Trump pressures Congress to pass ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ insisting ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE’
President Donald Trump pressured Congress to pass the “BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” as soon as possible on Tuesday, while also continuing to lob broadsides against Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. “Now that we have made PEACE abroad, we must finish the job here at home by passing “THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” and getting the Bill to my desk, ASAP,” the president declared in a Truth Social post. “To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK. Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE. Everyone, most importantly the American People, will be much better off thanks to our work together. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the president declared. Trump, who targeted Massie in Truth Social posts on Sunday and Monday, continued lambasting the congressman on Tuesday, claiming that the lawmaker is “very bad for the Constitution,” and “votes, ‘NO!’ on everything, because he thinks it makes him cool, but he’s not cool, he’s a LOSER!” THOMAS MASSIE SAYS HE FEELS ‘MISLED’ BY TRUMP AFTER IRAN STRIKES: ‘HE’S ENGAGED IN WAR’ Massie replied to Fox News Digital’s comment request on Tuesday by sharing the 2022 endorsement message in which Trump called him “a first-rate Defender of the Constitution” and “a Conservative Warrior for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District!” The congressman also shared a screenshot of the statement on X and wrote, “For those who want to know what @realDonaldTrump really thinks of me, this should clear things up…” Last month Massie was one of the two House Republicans who voted against passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act when it cleared the chamber. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHO REALLY DECIDES WHEN AMERICA GOES TO WAR? THE ANSWER ISN’T SO CLEAR The congressman declared on Saturday in a post on X that the president’s strikes against Iran were “not Constitutional.” Trump unloaded on Massie in a Truth Social post on Sunday, indicating that he will campaign against the lawmaker. “MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague! The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I’ll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard,” Trump declared amid the anti-Massie diatribe. TRUMP SLAMS REPUBLICAN MASSIE AS ‘NOT MAGA’ FOLLOWING CONGRESSMAN’S CRITICISM OF IRAN STRIKES “GET THIS ‘BUM’ OUT OF OFFICE, ASAP!!!” Trump exclaimed in a follow-up post on Monday.
Navy using munitions at ‘alarming’ speed to defend Israel
The U.S. Navy used its munitions at an “alarming rate” to defend Israel from recent Iranian strikes, a military official said Tuesday, raising questions from lawmakers about how it intends to replace and maintain stockpiles amid global threats. Admiral James Kilby, Naval Operations acting chief, made the remark in his testimony during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the Navy’s budget in Washington when Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asked about the Navy’s available munitions to defend against global threats. “The latest round of conflict in the Middle East utilized large amounts of munitions to defend Israel from Iranian strikes,” Schatz said. “Does the Navy currently have all the SM-3s it needs for global threats?” “We do, sir,” Kilby responded, “but we are, to your point, using them at an alarming rate. As you know, those are missiles procured by the Missile Defense Agency and then delivered to the Navy for our use. And we are using them quite effectively in the defense of Israel.” OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER: HISTORIC B-2 BOMBER MISSION FLEW FROM MISSOURI TO STRIKE IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES An SM-3, or Standard Missile 3, are missiles that the Navy uses as a defense to intercept and destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. “We need more munitions, air defense interceptors, long-range fires, artillery,” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said during the hearing. “Recent conflict tells us we need a lot more of them.” US STRIKE DAMAGE TO IRAN’S NATANZ, ISFAHAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES CAPTURED IN SATELLITE IMAGES McConnell asked how the Navy and Marine Corps were addressing the challenge of these munitions not being produced fast enough. John Phelan, secretary of the Navy, said this was a main concern that officials were focusing on to “get fixed.” “We are looking at a number of different avenues, including other parties and different ways of making some of these munitions,” Phelan said. “This is a huge priority from both the secretary of defense and the president, and we are putting as much effort and time into this as we are in shipbuilding.”
More Iranians with criminal histories arrested by ICE in Trump’s security sweep: ‘Worst of the worst’
EXCLUSIVE: At least five more Iranian nationals were arrested on Monday in addition to the 11 announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday morning. On Monday, 45-year-old Mohammad Hassanpoor was arrested by officers in Baltimore and given a “Third County Notice.” He was previously criminally convicted of “assault with a deadly weapon or force likely to produce great bodily injury,” where he was sentenced to just under a year behind bars. He was also previously sentenced roughly three months behind bars for “battery: spouse/ex sp/date/etc.” and sentenced to two years for stalking. Kaveh Abedi, 45, was arrested in Chicago on Monday for “violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act” and had a 2001 conviction for selling cocaine. HOSPITALS IN SANCTUARY CITIES COULD BE MOST VULNERABLE TO IRAN TERROR ATTACKS, WARNS EXPERT Arish Rustami was also arrested and has a prior sex offense, and Abdolmohammad Raghibzadeh was taken into ICE custody on Monday. He’s had a deportation order since November 2005 from an Arizona immigration judge, and he’s currently an Iranian citizen, according to ICE. In 1999, he previously faced arrests for “domestic violence, vandalism and intimidation” and faced 90 days behind bars and five years of probation as a result. He faced two other arrests and jail time for “violations of probation of the previous crimes.” In May 2006, Raghibzadeh could not get proper paperwork to go back to Iran, so he was given an “order of supervision” and then released. But in 2007, he was arrested again by sheriffs in Santa Ana, Calif., for not following probation and had to spend the rest of it at the California Chino Detention Center, according to ICE. Sahand Yousefinasrabadi was arrested Monday by federal authorities “during targeted enforcement action” in Forth Worth, Texas. Yousefinasrabadi was convicted in Sept. 2013 of aggravated sexual assault of a child, and he was asked in October 2013 to leave the U.S. by an immigration judge. EX-ICE CHIEF WARNS BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS LIKELY FUELED IRANIAN SLEEPER THREAT IN US The arrests come amid concerns about Iranian sleeper cells in the United States following the strikes on nuclear sites in the Middle Eastern nation. While there is currently a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, DHS noted the arrests made since Sunday. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement about the initial 11 arrests that were publicly announced. “We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are. We don’t wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland,” McLaughlin added. CALIFORNIA SHERIFF SAYS NEWSOM ‘ENCOURAGED’ LA RIOTS AS ICE ARRESTS VIOLENT ILLEGAL ALIENS Notably, Yousef Mehridehno was arrested by ICE on Sunday in Mississippi and was on a “known or suspected” terror watchlist as of February. Former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member Mehran Makari Saheli was arrested by ICE in Minnesota, and DHS said he has “admitted connections to Hezbollah” and stayed in the U.S. despite being court-ordered to leave in June 2022. During the Biden administration alone, 729 out of the roughly 1,500 Iranian nationals that came into the country illegally were released into the U.S.
Most Republicans support Trump ordered military strike on Iran’s nuclear program: poll
More Americans say they oppose rather than support this past weekend’s U.S. military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to a new national poll. However, the Reuters/Ipsos survey points to a wide partisan divide, with most Republicans supporting President Donald Trump’s decision to launch aerial attacks against Iran in order to prevent the Islamic State from acquiring nuclear weapons. Thirty-six percent of adult Americans questioned said they supported the airstrikes, with 45% opposed and 18% unsure or skipped answering the question. CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE AFTERMATH OF THE U.S. AIRSTRIKES ON IRAN However, among Republicans, support for the military strikes stood at 69%, with 17% opposed. Only 13% of Democrats supported the attack, with nearly three-quarters opposed. Among independents, support stood at 29%, with nearly half opposed. The survey was conducted on Sunday and Monday following the attacks, which the president announced to the nation on Saturday evening. The airstrikes came after more than a week of daily exchanges between Iran and Israel, sparked by an initial Israeli attack on Iranian territory. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS Just over a third of those surveyed (35%) said they approved of how Trump is handling Iran, with half saying they disapprove. There was an expected partisan divide, with 70% of Republicans but only 10% of Democrats and 28% of independents giving the president a thumbs up on his handling of Iran. Trump announced following the attacks that “the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.” AMERICANS AGREE WITH TRUMP THAT IRAN POSES NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT TO U.S. – POLL However, some independent experts say that commercial satellite imagery of Iran’s facilities after that attack suggests that Tehran’s nuclear program is far from destroyed. The poll also indicated that six in 10 believe U.S. airstrikes on Iran will not make America safer, with 36% saying they will make the nation safer. As with the previous questions, there is a wide partisan divide, with just 12% of Democrats, 29% of independents and two-thirds of Republicans saying the strikes will make America safer. The poll also indicates that four in five worry that Iran may target U.S. civilians in response to the airstrikes. The Reuters/Ipsos poll questioned 1,132 adult Americans, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Bondi vows to ‘protect every religion in this country’ after Wray-era controversy
Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke about the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) efforts to protect religious freedom rights during a House hearing Monday and indicated to lawmakers that she was focused on a range of religions, from Judaism to Islam. “It’s not only Catholics, it’s every religion, and even mosques that were slow-walked under the Biden administration and not allowed to open,” Bondi said. “We will protect every religion in this country.” The attorney general’s remarks came in response to questions from Rep. Riley Moore, R-W. Va., who asked what budget resources Bondi needed to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in the department. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF PROTESTERS Bondi also referenced recent high-profile incidents that appeared to be rooted in antisemitism, including the murder of two people who worked at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. The pair were gunned down in May outside the Capitol Jewish Museum by a man who shouted “free Palestine!” as he was arrested. Bondi’s nod to mosques was an apparent reference to a handful of blue-leaning states closing all religious buildings as part of their COVID-19 protocols in 2020 during the Trump administration. The attorney general said she talks “almost daily” with the DOJ Civil Rights Division, which handles discrimination cases, and she commended division head Harmeet Dhillon, who has upended the division and shifted its focus, in part, to religious freedom. “They are working to protect people of all religions,” Bondi said. SUSPECT CHARGED WITH MURDERING ISRAELI EMBASSY STAFF COULD FACE DEATH PENALTY Moore also broached a controversial internal memo that originated in the FBI Richmond Field Office under former FBI Director Christopher Wray. The memo, which Congress made public in 2023 after receiving it from an FBI whistleblower, offered a threat assessment of “radical-traditionalist Catholics.” The internal document laid out what the FBI perceived as a pattern of extremism among a small group of Catholics, identifying them as those who opposed modern-day popes, held “extremist ideological beliefs,” and “engaged in violent rhetoric.” The document pointed to three real-life examples of criminal suspects who identified with that sect of Catholicism to illustrate its point, and it used the Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-leaning nonprofit, to bolster its assessment. In response to backlash, the FBI retracted the memo. Wray later said he admonished employees involved with making it but also said he did not uncover any “bad faith conduct” among them. Bondi said during Monday’s hearing that under her tenure, the DOJ will not use the Southern Poverty Law Center as a resource.
‘Golden Dome’ comprehensive weapons defenses in the works as lawmakers make Trump dream a reality
EXCLUSIVE – With the Iran situation intensifying, senators will put forward a bill Tuesday that creates the “Golden Dome” missile defense system modeled off Israel’s Iron Dome that President Donald Trump asked for at the beginning of his term. Sens. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., came together to craft the Ground & Orbital Launched Defeat of Emergent Nuclear Destruction and Other Missile Engagements (Golden Dome) Act, a $21 billion congressional authorization split among more than two dozen individual defensive strategies. It comes after Trump ordered in January that a defense system be realized in response to the “threat of attack by ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missiles, and other advanced aerial attacks.” Trump later confirmed his plan to seek construction of the Golden Dome at a May White House appearance with Sullivan. “The escalating missile threats we’ve witnessed from the Iranian terrorist regime and the rapidly evolving hypersonic, cruise missile and drone threats from Russia, China, and other adversaries demonstrate why we need to develop a robust, modernized missile defense system to protect the entire country—which the Golden Dome Act will do,” Sullivan told Fox News Digital. IN ONLY STATE BORDERING RUSSIA, GOVERNOR SAYS DEFENSES ARE STRONG “The three prongs of successful policy in D.C. are presidential leadership, appropriated funding and comprehensive authorizing legislation.” Trump’s order cited former President Ronald Reagan’s so-called “Star Wars” plan to build laser-based nuclear defense systems against the Soviet Union, while Sullivan and Cramer took a big step Tuesday toward creating something even more comprehensive. Similar to “Star Wars,” the Golden Dome plan calls for the development and deployment of space-based weapons sensors, as well as research into another orbital component, Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Sullivan’s state of Alaska is home to some of North America’s most important extant defense systems, particularly at Clear Space Force Base near Fairbanks and Fort Greely in Delta Junction. The latter is home to Alaska Army National Guard members who provide “operational control and security for the nation’s ground-based interceptors,” according to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. There are about 80 interceptors at-the-ready at Fort Greely. The Golden Dome plan builds on such defenses, by creating, maintaining and/or revitalizing other sites as well, including the Cobra Dane – a land-based “passive electronically scanned array” radar system positioned in the Aleutian Chain. “Alaska is a big part of [missile defense] because the location is sort of perfect,” Trump said. As both the easternmost and westernmost state in the union, Alaska is also the commercial and defensive gateway to Asia, state officials have noted. Specifics of the Golden Dome Act would focus first on present situations the U.S. can respond to in the near-term, including upgrading systems and replenishing munitions short-in-supply like PAC-3 “Patriot” missiles. AK SENATOR LITERALLY TEARS UP BIDEN’S ENERGY ORDERS, BOOSTS WH EFFORTS TO LEVERAGE ARCTIC LNG IN ASIA TRADE The second piece of the puzzle is forward-looking, according to a source familiar with the effort, focusing on technologies like space-based interceptors and air-moving-target indicators — capabilities the U.S. has yet to fully master. Some assets for use in any China-Taiwan contingency are already in Alaska, foreshadowing that the components of the Golden Dome would be subject to a robust testing regime. The Golden Dome would also include a battle-management system, allowing Trump or a future commander in chief to have visibility and the panoply of options at his fingertips if an attack on the U.S. surfaces. The Golden Dome would also include the AEGIS Ashore missile range in Kauai, Hawaii, and, in Cramer’s state, the Perimeter Acquisition Radar System at Cavalier Space Force Base. Additional mobile launch systems would be created across the country, as well as an “early warning” radar installation to be developed somewhere in the South. “The GOLDEN DOME Act increases our national security by enhancing all-domain awareness — eyes and ears upon which any missile-defense architecture relies; bolstering missile and drone defeat capacity to meet the peer and near-peer threat; and accelerating new capabilities to the force to counter future threats to the homeland,” Sullivan and Cramer’s plan read. “Despite this increasing threat, United States homeland missile defense policy has been severely limited to staying ahead of rogue nation threats and accidental or unauthorized missile launches.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Cramer, whose state was subject to suspicious Chinese land purchases near a sensitive military base, said U.S. adversaries’ weapons tech has advanced, so the U.S.’ defense should stay ahead of them. “We have to act in order to defend against the evolving and complex threat landscape. Senator Sullivan and I introduced the GOLDEN DOME Act to build a layered missile defense system, which protects our homeland from catastrophic attacks from modern missiles,” Cramer said. Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., who will lead companion legislation in the House, added that the U.S. “must stand ready to prevent nuclear weapons from harming our citizens.”
Trump dares AOC to try to impeach him: ‘Make my day’
President Donald Trump dared progressive “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to try and impeach him over the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, after she had suggested such a measure. “Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump said the “reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration.” “The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again,” he wrote. AOC, OTHER ANGRY DEMOCRATS, CALL FOR TRUMP IMPEACHMENT OVER ATTACK ON IRAN Trump said Ocasio-Cortez’s “test scores” will show that “she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed Country that she comes from doesn’t have a Government, is drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the World, if it’s even rated at all. “ The president was referring to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Texas Democrat who called Trump “the mo-fo” who is “occupying the White House” during a 21-minute social media video rant about the U.S. strikes in Iran. He was also referring to another progressive, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who recently claimed Trump is turning the United States into one of the “worst countries” in the world. The congresswoman originally came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia. “How dare ‘The Mouse’ tell us how to run the United States of America!” Trump wrote. “We’re just now coming back from that Radical Left experiment with Sleepy Joe, Kamala, and ‘THE AUTOPEN,’ in charge. What a disaster it was!” Trump said Ocasio-Cortez should be forced to take the same cognitive test that he completed at Walter Reed Medical Center as part of his annual physical. DEMOCRATIC SEN. FETTERMAN SHUTS DOWN AOC’S CALL FOR TRUMP’S IMPEACHMENT AFTER IRAN STRIKES “As the Doctor in charge said, ‘President Trump ACED it,’ meaning, I got every answer right,” Trump wrote. “Instead of her constant complaining, Alexandria should go back home to Queens, where I was also brought up, and straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore.” Trump addressed how Ocasio-Cortez is reportedly weighing a primary run against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in 2028. Ocasio-Cortez won re-election in November and next defends her House seat in the 2026 midterms. The congresswoman has come under fire for perceived inaction against a notorious “Red Light” prostitution strip and illegal street vendors plaguing her migrant-heavy district in New York City. “She better start worrying about her own Primary, before she thinks about beating our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, whose career is definitely on very thin ice!” Trump wrote. “She and her Democrat friends have just hit the Lowest Poll Numbers in Congressional History, so go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!” Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday condemned what she called Trump’s “disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers.” “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations,” the democratic socialist wrote on X. “It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
South Carolina AG mounts gubernatorial bid, advocates for abolishing state income tax, DOGE-ing government
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, an adopted son of U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., has announced a Palmetto State gubernatorial bid. “As your governor, we’ll deliver meaningful relief to hard-working people. We’re going to finally eliminate the state income tax,” Wilson, who has served as the state’s attorney general since 2011, said during a speech on Monday. “We’re going to DOGE South Carolina government from top to bottom,” he declared. “We will root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and we will expose it.” SOUTH CAROLINA AG TAKES ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIT-AND-RUN, PROMISES CRIMINALS ‘WE’RE COMING FOR YOU’ U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has said that she is considering running for governor, has previously accused Wilson of protecting pedophiles. “How does Alan Wilson explain his record of protecting kids vs. protecting p*dos? You either protect kids or you protect p*dos. You can’t do both. Alan Wilson chose p*dophiles. Hold the line,” Mace wrote in an April post on X. Robert Kittle, spokesperson for the state attorney general’s office, called Mace’s accusations “ridiculous,” telling Fox News Digital in an email on Tuesday that as an assistant attorney general, Wilson previously “prosecuted, and put behind bars, people who sexually abused children.” EXCLUSIVE: NANCY MACE DISMISSES ‘BURNER’ ACCOUNT ALLEGATIONS AS ‘BITTER EXES’ TALE Wilson appeared to push back against Mace’s attacks in a lengthy post on X in May. “I will not stand by and allow someone to lie about, not only me, but the dedicated men and women in my office who’ve been in the trenches protecting kids for years. A would-be candidate for Governor is attacking me, prosecutors, and our law enforcement partners who put their life on the line to protect children and catch predators. Enough is enough. Over the course of the last several weeks, this would-be candidate has peddled lies and mistruths for her own political ambitions and clicks on social media,” he asserted. “Specifically, she has brought up a handful of cases from the last decade related to offenders that obtained illegal images of children. Let me be clear, our ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) division has worked to get these criminals before a judge and hold them accountable. Our objective is to indict, prosecute, and get them added to the Sex Offender Registry,” he noted in part of the long post. “When the would-be candidate for Governor criticizes the Attorney General’s Office, she’s purposefully omitting the fact that judges give sentences, not prosecutors. When she criticizes the prosecutors, she’s ignorant to the fact that often, our office is working in sync with a federal agencies that can get more time,” Wilson declared. Mace fired back at the time, describing the post as “a very long-winded deflection full of excuses, half-truths and lies, as to why you can’t seem to do your job effectively as South Carolina Attorney General.” NANCY MACE BLASTS TIM WALZ AFTER HE FAILS TO DEFINE WHAT A WOMAN IS Current Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, is not eligible to seek another term in 2026 because the state constitution stipulates, “No person shall be elected Governor for more than two successive terms.” McMaster, who became governor in 2017 after Gov. Nikki Haley, also a Republican, stepped down to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, won the state’s 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections.
Scandal-plagued former Gov Andrew Cuomo aims to pull off political comeback in the nation’s biggest city
Andrew Cuomo is aiming to pull off the biggest political comeback since President Donald Trump won back the White House last November. Cuomo, the former three-term New York State governor who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals, is the frontrunner of an 11-candidate field vying for heavily blue New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral nomination. The former governor – who saw his once-large lead deteriorate as progressives coalesced around Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens and a democratic socialist originally from Uganda – is highlighting his experience. “We know that we can make government work because that’s what we did in New York State. They said we couldn’t do it. We did it,” Cuomo told a large crowd of supporters at a union hall rally on the eve of Tuesday’s New York City primary, as he pointed to his progressive achievements as governor. TRUMP FRONT-AND-CENTER AS NATION’S BIGGEST CITY HOLDS MAYORAL PRIMARY Cuomo is showcasing his fortitude in defending the nation’s most populous city from what he argues are threats from Trump. “Democrats, we are going to stand strong, stand united, stand tall, you’re not going to separate us,” Cuomo emphasized as he referred to the Republican president. “We’re going to lock arms, and we’re going to go forward.” THIS FORMER PRESIDENT BACKS ANDREW CUOMO IN NEW YORK CITY’S DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL PRIMARY Cuomo, who recently said that as mayor that he would mount a national campaign to try and thwart Trump’s agenda, vows to protect New York City from what he suggests is a possible future Trump administration crackdown against immigration protests in New York City, similar to what occurred earlier this month in Los Angeles. Additionally, Cuomo pledged to “stand up to Trump before his antics reach New York.” It is often said that politics is full of second chances, thanks to a long list of politicians who suffered defeat or fell from grace before later winning redemption at the ballot box. Cuomo is trying to be the latest on that list. ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ PHRASE STIRS TENSIONS ON NYC CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT RAGES The 67-year-old Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations, which he has repeatedly denied, forced his resignation. He was also under investigation at the time for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. Last month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about the decisions he made as governor during the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo has faced plenty of incoming fire over his baggage from his primary rivals on the campaign trail and during the two debates between the candidates. However, Marist University Institute for Public Opinion Director Lee M. Miringoff told Fox News that “there’s a general sense that New Yorkers are willing to provide someone a second chance.” Cuomo’s bigger concern is Mamdani, who soared into second place in the polls this spring and was closing the gap with Cuomo ahead of the primary. Mamdani has taken aim at the former governor, pointing out that many of Cuomo’s donors backed Trump in last year’s presidential election. AOC BACKS RISING PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE IN NYC DEM PRIMARY IN PUSH TO DEFEAT FRONTRUNNER CUOMO “Oligarchy is on the ballot. Andrew Cuomo is the candidate of a billionaire class that is suffocating our democracy and forcing the working class out of our city,” Mamdani’s campaign argued in an email to supporters. Cuomo’s campaign in recent weeks has criticized Mamdani as a “dangerously inexperienced legislator” while touting that the former governor “managed a state and managed crises, from COVID to Trump.” “The mayor of the city of New York is the CEO of one of the largest corporations on the globe. This is not a job for a novice,” Cuomo said on the eve of the primary. “This is not a job… for on the job training. We need someone who knows what they’re doing on day one because your lives depend on it.” Mamdani, who among other things wants to eliminate fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system and make City University of New York “tuition-free,” landed a big boost earlier this month after winning an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left. A week later, he was also endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up. With multiple candidates on the left running in the primary, the endorsements by Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders aimed to consolidate the support of progressive voters behind Mamdani. The candidate in third place heading into the primary was New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. He grabbed national attention in the closing days of the campaign after he was arrested in Manhattan by Department of Homeland Security agents. Lander was detained for allegedly assaulting a federal officer as he tried to escort a defendant out of an immigration court. Temperatures are forecast to reach 100 degrees in New York on Tuesday as the city holds its primary. The dangerously high temperatures may keep some older voters from heading to the polls. Because of that possibility, the heatwave could affect turnout in a race that may come down to Cuomo’s union support and campaign structure versus Mandani’s volunteer forces. New York City election officials said that more than 384,000 Democrats cast ballots in early voting, which ended on Sunday. The election is being conducted using a ranked-choice voting system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is dropped, with that candidate’s votes reallocated to voters’ next-highest choices. The process is repeated until one candidate cracks 50%. Mamdani is hoping that the ranked-choice process boosts his chances against Cuomo. New York City’s primary comes as the Democratic Party works
‘Not our role’: Lawmakers cautious over Middle East peace, not ready for regime change
Lawmakers are anxious that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran may not hold, but many are not ready to call for regime change in the Islamic Republic. President Donald Trump on Monday announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a truce, but as the evening carried into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, whether that peace would last came into question. TRUMP NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE OVER IRAN-ISRAEL CEASEFIRE DEAL Israel had reportedly geared up for a retaliatory bombing run against Iran, and Trump accused both of breaking the newborn truce. On Tuesday morning, the president put out a sharp reprimand against both countries. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,” he told reporters. On Capitol Hill, in the immediate wake of the ceasefire announcement, lawmakers were already looking at the deal skeptically but had confidence that the president’s negotiating power would ensure the fragile truce was not shattered. “I remain hopeful,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “I trust the president. He’s been right on everything, and he’s the only president that’s been able to bring Iran and Israel to the table in this manner. So I’m going to hope and pray that this works, and if it doesn’t, then we know Trump will act decisively.” ‘NOT CONSTITUTIONAL’: CONGRESS INVOKES NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REJECT TRUMP’S STRIKES ON IRAN Trump’s announcement came on the heels of a weekend strikes with bunker-busting bombs that the White House says obliterated Iran’s nuclear program. Many lawmakers stood firm last week that the entire point of supporting Israel in their bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic was to ensure that Iran could not make or obtain an atomic weapon. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that it was the groundwork Trump laid in his first term with the Abraham Accords and his recent visit to Saudi Arabia that could help solidify a lasting ceasefire between the two sides. “All you can do is just trust that because of the events that have happened, I mean, Iran … their conventional weapons have been decimated, their platforms have been decimated,” he said. “Their nuclear program has been obliterated. So they’re at the table because of that.” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Fox News Digital that Iran has “typically never done what they said they would do.” However, he believed that with the pressure from both the U.S. and Israel, and because Trump was willing to use force — which he described as the president showing he “means business” — things could be different. “I think they’re going to come to the table now, and they’re in a very weak position, so it’s different, but their track record is very bad,” he said. “You can’t count on what they say. So this goes back to the Reagan ‘trust but verify.’ Anything we negotiate with them has to be verifiable, and certainly that’s how the administration is going to approach it.” However, even with a ceasefire, the Iranian regime remains unchanged. A shared sentiment among many lawmakers, however, was that if regime change were to take place in Tehran, it would have to be up to the Iranian people, not the U.S. government. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, who is pushing for his war powers resolution to get a vote in the upper chamber, warned, “Do we really want to get in another regime-change war? “We changed Iran’s regime in 1953 by leading a coup against their prime minister,” Kaine said. “And that’s one of the reasons why the U.S.-Iran relationship is so bad 70 years later. Do we really want to do that again?” TRUMP ‘DOESN’T NEED PERMISSION’ FROM CONGRESS TO STRIKE IRAN, EXPERT SAYS Indeed, the U.S.-backed toppling of then-Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh opened the door for Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to take control of Iran. However, by 1979, the Islamic Revolution took place and removed Pahlavi from power and saw the birth of the current regime. Rep. Jack Bergman, a retired Marine general, laid out his position against regime change in more succinct terms. “It’s not our role.” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., lauded the president’s action over the weekend and said he believed the strikes had put negotiations on a path that could lead to a “generational shift” regarding the future peace and stability of the Middle East and Western World. Still, he noted that “regime changes can break one or two ways, but it would be hard to do worse than what is there today.” “I’m cautiously optimistic, but we’re not there yet,” he continued. Not every lawmaker shared the same feelings, however. Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that he believed the U.S. should take a stronger posture when it comes to regime change in Iran. “I’m a Navy SEAL commander who spent time there, and buried a lot of my friends,” he said. “While the attack was brilliant, and it was deceptive, and it made a statement, etcetera, etcetera, I don’t think Iran will bend. I think it’s going to take regime change.”