Trump gives Smithsonian days to replace ‘strange modernist sculpture’ with Founding Father
President Donald Trump is calling on the Smithsonian to replace a decades-old modernist sculpture outside the National Museum of American History with a towering, 30-foot statue of George Washington. In social media posts late Friday, Trump said the “Infinity” sculpture that has stood outside the museum since 1967 “says nothing about America,” while Washington, he argued, “more than anyone else, says everything about America.” Trump also called for the museum to open a five-year exhibition honoring Washington that would run through Feb. 22, 2032, the 300th anniversary of the first president’s birth. INSIDE THE BEHEMOTH SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM NETWORK DRAWING FIRE FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION Trump also wants the Smithsonian to install an 11-foot statue of Washington in the museum’s Flag Hall by Constitution Day on Sept. 17. The statue was featured at the recent Freedom 250 Grand Prix race. “Immediately design and display a five-year exhibition worthy of the Life, Sacrifice, and Contributions of George Washington,” Trump wrote. “Then, as soon as it is ready, install a 30-foot Washington Colossus where ‘Infinity’ stands today,” he added. “Infinity,” created by New York artist José de Rivera, was commissioned by the federal government and installed outside the museum in 1967. It is unclear whether Trump can order the Smithsonian to make the changes. The institution is outside the executive branch and is overseen by a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Chief Justice John Roberts, lawmakers from both parties and citizen members. Fox News Digital reached out to the Smithsonian for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Trump has repeatedly criticized how the Smithsonian presents American history, particularly as the country celebrates its 250th anniversary. EXCAVATION SET TO BEGIN ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S 250-FOOT TRIUMPHAL ARCH AMID LEGAL BATTLE In his posts Friday, he accused the National Museum of American History of giving too little attention to Washington and other Founding Fathers. Trump singled out Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776 and the American victory at Trenton, saying the museum does not give those events the attention they deserve. “He is easily America’s Greatest Hero,” Trump wrote of Washington. “Without him, our Country and our Freedoms wouldn’t exist.” Trump also criticized the Smithsonian’s recently ended Center for Restorative History, an initiative created to spotlight stories that have been excluded from the national historical narrative. Trump said the museum should instead create a “Center for American Heroes.” “Tell the stories of Americans who faced great challenges, overcame them, built great things, defended our Country, made America better, and helped our Nation more fully live up to our Founding Ideals,” he wrote. SUPREME COURT CHIEF JUSTICE PRAISES OUTGOING SMITHSONIAN LEADER WHO WAS UNDER PRESSURE FROM TRUMP ADMIN Those criticisms have also led to action by the White House. In March 2025, Trump signed an executive order aimed at eliminating what the White House called “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian. The White House followed this year with a report criticizing the Smithsonian, including what it said was a lack of attention to Washington and other Founding Fathers. In July, Trump ordered his administration to place signs outside the National Museum of American History telling visitors that some exhibits are inaccurate. In a statement last year, the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents said it was committed to keeping the institution nonpartisan and its scholarship free from political or partisan influence. The board also acknowledged that the Smithsonian “can and must do more” and directed its leadership to ensure museum content is unbiased. Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch announced last week that he will step down at the end of the year. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GOP women sound alarm as Lindsay Clancy backlash revives calls to repeal 19th Amendment: ‘Definitely a threat’
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Calls to repeal women’s rights to vote are emerging from the online firestorm over the Lindsay Clancy trial, prompting Republican women to warn that the intraparty rhetoric could hurt the GOP. “I think there’s definitely a threat in the Republican Party right now,” political and legal strategist Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital. The online calls to repeal the 19th Amendment come after Clancy’s high-profile murder trial ended in a mistrial, with 11 of the 12 jurors favoring a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Clancy admitted to killing her three children, but her defense argued that she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. LINDSAY CLANCY MISTRIAL DECLARED AFTER JURY DEADLOCKS IN KILLINGS OF HER THREE CHILDREN “Convict Clancy. Also Repeal the 19th Amendment!” one user posted on X. “The female jurors in the Lindsay Clancy trial are speaking out about their deliberations and disagreements with the sole male holdout. The more they speak the better they make the case for repealing the 19th Amendment,” posted another user. Cooke warned that calls to strip women of the right to vote, largely coming from accounts identifying as conservative, risk alienating female voters from the Republican Party. “When you have these fringe activists online talking about repealing the 19th Amendment or alienating women, it really doesn’t help,” Cooke said. The calls followed after the case made waves on social media, particularly after hundreds of mostly female Clancy supporters gathered outside a Massachusetts courthouse during the murder trial. The demonstrators rallying behind Clancy argued the case is an example of the lack of understanding of postpartum depression. ROGAN SHREDS SUPPORTERS OF LINDSAY CLANCY, SAYS THEY WOULDN’T RALLY IF A FATHER WERE ON TRIAL FOR SAME CRIME But the demonstrations quickly turned into ammunition for online critics who argued that the support for Clancy is an indication that women should be stripped of their right to vote. “This Lindsay Clancy trial has shown us How spiteful women can be, the fact that women are willing to even defend a child killer just because they want to be ok with the “sisterhood” should alarm you,” another user wrote on X. The post continued, “They will gaslight you, they will use sign language against you and even try to call you all sort of names. But guess what, they are still wrong and they know it. Repeal the 19th.” Cooke pushed back on the idea that the calls to repeal the 19th Amendment reflect the reality of the mainstream Republican party. “Social media isn’t real life,” Cooke said. “I think a lot of people out there put these arbitrary crazy ideas, but it doesn’t really reflect what normal people think and what mainstream thinks.” LINDSAY CLANCY MURDER TRIAL BECOMES SOCIAL MEDIA OBSESSION AS TIKTOKERS, SLEUTHS DEBATE CONTROVERSIAL CASE She continued, “I think you’re getting these calls because of where our culture is today. You looked at the Lindsay Clancy trial and all the women out there in pink that were continuing to support a woman who murdered three children. You’re constantly seeing this cultural push in terms of where women stand today in politics.” Tiffany Losee, director of fundraising for The Conservative Caucus, told Fox News Digital that Democrats are to blame for pushing out this agenda and associating it with the broader Republican Party. “You have to understand this is all a game to the Democrat Party,” Losee said. “They’re going to push out anything that looks fringe on the right.” Losee also claimed that Democrats are using this rhetoric on the right to distract voters from the rise of socialism that has emerged within the Democratic Party, claiming if voters understood the ideals of the party they would “run faster than imaginable to get away from such government control.” HOW THE ‘LONG MARCH’ THROUGH THE INSTITUTIONS LED TO SOCIALIST TAKEOVER OF DEM PARTY: ‘NEED TO WAKE UP’ “They’re gonna push out crazy, Lindsay Clancy ideas, or ‘look over here at something shiny, or communism is cool, socialism is cool, everything’s free,’” Losee said. “But then they will not take that extra step to educate the voter on what exactly they are pushing.” Cooke and Losee spoke to Fox News Digital on the issue as Republicans gathered in Dallas for the party’s first-ever midterm convention, where the GOP gathered to rally their base to vote as Republicans work to stay in control of Congress as November’s midterm elections approach. “I think the left has constantly alienated women,” Cooke said. “It’s our responsibility to pull them in and show them common sense.”
Vulnerable House Republicans embrace Trump as GOP bets on defying midterm history
DALLAS — President Donald Trump is getting a much warmer reception from his fellow Republicans during this election cycle than his predecessor did from Democrats this time two years ago. Conventional political wisdom dictates that the party in power will suffer losses in Congress during a midterm election year. Americans who oppose the president’s party are typically more motivated to vote than people who support their agenda. But the GOP is banking on the opposite effect. The first-ever GOP midterm convention featured back-to-back keynote addresses from the commander in chief, as well as speeches from his Cabinet officials, allies and members of Congress. “I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” Trump told his audience on Wednesday. Republican incumbents and candidates running in battleground districts this November also took the stage, and all speakers projected confidence despite Trump’s own low approval numbers. DEMOCRATS TARGETING 12 ADDITIONAL RED DISTRICTS IN MIDTERMS PUSH TO RETAKE HOUSE “We ran together in 2024 on a ticket with President Trump, [Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa.] and myself. Voters elected all of us to deliver real change and results, and we’ve actually been able to do that with securing the border and delivering historic tax relief,” Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the convention. “Now what we’re seeing is, in a midterm, we are actually going to defy the historic trends. Why is that? Because the Democrats are so far left they are totally out of touch.” Republicans believe their warnings of Democrats’ socialist insurgency will help them keep their majorities in the House and Senate this year, along with touting Trump’s signature tax cuts in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. HOW ONE NYC SUBURB COULD DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE HOUSE Mackenzie is one of Democrats’ top targets in the election cycle, along with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in the suburbs outside New York City. “He’s the president of the United States, and whether it was Joe Biden or Donald Trump, I’ve always shown up,” Lawler told Fox News Digital. “You have to be able to engage with the president, and, you know, frankly, this is where I think the Democrats have made a very big mistake. They could get a lot more in terms of what it is that they want if they would actually engage constructively.” Lawler, Mackenzie and Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., are the three vulnerable incumbents who took the stage during the convention last week. TRUMP HITS KEY BATTLEGROUNDS TO SELL TAX CUTS, BOOST GOP AHEAD OF MIDTERMS Lawler, for his part, introduced two residents from his district whose daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant in Chicago, a poignant symbol of what Republicans say could happen more often if Democrats win. Trump has also campaigned in each of their districts in recent months as he crisscrosses the country in a bid to keep control of Congress for the latter half of his final term. But it was not just vulnerable incumbents who appeared in Dallas alongside Trump. The two-day affair also brought candidates from across the country, even those running in tight races. GOP FACES BRUTAL MIDTERM HEADWINDS AS REPUBLICANS PAINT ELECTION AS ‘COMPETITION WITH COMMUNISM’ “When people say that folks are running away from President Trump, I’ll tell you, I’m certainly not doing that. And let me tell you why: Because he has made promises to South Texas, and he has kept them, especially when we look at border security,” candidate Eric Flores told Fox News Digital. JOHNSON DOWNPLAYS GOP’S MIDTERM WOES AS DEMOCRATS EYE HOUSE TAKEOVER: ‘I AM VERY BULLISH’ “My opponent, who said, you know, that the sleepy Joe Biden administration and the no-show border czar, Kamala Harris, were on the right track. Let me tell you firsthand, I was on Operation Guardian support, was a federal prosecutor on the border. It was a humanitarian crisis. President Trump, on day one, secured our border.” Flores is running in a South Texas district represented by Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas. Time will tell if the strategy pays off, but Democrats are already seizing on it in hopes that associating with Trump will sink GOP candidates like it did in 2018. TRUMP’S APPROVAL RATING PLUMMETS TO NEW LOW AHEAD OF CRITICAL MIDTERMS: ‘MORE WORK TO DO’ “Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan and Scott Perry made their priorities clear tonight: They care more about Donald Trump’s cost-raising agenda than what’s best for the people of Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale said in a statement. “After jetting all the way to Texas to champion an agenda of higher gas prices, cost-raising tariffs and healthcare cuts, Mackenzie, Bresnahan, Perry and the entire PA GOP have proven that they’ll put Trump ahead of our Commonwealth every single time, and Pennsylvanians are ready to send them packing this November.” Fox News Digital did not see Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., who is also expected to run a close race, at the convention, but reached out to his campaign for comment.
GOP rising star reveals how Republicans can lock down minority voters without Trump on ballot
DALLAS — While President Donald Trump will not be on the ballot for the 2026 midterm elections, the former chair of Black Voices for Trump believes Republicans can maintain the momentum gained from his major performance improvements among Black voters during the 2024 presidential race. T.W. Shannon, a former Oklahoma state House Speaker who served last year in the second Trump administration and is now the Republican lieutenant governor nominee in his home state, says policies “the GOP has expressed,” as well as the Democratic Party’s leftward lurch, will help Republicans as they continue to court Black voters. Trump won 16% of the Black vote in the 2024 presidential election, according to a Fox News Voter Analysis, nearly double his total four years earlier. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB “It’s because Donald Trump has transformed the Republican Party back into the working party. You see Democrats competing for the Black vote now. Something that you used to not see at all. They didn’t have to, they just took it for granted,” Shannon said in a Fox News Digital interview Thursday on the sidelines of the first-ever GOP midterm convention. Shannon pointed to job creation and declining crime rates during the second Trump administration and said, “These are things that actually benefit … Black voters and Black communities.” He then took aim at Democratic candidates backed by or aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “Look at what … the DSA is offering, you know. We’re talking about raising taxes. We’re talking about doing away with the Senate … disbanding the police,” he said. “These are not things that are well received in the Black community.” Democrats disagree with Shannon’s assessment. “Black Americans are going to reject Trump’s billionaires-first, cost-raising agenda at the ballot box this November and elect Democrats who are fighting to lower costs and deliver for working families,” a Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The spokesperson added that the “DNC is investing critical resources to reach, register and mobilize Black voters across the country. While the Trump administration continues to attack civil and voting rights, we are fighting to protect the core of our democracy.” Shannon, a Lawton native who became his state’s youngest and first African American House speaker in 2013 and the first member of the Chickasaw Nation to hold the office, is favored to win in November in solidly Republican Oklahoma. He said speaking in primetime at the convention gave him a chance to stand on the “national stage.” “Any time I get a chance to tell the story about how great Oklahoma is and how great America is, I won’t miss a chance to do it,” he said.
Wisconsin GOP governor candidate swims from sinking plane after emergency lake landing
Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany said he and a pilot escaped with minor injuries after their small plane lost power and made an emergency landing in a lake Saturday night. Tiffany said the four-seat Bonanza was approaching Wausau Downtown Airport when it lost power following his appearance at the La Crosse County Lincoln Day Dinner. “The pilot made an emergency water landing in Lake Wausau,” Tiffany wrote on X. COAST GUARD PLANE WITH DHS SECRETARY MARKWAYNE MULLIN ON BOARD MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER ENGINE FAILURE The congressman explained that he and the pilot quickly called 911 after hitting the water, but the aircraft began filling and sinking into the lake before rescuers could reach them. Tiffany’s campaign later released a statement explaining the circumstances of the crash as well as the candidates injuries. “Tom suffered a laceration above his right eye that required stitches and was released from the hospital last night. The pilot was also released. Tom and his family thank God that neither suffered more serious injuries and are grateful for the exceptional care he received at Aspirus Wausau Hospital,” the statement read. “As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat,” Tiffany said. MULTIPLE INJURED AFTER FLOATPLANE MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING, CATCHES FIRE OFF WASHINGTON COAST Tiffany and the pilot were pulled from the lake and transported to Aspirus Wausau Hospital. Both sustained only minor injuries, according to the congressman. Tiffany and the pilot were the only two people on board the Beechcraft K35. The investigation into the loss of power will be handled by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, the campaign says. Tiffany shared that his wife, Chris, was by his side at the hospital following the harrowing landing and water rescue. “God was watching over us tonight, and I am incredibly grateful to be here in the hospital with my wife, Chris, by my side,” he said. “An experience like this reminds you just how precious life is.” Prayers and messages of relief poured in across social media after Tiffany shared details of the close call. ‘COMMON SENSE AGAINST CRAZY’: TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE SOUNDS ALARM ON SOCIALIST HONG IN WISCONSIN RACE “My god! What an ordeal. Very grateful everyone is safe,” one person wrote. “Very glad you are okay, Congressman Tiffany,” another commented. “Prayers to you and everyone aboard that flight!” a third person wrote. “So thankful you are all alive and able to see your loved ones.” Tiffany currently represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District and is running as the Republican candidate for governor in the state’s upcoming election. The cause of the reported power loss remains under investigation.
Uninvited woman enters Kamala Harris’ Malibu property prompting sheriff response: reports
Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies responded to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ home in Malibu Friday night after a woman showed up uninvited twice, according to multiple outlets. After the woman was dropped off by an Uber, she attempted to contact security at the $8 million home and was told she needed to leave, according to the California Post. But the unidentified woman came back again, prompting Harris’ security to call the authorities after 10 p.m. SUSPECT ARRESTED AT KIM KARDASHIAN’S MANSION AFTER STOLEN VEHICLE, BREAK-IN REPORTED IN HIDDEN HILLS The woman was not arrested, FOX 11 reported. President Donald Trump ended Harris’ Secret Service detail a year ago after former President Joe Biden had extended a year beyond the traditional six months for former vice presidents. 3 SECRET SERVICE OFFICIALS UNDER INTERNAL INVESTIGATION FOR POTENTIAL MISCONDUCT Lt. Jason Duron, a watch commander at the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station, told the Los Angeles Times: “We are stepping up patrols of the property to be safe. Eduardo Negrón, a Harris spokesman, told The Times: “Last night, security personnel stopped an individual who illegally entered Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman [Doug] Emhoff’s property before the individual reached the home. They are grateful to the security and law enforcement personnel who responded swiftly.” Negrón said neither Harris nor former second gentleman Emhoff were home at the time. The couple bought the ritzy property last January. The former vice president is a native of the Golden State, and she served as District Attorney of San Francisco, Attorney General of California and as a senator representing the state before she joined Biden’s presidential ticket. Fox News Digital has reached out to the sheriff’s department and reps for Harris for comment. A man who broke into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her husband with a hammer in 2022 was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Dem handlers lash out when cameraman confronts their boss about debate: ‘No pictures’
Campaign personnel for Amy Acton, Ohio’s former health director and Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, got into a confrontation with a Republican political activist wielding a camera last Saturday at one of Acton’s campaign events in Harrison, Ohio. When the cameraman approached Acton, asking her why she continued to decline invitations to debate her Republican challenger, Vivek Ramaswamy, her staff quickly rushed in to block him off from Acton. The video, which shows Acton walking away from the interviewer, adds to criticisms from Ramaswamy’s camp that she hasn’t given a good answer for why she isn’t willing to do a debate as both candidates enter the homestretch of their campaigns. RAMASWAMY PUMPS $25M OF OWN CASH INTO OHIO GOVERNOR BID, SMASHES FUNDRAISING RECORDS WITH $50 MILLION HAUL “Dr. Amy Acton, why do you refuse to debate your opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy?” the interviewer asked. “No photos, no videos,” the staff repeated. “I said — no pictures, no interviews.” At one point in the confrontation, Acton’s staff seemed to have bumped into the cameraman, jolting his camera out of frame and prompting him to ask them to be “careful.” Acton did not respond to the questions. Earlier this month, after Ramaswamy accepted a debate invitation from CNN, Acton’s campaign told local media she would not accept. “Dr. Acton’s focus is on talking with Ohioans, not platforming a scam artist who spreads baseless lies about her and her family, uses AI to falsely paint her as someone with a substance abuse problem, and shames Dr. Acton for being sexually abused as a child while Vivek stands with predators and abusers,” a campaign spokesperson said in a Sept. 2 statement. ARMED MAN ACCUSED OF LUNGING AT OHIO DEM CANDIDATE AVOIDS FELONIES AS PROSECUTOR REVEALS KEY EVIDENCE TOP ELECTION SCHEMES ROILING KEY MIDTERM RACES AS BOTH PARTIES ACCUSE RIVALS OF TRICKERY The response refers to a series of Republican attacks: her role in Ohio’s COVID response, a verbal domestic dispute in 2019 that she had while intoxicated, and AI-generated campaign ads that replaced her car’s license plate with a “drunk mom” tag. It also nods to Ramaswamy’s quiet posture toward releasing the Epstein files at the outset of his gubernatorial campaign. In his response, Ramaswamy ignored Acton’s needling. He seized on her decision, calling into question her qualifications to lead the state as its top executive while, at the same time, refusing to press her case on a debate stage. “It’s too bad for Ohio voters that Acton won’t take voter questions, won’t debate, quit after failing as Ohio’s health director, and has some serious issues now surfaced in multiple police reports,” Ramaswamy said in a post to social media. FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC ANXIETY AND CANDIDATE CONCERNS DEFINE OHIO SENATE RACE Acton’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about her interaction with the interviewer last Saturday. Having cleared the Ohio Democratic primary, Acton will face off against Ramaswamy in the state’s general election on Nov. 3.
Blue state governor’s pardon of convicted felon torpedos a major Supreme Court immigration fight
The Supreme Court will no longer hear an oral argument for a case centered on bond rights for noncitizens detained for lengthy periods, ruling the case moot after New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned a lawfully present Dominican citizen, who pleaded guilty to second-degree assault. Hochul pardoned Keisy Guerrero Mariano, who is identified in court documents as “Keisy GM,” in late August, effectively killing the Trump administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court arguing that noncitizens, including those with green card status, do not have a legal right to a bond hearing for a prolonged detention if they have committed crimes that are grounds for mandatory deportation. Hochul, who is staunchly opposed to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown, issued the pardon for Mariano just as the brief was due. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT COMPARES TRUMP MIGRANT DETENTION POLICY TO JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT Solicitor General John Sauer agreed Friday that Genalo v. Black is now moot, but said the Trump administration will seek an “alternative vehicle” to challenge the Second Circuit’s 2024 ruling that prolonged immigration detention can trigger a constitutional right to a bond hearing. Sauer said the administration intends to find another case through which the Supreme Court can resolve the issue during its 2026-27 term. The lawsuit centered on the challenges of plaintiffs Carol Williams Black, a Jamaican national with lawful standing, and Mariano — both convicted criminals detained by ICE. APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM HOLDING MIGRANTS WITHOUT BOND FOR OVER 90 DAYS Mariano was first arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in 2020 over a 2015 second-degree assault conviction for which he served time, making him eligible for deportation. He spent nearly two years in ICE detention, but was released in 2022 due to a nationwide injunction that required the release of detainees because of COVID-19 health risks. Prior to his release, Judge John P. Cronan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Mariano’s habeas corpus request in November 2021. But in May 2024, the Second Circuit overruled Cronan’s decision, ruling that the government must grant noncitizens a bond hearing once detention becomes “unreasonably long.” Failure to do so, the court ruled, would violate the Fifth Amendment’s due process clause. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case June 15; however, the high court ruled Black’s case moot because he had left the United States and filed a court declaration that he would not be returning to the country. Black was convicted in New York in 2000 of sexually abusing a minor under the age of 11. DHS BLASTS MINNESOTA BOARD FOR UNANIMOUSLY PARDONING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CONVICTED OF 3 ASSAULTS Hochul’s decision to issue a pardon to Mariano has garnered fierce criticism from legal experts. “Pretty wild to fully pardon an aggravated felon to (1) stop the felon from getting deported and (2) stop the Supreme Court from ruling on an issue. (Especially as this litigation has been going on for years),” Eric Wessan, Iowa’s solicitor general, posted on X. He praised Sauer’s decision to fight back on the Second Circuit’s ruling. “I wonder how many non-American felons Governors like Hochul will choose to fully pardon and free to avoid them facing consequences for their actions,” Wessan added. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul’s office for comment.
The one line from JD Vance’s GOP keynote that reveals his vision for America
Vice President JD Vance used his keynote address at the Republican midterm convention Thursday to frame the November elections as a fight over America’s future, arguing that every child is entitled to inherit the country’s opportunities regardless of background. The speech also gave Vance one of his most prominent national platforms since becoming vice president to define his own political vision, as he emerges as a central figure in the GOP’s post-Trump future and speculation continues about a potential 2028 presidential campaign. “Every American child is born an heir, born with the right to inherit the blessings of the greatest country on Earth — not because of who their parents are, what they look like or where they come from, but because they are Americans and this is our country,” Vance said in Dallas. “And that birthright, ladies and gentlemen, is what this November is all about,” he added. VANCE, CRUZ, HEAD TO IOWA ON 2026 MISSIONS AS 2028 GOP RACE TO SUCCEED TRUMP HEATS UP Vance tied that idea to his own family, speaking about the birth of his fourth child, Alec, six weeks ago. He said he wants his son and all American children to grow up with access to clean water, healthy food, a quality education, safe communities and the opportunity to afford a home and raise a family. He also connected that vision to the legacy of his late friend Charlie Kirk, who was killed one year ago. Vance said Kirk encouraged young men to fall in love, start families and become fathers. The speech marked a shift from the personal story of Vance’s Appalachian upbringing that he emphasized during the 2024 Republican convention. Instead, Vance presented himself as a father focused on the country his children will inherit, while using the platform to preview the issues and themes that could define his future in the Republican Party. TRUMP DANGLES $5,000 CHECKS AS DEBT SURGES — BUT ONLY IF GOP CAN CLEAR MAJOR MIDTERM HURDLE Vance then pivoted from his family-focused message to a sweeping attack on the Democratic Party. He accused Democrats of abandoning working-class Americans and becoming increasingly hostile toward the country’s traditional values. “The Democrats are the party of hatred,” Vance said. “They’re the party that despises America and the people who built it.” FOLLOW FOX NEWS DIGITAL’S COVERAGE OF THE GOP’S 2026 MIDTERM CONVENTION He urged Republicans to view the November election as more than a traditional partisan contest. “This November is so much more than red team versus blue team,” Vance said. “It’s about fighting for our fellow citizens, for their dreams, and for the inheritance of a great nation that all of us are going to leave behind.” The speech placed family, faith and national identity at the center of Vance’s midterm message while offering a glimpse of how he could define himself within the Republican Party beyond President Donald Trump.
Abdul El-Sayed touts ‘whole a–’ medical credentials while defending sex changes for children
Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed said the government should not restrict sex changes, arguing that “whole a–” doctors like himself should be allowed to make their own determinations for patients’ treatment plans. The remarks came during El-Sayed’s Friday rally held at Michigan State University, during which the former Detroit Health Department head responded to a student’s question about protecting sex changes. Since launching his campaign, El-Sayed has flaunted that he is a “physician” and, if elected, he would be the first doctor to serve as a Democratic senator in 50 years. However, Fox News Digital previously reported El-Sayed has never held a medical license in Michigan or New York. “I went to a whole a– medical school, everybody I graduated with also went to whole a– medical school,” El-Sayed said. “And then… they went to whole a– residency. Right? And some of them went to whole a– fellowship. They took whole a– exams to provide whole a– healthcare.” DEM SENATE HOPEFUL’S ‘PHYSICIAN’ CAMPAIGN PITCH UNDER FIRE AFTER LICENSE RECORDS REVEAL KEY GAPS “They are the experts that a patient wants to see when they seek care,” El-Sayed continued. “And the decision about what healthcare is necessary ought to be held between a patient — and or their parents if they’re under the age of 18 — and their doctor. That’s it.” The remarks come as the Trump administration has made major strides in restricting minors’ access to “sex-rejecting” procedures, which include hormone therapy and surgeries. Earlier this week, the Justice Department announced that Mount Sinai had joined other hospitals, like Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Connecticut Children’s Hospital, to halt sex change procedures for children after reaching an agreement with the Trump administration. MEDICAID ENDS FUNDING FOR CHILD SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES AS TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ‘EXPERIMENTAL’ TREATMENTS El-Sayed has made the promise of “Medicare-for-all” — government-run healthcare — as the major selling point of his campaign; he said that even though the government will be covering the bill, it needs to stay out of the doctor’s decisions about a patient’s treatment plan. “I don’t think the government gets to have a say about what healthcare is provided in what circumstances and why,” El-Sayed said. “And to me, that is the standard on which we decide how we make healthcare decisions.” THE MEDICARE FOR ALL TRADE-OFFS SOCIALISTS AREN’T TALKING ABOUT, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS “Not what the government says you can or can’t do, but what a patient and/or their parent, if they’re under 18, and their provider to decide. That’s the most important thing,” El-Sayed continued. “And there’s a lot of disinformation about us, what we’re talking about, when we talk about reproductive rights and when we’re talking about healthcare for the trans folks. But, in the end, the place where the rubber meets the rope is in that clinical room between a patient and a provider, and that to me is the center we should engage on.” El-Sayed argued that Republicans agree with his belief that treatment decisions should be between a patient and their doctor, pointing to the Right to Try Act, which allows terminally ill patients to try experimental drug treatments that aren’t yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration after they have exhausted all other treatment options. “Because conservatives fought for a very long time for this legislation called ‘Right to Try’ legislation, which is the idea that the government couldn’t tell you [that] you couldn’t have a certain medication,” El-Sayed said. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PROBE COULD UPEND WIDELY USED TRANSGENDER YOUTH TREATMENT GUIDELINES “So they agree that the decision about healthcare ought to be between the person and their provider. That’s it. So let’s use that standard, and keep to that standard, and make sure the government doesn’t have the ability to tell you what you can or cannot do with your own life,” El-Sayed said. However, the research on the efficacy of treating individuals with gender dysphoria by allowing them to change sexes with “cross-sex” hormones and puberty blockers is limited. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, whose guidelines are used by leading medical associations like the American Academy of Peditatrics, is currently facing a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission stemming from allegations that its guidelines misled parents about the “medical consensus and medical necessity, as well as the safety and effectiveness” of sex change procedures. The FTC has accused WPATH of failing to disclose the side effects associated with some procedures, such as patients experiencing incontinence, erectile pain, mood disturbances, pelvic pain and vaginal pain stemming from “cross-sex” hormones. Meanwhile, countries that have socialized medicine have put restrictions in place for minors seeking sex changes. In England, the National Health Service put a pause on “cross-sex” hormones for 16- and 17-year-olds in March after finding research was “really weak” to support it. The country already had a ban in place restricting children under 16 years old from taking sex-change hormones. El-Sayed’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment regarding his medical credentials.