Racist text scandal sinks Trump nominee for government watchdog post
Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to lead a government watchdog agency on Tuesday after his inflammatory rhetoric came to a head this week in a report about race-fueled text messages he purportedly sent. Ingrassia’s decision to remove himself from consideration to head the Office of Special Counsel came two days before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs was set to consider his nomination. “I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia wrote on social media. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., quashed all hope of Ingrassia’s confirmation on Monday, saying, “He’s not going to pass.” When asked on Tuesday if it would be a mistake for Ingrassia to appear for his hearing, Thune laughed and said, “Yeah.” KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS Ingrassia, 30, said in a group chat, according to Politico, that he sometimes had a “Nazi streak” in him, and he used the term “moulignon,” an Italian slur for Black people, to call for doing away with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month. The leaked chat was only the latest controversy as Ingrassia has floated around the administration serving in two different roles. In July, Ingrassia faced a formal complaint from a lower-ranking female colleague who alleged, according to Politico, that when they arrived at a hotel for a work trip in Orlando, she found she did not have a room and was informed by Ingrassia that she would be sharing one with him. The woman, who did end up sharing a room with him, later retracted the complaint and Ingrassia also disputed it. Ingrassia has publicly defended social media influencer and self-described “misogynist” Andrew Tate, and previously worked at a law firm that said he was on Tate’s legal team before his July 2024 admission to the New York bar. Tate and his brother face U.K. charges of rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, filed by the Crown Prosecution Service in May 2025. They deny the allegations. Ingrassia was first hired as a White House liaison at the Department of Justice, where he was briefly put in charge of hiring Trump loyalists at the department. But he abruptly left and took a job at the Department of Homeland Security instead. President Donald Trump nominated Ingrassia in May to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency (unaffiliated with the DOJ) that vets workplace complaints from federal employees. TRUMP EXPLOITS LOOPHOLES TO KEEP ALINA HABBA IN US ATTORNEY ROLE, TRIGGERING COURT CLASH “Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time. Ingrassia rejected Politico’s characterization of the text messages, saying through his lawyer that even if they were real, “they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’” Ingrassia has been scrutinized time and again for controversial writings, and pressure had been building on Trump to yank his nomination. In a since deleted X post days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Ingrassia called the Palestine-Israel conflict a “psyop.” A coalition of Jewish organizations was among those who called for Ingrassia’s nomination to be withdrawn. “Mr. Ingrassia’s public statements and associations with people who espouse antisemitic, racist, and misogynistic views, raise serious questions about his ability to carry out these responsibilities with the integrity, impartiality, and commitment required of the office,” the coalition wrote. A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Ingrassia was no longer the nominee. Alex Miller contributed to this report.
GOP senator predicts Trump’s next move in Venezuela amid Hezbollah’s influence: ‘Long past due’
Hezbollah’s growing foothold in Latin America has found its epicenter in Venezuela, where U.S. lawmakers and former counterterror officials say the Maduro regime has turned the country into a safe haven for one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups, giving it access to drug trafficking routes, forged documents and a gateway to the Western Hemisphere. At a Senate Caucus on International Counternarcotics Control hearing this week, both Republican and Democratic senators warned that Hezbollah’s integration into Latin America’s criminal underworld — once concentrated in Colombia and the tri-border region — has now taken root under Venezuela’s protection. Witnesses described an illicit web of narcotics, money laundering and passport-for-terrorist schemes that have flourished with state sponsorship, turning Venezuela into what one expert called the “most important facilitator for Hezbollah in Latin America.” “Venezuela is a willing safe haven for what remains the most lethal, dangerous foreign terrorist organization to the United States,” said Marshall Billingslea, a former senior Treasury official. US BOLSTERS MILITARY PRESENCE IN CARIBBEAN NEAR VENEZUELA AMID TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO HALT DRUG TRAFFICKING Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, both warned that Hezbollah’s 50-year presence in Latin America now poses a hemispheric threat requiring coordinated U.S. action. Ambassador Nathan Sales, the former counterterrorism coordinator at the State Department, urged more Latin American nations — especially Brazil and Mexico — to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization. The bipartisan tone, rare in today’s Congress, underscored what lawmakers called a clear and present danger — a sanctioned regime in America’s backyard providing cover to a global terror group. “Venezuela has become a key enabler of Hezbollah’s malign activity in our region,” Sales testified. “This is not just about the Middle East anymore,” Cornyn added. “It’s about a terrorist organization embedding itself in the Western Hemisphere under the protection of a hostile regime.” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, went a step further, predicting that the United States will move to end Nicolás Maduro’s rule altogether. “I think we’re going to free Venezuela,” Moreno said. “That will be one of President Trump’s many, many legacies. It’s long past due, and I think his days are numbered.” Moreno added that he “would be surprised if [Maduro is] still in Venezuela by the end of this year,” signaling growing confidence that Washington could soon pursue regime change in Caracas after seven strikes on alleged narco-traffickers on the seas. SENATORS LOOK TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM ENGAGING IN ‘HOSTILITIES’ IN VENEZUELA Billingslea and Cornyn pointed to evidence that Venezuelan officials issued passports to Hezbollah operatives, including accusations that former Vice President Tareck El Aissami helped militants travel freely across the region. According to Billingslea, more than 10,000 passports were issued to individuals from Syria, Lebanon and Iran under the former Venezuelan vice president, some with known Hezbollah or Hamas ties. The system, witnesses said, allowed operatives to disguise identities, launder funds and even move into the U.S. with false papers. Sales detailed how Hezbollah’s operations have become embedded in the regional drug trade, including the trafficking of so-called “black cocaine” compressed into charcoal-like briquettes to avoid detection. “Hezbollah traffics narcotics through criminal networks active in the tri-border area. … It’s particularly involved in the sale of black cocaine,” Sales said. He and others warned that as sanctions squeeze Iran and Hezbollah’s financial channels in the Middle East, the group is relying more heavily on Latin American drug profits to sustain itself. Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute said Venezuela has effectively joined what he called the “axis of evasion,” a global sanctions-defying network linking Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. “Venezuela plays an important part in this illicit network as it reaches the Western Hemisphere,” Levitt said, describing its role in gold smuggling, oil-for-cash deals and financial cover for Iran and Hezbollah.
Hunter Biden breaks silence on pardon from dad Joe: ‘I realize how privileged I am’
Former first son Hunter Biden is claiming that his father only pardoned him because Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency in November 2024 — and “would not have” done so under “normal circumstances” while the appeals process played out. HUNTER BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN PARDON TALKS TOWARD END OF FATHER’S TERM, SOURCE SAYS “Donald Trump went and changed everything,” Hunter said in an interview released Monday on journalist Tommy Christopher’s Substack platform. “And I don’t think that I need to make much of an argument about why it changed everything.” The 55-year-old — who pleaded guilty last year to evading $1.4 million in back taxes to the IRS and was convicted on felony gun charges — declined to mention that he had apparently been present for discussions on pardons during Joe Biden’s final months in the White House. HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HE’S STARTED NEW JOB WITH CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT “I’ve said this before,” Hunter went on. “My dad would not have pardoned me if President Trump had not won, and the reason that he would not have pardoned me is because I was certain that in a normal circumstance of the appeals [I would have won].” The Biden scion added that Trump was planning a “revenge tour” against his father, which would have made himself the “easiest target to just to intimidate and to not just impact me, but impact my entire family into, into silence in a way that at least he is not — it’s not as easy for him to do [with] me being pardoned.” FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP PUTS HUNTER BIDEN ON $1B NOTICE OVER ‘FALSE, DEFAMATORY’ EPSTEIN COMMENTS “I realize how privileged I am,” Hunter went on. “I realize how lucky I am; I realize that I got something that almost no one would have gotten. “But I’m incredibly grateful for it and I have to say that I don’t think that it requires me to make much of a detailed argument for why it was the right thing to do, at least from my dad, from his perspective.” Ex-White House chief of staff Jeff Zients spilled last month that Hunter “was involved” in clemency talks and even “attended a few meetings,” a source with knowledge of the Biden official’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee told The Post.
Speaker Johnson hit with Democrat-led lawsuit over delayed swearing-in amid House shutdown chaos
The state of Arizona is suing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., over the delayed swearing-in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz. “Speaker Mike Johnson is actively stripping the people of Arizona of one of their seats in Congress and disenfranchising the voters of Arizona’s seventh Congressional district in the process,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said in a statement. “By blocking Adelita Grijalva from taking her rightful oath of office, he is subjecting Arizona’s seventh Congressional district to taxation without representation. I will not allow Arizonans to be silenced or treated as second-class citizens in their own democracy.” Johnson dismissed the lawsuit as a bid to get “national publicity” in comments to reporters earlier this week and on Tuesday evening. BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN “I think it’s patently absurd. We run the House. She has no jurisdiction. We’re following the precedent,” Johnson said in response to the state attorney general. “She’s looking for national publicity, apparently she’s gotten some of it, but good luck with that.” Grijalva won a special election on Sept. 23 to replace her father, late Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., after he passed away from cancer at age 77. Johnson has repeatedly said that Grijalva will be sworn into office when the House returns to its regular sessions. But it’s not clear when exactly that will be — the House GOP leader has threatened to keep his lawmakers out of Washington, D.C., until the ongoing government shutdown is over. It’s a bid to pressure Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to agree to the GOP’s plan to fund the federal government through Nov. 21. But Schumer and his allies have resisted thus far, sinking the Republican-led bill 11 times and keeping the shutdown going for 21 days. House Democrats have accused Johnson of playing politics and depriving Arizona’s 7th Congressional District of representation in the process. “Republicans on vacation for four weeks — and one of the consequences of that is that Republicans have refused, now for four consecutive weeks, to swear in Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva, depriving hundreds of thousands of people in the state of Arizona of the representation that they deserve, particularly during this challenging moment in the country,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a press conference on Tuesday. Johnson, in response to Democrats’ criticism, has repeatedly pointed out that the House was not in session when Grijalva won her election. He’s also argued that he was following precedent set by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who waited 25 days to swear in Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., in 2021. Letlow had won a special election to replace her husband, Rep.-elect Luke Letlow, R-La., who died during the COVID-19 pandemic before he could be sworn into office in January 2021. “We are not in legislative session. The chronology is important. Rep. Grijalva won her race, I think it was the last week of September, after we had already gone out of session. So I will administer the oath to her, I hope, on the first day we come back,” Johnson said. 58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK “I’m willing and anxious to do that. In the meantime, instead of doing TikTok videos, she should be serving her constituents.” Grijalva has argued she cannot perform her legislative or constituent duties without being sworn in first, which Johnson and Republicans have disputed. But her swearing-in is also key to the ongoing battle over Jeffrey Epstein documents going on in the House. Once made a member of Congress, Grijalva is expected to be the deciding signature on a measure aimed at forcing a House-wide vote on releasing Epstein documents in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) possession. The measure, called a discharge petition, is designed to end-run House leaders on specific legislation — provided it has a majority of lawmakers’ signatures. Johnson and House GOP leaders have called the measure superfluous and political, pointing to the chamber’s own ongoing investigation and procedures aimed at widening transparency into Epstein’s case. However, the speaker has signaled he would not block the measure if it came to the House floor when Grijalva was sworn in. Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for a response but did not immediately hear back.
Undercover video reveals red state university employee suggesting DEI is simply being rebranded
FIRST ON FOX: A conservative watchdog group has released a video that it says raises concerns that administrators at the University of Utah are continuing to push diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), possibly at odds with a relatively new state anti-DEI law. “No, no comment,” University of Utah education coordinator Lucas Alvarez told Accuracy in Media when asked about an allegation he was pushing DEI in violation of a 2024 law aimed at curbing DEI practices inside state universities. Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette then showed Alvarez video of him explaining the current DEI practices at the university. “We’re still, I think, figuring out as we go, like, HB261,” Alvarez said in the video. “It’s complicated, I mean, like, the programs that we’re doing, I think technically we’re still allowed to do them, but they have to be marketed in a certain way.” BOMBSHELL REPORT EXPOSES ‘DEEPLY CONCERNING’ MIDWEST UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE PUSHING FAR-LEFT K-12 LESSON PLANS When pressed by Guillette on what he meant by changing “marketing,” Alvarez once again said no comment. Alvarez was also pressed about another comment he made on video suggesting DEI was still a focus at the university, explaining that his department has been “meeting with a lot of campus partners” to do the “strategic work” of being in “compliance” but pointing out that these partners have “academic freedom.” “I think what he was referring to was the professors have academic freedom to do research and speak from their expertise in the field that they’ve studied,” LeiLoni McLaughlin, the university’s director of the Center for Community & Cultural Engagement, told Guillette when asked what Alvarez meant. UNIVERSITY DOCTOR RESIGNS AFTER UNEARTHED AUDIO EXPOSES HIM BOASTING ABOUT SKIRTING ANTI-DEI LAWS “He kind of suggested that they shifted things over to the professors though,” Guillette said, prompting McLaughlin to explain she thinks that was a “false statement.” McLaughlin was then asked by Guillette what Alvarez meant by changing the “marketing.” “I think with the legislative changes, every university has had to shift,” McLaughlin said. “Shift their actions or just shift how they market what they are doing,” Guillette responded. “Both,” McLaughlin answered. WATCH: DEI STILL IN PLACE AS COLLEGE ‘FINDING WAYS’ AROUND BAN, OFFICIAL ADMITS: ‘PROUD OF THE FIGHT’ A University of Utah spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement, “I reject the assertion that the university is hiding diversity work with rebranding and remarketing.” “The changes required under HB 261 transformed how we support student success, recruit faculty, celebrate events and create a sense of belonging on our campus.” The spokesperson added that Alvarez is “not a spokesperson for the University of Utah.” “His comments do not reflect the position of the institution,” the spokesperson continued. “The comments of LeiLoni McLaughlin, director of our Center for Cultural and Community Engagement…were much more aligned with university leaders.” The spokesperson also pointed to an interview that she said showed the Black Student Union was “extensively mourning the loss of their center and identity-based resources” due to the school following the new law. The school has previously outlined measures taken to conform with the law, including closing identity-based resource centers, transferring DEI employees to other jobs on campus, and prohibiting diversity statements in hiring. “This isn’t about one or two bad apples — it’s about a broken system,” Guillette told Fox News Digital about his video footage, filmed in October 2024 and May of this year. “Utah needs a Kansas-style DEI ban with a reporting mechanism and actual legal consequences. And more importantly, America’s university system needs to be fundamentally reshaped with a focus on education rather than activism.” Republicans across the country, along with President Donald Trump’s administration, have scored major victories pushing back on DEI in favor of meritocracy standards, but experts have warned that universities and organizations will be hostile toward the idea of giving up those methods and will instead attempt to rebrand them under different banners. “At first, they just pushed back on, tried to defend DEI itself, but when that became so obvious that what DEI really was anti-White, anti-Asian, sometimes anti-Jewish discrimination in hiring and promotion, they abandoned that,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild told Fox News Digital earlier this year. “Now what they’re trying to do is simply change the terminology that has become so toxic to their brand. So we’re seeing a lot of companies move from having departments of DEI, for example, to ‘departments of belonging’ or ‘departments of inclusivity.’” Hid added, “It is the exact same toxic nonsense under a new wrapper, and they’re just hoping to extend the grift, because a lot of these people — I would say most of the people — working in DEI are useless.”
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Bill Nye, Buttigieg boost Spanberger amid Jones scandal
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Winsome Sears responds to JMU fan telling her to ‘go back to Haiti’ after weekend of leftist invective -DOJ argues judge’s decision blocking Mahmoud Khalil’s removal was ‘indefensible’ –Charlie Kirk assassination sparks Senate hearing on ‘left-wing political violence,’ Schmitt vows action Former PBS host and ex-Boeing engineer Bill Nye “The Science Guy” will join former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to headline a rally with Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday in the hometown of their party’s forefather. Spanberger will rally with Buttigieg and Nye in Charlottesville – the city that birthed President Thomas Jefferson – while across town at the college founded by America’s third president, GOP lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Reid will headline a public “Dome Room” forum hosted by pollster Larry Sabato’s University of Virginia Center for Politics. Spanberger’s rally occurs as she tries to separate herself from scandal-plagued attorney general candidate Jay Jones…READ MORE. ‘CRAZY PLOT’: Trump says Schumer, Senate Democrats holding government ‘hostage’ with shutdown: ‘We will not be extorted’ HILLARY’S TANTRUM: Hillary Clinton fires up voters against Trump’s White House ballroom construction: ‘It’s your house’ SPEAKING HER MIND: Karine Jean-Pierre reveals she never thought Kamala Harris would win DRUG WAR DISPUTE: San Francisco mayor rejects Trump’s National Guard deployment plan over drug dealer arrest authority GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY: US military buildup in the Caribbean sees bombers, Marines and warships converge near Venezuela CYBER CLASH: China accuses NSA of cyberattack on national timekeeping system MEASURE OF SECURITY: Vance warns Hamas as Gaza peace plan’s Civilian Military Cooperation Center opens INFLUENTIAL: Dem senator says Melania Trump is America’s ‘secret weapon’ against Putin’s ‘war criminality’ MONEY TRAIL: National Dems bankroll campaign of ‘Fake Independent’ Senate candidate from Midwestern state LIAR EXPOSED: House Judiciary Committee refers former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for prosecution SENATE FLIP-FLOP: Fetterman calls out Dems’ flip: ‘We ran on killing the filibuster, and now we love it’ FISCAL FRICTION: Republicans push to renew Obamacare subsidies while rejecting Democrats’ shutdown tie-in LINKED BY LOYALTY: Blackburn says Trump support was ‘common thread’ among lawmakers reportedly targeted by Jack Smith RULES FOR THEE: Jay Jones murder texts latest case of Democrats circling the scandal wagons HONOR CODE BROKEN: ‘She lied’: Mikie Sherrill classmate says involvement in cheating scandal deeper than she claims POLITICAL KRYPTONITE: New Jersey Dems snub endorsing socialist candidate Mamdani as gubernatorial election looms OFF THE JOB?: Dem Rep Mikie Sherrill skips 145 House votes as NJ governor’s race heats up ‘I SAID NO’: Defiant Sliwa says ‘I am not dropping out’ of NYC mayor race: ‘Under no circumstance’ ‘DISOBEY’: Portland city council member calls on National Guard troops to defy deployment orders AUSTIN ATROCITY: Illegal immigrants arrested after woman found shot to death in Texas woods, 1 wanted by Mexican feds: police Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Schumer requests meeting with Trump ‘any time, any place’ as Democrat stalemate drags on
The top congressional Democrats want a meeting with President Donald Trump as the government shutdown stretches on. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that both he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reached out to Trump on Tuesday to set up a confab with the president. The top Senate Democrat said the duo “urged” Trump to meet with them, and that they were open to setting up “an appointment with him any time, any place.” SENATE DEMS EMBOLDENED BY WEEKEND RALLIES BLOCK GOP PLAN TO END SHUTDOWN FOR 11TH TIME “Hakeem and I reached out to the president today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it and end the Trump shutdown,” Schumer said. “He should sit — the things get worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate in a serious way before he goes away.” Congressional Democrats, particularly Schumer and his Democratic caucus, have remained steadfast in their demands for an extension to expiring Obamacare subsidies. Though Senate Republicans have been open to holding a vote on the matter after the government reopens, Democrats want an ironclad guarantee that the subsidies will be extended well before their expiration at the end of this year. Should Trump relent to their request, it would mark the first meeting among the trio since Schumer, Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met in the Oval Office a day before the shutdown began. ‘GOOFBALLS’ AND HOSTAGES: GOP SENATORS SAY SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN TACTICS DESTROYING THE SENATE Lawmakers left that meeting with no agreement to avert the shutdown, which has now dragged on for 21 days. Senate Democrats have also blocked Thune and Republicans’ attempts to reopen the government 11 times. Another vote on the House-passed continuing resolution, which would reopen the government until Nov. 21, is expected on Wednesday. And like the many attempts before, that latest effort is expected to fail. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans met with Trump for lunch at the White House Tuesday afternoon. THUNE SLAMS SCHUMER’S ‘KINGMAKER’ POLITICS, REFUSES TO ‘KISS THE RING’ IN SHUTDOWN TALKS Speaking to reporters afterward, Thune reiterated that Senate Republicans were united in their war of attrition strategy to continue putting the same bill on the floor again and again. He noted that Trump would likely agree to meet with Schumer and Jeffries, but only after Senate Democrats unlocked the votes needed to reopen the government. “We have negotiated. I don’t know what there is to negotiate. This is about opening up the government,” Thune said. “We have offered them several off-ramps. Now, the Democrats want something that’s totally untenable. I mean, they want $1.5 trillion in new spending. They want free healthcare for people who are noncitizens in this country. That is just a flat nonstarter. It doesn’t pass the Senate. It won’t pass the House. It won’t be signed into law by the president.” Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ and the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Blackburn says Trump support was ‘common thread’ among lawmakers reportedly targeted by Jack Smith
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was one of nearly a dozen Senate Republicans allegedly probed by former Special Counsel Jack Smith, an investigation she wasn’t aware of until earlier this month. She was one of several Senate Republicans that Smith allegedly surveilled as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. But it was only revealed earlier this month by the FBI — thanks to an oversight request by Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa — that Smith allegedly requested phone records on her and others. Blackburn told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that until the documents from Smith’s “Arctic Frost” investigation were revealed, she had no idea that her phone records were being surveilled. JACK SMITH INVESTIGATORS NEED TO ‘PAY BIG’ FOR JAN. 6 PHONE RECORDS PROBE, WARNS SEN. GRAHAM She believed the “common thread” behind the former special counsel’s probe, which was carried out in 2023, was because “the eight of us are all Republicans. We all support President Trump.” Blackburn and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Bill Hagerty, R-Wyo., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., were all reportedly part of Smith’s investigation. In response, Blackburn and many of the others that were allegedly surveilled by Smith want to see him disbarred. “This is about making certain we have one tier of justice, and that we stop this two tiers of justice,” Blackburn said. “And if they can do this to eight sitting U.S. senators, what could they possibly — I mean, think about how, what they must be doing to conservatives in this country.” Last week, she and Graham, Tuberville, Sullivan and Kelly sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding an investigation into Smith, and that he be referred to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility. HAGERTY PRESSES VERIZON OVER FBI’S ACCESS TO HIS PHONE RECORDS DURING JACK SMITH PROBE The end goal of the investigation is to see Smith disbarred from both New York and Tennessee, two states where he holds a license to practice law. Blackburn argued that Smith’s alleged spying on her and others was a “First Amendment and Fourth Amendment violation.” Her latest push against the former special counsel came on the heels of another letter sent to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon demanding why the cellphone carriers allegedly allowed Smith and the FBI under the Biden administration to track their communications. “You would have thought that, because of the Stored Records Act and the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment and the Speech and Debate Clause, that at least Verizon, who’s my wireless carrier, would have informed me that there was a request on my records,” she said. JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS “But of course, there was nothing given to us, and it’s the reason that we sent the letter to Verizon and then followed it with a letter … to the DOJ on Jack Smith,” she continued. Smith is one of a handful of former officials that have been targeted by the DOJ under the Trump administration. He is currently under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel for alleged Hatch Act violations, which bars government employees from participating in political activities. Then there are federal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly making false statements and obstructing justice, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified documents. Blackburn was one of many Republicans that railed against so-called political witch hunts against President Donald Trump when he was out of office. When asked what the difference between the indictments against Trump and his allies compared to the latest crop of former officials, she said it was about accountability. “These need to be investigated so that this kind of stuff stops,” Blackburn said. “And one of the differences, I think you see between Democrats and Republicans, is Democrats repeatedly circle the wagons, and they push things under the rug, and then they want two tiers of justice. And with Republicans, the focus is on accountability and transparency, and I think that is a major, major difference.”
San Francisco mayor rejects Trump’s National Guard deployment plan over drug dealer arrest authority
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie on Monday rejected President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy the National Guard to The City by the Bay after days of touting his administration’s public safety progress. Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that the National Guard is headed to San Francisco next as the Trump administration continues to crackdown on crime across the U.S., including in Chicago, Memphis and Portland. “I am deeply grateful to the members of our military for their service to our country, but the National Guard does not have the authority to arrest drug dealers — and sending them to San Francisco will do nothing to get fentanyl off the streets or make our city safer,” Lurie said. Lurie announced his rejection of the National Guard deployment in an Instagram Reel on Monday. He ousted a more than six-year incumbent when he was elected mayor in 2024 and has since made strategic use of social media to communicate his agenda, which has public safety at the forefront. NEWSOM SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER CALIFORNIA NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT ORDER TO OREGON “As your mayor, my top priority every single day is keeping San Francisco safe. With the support of local law enforcement, community leaders, and the appropriate federal law enforcement partners, we’re achieving that goal without compromising our values or our laws,” Lurie said, touting that violent crime is down and the “city is moving in the right direction.” TRUMP’S IMPENDING SAN FRANCISCO CRACKDOWN SPARKS BACKLASH FROM NEWSOM, MAYOR Lurie said the city welcomes stronger coordination with government agencies to arrest drug dealers and disrupt drug markets, but since the National Guard “does not have the authority” to arrest drug dealers, he said their presence will do nothing to stop the flow of fentanyl. In a statement shared exclusively with Fox News Digital on Monday, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said San Francisco Democrats should “welcome the President in to clean up their city.” “America’s once great cities have descended into chaos and crime as a result of Democrat policies that put criminals first and law-abiding citizens last,” Jackson said Monday. “Making America Safe Again — especially crime-ridden cities — was a key campaign promise from the President that the American people elected him to fulfill.” Without addressing the National Guard deployment plan directly, Lurie has been pointing to his administration’s public safety progress for the past several days. “Since January, I have said that public safety is my number one priority,” Lurie said during a public safety briefing Friday. “Over the last nine months, we have backed that up, rebuilding the ranks of our public safety agencies, strengthening coordination across departments and strategically deploying technology. It’s working.” But the White House urged California Democrats to recognize the progress made in Memphis, Tennessee, and in Washington, D.C., where fellow Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has acknowledged the Trump administration’s success cleaning up the nation’s capital. “We’re going to go to San Francisco,” Trump said on Sunday. “The difference is, I think they want us in San Francisco. San Francisco was truly one of the great cities of the world, and then 15 years ago, it went wrong. It went woke.” Newsom was quick to fire back in a social media post Sunday, writing, “Fact check: Nobody wants you here. You will ruin one of America’s greatest cities.” Newsom criticized Trump in August for “militarizing American cities” after the president deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to fight crime in the nation’s capital. The California governor, a frequent Trump critic who is considered a likely 2028 presidential candidate, deployed California Highway Patrol “crime-suppression teams” across the Golden State in August to prevent crime and promote public safety. “While the Trump administration undermines cities, California is partnering with them and delivering real results. With these new deployments, we’re doubling down on these partnerships to build on progress and keep driving crime down,” Newsom said in a statement in August, seemingly to deter another National Guard deployment to California. Trump deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles this spring during protests rejecting deportations by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in line with another Trump mandate.
New Jersey Dems snub endorsing socialist candidate Mamdani as gubernatorial election looms
Zohran Mamdani‘s mayoral race to lead New York City as a self-described democratic socialist has emerged as one of the most high-profile elections of the 2025 off-year cycle. But across the Hudson River in New Jersey, Mamdani’s race has stayed out of the spotlight, as the Garden State’s gubernatorial election takes center stage and Democrats in the state sidestep endorsing or even mentioning the progressive candidate. “I am not getting engaged in that race, because I’m completely focused on New Jersey,” New Jersey Rep. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic nominee for governor, said earlier in October of Mamdani’s race. “I’m going to let the people of New York decide that race.” The off-year election cycle mainly has focused on four elections: California’s ballot measure to redistrict congressional lines; New York City’s mayoral election; and the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections. DEMOCRAT IN KEY GOVERNOR RACE KEEPS DISTANCE FROM NYC’S MAMDANI Mamdani is a self-described democratic socialist, with critics identifying him more as a “communist” despite the candidate pushing back that he does not hold communist ideologies. Fox News Digital previously has reported that Mamdani has backed radical Marxist and communist principles, such as supporting the seizure of the “means of production,” endorsing a tax plan aimed at “taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers,” and openly calling for a communist mayor of New York City in 2020. The New Jersey gubernatorial election and Democratic lawmakers hailing from the state have overwhelmingly avoided the Mamdani race as other lawmakers and Democratic leaders — from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders to New York Attorney General Letitia James to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — have thrown their support behind the candidate. Back in July, Sherrill said she likely would support Mamdani’s nomination as the Democrat’s candidate for mayor before sidestepping months later. “If he’s the Democratic candidate, which it sounds like he is, I assume I will (support him),” she told NBC Philadelphia in July. “If he’s going to be working on efficient government, that’s something very interesting to me.” Mamdani, however, said he would “absolutely” support the New Jersey Democrat during a local interview with New York media in August. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker also has evaded answering whether he endorses Mamdani in an August CNN interview. “I have learned a long time ago: Let New York politics be New York politics,” Booker said when pressed if he would support Mamdani. “We’ve got enough challenges in Jersey. I got a governor’s race. I’m supporting Mikie Sherrill. I got legislative races. That’s where my energy is going to go going into November.” “New York City, I love you,” Booker added. “You’re my neighbor. You’re about 10 miles from where I live. You guys figure out your elections. I’m going to focus on mine.” NY STATE DEM BOSS REFUSES TO ENDORSE MAMDANI, CAUSING HUGE RIFT IN PARTY Current Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim have not publicly weighed in on Mamdani’s race, a Fox News Digital review of recent past remarks found. One of Sherrill’s primary challengers, Democrat Rep. Josh Gottheimer, however, repeatedly has slammed Mamdani as “a job-killing socialist.” “You will hear no ambiguity out of my mouth,” Gottheimer said in July. “We do not need a job-killing socialist who wants to raise taxes and supports antisemitic rhetoric. Right? In a city with the highest taxes in the country and the largest Jewish population.” Gottheimer also teamed up with a Republican colleague from across the Hudson River, New York Rep. Mike Lawler, to slam Mamdani in September, after the socialist candidate said he would scrap a Holocaust remembrance group’s definition of “antisemitism” if elected mayor. EX-MAYOR DE BLASIO TOUTS SOCIALIST MAMDANI AS NEW YORK CITY’S ANSWER TO TRUMP POLICIES “Zohran Mamdani’s reckless attempt to roll back New York City’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism is shameful, dangerous, and completely disgusting,” the pair of lawmakers said in a joint statement in September. Lesser known New Jersey elected officials have endorsed Mamdani, including left-wing Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. Baraka found himself in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s deportation efforts when he was arrested and charged in May for trespassing at a federal immigration detention center while attempting to hold an oversight tour of the facility. The charge was later dropped, with Baraka later suing interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for false arrest and malicious prosecution. Baraka is listed on Mamdani’s endorsement page, with the Newark mayor posting an endorsement video to his social media accounts in June celebrating that the New York City candidate would be “strong on Democratic values” and defend the Constitution if elected. The New Jersey election is highly anticipated following President Donald Trump’s inroads with voters in the deep blue state in the 2024 election, sparking renewed enthusiasm to flip the state red. New Jersey, as expected, backed former Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the 2024 race, but post-election data showed Trump and the GOP flipped five counties red, with Trump specifically cutting his 2020 loss from 16 points to six in 2024. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to Sherrill’s campaign and the offices of Murphy, Booker and Kim for additional comment on the lack of support for the socialist candidate in New York City but did not immediately receive replies. Fox News Digital also reached out to Mamdani’s campaign about the lack of high-profile support from New Jersey Democrats.