Scoop: Republican launches House bid in key swing district GOP aims to flip in 2026 midterms
FIRST ON FOX: Eric Flores, an Army veteran and former federal prosecutor, on Monday launched a Republican campaign for Congress in a key battleground House district at the southern tip of Texas. “We need fewer politicians and more fighters who will put our communities first,” Flores said in a video that was shared first with Fox News Digital. He pledged that “in Congress, I’ll stand with President Trump, fight and deliver for South Texas every single day.” Flores is running in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which stretches along the Gulf Coast from just south of Corpus Christi to the border with Mexico. It includes Brownsville and stretches westward to include parts of McAllen. SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN ARM AIMS TO ANCHOR MAMDANI TO VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS The district is one of 26 the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting in the 2026 midterm elections, as the House GOP’s campaign arm defends the party’s razor-thin majority in the chamber. The district appears to be a prime pickup possibility for Republicans, as it’s been trending to the right. Former President Joe Biden carried the district by 15 points in the 2020 White House race. Four years later, President Donald Trump won the district by nearly five points. FIRST ON FOX: HOUSE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH AD PROMOTING PASSAGE OF ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’ However, Democrats carried the district in last year’s Senate election, with now-former Rep. Colin Allred (who is running again for the Senate in 2026) topping Sen. Ted Cruz by six points. Republicans view incumbent Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez as vulnerable. Gonzalez, who’s in his fifth term in Congress, defeated former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores in the 2022 and 2024 elections, but his victory in last November’s rematch to hold the district was by just 2.5 points. Flores, who has met with NRCC officials, is a Spanish speaker who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. He was commissioned in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and rose to the rank of captain. He has served in the Texas Army National Guard and has commanded soldiers during Operation Guardian Support along the U.S. southern border with neighboring Mexico. Flores is also a former assistant U.S. attorney, helping in the prosecutions of cartel-connected and human trafficking operations. His campaign biography also notes that Flores “secured the conviction of one of Texas’s ‘Top Ten’ most-wanted fugitives — accomplishments recognized with two U.S. Attorney’s Awards.” Flores, who also served as a municipal judge in Alton, Texas, is currently a partner at a statewide legal firm where he leads the litigation department, defending municipalities and school districts across Texas. He is married and the father of two children. “Every day, I see how broken policies hurt our community,” Flores said. “Enough is enough. Politicians put themselves first, while the Valley gets left behind.” Flores said that “President Trump stood up to the insiders and fought for places like ours: the communities the career politicians always forget. We cannot lose this opportunity. That’s why I’m running for Congress. We need bold, principled leadership, and we need it now.” While several other Republicans are running in the GOP primary in the district next March, Flores is considered the only major Republican candidate.
AOC campaign office vandalized with anti-Israel message after vote on Republican amendment
Police in New York City responded after a campaign office for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was vandalized with a painted anti-Israel slogan this weekend. The slogan, written in red paint, read “AOC funds genocide in Gaza.” The vandals had also spread the paint all over the entrance to the campaign office before police arrived at roughly 1 a.m. Monday. The incident came just days after Ocasio-Cortez voted against legislation from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., that would have cut funding for the Israeli Defense Forces. The lawmaker, who has been vocally critical of Israel’s war in Gaza, said she voted against the bill because it only cut funding for the defensive “Iron Dome” and did nothing to cut off the “actual bombs killing Palestinians.” POPE, STATE DEPARTMENT CONDEMN LATEST MASSACRE OF CHRISTIANS BY ISLAMIST MILITANTS IN NIGERIA Greene’s legislation would have cut off roughly $500 million in funding for Israel. Her proposed amendment, which failed on Thursday, came after Israeli Defense Forces bombed the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza. “Israel bombed the Catholic Church in Gaza, and that entire population is being wiped out as they continue their aggressive war in Gaza,” Greene said. “My amendment would strike $500 million in funding for nuclear-armed Israel’s missile defence system. The U.S. already provides Israel with $3.8 billion annually in foreign aid. 3.8 billion. That’s a lot of money,” she continued. “Here in America, we’re $37 trillion in debt. My amendment will ensure an America First department of defense, and that is exactly what we need,” she added. ISRAEL, HAMAS TALKS DRAG AS AID GROUP CHAIR TELLS UN TO STOP ACTING LIKE THE ‘MAFIA’ Voting alongside Greene on the amendment were Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., members of the progressive so-called “squad” to which Ocasio-Cortez also belongs. Pope Leo XIV expressed sadness and called for a ceasefire after the strike on the church, which is the only Catholic church in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said in a statement that “stray ammunition” hit the church. “His Holiness Pope Leo XIV was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, and he assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness,” read a telegram sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on behalf of the pope.
Trump posts AI-generated video showing Obama getting arrested to ‘YMCA’
President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video of former President Barack Obama being arrested on Sunday, a nod to recent claims made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. In the Truth Social post, Trump shared a TikTok video of various Democrats, including Obama, saying that “No one is above the law.” Later in the 45-second AI-generated video, Trump and Obama are seen sitting in the Oval Office before Obama is arrested by agents as the song “YMCA” plays. The AI-generated version of Trump grins as Obama is apprehended and eventually thrown in a jail cell. The AI-generated Obama is also seen wearing an orange jumpsuit behind bars. OBAMA OFFICIALS ADMITTED THEY HAD NO ‘EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE’ OF TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION: HOUSE INTEL TRANSCRIPTS The video surfaced amid allegations from Gabbard that Obama and his intel chiefs manufactured the Russia collusion narrative. “The implications of this are frankly nothing short of historic,” Gabbard said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday episode of “Sunday Morning Futures.” “Over 100 documents that we released on Friday really detail and provide evidence of how this treasonous conspiracy was directed by President Obama just weeks before he was due to leave office after President Trump had already gotten elected,” Gabbard claimed. WHITE HOUSE WANTS OBAMA INTEL OFFICIALS ‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ FOR ROLE PEDDLING 2016 RUSSIA HOAX Gabbard also said that she planned to send the uncovered documents to the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) for a criminal referral. Documents shared by Gabbard’s office claim that before the 2016 election, there was no evidence of collusion with Russia – and that politically motivated actors distorted the narrative to harm Trump, not in response to new intelligence. “Creating this piece of manufactured intelligence that claims that Russia had helped Donald Trump get elected contradicted every other assessment that had been made previously in the months leading up to the election that said exactly the opposite, that Russia had neither the intent nor the capability to try to ‘hack the United States election,’” Gabbard told host Maria Bartiromo. “So the effect of what President Obama and his senior national security team did was subvert the will of the American people, undermining our democratic republic and enacting what would be essentially a years-long coup against President Trump, who was duly elected by the American people,” she added. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
Trump lashes out at Biden after illegal immigrant accused of shooting CBP officer in NYC
President Donald Trump lashed out at former President Joe Biden after an off-duty Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was allegedly shot in the face by an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal rap sheet in New York City. “Last night, in New York City, an incredible CBP Officer was shot in the face by an Illegal Alien Monster freed into the Country under Joe Biden,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “He was apprehended at the Border in April 2023 but, instead of being deported, was RELEASED.” The suspect was identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as 21-year-old Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national. DHS confirmed that Nunez was arrested by Border Patrol near San Luis, Arizona, in April 2023, but was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. The agency also told Fox News that Nunez has an active warrant for kidnapping in the state of Massachusetts, in addition to prior felony arrests. During a press conference on Sunday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said Nunez had prior arrests for assault and violating an order of protection. Adams said Nunez also had an active bench warrant from the Bronx, was wanted for a robbery from last December and a stabbing from January. TEXAS BORDER PATROL SHOOTER DETAILS REMAIN SCANT AS VIOLENCE AGAINST ICE, CBP AGENTS SURGES “The Democrats have flooded our Nation with Criminal Invaders, and now, they must all be thrown out or, in some cases, immediately prosecuted in that we cannot take a chance that they are able to come back,” Trump added. “That’s how evil and dangerous they are!” Authorities said Nunez rode up on a motorized scooter with another suspect and attempted to rob the CBP officer as he sat in Riverside Park on Saturday night. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP IN HANDWRITTEN LETTER The officer, who has not yet been identified, pulled out a gun to defend himself. Police said the officer and Nunez were both shot multiple times. Nunez walked into an area hospital after the shooting, police said. The officer is expected to recover from his injuries. Trump added that the off-duty officer “bravely fought off his attacker, despite his wounds, demonstrating enormous Skill and Courage.” Adams said Nunez was taken into custody. “He has inflicted violence in our city and once he is charged for last night’s crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet,” Adams said. DHS has lodged a detainer against Nunez. Fox News Digital’s Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Mamdani to take extended Africa trip amid campaign for mayor of New York
Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani unapologetically announced an extended trip to Africa on Sunday while he campaigns to lead America’s largest city. Mamdani, who defeated Andrew Cuomo by more than 12 percentage points last month, securing the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, released a video anticipating criticisms of his trip to Uganda. In a defiant, yet playful tone, Mamdani called out what he said have been “thousands” of messages on X telling him to “go back to Uganda where you come from and belong” and “go back to Africa.” “Being a politician means listening, not just to your supporters, but your critics too,” Mamdani said. “And some of these critics – especially on a certain website – have been giving me consistent advice.” “I hear you, and I agree. I’m going back to Uganda,” Mamdani said. CUOMO QUIPS ‘EVEN I WILL MOVE TO FLORIDA’ IF MAMDANI WINS NYC MAYORAL BID The mayoral hopeful said he was headed to Uganda “in a personal capacity” to celebrate his marriage to his wife, Rama, with their family and friends. “I do want to apologize to the haters, because I will be coming back,” he said. Mamdani added in the accompanying X post that he’d be back “by the end of the month.” Attempting to assert control over the narrative, Mamdani offered some imaginary headlines condemning his overseas travel. “And since you will undoubtedly read about this trip in the New York Post, inshallah [Arabic for God willing], on the front page, here are a few of my humble suggestions for headlines,” Mamdani said, jabbing at the New York-based newspaper. He proposed tabloid headlines including “M.I.A.? Mandani in Africa,” “Uganda Miss Me,” or “He’s Kampala-etely Crazy,” a reference to Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. Mamdani also suggested the headlines: “He Africa-n’t Be Serious!” and “Carl Kampalanile Investigates Mamdani” – a satirical take on the name of American investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, who uncovered the Watergate scandal. “Zo-Running Away?” Mamdani said, offering one last imagined headline before the video showed himself and another campaign supporter waving to the camera and the screen fading to “Zohran for Mayor.” TRUMP SAYS CUOMO’S GOT A ‘GOOD SHOT’ OF BEATING MAMDANI IN NYC MAYOR ELECTION Mamdani holds dual U.S. and Ugandan citizenship. He was born in Uganda and was raised in South Africa until moving to New York City at age 7. He owns four acres of undeveloped land in Jinja, Uganda, that’s valued between $150,000 and $250,000, the New York Post previously reported, citing Mamdani’s 2024 New York Legislative Ethics filing. Despite this, resurfaced social media video shows Mamdani in the past has floated the “abolition of private property” – a principle of communism. His mother is an acclaimed Indian American filmmaker. She reportedly owned a nearly $2 million New York City loft for about a decade before recently selling the property, according to the Post. His father is a Columbia University professor who sits on the advisory council of an anti-Israel organization. The organization supports boycotts and sanctions of Israel, routinely accuses the Israeli government of committing “genocide,” and has expressed sympathy for suicide bombers. Mamdani’s candidacy has sparked concern from the Jewish community, as he declined to condemn the term “globalize the intifada” – a stance he has since walked back while courting local business owners. Meanwhile, New York City college campuses, including Columbia University, have faced rising antisemitism and anti-Israel protests and encampments in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas terrorists in Israel. Mamdani himself has defended BDS, or the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, saying at a May town hall that the anti-Israel movement “is consistent with my core of my politics, which is nonviolence.” Critics of Mamdani have also condemned how he’s campaigned on socialist ideals, including government-run grocery stores and rent freezes, despite his wealthy upbringing. Having won the Democratic mayoral primary, Mamdani has emerged as the frontrunner, and he is backed by progressives in Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have been more cautious with Mamdani. It’s extremely rare for candidates who win the Democratic mayoral primary to lose the November general election, but Mamdani still faces Cuomo, who formally declared his independent mayoral bid last week. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is also running as an independent, as is former federal prosecutor Jim Walden. “Guardian Angels” founder Curtis Sliwa is the Republican mayoral candidate. Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller, Cameron Cawthorne and Deirdre Heavy contributed to this report.
ICE director blames left-wing ‘rhetoric’ for rise in attacks on immigration officers
Acting ICE director Todd Lyons blamed rhetoric from “elected officials” for the rise in attacks against immigration officers on Sunday. Lyons made the comments during an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday, tying the increased violence to President Donald Trump’s political opponents. “I think the sharp increase in the rhetoric, especially from a lot of elected officials, that are shaming, if you will, or speaking out against ICE law enforcement mission is what’s really increasing these attacks on officers,” he said. Lyons noted that there has been an 830% increase in assaults on officers compared to 2024. ICE AGENT SHARES FEARS ABOUT FAMILY SAFETY AS ASSAULTS ON OFFICIALS SURGE He added that the spike in violence is also due to ICE officers being more “visible” in communities across the country as Trump’s deportation campaign expands. “The immigration mission is one of the forefront of this administration, so there is a lot of scrutiny and publicity to it,” Lyons said. NO CAGES, DUE PROCESS RIGHTS INTACT: ICE AGENTS SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT The official also confirmed that ICE is not limiting its arrests to illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a separate crime. He said many illegal immigrants without criminal records have been taken in as “collateral arrests” during operations targeting violent migrants. Nevertheless, he added that ICE “targets the worst of the worst.” ICE officers themselves have spoken out about the increased violence and criticism they have faced under the new administration. “It has been very sad to see how we’re villainized, the names used towards us,” officer Kristian Moreno told “My View” host Lara Trump on Fox News this weekend. “Just doing this [interview] right now, I had to talk to my family about it and say, ‘Hey, this is something that I believe in, something I think is important for us to get our stories out there and let the American public know we’re humans.’ We got a job to do. We’re just enforcing the law. We’re not making up the law, and it’s sad, but we just keep pushing through it,” he added. He and officers Edgardo Centeno and Chris Sandoval shared their perspectives on the violence ICE officers risk daily. “We have to do our job. We raised our hands to defend the Constitution, and we’re enforcing the law, so we’re adjusting as we see what’s going on in our country, but it’s saddening my heart, especially when you serve in combat and come back and see your country so divided,” Centeno said.
Biden admin spent hefty sum of US tax dollars to upgrade embassy swimming pools in Iraq, Russia
The Biden administration’s State Department authorized more than $1 million in taxpayer funds for renovating swimming pools at U.S. embassies and mission residences in war-torn countries such as Haiti, Sudan and Iraq, a report from Sen. Joni Ernst’s office found. “The Biden State Department threw a blowout summer pool party on your dime,” Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “Bureaucrats might think wasting millions is a drop in the bucket, but I am sick and tired of taxpayers getting tossed in the deep end by Washington,” Ernst added. “I will continue working with the Trump administration to put a stop to the splashy spending of the Biden years.” Ernst’s office found that the State Department under the Biden administration authorized that two pools in Haiti, five in Iraq, three in Sudan, one in Russia, one in Zimbabwe and one in Ghana be renovated, totaling more than $1.2 million, according to the New York Post, which first reported on the pool renovations on Thursday. RUBIO OFFICIALLY KILLS USAID, REVEALS FUTURE HOME FOR FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS Taxpayers spent $41,259 to rehabilitate the pool at the U.S. embassy in Moscow in a contract inked three months after Russia invaded Ukraine in a war that has continued raging. The purchase order was dated June 3, 2022, through Aug. 15, 2022, after the war began in February that same year. RUBIO SPEARHEADS MASSIVE STATE DEPT REORGANIZATION SET TO ELIMINATE, MERGE MORE THAN 300 OFFICES The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was awarded a whopping $444,000 to replace its indoor dehumidification system for its pool in a contract that began on Sept. 27, 2024. While the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq received over $10,000 to conduct mechanical repairs to its pool, according to the Ernst report reviewed by Fox News Digital. DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS In Sudan, taxpayers spent $24,000 in 2021 for the installation of a pool deck. Sudan has notably been under a State Department do not travel advisory “due to armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping,” with the embassy in Khartoum suspending operations in 2023 over the ongoing violent conflicts in the nation. Some of the contracts detailed in the report have not been fully paid out, such as a $173,000 award to conduct work on a swimming pool in Indonesia at the embassy in Jakarta. The federal government has previously been criticized for the amount of taxpayer funds spent on U.S. embassies overseas, including spending hefty sums on artwork under the Obama administration, Fox Digital reported at the time. U.S. embassies are primarily funded through congressional appropriations to the U.S. Department of State. Ernst’s report follows months of the Department of Government Efficiency reporting it has saved the federal government billions of dollars amid its ongoing investigations into various federal agencies in search of corruption, overspending and mismanagement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been at the forefront of gutting departments and programs under State’s purview, including shuttering USAID earlier in July for failing to ensure its programs actually supported America’s interests. RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM “This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end. Under the Trump administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies – and which advance American interests – will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency,” Rubio said in comment regarding shuttering USAID.
Immigration expert sounds alarm on how Biden’s border crisis paved way for Los Angeles riots
California has become the epicenter of the immigration debate under the Trump administration, which is leading to questions about what cultivated the protests and riots that happened in the area in June and continue to pop up around the country. Heather Mac Donald, a Manhattan Institute fellow and author of “When Race Trumps Merit,” said she believes that the border crisis under the Biden administration paved the way for civil unrest. “It shows that lawlessness in one area breeds lawlessness in another. We’ve had an absolutely lawless situation going on with regards to the border. We’ve had California and Los Angeles tolerate criminal lawlessness, and so it’s not surprising that activists and protesters and immigrant rights activists felt that they were entitled to wreak absolute chaos and havoc in the streets,” Mac Donald said in the wake of riots in Los Angeles last month. ANTI-ICE RIOTS REVEAL THE LEFT HAS LEARNED NOTHING. IT’S JUST HANDED TRUMP A GIFT Mac Donald added that the large amount of immigration could lead to cultural assimilation woes. “This is nothing new, but Americans have turned their eyes away and have bought into the narrative that the more diversity, the better, the more demographic change, the better,” she said. Mac Donald added that a cap on the number of people allowed to come into the United States could be beneficial in the long term. “Well, for assimilation, a cap would definitely be necessary. We saw that with the long decades after maximal immigration at the turn of the century, when we did halt immigration. And that allowed the assimilation to go on, that it did. With nonstop immigration coming in, you’re running a losing race to assimilate. So that would absolutely be ideal.” “We should reform the agriculture sector. You know, we have temporary worker programs for that, and whether we want to carve out any exceptions to a moratorium for very, very high-skilled workers, that is definitely worth considering. But certainly for chain migration, the bringing in of remote family members, that should be ended now until we are confident that we are creating Americans and not people who will get out in riots and wave flags of non-American countries,” Mac Donald continued. TRUMP SAYS NATIONWIDE IMMIGRATION RAIDS ON THE WAY, RIOTERS TO FACE ‘GREATER FORCE’ THAN LA When it comes to the overall stance of the American population on immigration, she explained that mass deportations, which the Trump administration has said they are working toward while highlighting those with criminal convictions and charges, could be the best path forward in the short-term aftermath of the border crisis. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “We should not make the distinction between criminal illegal aliens, who are legitimately deported and those who have committed lawbreaking on entry and by staying here but have not got a criminal record. The received wisdom is it’s OK to deport the first, but the second, we shouldn’t even make them fearful of deportation, that that’s cruel,” she said. “I think they’re all legitimately eligible for deportation. Nevertheless, I’m not sure that the American people have a stomach for that degree of immigration enforcement.“ In addition to ICE and Border Patrol arrests and busts, the Department of Homeland Security has encouraged self-deportation through the CBP Home app, which was swapped from the CBP One app people used to request asylum under President Joe Biden. DHS is offering $1,000, travel out of the U.S., as well as scrapping fees and a chance to return to the country legally as part of the deal. MAYOR BASS BLAMES TRUMP’S ICE RAIDS FOR STARTING RIOTS WHILE CLAIMING ‘THINGS IN LA ARE CALM’ In Los Angeles, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has been a significant voice of opposition to federal immigration sweeps, at one point saying ICE should “go home.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We are a proud city of immigrants, and with the Trump Administration signaling that they will ratchet up their chaotic approach, I’m making sure we deploy every resource and tool available within the City to ensure that we are supporting immigrant communities,” Bass said recently, according to a news release. When it comes to potential civil unrest in other cities, Mac Donald says it could happen. “I think there will be civil unrest in other cities, because it was justified, it was trivialized by our elected leaders as, ‘Oh, we’ve got the situation under control,’” she said.
Trump’s housing chief rips Powell for blowing millions on Fed facelift during housing crisis he perpetuates
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner blasted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for spending billons of dollars renovating the Fed’s headquarters amid a housing crisis he said Powell is helping perpetuate. The Federal Reserve’s headquarters has been undergoing a major renovation that has been plagued by cost overruns and now has a price tag of $2.5 billion. Meanwhile, the Trump administration faults Powell for not cutting interest rates, even with inflation seemingly under control. “It’s rich that an unelected bureaucrat like Powell is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on building renovations while Americans struggle to buy homes due to high mortgage rates, which are directly impacted by his refusal to lower interest rates,” Turner told Fox News Digital. HUD became the first Cabinet agency to announce a move out of Washington, D.C., with Turner reporting in June that the department was moving to the already existing National Science Foundation (NSF) in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. Turner said the move will free up millions in taxpayer funds that were spent on the massive, longtime HUD headquarters at D.C.’s L’Enfant Plaza that also included “health hazards, leaks, and structural and maintenance failures” for staffers. “HUD’s move isn’t about me – our workforce deserves to be in a building that is safe and that fits our workforce. NSF was never able to fully fill their building to occupancy and will move into a building that best fits their workforce. Instead of spending nearly a half-billion dollars on renovating 10 floors of basement with perpetual leaks, HUD and GSA are saving the taxpayers money – something that Chairman Powell, sitting in his ivory tower, thinks he is above – and putting Americans first,” Turner continued. HUD BECOMES FIRST MAJOR CABINET AGENCY TO EXIT DC, CITING ‘FAILING’ HQ — WHICH DOGE WANTS TO SELL Speculation has swirled that President Donald Trump could try to oust the Fed chief ahead of his term officially ending in May 2026 due to his reluctance to lower the federal funds target rate, which would lower borrowing costs for Americans. The Fed in June held its benchmark interest rate range between 4.25%-4.5%, which Trump has argued stifles American economic growth. The Fed, which sets monetary policies and oversees banks, has said decisions on interest rates are rooted in its data-dependent approach to managing inflation and economic growth. It acts independently, meaning it does not require approval from the president or Congress when enacting policies. Trump has amplified his criticisms of Powell in recent weeks, arguing that he already should have lowered interest rates, while calling him a “numbskull” along with the nickname “Mr. Too Late.” At the recent NATO summit in Canada, Trump said during a press conference that Powell is “terrible” and is a “very average mentally person” who has a “low IQ for what he does.” ‘FOR SALE’: DOGE MOVES TO SELL OFF ALMOST HALF A BILLION IN FEDERAL REAL ESTATE, RELOCATE CABINET AGENCY HQS Trump said recent, over-budget renovations at the Fed headquarters, the Marriner S. Eccles Building, “sort of is” a “fireable offense.” “I think he’s terrible. I think he’s a total stiff. But the one thing I didn’t see in him is a guy that needed a palace to live in,” Trump told reporters last week. “You talk to the guy. It’s like talking to – nothing. It’s like talking to a chair. No personality, no high intelligence, no nothing. But the one thing I would have never guessed is that he would be spending $2.5 billion to build a little extension.” HUD SECRETARY SCOTT TURNER LAYS OUT AGENCY WINS DURING FIRST 100 DAYS, SHARES PRIORITIES FOR NEXT 100 Democrat lawmakers have slammed Trump’s attacks on Powell over the Fed building’s updates, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren taking a swipe at Turner for moving HUD to Virginia. “If Trump were serious about lowering interest rates, he would rein in his chaotic tariffs,” Warren said earlier this month during a speech at the Exchequer Club in D.C. “Instead, he is threatening to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve. When his initial attempts to bully Powell failed, Trump and Republicans in Congress suddenly decided to look into how much the Fed is spending on building renovations.” TRUMP SHOULD RAZE HUD HEADQUARTERS TO DRAIN DC SWAMP HUD is expected to save $22 million per year on operating and maintenance costs by moving out of the Robert C. Weaver Building, while the government is expected to pull in a hefty sum when the building is officially sold due to its prime location in the nation’s capital. The agency’s new home at NSF is anticipated to cost the government $35 per square foot, compared to the $86 per square foot at the Weaver building, including operations and maintenance, Fox Digital learned. The federal government had spent $90 million on repairs for the massive Weaver building in the last 15 years, Fox Digital learned, but the building has “deteriorated well beyond the point of cost-effective repair, creating significant financial obligations for the federal government if occupancy is maintained,” HUD reported in June. HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES The Federal Reserve on Sunday morning declined comment when asked about Turner’s remarks to Fox Digital. The Fed’s website includes a frequently asked questions page regarding the building’s renovations, including underscoring that the Fed’s board “takes the responsibility to be a good steward of public resources,” and is subject to a handful of safeguards to ensure transparency. “The Federal Reserve Chair testifies to each house of Congress twice per year on monetary policy. During two sequential days of hearings, members of the House and Senate have the opportunity to question the Fed Chair on any topic, and then submit questions in writing after the hearings. As part of these hearings, the Federal Reserve publishes a semiannual Monetary Policy Report, detailing recent economic and monetary policy developments,” the page states. Trump, who appointed Powell during his first presidential term, has meanwhile continued slamming Powell
Minnesota Democratic Party endorses Omar Fateh for Minneapolis mayor
Minnesota’s branch of the Democratic Party endorsed far-left Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh’s campaign for mayor of Minneapolis on Saturday. Fateh announced the endorsement from the Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) party on social media. He secured the endorsement over incumbent mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat. “I am incredibly honored to be the DFL endorsed candidate for Minneapolis Mayor. This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual. It’s a mandate to build a city that works for all of us,” Fateh wrote on X. The DFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. RNC CHAIR ARGUES MAMDANI ‘FACE OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY’ Fateh has received many comparisons to New York City’s Zohran Mamdani. Like Mamdani, Fateh is a Muslim Democratic socialist and, at 35, a fellow member of Generation Y. Fateh, a son of Somali immigrants, became the first Somali-American elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2020. He pledges that, if elected mayor, he would raise the city’s minimum wage, increase the supply of affordable housing, and combat what he calls “police violence.” POTUS PUNDITRY: TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON MAMDANI-CUOMO NYC MAYORAL FACEOFF Frey criticized the DFL’s endorsement of Fateh in a campaign statement, arguing the party convention where the decision was made had been “irregular.” “This election should be decided by the entire city rather than the small group of people who became delegates, particularly in light of the extremely flawed and irregular conduct of this convention,” campaign spokesperson Sam Schulenberg said. “Voters will now have a clear choice between the records and leadership of Sen. Fateh and Mayor Frey. We look forward to taking our vision to the voters in November,” Schulenberg added. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report