New Hampshire governor recruits NYC business owners fleeing Mamdani ‘regime’
A large van covered in rotating digital posters circled Midtown Manhattan last week after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won a dramatic New York City mayoral election. New Hampshire Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s re-election campaign sent a van covered with ads reading: “NYC business owners: Mamdani got you down? Come on up to New Hampshire for no Communism, less red tape, and less taxes,” and various phrases encouraging New Yorkers to head north. “New Hampshire has a lot to offer anyone who is looking to leave NYC ahead of the Mamdani regime,” Ayotte told Fox News Digital. “We are the safest state in the nation, the best for economic opportunity, and we have some of the lowest taxes anywhere. Whether you own a business or just want to keep more of your hard-earned money — come on up to the Granite State. We’d love to have you!” Mamdani, who has pledged to raise taxes in order to fund his vision of free buses and free child care, was elected mayor of New York City Tuesday. ‘DEMOCRATS ARE NERVOUS’ ABOUT POTENTIAL ZOHRAN MAMDANI VICTORY, NEW REPORT WARNS “Come to New Hampshire,” one slide on the side of the truck read. “We’ll help your business make the switch, and you can keep more of your hard-earned money!” The mayor-elect has not shied away from his commitment to implementing socialist policies in the Big Apple. His tax hike proposals have reportedly discouraged individuals from moving to the city and are pushing some New Yorkers to flee the five boroughs altogether. Fox News Digital’s Kristen Altus spoke with developer Isaac Toledano, the CEO of Miami-based BH Group, who said his company has closed more than $100 million in signed contracts, which is twice as much as the previous year, from New York buyers in just the past few months. ZOHRAN MAMDANI LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP TOUR ACROSS FIVE BOROUGHS IN NEW YORK CITY “During COVID the first exodus was less about taxes, and more about access to schools and a more ‘normal’ way of life. Don’t get me wrong, taxes were a motivation, but not the sole motivation,” Mitch Roschelle, real estate expert and managing director at Madison Ventures, told Fox News Digital. “Fast forward to the Mamdami era. The next exodus from NYC will be led by residents who are already paying their fair share and do not want to fund the bevy of social welfare programs that lay ahead,” Roschelle added. According to a report from the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the population of NYC fell 5.3% from April 2020 to July 2022. For comparison, the number of New Yorkers that left the city during that time is more than the entire population of Long Beach, California. “The exodus may not be immediate, and I suspect it will be tied to the school year for families,” Roschelle continued. “The spring will be the big test of the prevailing group—think about migration.” “That said, any change in public safety, or a major tax increase on the ‘rich’ will dramatically accelerate exits from NYC,” Roschelle added. Mamdani will be officially sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2026.
Another House Dem drops out of 2026 rat race as party faces generational reckoning
Continuing a trend of retiring figures in the 119th Congress, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., announced that she will not seek re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives next year. “I made a commitment years ago to always lead the charge on behalf of those I represent, and I believe I have fulfilled that commitment to the very best of my abilities. I have always stood on the front lines in the fight for principled progressive policies,” Coleman said in a post on X. HOUSE DEM DEFLECTS ON WHETHER ELECTION IS A WARNING TO DEMOCRATS, DEMANDS PARTY ‘STAND STRONG’ “While I am not seeking re-election, there is still more to be done in my last year in public office. I absolutely intend to continue serving my constituents in the 12th District straight through to the last day of my term.” Coleman has represented New Jersey since 2015 and before that served the Garden State as a state legislator from 1998 until her arrival in Congress. She last won re-election in 2024 in a 61.2%-36.4% victory over Republican challenger Darius Mayfield. Even without the advantage of incumbency, Republicans are unlikely to capture New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District. Coleman, 80, is just the most recent lawmaker to announce retirements among Democrats, marking a changing tide in the composition of the party’s more senior membership. Her announcement follows that of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who, at age 85, similarly announced last week she would not pursue re-election in 2026. NANCY PELOSI WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION, ENDING DECADES-LONG HOUSE CAREER Other notable Democrats leaving Congress next year include Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. — ages 80 and 78 respectively. Questions about age have persisted on Capitol Hill as — across both parties — figures like Pelosi and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pose questions about how far legislators should push their public service. McConnell, who led Republicans as Senate Majority Leader, will also not pursue reelection. REPUBLICAN SEN. JONI ERNST OF IOWA MAKES IT OFFICIAL: SHE’S NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION NEXT YEAR Coleman said she believed she needed to step down to make way for new figures in the party. “I believe now is the time to pass the torch to the next leader who will continue leading this charge,” Coleman said.
Democrats fight to block Trump’s ‘reckless and unnecessary’ call to restart nuclear testing
Senate Democrats want to curb President Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally resume nuclear testing, as the president suggested the U.S. would do on an “equal basis” with Russia and China moving forward. While Trump did not elaborate and clarify what reinstating nuclear testing would involve, Senate Democrats are seeking to put some limitations in place for the executive branch amid concerns that launching the first nuclear test in more than 30 years would prompt near-peer adversaries like China to follow. As a result, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced the No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act Friday. The measure prohibits the U.S. from conducting a nuclear test unless a foreign state first conducts a nuclear test, and would require Congress to sign off on such nuclear tests. “Restarting nuclear testing would be reckless and unnecessary,” Kelly said in a Friday statement. “We’ve already conducted more than a thousand tests and know our warheads work. This would just risk triggering a dangerous chain reaction, potentially encouraging countries like China to do the same and advance their own technology.” ENERGY SECRETARY REVEALS HOW US NUCLEAR TESTS WILL WORK Trump’s call to reinstate nuclear testing struck a chord with those in Nevada, where the bulk of U.S. nuclear testing from 1951 to 1992 was conducted at the Nevada Test Site. The area is now known as the Nevada National Security Site, which aims to safeguard the U.S.’ nuclear weapons stockpile. But the site is the only location currently in the U.S. where a nuclear test could be administered, according to the lawmakers. “Nevadans were blindsided when President Trump said he could revive the outdated, misguided practice of detonating nuclear weapons just 60 miles from my hometown of Las Vegas,” Cortez Masto said in a Friday statement. “No administration should have the authority to set off nuclear bombs on American soil without any oversight or outreach to the states that would bear the burden of these dangerous tests.” Likewise, Rosen emphasized the gravity of resuming nuclear testing, and said that “a decision of this magnitude should not be made lightly or on a whim by an erratic President.” Reps. Steven Horsford and Susie Lee, both Democrats from Nevada, are expected to introduce companion legislation in the House. RUSSIA DRAWING UP PLANS TO CONDUCT NUCLEAR TESTS AFTER TRUMP ANNOUNCEMENT Trump announced in October just ahead of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the U.S. would revive nuclear weapons testing — even though the U.S. has not done so since 1992. “They seem to all be nuclear testing,” Trump later told reporters on Air Force One. “We don’t do testing — we halted it years ago. But with others doing testing, it’s appropriate that we do also.” It wasn’t immediately clear what Trump meant in terms of reviving nuclear testing, since no country has launched a known nuclear test since North Korea in 2017. China and Russia last conducted known tests in the 1990s, when Russia was still the Soviet Union. The White House told Fox News Digital Monday that Trump had made his stance clear and that testing would occur on a reciprocal basis. “Democrats should spend less time trying to usurp the president’s executive authority and more time working with the administration to advance peace through strength,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. TRUMP BREAKS 33-YEAR NUCLEAR TESTING SILENCE AS WORLD BRACES FOR DANGEROUS NEW ARMS RACE Even so, experts said that Trump may have been referring to beefing up testing of nuclear-powered weapons, or moving ahead with secretive, low-yield nuclear weapons testing. Furthermore, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that testing will involve “the other parts of a nuclear weapon” and that nuclear explosions wouldn’t occur. “I think the tests we’re talking about right now are systems tests,” Wright said in an interview with Fox News November 3. “These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call noncritical explosions.” Trump’s statement came days after Russia announced it had successfully tested its new, nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile, which NATO has dubbed “Skyfall.” As a result, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said it’s critical the president responds to those like Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have nuclear weapons. “When you have a madman that has nuclear weapons like Putin does and he starts rattling his saber, it’s important for the president to respond,” Risch told reporters on Oct. 30. “And he responded in a way that is reasonable.” Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
VP’s office responds to PA gov who said Vance betrayed Appalachian roots with ‘bull—- politics’ over SNAP
Vice President JD Vance’s office hit back Monday at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who used a Philadelphia press conference to criticize Vance while outlining the state’s contingency plan to keep SNAP (food stamp) benefits flowing during the government shutdown. Shapiro had joined 24 states to successfully sue the USDA over November’s SNAP benefit suspension. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania itself was not a plaintiff, as Republican Attorney General David Sunday was not involved. Shapiro referenced Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” and the Ohioan’s strong bonds with his elders in Breathitt County, Kentucky – the heart of Appalachia – as he lit into what he described as the vice president’s “bull—- politics” that belie his Appalachian roots. “America has a president and a vice president that don’t give a damn about all Americans,” he added. SCHUMER, DEMS CALL ‘BULL—-‘ ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FOOD STAMP SHUTDOWN THREAT Vance press secretary Taylor Van Kirk responded in comments to Fox News Digital on Monday, saying the governor should “take a look in the mirror if he wants to see who is to blame for this Democrat shutdown.” She said Shapiro and Democrats supported “Schumer’s shutdown” and in doing so “screwed over working-class men and women.” “While little Josh was whining like a child about the problems his own party created, the Trump administration has been crafting a deal with commonsense Democrats to reopen the government and fund SNAP benefits,” Van Kirk added. YOUNGKIN DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY OVER ‘DEMOCRAT SHUTDOWN’ DEPLETING SNAP BENEFITS FOR 850K VIRGINIANS Shapiro had joined his fellow Montgomery County Democrat Val Arkoosh to discuss the SNAP freeze’s effects and what he and Arkoosh – the state’s human services chief — were doing to help affected families. When a reporter told Shapiro that Vance criticized the court order demanding the release of SNAP funds, the governor said that he would expect President Donald Trump to do so but that Vance’s history wouldn’t presage the same response. “JD Vance is a total phony… [he] rose to some prominence by writing a book about growing up in Appalachia, where there’s a whole lot of people who get SNAP,” Shapiro said. VANCE BLAMES SCHUMER’S FEAR OF AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE AS SHUTDOWN CAUSE The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), led by permanent co-chair Gayle Manchin and 2025 co-chair Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, considers 423 counties from Alabama to New York part of Appalachia, including three-quarters of Pennsylvania. ARC reported 1.4 million families in its region are on SNAP, including 14% of families in Appalachian Pennsylvania. “[Vance] made millions of dollars on the backs of telling their stories, and then he turned his damn back on those very people who he likes to write about and claim as his own,” Shapiro said. He added that Vance professes to be a person of faith, and cited a passage from the book of Deuteronomy that says people should respond to those in need with an open hand. IN A SNAP, TRUMP BLAMED FOR BLOCKING FOOD ASSISTANCE TO LOW-INCOME FAMILIES “So for JD Vance now to turn around after claiming all these things his whole life and literally go to court to stop hungry people from eating, that is not only phony, it’s shameful.” “You’ll excuse me for getting emotional about it, but when I see hungry people in my state who are hungry because of JD Vance’s bull—- politics, that makes me angry. And that’s why I went to court.” At the presser, Shapiro explained that Arkoosh’s office was able to fund SNAP through a state disaster declaration and directing millions of dollars to food banks through the Feeding Pennsylvania program. “Republicans in Congress must work across the aisle to quickly reopen the government and protect food assistance and access to health care for the millions of people in Pennsylvania and around the country still at risk because of this continued inaction,” Arkoosh said in a statement. The war of words could preview a potential 2028 matchup as both Vance and Shapiro are considered top potential contenders for their parties’ presidential nominations next cycle.
Senate hopes to blow through procedural hurdles in bid to reopen government
The ball is rolling to reopen the government, but there is still much left to do in the Senate before the record-shattering shutdown comes to an end. Sunday night’s successful vote, which saw eight Senate Democrats splinter from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their colleagues, was a massive step forward in the shutdown slog. But there are several votes left and procedural roadblocks that could be weaponized that could grind the Senate’s march to advance its package to the House to a halt. If all 100 senators agree to fast-track the process, the package could move as quickly as Monday night. SENATE DEMOCRATS CAVE, OPEN PATH TO REOPENING GOVERNMENT But if not, the bipartisan plan could stagnate in the upper chamber for several days. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was optimistic that the Senate could finish its work Monday night but said that would be up to Senate Democrats. “Obviously, there are objections from the left, but as long as the votes are there to proceed, we will move forward, and hopefully without a lot of disruption or delay or fanfare right now,” Thune said. “The point is, we are on a path to get the government reopened, and we should try to get it done as soon as possible.” Schumer didn’t say whether Democrats would block any attempt to move the process along but did blame President Donald Trump and Republicans for the shutdown, which stretched into its 41st day on Monday. The core of Democrats’ shutdown demands rested on a guarantee that expiring Obamacare subsidies would be dealt with before Schumer released the votes to reopen the government. But, the deal that was struck among bipartisan negotiators only reaffirmed Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s, R-S.D., earlier promise of a vote once the shutdown ended. SENATE DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS REACH DEAL TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT “Democrats demanded that we find a way to fix this crisis and quickly,” Schumer said. “But Republicans have refused to move an inch, so I cannot support the Republican bill that’s on the floor, because it fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis.” Whether Senate Democrats are in line with a cohesive strategy to block the package remains to be seen. But Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told Fox News Digital that he “didn’t hear anything” about objections or blocks during the Democratic caucus’ closed-door meeting Sunday night. “I think a lot of us are just kind of taking in the information we heard today, talking to each other as Senate colleagues, and then we’re gonna make determinations later,” he said. And Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who was furious at the outcome of the deal, appeared to put any chance of him objecting on ice. SENATE IN LIMBO AS THUNE EYES LONG HAUL UNTIL SHUTDOWN ENDS “I understand that the way the process has been developed, it is impossible to delay the votes that are going to take place,” Sanders said. “And if that were not the case, that is certainly what I would do.” Still, there is a worry that there may be some dissension within the GOP’s ranks from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Paul is unhappy with the addition of language in the three-bill spending package that he argued would kneecap the hemp industry in his state, which played out in a battle between him and fellow Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell earlier this year. A spokesperson for Paul told Fox News Digital that Paul affirmed “his commitment to reopening the government without delay. However, he objects to the inclusion of provisions in the government-funding package that unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry — language that is unrelated to the budget and the government-reopening goal.” And Paul further doused the notion that he would object with cold water, noting that he had filed an amendment to strike the provision in the bill. “Just to be clear: I am not delaying this bill,” he said on X.
Every county in one blue state shifts further left in 2025 governor race despite GOP hopes
Every county in New Jersey shifted further to the left during the high-stakes 2025 gubernatorial election when compared to the 2021 race, according to post-election data. New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill emerged victorious in her campaign to serve as the Garden State’s top leader, defeating Republican candidate Jack Ciattatrrelli, who also ran as the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee in 2021. The election was highly anticipated following the 2024 federal election, which showed the deep blue state move closer to the right as voters increasingly voted for President Donald Trump — though not enough for the state overall to flip red. Trump saw five counties flip red, and narrowed his 2020 losses in the state from 16 points to six points in 2024. The inroads gave hope to Republicans in the state that voters could move toward Ciattarelli, but post-election data shows voters overall shifted further to the left in 2025. DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD OF TRUMP CUT NEW JERSEY REPUBLICANS DOWN TO SIZE The 2021 gubernatorial election teed up a battle between incumbent Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and Ciattarelli in his second campaign for Drumthwacket, the official residence of the New Jersey governor. Murphy earned 51.2% of the vote that year, compared to Ciattarelli’s 48% support. In 2025, Sherrill earned 56.5% of the total 3,256,410 votes cast compared to Ciattarelli’s 42.8%. Fox News Digital took a look at the New Jersey counties that recorded the biggest shifts, including in counties that historically have been more conservative. Along the Jersey Shore, where voters frequently lean more to the right, Monmouth County saw a roughly 10-point shift to the left compared to the 2021 election, with Ciattarelli securing 54% of the total votes in 2025 compared to winning 58.8% of the vote in 2021, Associated Press election data shows. While nearby Ocean County saw a 1.4 point margin shift in 2025 toward the Democrats. FOX NEWS POLL: NEW JERSEY GOVERNORSHIP REMAINS DEMOCRATIC WITH SHERRILL WIN New Jersey is home to 21 counties, which stretch from small city jurisdictions nestled in New York City’s backyard, to neighborhoods of sprawling mansions and vast farmlands that bookend the state in the north and south. Each of the counties saw a shift to the left, with Sussex County in the most northern portion of the state seeing a 16.2 point shift, according to the Associated Press’ data. Sussex County is another county that historically leans to the right, and saw Ciattarelli earn 66.8% of the total vote in 2021, falling to 59.2% in 2025. Cumberland County, located in South Jersey, also saw a 16.2 margin shift benefiting Democrats compared to the 2021 gubernatorial election, according to the Associated Press’ data. The 2021 election saw 55.6% of its voters support the Republican ticket, but dropped to 47.6% in 2025, delivering Sherrill a win in the coastal county. FINAL FACEOFF: DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN NOMINEES IN KEY RACE FOR GOVERNOR BLAST EACH OTHER ON DEBATE STAGE When comparing the 2025 gubernatorial election to the 2024 federal election, five counties flipped back to the Democrats. Trump flipped Gloucester, Cumberland, Atlantic, Morris and Passaic just over a year ago, but each of those counties voted for Sherill in 2025. The New Jersey election cycle was one of just a handful of high-profile campaigns during the off-year cycle, with Democrats also winning Virginia’s gubernatorial election, and socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani elected as the next mayor of New York City. The 2025 elections are viewed as a bellwether for the 2026 midterms, when the political party holding the White House typically loses seats in Congress.
House conservative leader gives blessing to Senate shutdown deal, with ‘one caveat’
EXCLUSIVE: The leader of the House’s most conservative group is tentatively giving his blessing to the Senate’s bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital he was leaning in favor of supporting the legislation, though he added he was still reviewing its final details. “As it currently is formatted, I would probably be a ‘yes’ vote,” Harris said. The “one caveat,” he added, was a push by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to overturn a measure in the bill cracking down on the sale of some “intoxicating hemp provisions.” MIKE JOHNSON SPEAKS OUT AFTER SENATE BREAKTHROUGH ON GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “If that provision is removed then … I can’t support the bill,” Harris said. “We have to close the 2018 Farm Bill loophole that allows hemp-derived products to be sold with intoxicating THC levels. And in many states, it’s even sold to children. We have to reverse that.” The Senate broke its weekslong government funding impasse on Sunday night. Eight Democrats joined all Republicans, except for Paul, to overcome a filibuster on an updated spending bill. It’s possible the Senate could strike a unanimous agreement to move quickly on the legislation, but all eyes are on Paul to see if he will drag out the process in protest of the hemp provision. Overall, however, Harris said the legislative package “looks pretty favorable” from what he’d seen so far — noting the rest of his right-wing House GOP caucus likely felt the same. “We’re still unpacking the entire package, but with the exception of the [reversal of federal layoffs], I think that the members are pretty favorable toward … the rest of the package,” Harris said. Terms of the deal include a new extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Jan. 30 in order to give congressional negotiators more time to strike a longer-term deal on FY 2026 spending. SENATE VOTE TO END GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IGNITES DEMOCRAT CIVIL WAR It would also give lawmakers some headway with that mission, advancing legislation to fund the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction; and the legislative branch. They are three of 12 individual bills that are meant to make up Congress’ annual appropriations, paired into a vehicle called a “minibus.” In a victory for Democrats, the deal would also reverse federal layoffs conducted by the Trump administration in October, with those workers getting paid for the time they were off. It also guarantees Senate Democrats a vote on legislation extending Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which are set to expire at the end of this year. Extending the enhanced subsidies for Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was a key ask for Democrats in the weekslong standoff. No such guarantee was made in the House, however, so Democrats effectively folded on their key demand in order to end the shutdown — a move that infuriated progressives in Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said both publicly and privately that he would not promise Democrats a vote on the enhanced Obamacare subsidies in the House in exchange for their support. Harris told Fox News Digital that he did not believe such a vote would pass the House or Senate. “The COVID-era extensions, I think there is no way that that passes either chamber,” he said, referring to “clean, straight-up extensions” specifically.
WATCHDOG: How universities are rebranding DEI to skirt Trump’s crackdown
As universities across the country have been accused of trying to hide their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts to avoid federal scrutiny, Fox News Digital spoke to a leading parents’ rights activist about how serious the problem is and what can be done about it. “I look at… the responses to the Trump administration and the executive orders falling into three buckets,” Nicole Neily, founder and president of the nonpartisan grassroots organization Defending Education, told Fox News Digital about the continuation of DEI activities despite the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate it. Neily explained, “The first bucket are the proud resisters. I put Princeton, Harvard, schools like that in that category, where they’re just going to, you know, ‘hashtag resist’ and do their thing. The second bucket is, I think it’s the biggest category, and I think they’re the ones that are trying to put lipstick on a pig. They are renaming the departments. The DEI department is now the ‘belonging department.’ The coordinator, the DEI dean, is now compliance dean or something like that. But those people are doing the same damn thing and just trying to wait the Trump administration out.” Fox News Digital has extensively reported on schools in the first two buckets as defined by Neily, including at Washington University in St. Louis, where one of the nation’s top medical schools was accused of moving the DEI office to a restricted floor rather than close it. CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST Earlier this month, Princeton University was hit with a scathing federal complaint over a DEI agenda that allegedly involved female students sharing “gender-neutral” restrooms with gaps in the stalls, as well as graduations segregated by gender identity. At the University of Utah and University of Virginia, Fox News Digital reported on staffers being caught on hidden camera explaining their efforts to continue DEI efforts by simply rebranding or renaming them. “The third category are the schools that actually want to comply in good faith,” Neily told Fox News Digital. “I think a lot of schools, a lot of administrators, got pretty frustrated with the excesses of the DEI movement, and they’re secretly relieved that they now have a little bit of air cover to wind those programs back. And they might hand wring and do a little performative ‘this is the orange man’s fault,’ but at the end of the day, I think they really are relieved.” Neily told Fox News Digital that the “second bucket” is the “biggest and most challenging category.” She said she was recently at a university board conference where speakers on a DEI panel were openly calling for “inclusivity work” to be continued because the Trump administration “only cares about” Ivy League schools and “they can’t sue us all.” UNIVERSITY DROPS JOB POSTING AFTER DEI REQUIREMENT EXPOSED, PROFESSOR SAYS ‘I WOULD NOT BE HIRED’ TODAY “To me, that demonstrates real mens rea, which is Latin for a guilty mind,” Neily said. “I think that shows that these people are the real evildoers and those are the ones where I think, obviously, the Trump administration has spent a lot of time over the past few months going after Harvard, going after Columbia, like the real bad actors that are out there trying to, you know that clearly have to be cleaned up. But I think that there is a much more significant and long-term effort to uproot and eradicate the DEI that is just trying to hide in plain sight. And I think that’s a really, really important mission.” Defending Education recently sent a letter, first reported by Fox News Digital, to elected officials in all 50 states calling for a top-to-bottom audit of state laws at the K-12 level to ensure that no loopholes are being exploited, allowing schools to continue DEI efforts. Combating DEI at all levels of education will require a “whole of government” approach, Neily told Fox News Digital, adding that it will be important to not let administrators “whitewash their records” or pass the blame onto someone else for policies they have supported. Additionally, Neily expressed optimism that the tide is turning against DEI in terms of popularity. “I think we’re at a moment where there is kind of a perfect storm taking place in academia. This incoming freshman class this year is the largest freshman class that American universities will ever have… Clearly, we have seen polling over the past couple years demonstrate a massive loss in public confidence in the institutions of higher education at a time when costs are through the roof, the return on investment for sending your child to some of these schools is horrible. So I think a lot of people are really rethinking, is this the correct track for me, period?” Neily said. UNIVERSITY DOCTOR RESIGNS AFTER UNEARTHED AUDIO EXPOSES HIM BOASTING ABOUT SKIRTING ANTI-DEI LAWS “We also have fewer international students coming in, thanks to the efforts of the Trump administration, and so I think what we’re gonna see over the next several years is a number of universities that actually start to close. And how do those schools differentiate themselves in the marketplace?” Neily said she has witnessed students “vote with their feet” and choose to attend schools that don’t promote “woke” ideologies, particularly in the South as students are looking for a “proper college experience.” Earlier this year, Fox News Digital reported that several Southern states banded together to establish their own accrediting body for higher education in order to “upend the monopoly of the woke accreditation cartels.” “They don’t wanna be surrounded by a bunch of pearl-clutching Victorian scolds that are going to reprimand them for using the wrong pronouns and for not wearing masks in the middle of the winter, and so we’re watching people and some of those state schools in the South now, realizing, OK, we can get more out-of-state students coming in, paying higher out-of-state tuition,” Neily said. “But it’s also changing and altering what our campus life is like, and so we’re
Judge set to choose new congressional map in fight that could reshape House control
A district judge in Utah is expected to make a blockbuster ruling on Monday on which of three congressional maps the red state will use in the 2026 midterm elections. The decision by Utah District Judge Dianna Gibson on which map she chooses could determine if Democrats have a fighting chance next year of flipping one of the state’s current four Republican-controlled U.S. House seats. Utah is the latest state to find itself smack in the middle of the high-stakes redistricting showdown between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats to shape the midterm battlefield in the fight for the House majority. The faceoff over redistricting in Utah, a state Trump carried by nearly 22 points in last year’s presidential election, was triggered by a lawsuit by the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government, which prompted Gibson to throw out the state’s current congressional map. The plaintiffs argued that the current map favored Republicans. NEWSOM TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER LANDSLIDE REDISTRICTING VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA Gibson’s move required the GOP-controlled state legislature to draw a new map, which lawmakers approved last month. The map drawn by the legislature could give Democrats a chance of flipping a U.S. House seat in two of the state’s four districts. Gibson, who will choose between the legislature’s map and two others drawn up by the plaintiffs, said she would rule by Nov. 10, which is the day Utah Lt. Gov Deidre Henderson said any new congressional map must be in place to be used in next year’s elections. TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH TURNS MIDWESTERN STATE INTO NEXT POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND The ruling in Utah comes six days after California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative which will temporarily sidetrack the left-leaning state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which would counter the passage earlier this year in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. “California stepped up. Now, we are taking this fight across the country — helping Democrats in other states push back against Trump’s election rigging,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement to Fox News Digital last week, as he pointed to the push by Trump and Republicans for rare mid-decade redistricting. It’s part of a broad effort by Trump’s political team and the GOP to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have drawn new maps as part of the president’s push. Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections. Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are moving towards redistricting or are seriously considering, as are the red states of Indiana, Kansas, and Florida.
Portland-area county declares state of emergency over ICE activity, as police probed for helping DHS
As the Trump administration adds federal law enforcement focus to Portland, Oregon, local officials in neighboring areas are pushing back on the Department of Homeland Security and investigating their own police forces for alleged collaboration. Unrest in the Portland area grabbed President Donald Trump’s attention over the summer – and by late September – he announced deployment of troops to the “war-ravaged” city – an effort that Trump-appointed Judge Karin Immergut blocked in October. Washington County, an area home to about 600,000 people immediately west of Portland, declared a state of emergency last week in response to DHS’ increased enforcement in the area. PORTLAND CODIFIES SANCTUARY STATUS, ORDERS CITY POLICE TO FURTHER SEPARATE FROM ICE The move opens up $200,000 in emergency funding to help community organizations that serve impacted residents, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). An immigrations rights group official was one of several residents to complain about ICE ramping up enforcement, telling OPB that her organization was receiving 100 phone calls on the matter daily and that broken glass is “everywhere” from ICE officers breaking car windows to detain occupants. County Commissioner Nafisa Fai told the outlet that residents may benefit from moratoriums on evictions and having their electricity shut off over nonpayment if breadwinners in their family are taken away by ICE. ICE DIRECTOR SAYS PORTLAND FACILITY FACES VIOLENCE WITH ‘LITTLE HELP FROM LOCAL POLICE’ Meanwhile, in nearby Eugene – the state’s third-largest city – the police department will reportedly be subject to independent review over allegations that officers aided or coordinated with federal immigration authorities. The Eugene Police Auditor, an agency independent of the force itself, will be conducting a “complete and thorough investigation,” according to Eugene’s CBS affiliate, citing an auditor’s office official. The issue arose after residents complained that Eugene police were not following Oregon’s sanctuary state laws. ICE DIRECTOR REVEALS DANGEROUS NIGHTLY ANTIFA ‘BATTLE’ AS TRUMP PREPARES FEDERAL DEPLOYMENT TO PORTLAND A police spokeswoman rejected the claim in comments to the local NPR affiliate. “Eugene Police Department has nothing to do with immigration, nor with raids [Wednesday],” said Melinda McLaughlin – adding that images on social media from the events of the week are not Eugene police officers. After a Eugene-area ICE raid last week, several lawmakers slammed the feds for “violent detentions” and allegations the suspects were not given full due process. Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore., Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., state House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, and state Senate leader James Manning Jr., D-Eugene, said they were “alarmed” by ICE’s enforcement actions. “This was only the most recent in a series of aggressive raids carried out across the state in recent months. We are working together with community leaders and local law enforcement to learn more and ensure that all of our constituents are accounted for,” they said in a letter signed by several other lawmakers. “Every Oregonian and every person in the United States, regardless of immigration status, is entitled to the full protections guaranteed by the Constitution.” Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.