Far-left activist conference at teachers union HQ raises classroom concerns
A two-day conference featuring socialist, anti-war and pro-Palestinian activists at Chicago Teachers Union headquarters is drawing criticism from an education advocate who says the gathering reflects priorities far removed from the classroom. The conference included workshops on protest and media tactics, approaching port workers, tracking weapons shipments, fundraising, coalition building and strengthening ties with labor and community groups in Latin America and Africa, according to AWAN’s website. “I’m not sure that has much to do with empowering teachers in the classroom,” North American Values Institute (NAVI) Chief Advocacy Officer Josh Weiner said about the conference. “We’ve seen the barriers and boundaries between this political activism and the classroom break down in a lot of different circumstances. Certainly, the classroom is not the priority. It’s a political agenda that’s very extreme.” INSIDE CUBA’S FOREIGN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN: FROM THE ’60S VENCEREMOS BRIGADE TO A CALIFORNIA UNION HALL CTU was not listed as an official conference sponsor, although the venue featured union signage and a mannequin wearing a CTU T-shirt, according to the Washington Free Beacon. Conference rooms were temporarily named by conference organizers for political figures and activists including Fidel Castro, Nicolás Maduro, Cilia Flores, Rasmea Odeh, Ibrahim Traoré and Patrice Lumumba. Speakers addressed attendees from behind a podium draped in a Palestinian flag. The program included representatives of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Anti-War Action Network, Anti-War Committee Chicago, the Chicago Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression, and the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, according to the conference program. Other speakers were Michigan preschool teacher Jessica Plichta, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, which describes itself as a Marxist-Leninist organization fighting for socialism. Plichta was arrested on camera immediately after finishing a television news interview in support of Maduro. Police accused her of blocking a roadway and failing to follow commands to move. Another speaker, U.S. Palestinian Community Network Chairman Hatem Abudayyeh, previously served as a spokesperson for the Rasmea Defense Committee. Conference resolutions called for ending U.S. aid to Israel, supporting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns, and expanding pro-Palestinian activism, while another resolution referred to the Iranian government as “anti-imperialist” and pledged support for Iranian sovereignty, according to NAVI. Weiner accused the union of intentionally keeping “themselves at arm’s length of something” while sharing “the same circles” as organizers. FEDS OPEN PROBE INTO ANTI-ISRAEL NYC TEACHERS “CTU didn’t sponsor this conference, they weren’t officially a part of it, but that’s on purpose to keep themselves at arm’s length of something that, clearly, they’ve been in the same circles as,” he said. NAVI also noted that CTU Vice President Jackson Potter and CORE, the union’s governing caucus, follow Anti-War Committee Chicago on Instagram. Weiner said children are being taught “that the U.S. is imperialist, that it is the purveyor of violence throughout the world” while “platforming leaders that, frankly, are majorly oppressive.” “Public education is meant to really teach foundational knowledge and formulate our future citizens of our country and to prepare students to be productive, happy, successful citizens within our country and our country is a democratic capitalist system, albeit imperfect, but it still is,” he said. EXILED MUSLIM SCHOLAR WARNS FAR-LEFT–ISLAMIST ALLIANCE BEHIND ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS ECHOES IRAN’S RISE AWAN says on its website that it aims to “build a country-wide movement of people who will fight against U.S. imperialism in the streets and in the halls of power.” Weiner called the conference “the opposite” of what education should look like, saying teachers are “bringing extremism” into the classroom. “It’s totally anti what education is supposed to be about, and this is an intentional play,” he said. “These teachers believe education is about teaching kids about power, and how to take back power and where to seek power, and to make it a political act in and of itself.” The conference comes after the Chicago Teachers Union previously faced criticism in April for its collaboration with the National Education Association on a “curriculum build” to bring “social justice into the classroom” ahead of May Day. But Weiner said the union’s tactics won’t stop in Chicago, warning that “you’re going to see that playbook essentially happen in other cities,” adding “It’s not as though we think it’s going to happen. They’re saying, it’s going to happen.” “I think every time they push a boundary and break it, you see it pop up somewhere else and you see them pushing the boundaries further,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Chicago Teachers Union and the Anti-War Action Network for comment.
Pratt takes Walz to task in scathing X post over pardoned child rapist: ‘Have your hard drives checked’
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate and reality TV star Spencer Pratt took aim at Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz in a post that was widely praised by conservatives on social media. “If you find yourself defending a child molester, saying: ‘WE can’t be judged by OUR worst day’, you probably need to have your hard drives checked,” Pratt posted on X on Friday. Pratt was responding to a clip of Walz defending the pardon of a convicted child rapist, contending that his deportation by the State Department did not make the U.S. safer. “Did that make us any safer?” Walz questioned. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable? Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” TIM WALZ OFFERS STRANGE DEFENSE FOR PARDONING CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTED Pratt’s post quickly spread on social media from other conservatives bashing Walz. “I couldn’t agree more, @spencerpratt,” Republican House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District, posted on X. “Tim Walz has ZERO morals. He is disgrace to Minnesota!” EXPOSED DOCS REVEAL WHY TIM WALZ BOARD AWARDED REPEAT CHILD RAPIST PARDON: ‘NO FUTURE’ “To think… he was almost the Vice President,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted on X. “I didn’t used to understand the phrase, ‘bring common sense to DC,’ but it becomes more apparent every day that it’s missing at every level of government,” Florida Republican congressional candidate Tim Wilkins posted on X. “This is insanity.” Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment. The Minnesota Board of Pardons, composed of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, granted clemency to Laotian national Tou Lue Vang, 42, on June 10. Vang was scheduled to be deported from the United States before the pardon. Vang was convicted for repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and 2004, and told authorities after he was arrested that “it is a cultural thing… to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped in to terminate Tou Lue Vang’s legal status in the U.S. and ensure that Walz’s actions would not create roadblocks for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) removing him from the country before Vang was ultimately deported. Pratt has been increasingly active in politics on social media since finishing third in the Los Angeles mayoral primary and recently met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office which increased speculation that another political run could be in his future. “I will never stop fighting for my community,” Pratt captioned the photo of the meeting on X. Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca contributed to this report.
Birth tourism crackdown expands as House chairman raises criminal conspiracy case
A House task force chairman says companies helping foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth so their children obtain U.S. citizenship could be engaging in a criminal conspiracy. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who chairs the House Oversight Committee’s Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses, told Fox News Digital that his panel has subpoenaed several so-called “birth tourism companies” as it investigates firms advertising services to help foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth. “Right now, under current law, birth tourism is illegal. You cannot come into the United States for the purpose of giving birth,” Gill said. TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FIGHT COMES ROARING BACK WITH ‘INVADERS’ PLAY AFTER KAVANAUGH ROADMAP “And I believe that there’s a compelling legal case to be made that these businesses that are facilitating this process — facilitating somebody coming into the United States to give birth — lying on their immigration forms or on their visa forms — are engaging in a form of criminal conspiracy, and that’s what we’re going to get to the bottom of,” Gill said. State Department regulations prohibit foreign nationals from obtaining visitor visas when consular officers determine that their primary purpose is traveling to the United States to give birth so their child obtains U.S. citizenship. While Gill’s task force has been quietly looking into several companies since at least 2025, the national scrutiny intensified after photographs circulated in July of a billboard advertising for the Women’s Center at Mission Regional Medical Center in Mission, Texas – a stone’s throw from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The Spanish-language billboard advertised a now-defunct “Have My Baby In Texas” website, and quoted Mission Regional providing births for $3,950 and Caesarean Sections for $5,525. It also displayed a phone number that included “001” – the country code required for international calls to the U.S. MAINE GOP HOPEFUL VYING FOR TRUMP ENDORSEMENT PREVIOUSLY RAN BIRTHING CLINICS CATERING TO MIGRANT WOMEN Gill and others have since issued responses to the controversy, with the State of Texas also launching its own investigation of the hospital. “I think it’s astounding,” Gill said. His task force is investigating several similar operations, including one in Miami, and has requested records from that business and three others nationwide. Gill said birth tourism is an “obvious and clear abuse” of the U.S. immigration system and of the benevolence of the American people and the nation’s institutions. TRUMP BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FIGHT COMES ROARING BACK WITH ‘INVADERS’ PLAY AFTER KAVANAUGH ROADMAP “We are the ones who often end up picking up the tab for a lot of these services,” he said, arguing that birthright citizenship was intended for former slaves and their children when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868. “It had nothing to do with hordes of illegal aliens crossing our southern border and giving birth in America and using those babies to anchor illegal aliens into our country. And for all of America’s history, we’ve always had a very clear understanding that there are certain people who are born within America’s boundaries, within America borders, who are not American citizens, the children of an invading army.” The latter point was captured by Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and put into legislation Fox News Digital exclusively broke earlier in the week. That proposal would codify President Donald Trump’s executive order deeming the illegal immigration crisis an “invasion” and cite the 1898 Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court case’s exemption of citizenship for people not “bound to render obedience to the sovereign (U.S. government) whose domains are being invaded.” Gill said he had heard about but not fully read Banks’ bill – but underlined he believes it to be a “phenomenal” plan of action. “I think that that is the type of legal clarification that could help us out quite a bit in the long run,” he said. “Remember that the goal is to make sure that our children’s birthright isn’t being taken away from us because foreigners are coming in and having babies in our country and then buying up our homes and taking American jobs and using welfare that the American people are paying for.” Gill said the crisis touches on the biggest issue from the 2024 election cycle, which he considered to be the illegal immigration crisis writ-large. “In this case; seeing people cross the border so that their children can be anchored into the United States. That is such an obvious abuse of the American People economically, socially, culturally. It’s a huge risk to America’s national defense.” A Mission Regional spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday the hospital remains an “award-winning, nonprofit” infirmary that has been operating as such since 1954. “We recognize that a very limited marketing campaign may have caused unintended misunderstanding and was immediately discontinued. The campaign was meant to highlight services available to the communities we serve and was never intended to encourage any unlawful activity and Mission Regional Medical Center remains committed to serving the Rio Grande Valley with integrity, compassion, transparency, and full compliance with all applicable laws,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the billboard campaign returned very little patient volume and no financial benefit to a community they said has a high uninsured-patient rate and limited maternity care. “The hospital does not support or facilitate unlawful activity and has never operated its obstetric program with the intent of attracting individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States, promoting birth tourism, or encouraging travel to the United States for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child,” the spokesperson added. Citing a separate order from Austin, the spokesperson said 99% of all emergency and inpatient patients who responded to a state-required survey were legal U.S. residents or citizens. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “Birth tourism should never be big business in the United States. This tactic exploits U.S. immigration law, and those who willfully mispresent their intentions to temporarily come to the U.S. are breaking the law,” Rep.
Liberal law professor breaks with Obama judge over Trump lawyer crackdown: ‘I refuse to teach’ it
Legal minds across the political spectrum are admonishing an Obama-appointed federal judge for suggesting that bar associations should look into sanctioning lawyers working for the president or the Justice Department, with one liberal constitutional law professor refusing to teach his students that such a move is acceptable. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams formally referred Trump attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar in an opinion released Monday and ordered the ruling sent to authorities considering existing disciplinary complaints involving Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. The disciplinary actions stem from Williams’s ruling in a case involving a settlement that shielded Trump, members of his family and affiliated businesses from certain federal tax audits and claims. Bar associations have the ability to suspend the law licenses of individuals practicing law in their jurisdictions, giving them significant power over the ability of lawyers — including powerful DOJ officials — to do their work. “The court would also have litigants believe that, in such a circumstance, it is not only appropriate to dismiss the case but also to sanction and deprive litigants and their counsel of their reputation, license, or money,” constitutional law professor Christian Lee Gonzalez-Rivera, who identifies as a liberal, told Fox News Digital. “As a law professor, attorney and former judicial law clerk, I refuse to teach the former or accept the latter.” OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE TORCHES TRUMP ADMIN IN LATEST COURTROOM SHOWDOWN, REFERS ATTORNEY FOR BAR REVIEW The existing complaint against Blanche alleges that he mishandled evidence linked to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, used the DOJ to attack Trump’s personal enemies and failed to properly represent the interests of the United States during the negotiations that led to the creation of the now-defunct $1.8 billion weaponization compensation fund. Woodward, meanwhile, faces a bar complaint alleging that his approval of the creation of the weaponization fund constituted a conflict of interest as he had previously represented Jan. 6 defendants and Trump associates who could potentially benefit from it. Gonzalez-Rivera, who teaches law at a Catholic university in Florida, said that the judge’s order “effectively sanctions the bringing of debatable, if losing, arguments in high-stakes first impression cases,” arguing that it would have been ridiculous if judges recommended professional punishments for lawyers who were on the losing sides of other high-profile, historical court cases. LEGAL WAR ON TRUMP’S AGENDA GAINS FIREPOWER AS FEDERAL LAWYERS DEFECT TO DEMOCRATS Jeffrey Clark, a former DOJ official now serving as the vice president of litigation at a right-wing watchdog group, cautioned that Williams’s order — if allowed to become the norm — could seriously damage the legal profession by empowering a small number of bar association insiders. “This nonsense has to end. The State and local bars are not the superior officers of or the equivalent of a school-marmish national Principal’s Office that sits in supervision of two highest-ranking leaders of the Justice Department,” he wrote on Monday. “If this trend continues, no future Republican lawyer is going to agree to enter the U.S. Justice Department to carry out the President’s law enforcement orders as the Constitution intended,” Clark continued. “Power will instead be monopolized and moved only to the Left … The Framers would be shocked to learn that the real boss of Executive Branch legal power is not the singular President of the United States, but instead committees of insular coastal elite lawyers purporting to wield the meta-power of legal ethics.” MIKE DAVIS: WHY SENATE MUST IGNORE OBAMA JUDGE’S ATTACK ON AG NOMINEE TODD BLANCHE Clark has also faced disciplinary proceedings in Washington, D.C., where a disciplinary board recommended he be disbarred over his role in a proposed DOJ letter to Georgia officials after the 2020 election — allegations he has denied and cast as politically motivated. “DOJ has the power to put an end to this nonsense by issuing regulations preempting state/local bar weaponization,” he added. While Williams ordered the clerk to forward her opinion to disciplinary authorities reviewing existing complaints involving Blanche and Woodward, she formally referred Brito to the Florida Bar after finding that he advanced the case in “bad faith.” Williams said Trump’s lawsuit surrounding his tax immunity settlement was used to give judicial legitimacy to a legally baseless settlement; she flagged conflict concerns involving Blanche and Woodward’s prior clients and ordered the opinion sent to their bars, while formally referring Brito to the Florida Bar because he signed the complaint that launched the case. “I find it absurd that federal judges continue to attack DOJ lawyers, to include and especially Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, with roots in nothing more than the political viewpoints of those supposed unbiased judges,” Jay Town, the former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, told Fox News Digital. Williams was appointed to the bench in 2011 by President Barack Obama. She previously issued a ruling against “Alligator Alcatraz,” a detention center operated by the state of Florida to house illegal immigrants awaiting deportation, but was overruled by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. “On the bright side, this and the likely more orders like this one we may see out of other district courts nationwide … may nevertheless present higher courts — perhaps our highest one, too — with a chance to revisit judge-made doctrines like justiciability, which increasingly show their ability to be weaponized not only from outside but also from within the judiciary itself,” Gonzalez-Rivera told Fox News Digital. Conservative lawyer Mike Davis has called on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to overrule Williams’s ruling in this case. “The federal Judge in Florida clearly strategically timed her referral of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the New York Bar to come just before his confirmation hearing to be elevated to the Attorney General’s Office,” Clark told Fox News Digital. “This is flatly unconscionable non-judicial conduct.”
Mike Waltz, Tim Tebow launch effort to combat online child exploitation: ‘It’s happening in their backyard’
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow on Thursday unveiled a renewed international effort to combat online child exploitation, bringing together government officials, law enforcement leaders and anti-human trafficking advocates like Tebow’s foundation to strengthen cooperation against predators operating across borders. Following the event, Waltz and Tebow answered questions exclusively from Fox News Digital, with Tebow warning parents that the threat isn’t confined to distant countries or dark corners of the internet. “It’s happening in their backyard,” Tebow told Fox News Digital when asked what would shock American parents most about child exploitation today. NEW MEXICO SEEKS MASSIVE PENALTY FROM META AFTER JURY FOUND TECH GIANT LIABLE FOR ENDANGERING CHILDREN The event put a spotlight on how the U.S. is teaming up with countries around the world to rescue exploited children, crack down on human trafficking networks and prosecute child predators. Officials also pointed to recent international operations, new funding from Congress and a U.S.-led U.N. resolution targeting online sextortion. “The United States is leading the charge to combat child exploitation in partnership with civil society groups like the Tim Tebow Foundation,” Waltz said during the event. “Child exploitation criminals operate across borders, so a global response is critical. We need to work together to protect our children from predators.” Tebow said the danger facing children online is something parents should think about every day. “If it’s unprotected, it’s similar to dropping them off at a playground knowing that pedophiles are circling that playground,” he told Fox News Digital. “You would never do it.” FAMILY STOPPED ALLEGED CHILD KIDNAPPER AS POLICE SAY STAFFING SHORTAGE DELAYED RESPONSE UP TO 40 MINUTES He urged parents to take advantage of online safety tools and remain engaged with their children’s digital activity, saying predators are constantly searching for opportunities to exploit young victims. “There are so many predators online that are looking for a vulnerability and an access to a boy or girl so that they can exploit, so that they can lure, so they can groom, so that they can sextort,” Tebow said. “I really believe it’s one of the worst evils in the world.” During the event, Tebow stressed that child exploitation requires international cooperation. “Child exploitation requires a response as global as the threat itself,” he said. “Right now, children around the world are being harmed, and we cannot look away. No child should be invisible, and no predator should be able to hide.” ICE NABS ILLEGAL ALIENS CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX CRIMES AND METH TRAFFICKING IN NATIONWIDE ENFORCEMENT SWEEP Asked by Fox News Digital whether some countries are refusing to cooperate with U.S. investigations, Waltz said the larger challenge is that many nations lack the legal tools and investigative resources needed to pursue child exploitation cases. “I don’t know that there’s countries refusing to cooperate,” Waltz said. “But what I can tell you, there’s countries all over the world [where] they don’t have the laws on the books that make these things a crime. They don’t have the extradition treaties. They don’t have the prosecutors or the investigators that know how to handle the electronic evidence in the right way.” He added that U.S. agencies and United Nations partners are working to help countries strengthen those capabilities through training and international cooperation. Waltz also argued that migration and human trafficking remain closely linked, saying vulnerable girls are often exploited by criminal organizations during migration routes. Tebow added that investigators around the world continue to face enormous challenges identifying victims because offenders deliberately work to avoid detection. “When we also talk about this, there are so many places that are underfunded, under-equipped, and it does take some training and understanding of what is happening online so we can best use victim identification,” Tebow said. “Those victim identification specialists really are specialists. They’re incredible at what they’re doing because those that are performing this evil, they’re not trying to get caught.” “So it takes really special people to be able to understand, to find them and then bring them to justice. More importantly, bring that kid into freedom.” The collaboration between the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the Tim Tebow Foundation and international law enforcement partners is intended to strengthen cross-border efforts to combat child exploitation through expanded cooperation, technology and coordinated investigations.
House Republicans aim to turn Democratic civil war into midterm weapon
NEW CITY, N.Y. – The battle for the House majority will be won or lost in congressional districts like New York-17, NY-3, and NY-4, three crucial swing seats in suburban New York City. And as Republicans work to hold onto their razor-thin House majority in this autumn’s midterm elections, they view the ongoing battle between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the Democratic Party as political ammunition as they portray Democrats as radicals. “Democrats have gone further and further and further to the left with no end in sight,” Republican Rep. Mike Lawler argued in a Fox News Digital interview. Lawler, a two-term lawmaker who represents NY-17, which covers much of New York City’s northern suburbs, spoke soon after three far-left Democrats backed by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated more moderate, establishment-backed rivals in showdowns that drew outsized national attention. MEET THE FAR-LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY Two of primary winners were aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and two of the defeated candidates were congressional incumbents. “My district is impacted significantly by what happens in New York City. Many of my constituents work in the city, they’re cops, firefighters, nurses, teachers,” Lawler said. He charged that “these radical socialists are taking over the Democratic Party, not just for Congress, but the state legislature. And as I said last year, Zohran Mamdani would become the face of the Democratic Party and its leader, and that is precisely what he is doing.” Lawler’s Democratic challenger in the midterms is not backed by either the DSA or two other far-left groups, the Justice Democrats and the Working Families Party. DEMOCRATIC PARTY CIVIL WAR HITS DEBATE STAGE IN CRUCIAL PRIMARY SHOWDOWN But Lawler, pointing to Democratic nominee Cait Conley’s stance on key issues, argued, “The fact is that she agrees with them from a policy standpoint, even if she doesn’t couch herself in the same title of socialist.” “My opponent would be a rubber stamp for the radical socialists who are coming, and she wouldn’t have the ability to stand up to these people and push back, and the fact is the Democrats have gone further and further and further to the left with no end in sight,” he charged. But Rep. Suzan DelBene, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said that any GOP push to paint Democrats as far left radicals are “desperate attacks.” “The midterms will ultimately be a referendum on who is going to lower costs and help improve the lives of everyday Americans – which House Republicans have failed spectacularly to do. In the purple, majority making districts, ” DelBene argued in a statement to Fox News Digital. She charged that “Republicans already know they’ve lost the American people, and that’s why they are resorting to desperate attacks that aren’t actually about the pocketbook issues, but just baseless spin that falls flat with voters who are eager to reject Republicans.” Conley, a West Point graduate and military combat veteran who was awarded three Bronze Stars during six deployments to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, pushed back on Lawler’s criticism. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB “Voters are sick of political insiders, politicians, political operatives who care more about their next reelection than they do solving the actual problems with the time they are given to represent their people,” Conley told Fox News Digital, indicating Lawler, a political strategist before serving as a state lawmaker and then winning election to Congress. Conley emphasized that “we need new leaders, not people who are part of the political insider network.” The race in NY-17 is among two to three dozen across the country that will determine if the GOP holds its razor-thin House majority. So are the showdowns in NY-3 and NY-4, which are located in New York City‘s eastern suburbs on Long Island. “I think it will definitely affect us in Nassau County since we’re a border county,” Jeanine Driscoll, the GOP nominee in NY-4 told Fox News Digital, as she referred to the far-left Democratic victories in neighboring New York City. “Bringing in three ultra left wing people who are proclaiming themselves to be socialists, really communists, is going to wake people up.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Driscoll, the receiver of taxes in the town of Hempstead, America’s largest township by population, is challenging Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, who flipped the district two years ago. Just to the north, in NY-3, Republican nominee Mike LePetri is facing off against veteran Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who narrowly topped LePetri in 2024. “Frankly, the people of Long Island and northeast Queens are scared. They’re concerned about the future of America if you have the Democrat Party take over the House of Representatives,” LePetri told Fox News Digital. Gillen and Suozzi are among a group of moderate House Democrats who earlier this year launched the “Promise to America,” a centrist political pledge that rejects socialism, supports secure borders, and promotes fiscal responsibility and economic growth. “I call myself a new kind of old-fashioned Democrat. Someone who believes in the traditional values,” Suozzi said in a recent “Fox and Friends” interview. Suozzi emphasized, “We’re for capitalism, not socialism. We’re for safety, not lawlessness. We’re proud of America. Not ashamed of America. And we need to be promoting those things.” “There are people in the Democratic Party that are left of center that don’t agree with the far left. And we just need to do a better job organizing because you’ll see big rallies for people who are extremists, far right, far left, but if I show up and say ‘hey lets work together to solve the problems that we face in our country,’ you’re not going to get a big rally for that,” Suozzi said. But LePetri charged that Suozzi “is two faced. He says one thing, but votes exactly with his conference.” And Driscoll, speaking of Gillam, argued, “they
Trump’s housing chief paints a grim picture for homeownership in one major American city
Trump’s housing chief is taking aim at New York City’s housing agenda, arguing the policies championed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani would worsen affordability rather than solve it by discouraging private investment. “Socialist progressive policies never work,” Turner told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “To try to implement those policies in one of our greatest cities in the world — you will see people leaving New York in droves. Businesses and families can’t afford it.” Turner’s comments come as Mamdani has made housing affordability a centerpiece of his administration, backing policies like rent freezes for stabilized apartments and higher taxes on corporations and wealthy residents to fund affordable housing. He also wants local government to play a larger role in addressing New York City’s housing shortage. NEW YORK CITY IS ABOUT TO TEST MAMDANI’S PROGRESSIVE ECONOMIC VISION, HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW As America’s largest city and one of its most expensive housing markets, New York has become a focal point in the national debate over how to address affordability. Turner’s criticism reflects the Trump administration’s broader affordability strategy, which, in contrast to Mamdani, emphasizes reducing regulations, expanding the nation’s housing supply and encouraging private-sector investment rather than increasing government’s role in the market. The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary told Fox News Digital that states such as Florida and Texas are “ahead of the game” on addressing the affordability crisis because they have prioritized homebuilding and reducing regulatory barriers that drive up costs. He argued New York should follow a similar approach, saying affordability improves when governments make it easier for builders to construct new homes rather than expand their role in the housing market. “That’s what we’re doing now is easing the regulatory environment, bringing the cost down, raising the supply so builders can build and homeowners can buy,” Turner said. ‘AMERICAN HOUSES ARE FOR AMERICAN PEOPLE’: TRUMP HOUSING CHIEF INSISTS IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN WILL LOWER COSTS Turner contrasted that approach with the policies championed by Mamdani in the nation’s largest city, arguing his approach discourages the investment needed to increase housing supply. “The policies that he’s putting forth are not encouraging, they’re discouraging,” Turner said. “People want to go a place where they can get the government out of the way. The government is not the answer. The private sector is the answer. Family is the answer. Church and faith is the answer.” Turner predicted that Mamdani’s governing philosophy would ultimately fail. “Mamdani and his policies are the complete opposite of that,” Turner said. “So no, they’re not gonna work, period.” Mamdani has argued his proposals are necessary to address New York City’s housing affordability crisis, contending that stronger tenant protections and expanded public investment would help ease rising costs for working families. Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox New Digital’s request for comment.
SEE IT: Massive NYC homeless encampment fuels backlash against Mamdani
A sprawling homeless encampment stretching roughly 12 blocks along Manhattan’s West Side is alarming people who live, work and visit nearby, with several telling Fox News Digital that the city is not doing enough to address the tents, trash and reported illegal activity. “I think it’s embarrassing,” said Joan G., a woman who did not want to reveal her last name told Fox News Digital near the encampment. A nearby construction-site security guard who identified himself only as “Joe the Dog Man” also criticized the city’s response. “I just don’t think enough is being done,” he said. HOUSING FIRST IS A DISASTER. I SAW SACRAMENTO’S HOMELESS CHAOS FIRSTHAND Mamdani initially paused encampment sweeps after taking office, fulfilling an early campaign promise, but later introduced a revised removal policy that gives homeless-services teams seven days to conduct outreach before an encampment can be dismantled. “They gotta clean them up, they gotta keep on top of them,” Joe said. “This seven-day stuff, or whatever it is now, is really not working.” City outreach workers visited the encampment this week and were seen primarily collecting trash while many tents remained in place. Joe told Fox News Digital he believed that police should be given greater authority to enforce the city’s rules. “I think we need to enforce and give the police the right to do their job,” he said. The encampments near the Intrepid Museum have drawn complaints about blocked sidewalks, trash and illegal activity. “It’s terrible,” Joe said. “Drugs, prostitution and everything else in between.” SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER MAMDANI’S FAR-LEFT SUPPORTERS TURN ON HIM OVER HOMELESS SHELTER: ‘OOPS’ Some people at the encampment appeared to be drawing power from utility poles, prompting an NYPD response Tuesday. “The NYPD has not been given the green light to clean this encampment up, but we are ready to do so,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The New York Post reported that sex workers were bringing customers to tents and nearby bathrooms, citing interviews with people in the area. Fox News Digital has not independently verified that claim. The encampment runs from 34th Street to 46th Street along 11th Avenue. The encampment’s proximity to the Intrepid Museum and Javits Center has also raised concerns about its effect on tourism. Karen, a visitor from Belgium, said she was disappointed by what she viewed as the government’s failure to support homeless people. “It’s sad that they’re not getting the support they promised them,” Karen said. “I don’t know how it works here in America, but yeah, like when a politician promises to help people, they should help everyone.” Mamdani made expanding housing assistance and changing the city’s treatment of homeless New Yorkers central parts of his mayoral campaign. The socialist mayor promised to expand the city’s housing voucher program but later appealed a court order requiring its expansion. His administration said the appeal was necessary to pursue an expansion that would be financially sustainable over the medium and long term. “Shame on us. We have so much wealth in this city,” Joan said of the conditions and the city’s failure to house people living on the street. SEATTLE CLEANED UP FOR THE WORLD CUP BUT ONLY WHILE THE WORLD WAS WATCHING, COMMENTATOR SAYS “I’m okay with paying more,” she continued. “Taxpayer dollars help people who don’t have a place to stay — give them shelter, give them food, help them get trained, get a job, whatever.” Mamdani said earlier this week that the encampments would be cleared, although he did not give a specific timetable. Mamdani’s office did not respond to a request for comment. “Make this a better place for everyone, make it a better place for tourists,” Joan said. “This is not a great look for us,” she continued. “Great city. We can do better.”
WATCH: House Dems dodge questions on socialist agenda that threatens to abolish key institutions
Prominent House Democrats appeared caught off guard when asked about the newly announced plan by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) that calls to destroy the current America’s political system — eliminating the Senate, president and Supreme Court. “I don’t support that,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said when asked about the new agenda. “I haven’t read the proposal.” The revision to the DSA platform, “Workers Deserve More” plans to abolish the Senate entirely and replace the president and Supreme Court with an executive branch and judiciary elected by and subordinate to Congress. BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the most progressive Democrats in Congress, dodged answering questions on the new socialist agenda from Fox News Digital. “I’m not a member of the DSA, so I can’t comment on any documents that they put out,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said. The political commitments of the program are split into three sections, with the last section calling “for a unicameral, proportional legislature (abolishing the Senate) and a parliamentary system (abolishing the presidency), among other goals.” The platform additionally calls for the complete abolishment of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pardoning all immigrants, including those who have committed crimes, and defunding the Department of War. DSA CO-CHAIR PUSHES BACK ON SOVIET UNION COMPARISONS, WANTS PRISONS TO BE ‘LESS NECESSARY’ The organization has publicly advocated for ICE to be abolished since 2018 and its current platform calls for a slew of other extreme immigration reforms, including an “immediate end to all deportations,” “extending full voting rights to people with criminal convictions and noncitizens” and easing restrictions on immigration control for migration between countries. The far-left plan comes as the socialist agenda is proving to be making its way into the mainstream Democratic party as several DSA members and self-proclaimed socialists have been beating out more moderate Democrats in many of this year’s primary elections. Aguilar told Fox News Digital that he was “not at all” worried about the wave of far-left, socialist candidates complicating the Democratic party’s agenda. “I look forward to working with all our colleagues who run as Democrats,” Aguilar said. DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ERUPT OVER 2028 ENDORSEMENT AS AOC SPECULATION GROWS: ‘DANGEROUS PATH’ In a statement published Friday in Democratic Left, the DSA’s official magazine, the organization laid out the formal requirements for these socialist candidates to receive an endorsement from DSA. ” Workers Deserve More will have a formal role in DSA’s national candidate endorsement process. Candidates will “be expected to accept and promote DSA’s program, and align their own campaign platforms with its contents to the best of their ability,” according to the resolution calling for a new Workers Deserve More .” The endorsement requirement means the platform is more than a policy wish list as candidates seeking a DSA endorsement are expected to campaign in line with its agenda, even as House Democrats like Omar, Khanna and Aguilar tell Fox News Digital they had either not read the proposal or declined to comment on it.
WATCH: Lawmakers reveal where they stand on congressional term limits after recent health scares
Amid renewed questions of age and health in Congress, lawmakers are split on whether they should implement some form of term limits, capping the number of terms any one person can serve as an elected federal representative. Despite the relative popularity of the idea of term limits, the debate hinges on whether implementing such a policy would inhibit voter choice and make it harder for Capitol Hill to retain institutional expertise. That’s the concern of Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont. ‘THIS IS NOT NORMAL’: AOC UNLOADS ON MCCONNELL’S PROLONGED ABSENCE “The voters will decide who they want. We have term limits, and we have age limits and that is the voter. And if they decide they want to elect an 80-year-old or 100-year-old that’s up to the voters,” Sheehy said. Rep. Glen Grothman, R-Wisc., echoed Sheehy’s thinking. “I think the voters — when they’re electing, if they want to elect Grassley, you shouldn’t take that right away from them,” Grothman said, referring to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the oldest serving member of Congress. Grassley is 92 years old. Although Grassley himself remains in good health, concern about other senior members of Congress has reentered the public eye in recent weeks. Most recently, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., 71, unexpectedly died in office last week. Before that, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 84, and Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., 57, prompted public speculation after extended absences due to health reasons. LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71 In light of those recent events, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said he believes that lawmakers should recognize their own personal limits but seemed hesitant to agree that one bar should be set for all members. “People ought to know when it’s time to step aside,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said. “I’ve never been a big supporter of legislative term limits. I’ve served two terms in every position I’ve held until this one. I’m in my third term, but I’ve kind of limited myself before because I feel like you should make opportunities for others. And there’s always a trail on the pool of people who are willing to do it,” Warner said. Other lawmakers disagreed, arguing that the oldest members of Congress had shown that most officeholders would strive to extend their stay in power as long as possible. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, believes that the necessary path is term limits. “I’d like to see limits on everybody. And the best limit would be term limits and that’s what we should pass,” Cruz said. “I’ve authored a constitutional amendment that would limit all senators to two terms and limit all House members to three terms. An overwhelming majority of Americans support that, and that would solve the problem effectively because you wouldn’t have people staying here forever.” UNLIKELY BIPARTISAN SENATE DUO SEEKS TO PERMANENTLY BAN EX-LAWMAKERS FROM LOBBYING That’s also the position of Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said the long tenure of some lawmakers likely goes against the original design for the country. “I’ve been in favor of term limits before I came to Congress. I think the last thing that we need are professional politicians up here. I don’t think that the founding fathers ever meant for it to be that way. Too much power invested in one person — absolute power corrupts absolutely,” Marshall said.