Battleground Republicans break with Trump on key issues in final midterm sprint
Battleground Republicans are breaking from President Donald Trump with increasing frequency as Election Day draws closer and the party fights to protect its congressional majorities. With just three weeks until voters head to the polls to decide who controls Congress for the latter half of Trump’s term, some Republicans are putting distance between themselves and Trump as the party faces significant political headwinds. Veteran GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital that such a strategy at this juncture was “not a surprise.” “It happens in midterms when presidents aren’t popular,” Heye said. “Add to that the more outlandish things he’s done — often on things that have nothing to do with lowering costs, ending the war with Iran, etc. — this was bound to happen.” TRUMP VANISHES FROM GOP SENATOR’S CAMPAIGN WEBSITE AS POLL NUMBERS PLUNGE WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION It’s a similar situation to what’s played out with past presidents during a midterm election year, most recently with former President Joe Biden in 2022. And the Republican National Committee (RNC) is arguing that the party is united behind Trump, while conceding that GOP candidates have individual stakes. “Unlike the Democrats who are in a full-blown civil war with extremists, Republicans remain united behind the president’s agenda of cutting taxes, lowering drug costs and securing our communities. We are laser-focused on winning, and our candidates will run the races necessary to best represent their districts and prevent Democrats from taking control,” RNC spokeswoman Natalie Baldessarre said. And running their own races is what several are notably doing, balancing individuality with their support for Trump and the GOP base. At least two House Republicans, Reps. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., have touted conflict with Trump in advertisements. TRUMP-LINKED SUPER PAC PULLS FUNDING FROM 2 HOUSE REPUBLICANS AS GOP FIGHTS TO KEEP MAJORITY Kiggans is out with a new ad touting herself as “one of the most bipartisan members of Congress,” who has taken on her “own party to protect jobs, and working with Democrats to save healthcare.” One visual referenced a news article that said, “Kiggans bucks Trump on offshore wind.” Meanwhile, Lawler recently released an advertisement in which he highlighted taking on “the left and the right,” followed by a clip of Trump calling him a “pain in the a–” on state and local tax deduction issues. But for many, like Lawler, it’s a balancing act of trying to keep Trump and the GOP base happy, while courting independent voters. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said, “No one can dispute the fact that President Trump has created one of the most robust coalitions in political history with the MAGA movement, and the president understands how to communicate with them.” “President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party, and he is committed to maintaining Republican majorities in Congress,” Ingle told Fox News Digital. “The president signed the largest working-class tax cuts in history, lowered the cost of prescription drugs, sealed the border, drove violent crime to the lowest level in nearly a century, unleashed an energy revolution, added more than a million private-sector jobs and sent Americans’ 401(k)s climbing to record highs,” Ingle continued. “The choice has never been more clear: doubling down on President Trump’s winning, commonsense agenda or the Democrats’ extreme liberal policies and obstruction.” Still, the political tightrope was on full display when Lawler appeared on stage at Trump’s midterm convention in September, when he noted he and the president didn’t “always agree.” He told Fox News Digital at the convention, “I fundamentally believe if you want to get things done, you have to be able to work with whoever the president is. And it’s why I’ve consistently been rated among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress.” Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Sen. John Husted, R-Ohio, also notably appeared at Trump’s convention in Dallas. They have, however, split from Trump on some key issues in an effort to show daylight between themselves and the president. CAN THE ‘BEST SHOWMAN IN POLITICS’ DELIVER AGAIN? GOP BETS ON TRUMP AT HISTORIC MIDTERM CONVENTION They have called for an end to the Iran war and have diverged from Trump on data centers — the president declared on Truth Social shortly after the midterm convention that “the only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor.” But it’s a key sticking point for several Republicans on the trail who recognize the bad optics the hulking, windowless behemoths have with voters. Many, including Husted and Rogers, don’t believe it’s an issue that the federal government should have total dominion over. “What we’ve said is there should be a moratorium until we get all of the voters’ decisions and questions answered,” Rogers told Fox News Digital during the convention. “These are big decisions. I don’t think there should be a federal ban, because if the federal government can ban it, it can also tell you have to have one.” Another vulnerable GOP lawmaker who broke from Trump on the issue of data centers is Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., who has maintained that it should be a decision for local governments whether to allow such facilities in their backyards. “When you have people colluding with these corporations to come in and build a data center, before people in the community even know about it, because of these non-disclosure agreements, I think that violates the trust that people have or don’t have with their local officials right now,” Barrett said on Fox News’ “The Big Weekend Show.” Barrett is also one of a small handful of House Republicans who has consistently voted against the U.S. operation in Iran without congressional approval. The Middle East conflict has gained a steady stream of GOP opposition the longer it’s gone on, as evidenced by the growing number of Republicans voting for Democrats’ war powers resolutions in the House. Among them is Rep.
The Iran war’s unexpected impact on US defenses against China threat downplayed by top Army leader
Amid growing concerns that the Iran war is drawing away critical U.S. defenses from China’s doorstep, the Army’s top commander in the Pacific says the forces are using this unexpected opportunity to modernize. Gen. Ronald Clark, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, provided his assessment that diverting Patriot missile defenses to the Iran war has not increased risk to forces in the Indo-Pacific despite concerns about deployments impacting America’s readiness for potential conflict with China. “Actually, it’s given us an opportunity to modernize our systems here,” Clark told Fox News Digital during a small-group interview at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Patriot systems have been redeployed from the Indo-Pacific to support operations in the Middle East, while U.S. forces in South Korea have also sent Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors to the region. An October Congressional Research Service report cited estimates that U.S. forces had expended roughly 1,700 Patriot and 200 THAAD interceptors during the conflict, while the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the military had used between half and two-thirds of certain interceptor inventories. The Pentagon’s inspector general has cited strategic inventory shortfalls and manufacturing bottlenecks stemming from the conflict, raising questions about how quickly the U.S. could replenish its defenses in the event of another major confrontation. Clark said the deployments are giving Patriot crews firsthand experience defending against enemy attacks, while equipment upgrades are expanding what individual batteries can accomplish. He said an upgraded Patriot battery can now provide coverage that previously required an entire battalion, though he did not specify whether he was referring to geographic coverage or the number of threats the system can engage. Asked whether recent diplomatic progress between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had changed his assessment of the threat from China, Clark said he believes the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is continuing its build-up. “Well, I believe they’re continuing to prepare,” Clark said. XI PREPARES CHINA ‘FOR BATTLE’ AS EXPERT WARNS OF GRAVE DANGER FACING US AHEAD OF DC SUMMIT The assessment comes weeks after Trump welcomed Xi to Washington for a high-profile state visit that produced new trade agreements and commitments to improve military communications. But the diplomatic progress has not resolved tensions over Taiwan and China’s growing military reach across the Indo-Pacific, where American commanders continue preparing for a potential conflict. Clark did not say whether China’s military preparations had accelerated or whether diplomatic outreach had changed Beijing’s intentions. He emphasized that the U.S. military’s responsibility is to remain ready for a potential conflict while working to prevent one. TAIWAN ANALYSTS SAY TRUMP-XI SUMMIT PRODUCED NO POLICY SHIFT BUT REAL TEST LIES AHEAD “Hopefully my legacy in this job is that when we walk away from command of USARPAC, that the deterrent posture of our command is such that we have not just prevented war, but we’re preventing war in the future,” Clark said. Clark said Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, recently discussed reviving disaster-management exchanges between the U.S. Army and China’s PLA during talks with his Chinese counterpart. The exchanges would provide an opportunity for American and Chinese military personnel to work together on disaster response, restoring a channel of direct engagement that Clark said he hoped to see revived. “If you’re able to have a conversation with your adversaries, you’re able to share information with them in a way that makes them not want to fight,” Clark said. He said U.S. Army Pacific would be responsible for coordinating the exchanges with its Chinese counterparts if the effort moves forward. He did not announce a date or say that Beijing had formally agreed to resume the program. The U.S. and Chinese militaries have periodically conducted disaster-management exchanges in the past, including an event hosted by the Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state in 2017. “The cost of going to war is just so high that it’s our duty to, one, be absolutely prepared for that eventuality, but two, to prevent that from happening,” Clark said. The diplomatic outreach comes amid continued confrontations between Chinese and Philippine forces in the South China Sea. As Fox News Digital previously reported, the Philippines tracked 101 Chinese navy and coast guard vessels around disputed waters in September, nearly double the number recorded in August. More recently, Philippine authorities accused Chinese forces of obstructing maritime operations and carrying out dangerous maneuvers near Philippine aircraft. CHINESE MILITARY ACTIVITY NEARLY DOUBLES AROUND KEY US ALLY IN DISPUTED WATERS Meanwhile, the Army has been expanding its capabilities across the Indo-Pacific, positioning additional forces and equipment closer to potential flashpoints as part of its effort to deter Chinese aggression. Clark said the Army now has more resources committed to the region than at any previous point in his career, including additional divisions, a corps headquarters and specialized formations designed to conduct long-range strikes and operations across multiple domains. “The Army is now better resourced in the Pacific than I’ve ever seen it,” he said. He pointed to the Army’s growing ability to support naval and air operations, including land-based weapons capable of striking targets at sea. Clark said recent military war games have demonstrated the importance of those capabilities, including one maritime scenario in which the addition of Army forces changed an unfavorable outcome. “It’s really tied to existing capabilities we have,” Clark said, citing the Army’s ability to detect targets, conduct strikes, protect military assets and sustain operations from land.
American-made goods also got more expensive under Trump tariffs, new research finds
Americans aren’t just seeing the price tag increase for imported goods. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, they are now paying more for products made in the U.S.A., according to new research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In fact, the research finds that prices for many everyday goods would have fallen last year and into early 2026 without Trump’s tariffs. The findings offer new evidence of how the sweeping tariff policy, a centerpiece of the president’s economic agenda during his second term, have affected Americans’ wallets — and it’s only getting worse with just one month until the midterm elections. TRUMP BET TARIFFS WOULD BRING BACK AMERICAN FACTORY JOBS. NEW REPORT SAYS IT DIDN’T WORK Economists had long warned that tariffs would drive up consumer prices, but measuring their precise impact has been difficult as trade policies shifted and companies made decisions about whether to absorb higher costs or pass them along to shoppers. Put simply, the New York Fed found that tariffs kept prices higher on many of the goods Americans buy every day. Without the tariffs, prices across the consumer goods examined for this study would have fallen by early 2026. Instead, they rose. The researchers estimated that tariffs added about 2.9 percentage points to prices across the goods they studied. And the impact, notably, was not limited to imported products facing the most fallout from tariffs. The New York Fed found that Trump’s policies pushed up prices on American-made goods. Researchers estimated that about two-thirds of the tariff-related price increase came from imports, while roughly one-third came from products made in the United States. The White House pushed back, arguing that tariffs will ultimately benefit U.S. workers and be paid by foreign exporters. “President Trump’s America First trade agenda is reshaping the international economic order to reduce our trade deficit, revitalize American manufacturing, and deliver lasting benefits to our workers, farmers and producers,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. The administration has maintained that foreign exporters reliant on access to the U.S. market will ultimately bear the cost of tariffs, Rogers added. A MUST-WIN MIDTERM STATE IS THE REAL LOSER OF TRUMP’S CANADA TRADE WAR Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital that consumers may not see significant relief as long as tariffs remain in place. “What we know is that the tariffs have increased prices a bit,” Lincicome said. “What we don’t know is whether the prices will stay where they are or go up even a little bit more as companies finally cave and start passing on more of the tariff costs onto consumers.” “As long as the tariffs remain in place, it’s unlikely we’re going to see price declines,” he added. The research also found that tariff-related price increases can take up to a year to fully reach consumers, particularly when American manufacturers face higher costs for imported materials and components. Although the researchers estimate that the inflationary impact of existing tariffs has largely peaked, they expect consumer goods prices to remain higher than they otherwise would have been. 5 STATES COULD BE THE BIGGEST LOSERS IN TRUMP’S TRADE WAR WITH CANADA, EXPERT WARNS The findings could carry political implications as Trump and Republicans face voters in November after campaigning on lowering the cost of living. “When you campaign on lowering prices, and then you actually actively increase prices, it’s probably gonna hurt when voters go back to the polls and are mad about prices still being too high,” Lincicome said. Meanwhile, higher energy costs are adding another layer of pressure on American households. “It’s really a double whammy for American consumers because first you had the tariffs which increased the prices of a lot of products. And then you had energy prices spike because of the Iran war,” Lincicome said. He warned that rising diesel costs could push prices higher beyond the gas pump, increasing transportation expenses for businesses that rely on trucks, trains and agricultural equipment. “Those things are going to act as kind of another tariff because they’re gonna increase the cost of getting that product to you,” he said.
Schumer warns of Republican advantage that could change the battle for Senate control
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sees a path to victory for Democrats in November — but one major Republican advantage has him worried. In a letter to his Democratic colleagues, Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that his crop of candidates and Democrats running across the country are winning the messaging battle against the GOP, but asked, “Can Republicans buy the Senate?” “With just three weeks until Election Day, the battle for control of the Senate comes down to one defining question: Will the unprecedented tsunami of Republican money defeat the massive Democratic advantage in candidates, policies, and political climate,” Schumer wrote. DEMOCRATS SEE NEW CHANCES TO FLIP RED STATES — BUT A $400M GOP SPENDING ADVANTAGE COULD DERAIL THEIR PLANS “There are 22 days until Election Day, and two enormous forces are on a collision course: deep voter dissatisfaction with Republicans and an unprecedented flood of money aimed at overcoming their political liabilities,” he continued. “Which force prevails could determine control of the United States Senate.” Republicans do have a distinct money advantage and have seen outside groups and President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. spending at eye-popping levels across the Senate map. MAGA Inc., for example, has over $400 million at its disposal, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, and reportedly has plans to spend in key Senate races like Iowa, Ohio and Alaska in the waning weeks of the midterms. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN LIMIT ON PARTY CAMPAIGN SPENDING IN COORDINATION WITH CANDIDATES Then there’s tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has contributed roughly $276 million to Republican-aligned political action committees (PACs) this cycle. Notably, he contributed $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Schumer lamented the funding, arguing that it was coming from a small field of deep-pocketed donors “looking to buy a pardon, curry favor, and move the needle in favor of their personal interests.” He also charged that the influx of cash was thanks in part to the Supreme Court’s decision in June to eliminate federal limits on how much political parties can spend on candidates. DEMOCRATS THINK A BLUE WAVE IS BUILDING. HERE ARE 3 FORCES THAT COULD STOP IT “None of us are naïve; we’ve known this day would come ever since Justices Kennedy, Roberts, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas decided to give their billionaire and corporate friends permission to buy elections,” Schumer said. But Democrats’ own super PAC, the Senate Majority PAC, which is closely aligned with Schumer, broke its own fundraising records in the third quarter of this year, raking in $151 million. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced shortly after the court’s decision that it would be pumping in $40 million in a slew of battleground states. And the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), also teed up over $46 million in battleground races. “This pity pitch from Chuck Schumer is a testament to the enthusiasm of Republican grassroots donors who are re-engaging in full force to stop Democrats’ socialist march,” NRSC spokeswoman Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately for Schumer, the DNC’s debt crisis is symptomatic of a dying Democratic brand, with approval ratings in the toilet and donors doubting their own chances of flipping the Senate.”
Democrats have ‘dirty hands’ over complaints about Omar raid weeks before election, ex-prosecutor says
Former federal prosecutors are pushing back on Democrats’ accusations that the Trump administration violated Justice Department policy by searching the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., just weeks before an election. “It’s difficult to not point out the dirty hands of the people that might complain about election interference,” Jim Trusty, a former federal prosecutor, said, pointing to former special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election. “Democrats definitely can’t contend that it’s a politicized investigation after everything that happened in the Trump era,” Abhishek Kambil, a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, released a lengthy statement alleging that the Justice Department violated protocol by conducting “overt actions in politically-sensitive matters in the 60 days before an election.” HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’ “Just 22 days before the elections, this is blatant political intimidation and an attempt to interfere with the Congresswoman’s reelection,” Raskin wrote in his press release. But Kambil pointed out that the U.S. Department of Justice Manual, which outlines procedures for federal criminal investigations, does not explicitly impose a 60-day period before elections in which investigative actions can’t be conducted. “The 60-day requirement is not something that’s in the justice manual,” Kambil told Fox News Digital. “That’s basically an unwritten practice of what DOJ typically does, and the justice manual itself does not have the time frame on that.” Kambil said that any actions which could be perceived as influencing an election will require prior approval from either the attorney general or the deputy attorney general. The Justice Department has long followed an unwritten practice known as the “60-day rule,” which discourages politically sensitive investigative actions close to an election. The practice came under scrutiny in a 2018 DOJ inspector general report examining former FBI Director James Comey’s decision to notify Congress of new developments in the Hillary Clinton email investigation just 11 days before the 2016 presidential election. The watchdog concluded that Comey had disregarded longstanding department policy and practice, calling his decision a “serious error of judgment.” “It doesn’t create a ban; it just creates effectively a consultation requirement to higher level leadership before it can happen, but there is no statute or anything else preventing this,” Kambil told Fox News Digital. The Justice Department also was accused by President Donald Trump of ignoring its “60-day rule” when special counsel Jack Smith filed a revised indictment against Trump just 70 days before the 2024 presidential election. Weeks later, Smith submitted a 165-page brief outlining evidence against Trump in the federal election interference case, which was made public just 34 days before the election. Trump and Republican lawmakers accused Smith of attempting to influence the election, but Smith maintained that his office followed DOJ policy and complied with a court-ordered filing schedule. “For 60 days prior to an election, the Department of Injustice is supposed to do absolutely nothing that would taint or interfere with a case,” Trump posted in all capital letters to his Truth Social. “They disobeyed their own rule in favor of complete and total election interference.” BIDEN-ERA FBI’S ‘NIXONIAN’ TRUMP FAMILY SURVEILLANCE DRAWS SCRUTINY FROM UNLIKELY CORNER “Going back to Jack Smith, obviously trying to get a case tried — the January 6th case before the election — to affect the electorate,” Trusty said. Trusty pointed out that the Justice Department needed approval from a magistrate judge in Washington, D.C., before executing its search warrant. “There’s at least probable cause,” Trusty said. “It’s a long way off from proving a case at trial.” “But keep in mind, in D.C. President Trump and his administration don’t always have friendly treatment from the judges there,” Trusty continued. “So this was a magistrate judge who looked at the sworn statement, said there’s enough to justify a raid, and now we’ve had a raid.” A judge can reject a search warrant application if investigators fail to establish probable cause. But approving a warrant does not necessarily resolve questions about whether the search complied with the Justice Department’s election-year policies. TRUMP DOJ UNLEASHES LARGEST DENATURALIZATION EFFORT IN DEPARTMENT HISTORY — AND SAYS IT’S ‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’ “When you see Democrats challenging the warrant or what happened, they’re not really going after the merits,” Kambil said. “They’re challenging the timing.” The Homeland Security Investigations raid stems from an investigation into immigration paperwork Omar’s father completed when she was a child. Omar, who fled Somalia’s civil war, immigrated to the United States with her family in 1995 at age 12 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000. In response to the raid on her home, Omar accused Trump of engaging in “political intimidation” against her. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies,” Omar posted on X. “For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Republicans in historically critical battleground county pull no punches in midterm homestretch: ‘Lot of hope’
HAMILTON, OH – Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is fighting for his political future in a tight race in reliably red Ohio, and he spoke to Fox News Digital along with other local Republicans about what to expect in the few weeks before the critical midterm election. “Look, he’s been there for 50 years and everywhere I go, no one can name a single thing that he ever did for them,” Husted said about his Democratic opponent Sherrod Brown, who is attempting to return to the U.S. Senate after being defeated by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, in 2024. “And think about this, you can’t keep sending the same old Sherrod Brown back to Washington and expect different results. The place is broken. He’s the one that broke it. He created the system. If you wanna see a better, brighter future, you can’t send the same ol’ Sherrod Brown back.” Husted, speaking to Fox News Digital at a Butler County GOP event on Saturday, pointed to the recent Ohio visits from President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., as a sign the momentum is on his side in a race some polls show him trailing. TRUMP TOUTS ‘GOLDEN AGE’ AT OHIO RALLY, URGES VOTERS TO DELIVER GOP MIDTERM WINS “We’re seeing a ton of energy and literally in the last month, you can just feel it change…we’re just seeing people all around the state just rallying and the crowds have been larger and more enthusiastic than I expected in a midterm. So it gives us a lot of hope.” Despite Ohio’s Republican lean, Husted faces an uphill battle in a race that has tightened considerably and Republicans are also contending with the traditional midterm headwinds facing the party in power, making turnout and voter enthusiasm especially critical in the weeks ahead. Republicans are also facing concerns over gas prices and affordability, with voters focused on the cost of everyday essentials ahead of the midterm elections. Fox News Digital asked Husted about those concerns and whether part of his message to voters is that the Democratic Party being put back in power won’t fix those issues. SCHUMER PREACHES AFFORDABILITY IN DEM MIDTERM PITCH WHILE SABOTAGING GOP FIXES FOR SOARING COSTS “Yeah, look, it’s common sense versus crazy,” Husted explained. “Look, we’ve done some good things. We have more jobs in Ohio than we’ve ever had in our history, the lowest unemployment rate. Now we just got to fight to get prices down. The Democrats block us at every turn trying to do that.” Democrats in the Senate recently blocked Husted’s legislation aimed at requiring large data centers to pay for the power generation and infrastructure needed to serve their facilities rather than shifting that burden onto taxpayers as the data center issue becomes a top issue on the Ohio campaign trail. “They blocked my ratepayer protection pledge, which would have forced data centers to pay their own way. Why? Because they just wanted to use it as a political issue rather than actually solving problems for people,” Husted said. Husted continued, “We’re the party of drill, baby drill. They’re the part of closing down pipelines and refineries and power plants. We are going to create the energy supply to meet the demand and help lower prices. The Democrats, they don’t believe in any of it. They believe in command and control of the government. They want to take more of your money out of your paycheck, send it to Washington. If you want your freedom and your fortune, then you need to vote for Republicans.” If Husted is going to be successful in November, Ohio attorney and political strategist Mehek Cooke says the key will be pushing back hard on the affordability issue. “I think Senator Houston every single day needs to close that deal by talking about his ratepayer protection data plan, where he promised to cut costs for every single American by saying data centers will not take our resources, taxpayers will not pay for those bills, data centers will and every Democrat voted against that,” Cooke said, adding that the vote against Husted’s bill shows Democrats “don’t care about data centers.” “You know what they care about? The money that data centers give them,” Cooke said, referencing Fox News Digital reporting that Brown has taken money from companies that operate data centers. “Jekyll and Hyde, I’ve said this about Sherrod,” Cooke said. “He’s a different man in Ohio. He’s the aw shucks, I’m disheveled, I don’t know where I am, what day is it? You love me, I love you. And then he gets to Washington and he turns his back on us. So we care about datacenters. We don’t wanna pay their bills. And guess what? John Husted will make sure we never do. He’s pushing affordability that Sherrod Brown could never dream of while pocketing their money.” Brown campaign spokesperson Lauren Chou pushed back in a statement to Fox News Digital, accusing Husted of supporting the war in Iran that “sent the costs of gas and diesel to record highs” and saying he “led the charge to bring 226 data centers to Ohio.” “Jon Husted puts corporations and billionaires first every time, and we all pay for it,” Chou said. Butler, Clermont and Warren counties form a critical Republican vote reservoir in southwestern Ohio, collectively producing hundreds of thousands of votes and some of the state’s largest GOP margins. Their importance was underscored in 2004, when George W. Bush’s combined margin in the three counties exceeded his statewide margin of victory. RAMASWAMY OUTLINES KEY CONTRASTS WITH DEM OPPONENT LESS THAN 100 DAYS OUT FROM KEY GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION Several Republican candidates on stage Saturday night pointed to the importance of those counties and Art Sauerwein, Butler County GOP Executive Committee Chairman, told Fox News Digital the “biggest concern” he’s hearing from Republicans is that if Democrats win the governorship, Senate seat, and contested House races “our state’s going to be in huge trouble.” “The wokeness
Omar raid draws ominous warning from Vance as he blasts progressive rep’s ‘rage’ toward America
EXCLUSIVE: TYLER, Texas — Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the Trump administration has no plans to “butt in” on a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after the raid on her Washington, D.C., home the day prior. Vance, however, insisted that the law will be enforced if immigration fraud is uncovered. “We don’t want to be like the Biden administration. We never want to be like that — where they would allow the law to go after their political opponents,” the vice president said in an exclusive interview following a midterm campaign rally in the Lone Star State on Tuesday. “We really want to let the law, the facts drive this,” he continued. “And if justice requires something else be done, then, of course, we’ll take a step when we have to.” Omar’s Washington, D.C., home was subject to a predawn raid on Monday conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as first reported by Fox News Digital. DEMOCRATS’ FURY OVER ILHAN OMAR RAID DRAWS STINGING GOP REMINDER ABOUT RAID FROM THE PAST: ‘SET THE PRECEDENT’ Conservatives repeatedly accused then-President Joe Biden’s DOJ of politically persecuting President Donald Trump and his allies after his first term in office ended. Most notably for critics, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was infamously raised by the FBI as part of an investigation into alleged mishandling of classified documents. That case was closed when Trump again won the presidency in 2024. “In the Trump administration, unlike the previous administration, we let the facts and the law drive this stuff — so the president and I really don’t butt ourselves in the DOJ investigations,” Vance said. “We’re not trying to micromanage this. We’re not trying to tell [Attorney General] Todd Blanche to do one thing or another. We try to let the facts drive this thing.” “So we’re gonna let the investigation unfold,” he went on before warning: “If, of course, criminal wrongdoing is discovered or potentially fraudulent immigration is uncovered, then obviously there will be legal proceedings to follow that.” While an investigation into potential immigration fraud related to a sitting member of Congress is unprecedented, Vance reiterated that authorities will go where the facts take them — no matter the circumstances of the case. “I think we have to let the facts and the law drive this, right? So I don’t think you can say because politics might be difficult or politics might be easy, you can’t follow the law. You have to actually enforce the law as it exists,” he said. COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN Additionally, the vice president slammed Omar for what he views as a negative attitude towards the United States despite it being the country where her family fled to escape civil war in Somalia in 1991. “And to the question of it being unprecedented, I mean, what I’d say is that Ilhan Omar herself is a very unprecedented person,” he said. “We have very rarely had a person in Congress who seems to have such disdain and such rage at the country that gave her a better life,” Vance said. “Now, that’s not a crime.” “But we’re going to see whether she did commit a crime. And if she did, we’re obviously going to follow the law,” he reiterated. Vance made the comments after rallying on behalf of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport in Tyler, Texas, a city about 100 miles east of Dallas. Paxton is running in a neck-and-neck race with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico just three weeks before Election Day, as Republicans fight desperately to hold control of Congress. ILHAN OMAR’S WEALTH SCANDAL TAKES A TURN JUST ONE DAY AFTER RAID OF HER DC HOME Omar responded to the raid on social media Monday afternoon, both from her personal and government X accounts. “I’m ok,” Omar wrote on her own X account hours after the search. “Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns,” she continued. “This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation. I will not be silenced.” TRUMP RALLY CROWD CHANTS ‘DEPORT’ AS PRESIDENT RIPS ILHAN OMAR AFTER FEDERAL RAID In a post from her official government X account from just after 1:30 p.m., Omar elaborated further. “This raid by Trump’s DHS is an outrageous abuse of power and an unprecedented escalation in the weaponization of federal law enforcement to target political enemies. For a decade, Donald Trump has relentlessly targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with inflammatory rhetoric, repeatedly putting a target on her back,” she said. “Now, those attacks have escalated to a pointless federal raid. The Congresswoman has done nothing wrong. No president should be able to use the power of the federal government to intimidate his political enemies.” Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment, but did not hear back before publication.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he won’t fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch despite socialist pressure
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Tuesday he has “no plans” to fire NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, pushing back against calls from his democratic socialist allies to remove the city’s top cop following protests over an ICE-involved shooting in the Bronx. Ahead of a ceremony Tuesday honoring fallen NYPD officers, Mamdani was asked about Tisch’s future as head of the department. “Jessica Tisch is the police commissioner. I have no plans to change that,” Mamdani told reporters. “The reason that I made the decision to have Jessica Tisch as the police commissioner was because of her record of uprooting corruption from the upper echelons of the NYPD while lowering crime across our city,” he continued. “And over the last 10 months that we’ve worked together, we have delivered the lowest recorded number of murders in our city’s history, the lowest recorded number of shootings as well as shooting victims.” SOCIALIST SURGE: MAMDANI FLEXES GROWING POLITICAL MUSCLE AS HE TAKES ON DEM ESTABLISHMENT The mayor’s comments came after the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) called for Tisch’s removal following last week’s ICE shooting and demanded that Mamdani use his authority to drive ICE out of New York City. The demand followed last week’s shooting of Oscar Belgal during a federal immigration operation in the Bronx. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Belgal, a 28-year-old Dominican national, was shot after allegedly refusing to comply with officers’ orders during a targeted ICE operation to arrest him. NYC SOCIALIST CANDIDATE SAYS CRIMINAL RECORD OF MAN SHOT BY ICE ‘DOESN’T EVEN MATTER’ Following the incident, a City Hall spokesperson said Mamdani was reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting but had no plans to remove Tisch. Scott Munro, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association — the union representing active and retired NYPD detectives — was also asked by reporters Tuesday about the DSA urging Mamdani to fire Tisch. Munro said he believes Mamdani supports the police commissioner, noting that crime was down and Tisch was “doing her job.” Mamdani and Tisch appeared together Tuesday at the New York City Police Memorial, where they honored 42 fallen NYPD members, including 41 who died from illnesses related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath. The ceremony also honored Detective First Grade Didarul Islam, who was killed in a Midtown Manhattan mass shooting in 2025. 9/11 DEATH TOLL KEEPS GROWING DECADES LATER AS TOXIC EXPOSURE HAUNTS SURVIVORS The mayor paid tribute to the fallen officers and their families during the ceremony, which Tisch also attended. “While we cannot feel the silence they left behind, we will refuse to let their memory fade,” Mamdani said. Earlier this week, Mamdani directed the NYPD to conduct a comprehensive review of its use-of-force policies and practices. He also announced reforms aimed at strengthening accountability when police officers are accused of serious misconduct.
Trump signs pardons for Alaska diesel mechanics onstage during rally touting major energy deals
President Donald Trump announced pardons for two Alaska diesel mechanics during a midterm rally Tuesday night in Wasilla, bringing the men onstage to sign clemency documents as he highlighted major energy investments and infrastructure projects in the Last Frontier. Trump identified Zachary Czubak and Patrick Fleming, two co-owners of an Anchorage diesel repair shop who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act in 2022. “I’m giving each one of the three an unconditional pardon,” Trump told supporters, also referring to an earlier pardon for Mackenzie “Mac” Spurlock, a Wasilla diesel shop owner. TRUMP GRANTS PARDONS TO ‘PERSECUTED’ MECHANICS IN RIGHT-TO-REPAIR CRACKDOWN: ‘I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE’ The president defended the men, saying their work helped keep trucks operating in Alaska’s extreme cold and arguing that their Biden-era prosecutions were unfair. According to the Biden Justice Department, Czubak and Fleming were among three co-owners of “Arm Rippin Toys” who admitted removing federally required emissions-control equipment and tampering with monitoring devices on at least 37 diesel vehicles between July 2019 and September 2020. BIDEN-ERA ENVIRO RULE ACCUSED OF STRANGLING TRUCKERS, SQUEEZING AMERICANS LANDS ON TRUMP CHOPPING BLOCK The shop collected approximately $100,000 for the modifications, federal prosecutors said at the time. As he signed the clemency documents, Trump took a jab at former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen. “So I’m going to sign this now, something that Joe Biden would be unable to do because he was unable to sign his signature,” Trump said. TRUMP COMMUTES SENTENCE FOR FORMER PHILADELPHIA UNION OFFICIAL, ATTORNEY SAYS He also shared candidly the privilege of the presidential pardon power with the crowd. “What an honor. I love doing this stuff,” Trump said. One of the men thanked the president from the stage, describing the personal impact of the prosecution. “It really did destroy us. It destroyed friendships. It destroyed families,” he said. The pardons came during a rally in which Trump made a series of major announcements about Alaska’s energy future, including declaring that a long-awaited 800-mile natural gas pipeline had secured every necessary federal permit. “Every single permit that you need, you can start tonight,” Trump told the crowd. “Every single permit that you need has been granted.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for additional details on the project’s federal permitting status.
Rep Ilhan Omar’s immigration history faces new scrutiny as federal investigators subpoena relatives
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s, D-Minn., immigration history is facing fresh scrutiny after federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., home, with new reports detailing subpoenas to relatives and a request from her congressional staff to change the birth year listed in public biographies. Federal investigators have subpoenaed Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor, and at least one other person in her family circle as they examine possible fraud and false statements in immigration paperwork, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the investigation. Fox News has also learned that subpoenas have been sent to multiple family members of Omar. Separately, the New York Post reported that Omar’s staff asked the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library in May 2019 to change her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982, a discrepancy a former political opponent has questioned while challenging the Minnesota Democrat’s account of how she became a U.S. citizen. HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’ The reports come one day after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents searched Omar’s Washington, D.C., home. Two sources familiar with the probe told Fox News Digital the search was part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving her immigration paperwork. The Justice Department confirmed that agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. Omar has repeatedly denied immigration wrongdoing and accused the Trump administration of using federal law enforcement against her. “I’m ok. Make no mistake: this is an attempt to target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement,” Omar, a member of DC’s progressive “The Squad,” wrote Monday on X. “For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she continued. “I will not be silenced.” According to emails reviewed by the Post, Omar’s congressional staff contacted the Minnesota library months after she entered Congress to request the birth-year correction. “On May 17, 2019, Library staff were informed by Rep. Omar’s congressional staff that her birth year was incorrect and requested that we change it to 1982,” the library’s director wrote in a May 24, 2019, email, according to the outlet. DEMOCRATS’ FURY OVER ILHAN OMAR RAID DRAWS STINGING GOP REMINDER ABOUT RAID FROM THE PAST: ‘SET THE PRECEDENT’ The director also said Omar’s staff were working with Wikipedia, the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress and other sources to correct the year. But the library’s original entry was not based on a birth certificate or other supporting documentation. In another email cited by the Post, the director said the 1981 date had been drawn from other reference sources and added “without documentation.” The discrepancy does not establish that Omar falsified immigration records, and neither report established that the biography change prompted Monday’s search. Omar has said she became a citizen through her father’s naturalization in 2000, before she turned 18. “I became a citizen actually before I turned 18,” she told The Intercept in a September 2018 interview, according to the Post. “My father became a citizen and so I got my citizenship through that process.” COULD TRUMP REVOKE ILHAN OMAR’S CITIZENSHIP FOR ALLEGED BROTHER MARRIAGE? EX FEDERAL PROSECUTOR BREAKS IT DOWN AJ Kern, who unsuccessfully challenged Omar in the 2022 Democratic primary, has questioned whether Omar was still a minor when her father became a citizen, the Post reported. Kern told the outlet that she filed a Federal Election Commission complaint and sued to demand proof of Omar’s citizenship. A state judge dismissed the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction, according to the Post. The Times reported that investigators have been examining the immigration history of Omar’s family, including whether her late father, Nur Omar Mohamed, lied or omitted information on immigration forms before becoming a citizen. The precise scope of the investigation remains unclear. Grand jury subpoenas seek evidence and do not, by themselves, mean the recipients are suspected of wrongdoing. The Times reported that previous federal inquiries into Omar’s immigration history have not resulted in charges. ILHAN OMAR’S EMBATTLED HUSBAND APPEARS AT SCENE OF HSI RAID IN MIDST OF CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATION The immigration developments also come as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro disclosed a separate examination of Omar’s financial disclosures. Speaking Tuesday on Fox News’ “America Reports,” Pirro said her office was investigating the filings, which previously showed that the combined reported value of two businesses tied to Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, climbed from approximately $15,000 to $51,000 in 2023 to between $6 million and $30 million in 2024. Fox News Digital previously examined the disclosures involving eStCru LLC, a California winery, and Rose Lake Capital LLC, a Washington-based venture capital firm. ‘SQUAD’ DEM DISMISSES FRAUD PROBE SPECULATION AFTER $29M NET-WORTH DROP Omar amended the filings in April, reducing the couple’s combined reported assets to between $18,004 and $95,000. Her office said the original disclosures failed to properly account for business liabilities. Financial disclosures list assets in broad ranges and do not establish an exact net worth. In September, the Office of Congressional Conduct voted 5-1 to recommend that the House Ethics Committee dismiss misconduct allegations related to the disclosures, finding no substantial reason to believe Omar reported false or incomplete information in violation of federal law or House rules. That review is separate from the federal investigation Pirro described. It remains unclear whether the financial inquiry is connected to Monday’s search. President Donald Trump renewed his criticism Tuesday in a statement shared by the White House on X, questioning the change in Omar’s financial filings. “America wants answers, and we want them, NOW!” Trump said. Vice President JD Vance, who previously accused Omar of immigration fraud, said Tuesday that he had no advance knowledge of the search, according to the Times. “If there’s a real case there, we’re going to follow the facts,” Vance said. “If there’s not a real case there, then we won’t.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department, Omar’s