Jill Biden ‘work husband’ pleads Fifth Amendment, dodges House GOP cover-up probe questions
A top aide to former first lady Jill Biden refused to answer GOP investigators’ questions on Wednesday as the House Oversight Committee probes whether senior ex-White House aides covered up signs of former President Joe Biden’s mental decline. Anthony Bernal, former assistant to the president and senior advisor to the first lady, was compelled for a July 16 closed-door deposition after missing a previously agreed-upon interview date late last month. His scheduled sit-down came and went quickly, however. Bernal apparently pleaded the Fifth Amendment to the questions asked by House staffers, a source familiar told Fox News Digital. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., quickly confirmed Bernal invoked his right against self-incrimination in comments to reporters alongside committee member Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who was also present. COMER DISMISSES BIDEN DOCTOR’S BID FOR PAUSE IN COVER-UP PROBE: ‘THROWING OUT EVERY EXCUSE’ Both criticized Bernal and his lawyer for arguing the Fifth Amendment was not an admission of guilt, and Comer told reporters “all options are on the table” when asked whether the former president himself should be brought in. “We’re gonna continue our investigation. I think that the American people are concerned,” Comer said. A follow-up statement by Comer said, “During his deposition today, Mr. Bernal pleaded the Fifth when asked if any unelected official or family members executed the duties of the President and if Joe Biden ever instructed him to lie about his health.” While the deposition was meant to be staff-led, several lawmakers were seen entering the room – Reps. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, both members of the committee, both made appearances. Crockett said the deposition was “fine” in response to a question by Fox News Digital. “They’re still losers,” she added. Donalds, however, called for House investigators to aggressively pursue their leads. “The chairman is being nice. I don’t have to be. This is corruption at the highest level, because if you cannot, say, answer a simple question about Joe Biden’s capabilities, then that further demonstrates that he was not in charge of his administration,” Donalds said. “And if he was not in charge of his administration, then every order, every bill that was signed, every memorandum, as far as I’m concerned, are null and void.” Comer is investigating allegations that Biden’s former top White House aides covered up signs of his mental and physical decline while in office, and whether any executive actions were commissioned via autopen without the president’s full knowledge. Biden allies have pushed back against those claims. In an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, Biden affirmed he “made every decision” on his own. “Original Sin,” a book by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political correspondent Alex Thompson, positions Bernal as a fiercely protective aide who was dubbed the leader of the “loyalty police” by other former Biden staffers. His LinkedIn page lists him as currently working as Jill Biden’s chief of staff in the Transition Office of Former President Joe Biden. Bernal was originally slated to appear last month for a voluntary transcribed interview, but he and his lawyers backtracked after the Trump administration announced it was waiving executive privilege rights for him and several other former White House staffers. “Now that the White House has waived executive privilege, it’s abundantly clear that Anthony Bernal – Jill Biden’s so-called ‘work husband’ – never intended to be transparent about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline and the ensuing cover-up,” Comer said in late June. He’s now the second former Biden administration staffer to invoke the Fifth Amendment after ex-White House physician Kevin O’Connor did so last week. O’Connor’s deposition lasted less than 30 minutes, with the doctor refusing to answer any questions after his name. FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SAYS SHE ‘NEVER HAD A CONCERN’ ABOUT BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE AS HOUSE PROBE HEATS UP But O’Connor’s lawyers argued at the time that it was not an admission of guilt. Rather, they were concerned the scope of the committee’s questioning could force him to violate patient-doctor confidentiality, risking his standing as a physician. A House Oversight Committee aide pushed back: “Doctor-patient objection would have meant he would have stayed and answered questions that didn’t implicate such privilege. Instead, he took the Fifth to all and any potential questions.” Two other former Biden White House staffers appeared for voluntary transcribed interviews already. Another, former deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini, was also subpoenaed to appear this Friday.
Senate to debate Trump’s $9B clawback bill after dramatic late-night votes
Late-night dramatics and surprise defections capped off the push to advance President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar clawback package through procedural hurdles. But Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package is not over the finish line yet, as lawmakers are set to begin an hourslong stretch of debate over the bill Wednesday morning. Both sides of the aisle will be allotted five hours of debate, but Republicans are likely to use little of their time compared to Democrats, who will try to drag out the process as long as possible. SENATE GOP BLOWS THROUGH 2ND HURDLE OF THE NIGHT, TEEING UP TRUMP’S CLAWBACK BILL FOR HOURSLONG DEBATE At stake are clawbacks that would yank back congressionally approved funding for foreign aid programs and public broadcasting, which Senate Democrats, and some Republicans, have admonished. The president’s rescissions package proposed cutting just shy of $8 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the government-backed funding arm for NPR and PBS. Republicans have broadly lauded the targets, arguing that they are scraping back funding for “woke” programs that do little more than to gird the government’s spending addiction. TRUMP’S $9 BILLION CLAWBACK PASSES FIRST SENATE TEST, WHILE MORE HURDLES AWAIT Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged that the cuts in question were “just a piece of a larger Republican puzzle.” He said the goal was using more rescissions packages, the president’s impoundment authority and smaller, pocket rescissions “that will pave the way for deeper and more serious spending cuts on things like healthcare, food assistance, energy, and so many other areas – and other democratic safeguards will no longer be around.” “They are eliminating Democrats from the process – there’s no discussion, no argument, and there’s no safeguards to help the average American,” he said. “It’s just the billionaires running rampant, and we’re getting what they want.” Before the vote, Senate Republican leaders agreed to carve out $400 million in cuts in global HIV and AIDS prevention funding that leaders hoped would win over holdouts. But it didn’t work for all. A trio of Senate Republicans defected – Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. – forcing Vice President JD Vance to cast his sixth and seventh tie-breaking votes of the year to keep the package alive. He will likely be needed again later Wednesday to pass the bill, once lawmakers complete another vote-a-rama, where both sides of the aisle can offer unlimited amendments to the bill. SENATE GOP AGREE TO STRIP CUTS TO HIV, AIDS PREVENTION PROGRAM FROM TRUMP’S CLAWBACK BILL Murkowski argued on the Senate floor that the rescissions package was effectively usurping Congress’ duty to legislate. “We’re lawmakers, we should be legislating,” she said. “What we’re getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority we want you to execute on it. We’ll be back with you with another round.’ I don’t accept that.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Collins contended that lawmakers actually knew little about how or where the clawbacks would come from, and accused the Office of Management and Budget of not painting a clearer picture on the issue. “I recognize the need to reduce excessive spending and I have supported rescissions in our appropriations bills many times, including the 70 rescissions that were included in the year-long funding bill that we are currently operating under,” she said in a statement. “But to carry out our constitutional responsibility, we should know exactly what programs are affected and the consequences of rescissions.”
Trump’s controversial plan to fire federal workers finds favor with Supreme Court
The Supreme Court’s decision to temporarily allow mass layoffs at the Education Department marked the latest in a string of rulings from the high court green-lighting the president’s plans to scale down the size of the federal workforce. Permitting the termination of about 1,400 Education Department employees is one of several instances of the Supreme Court showing significant deference to Trump’s power over the executive branch. In other cases, the high court has preliminarily approved of Trump’s executive order calling for sweeping federal job cuts and shown an openness to the president diminishing the independence of some agencies. Often these decisions, issued on an emergency basis at the request of the Trump administration, have come with little explanation. The high court did not, for example, spell out why it allowed Trump to carry out mass layoffs at the Education Department. But the move advances the president’s long-term efforts to dismantle the department, for now. South Texas College law professor Joshua Blackman said the plaintiffs’ argument that Congress needs to approve such a drastic change to an agency did not appear persuasive to the high court. SUPREME COURT RULES ON TRUMP’S MASS LAYOFFS AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT “I think they’re basically saying, ‘We don’t think this is trying to restructure the agency,’” Blackman told Fox News Digital. “Justices Jackson and Sotomayor sort of made that point in the dissent, but I don’t think it’s resonating with the majority.” Blackman noted that even though these shadow docket decisions are temporary while the lawsuits proceed in the lower courts, they have lasting power. Litigation can take two or three years, and employees who lose their jobs are likely not waiting around for that long to return to the government, he said. He also said those employees are not “in theory, at least,” suffering irreparable harm because “reinstatements with back pay is an option.” Irreparable harm is a criterion judges consider before issuing emergency orders. Last week, the Supreme Court temporarily reversed Judge Susan Illston’s order blocking the administration from acting on Trump’s executive order to reduce the workforce. “The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch,” Illston, a Clinton-appointed judge based in California, wrote. ‘IT WILL HAPPEN QUICKLY’: STATE DEPT POISED TO ACT AFTER SUPREME COURT GREEN-LIGHTS AGENCY LAYOFFS Trump signed an executive order after he took office announcing a sweeping “reduction in force” initiative. To carry out Trump’s order, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management sent a directive to the heads of government agencies in February to craft plans to eliminate jobs. “Agencies should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily required functions,” the memo said. A group of labor organizations and nonprofits sued, arguing a mass reorganization of government required congressional approval. Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against them by pausing Illston’s injunction. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan sided with the conservative majority, which found that the executive order and memo are lawful. The majority noted that the decision is not a reflection of the justices’ opinions on agency-specific firings and that those should be examined as a separate matter. Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, told “Fox & Friends” the high court was sending a “clear” message about judicial overreach. “This is another shot across the bow to lower courts that they’ve got to knock this off,” Turley said. “They’ve got to stop with these injunctions. This is six months of delay. It could’ve been much longer, and the court is signaling, ‘We’re going to be on you very quickly if you continue to do these types of orders.’” The decision empowered Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lay off more than 1,300 State Department workers. Since Trump took office, tens of thousands of federal employees have accepted buyout offers from the administration or been let go. But many other layoffs are still wrapped up in lawsuits. Some firing decisions remain pending because of district court judges’ orders. In some cases, the Trump administration has argued that the Supreme Court’s recent move to do away with universal injunctions is reason enough for those judges to reverse course. In one lawsuit, Democratic-led states sued over Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s move to terminate about 10,000 employees. Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee based in Rhode Island, sided with the states and blocked the terminations. The judge must now decide if her injunction is at odds with the Supreme Court’s new ruling on universal injunctions. The government downsizing coincides with the president’s controversial decision to fire several watchdogs and members of independent agencies without cause. In May, the Supreme Court sided with Trump on two of the firings, fueling speculation that the high court is aiming to overturn a 90-year precedent set in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. That decision found that President Franklin D. Roosevelt could not fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission without a reason, such as neglect of job duties or malfeasance, because it conflicted with a law Congress passed that established the commission. SUPREME COURT LETS TRUMP’S ‘WRECKING BALL’ FEDERAL JOB CUTS PROCEED WHILE LEGAL FIGHT CONTINUES In Trump’s case, the Supreme Court temporarily approved two firings involving the heads of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board. The high court’s order was unsigned but indicated that the three liberal justices dissented. “Because the Constitution vests the executive power in the President… he may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf, subject to narrow exceptions recognized by our precedents,” the order read. The Supreme Court’s decision was a boon to Trump’s implementation of the unitary executive theory, a legal concept that emphasizes presidential control. However, the order included a cautionary note that the
Bipartisan bill would grant legal status to certain illegal immigrant workers
Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, introduced legislation on Tuesday to reform the U.S. immigration system, including offering legal status for certain illegal immigrants to continue working in the country amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies. The Dignity Act of 2025 would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. since before 2021 the opportunity to apply for up to seven years of legal status with work authorization. The immigrants would pay restitution and check in regularly with the Department of Homeland Security, and their legal status could be renewed based on good conduct and restitution. The bill would offer a path to permanent residency, but the legal status afforded to the immigrants would not allow for any federal benefits or a path to U.S. citizenship. “The Dignity Act of 2025 is a revolutionary bill that offers the solution to our immigration crisis: secure the border, stop illegal immigration, and provide an earned opportunity for long-term immigrants to stay here and work,” Salazar said in a statement. “No amnesty. No handouts. No citizenship. Just accountability and a path to stability for our economy and our future.” MLBPA CHIEF SAYS FOREIGN PLAYERS TOLD TO CARRY DOCUMENTATION TO ‘KEEP THEIR JOB’ The bill would be fully funded through restitution payments and application fees made by immigrants, meaning it will not rely on any taxpayer money. The measure would also aim to end catch-and-release and further bolster security at the Southern Border as well as require employers across the country to use E-Verify, the government system for checking the legal status of workers. It would also expand training, apprenticeships, and education for American workers. The legislation seeks to address the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has heavily affected farms and food service providers and included raids targeting migrant workers at local businesses, sparking protests in Los Angeles and elsewhere across the U.S. against the president’s mass deportation agenda. A recent raid on two cannabis facilities in Southern California led to a few hundred migrant arrests and clashes between federal immigration agents and protesters. One person died after the raids and others were critically injured. HOUSE UNANIMOUSLY VOTES TO MEMORIALIZE TEXAS GIRL ALLEGEDLY SLAIN BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS “I have seen firsthand the devastating consequences of our broken immigration system, and as a member of Congress, I take seriously my obligation to propose a solution. Realistic, common-sense compromise is achievable, and is especially important given the urgency of this moment. I consider the Dignity Act of 2025 a critical first step to overhauling this broken system,” Escobar said. “Immigrants – especially those who have been in the United States for decades – make up a critical component of our communities and also of the American workforce and economy,” she continued. “The vast majority of immigrants are hard-working, law-abiding residents; and, most Americans recognize that it is in our country’s best interest to find bipartisan reforms. We can enact legislation that incorporates both humanity and security, and the Dignity Act of 2025 offers a balanced approach that restores dignity to people who have tried to navigate a broken system for far too long.” Congress has worked in the past on comprehensive immigration reform, but Salazar and Escobar are optimistic their bill could lead to significant bipartisan support. A bipartisan group of 20 other House members have already signed onto the bill. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “In conversations across NY-17, I’ve heard a lot of frustration, both from employers struggling to fill jobs and families looking to reunite with their loved ones,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said. “We must do this by fixing our broken legal immigration system, securing our borders, and creating a fair, earned process for those who are already here and contributing. The Dignity Act honors America’s legacy of being a nation of immigrants and that’s why I’m proud to support it.” The administration has already begun working to provide some protection for certain migrant workers, and Trump said last month he was considering a way for some migrant workers to remain in the U.S. “We’re working on it right now. We’re going to work it so that some kind of a temporary pass where people pay taxes, where the farmer can have a little control, as opposed to you walk in and take everybody away. What we’re going to do is we’re going to do something for farmers, where we can let the farmer sort of be in charge. The farmer knows. He’s not going to hire a murderer,” Trump said during a June 29 interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”
Arizona Republicans choose nominee to replace late rep in deep-blue border district
Arizona Republicans nominated contractor and small business owner Daniel Butierez in the special primary election to represent Arizona’s 7th congressional district on Tuesday night. Because the district spans hundreds of miles along the U.S. border with Mexico, all three Republican candidates made border security a central issue in their campaigns and vowed to carry out President Donald Trump’s robust crackdown on illegal immigration. The Republican nominee will challenge the Democrat’s Tuesday night winner, former Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, in the race to replace her father, the late Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, this November. Grijalva died of lung cancer-related complications in March. His more than two decades representing Arizona in the House of Representatives made him one of the state’s longest-serving U.S. representatives. TOP DEMOCRATS ADMIT ‘FAILURE,’ FECKLESSNESS ON BORDER IN SCATHING NY TIMES REPORT His vacancy queued up a competitive Democratic primary, including his daughter, who had endorsements from prominent Democrats, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. DEM’S IMMIGRATION REFORM PLAN ADDS BORDER PATROL AGENTS, OFFERS SELECT MIGRANTS PATHWAY TO CITIZENSHIP Also competing in the Democratic primary was social media influencer and progressive activist Deja Foxx, who picked up an endorsement from Leaders We Deserve, David Hogg’s super PAC that stirred up intraparty fighting this year when the former DNC vice chair unveiled his plan to spend $20 million to primary older incumbent Democrats in safe blue districts. Former Arizona representative Daniel Hernandez, progressive businessman Patrick Harris Sr. and environmental justice scholar José Malvido Jr., also vied for the Democratic endorsement. In a reliably blue district along the U.S. border with Mexico, representing parts of Tuscon, Yuma and Nogales, Butierez is likely to face an uphill battle in the special election this September. Grijalva won his re-election by 27 points in 2024, despite Trump defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris by more than five points statewide in Arizona last year. Butierez, a contractor and small business owner, received about 37% of the vote as the Republican nominee against Grijalva in 2024. Running again in the special election this year, he has vowed to “fight to keep our border secure, slash taxes where appropriate, and crush the fentanyl crisis destroying Arizona families.” Also competing in the Republican primary was Jorge Rivas, a Salvadoran-born restaurant owner based in Tucson. Rivas picked up national attention when Trump tweeted a photo of him wearing a “Latinos Love Trump” cowboy hat at a rally in Phoenix during the 2020 presidential election, according to KAWC. He briefly launched a gubernatorial bid in 2022. Finally, general contractor and business owner Jimmy Rodriguez ran with a mission “to secure our borders, boost our economy, and empower families across CD7.”
Establishment-backed Democrat wins high-profile congressional primary in Arizona
The daughter of late Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona has taken a big step toward succeeding her father in Congress. Former Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva won the Democratic Party primary in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, according to The Associated Press. The younger Grijalva topped four other candidates in the heavily blue district, which stretches from Tucson to Yuma and includes almost the entire length of the state’s southern border with Mexico. The 54-year-old Grijalva enjoyed the backing of some of the state’s top Democrats, including Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, state Attorney General Kris Mayes and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. REP. RAUL GRIJALVA OF ARIZONA DEAD AT AGE 77 Grijalva was also supported by two top progressive champions, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who both backed Zohran Mamdani in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer and progressive activist who was hoping to follow in Mamdani’s footsteps by pulling off a stunning, come-from-behind victory in a high-profile Democratic Party congressional primary, came up short. DAVID HOGG-BACKED CANDIDATE EYES UPSET IN KEY DEMOCRATIC PARTY CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY Foxx, who went viral as a teenager for confronting then-Republican Sen. Jeff Flake over the issue of reproductive rights, enjoyed the support of gun-control crusader David Hogg, who recently stepped down from his position as a Democratic National Committee vice chair after upsetting party leaders with his efforts backing primary challenges against what he called “asleep at the wheel” older, longtime incumbents in safe, blue districts. Hogg, who campaigned with Foxx over the weekend across the district, predicted she would “make history in Southwest Arizona.” And Hogg compared Foxx’s surging poll numbers in the final days of the primary campaign to that of Mamdani, the 33-year-old Ugandan-born state lawmaker who topped former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates last month to win the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City. Similar to the New York City mayoral primary, the contest in southern Arizona has been viewed by many political pundits as a barometer of where the Democratic Party is headed as it deals with longstanding divisions between its establishment and outsider and progressive and moderate wings, as well as generational divides. Former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez was also contending for the nomination. He’s well known in Arizona for helping to save the life of former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords during a 2011 shooting in Tucson, when he was serving as an intern to the congresswoman. Indigenous activist and scholar Jose Malvido Jr. and former healthcare executive Patrick Harris Sr. were also running for the Democratic nomination in the majority-Hispanic district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a nearly two-to-one margin. More than $2 million was dished out to run ads in the Democratic primary, with some of the money coming from outside groups. Adelita Grijalva will now be considered the frontrunner in the Sept. 23 special election to serve the final 15 months of the elder Grijalva’s term. He died in March from complications related to cancer treatment.
Democratic socialist mayoral nominee creates growing headache for vulnerable New York Democrats
New York Democrats suddenly have more problems than the back end of the New York Yankees starting rotation. But the Yankees have the opportunity to fix some of their issues before the July 31 trade deadline. However, there’s no trade deadline in politics. And some conservative and moderate Democrats wish there was a waiver wire. Especially for Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zorhan Mamdani. MAMDANI’S FAILURE TO WALK BACK THESE POSITIONS COULD CAUSE RECKONING IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY: ‘FIVE-ALARM WARNING’ The nomination of the self-proclaimed Democratic socialist is cleaving the party. Democrats are still searching for a unified message after the election. And the nomination of Mamdani highlights those splits. Many major Democrats have yet to endorse him. And far-left sects of Democrats could primary incumbent House Democrats – including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. – unless they back Mamdani. Republicans are reveling in the Democrats divides. “If Zohran Mamdani becomes mayor of New York City, it’s going to put a lot of seats in play in New York,” predicted Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. Lawler represents a battleground district just north of the City. Democrats need to defeat Lawler – and probably Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y. on Long Island – if they’re to have a chance to flip the House. Once again, the potential path to a Democratic House majority plows right through the Empire State. Victories by Lawler, LaLota and former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., are one of the reasons Republicans flipped the House – but barely – in 2022. Now Mamdani’s socialism is threatening to drive a schism as wide as Broadway through the Democratic Party. His primary victory is echoing in other swing districts now held by Democrats. And Mamdani’s nomination presents Republicans with a plum opportunity to alter the trajectory of House races near the Big Apple. That’s why Lawler is basking in the nomination of Mamdani. And Democrats who represent swing districts, like Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., and Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., are outspoken about Mamdani and trying to build a firewall between him and their candidacies for re-election in 2026. There’s fear Mamdani could jerk the party to the left. “He’s not even a Democrat,” bemoaned Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., about Mamdani. “He provided an opportunity for the GOP to brand our party.” SENATE REPUBLICANS ADVANCE $9B SPENDING CUT BILL DESPITE DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION And Republicans are doing just that. “He’s a legit communist,” proclaimed Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. “I think candidates like Mamdani could continue to push them further left.” “It would be a gift to the Republican Party,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., about Mamdani. “Every person had a kid in class growing up who ate paste. I think the potential new mayor of New York is going to be that kid and Democrats don’t know what to do.” In college, Mamdani supported an anti-Israel boycott. And during the pandemic, Mamdani pushed the seizure of luxury condos by the government to house the homeless. Republicans hope Mamdani molds the perceptions of voters. “I’m just going to let him speak,” declared Kennedy about Mamdani. “I mean you never interfere with your opponent when he’s kicking his own ass.” But some Democrats are skeptical that Mamdani’s success echoes elsewhere as we barrel toward the midterms. “What happens in New York is not what’s going to happen in Vermont or Colorado or Texas. That’s going to be a local race,” said Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt. Mamdani is suggesting Democratic unity. “The conversations I’ve had with (New York) Governor (Kathy) Hochul (D) and (House Minority Leader Hakeem) Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Sen. (Chuck) Schumer, D-N.Y.), have been productive,” said Mamdani. But Hochul has yet to endorse Mamdani. The same with Jeffries and Schumer. Jeffries plans to huddle with Mamdani on Friday. Schumer says he spoke by phone Monday night with Mamdani and will visit with him “in New York.” However, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., just endorsed Mamdani. “We will come together and we, as good Democrats, we will work out our differences,” said Espaillat. But Mike Lawler believes top New York Democrats will eventually back Mamdani. He says they’ll have no choice. REPUBLICANS RELENTLESSLY USE MAMDANI AS SOCIALIST CUDGEL TO BASH VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS “They’re all petrified that if they don’t get on board with the radical socialist who is now the titular head of their party that they’re going to face primaries,” said Lawler. Mamdani allies are threatening primary challenges against five New York House Democrats – including Jeffries. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is a big supporter of Mamdani and is bringing him to Washington to meet with other Democrats. “I think a lot of people just need to get to know folks before they issue an endorsement. I hope that this conversation can be constructive to bring the party together and rally behind our nominee,” said Ocasio-Cortez about the breakfast meeting. But Republicans continued to have a field day associating Mamdani with other Democrats. Especially drawing together Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez. “Who you dine with says a lot about you as an individual. I think it’s two peas in a pod. Two socialists who want to change America for the worse,” said Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo. “It reinforces how far left Democrats have gone and the radical elements of the party are taking over in the Democratic Party,” said Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich. But some Democrats – who aren’t from New York – are more than happy to visit with Mamdani. “What Mamdani has shown us, a lot of the ways in which we talk about the cost of living. And it’s the same thing that (President) Donald Trump talked about,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said he had “vast disagreements” with Mamdani and called him a “socialist.” But Moskowitz said Mamdani’s success offered something Democrats should ponder. “He’s had a very good online campaign. So, I’m going to go and listen,” said Moskowitz. “Every district is different. Some of
Senate GOP blows through 2nd hurdle of the night, teeing up Trump’s clawback bill for hourslong debate
Senate Republicans again coalesced behind President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar spending clawback package and propelled the legislation through its final procedural hurdle, again with the aid of Vice President JD Vance. Lawmakers will now go back and forth through 10 hours of debate on the bill, where Senate Democrats are expected to bleed time and slam the legislation for its cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funding. SENATE GOP AGREE TO STRIP CUTS TO HIV, AIDS PREVENTION PROGRAM FROM TRUMP’S CLAWBACK BILL Trump’s smaller, $9 billion package passed with nearly all Senate Republicans, while all Senate Democrats voted against it. Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were the only Republicans to vote against the bill. Once debate has wrapped up on the bill, lawmakers will go through another vote-a-rama, where an unlimited number of amendments can be offered for the bill by either side of the aisle. Democrats will likely try to sideline or derail the package, while the GOP is expected to offer an amendment that would spare about $400 million in international HIV and AIDS funding from the chopping block. SENATE GOP BRACES FOR TEST VOTE ON TRUMP’S $9.4B CLAWBACK PACKAGE The carveout for the Bush-era President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was agreed to ahead of the vote and is backed by the White House. Trimming funding from the program rattled some Senate Republicans, who publicly and privately warned they may not support the bill unless a fix was found. However, slashing the funding cut from the package could prove a tricky sell to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has called on Senate Republicans to not change the bill. ‘GUT CHECK TIME’: DISSENT AMONG SENATE GOP RANKS THREATENS TO REDUCE TRUMP’S SPENDING CUT DEMAND He’s been joined by fiscal hawks in the House Freedom Caucus, too, who have demanded that the Senate GOP stay the course on the rescissions package and warned that they would have serious issues if changes were made, stopping short of declaring a full-on rebellion against the bill. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., hoped that his colleagues in the lower chamber would play ball and pass the bill ahead of a looming Friday deadline. “There was a lot of interest among our members in doing something on the PEPFAR issue,” he said ahead of the vote. “So, that’s reflected in the substitute, and we hope that if we can get this across the finish line in the Senate that the House will accept that one small modification.”
Trump’s $9 billion clawback passes first Senate test, while more hurdles await
President Donald Trump’s clawback of billions in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting narrowly passed through its first hurdle in the Senate, but it still faces a rocky road ahead with dissent among the Senate GOP ranks. Senate GOP leaders hoped that an agreement to carve out $400 million in global HIV and AIDS prevention funding will get some of the holdouts on board. However, doing so shrank the expected cuts from $9.4 billion to $9 billion. But a trio of Senate Republicans joined with all Senate Democrats to vote against advancing the bill from the Senate Appropriations Committee, which required Vice President JD Vance to cast the deciding vote. Trump’s rescissions package would yank bank congressionally approved funding for foreign aid programs and public broadcasting. But some Senate Republicans have sounded the alarm and want changes made to the bill before it reaches the finish line. SENATE GOP BRACES FOR TEST VOTE ON TRUMP’S $9.4B CLAWBACK PACKAGE The bill that advanced out of committee Tuesday includes just shy of $8 billion in cuts from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and over $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the government-backed funding arm for NPR and PBS. Republicans’ successful test vote comes after huddling with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, who worked to shore up support and apply pressure from the White House to get the ball rolling on the bill. “We’re fine with adjustments,” Vought said. “This is still a great package, $9 billion, [it’s] substantially the same package, and the Senate has to work its will.” ‘GUT CHECK TIME’: DISSENT AMONG SENATE GOP RANKS THREATENS TO REDUCE TRUMP’S SPENDING CUT DEMAND While concerns were still raised about other aspects of the spending cuts package during the closed-door meeting, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., believed that carving out the cuts to Bush-era President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) helped ease concerns among lawmakers. But the changes didn’t sway all Senate Republicans. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, bluntly said “no” when asked if the PEPFAR carveout helped gain her support and argued, “I’d like to do some legislating.” “What a crazy thing, what a crazy thing,” she said. “What have we been doing around here? We did a reconciliation bill. We’re doing a rescissions bill. We’re doing nominations. Nominations are important, but let’s, like, legislate.” And Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she liked the changes but ultimately decided to vote against advancing the bill through its first hurdle. She argued in a statement that the bill had a “big problem – nobody really knows what program reductions are in it.” “That isn’t because we haven’t had time to review the bill,” Collins said. “Instead, the problem is that OMB has never provided the details that would normally be part of this process.” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also joined in to vote against the bill. Fox News Digital reached out to his office for a statement on his decision to vote against the package. TRUMP’S PLAN TO SLASH ‘WOKE’ FOREIGN AID, NPR FUNDS CLEARS HOUSE AS SENATE BATTLE LOOMS It now moves to yet another procedural vote, which, if successful, will open up 10 hours of total debate time on the bill and eventually set the stage for a vote-a-rama, where lawmakers on either side of the aisle can offer an unlimited number of amendments to the package. But, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made clear that he would prefer the Senate not make any changes to the bill. However, that request already fell on deaf ears — as it did during the budget reconciliation process that unfolded in the upper chamber last month. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Those demands already have fiscal hawks in the House grumbling, but like the budget reconciliation process before it, an amended rescissions package will likely glide through the House GOP and onto Trump’s desk.
Trump challenges AOC and Jasmine Crockett to intelligence test after calling them ‘very low IQ’
President Donald Trump lobbed a signature zinger on Tuesday as he paused to speak with reporters before boarding Marine One en route to an artificial intelligence summit. “[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], look, I think she’s very nice, but she’s very low IQ, and we really don’t need low IQ,” Trump said, smiling as cameras rolled. He added, “Between her and Crockett, we’re going to give them both an IQ test to see who comes out best.” TRUMP DARES AOC TO TRY TO IMPEACH HIM: ‘MAKE MY DAY’ Trump went on to share his own credentials: “I took my test. I took a real test at Walter Reed Medical Center, and I aced it. I got every one of all those questions right,” he told the waiting press. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has ramped up her criticism of President Trump recently, calling him a “rapist” in a post on X following a DOJ update related to Jeffrey Epstein. She appeared to be referencing the 2023 civil trial leveled against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll. A jury found Trump liable of sexual assault, but not of rape. Critics said she defamed the president with the remark. Back in May, Crockett said “you’re terrified of smart, bold Black women telling the truth and holding you accountable” after President Trump called her a “low IQ person” on Meet the Press. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Whether Ocasio‑Cortez or Crockett will take the bait and accept the IQ test challenge remains to be seen. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.