Senator launches assault on illegal immigration gaps as GOP races midterm clock to lock in key wins
EXCLUSIVE: Republicans risk seeing some of President Donald Trump’s signature immigration priorities erased by a future Democratic administration unless Congress acts now to lock them into law, Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital as he presses the Senate to take up a package of seven immigration bills. Banks said his immigration package is needed as Republicans approach the midterms with control of Congress at stake and a shrinking window to deliver legislative wins to voters. The bills target birthright citizenship, visas, commercial driver’s licenses and other immigration policies Banks wants Congress to codify. “I don’t just fear a Democrat majority. I fear a Democrat-Socialist majority because the [DSA] who control today’s Democrat Party support wide open borders, they support eliminating ICE, they are anti law enforcement, they want to defund the police,” Banks said. While current Senate Democratic leaders are not aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America, Banks argued a future Democratic-led Senate would be “owned by the socialist wing of their party.” TRUMP ADMIN INVESTIGATING 75 TRUCK DRIVER SCHOOLS FOR FRAUD, HELPING NON-CITIZENS GET LICENSES “I cannot believe that the Democrats are so radical and extreme today that they’re OK with what’s happened to our country [with] illegals taking jobs for Americans or allowing illegals to be behind the wheel of semi-trucks,” Banks said, pointing to his “Dalilah Law.” The bill honors Dalilah Coleman, a first-grader who was critically injured when an illegal immigrant driving a big rig caused a multi-car pileup on an Indiana highway. Partap Singh, an Indian national licensed in California, was driving the truck. Coleman suffered catastrophic injuries, spent months in the hospital and had a craniectomy. The Dalilah Law, described by supporters as the CDL equivalent of the Laken Riley Act, would require states to stop providing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants and certain foreign nationals. It would also require states to revoke certain existing licenses and administer commercial driving tests only in English. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKERS ACCUSED OF MOWING DOWN AMERICANS IGNITE FURY OVER LOOPHOLES UNLEASHING DEADLY ROADS Banks compared the CDL measure to Congress’ Reagan-era push to raise the drinking age by threatening federal transportation funds. He argued that several Hoosiers have been injured or killed in crashes involving foreign drivers licensed by “states that hand CDLs out like candy,” including California, Pennsylvania and New York. He also wants Congress to take greater control over Temporary Protected Status authority, which he said previous Democratic administrations abused. “If we legislate it and give Congress power to determine when TPS is appropriate when it’s not, then we’ll be able to address these issues long after President Trump leaves the White House,” Banks said. ILLEGAL TRUCKER CASES FUEL GOP PUSH TO CRACK DOWN ON CDL MILLS AS DEMS LARGELY SILENT The American Tech Workforce Act would raise the minimum salary threshold for many H-1B visa positions from $60,000 to $150,000. Experts have said the change would significantly alter incentives for companies seeking to hire young foreign workers. Immigration attorneys argued Banks’ bill would make the U.S. “far less attractive as a study destination” and encourage foreign talent to look to Canada instead. “Many employers would be unable or unwilling to meet this threshold, effectively limiting H-1B hiring to top tech companies or highly specialized roles,” Texas firm Reddy Neumann & Brown said on its website. AMERICA’S BROKEN LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS REPLACING US WORKERS BY DESIGN Proponents have argued such changes would give American graduates a better chance of entering the job market after college. Other bills in the package would provide additional border security funding to the War Department, restrict chain migration and target grants to colleges employing illegal immigrants. “These seven bills are common sense, everything from stopping illegals from driving semi-trucks to banning birthright citizenship, to stopping chain migration, to cracking down on those who misuse the H-1B visas for cheap labor,” Banks said. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., for comment on the package and to ask whether any of the bills will be expedited ahead of the midterms. Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: 5-time illegal entrant admits ‘mistake’ that finally got him busted by ICE
EXCLUSIVE: An illegal immigrant who re-entered the U.S. five times said his drinking is the “mistake” that finally led to his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement early Thursday morning. Ernesto Alejandro Perez-Garcia, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE in Redondo Beach, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. Perez-Garcia has a history of arrests dating to 2003 for alcohol-, controlled substance- and driving-related offenses, as well as making terroristic threats and illegally re-entering the U.S. ICE said he illegally entered the country five times and made four additional attempts to enter. Fox News Digital witnessed ICE arrest Perez-Garcia on Thursday. When agents first encountered him on the Redondo Beach esplanade, he denied his identity. However, when confronted with a previous mugshot, Perez-Garcia acknowledged that he was the man they were seeking. After ICE booked and processed him, Perez-Garcia told Fox News Digital that he lied to agents “to see if I could get away with it.” He said that after he was confronted with his mugshot, he realized, “I’m busted, you know, in other words, I’m f—ed.” ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT RELEASED UNDER BIDEN ACCUSED OF STABBING VIRGINIA MOTHER, DOUSING HER IN GASOLINE Perez-Garcia said that despite national headlines about ICE operations, he did not expect to be arrested Thursday morning. He said he was on his usual morning walk when agents encountered him. “Once I saw the officer … with the picture of me, there was no way I was going to run,” he said. “At the end of the day,” he continued, “it’s the alcohol that got me back in this mess.” While he said a friend’s recent death “got me caught up [in alcoholism],” he said, “It shouldn’t have, so it’s my mistake, and I’ve got to be responsible for that.” Perez-Garcia first entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location. The Torrance Police Department in California initially arrested him on April 3, 2003, for driving without a license. He was convicted and sentenced to 30 days. Over the next few years, he was also convicted of driving with a suspended license and possessing controlled substance paraphernalia. According to ICE, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, convicted Perez-Garcia on April 10, 2006, of threatening crime with intent to terrorize. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of probation. ICE removed him to Mexico for the first time the next month. FATHER OF SLAIN MARINE SPEAKS OUT AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO KILLED SON FACES THIRD DEPORTATION However, he re-entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location. On June 27, 2006, he was arrested again for threatening crime with intent to terrorize. Over the next two decades, Perez-Garcia was arrested for various offenses, including repeated attempts to cross the southern border in Tecate, California. Since 2020, Perez-Garcia has been arrested five times for disorderly conduct, including four arrests by the Redondo Beach Police Department. He was arrested twice this year for disorderly conduct, on April 17 and May 8. ICE said the department declined to honor its detainer requests twice, in 2020 and again in 2026. Perez-Garcia claimed that the Redondo Beach Police Department “let me know a couple years ago” that ICE was looking for him. “Redondo PD had told me about it, you know, Redondo PD was cool with it. They let me go with it, you know what I mean, but they also told me I had a warrant for my arrest,” he said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Redondo Beach Police Department for comment on Perez-Garcia’s assertion. NEWSOM-APPOINTED JUDGE WHO FREED MIGRANT BEFORE FATAL STABBING SAID JUSTICE ‘SOMETIMES MEANS A DISMISSAL’ Los Angeles Field Office Director Tom Giles spoke with Fox News Digital shortly before ICE arrested Perez-Garcia. Giles emphasized that “when these detainers aren’t honored, what it does for us is it sends our officers out into the community, putting our officers at risk and other community members at risk to go out and try to apprehend this individual.” “So, for sanctuary policies, what we ask these jurisdictions is to cooperate with us,” he said, adding, “It will make our communities safer.” Perez-Garcia said he believes his arrest by ICE is “fair.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “I was trying to lie about it because I actually don’t got nothing there in Mexico right now, you know what I mean? I grew up right here, and this is what I know,” he said. Perez-Garcia also said his children live in the U.S. and that he has heard stories about how “so hard” it is to return to the U.S. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, to tell you the truth,” he said. “I already knew it was going to catch up to me; I just didn’t know when.”
Trump to honor Artemis II astronauts who traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history
President Donald Trump is set to honor four astronauts who traveled farther from Earth than any humans in history during a record-breaking journey around the moon earlier this year. Trump will award the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen during an Aug. 28 ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, the agency announced. The four made history in April aboard Artemis II, the first crewed flight of NASA’s Orion spacecraft and the first mission to take astronauts around the moon in more than half a century. PETER NAVARRO: TRUMP’S ARTEMIS VISION IS NOW FLYING — AND CHINA IS PAYING ATTENTION At their farthest point, the crew traveled 252,756 miles from Earth, surpassing the human spaceflight distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970, according to NASA. The astronauts covered 695,081 miles during their nearly 10-day mission. Their voyage began April 1, when NASA’s Space Launch System rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 8.8 million pounds of thrust. After testing Orion’s systems in space, the crew headed toward the moon and passed within 4,067 miles of the lunar surface during an April 6 flyby, NASA said. NEW ARTEMIS II VIDEO SHOWS MOMENT NAVY MEDICAL TEAM OPENED HATCH, WELCOMED ASTRONAUTS The astronauts captured more than 7,000 images along the way, including views of earthrise and earthset, lunar craters, ancient lava flows and a solar eclipse seen from Orion. NASA said the crew also reported meteoroid impact flashes on the moon’s night side. Orion returned to Earth on April 10, entering the atmosphere at roughly 25,000 mph before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off California. NASA CHIEF DECLARES AMERICA ‘ABSOLUTELY BACK’ IN SPACE RACE, SAYS US WILL BEAT CHINA TO THE MOON NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said after the crew’s return that the astronauts had accepted “significant risk” while testing the spacecraft and systems intended to carry future crews deeper into space. The medal they will receive has roots in the Apollo era. Congress authorized the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1969, declaring that America’s space program relied on the “intelligence, the dedication, the bravery, and the self-sacrifice” of astronauts who flew missions into the “hostile environment of space.” Under the law, the president may award the medal in the name of Congress to astronauts who distinguish themselves through exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and mankind. NASA says the medal has been awarded to only a “very select group” of astronauts. Its official list includes 30 recipients, among them Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Alan Shepard and Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell. Armstrong was among six astronauts who received the medal from President Jimmy Carter on Oct. 1, 1978, according to NASA. TRUMP SWINGS FOR MOON WITH NUCLEAR REACTOR PLANS AS CHINA, RUSSIA TEAM UP IN SPACE RACE The four Artemis II astronauts would bring the number of recipients to 34. Artemis II also served as a stepping stone toward returning astronauts to the lunar surface. NASA said the crew tested Orion’s life-support systems, manually piloted the spacecraft and gathered data intended to prepare for future missions. NASA plans to test commercial lunar lander operations during Artemis III in low Earth orbit in 2027 and is targeting Artemis IV for the program’s first lunar landing in 2028. The agency says Artemis ultimately aims to establish an enduring human presence on the moon and lay the groundwork for sending astronauts to Mars. “The NASA leadership team was in Mission Control, alongside the flight control team, watching as the Artemis II crew crossed that historic threshold and became the explorers that ventured farthest from Earth,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said to Fox News Digital in a statement. “Certainly, the astronauts were aware and monitoring their spacecraft systems. Under President Trump’s leadership, Artemis II captivated the world, inspired a generation, and gave us the confidence to press on as America returns to the Moon to build a base and to stay. Artemis III is the next mission up in that campaign, but it will be in 2028 during Artemis IV, when NASA astronauts will once again walk on the Moon.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Trump fires back after protester interrupts Myrtle Beach rally for Graham: ‘Mom is voting for us’
President Donald Trump had a striking message for a protester who interrupted his South Carolina rally Friday night: Mom isn’t going to be happy. A protester stood up and interrupted Trump at about 7:28 p.m., before being escorted from the Myrtle Beach Convention Center by police and convention center staff, according to a White House pool report. As the protester was still being escorted out, Trump briefly paused his remarks and turned to the commotion. RUSSELL FRY ENDORSES EX-RIVAL DARLINE GRAHAM AFTER FAILING TO ADVANCE TO SPECIAL GOP US SENATE PRIMARY RUNOFF “That’s all right. That person’s going home to mom. Gonna get scolded because mom is voting for us. You know, mom is voting for us,” Trump said before quickly continuing his speech. Trump was in Myrtle Beach to campaign for Darline Graham ahead of Tuesday’s South Carolina Senate runoff, urging his supporters to turn out even though his own name won’t be on the ballot. “If Trump isn’t actually on the ballot,” Trump said while discussing Republican turnout, before asking supporters to “pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot. “Just come and vote. It’s so important,” Trump said. “So, just say that I’m on the ballot one more time. You got to say it, and you got to come out and vote.” TRUMP NOTCHES ANOTHER ENDORSEMENT WIN AS BARRY MOORE CAPTURES ALABAMA GOP SENATE NOMINATION IN RUNOFF Trump said he personally encouraged Graham to run and laid out the case for sending her to Washington. “With your support, Darline will defend common sense in our nation’s capital,” Trump said. “She’ll fight for lower taxes, bigger paychecks, no amnesty for illegal aliens. And she’ll always protect your Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms.” TRUMP PUSHES LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER TO RUN FOR US SENATE AFTER SHE GETS APPOINTMENT TO FINISH OUT TERM Trump also said Graham would be a strong advocate for the armed forces. “But as much as anybody in this Senate and maybe more, Darline will support our military,” Trump said. Graham later joined Trump onstage, thanking him for his endorsement and his friendship with her late senator brother, Lindsey. “Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for your endorsement. It has meant the world to me,” Graham said. “Thank you for your support. Thank you for coming to South Carolina. This is MAGA country, right?” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fauci’s lawyers launch legal defense fund as federal, state investigations mount against him
Lawyers representing Dr. Anthony Fauci have created a legal defense fund for the infectious disease expert as investigations against him continue to mount. Fauci, who helped lead the country through the pandemic, has been accused by Republicans of misleading the public about the origins of COVID-19 and faces multiple federal and state investigations. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has called on the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute Fauci after Fauci invoked the Fifth Amendment numerous times during a high-profile July congressional hearing. CAN FAUCI HIDE BEHIND THE FIFTH? GAME-CHANGING BIDEN PARDON MAY NOT PROVIDE COMPLETE COVER, EXPERTS SAY The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, chaired by Paul, held him in contempt of Congress after the hearing. Fauci has denied all the accusations made against him. FAUCI IN THE CONGRESSIONAL WRINGER: A TEST FOR TRUMP’S NEWLY-MINTED ATTORNEY GENERAL “The Anthony S. Fauci M.D. Legal Defense Fund was established to help cover the legal representation and associated administrative costs for Dr. Fauci,” the defense fund’s website says. “Your contributions directly support these defense efforts and ensure comprehensive legal support during ongoing inquiries and proceedings.” Fauci retired in 2022 after leading the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for nearly 40 years. He also advised seven presidents, including President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. During his time navigating the country through the pandemic, he was a proponent of wearing masks, social distancing, vaccines and lockdown measures. Former President Joe Biden issued Fauci a preemptive pardon before he left office. FAUCI REFUSES SENATE APPEARANCE AFTER INVOKING FIFTH AMENDMENT MORE THAN 100 TIMES IN COVID PROBE “Fauci is facing an unprecedented legal barrage for a retired civil servant, and he deserves a robust defense against these unfounded and frivolous actions,” David Schertler, a lawyer for Fauci, told Reuters. “Dr. Fauci has not done anything wrong, and we are prepared to fight back against this shameful harassment of an honorable man who dedicated his career to saving lives.” His lawyers added that any funds remaining after all of his investigations conclude will be donated to charity. Prior to his retirement, Fauci was the highest-paid federal employee, making nearly $500,000 each year, Fox News Digital previously reported. In retirement, Fauci collects a federal pension that rivals a presidential salary, OpenTheBooks CEO Adam Andrzejewski estimated. Fauci and his wife reported a combined $12.6 million net worth in 2021. FAUCI’S HHS IPHONE TURNED OVER TO SENATE INVESTIGATORS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS Fox News Digital has reached out to the legal defense fund and Paul’s office for comment. On Tuesday, David Morens, a former Fauci advisor, pleaded guilty to attempting to conceal pandemic-related documents by evading public records laws. FLORIDA AG THREATENS FAUCI INVESTIGATION AFTER SENATE HEARING Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has said he will investigate whether Fauci “personally profited off the COVID ‘guidance’ he issued” during the pandemic and has issued a subpoena to the 85-year-old. Louisiana and West Virginia are backing Florida’s effort. Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall and Reuters contributed to this report.
Texas Gov Abbott asks the Justice Department to investigate ‘discriminatory’ Islamic washing stations
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday he had referred “discriminatory” religious facilities at two of the state’s major airports to the Justice Department over the installation of Islamic foot-washing stations in its bathrooms. Last week, Abbott directed the state to conduct a review of grants to entities operating Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston for possible revocation and denial of future funding over plans to install Islamic wudu washing facilities. He previously referred both airports to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for investigation and threatened state funding. DFW AIRPORT SCRAPS CONTROVERSIAL ISLAMIC FOOT-WASHING STATION PLAN AS TEXAS GOV ABBOTT TAKES AIM “These ablution stations single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion,” Abbott said in a statement. “They are not interfaith chapels open to all. They exist to benefit the Muslim population alone. Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others.” Abbott called on the Justice Department to review policies at both airports, noting both are subject to numerous conditions because they receive federal funding, including the requirement to comply with all laws prohibiting discrimination and protecting the rights of all Americans. ‘MUSLIM ONLY’ EVENT AT TEXAS WATER PARK CANCELED AFTER ABBOTT THREATENS TO PULL $530K IN STATE GRANTS Fox News Digital has reached out to both airports. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Abbott said the washing facilities at IAH are furnished with “copies of the Quran, prayer rugs, prayer beads and a turbah.” He noted that both airports are owned by the government. “Yet, these stations are designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion,” he wrote. “It is clear that these government-owned airports have used — and continue to use — funds charged to the public to finance, maintain, advertise, and operate Muslim-only spaces on property that should be open and accessible to all citizens. “Airports can no more offer Muslim-only bathroom spaces than they can maintain white-only bathrooms. Your office has the authority to investigate and put a stop to these discriminatory practices.” CALIFORNIA LAWMAKERS’ PUSH TO MAKE MUSLIM HOLY DAYS STATE HOLIDAYS SPARKS DEBATE OVER SCHOOL NEUTRALITY The matter drew increased public attention as DFW was evaluating a proposal to add ablution washing stations in Terminal D, its international terminal. Airport officials eventually decided not to move forward with the plan. A projected filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation said the plan would have been privately funded with an estimated cost of $300,000, but an airport spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the figure was closer to $120,000. WATCH: HOUSTON FACES $110M HIT AS TEXAS GOV LAYS DOWN LAW ON ‘SANCTUARY’ POLICIES Despite DFW abandoning plans for a washing station, “it has since been discovered that two such stations are already in operation at the airport,” Abbott said. At IAH, the washing station was in response to requests from passengers, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. He noted that the Mickey Leland International Terminal serves around 365,000 passengers annually from Emirates Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways. “The ablution room allows Muslim travelers, as well as other travelers whose religion requires ritual washing prior to prayer, to do so in this facility,” Whitmire said. “The ablution room leads into a prayer room. “Prior to the development of the dedicated washing station, travelers often used restroom sinks and other public water facilities for personal washing needs, highlighting the need for a more appropriate and designated space.” Whitmire said the ablution room also has interfaith chapels, like many airports, and is open to travelers of all faiths and beliefs. “Therefore, their operations do not entail any discriminatory actions,” he said.
Vance unloads on El-Sayed over Sharia remarks: ‘That’s not my grandpa’s Democratic Party’
Vice President JD Vance put Abdul El-Sayed at the center of his attack on the modern Democratic Party, pointing to the Michigan Senate nominee’s past remarks linking criticism of Sharia law to White supremacy as evidence that the party has abandoned its working-class roots. Vance delivered the remarks Friday at the Cleveland-Cliffs Middletown Works steel plant in his Ohio hometown as neighboring Michigan gears up for one of the midterms’ most competitive Senate races. El-Sayed is facing Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in a contest that could help determine control of the Senate. Vance spoke about his late grandfather, who worked as a welder for 40 years and voted Democrat because he believed it was “the party of union men.” But Vance argued the Democratic Party has strayed from its working-class identity. DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN “This is the party, the Democrat party of graduate students, rather than the union and nonunion workers who make this facility run,” Vance said. “It’s sometimes actually hard to understand what these modern Democrats actually stand for. But look what they say. Pay close attention, and they’ll leave these little hints of what they actually care about.” Vance then turned his attention to El-Sayed, the son of Muslim Egyptian immigrants. “He once argued, not too long ago, that criticisms of Sharia law were rooted in White supremacy,” Vance said. “I’d love to go back in time and tell my papa that there is a man who claims to stand for working people who says not only should we have Sharia law, but if you criticize it you’re a White supremacist. That’s not my grandpa’s Democratic Party, my friend.” Vance was referring to a speech El-Sayed gave at the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) 2022 annual banquet in Oklahoma, where he was the keynote speaker. El-Sayed criticized a 2010 ballot measure known as State Question 755, which sought to amend the state constitution to ban courts from considering Sharia law in their decisions. The measure was approved by 70% of voters but was ultimately blocked by federal courts. “The same exact forces that drove native peoples from their land two centuries ago, destroyed Black Wall Street a century ago, bombed a building decades ago and tried to ban Sharia law not a decade ago, those forces are alive and well today,” El-Sayed said. EL-SAYED’S AGENDA PUTS ‘PERMANENTLY’ CHANGED AMERICA ON THE LINE IN MICHIGAN SENATE RACE, GOP FIREBRAND WARNS “The reason I wanted to go all the way back to the 1830s is because you can’t understand a Shariah ban without understanding the Trail of Tears,” El-Sayed continued. “You can’t understand the efforts to uproot Muslim Americans without understanding the Tulsa massacre. You cannot understand the challenges we face today without understanding White supremacy.” El-Sayed’s remarks at the CAIR banquet are among several statements that have drawn criticism from conservatives and Republicans who accuse the Senate candidate of viewing politics through the lens of race and religion. Other remarks generating criticism include El-Sayed accusing Israel of committing “genocide” and describing the Jewish state as an “apartheid,” while prompting concerns from members of the Jewish community. MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE CONFRONTED REPEATEDLY OVER ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO EXIST, DEFUNDING THE POLICE SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER However, after his primary victory, El-Sayed said, “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it.” Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Former acting US Attorney Andrew Haden found dead in San Diego federal building: police
A former twice-acting U.S. attorney was found dead this week in a downtown San Diego federal building. Andrew Haden, 48, a California native who headed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, was found dead Wednesday in the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building, which houses the prosecutor’s office. Police officers responded and found Haden, who was reported missing before he was found. “Out of an abundance of caution, SDPD investigators responded to the scene, and no foul play is suspected,” the San Diego Police Department told Fox News Digital. TRUMP ‘DRUG CZAR’ WARNS OF DEADLY ‘RHINO TRANQUILIZER’ KILLING AMERICANS AS CARTEL CRACKDOWN ESCALATES “This is one of the darkest days in our office’s history, but there was nothing dark about Andrew Haden’s life,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California Adam Gordon said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “He was a beacon of light — full of laughter, friendship, integrity and an unwavering commitment to serving our community. We will honor his life and legacy by carrying his light forward, today and always.” APPEALS COURT RULES TRUMP ADMIN UNLAWFULLY APPOINTED NEVADA’S TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR Haden first joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2010 and worked at the San Diego office for 16 years. He served as acting U.S. attorney for the office after being selected to fill vacancies in 2023 and 2025. He ran the office after he was selected by President Donald Trump after the firing of U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath, a Biden appointee. Scott C. Carr, executive director of the San Diego County Bar Association, said he was “devastated” to learn of Haden’s death. He recalled talking to Haden during the most recent government shutdown about the impact it was having on employees in his office and “how we was working to support his team any way that he could.” “Andrew was always friendly with a kind word to say, which makes news of his passing all the more difficult,” Carr wrote. “My thoughts are with his family and his colleagues at the Southern District of California. Our legal community lost a good one.” Haden, a Navy veteran with two overseas deployments, received his law degree from the University of San Diego. Defense attorney Jeremy Warren, who locked horns with Haden in previous courtroom battles, called Haden’s death “a huge blow to the entire federal community in San Diego.” Warren noted that “we remained friends throughout is a testament to the type of guy he was.”
Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: DOJ opens probe into prestigious college over alleged discrimination favo
TRUE COLORS: DOJ opens probe into prestigious college over alleged discrimination favoring minority students NUMBERS GAME: Berkeley math professor sounds alarm on liberal ‘test-blind’ policies, warns many students badly behind SIGN UP TO GET THE CAMPUS RADICALS NEWSLETTER SCHOOL OF HARD LEFT: Bernie-backed California House candidate called DEI a ‘social justice-driven duty,’ embraced activist role FOLLOW THE MONEY: Harvard, NYU among 30 universities hit with Pentagon foreign-tie audit deadline
Black voters rip Dems over taking them for granted in El-Sayed’s backyard: ‘Hush us up’
Black voters could play a decisive role in Michigan’s closely watched Senate race this November, raising the stakes for Democrats as signs of softer support among the historically reliable voting bloc threaten to complicate the party’s path to victory. National surveys suggest that the proportion of Black Americans who believe Democrats represent their interests is slipping. Additionally, the percentage of Black voters who identify with the Democratic Party fell by 10 percentage points between 2020 and 2025, according to the Pew Research Center. Fox News Digital spoke with roughly a dozen Black voters on the ground in Detroit, most of whom said they believe the Democratic Party has either failed to prioritize their concerns or has taken their support for granted. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: AS DEMOCRATS TURN LEFT, BLACK VOTERS TAP THE BRAKES “I feel like some of the stuff that they do is just to hush us up and, like … there you go,” Dalia, an African American from Detroit, told Fox News Digital. “It’s just the way that they don’t address our issues, issues that concern actually Black people, especially working-class Black people,” Vincent, a Black voter from the Detroit area, told Fox News Digital. “It’s always a ploy to get the Black vote, make all these promises, but once that vote is in and stuff like that, then it’s operation as normal,” another Black voter said. Another snag for Democrats is their Senate nominee’s lack of support among African Americans in his primary election. DSA BRAND ON TRIAL AS EL-SAYED STRUGGLES WHERE DEMS CAN LEAST AFFORD IT Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s razor-thin win over Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., earlier this month was closer than expected, and Black voters appeared to have a lot to do with it. In jurisdictions with the highest percentage of Black voters, El-Sayed consistently struggled against Stevens. A collective analysis by The Hill found that, in counties where Black residents account for 15% or more of the population, Stevens outpaced El-Sayed by an average of eight points. Fox News’s Power Rankings have the Michigan Senate race rated as a toss-up while also showing a steady decline in Black support for the Democratic Party. El-Sayed, however, performed strongly in the Arab-American enclaves of Dearborn and Hamtramck. “I guess the Arabs resonate with who’s running for Senate. So, he don’t really have to prioritize us because he has enough people on his side already,” Parisia, another Black Detroit resident, told Fox News Digital. DEMOCRATS ARE IN BIG TROUBLE BECAUSE BLACK AND BROWN VOTERS DON’T WANT SOCIALISM “It’s a fool’s errand to assume terrorist-sympathizing and socialist-aligned candidates like Abdul El-Sayed and William Lawrence can unite Democrats in a general election when they’ve spent their careers disparaging Black Americans,” RNC spokesman Hunter Lovell told Fox News Digital. Even some of the Black voters who told Fox News Digital they were skeptical of the Democratic Party reported favorable feelings toward El-Sayed, however. Those views came despite criticism of El-Sayed’s relationship with socialist streamer Hasan Piker, whose comments about Black voters in a 2024 livestream have been cited by El-Sayed’s critics. During a 2024 livestream about Democratic border policy, Piker reacted to the claim that “Black people care about the border” by saying, “I don’t give a f— what Black people care about or what you think Black people care about,” before accusing Democrats of using Black voters as a “shield” to defend a rightward shift on immigration. “Like, shut the f— up,” Piker said. HALEY STEVENS URGES EL-SAYED TO DITCH HASAN PIKER AFFILIATION AFTER MICHIGAN PRIMARY One Black Detroit area resident told Fox News Digital she was “appalled” by the fact El-Sayed was campaigning with Piker. “I guess clearly you don’t care about Black voters then because you would never bring … somebody to run with you who is against or not even against but who don’t care about Black voters,” she said. Lawrence, whom Lovell referenced, is another DSA-aligned candidate running in the Great Lakes State. Facing off with Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., Lawrence previously said Black Democratic leaders wrongly “defang the White left” because they support the establishment. “The extent to which the older generation of Black political leadership are such a pillar, frankly, for establishment, capitalist, imperialist American power through their role as this kind of traditionalist, establishmentist (sic) pillar of the Democratic Party, it’s a big problem,” Lawrence said in 2024 on his “Hegemonicon” podcast as reported by the Huffington Post at the time. “It really defangs the White left and puts us in impossible positions, really.” Those comments led the Congressional Black Caucus PAC to release a statement saying that people supporting Lawrence should “denounce his hateful remarks and withdraw their support.” Fox News Digital reached out to Lawrence for comment. JASMINE CROCKETT WARNS DEMOCRATS ARE TOO FOCUSED ON WHITE VOTERS, IGNORING BLACK VOTERS An African American pastor serving in the Detroit area told Fox News Digital that, while he strongly supports El-Sayed, whom he knows personally, Democrats can’t necessarily count on the Black vote as a given. “He does understand us,” Keith said of El-Sayed, later noting that Democrats have “discovered that if you’re not courted and not talked to or whatever, we don’t necessarily turn out for you.”