Fauci in the congressional wringer: A test for Trump’s newly-minted attorney general
Contempt of Congress. It sounds bad. And it usually is. But what does it mean? Holding someone in contempt of Congress usually stems from them refusing to testify before a House or Senate committee or declining to provide documents and information requested by lawmakers. Especially if someone rejects an inquest by subpoena. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHY FAUCI’S 111 FIFTH AMENDMENT PLEAS COULD END UP BEFORE THE COURTS You refuse to cough up the goods, and Congress may try to hold you in contempt. And if you’re held in contempt, lawmakers may send a referral to the Justice Department. That’s kind of a parliamentary suggestion box, informing the feds that House members or senators believe you’ve earned prosecution. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted recently to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions at a hearing. The panel issued a subpoena to compel Fauci’s compliance. Republican senators say that’s all the more reason why Fauci should testify. They point to his pardon by then-President Joe Biden. That’s why they believe Fauci was obligated to answer their inquiries. Instead, he invoked the Fifth Amendment. “On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution,” said Fauci. Twenty-one words. Uttered an astounding 111 times. That’s a grand total of 2,331 words. Fauci never deviated from the script. WATCH: GOP SPLIT OVER RAND PAUL’S DOJ STRATEGY IN FAUCI CONTEMPT PUSH Democrats say it was a Republican ruse. “The goal was to wait for Dr. Fauci to make any kind of misstatement and then have a weaponized Department of Justice file criminal charges for that new statement that would not have been covered by the pardon,” Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said. So, the panel took action. It voted 8-5 to hold Fauci in contempt. A party line vote. “I’ve never voted to hold somebody in contempt. But if there’s one person that should be held in contempt, it is Anthony Fauci,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. He warned that the GOP gambit is dangerous. “Criminal contempt is punitive. It does not compel a witness to answer questions or produce the documents we’d all like to see. What we’ll do is create a damaging precedent that future witnesses will use to resist legitimate congressional oversight and weaken this committee’s ability to compel testimony.” Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., was unbowed. “We will hand carry this over to the attorney general. We will hand carry this to the district court here in (the District of) Columbia,” Paul said. Even though, at the time, the DOJ only had an acting attorney general. FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED However, Paul was freelancing. He ignored the custom of the entire Senate voting to refer someone to the Justice Department for prosecution. The Kentucky Republican himself previously sent other, unilateral referrals to the DOJ asking for Fauci’s prosecution. But those efforts never even went through committee. Fox can’t locate any precedent for such an independent maneuver. Especially circumventing the Senate floor. Republicans control the Senate. It’s unclear whether there would be 51 votes to hold Fauci in contempt. But there is almost no scenario where the Senate could find 60 votes to break a filibuster on a contempt of Congress resolution of this nature. This is why Democrats argued that Paul is out of line. “No individual center senator and no committee speaks for the entire Senate as a whole,” Peters fumed. “The chairman has also suggested he may attempt to refer this matter to the Department of Justice without approval of the full Senate. That would be even more dangerous and widely unprecedented.” The DOJ says it “seriously reviews all congressional referrals.” But Democrats believe the GOP’s disregard for Fauci invoking the Fifth could undermine any prosecution. “It is almost certainly never going to be approved by a court because it violates basic constitutional rights,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. In a statement, Fauci’s attorney, David Schertler, accused Paul of trying to “weaponize the Justice Department” against his client. Democrats asserted that before Fauci’s hearing, Republicans cut them out of their inquiry. “We have been excluded from witness interviews,” Peters said. FAUCI HELD IN CONTEMPT AS COVID CELLPHONE LANDS IN HANDS OF SENATE INVESTIGATORS But Republicans say Democrats showed no interest in their findings and revelations. “They have all been uploaded on a website that you were invited to join,” Paul said. “You never even asked for the password.” However, the Republican inquiry is just starting. Another Senate panel has now obtained a copy of the Health and Human Services phone Fauci used during the pandemic. “It’s frustrating we haven’t gotten these devices until now. But now we have them,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said on Fox. Johnson says decrypting that phone could answer questions Fauci refused to address during the hearing. Two interesting developments emerged since Fauci testified in late July. First, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeannine Pirro, dropped her prosecution of former Olympian David Hearn for allegedly vandalizing the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall. President Donald Trump then upbraided Pirro. Does this mean that Pirro is doing things by the book? Would that diminish chances for prosecution of Fauci? Or, since Pirro enraged the president, could she redeem herself by prosecuting Fauci? After all, Trump said he wanted Fauci prosecuted. However, the ultimate decision to prosecute is up to the new attorney general, Todd Blanche. Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, vowed to oppose Fauci. With former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., out, the GOP couldn’t lose any more votes without tanking the nomination. It boiled down to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who was undecided. Cassidy announced Friday morning he would vote yea on Blanche. “I am particularly concerned about episodes of apparent lawfare, DOJ bringing
Graham replacement hopefuls make final pitches before special election: Iran war, DSA, Flock cams and more
Nine Republican candidates vying to permanently fill late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat spoke directly to voters Saturday at an event in Florence County, South Carolina, where they addressed the war with Iran, the rising tide of socialism in the Democratic Party and potential privacy concerns around Flock cameras. The event was hosted by Alan Wilson, South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, who pitched the gathering as a kind of “speed dating,” since each candidate was given six minutes to address the crowd. The special Republican Senate primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, which made Saturday’s event one of the last chances for the candidates to make their closing arguments to voters. Here’s what they chose to focus on in their elevator pitches. REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP, JUMP INTO SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE DESPITE HIS HANDPICKED SUCCESSOR Sen. Darline Graham, chosen to finish out her brother’s term after his death in July, was the last to speak but was quick to tell attendees she intended to earn their votes. “I’m not a politician. I never wanted to be a politician. But like Lindsey, I have a servant’s heart. I am a hard worker. And, yes, I have President Trump’s endorsement, but I know I have to earn your votes,” she said at the beginning of her speech. She emphasized that she was not a “DEI” candidate, hyping her experience running the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, a state agency with a $90 million budget and dozens of employees. “We help blind people and people with disabilities get jobs so that they don’t have to rely on the government. How is that DEI?” she said. TRUMP MAY HAVE ENDORSED DARLINE GRAHAM, BUT GOP SENATE HOPEFULS AREN’T BACKING DOWN She also made sure to highlight issues she and President Donald Trump agree on, including keeping transgender athletes out of female sports, standing with Israel, supporting voter ID through the SAVE Act and ending blanket birthright citizenship. Graham briefly touched on socialism within the Democratic Party, calling it a problem that has to be stopped. She also described Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as crazy. Her speech concluded by answering a question about Flock cameras, which can automatically read license plates and are being installed all over the country. “I need to look into that one because there’s two sides to that story. I know that some people are concerned about privacy and protecting their privacy, and I’m all for protecting the privacy of U.S. citizens. The other side of it is, if there’s an emergency situation that an ambulance can be called quicker and it can save lives,” Graham said. “I’m going to be honest. That’s a hard one for me. So, I want to look into it a little bit more.” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., focused on his frustration with the Senate, calling it the place where “good bills go to die.” He proposed overhauling the Senate’s rules to get measures like the SAVE Act passed. “I will use my, whatever expertise I have, to go to the Senate and force the vote, whether it’s blowing up the filibuster or having a walking filibuster or getting with the parliamentarian and changing some of these stupid, arcane rules that the Senate has,” Norman said. The Senate filibuster allows a minority of senators to delay or block most legislation, effectively requiring 60 votes to advance a bill and making it harder for a narrow majority to enact its agenda. TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL CATCHES UNLIKELY BREAK AS MCCONNELL REMAINS SIDELINED After his remarks, Norman was asked about the extent to which AI data centers should be regulated. He said the federal government should not have a role but appeared to disagree with Trump’s recent full-throated support of bringing data centers to communities around the country. “Do I think it’s bad for the community? Yes. Do I think it hurts the environment? Yes. And I will do whatever I can,” Norman said. The key takeaway from former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride’s speech is that he broke away from Trump’s position on the war with Iran. “Y’all, there is something we have to address if we’re going to win in November,” McBride said. “We need to end the war. We need to end the war now. “We just have to admit we’ve lost the war. We’ve lost this battle,” he continued. “Come home and regroup for another day.” He then addressed the crowd, saying, “There’s not one of y’all in here who voted for President Trump a year and a half ago because this is where you thought we would be.” RETIRED LT. COL. RUNNING FOR CONGRESS BACKS TRUMP IRAN STRATEGY: ‘HE’S ENDING A 47-YEAR CONFLICT’ Sam Shepherd, an engineer, inventor and entrepreneur, took the opposite approach to McBride, claiming he is “more conservative than Trump.” Shepherd cast himself as someone who has the skills to fix complex issues within the bureaucracy and the military. He also took a moment to one-up Elon Musk, the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, arguing he had more patents than the Tesla billionaire. “I’ve actually authored more patents than Elon Musk. I have 44. I’m asking for you to bring common sense back to the government,” Shepherd said. Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., spent much of his speech tying the affordability issues Americans are facing to “onerous regulations.” “We see this on farms. We see this in every manner of our government. Regulations strangle us,” he said. “You’ve got to get government out of the way if we’re going to solve this affordability crisis.” In response to a question about how he would secure the border if elected, Fry started off by attacking former President Joe Biden’s work ethic and praising Trump’s. “You actually have to have a president who’s awake for more than four hours a day, right? We went from a president who slept for 20 and was awake for four, to a president who is awake for 20 and sleeps for four,” Fry said.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to what the Senate did and didn’t do overnight
The Senate wrapped up its summer session at 4:57 a.m. ET. Senators knocked two major items off their checklist. They confirmed Todd Blanche as the nation’s 88th attorney general. They also approved a bipartisan interim spending bill that likely goes a long way toward preventing a government shutdown in October. But nearly as important as what senators accomplished is what didn’t get done. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: SUMMER ENDS, BUT THE SENATE’S FALL CRUNCH BEGINS The Senate did not stay in session and attempt to pass the SAVE America Act. In fact, there was not even procedural stunting by the pro-SAVE America Act Republicans, who advocated blowing up the August recess. TRUMP PUMPS BRAKES ON SENATE BUDGET PLAN, DELAYING GOP SAVE AMERICA PUSH Moreover, the Senate did not take a vote on a budget framework that could enable them to eventually tack on some election integrity measures and pass them at a later date in a bill not subject to a filibuster. Expect some conservatives to rail against the Senate for not working this out. The SAVE America Act continues to lack votes. However, advocates of the bill can use the decision by the Senate to leave town without passing it as an opportunity to apply pressure on its opponents. That said, the Senate did take a test vote on a more narrow voter ID bill backed by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. The Senate blocked that bill. But the test vote got Democrats on the record for opposing it. And giving Husted a vote on his measure was a tactical move to boost his chances in a competitive race this fall against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. The Senate did not take a test vote on the bipartisan bill to regulate money for intercollegiate athletics despite the endorsement by the Big 10 and SEC. PROTECT COLLEGE SPORTS ACT STALLS IN OVERNIGHT SENATE SHOWDOWN, VOTE PUSHED TO SEPTEMBER AFTER CHAOTIC EVENING In fact, President Trump even implored the Senate to stay in session in August to pass the bill authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the panel. The legislation was beset by an internecine fight among Republicans about whether the legislation kept men from competing in women’s sports. The president published a full-throated endorsement of the legislation Friday night, declaring that the measure did go far enough. “Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying,” the President wrote on Truth Social. In an overnight statement, Cruz said the bill was still in play. “The good news is that when the Senate returns in September, the Protect College Sports Act will be one of our first orders of business having locked in a vote,” Cruz said. However, no vote is officially secured on the Senate docket. But what about a test vote on a bill to regulate cryptocurrency? It was thought that the Senate might pursue that bill in the closing days of the summer session. But the differences were just too wide to close. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., teed up a procedural vote on cryptocurrency for Sept. 15.
Joe Biden’s cancer has spread further, leaving him in ‘very painful’ condition, Hunter reveals
Former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer has spread and is causing him significant pain, his son Hunter Biden revealed during a Friday interview. “The cancer has spread, metastasized into his bones and further,” Hunter Biden told the BBC in an interview that aired Friday. “It’s very painful, and it’s very debilitating in many respects. “It’s really sad to watch,” Hunter Biden said. “The only thing that I’d say about my dad, about his health right now, is I wish he would complain more, because it’s not good.” Despite his poor health, Hunter Biden said his father is “still doing his thing,” attending speaking engagements. HUNTER BIDEN CLAIMS UNDER OATH THAT HIS FAMILY IS BROKE AMID FIGHT OVER $17M LEGAL BILL Joe Biden revealed his prostate cancer diagnosis in May 2025, just months after he departed the Oval Office. The diagnosis at the time was that the cancer was Stage 4, “aggressive” and had already spread to his bones. He received a Gleason score of 9, indicating both the cancer’s aggressive nature and the potential that he had been living with it for years. WATCH: WOULD-BE SECOND-TERM PRESIDENT BIDEN LEFT SEARCHING FOR FAMILY ON STAGE AFTER OBAMA CENTER OPENING “He had it while he was president,” said Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, vice provost and oncologist at the University of Pennsylvania, adding Joe Biden “probably had it at the start of his presidency in 2021. “He did not develop it in the last 100 to 200 days,” Emanuel said, according to the American Journal of Medical Care. Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, previously told the hosts of ABC’s “The View” that his cancer has slowed him down. “He keeps his schedule, but he’s slowed down,” she said in June. “I mean, Stage 4 cancer is — and he’s 83 — so, I think the mix of everything and the medications that he’s taken has made life a little more difficult these days.” Fox News Digital contacted the Office of Joe and Jill Biden for further comment. Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Hawaii voters hit the polls as Gov Josh Green dominates, progressive takes aim at Dem congressman
Hawaii voters will decide Saturday who advances to the November general election, with key contests including the race for governor and the battle to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District. Gov. Josh Green, who was first elected in 2022, is heavily favored to win the Democratic primary, where he faces three little-known competitors. His challengers include George “Teva” Lucas-Tadeo, a Democratic socialist who has promised on social media to open a government-run grocery store and legalize recreational marijuana. David “Duke” Bourgoin is mounting his second primary challenge against Green after losing to him in 2022, when he captured only 590 votes against Green’s 158,161. He also lost two bids for Honolulu mayor, in 2022 and 2024. JOHNSON’S STRATEGY TO BYPASS DEMOCRATS’ SAVE ACT BLOCKADE SURVIVES KEY VOTE, HANDING GOP BIG WIN Lauren Kapoliahiʻlaka Shim is also seeking the Democratic nomination. She is the CEO and founder of Aloha AI Incorporated, according to her LinkedIn profile. Neither Lucas-Tadeo nor Shim had campaign websites, and none of Green’s three challengers had raised any money in the race as of June 30, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Green has raised about $3.5 million, far outpacing Republican Gary Cordery, the race’s second-highest fundraiser, who has raised about $313,000, according to Honolulu Civil Beat. Cordery, owner of the contracting company Kingdom Builders, and Ken Fujiyama, an entrepreneur and investor, are competing for the Republican nomination and a chance to end nearly two decades of Democratic control of the governor’s mansion. The last Republican to serve as Hawaii’s governor was Linda Lingle, who held the office from 2002 to 2010. Cordery has campaigned on lowering Hawaii’s high cost of living, expanding housing and cracking down on government waste and corruption. He has proposed adding 15,000 homes for working families, using state-owned land for housing and eliminating the state’s general excise tax on food and medicine. Fujiyama has also proposed a plan to tackle the housing affordability crisis by developing 100,000 residential lots and partnering with large landowners to spur growth. MICHIGAN’S TOP ELECTION OFFICIAL WINS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR GOVERNOR, ADVANCES TO BATTLEGROUND RACE Whoever emerges from the Republican primary will face an uphill battle to unseat Green if he secures the Democratic nomination. Green holds a 56% approval rating, while the Cook Political Report rates the race “Likely Democrat” and gives Democrats a 13-point advantage. Eyes outside Hawaii will be locked on the Democratic primary in the 1st Congressional District, where state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole is challenging Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Case, who is seeking a seventh term, has represented the district since 2019 and argues that his seniority and position on the Appropriations Committee give Hawaii greater influence in Washington. Keohokalole, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders‘ group, Our Revolution, is running on a progressive platform that includes Medicare-for-all and opposition to ICE and President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Keohokalole is seeking to portray Case as out of touch with Democratic voters, pointing to the congressman’s vote with House Republicans to pass Trump’s SAVE America Act, which would require voters to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Given the district’s strong Democratic lean, whoever wins the party’s primary will likely be favored to win the seat in November. Polls close at 7 p.m.
‘DEI queen’: Virginia Dem’s past embrace of far-left prosecutors unearthed
Shannon Taylor, now the Democratic nominee in the race for Virginia’s First Congressional district, once endorsed progressive prosecutorial blueprints, advocating for less incarceration and more diversity as a Henrico County commonwealth attorney — some of the same “Democratic values” that ended in tragedy in other parts of Virginia. Shortly after coming into the role in 2012, Taylor fired seven prosecutors under her. “I stated publicly that the office needs to have more diversity and I’m going to keep to that public statement,” Taylor said in an interview ahead of the firings. Her track record is sparking criticism that she used her role to prioritize ideological and political views at the expense of public safety. It’s also clashing with portrayals from her campaign, highlighting her work as a tough-on-crime figure as she looks to win over a Republican-leaning district. FORMER PROSECUTOR WHO ACCUSED TRUMP OF WEAPONIZING DOJ WINS DEM PRIMARY Taylor highlighted her work as she topped a crowded field of Democratic candidates vying to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va. “As Henrico’s top prosecutor for the last 14 years, Shannon has tried thousands of cases and put violent criminals, drug traffickers and abusers behind bars,” Taylor states on her campaign website. “She has a record of shutting down fraudsters trying to take advantage of working families and locking up violent criminals who threaten our safety.” But that hasn’t always been the appearance she’s given. After her seven firings, Taylor faced blowback for trying to hire a woman named Misty Whitehead as a police oversight prosecutor. However, before the role could be made official, social media posts from Whitehead surfaced that seemingly showed a pattern of attacking police. Taylor faced backlash from the town’s county manager over her selected candidate. “A county manager can’t tell a commonwealth’s attorney who to hire, but he can recommend whether or not local funds are included to supplement that salary. And in this case, I absolutely will not do it under any circumstances,” County Manager John Vithoulkas said at the time. Whitehead had a history of voicing concerns about police behavior and social justice that raised concerns for at least one county official, according to local reports. Taylor defended her pick, telling local outlets that she believed the posts were “thoughtful analysis of the current events we are all living through.” Taylor also has ties to similarly-minded prosecutors in other counties — some of which entered the public eye recently due to tragic circumstances. SPANBERGER’S ICE ROLLBACK TO BLAME FOR TODDLER KILLING, VIRGINIA ‘HOTBED’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME: DHS In Fairfax County, Virginia, news broke that Abdul Jalloh, a 32-year-old illegal alien from Sierra Leone, stabbed a Virginia resident to death at a bus stop despite over 30 prior arrests and a known tendency for violent behavior. Jalloh’s criminal record included charges of rape, malicious wounding, assault, drug possession, identity theft, trespassing, larceny and firing a weapon. Even so, prosecutor Steve Descano had dropped many of them, prompting concern and outrage from lawmakers. “You dismissed the case, and it’s shameful,” Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C. said at a hearing where Descano was summoned to Congress to explain a series of similar cases. Knott had been highlighting one such instance involving a child predator. “When you dismiss a case, what happens to that defendant? He walks free. A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children, that you dismissed,” Knott said. Long before Descano’s time in the spotlight, Taylor had endorsed Descano, supporting his bid to become county prosecutor in 2019, citing shared outlooks. “I am excited to endorse Steve Descano for Fairfax County’s Commonwealth’s Attorney because I know he will prioritize the same Democratic values we all share, making Fairfax a safe and just place for everyone and I am looking forward to working with him,” Taylor wrote. Taylor and Descano would go on to champion their shared values in a 2021 letter to the Biden Administration. In it, the two joined 100 other district and county attorneys in championing a set of “21 principles for the 21st-Century prosecutor.” The authors claimed that “tough on crime policies” had been “anathema to justice,” championed an end to mandatory minimums and three-strike laws, advocated for taking immigration status into consideration when negotiating sentences and plea deals, and opposed calling rapists “rapists,” drug dealers “drug dealers,” and convicted criminals “felons” or “inmates.” “A number of elected reform-minded prosecutors are boldly redefining what it means to be a prosecutor,” the letter states. OKLAHOMA TEEN ACCUSED OF RAPING TWO GIRLS WALKS FREE; DA FURIOUSLY CALLS IN FEDS: ‘MADE MY BLOOD BOIL’ At least one Republican onlooker blasted Taylor’s record. “She spent her time reshaping the prosecutor’s office around identity politics, pushing a far-left agenda that put woke activism ahead of public safety, and fighting to turn Virginia into a far-left hellscape,” Emma Hall, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Instead of prosecuting criminals and making Virginia safer, DEI queen Shannon Taylor chose to be a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant.” Having secured the Democratic nomination, Taylor now heads to the general election on Nov. 3. Wittman, the district’s incumbent, last won re-election in 2024 in a 56.3% to 43.5% victory over Democratic challenger Leslie Mehta, an attorney.
Dem Senate hopeful flip-flops on emerging issue impacting communities across US
Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, once praised data center expansion, records show, even as he now runs on a platform opposing their development in a bid to return to the Senate. In 2015, Brown put out a press release celebrating the construction of a third data center in Central Ohio “This new data center is great news for New Albany and central Ohio. Amazon’s growth in central Ohio signals that this region is not only a great place to do business, but a place where people want to live and raise a family,” Brown said. Now, just over 10 years later, Brown is painting Ohio’s 226 data centers as a drain on the state’s resources — a reversal that demonstrates how many Democrats have aligned themselves on the issue to press the case for affordability. WATCH: GOP SENATOR UNLOADS ON ‘CREATURE OF WASHINGTON’ CHALLENGER IN CRITICAL SENATE SHOWDOWN “Ohio’s electric grid — big corporations treat it like a game,” Brown said in a recent campaign video. “[They’re] gobbling up energy to feed their data centers no matter how much it raises our prices. It’s the latest way they’ve rigged the system.” Brown, who was originally elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, lost re-election in 2024 to Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. Now he is waging a comeback bid for Ohio’s other Senate seat against incumbent Sen. Jon Husted. Husted, who has not yet won a full term in the Senate, was appointed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the seat of now-former Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, when Trump tapped him to become vice president. In the 2026 midterms, Democrats have hammered President Donald Trump and what they see as unfulfilled promises to bring down the cost of everyday items like food, fuel and housing. While slightly removed from those specific items, an increasing number of Democrats, like Brown, have tied data centers to the issue, arguing that they do little to pay for their own costs in terms of water and electrical use. In their view, data centers are being subsidized by the communities where they’re being built. FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC UNITY, REPUBLICAN CROSSOVERS SHAPE OHIO SENATE RACE Debates remain about whether their consumption has meaningfully changed utility rates in local communities and, if so, whether the companies should pay for the costs of their consumption. Brown said he would support legislation along those lines. “I’ll require the data centers to pay the full cost of their own electricity — not you,” Brown said. Ohio, in particular, has become an increasingly important state in the data center conversation as companies like Amazon and Google have sought out state incentives for their construction. In 2013, the state legislature passed tax exemptions for the “sale, storage, use or other consumption of computer data center equipment.” The law gives the Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) the power to approve tax exemptions for companies that invest more than $100 million over three consecutive years. Not all centers are automatically qualified to participate in the benefit and can receive a partial exemption. The move has attracted sizable investment but also cost the state $1.6 billion in forgone revenue in 2025, according to the Ohio 2026-2027 Tax Expenditure Report. It’s unclear if Brown would support more than just a requirement that data centers pay for their electricity and whether he would consider other legislation to slow their development. In his 2015 press release, Brown noted that the centers had created new job opportunities with their openings. TOP ENERGY GROUP WARNS WEALTHY FOREIGNERS ARE POTENTIALLY BANKROLLING ANTI-DATA CENTER CAMPAIGNS ACROSS US “I look forward to working to ensure that our region’s burgeoning logistics hub continues to grow – creating good jobs for Ohioans and helping businesses prosper,” Brown wrote. His office did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital about the scope of his objections to data center developments in Ohio. Having secured his party’s nomination for the seat, Brown will face Husted in the state’s Nov. 3 general election.
Socialism’s campus appeal meets Gen Z resistance as students keep score on communism
Pro-Israel college students who have watched socialism and anti-Israel activism gain ground on campus say the same political currents are now colliding with the Democratic Party — and the backlash is pushing some young Jewish voters to the right. “Even before the craziness of the post-October 7 campus climate, it was already an underlying sense of, ‘America is bad and we’re gonna learn about that,’” University of Michigan rising senior Addison Stone told Fox News Digital. Speaking at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s national summit in Washington this week, students said political currents they have watched spread on college campuses are increasingly surfacing in Democratic politics, particularly as the party’s progressive wing gains ground and clashes deepen over Israel. Dylan Goldman, a rising senior at UC Berkeley, identified himself as “left leaning” and told Fox News Digital that Democratic lawmakers welcoming the popular socialist candidates – who overwhelmingly hold hostile postures toward Israel – are making a “really poor move.” DEMOCRATS LURE ‘POLITICALLY HOMELESS’ GEN Z TOWARD SOCIALISM — A COUNTERATTACK IS TAKING SHAPE “Jewish Democrats who are not single-issue voters… now feel so alienated by our own party that it’s pushing us conservative. It’s pushing to go further right,” said Goldman. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive whose campaign drew support from the democratic socialist movement, won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday, adding to a string of victories for left-wing candidates challenging the Democratic establishment as the party battles for control of Congress in November’s midterm elections. The conference brought hundreds of pro-Israel students to Washington for advocacy training, networking and discussions on supporting Israel, combating antisemitism and strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship on college campuses. “The academics don’t help, but they’re sort of helping indoctrinate the next generation and the next generation with the combination of learning about that in classes and going on social media and seeing it and the DSA trying to make everything cool with communism,” Stone said. “You’re really seeing the outcome of that on college campuses where they’re burning both American and Israeli flags.” JEWISH MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS ADMIT THEY WILL VOTE REPUBLICAN IF ABDUL EL-SAYED BECOMES NOMINEE As those political divisions play out nationally, organizers at the summit said Jewish students are still confronting the campus hostility that helped bring many of them to Washington. “What’s happening to Jewish students on American campuses should alarm every American,” Israel on Campus Coalition CEO Jacob Baime told Fox News Digital. “The hostility is out in the open now: mobs on the quad, intimidation in the classroom, and harassment online. But here’s what the mob didn’t count on: this generation isn’t backing down.” “These students are the proudest, toughest, most organized pro-Israel cohort we have ever seen. This week we brought more than 1000 campus leaders to Washington to train and equip them with the skills they need to go back to campus ready to fight for what they believe in,” he added. FETTERMAN WINS PRAISE FOR ‘GUTS’ AFTER GOING TOE-TO-TOE WITH JON STEWART OVER ISRAEL SUPPORT Fetterman, who spoke at the Israel on Campus Coalition’s flagship event, said the Democratic Party’s shifting posture toward Israel and the Jewish community is becoming increasingly consequential. His support for Israel has repeatedly put him at odds with members of his own party, including over the broader conflict in the Middle East and his backing of President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. “I think I was the only Democrat to support the Trump administration to bomb the Iranian nuclear facilities,” Fetterman told Fox News Digital. “If you don’t want them to acquire a nuclear bomb, it’s pretty reasonable to bomb their nuclear facilities.” Fetterman argued the threat extends beyond Israel, casting the confrontation with Iran as a larger battle over American values and the West’s role in the region. “The problem is Iran. That’s the problem,” he said, later adding, “I’m proud to stand for America, civilization, democracy, and Israel is our special ally that represents all of that in that region.”
Socialist wave ‘ripping America apart’ will hit a wall with Michigan voters: Rising star House candidate
WARREN, MI – Mike Bouchard Jr., the Republican nominee for Michigan‘s 10th Congressional District, says Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow Senate primary victory is no sign Michigan as a whole is embracing socialism and that the progressive Democrat’s message is dividing the country. “El-Sayed was campaigning with Hasan Piker the day before the election, Hasan Piker said that America deserved 9/11, we did not deserve 9/11, tell that to the thousands of people who died in 9/11 and the thousands of American military who died abroad defending this country,” Bouchard, a Bronze Star recipient who served as an infantry officer in the 101st Airborne Division and an intelligence officer in the 82nd Airborne Division, told Fox News Digital. “The fact that that is coming to our streets, that someone says that America deserves something like that, that is ripping America apart block by block. We need to come together, build this country up, and find real solutions together. I’m done with this partisan politics and trying to bring socialism into a country that is not what we were founded on.” El-Sayed was crowned the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Michigan on Tuesday night, winning a razor-thin contest by less than a percentage point against the establishment-backed Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens. EL-SAYED PALS AROUND WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER HASAN PIKER THE DAY BEFORE CRUCIAL MICHIGAN SENATE ELECTION Bouchard told Fox News Digital that El-Sayed’s victory shows a “split” in the Democratic Party but said that while the socialist wing is the “loudest voice” in the room, he doesn’t believe most Michigan voters are swayed by far-left politicians. “Absolutely not,” Bouchard said. “The people in Michigan are hard workers. They work hard, they love their families, and you know what? They’re moderates. They go back and forth. They look at Democrats, they’ll look at Republicans. They don’t want partisan politics. They want someone who’s going to deliver results for them. And that’s why I got in this race is to deliver real, meaningful results.” Bouchard, the son of longtime Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard, reacted to the much talked-about socialist wave in the Democratic Party as far-left candidates win across the country, and now in the Midwest with candidates like El-Sayed and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong. EL-SAYED CAMPAIGN BACKED BY OVER $100,000 FROM DOZENS OF MEMBERS OF GROUP WITH ALLEGED TERROR TIES “When the Berlin wall came down, which way did the people run?” Bouchard said. “Did they run towards a communist Soviet union, or did they run towards freedom in America? Socialism doesn’t work. It’s been proven time and time again. I’ve fought all across the world and I’ve seen what socialism does to a country. We cannot allow that to come here.” “Yes, I’m running for change, but socialism is not the answer, and so Abdul El-Sayed stands for defunding the police. And it’s been really interesting to see how my opponent, who’s soft on crime, works with El-Sayed when he’s trying to tear this country down. I want to build this country up.” Bouchard will face Democrat Christina Hines, a former county prosecutor, in November after he won Tuesday night’s GOP primary to replace Rep. John James, who is running for governor, in Congress. Bouchard told Fox News Digital that the contrast between him and Hines on crime will be a main focus of his. Hines has faced criticism from her Republican opponents on the crime issue and Bouchard said Hines “stands for soft on crime policies and a woke agenda that I just don’t align with.” ” You look across a lot of the prosecutors across the country, some enforce the rules on the books, some don’t, some blame victims, and some are really kind to the offenders, I stand for protecting victims and making sure that the offenders go to prison,” Bouchard said. “And so I’ve seen people praise my opponent for being kind and compassionate to offenders. I stand for the victims. People in this district want to be safe and if you’re not safe, you can’t do anything else. You can’t leave your house. So from the southern border to crime across the district, I’m gonna stand up for the people of this district.” Hines pushed back on Bouchard’s criticism in a statement to Fox News Digital, contrasting her career as a prosecutor with Bouchard’s military background. “Mike Bouchard Jr has never put a predator behind bars, and he’s never lived in Macomb a day in his life. I spent my entire career working with law enforcement to put serial rapists, child predators, murderers, and traffickers in prison. I’m running for Congress to protect the families in my community, and to fight against the corruption that’s rampant in DC.” Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment.
Trump pumps brakes on Senate budget plan, delaying GOP SAVE America push
Senate Republicans may have left Washington on a high note early Saturday morning, but they left one major item on the table: passing the SAVE America Act. It’s the bill that has dominated President Donald Trump’s attention span and garnered heavy criticism against Republicans in the upper chamber for not being able to pass it. And despite guarantees from some in the party that they would object to leaving until Sept. in order to pass the voter integrity bill, lawmakers’ suitcases were packed and ready for the airport. It’s one of several agenda items that didn’t get finished prior to the lawmakers’ vacation, and one that will have to wait until next month. But its biggest proponents appear okay with that outcome. SCHUMER CAVES, HANDS REPUBLICANS SHUTDOWN WIN AFTER MONTHS OF UNCERTAINTY “We’re not dropping SAVE,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said. “It’s a matter of time.” Time between now and the end of this session of Congress will be an increasingly short commodity to come by. The Senate returns the third week of September and will be tasked with moving two massive bills dealing with cryptocurrency regulations and money in college sports, both of which didn’t make the cut during the upper chamber’s last week in town. Then they’ll leave once again for nearly the entire month of October in preparation for midterm elections in early November. SCHUMER SAID ‘DEMOCRATS SUPPORT VOTER ID’ — THEN EVERY SENATE DEMOCRAT VOTED AGAINST GOP BILL Another priority heavily pushed by Trump and the administration, taking another crack at the party line budget reconciliation process, was detoured, too. That process is how Republicans hope to pass the SAVE America Act without Democrats getting the chance to block it with the filibuster. Republicans were ready to vote on the $150 billion budget blueprint drafted by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., until Trump intervened over concerns that it would fail. The push was paused after Johnson, who just took over the Senate Budget Committee, Lee and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., huddled in the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune after speaking with Trump. Johnson said Trump agreed that the best path forward was to “just work diligently through August into September to do an actually better budget reconciliation bill.” Republicans want to crank up the defense spending in their budget framework — Johnson said that War Secretary Pete Hegseth made a “very convincing case” to beef up the funding by $350 billion as the war in Iran continues and munitions dwindle. Still, whether the gamble to incentivize states to take up portions of the SAVE America Act will work remains unknown, given that the Senate’s rules chief will ultimately decide if the provisions pass muster with reconciliation’s guardrails. BLANCHE SURVIVES REPUBLICAN DEFECTORS AS TRUMP GETS HIS NEW ATTORNEY GENERAL Taking another shot at reconciliation that doesn’t include cost-of-living elements or affordability-minded provisions hasn’t been a popular subject among Senate Republicans, especially heading into midterms. Thune acknowledged that there was an appetite among Republicans to use the legislative tool to muscle through defense funding and try to include elements of the SAVE America Act. The top Senate Republican, unlike others in his conference, hasn’t been gung-ho about turning to reconciliation for a third time. That appeared to subtly change early Saturday morning. “I think at some point, we’re going to need to do another reconciliation bill,” Thune said. Meanwhile, Republicans were able to accomplish several items on their to-do list Saturday morning. They passed a short-term funding extension until early December to take away Democrats’ ability to politicize another government shutdown, advanced a bone-crushing Russia sanctions package and confirmed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Department of Justice with the command of a Senate-confirmed cabinet member. But Democrats blocked a voter ID bill from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and hurdles remained for the massive, cryptocurrency bill known as the Clarity Act, and Sen. Ted Cruz’s, R-Texas, legislation going after Name Image and Likeness (NIL) funding in college sports. Perhaps the most glaring omission, however, was a vote on whether to cancel the August recess. Lee had pushed for a full vote on the Senate floor as part of the Senate’s push to reach a broader agreement on several legislative items. Instead, he accepted a voice vote, uttering a quiet “no,” on the floor against the forthcoming recess. “Would it have been better if we had passed SAVE America already? Absolutely,” Lee said. “Would it be better if we had the votes right now? Yes. We, for a variety of reasons, don’t have the wherewithal to pass it right now.” “No, no, no, [its] Democrats,” Johnson interjected. “The reason is Democrats. Democrats refuse to vote for any kind of voter integrity measure, that’s just the reality of the situation.”