Earlier in the hearing, Gill pressed Behnke over President Joe Biden’s 2022 pledge to nominate the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, asking whether race had clearly been a factor in Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination. He also asked whether Biden had improperly excluded other demographic groups from consideration. “The ABA does not support discrimination of any sort,” Behnke responded, without directly addressing Biden’s selection criteria. The ABA holds considerable sway over legal education because, in most states, graduating from an ABA-approved law school is the main way to qualify for the bar exam. While the ABA says its law school accreditation council operates independently from the broader organization, Republicans argued the two are far more connected than the ABA lets on. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Behnke defended the ABA’s commitment to diversity throughout her testimony, arguing that it strengthens rather than weakens the legal profession. “When we have diverse teams, our profession is stronger,” she told lawmakers. “It enhances our ability to solve our clients’ problems when we can tap into the varied experiences and perspectives of people from every background and every community.” The hearing comes as several states, including Texas, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee, have explored alternatives to relying exclusively on ABA accreditation for bar eligibility.
FIRST ON FOX: White House reveals who’s joining Trump at correspondents’ dinner — and who can’t attend
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will return to the stage Friday to deliver remarks at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, nearly three months after an armed suspect stormed the event in an alleged assassination attempt against him. The White House exclusively confirmed to Fox News Digital the lineup of administration officials expected to attend the dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C. While much of Trump’s Cabinet will attend, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be there. A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital their absences are due to prior commitments. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES EVENT BEING RESCHEDULED AFTER SHOOTING JOURNALISTS DEMAND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION ‘SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER’ IN NEW DINNER WITH TRUMP The banquet will be held at the Waldorf Astoria while the annual dinner has historically been held at the Washington Hilton. Chaos, however, broke out at this year’s banquet when an armed suspect stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president. Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), said the event would be a “more intimate gathering” when the new date was announced in June. Jiang announced the rescheduled date was decided by the WHCA board in an email to association members, sharing the rescheduled event will be a more “intimate gathering.” “This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence. As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above,” Jiang added.
4 House Republicans rebel against Trump, vote with Dems to block Iran war powers
House Democrats successfully rebuked President Donald Trump’s war in Iran on Thursday morning, with the help of several Republican lawmakers. Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., forced a vote to halt Trump’s military campaign absent congressional approval in a vote of 214-208, with lawmakers largely voting along party lines. Republicans who supported the Democrat-authored measure included Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Tom Barrett, R-Mich., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. Massie and Davidson are sharp critics of foreign intervention, while Fitzpatrick and Barrett — two moderate Republicans — are facing competitive re-election bids. RUBIO SAYS US REMAINS OPEN TO IRAN TALKS BUT WARNS THERE ‘WILL BE CONSEQUENCES’ A similar resolution passed the House in June with help from the same four defecting Republicans. “My position hasn’t changed,” Barrett, an Army veteran and freshman lawmaker, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Only Congress has the authority to authorize military action in Iran.” “I remain ready to work with anyone to eliminate hostile threats to our nation without getting us into another endless war,” he added. Thursday’s vote is largely symbolic, and the resolution will not go to Trump’s desk for signature if the Senate chamber were also to pass it. But Democrats’ war powers effort underscores that the war in Iran is continuing to divide Republicans, several of whom have complained the White House has not given enough visibility to Congress about the military’s actions. Just 34% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of Iran, according to a Fox News poll released Wednesday. Trump and his allies, however, have indicated they are undeterred in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The vote comes as Trump is reportedly weighing whether to escalate the conflict after Iranian forces killed several U.S. service members in Jordan and Iraq over the weekend. U.S. forces completed its 12th consecutive night of strikes on Iran targeting maritime capabilities and air defense assets among other military infrastructure, CENTCOM announced Wednesday. TRAVELERS UNITE IN POWERFUL MOMENT OF SILENCE AS FALLEN US SERVICE MEMBER RETURNS HOME “U.S. forces remain vigilant,” CENTCOM wrote in a social media post Thursday. Democrats forced a vote on a war powers resolution aimed at disapproving the Middle East conflict using a mechanism called a privileged resolution, which allows rank-and-file lawmakers to move legislation over the opposition of House GOP leadership. Crow, an Army veteran, said in a statement, “18 American servicemembers have been killed since this war began. Hundreds more have been injured. Billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent. The President’s war with Iran has been an unmitigated disaster.” “The costs are rising every day, yet the President is choosing to double down on his failures,” he continued. The vote is one of several instances this year of House Republicans rebuking Trump and his policies, a symbol of the razor-thin majorities the GOP holds in Congress. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., took a victory lap following the successful war powers vote Thursday. “Donald Trump and Republicans have failed the American people, which is why they clearly are on the run and are on the verge of losing control of the House of Representatives,” he said during a news conference. Trump ripped the four GOP defectors following the successful war powers vote in June, calling them “unpatriotic.”
The hidden left-wing network powering a ‘conservative’ rebellion against a major Trump priority
A group billing itself as a grassroots conservative movement against new data centers carried out a series of nationwide protests enlisting the help of Green Party figures and Democratic-aligned activists, a Fox News Digital review found. Though initially launched as a bipartisan project, Humans First has since become — in its own words — a “conservative social movement that is dedicated to ensuring that the future of AI is in the hands of everyday people.” Humans First’s nascent movement was supposed to build up to mass protests on July 18, when the organization says it sought to rally conservatives against the construction of new data centers. The push put Humans First in tension with one of President Donald Trump’s major economic priorities — accelerating the data-center buildout needed to power America’s AI race. TOP ENERGY GROUP WARNS WEALTHY FOREIGNERS ARE POTENTIALLY BANKROLLING ANTI-DATA CENTER CAMPAIGNS ACROSS US While right-wing activist Amy Kremer is the public face of Humans First, the group’s paper trail shows that the organization didn’t start with her or even another conservative. Incorporation records reviewed by Fox News Digital list staffers from the Center for AI Safety, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, as Humans First’s initial employees. The Center for AI Safety also provided a loan to Humans First to serve as start-up capital, NBC News previously reported. In a similar vein, several of the local organizers named on Humans First’s website as planning the July 18 protests had backgrounds in left-of-center politics. “I was one of the earliest leaders of the Tea Party movement in 2009, and I can tell you that the disconnect between the elites and the base that gave rise to the Tea Party movement can be seen today in the battle over AI data centers,” Kremer, chair of Humans First, told Axios in June. During the Obama administration, Kremer was a top Tea Party activist and, more recently, she was one of the organizers of the “Save America” rally that preceded the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — a role that later became a focal point during her unsuccessful 2022 run for a Georgia congressional seat. Her group says the July 18 protests were meant to “give grassroots Americans, particularly grassroots conservatives, a voice in the critical debate over policies relating to the building of massive AI data centers.” Despite Kremer’s GOP bona fides and her stated goal of mobilizing conservatives, Fox News Digital found that several listed protest organizers had left-wing, Green Party or Democratic-aligned backgrounds, including a transgender Green Party House candidate, local progressive activists and a Democratic state legislative candidate. FIRST ON FOX: POWERFUL HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIR THROWS HAMMER DOWN ON ‘FOREIGN-ALIGNED INFLUENCE NETWORK’ At the bottom of the Humans First webpage advertising the protests, the organization stated that the events it is promoting have not “necessarily” been “fully vetted or endorsed by Humans First.” Humans First’s website listed a chapter of the Illinois Green Party as organizers for a protest just outside Chicago. Among other causes, the Illinois Green Party supports solidarity with Cuba, divesting from Israel, expanding abortion access, decriminalizing prostitution, restricting gun laws and impeaching Trump. Also affiliated with the Illinois Green Party is Alexandria Keating-Sofiakis, a transgender activist and congressional candidate who organized a separate Humans First protest about 50 miles northwest of Chicago. Kremer has repeatedly posted critical social media messages about transgender issues, Fox News Digital found. Keating-Sofiakis’ campaign website lists support for the Green New Deal, expanded abortion rights, ending American support for Israel and “Medicare-for-all.” Though the two disagree on much, Keating-Sofiakis told Fox News Digital that opposition to data centers transcends traditional ideological boundaries and made working with Kremer feasible. “Data centers are a cross-partisan problem,” Keating-Sofiakis said. “From a conservative worldview, the drop in property values, increase in water costs, as well as increase in electrical costs that are affiliated with data centers are all antithetical to conservative values. Likewise, from a progressive worldview, the ecological damage alone associated with data centers is more than enough justification to oppose them.” Keating-Sofiakis also pointed out that local Green Party activists received support from prominent conservatives such as Tomi Lahren and Lara Trump in a recent effort to free dogs from a medical facility. “I am no longer hesitant to work with conservative figures and organizations on issues we share in common,” Keating-Sofiakis told Fox News Digital. 600 GROUPS WITH $2B IN REVENUE MOBILIZE 3,000 MAY DAY PROTESTS IN A ‘RED-BLUE’ ALLIANCE, PROBE FINDS Humans First defended its conservative credentials when reached by Fox News Digital. “First off, we are happy to put our grassroots conservative and America First credentials up against anyone. I was one of the founders of the Tea Party movement back in 2009, and I was one of the earliest and most high profile Trump supporters back in 2015,” Kremer told Fox News Digital. “The men and women on our team are longtime conservative activists who have dedicated their lives to electing conservatives and fighting for conservative policies.” Most of the official staff listed on Humans First’s website have spent a significant portion of their careers working in conservative politics. “This line of attack is preposterous but not surprising. This is exactly the same line of attack we saw during the early days of the Tea Party. The establishment and their handmaidens in the media were willing to smear Tea Party activists as racists and bigots in their effort to defend the big interests of their corporate masters,” Kremer continued. “Instead of questioning our conservative credentials, how about asking how any so-called conservative can take money from the same big tech and big AI billionaires who have worked tirelessly to destroy the conservative movement over the last 10 years.” Fox News Digital obtained footage of five Humans First protests across California, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina. Multiple demonstrators at the event in Gilroy, California, had signs protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a common antagonist for those on the left. Some of the
Mike Waltz confronts leftist Democrat over Cuba trip after Marco Rubio jab: ‘His entire family is from Cuba’
A leftist Democrat sparked fierce backlash after he appeared to insist that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s views on Cuba carried less weight because he has not visited the island. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., made the striking claim during a heated exchange with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Wednesday at a committee hearing. Pocan, who has compared Cuba to a “silent Gaza,” visited the communist island earlier in July, where he called for the U.S. to relent on its pressure campaign against the Cuban government, blaming U.S. sanctions for the island’s economic devastation and fuel shortages. During his questioning of Waltz, he did not address the Cuban government’s likely hoarding of resources as it maintains a firm grip over the economy or its continued access to luxuries amid economic turmoil. TRUMP EXPANDS CUBA SANCTIONS BEYOND US COMPANIES IN MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON FOREIGN ENABLERS “During your visit, did you visit the private island from the Castro regime?” Waltz asked Pocan. “Did you visit their private jet which seems to have fuel to get back and forth?” Pocan dodged the question and fired back, “Considering you’ve never been to Cuba, I’m not going to take your advice on where to go.” “Marco Rubio has never been to Cuba, so many others who have strong opinions,” the Wisconsin lawmaker added later. “His entire family is from Cuba and fled the regime,” Waltz replied. “They left before the revolution,” Pocan responded. “That is decades ago. That’s a ridiculous answer. It’s worth going there if you’re going to have such strong opinions and I think you’d maybe look at it a little differently.” The exchange drew swift criticism on social media, with several conservative commentators accusing Pocan of parroting the Cuban government’s talking points. “It is completely insane that @RepMarkPocan is using a Congressional hearing to shill for the communist regime in Cuba,” Cody Sargent, communications director for Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, wrote on social media. “Americans need to see how absolutely crazy @TheDemocrats have become.” CUBA BUILT COVERT NETWORK INSIDE AMERICA THROUGH SPIES, ACTIVISTS AND UNIVERSITIES, STATE DEPT ALLEGES “Mark Pocan (who consistently makes a strong case for dumbest member of Congress) proves once again how he fails to have a functioning brain,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella wrote Wednesday. “This exchange is exactly the kind of thinking communist regimes love to cultivate.” “A perfect example of what Rubio’s report on Cuba warned about re: Communist Cuba’s influence and espionage in America ,” NewsNation anchor Katie Pavlich observed. Pavlich referenced findings the State Department released earlier this week detailing a decades-long influence campaign the Cuban government allegedly pushed within the United States to sow division and push Communist ideas. “From its earliest years in power, the Cuban regime has believed that its own survival and strategic interests were inextricably linked to the advance of the revolutionary left inside the United States,” the report states in part. Pocan notably dismissed the report as “ridiculous,” arguing Rubio issued the document as a pretext for regime change on the island. “It may be the stupidest, most fantastical, most biased thing I’ve ever read from a governmental agency,” Pocan said in a statement released Tuesday. Pocan also pressed Waltz on whether the administration plans to pursue military action against Cuba. The top diplomat declined to take any option off the table for the president. Fox News Digital reached out to Pocan for comment.
Fox News Power Rankings: The top races to watch as 36 states choose their next governor
The battle to control Congress always dominates midterm discussions, but should it? More voters will elect a governor than a U.S. senator this year. Among the key contests are what might be the GOP’s only flip opportunity, races that will show how key voter groups are responding to President Donald Trump’s second term, and even a test for Democrats in the Northwest. These elections could also decide which party holds a majority of governorships. More than half of the nation’s governors have been Republicans since 2010. But with Democrats currently holding 24 of the 50 offices, that advantage is two states away from disappearing. TOP DEMOCRAT GOVERNORS ARE HOPING TO RIDE THEIR RECORDS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. CAN THEY? Here are the top races to watch this year. Democrats have been going to war with each other over ideology, character and electability all across the country this year – in Wisconsin, the party is fighting all three battles in one race. At least seven notable candidates are vying for the nomination, including Democratic socialist and state Rep. Francesca Hong and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who lost a U.S. Senate race here four years ago. This week, the primary got even messier. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez ended her run after discovering she was short hundreds of thousands of dollars, and nine days after suspending his run, county executive David Crowley got back in, touting an endorsement from Gov. Tony Evers. TRUMP-BACKED FIREBRAND WINS ARIZONA GOP GOVERNOR PRIMARY, SETTING UP HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN Wisconsin is as competitive as it gets. It’s one of only two states that has voted for both parties for president and the Senate while also being run by governors from both parties during the Trump era (the other is Arizona). While the Democrats figure out who their candidate is, Republicans have a clear frontrunner: U.S. House Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has Trump’s backing and $3 million in the bank. It’s too early to say which party will have the edge in November. This state is a toss-up. Iowa’s Senate race is a toss-up, as Tuesday’s Power Rankings revealed, but on the governor’s side, the Democrats have opened up quite a lead. Rob Sand, the Democratic state auditor who claims he’s not a fan of either party, had the support of 53% of voters in the latest Fox News Poll, nine points ahead of his Republican opponent, Zach Lahn, a local farmer. Lahn was the surprise winner of his party’s primary after Trump endorsed a different candidate (the president has since endorsed Lahn), and appears to have consolidated his support with the GOP base. But his support for the state’s six-week abortion ban and recent relocation from Kansas could be electoral liabilities. Sand is raising more money than Lahn, and from more local donors. It’s a highly competitive race, but it starts at Lean D. In 2022, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s victory over a Democratic incumbent in Nevada was proof that Hispanic voters were drifting rightward. Two years later, more confirmation, when the state voted for a Republican president for the first time in 20 years. Now there are signs that those voters are unhappy with Trump: 69% said they disapproved of the president in Fox News’ June survey. Lombardo is touting results on cutting business regulation, crime reduction and new housing projects for working-class Nevadans. He’ll face Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, who says voters with affordability and immigration concerns have Trump to blame. It will be a close and expensive race. It’s a toss-up in this forecast. Republicans’ best chance at flipping a state this year comes in Kansas, where Gov. Laura Kelly can’t seek a third term. Kelly is a rare species in American politics: she is one of only two Democratic governors serving in states that Trump won by double digits in 2024 (the other is Andy Beshear of Kentucky). This year, leading Democrats include state Sens. Cindy Holscher and Ethan Corson, who have made affordability the center of their messages. Seven Republicans are in the race, including state Senate President Ty Masterson, who picked up Trump’s endorsement in May. Among the big issues in the Sunflower State? Kelly’s $4 billion deal to bring the Kansas City Chiefs across state lines, which Masterson and Corson support, but some Democrats have called a “scam.” It’s a competitive race, but without their incumbency advantage, the Democrats are vulnerable. This is a Lean R race. Finally, an eyebrow-raising race in the Northwest, where incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek is in a more competitive race than she should be against Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan. Oregon voted for Vice President Kamala Harris by 14 points in the last presidential election, and the state hasn’t voted for a Republican governor since 1982. Kotek is in some trouble, though, as she defends her record on housing, education and mental health services. According to local reports, the governor is far short of her goal of 36,000 new units per year, and the state has some of the worst education rankings in the country. That has given Drazan an opening, and not for the first time: she came within 3.5 points of defeating Kotek in 2022 (though that race included a third-party candidate). Partisanship should keep this state in Democratic hands. But not without a fight. It’s a Likely D race in this forecast.
Obama Center subcontractor shuts down amid $4M fight, lays off 25
FIRST ON FOX: Weeks after the Obama Presidential Center’s star-studded opening in Chicago, a subcontractor who previously claimed his company was stiffed for nearly $4 million has shut down operations and laid off 25 union workers. Mike Owen, the owner of Chicago-based Adamson Plumbing Contractors, told Fox News Digital that the financial fallout forced the company to abandon about half a dozen other construction jobs and left it on the verge of collapse. Owen described the shutdown as a painful decision he believed was necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. “Laying off close to 30 people is something that no owner in our industry wants to do,” Owen said. “It’s a hard thing to do, especially when you know you can finish them and the company can still make money. But we were put in a pretty bad corner.” SUBCONTRACTORS SAY THEY’RE OWED MILLIONS, FACE FINANCIAL RUIN, AFTER HELPING BUILD OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER Adamson, which performed its work on the center under the name Marsh-Adamson, has since filed a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the property, escalating the payment dispute into a legal fight. The company is one of several subcontractors to report financial trouble after working on the center, which was promoted as a transformative economic opportunity for small and minority-owned businesses. A previous Fox News Digital investigation identified several subcontractors — including Black-owned firms the project was specifically intended to support — that said they were owed money or had absorbed losses ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions. The largest dispute involves the Concrete Collective, which is seeking more than $40 million in additional payment. Before the center opened, Owen said the project had left his company with $3.9 million in losses tied to delays, rework, labor overruns and changing project demands. He said he spent months negotiating with Lakeside Alliance, the project’s construction manager, before going public after failing to reach a resolution. Against the backdrop of that larger dispute, Owen said the breaking point came around the time of the Obama Presidential Center’s opening celebration. Owen said Adamson and Lakeside Alliance reached an agreement under which Adamson would provide two journeyman plumbers to perform last-minute “housekeeping” work on campus at premium nighttime rates. In return, Owen said, Adamson was supposed to receive part of its outstanding payment days before the center opened on June 19. An email reviewed by Fox News Digital shows a Lakeside representative telling Owen that $100,000 would be released through Adamson’s May payment application. Adamson completed the requested work, but the payment did not arrive on time, according to Owen, who said it was the company’s breaking point and left him with no choice but to suspend operations on June 25. “We negotiated it in good faith,” he said. “Against my better judgment, I agreed [to do the work].” “Not getting that large sum of money just kind of pulled the brakes on the train. It was just the final death blow to the company,” he added. “Rather than try to stretch it out and go bankrupt, I just decided the responsible thing was to shut it down. We’ll regroup, and we’ll see where we’re at come September.” Owen said that the promised $100,000 retainage payment and around $35,000 for change orders payments have since arrived from Lakeside Alliance — more than two weeks after he suspended operations and laid off 25 workers. Owen said the money helped reduce the company’s debt to one supplier but did not reverse the shutdown. “It’s almost like too little, too late,” Owen said. “It probably would have just prolonged the inevitable at this point,” he said. “We’re still deep in the hole of what they owe us.” Owen said Adamson has now moved out of its building and that he is working from home while turning the dispute over to his attorneys and determining whether the company has a future. OBAMA CENTER ISN’T A TRADITIONAL PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY. CRITICS SAY IT’S AN ACTIVISM CENTER. Owen has escalated his nearly $4 million payment fight. Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Marsh-Adamson filed a $1.72 million mechanic’s lien against the Obama Presidential Center property, alleging it remains owed money for plumbing work performed on campus. A mechanic’s lien is a legal claim filed against a property by a contractor or supplier alleging that it has not been fully paid for completed work. The lien is considerably lower than the approximately $3.9 million Owen says Adamson lost over the course of the project. Owen said the lien covers the amounts he believes are most readily documented, including unpaid fees, logged change orders and labor overruns supported by company records. “It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to pursue the $3.9 million in change that we lost overall,” Owen said. “I’m still working with my legal team on that $3.9 million figure because I feel that it’s only right that we still hold ownership at the presidential center accountable.” Owen said he had initially avoided filing a lawsuit or lien while attempting to negotiate a resolution. “I’m not a litigious person, but at the same time, our legal system is there to protect the small guy,” Owen said. “I’m just going to have to fight this out legally from here on out, and these aren’t cheap costs.” Last week’s payment will be deducted from the $1.72 million, he said. Lakeside Alliance, a joint venture led by Turner Construction and four Black-owned Chicago construction firms, served as the project’s construction manager. The other firms are UJAMAA Construction, Powers & Sons Construction, Brown & Momen and Safeway Construction. In a previous statement, Lakeside said approximately 475 contractors worked on the center. In its latest response, the alliance pointed to the project’s scale and said “contractual closeout continues long after the doors have opened” on major projects of such complexity. “Lakeside Alliance remains committed to working through all outstanding matters to successfully close out the project,” a spokesperson said. Lakeside Alliance did not directly address Owen’s
Former intel community chief James Woolsey dies at 84
Former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey Jr. died Tuesday at the age of 84. The Washington Post and the New York Times both reported that his wife, Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, noted that a stroke was the cause. She indicated that her husband had been facing deteriorating health in recent years due to “Havana syndrome,” the Post reported. US COUNTERINTELLIGENCE ‘WAY BEHIND,’ POST-9/11 RECORD ‘EXTRAORDINARILY NEGLIGENT’, FMR TRUMP WH OFFICIAL WARNS “We have traveled the world trying to find a cure and a treatment,” she noted, according to the report, “which sadly we never found.” As director of central intelligence from 1993 to 1995, Woolsey oversaw the U.S. intelligence community and served as head of the CIA during the first two years of President Bill Clinton’s first term. ALDRICH AMES, CIA OFFICER WHO SPIED FOR RUSSIA, DEAD AT 84 “CIA extends our condolences to the family and loved ones of former Director James Woolsey. He was a great patriot who served his country as Director of Central Intelligence, Undersecretary of the Navy, Ambassador, and attorney,” the CIA noted in social media posts. Woolsey served as undersecretary of the Navy during a portion of President Jimmy Carter’s White House tenure. He later served as ambassador to the Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe during part of President George H.W. Bush’s term. EX-CIA CHIEF ACCUSED OF ORCHESTRATING ‘RUSSIA HOAX’ SUES TRUMP ADMIN FOR ‘VINDICTIVE PROSECUTION’ In a Facebook post, the CIA added, “Director Woolsey advocated for the Agency during a time of budget uncertainty and tumult at the end of the Cold War, preserving officer morale and building a relationship between the Intelligence Community and law enforcement. That partnership continues to this day and has enabled some of our greatest successes.”