‘Worse than Watergate’ New FBI files detail agent’s push to join Trump probe, investigate Elon Musk
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released a batch of unclassified emails between FBI agents stemming from Operation Crossfire Hurricane, a Justice Department investigation launched during the Obama administration into whether then-presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign was colluding with Russia during the 2016 election. Grassley argued that the email exchanges, which included former FBI Special Agent Kevin Gounaud seeking to open an investigation into Elon Musk over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), revealed that the “Deep State” was at work to undermine Trump. “The previous Democrat administrations under Obama and Biden conducted secret, insidious and downright evil operations that almost took down our government,” Grassley said during an Oversight hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel. “That’s arguably worse than Watergate.” DAN BONGINO REVEALS HE FOUND ‘MOTHER LODE’ OF SECRET RUSSIAGATE FILES INSIDE FBI BURN BAGS Over the past decade, the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the direction of Grassley, has released several rounds of documents from a few FBI operations such as Operation Arctic Frost and Round River, alleging that the Justice Department was being weaponized against Trump and Republicans. “The overall sustained efforts by the Deep State in the dark corners of the bureaucracy is worse than anything Trump has been accused of. At least he’s upfront and open so people can judge,” Grassley said. At the center of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s most recent document release are three former FBI agents: Gounaud, Walter Giardina, who was fired by Patel in August over accusations of political weaponization, and Timothy Thibault. Gounaud, who left the bureau in February, according to his LinkedIn, sent an email in February 2025 seeking to begin a criminal investigation of Musk. At the time, Musk was a special government employee overseeing DOGE. Gounaud’s complaint centered on Musk announcing on X his plan to have all government employees share five things they worked on that day. “Musk used a non government system (twitter) to relate information that allegedly was for official purposes. In doing so, because he is monetized (he is a majority owner of twitter) he likely generated income for himself based on Twitter’s monetization model and/or advertising revenues,” Gounaud wrote. “His use of twitter in this and other instances is conceptually similar to Hillary Clinton’s misuse of a private email server for government business.” Grassley later criticized the former FBI agent in a post on X. JACK SMITH’S SENATE PHONE RECORDS PROBE TURNS TO VERIZON’S HANDLING OF SUBPOENAS “Here is an email I released 2day showing an FBI agent who was ready2 open a CRIMINAL CASE all bc Elon Musk asked govt bureaucrats 2 report 5 things they did in a wk,” Grassley wrote. “Compare that 2 Iowans who work frm sunup to sundown EVERY DAY Washington rlly is an island surrounded by reality.” The document dump also shows that Giardina emailed at least seven times over the course of four weeks beginning in January 2017 asking to be assigned to Crossfire Hurricane. The findings of the investigation were handed off to special counsel Robert Mueller a few months later in May. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The emails show that Giardina was in correspondence with Thibault, who Grassley had accused of violating the Hatch Act. The allegation, which was investigated and dismissed by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), stemmed from Thibault resharing a post on then Twitter by the Lincoln Project, which called Trump a “psychologically broken, embittered, and deeply unhappy man.” Thibault is included in several emails sent by Giardina to former Supervising Agent Joe Pientka. “Based on the records known to date, that case didn’t advance,” Grassley said. “His efforts, as well as the case he tried to open on Senator Sinema, undercut public statements by former FBI officials that agents don’t get to pick their cases.” Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment.
5 states could be the biggest losers in Trump’s trade war with Canada, expert warns
Americans’ pocketbooks could take yet another hit ahead of the November election as President Donald Trump escalates his trade war with Canada — with five key battleground states likely facing the most fallout. Billions of dollars in U.S. exports are exposed to the northern neighbor’s retaliatory tariffs that target American goods across a range of industries. The outcome? Costs are expected to continue rising for U.S. businesses and consumers in the weeks leading to the must-win midterms. Affordability remains a prominent issue for voters, while tariffs remain a cornerstone of Trump’s economic agenda. He claims the strategy will result in more domestic manufacturing and pressure trade partners into agreements that are more beneficial for American industries and consumers. But the result so far has been an increase in prices for the average American family. “American manufacturers or American businesses who rely on Canadian inputs are going to start to feel the pain right in the lead up to going to the ballot box,” David Clement, policy director of the free market nonprofit Consumer Choice Center, told Fox News Digital. TRUMP JUST EXPANDED HIS TARIFF PLAYBOOK WITH A POWERFUL TRADE WEAPON NO PRESIDENT HAS EVER USED Clement identified Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as among the states most exposed to negative fallout, based on their current trade with Canada and the goods targeted by the tariffs. “Ohio is by far the most vulnerable state in terms of exposure from the Canadian retaliatory tariffs,” Clement said, estimating roughly $2.3 billion in exports to Canada are exposed. He pointed to machinery, transportation products, minerals and metals as major sources of that vulnerability. In Michigan, the impact is particularly evident in the auto industry, where supply chains are deeply intertwined with neighboring Ontario. “Most Americans don’t know that a single component on a U.S.-assembled vehicle can cross the border upwards of eight times before it’s actually completed,” Clement said. “When you are tariffing automotive parts going across the border each way,” he added, “it really gums up the very intertwined supply chain for cars between Michigan and Ontario.” A FRESH MIDTERM HEADACHE FOR THE GOP JUST HIT A NATIONAL RECORD Those costs can eventually make their way to consumers, Clement argued. Pennsylvania also faces significant exposure. Clement said about 25% of the state’s exports go to Canada, much of it machinery and equipment, putting just under $1.8 billion in exports at risk. What the trade fight means politically is less certain. Clement argued that even a change in congressional control after November would not necessarily bring the tariffs to an end. A POPULAR COCKTAIL HAS A TRUMP TRADE PROBLEM YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT “The idea that Canadian retaliatory tariffs are going to swing the midterms in the Democrats’ favor and then all of a sudden create an end to the trade war is a fantasy,” Clement said. He cited the legislative hurdles to reversing presidential trade policy and noted that the Biden administration kept a number of tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term. Still, Clement argued the timing could matter, with Canada’s retaliatory tariffs already in place as the midterms approach. “Cost of living, cost of goods, cost of doing business is such an important factor for Americans who are going to be casting a ballot,” he said.
Dem fundraising giant ActBlue accused of fraudulent donation ‘cover-up’ in explosive report
FIRST ON FOX: A Democrat fundraising giant used by the biggest players on the left is being accused of covering up the acceptance of fraudulent political donations and lying to Congress about its security standards. Congressional Republicans are providing an update on their investigation of ActBlue — a platform for campaigns to raise money that’s used by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, among others — that alleges the company potentially accepted foreign contributions and concealed the evidence from the GOP’s probe. ActBlue has previously denied any wrongdoing. DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT IN THE HOT SEAT AS GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS OVER DODGED SUBPOENA “The Committees’ oversight has found that ActBlue, in its own words, decided to take ‘a more lenient approach’ to fraud prevention in 2024, weakening its fraud-prevention policies at least twice even though internal assessments showed that these changes would result in a measurable increase in fraudulent contributions,” the report said, citing an ActBlue staff report. “Similarly, internal trainings directed ActBlue’s fraud prevention team to ‘look for reasons to accept contributions’ rather than to examine them closely for indicators of fraud — as required by federal regulation. ActBlue took this lax approach to fraud prevention even though it had detected at least 22 significant fraud campaigns on the platform in recent years, including several from foreign sources.” Republicans accused ActBlue of accepting “illegal foreign political donations” and the “subsequent cover-up” of that information. As an example, the report cited a letter by ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones to Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., which maintained that donations on the platform made by people with addresses outside the U.S. required a passport number for verification. KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE SCHEDULES HEARING WITH EMBATTLED ACTBLUE CEO: ‘NEEDS TO COME CLEAN’ But Republicans alleged that the verification “only ensures that the entered passport number contains a certain number of characters, not that it is a valid U.S. passport number,” rendering it an essentially meaningless step. The report also included excerpts purporting to show ActBlue supervisors green-lighting donations despite “red flags,” including a memo lauding a donation as a “great accept” but noting, “Donor sometimes has an IP in Hong Kong, but none of their other signals raise any eyebrows.” Another communication appears to show an ActBlue supervisor maintaining that a denied contribution “should have been accepted.” The rest of the memo stated, “It is a foreign contribution, but the name/email match, the IP/billing match, a full address with the correct country code, and there were previously accepted and successful contributions.” “The donor uses an Arkansas state code, which isn’t great, but [the] system can be wonky with requiring state codes for foreign donors,” the rest of the message stated. FIRST ON FOX: ACTBLUE BOARD MEMBERS IN HOT SEAT AS GOP PROBES ‘SERIOUS’ MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS An ActBlue supervisor also allegedly said a contribution “set off a lot of” alarms, but argued the donor should be given the “benefit of the doubt.” The communications excerpts were included in the report and not independently verified by Fox News Digital. ACTBLUE SUES TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON, ALLEGING POLITICAL RETALIATION OVER DEMOCRATS’ FUNDRAISING But despite the GOP’s accusations, the report’s evidence also appears to show ActBlue employees standing by the platform. An email from ActBlue employees shows they believe the company to be “the target of bad-faith political attacks at the hands of ill-intentioned operators.” ActBlue also previously told the committee “there is no evidence that foreign donations through online or small-dollar contributions are a problem in U.S. elections.” Despite the pushback in print, multiple ActBlue leaders who have appeared before Congress have opted to invoke the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying. HOUSE DEM LASHES OUT AT GOP EFFORTS TO PROBE FOREIGN DONATIONS WITH STUNNING CLAIM ON MOTIVE The probe is being led by Steil alongside House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. Democrats have denounced the investigation as a cynical effort to undermine faith in U.S. elections. But Republicans argued that it’s an effort to enhance that confidence by rooting out potential fraud. Fox News Digital reached out to ActBlue for a response to the report.
Jim Jordan subpoenas blue state DAs accused of ‘preferential treatment’ for illegal immigrant criminals
FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is ratcheting up his crackdown against sanctuary jurisdictions across the country. Jordan is sending subpoenas to district attorneys in Boulder, Colorado, and Fairfax, Virginia, accusing both of giving “preferential treatment” to “criminal aliens” when weighing whether and how to prosecute wrongdoing. “Despite repeated requests for responsive documents and communications, you have not produced a single document. Accordingly, because you have failed to comply with the Committee’s requests, the Committee is serving compulsory process,” he wrote in separate letters to Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, both obtained by Fox News Digital. HOCHUL BOASTS ‘I JUST BANNED IT’ AS NEW YORK OUTLAWS LOCAL POLICE PARTNERSHIPS WITH ICE “Your office’s lenient treatment of foreign national criminals endangers communities and ensures that criminal aliens escape both criminal and immigration accountability for their actions.” Jordan’s committee has for weeks investigated district attorneys who have been accused of taking immigration status into account when pursuing criminal complaints, even when the alleged crime has nothing to do with the suspect’s legal status. DOJ OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO SOROS-BACKED DA ACCUSED OF SHIELDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM CONSEQUENCES Descano, in particular, has recently made headlines after the stabbing death of 41-year-old U.S. citizen Stephanie Minter, whose accused killer came to the U.S. illegally from Sierra Leone in 2012. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the man had been arrested over 30 times before Minter’s killing. Descano, who has led the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office since January 2020, issued plea bargaining guidance that year saying prosecutors should “consider immigration consequences where possible” and consider “the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crime(s) the defendant is charged with,” according to local outlet WTOP News. SOROS-BACKED DA’S LAX ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION POLICIES LED TO ‘PREVENTABLE’ BUS STOP STABBING MURDER: COMPLAINT Descano’s office told Fox News Digital in response to Jordan’s subpoena, “We are disappointed by the Committee’s needless escalation of this matter, part of a partisan siege on Fairfax County residents and their values that does nothing to improve public safety.” “For the last eight months, CA Descano has engaged in good faith with the House Judiciary Committee’s inquiries, providing over 1,100 pages of documents as well as voluntarily testifying to answer the Committee’s questions. We will continue to respond to legitimate inquiries from the Committee,” the office said. “Despite this political sideshow, the office remains focused on keeping Fairfax County one of the safest large communities in the country.” Meanwhile, Dougherty recently lost his Democratic primary campaign to be attorney general of the state of Colorado. He told Boulder Reporting Lab in May that Jordan’s probe was “political theater that ignores serious failures within the federal immigration system.” The city of Boulder issued an ordinance in January 2017, after President Donald Trump was elected, directing government employees not to work with federal immigration authorities or “inquire into a person’s immigration status.” Boulder and Fairfax counties are known as a sanctuary jurisdictions, meaning local law enforcement is not bound to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. WATCH: SOROS PROSECUTOR’S HEARING DEVOLVES INTO ANGRY CHAOS OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RAPE CASE: ‘BE QUIET!’ Jordan’s probe is being conducted alongside Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., who chairs the Judiciary panel’s subcommittee on immigration enforcement. Jordan previously told Fox News Digital that he would not rule out subpoenas if the district attorneys did not comply with Republicans’ requests for information. “There’s a process we always go through. We ask for things, we ask again, we explain why, we work with their office — in some cases their counsel — and back and forth,” he said in late August. “And then if we have to use subpoenas, we certainly will do that … but we want to know the facts.”
Trump DHS hits 16 straight months with 0 releases at the border
FIRST ON FOX – President Donald Trump’s administration marked 16 consecutive months of making zero releases at the U.S.-Mexican border on Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the unprecedented record in a statement to Fox News Digital. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the streak proves that President Donald Trump’s policies “are working.” “Catch and release is over, consequences are back, and illegal crossings have fallen to historic lows. President Trump made a promise to the American people that he would make America safe again, and he has done just that by giving us the most secure border in American history,” Mullin said. “Border security starts with knowing who and what is entering our country – and controlling it on behalf of the American people,” said CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. “That means people who cross illegally are apprehended, detained and removed – not released into the United States. Our agents are enforcing that standard every day.” TRUMP HITS DRAMATIC MILESTONE IN MASSIVE DEPARTURE FROM BIDEN BORDER PLAN: ‘WHAT A DIFFERENCE’ U.S. Border Patrol said it apprehended 8,870 people along the Southwest border in August, which is 5% lower than July. The August apprehension numbers were 94% lower than the average month under former President Joe Biden. DHS also says it made zero parole releases in August, compared to the Border Patrol releasing over 10,000 in August 2024 under Biden. Other law enforcement numbers at the border remain strong as well, with fiscal year drug seizures up 73% compared to the same fiscal period under Biden in 2024. Drug seizures are also up 61% compared to the average of the past four years. CBP OFFICERS SEIZE $67 MILLION IN ILLEGAL DRUGS AT SAN DIEGO BORDER PORTS, DHS SAYS The rise in drug seizures comes largely from cocaine and precursor chemicals. Cocaine seizures increased 28% in August to 6,724 pounds, while CBP and ICE seized over 120,000 pounds of precursor chemicals in the same month. The August numbers come the same month the Trump administration began construction of a section of a border wall in Arizona despite objections from a Native American tribe. MULLIN TELLS CONGRESS PRIMARY BORDER WALL WILL BE DONE BY JUNE 2027, SECONDARY WALL BY SUMMER 2028 The wall is part of a $46 billion effort to shore up the southern border with 30-foot steel bollard walls, vehicle barriers and technology designed to stop illegal immigration and smuggling. However, the Tohono O’odham Nation sued the administration earlier this year, saying the construction will damage land sacred to the tribe. A federal judge rejected the argument, siding with the government and noting that the border wall would be built on a 60-foot-wide buffer zone of federally owned land called the Roosevelt Reservation. “Defendants have not yet articulated plans to construct outside the Roosevelt Reservation,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., wrote in his opinion. Fox News’ Peter D’Abrosca and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dem House speaker torched for invoking 9/11 to attack key Trump policy: ‘Totally wrong’
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., fired back at the Pennsylvania House speaker, a Democrat, after she suggested the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration could invite 9/11-like violence. “She used her time to actually denounce securing our border and saying that, somehow, the efforts to keep our country safe could lead to another attack,” Mackenzie told Fox News Digital. “She’s totally wrong. She’s answering to the far-left radicals and globalists. I would actually call on Joanna McClinton to apologize for what she said at that event,” he added. McClinton’s criticism highlights a challenge Democrats face as they search for vulnerabilities in Trump’s immigration agenda: attacking the administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics even as illegal border crossings have fallen sharply. DEM REP SETH MOULTON SAYS PARTY HAS NO IMMIGRATION PLAN, IS ONLY ‘OPPOSITION TO TRUMP’ Speaking at a panel discussion on the 250th anniversary of American independence, McClinton said she feared the threat of retaliation for Trump’s “brutality.” “When we think of just the brutality of this federal government for almost two years, it’s been heartless. It’s been too silent on the other side of the aisle. They are treating people with no respect or dignity — people who came here to do better. It’s horrible. So, when we think about where we are in 2026 and that it’s been 25 years, thank God we have not had another attack,” McClinton said. “Thank God we haven’t seen another plane go down in Pennsylvania. But we also have to recognize that our policies are impacting our perception around the world,” McClinton added. McClinton first became speaker in the Pennsylvania House in 2023 and first joined the chamber in 2015. Before her time in politics, she worked as a public defender. McClinton has voiced similar criticisms of immigration enforcement before, framing Trump’s use of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a tool that has gone too far. DEMOCRAT COMPARES ICE TO ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISTS’ AS 111 HOUSE DEMS DEMAND TEXAS DETENTION CENTER CLOSE “On our 250th birthday we’re seeing the worst horrors unfold in our beloved nation!!! Completely horrified by ICE agents so brutally hunting down, harming people every day – and now using deadly force!!!! God have mercy,” McClinton wrote in a post to X, referring to deadly encounters between ICE and protesters earlier this year. Since Trump returned to office, illegal border crossings have sunk to historic lows. Since the end of 2024, encounters have gone from 144,000 in December 2024 to just 33,800 in July — a reduction of 76.5%. Mackenzie believes Democrats like McClinton are ignoring that record. “What she should be doing is making sure that we’re protecting and defending American citizens in our country at every single turn,” Mackenzie said. SHAPIRO VS TRUMP-BACKED GARRITY SET FOR HIGH-STAKES PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR SHOWDOWN In addition to demanding an apology from McClinton, Mackenzie also called on other Democrats, like his own congressional opponent, to condemn her thinking. “My opponent in the congressional race, Bob Brooks, should condemn that kind of rhetoric. We need to make sure that we are always pushing back on these types of things that are really inappropriate and being said by Democrat leaders who are trying to push their radical agenda instead of doing what is right for our country,” Mackenzie said. McClinton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s beef import scheme wreaks havoc on fed-up red state cattle ranchers
As the Trump administration desperately tries to cut costs for Americans ahead of November’s midterm elections, one critical demographic to U.S. food supplies is becoming increasingly fed up. President Donald Trump in August announced that the U.S. would import 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef trim, well over half a billion pounds, from nations around the world, leaving some cattle ranchers in red states typically aligned with the president’s agenda uneasy heading into a high-stakes election for Republicans. “These markets have been very volatile the last month,” Greg Gunthorp, a farm-to-table cattle farmer in northeast Indiana, told Fox News Digital. “The ranchers have lost a lot of equity. The markets are down substantially.” ‘WHY WOULD HE DO THIS TO US?’: TRUMP’S FOREIGN BEEF PUSH IS HURTING HIS BASE, REPUBLICANS WARN Gunthorp said the current uncertainty makes it difficult to decide whether to retain heifers for breeding or sell them as feeder cattle. Complicating matters is the fact that cattle herds in the U.S. have already thinned to their lowest level in 75 years, which could spell disaster for ranchers and consumers. Part of that shortage stems from a prolonged drought that has decimated some of the Midwest herd populations. Additionally, spiking diesel costs stemming from the war in Iran means cattle ranchers are already operating on thinner margins and being forced to raise their prices. Jaclyn Wilson, a cattle rancher in western Nebraska, told Fox News Digital that how much of the 300,000 metric tons is actually imported, another unanswered question, is critical to assessing the impact that the Trump administration’s move will have on the industry. TRUMP WANTS CHEAPER BEEF. REPUBLICANS IN KEY RACES WARN HIS PLAN GOES TOO FAR “The only thing that really concerns me and continues to concern me, is that the market volatility is definitely there,” she said. “It seems like any time that we have significant prices in the beef industry and our administration says something, we do see that market fluctuate and that can be devastating for producers that are selling calves right now or even yearling,” Wilson continued. Wilson said she sold some yearling steers just after the announcement was made, and got $175 less per head than she would have normally. “And that’s pretty significant for a producer,” she said. Another common theme shared by ranchers who spoke with Fox News Digital is that they want the government to incentivize producing cattle, or at least stay out of the market and let cattle ranchers do it on their own. BROOKE ROLLINS, MONICA CROWLEY: AMERICA’S FAMILY FARMS HAVE KEPT US STRONG FOR 250 YEARS “You can relieve a price temporarily today, but they’re not going to put cattle back in Mississippi pastures,” said Mississippi cattle rancher Mary Jo Perry. “And that’s the problem, is that we have a cattle shortage. So, something needs to be done to encourage farmers and incentivize them, enable them to retain heifers.” Perry, who runs a grass-fed, farm-to-table beef operation, said the White House‘s policy proposal hasn’t affected her business. She sells beef to health-conscious customers who want to know that their food is high quality and that their beef was raised without feeding on corn or soy. Wilson would just as much prefer the government to stay out the business altogether. “I think that’s what’s so discouraging for me as a cattle producer is that I’m trying to do what my family has done for generations, and somebody else is dictating it right now, she said. “I’m not given those opportunities to make that choice, and that’s what’s really disappointing.” NEBRASKA RANCHERS STRUGGLE TO RECOVER FROM HISTORIC WILDFIRES AS DROUGHT WORSENS CRISIS “We talk about herd rebuilding, and that’s something this administration is also talked about — which I agree, we do need to rebuild our cowherd — but keep the government out of it,” she said. “Let it naturally happen. Mother Nature, of course, is the biggest component of that.” Fox News Digital spoke with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins at the GOP Midterm Convention in Dallas last week about the cattle ranching conundrum. The secretary said she’s spoken with “hundreds and hundreds” of cattle ranchers to explain Trump’s thinking in importing beef. “So, hearing from those ranchers directly was really important,” Rollins said. “But what we did — and we’ve already done a whole lot of pro-rancher stuff a year ago — battling for private property rights, taking out the weaponization that the left had put in against our ranchers [and] working to take their land away … so all of that was already in motion.” TRUMP ADMIN SCRAPS ‘WEAPONIZED’ WILDLIFE RULE THAT BECAME ‘BURDEN’ ON AMERICAN FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES: BURGUM “But what that decision, as frustrated as our ranchers were, what that decision allowed was really an opportunity for us at USDA and also work across the cabinet — which this Cabinet is very unusual in that way — to put together the most pro-rancher agenda in American history,” she continued. “Until President Trump took office, America’s ranchers were treated as a problem with policy geared toward their eventual extinction. The consequences were devastating: a war on beef, a cattle herd at a 75-year low, and the loss of tens of thousands of family operations,” said Rollins told Fox News Digital. “President Trump promised to put the American ranchers first, and the Ranchers First Initiative delivers on that promise. We are investing real dollars to rebuild the Great American Beef Herd, giving producers the risk management tools they need, cutting the red tape that has squeezed small and independent operators, and demanding transparency in a marketplace that has been consolidated and foreign-owned for far too long. President Trump will make certain the men and women who raise our cattle can hand their operations to the next generation, and that American families can put safe, high-quality, American-raised beef on the table.” On Sept. 4, 2026, Trump signed two executive orders related to cattle ranchers and beef production. One, “Supporting America’s Ranchers,” is aimed
El-Sayed grilled on Piker, Israel and socialist ties after Mike Rogers skips Senate debate
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed faced roughly an hour of pointed questions Tuesday over his ties to controversial streamer Hasan Piker, his views on Israel, campaign money and his socialist ties after his Republican rival Mike Rogers declined to participate in a scheduled debate in Detroit Tuesday night. El-Sayed offered one of his most explicit condemnations yet of Piker’s controversial rhetoric, declined to give a yes-or-no answer when pressed on U.S. recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and pushed back on questions about his relationship with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) during the wide-ranging conversation with the moderator. Rogers did not attend Tuesday’s event after declining the station’s invitation earlier in the day, leaving El-Sayed to field questions from moderator Roop Raj, viewers and members of the studio audience. FOX 2 said both campaigns were invited on Aug. 5, the day after Michigan’s primary, and that El-Sayed quickly accepted, while Rogers did not formally decline until the morning of the Tuesday debate due to objections over Raj serving as the moderator, arguing he was biased. EL-SAYED’S LIBERAL AGENDA CLASHES WITH MUSLIM VOTERS WHO BACK HIM ANYWAY: ‘MALE VERSION’ OF ILHAN OMAR On Tuesday evening, Raj pressed El-Sayed on whether he could “completely, 100%” disavow offensive comments Piker had made. The question came just two days after El-Sayed resisted questioning about Piker during an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “Absolutely,” El-Sayed responded to Raj about disavowing Piker’s controversial comments, before specifically addressing the streamer’s recent remarks about Jewish Americans. “When Hasan made these comments about Jewish Americans and Jewish Michiganders, I disavowed them entirely,” El-Sayed said. EL-SAYED DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM HASAN PIKER AFTER DISTURBING REMARKS ABOUT JEWISH AMERICANS El-Sayed went further Tuesday when Raj continued pressing him, saying there were “many, many things” Piker has said that he disagreed with and specifically pointing to the streamer’s comments about 9/11 and Jewish Americans. Still, El-Sayed defended his decision to engage with Piker, arguing that speaking with someone does not amount to endorsing all of that person’s views and saying he wanted to offer Piker’s millions of followers “a pathway back into our politics.” Meanwhile, El-Sayed declined to give a yes-or-no answer when pressed on whether the United States should continue recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, instead saying he believes “in equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinians and Jewish Israelis alike.” “People ask this question about the right of the state that actually exists to exist, but I never get asked about the right of the state that does not exist to exist,” he continued. “I don’t get asked about whether or not the state that exists has a right to use our tax dollars to do heinous things. I don’t get asked about whether or not the kids in Detroit have a right to their tax dollars, so I just think the premise of the question is built around trying to ask people to agree to the current status quo that we have seen become a deeply unstable, deeply violent equilibrium.” ABDUL EL-SAYED PROTESTED AGAINST ‘EX-TERRORISTS’ WHO CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY, UNEARTHED REPORT REVEALS At another tense point, El-Sayed accused Rogers of trying to turn the race into a “culture war” focused on El-Sayed’s ethnicity and Muslim faith. The accusation came as El-Sayed bypassed a direct answer on whether he would return campaign contributions from individuals affiliated with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Fox News Digital previously reported that El-Sayed’s campaign received more than $115,000 from at least 41 individuals who worked for, previously worked for or held leadership roles with CAIR, which has faced longstanding controversy over alleged ties to Hamas and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator by federal prosecutors in the 2007 Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case. CAIR has also been designated a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and formally designated or labeled as such in Florida and Texas. MICHIGAN SENATE HOPEFUL CALLS AIPAC DONATIONS ‘LEGALIZED BRIBERY,’ REMAINS SILENT ON OTHER DONATIONS El-Sayed defended the organization as a civil rights group and accused Rogers of trying to make the election “about the color of my skin or how I pray.” The exchange came after El-Sayed repeatedly criticized Rogers over his own campaign funding, accusing the Republican of being beholden to corporations. El-Sayed also questioned Rogers earlier in the event over his attendance at American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) fundraisers while discussing Israel. “I believe in an America that is big enough for all of us: Mike Rogers, Donald Trump, JD Vance,” El-Sayed said Tuesday night. “They believe that some people are more American than others. They think that if you pray a different way, your family comes from a different place, that somehow there’s an asterisk on your American identity.” Raj, the moderator, followed up, noting that, “JD Vance is the father of the children to an Indian American,” and adding that the “second lady is an Indian woman who came to this country.” EL-SAYED’S HASAN PIKER PROBLEM FOLLOWS HIM TO DEM CONVENTION AS JEWISH VOTERS BREAK RANKS “I think there is diversity amongst that party,” he said. El-Sayed also pushed back Tuesday night when he was questioned about his relationship with the DSA and whether he shares significant values with the group. “I’m not a part of the organization,” El-Sayed responded before defending his view of capitalism and arguing that corporate consolidation, rather than government regulation, poses the greater threat to free markets. “We don’t live in capitalism. We live in corporatism,” he continued. “You don’t have to be a socialist to believe that people deserve health care. You don’t have to be a socialist to believe that we need good roads.” El-Sayed has repeatedly rejected the socialist label and described himself as a capitalist. The DSA did not endorse his Senate campaign, though prominent democratic socialists have supported, or have been affiliated with his candidacy. CBS News reported last month that El-Sayed said he was not part of DSA but believed the group’s supporters should
Texas Senate candidate Talarico said US was ‘backsliding’ on democracy in resurfaced clip
Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico said in a resurfaced 2024 interview that the United States was “backsliding” on democracy and suggested Americans should look to countries in Western Europe for “inspiration.” Talarico made the remarks during a June 2, 2024, appearance on “The Weekend Show” with Anthony Davis on the MeidasTouch Network, well before becoming the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas. “We haven’t lived up to the promise of democracy,” Talarico said. “And of course, some countries are farther along than others, and sadly, here in America, where that experiment started, we are backsliding.” “And that troubles me greatly,” he continued. “But all of us still have so much more work to do to create a true democracy.” TALARICO MAKES STUNNING CLAIM ABOUT WHY HE THINKS TEXAS ELECTIONS AREN’T ‘FREE AND FAIR’ Talarico added that Americans should look to other countries, “especially in Western Europe,” for inspiration about “how to continue with this experiment and ultimately reach that goal of a true democracy, of a beloved community.” The clip drew fresh attention on social media this week, including from Elon Musk, who responded with a single word: “No.” Asked about the resurfaced remarks, Talarico’s campaign defended the candidate’s comments. “James agrees with the majority of Texans that America is the greatest country in the world, Texas is the greatest state in the union, and we should always fight for a more perfect union,” JT Ennis, a spokesperson for the Talarico campaign, told Fox News Digital. Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, entered the national spotlight earlier this year after defeating Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, for the Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination. He is facing Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the general election. SHOCK POLL: TALARICO TIES PAXTON IN TEXAS SENATE RACE, THREATENING GOP STRONGHOLD Republicans have repeatedly highlighted Talarico’s past remarks during the campaign, including his statements that he thinks of himself as a Christian who “hates Christianity,” that “God is nonbinary” and that there are six biological sexes. Talarico’s campaign previously responded to criticism of the Christianity remark by saying he is a devout Christian who is criticizing what he views as the misuse of Christianity to justify hate, violence and greed. In July, the conservative political action committee Lone Star Liberty criticized Talarico as an “America-laster” after the Democratic Senate nominee called the American flag a “complicated symbol.” Talarico’s campaign responded at the time that he believes the flag represents “freedom, opportunity and hope.” Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
7 Republicans rebel against Trump, vote with Dems to rein in Iran war powers
A handful of House Republicans rebuked President Donald Trump’s operation in Iran on Tuesday, joining Democrats to pass a resolution aimed at reining in the commander in chief’s war powers. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., introduced the war powers resolution that was backed by 14 of his fellow House Democrats, including Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo, and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. But it was Republicans who helped put the legislation over the edge. Seven House Republicans joined all 213 voting Democrats to pass the measure in a 220 to 204 vote late on Tuesday night. Opponents of the bill were 203 House Republicans and Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., who caucuses with the GOP. “I’ve been consistent on that since the war powers provision expired after 60 days of engagement,” Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning ahead of the vote. REP TOM BARRETT: IT’S UP TO CONGRESS TO PREVENT ANOTHER ENDLESS AMERICAN WAR Barrett was among the group who voted to rein in Trump’s war powers, along with Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Marianette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. Republicans who voted to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran have long argued that it’s on Congress to declare war, not the White House. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 generally allows a president to engage U.S. forces in hostilities for up to 60 days without congressional authorization, with an additional 30-day withdrawal period under certain circumstances. Supporters of the resolution argue that the period has already expired. The Trump administration has argued the president is acting within his constitutional authority as commander in chief and has defended the continued military operation against Iran, saying the resolution would improperly restrict the president’s ability to protect U.S. forces and national security interests. The war in Iran has become a political lightning rod in the current midterm election season, dividing Republicans and providing political fodder for Democrats who have accused Trump of getting into another “forever war.” The conflict has also been blamed by some lawmakers and analysts for higher prices at the gas pump, which is expected to be a top issue for voters. FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS OPPOSE THE IRAN WAR, SEE PROLONGED COMMITMENT It also pushed Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a well-known critic of Trump’s foreign entanglements, to try to force a vote on impeaching Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. But the vast majority of Republicans still stand by the president and insist he is well within his authority. “The president has done a good job managing all this,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital. “We need to stand with the president right now and with the Iranian people. And the president’s done what he promised the American people, that he wasn’t going to let them have a nuclear weapon.” REPUBLICANS BREAK WITH TRUMP TO REBUKE IRAN WAR — BUT IT WON’T CHANGE POLICY The Senate passed a similar resolution in June of this year, also with several Republicans defecting against Trump. But even if an identical bill passes both chambers, Trump has indicated he opposes such legislation, meaning it would likely face a presidential veto if it gets to his desk.