NationalWatch

Let’s cut through the legal jargon: the Supreme Court yesterday did the only thing it could do, and did it unanimously.

The justices rejected the notion that a Colorado court – all-Democratic appointees – could simply kick Donald Trump off the ballot. Just on the face of it, the idea was ludicrous, absurd and anti-democratic, and the court explicitly banned any other state from trying such a stunt.

On Sunday’s “Media Buzz,” I was griping about the fact that the justices were taking so long, and said they must be honing their opinions and concurring opinions. That turned out to be the case.

In the unsigned opinion, all nine justices declared that “nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure such chaos – arriving at any time or different times, up to and perhaps beyond the inauguration.”

THE PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF FANI WILLIS’ CASE IS ‘VERY IMPORTANT’: SUSAN FERRECHIO

A supporter of former US President Donald Trump, protests outside the Alto Lee Adams Sr. US Courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida, on August 10, 2023. (EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images)

While legal observers say the court moved at rocket speed, the ruling came on the last day before voters in Colorado head to the polls, along with those in the other Super Tuesday states.

Much of the back and forth had to do with the 14th Amendment, but put that aside for a moment.

When Colorado’s court first made its ruling, a veritable army of anchors, correspondents and legal analysts, especially on MSNBC, cheered the move, saying Trump was finally being held accountable for fomenting the Capitol riot. 

Many of the anti-Trumpers wanted more states to remove the former president from their ballots – as Maine’s Democratic secretary of state did, followed by an Illinois judge late in the game.

LIBERAL PUNDITS, URGING BIDEN TO WITHDRAW, PUSHING CONVENTION SCENARIO

That means they were all taking a hard-line stance that has now been rejected Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. That should tell us something: Who’s more out of step with the country?

Trump, stepping before the cameras at Mar-a-Lago, calling the ruling a step toward national unity:

“They worked long. They worked hard. And frankly, they worked very quickly on something that will be spoken about a hundred years from now and 200 years from now. Extremely important.”

Trump then pivoted to the other case the Supreme Court just took, his claims of total unity for actions taken while president. The legal pundits say SCOTUS may well rule against him on that one, though no one knows for sure, which would amount to a split decision on the two high-stakes cases.

Trump was soon doing the greatest hits, attacking such prosecutors as Jack Smith, Letitia James and Fani Willis, and slamming the judges hearing several of his cases. 

A New York Times reporter said that Mario Nicolais, attorney for the Colorado side, said the Supremes had “abrogated their responsibility to our democracy….I hope that the cowardice of the court today doesn’t lead to bloodshed tomorrow.” Pretty gracious, huh?

Remember, Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson found common ground with Sam Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, but the critics are still carping. 

Members of the Supreme Court (L-R) Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., and Associate Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Elena Kagan, and Brett M. Kavanaugh. (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)

Jim Acosta, the anti-Trump CNN anchor, said his antagonist “has sort of played the legal system like a fiddle over the last couple of years. He’s thrown the kitchen sink into the gears of America’s judicial system.”

Maine GOP director Jason Savage told the Times that his goal is replacing Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, the Democrat who ruled in December that Trump was ineligible for the Maine ballot: “One bureaucrat was trying to alter the presidential election based on her opinion.”

What triggered the entire battle was Colorado dusting off an obscure, little-used legal provision passed after the Civil War: Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It was aimed at former Confederate officials and soldiers who had rebelled against the country.

MEDIA DEEM TRUMP THE NOMINEE, DESPITE HALEY TYING HIM TO PUTIN

Where some of the justices parted company was over the scope of the unsigned opinion, with the court’s three liberal members saying in concurring opinions that the conservative majority went too far in attempting “to insulate the court” and Trump from “future controversy….

“In a sensitive case crying out for judicial restraint, it abandons that course.”

The Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Some of the conflicting views involve whether only Congress has the power to utilize Section 3 and whether the president is considered an officer of the United States.

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Justice Amy Coney Barrett agreed with the liberals, saying the majority should not have raised “the complicated question whether federal legislation is the exclusive vehicle through which Section 3 can be enforced…

“This is not the time to amplify disagreement with stridency … Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the court should turn the national temperature down, not up.”

However you slice and dice it, it was a big win for Donald Trump, and for those who believe the voters, not partisan state officials, should get to pick the president.

Nevada U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen announced Monday at a union hall in Las Vegas that she has officially filed for reelection in a presidential battleground state that is a top GOP target in a challenging 2024 Senate map.

The first-term moderate Democrat launched her campaign for a second term last year, and 10 Republican challengers have crowded the field to oppose her. Rosen has not drawn a top-name Democratic opponent.

Rosen was introduced by leaders of plumbers and pipefitters, firefighters, electrical workers and the powerful local hotel worker unions and told members their backing is going to be key to keeping Democratic control of the Senate “and stopping those MAGA Republicans from arguing every single bill.”

NEVADA’S SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS LAWYERS WHO FILL POLL WORKER GAP SHOULD EARN CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS

She also put the abortion debate at the center of her remarks. Democrats nationally have tried to focus voters on the Supreme Court decision in June 2022 to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the right to end a pregnancy.

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, speaks during a news conference on June 16, 2023, at the East Vegas Library.  (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“I am never going to back down when it comes to our reproductive rights, which are at risk,” Rosen said.

GOP hopefuls in the Senate race include Sam Brown, a retired Army captain who ran for Senate in 2022 and has backing from party leaders in Washington, D.C.

His campaign manager, Faith Jones, tied Rosen to Biden in a statement critical of unemployment, housing, and food and grocery costs.

Other GOP challengers include Jim Marchant, who lost a run for Nevada secretary of state in 2022 after emerging as an outspoken denier of Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win over former President Donald Trump.

A Marchant campaign aide did not respond to messages about Rosen’s announcement.

Trump lost Nevada in 2020 by more than 30,000 votes to Biden, despite legal challenges from Republicans and campaign aides who claimed but did not provide evidence of election irregularities.

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Nevada’s other U.S. senator, Catherine Cortez Masto, is a Democrat who was reelected in November 2022.

The Supreme Court issued a stay against the Texas law that expands police officers’ powers to detain migrants, temporarily halting enforcement. 

The order, which was decided on Monday, was signed by Associate Justice Samuel Alito. The stay prevents the Texas law, which is called SB 4, from going into effect until 5 p.m. on Mar. 12, at the earliest.

The move from the Supreme Court came after the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked the court to temporarily block enforcement of the state law. The agency had filed an emergency appeal.

SB 4 gives Texas authorities the ability to arrest anyone they believe has crossed into the U.S. illegally. It was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December.

SCOTUS RULES UNANIMOUSLY FOR TRUMP IN CO BALLOT DISPUTE

The Supreme Court has issued a stay regarding the Texas law that expands police officers’ powers to detain migrants. (Getty Images)

Last week, Abbott said that he will refuse to “back down in our fight to protect our state” after a federal judge had temporarily blocked the law through a preliminary injunction.

Back in February, over 40 politicians endorsed an amicus brief that supported the law. 

TRUMP CALLS OUT BIDEN AFTER SCOTUS RULING, SAYS ‘FIGHT YOUR FIGHT YOURSELF’

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that the intention of the law is to “stop the chaos, secure the border, and protect Texans.”

“It is clear to any honest and objective person living in this country that President Biden has willfully disregarded the laws of the land, abdicated his constitutional duty to provide for a common defense, and unilaterally surrendered control of our border to terrorist drug cartels,” Arrington said.

Migrants attempting to cross the North American side of the border between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in Texas, United States on March 3, 2024. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The State of Texas has until Mar. 11 to file a response to the DOJ appeal for emergency action.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Abbott for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee, Louis Casiano and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., slammed reports that Democrats are ginning up legislation in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision Monday to keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot. 

“We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the Court wrote, adding that “the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates.

According to a report published in Axios Monday, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a former member of the Jan. 6 select committee, said he is already crafting federal legislation that would force Trump of the ballot. 

But a spokesperson for Speaker Johnson told Fox News Digital on Monday night that his Democrat colleagues should “get a grip.” 

SUPREME COURT RULES UNANIMOUSLY FOR TRUMP IN COLORADO BALLOT DISQUALIFICATION DISPUTE

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. 

“Democrats need to get a grip. In this country, the American people decide the next president—not the courts and not the Congress,” the spokesperson said. 

According to the Axios report, Raskin referenced legislation he introduced in 2022 with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. that would allow the Justice Department to sue to keep candidates off the ballot under the 14th Amendment.

“We are going to revise it in light of the Supreme Court’s decision,” Raskin told the outlet. He suggested that the bill would be paired with a resolution declaring Jan. 6 an “insurrection” and that those involved “engaged in insurrection.” 

Trump is facing a number of federal charges related to the 2020 election, but he has not been charged with insurrection.  

LEGAL EXPERTS RALLY AROUND SUPREME COURT RULING KEEPING TRUMP ON BALLOT: ‘STERN WARNING’ TO ‘RADICALS’

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.  (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday, the nine justices unanimously agreed that states don’t have Section 3 enforcement authority. But Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson said that the majority went two far when it said Congress has sole enforcement authority.

“The majority announces that a disqualification for insurrection can occur only when Congress enacts a particular kind of legislation pursuant to Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In doing so, the majority shuts the door on other potential means of federal enforcement,” The trio said. 

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS GRUDGINGLY ADMIT SCOTUS COLORADO RULING WAS ‘RIGHT DECISION,’ BUT BLAST ‘PARTISAN’ COURT

The Supreme Court justices.  (Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)

“The Court today needed to resolve only a single question: whether an individual State may keep a Presidential candidate found to have engaged in insurrection off its ballot. The majority resolves much more than the case before us. Although federal enforcement of Section 3 is in no way at issue, the majority announces novel rules for how that enforcement must operate,” the three wrote.

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“It reaches out to decide Section 3 questions not before us, and to foreclose future efforts to disqualify a Presidential candidate under that provision,” the three said. 

Rep. Raskin’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.  

Reactions from legal experts are pouring in after the Supreme Court voted unanimously in favor of former President Trump and against the effort to remove him from the Colorado ballot for allegedly taking part in an “insurrection.”

“The Court showed a divided nation that we remain bound by shared constitutional values,” George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley said on Fox News immediately after the decision was read, adding that this was a “critical moment for this court in history.”

“After all of the years we have spent in this Republic we came to a point where these states claimed that they could unilaterally bar the leading presidential candidate from ballots to prevent people from voting for Donald Trump,” Turley said. “The court here struck with a strong, and it appears unanimous, voice at least on the result that that’s not going to happen. Voters will vote. They’ll make their own verdict regardless of cases that happen involving President Trump. They will cast the most important verdict of all. They will vote for the next President of the United States.”

“So much for the long list of people who weighed in on this case to declare that Colorado’s position was the only constitutionally acceptable one and suggesting that any idiot could see that,” Judicial Network President Carrie Severino posted on X. 

TRUMP-ALIGNED LAWMAKERS CELEBRATE UNANIMOUS SUPREME COURT BALLOT RULING

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to a crowd during a campaign rally on September 25, 2023 in Summerville, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“Obviously, they were not making legal arguments, but political ones.”

Ilya Shapiro, director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute, told Fox News Digital that the “unanimous Supreme Court got it right.”

“States can’t create a patchwork of ways for disqualifying candidates for federal office,” Shapiro added. “There’s disagreement among the justices about which federal actors can do so, and according to which procedures, so perhaps it would be a good idea for Congress to clarify these issues by enacting a new version of the Enforcement Act of 1870.”

“But regardless, in a polarized time of record-low societal trust in institutions, it’s a good thing that voters will decide whether Donald Trump can return to the White House, not Colorado’s supreme court, Maine’s secretary of state, or any other state or local officials.”

“The Supreme Court justices brought order to what could have become a chaotic election season by shutting down this partisan, anti-democratic, and unconstitutional effort in Colorado,” Heritage Foundation legal fellows Hans von Spakovsky and Charles Stimson wrote in a press release. “They found a ‘combination’ of constitutional grounds that ‘resolves this case,’ and that explains why the Colorado court got it wrong.”

TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING IN COLORADO CASE IS ‘UNIFYING AND INSPIRATIONAL’

Former President Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“Activist courts and partisan bureaucrats should not be able to take away American voters’ right to choose the president. This ruling, which came together with amazing speed for the Supreme Court, should serve as a stern warning that radicals cannot interfere in our election process and, as the justices say in the opinion, ‘nullify the votes of millions and change the election result.’”

All nine justices ruled in favor of Trump in the case, which will impact the status of efforts in several other states to remove the likely GOP nominee from their respective ballots. 

The court considered for the first time the meaning and reach of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office again. Challenges have been filed to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot in over 30 states. 

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The U.S. Supreme Court  (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

“We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the Court wrote.

“A great win for America. Very, very important!” Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Monday morning. 

“Equally important for our country will be the decision that they will soon make on immunity for a president — without which, the presidency would be relegated to nothing more than a ceremonial position, which is far from what the founders intended,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “No president would be able to properly and effectively function without complete and total immunity.” 

He added, “Our country would be put at great risk.” 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report

In the race to lock up the Republican presidential nomination, former President Trump is padding his lead.

Trump, who is the commanding frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination as he bids a third straight time for the White House, swept three contests on Saturday. 

While his last remaining rival for the nomination, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, scored her first primary victory on Sunday, Trump enjoys a 244 to 43 lead in delegates.

Trump is likely to expand his delegate lead on Monday night, when North Dakota holds GOP caucuses on the eve of Super Tuesday. That is when more than 850 delegates are at stake as 15 states hold Republican nominating contests, and the scant public opinion polling in those states indicates Trump is the favorite.

TRUMP SWEEPS SATURDAY’S GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CONTESTS

Republican presidential candidate former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally on Saturday, March 2, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

“Over the weekend we won Missouri, Idaho, and Michigan – BIG NUMBERS,” Trump touted on his Truth Social network on Sunday night.

The former president kicked off the weekend by capturing all 39 delegates up for grabs at the Michigan GOP’s party convention, which was held in Grand Rapids. Trump had previously won most of the 16 delegates awarded in Michigan’s statewide primary on Feb. 27.

HALEY BRINGS TRUMP’S PRIMARY WINNING STREAK TO AN END

A few hours later, the former president was victorious in the Missouri caucuses, and he closed out Saturday evening by scoring a win in the Idaho caucuses.

“We’ve been launching like a rocket to the Republican nomination. We just got numbers today that were unbelievable,” Trump touted Saturday night at a rally in Richmond, Virginia — which is one of the Super Tuesday states — as he pointed to his ballot box victories in Michigan, Missouri and Idaho.

Haley, who remains in the GOP nomination race at least through Super Tuesday, despite the extremely long odds she faces, on Sunday enjoyed victory for the first time in the 2024 race, as she topped Trump by roughly 30 points in Washington D.C.’s Republican primary. She captured 19 delegates and made history as the first woman to win a GOP presidential primary or caucus.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks at a rally during the District of Columbia’s Republican presidential primary at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 1, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“Republicans closest to Washington’s dysfunction know that Donald Trump has brought nothing but chaos and division for the past 8 years. It’s time to start winning again and move our nation forward!,” Haley wrote on social media Sunday night.

Haley has no public events or election night gatherings scheduled for Super Tuesday evening and remains mum on any plans going forward.

She reiterated in an interview on Saturday with Fox News’ Bill Melugin that “we’re going to go as long as we’re competitive,” but she did not specifically define what competitive means.

Trump in a video to supporters emphasized the importance of Super Tuesday.

“It’s big stuff, and it’s the single most important primary day of the year,” he said in a video posted to social media. “If every single conservative, Republican, and Trump supporter in these states shows up on Super Tuesday, we will be very close to finished with this primary contest.”

Aiming to completely pivot to the all-but-certain general election rematch with President Biden — who defeated Trump four years ago to win the White House — the former president stressed that big wins on Super Tuesday will allow him “to focus all of our energy, time, and resources, on defeating crooked Joe Biden.”

“We want to send a signal that we’re coming on like a freight train,” he emphasized. “Do not be complacent. Please go and vote.”

While Trump scored a slew of ballot box victories this past weekend, he also made peace with the Club for Growth, a politically influential and fiscally conservative group that is funded by some of the top donors on the right.

TRUMP MAKES PEACE WITH INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVE GROUP TO BRING BITTER FEUD TO AN END

The Club for Growth and its president, David McIntosh, have had an up and down relationship with Trump. They opposed him as he ran for the White House in 2016 before embracing him as an ally. In the 2022 cycle, Trump and the Club teamed up in some high-profile GOP primaries but clashed over combustible Senate nomination battles in Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The bitter feud continued to play out last year in the Republican presidential nomination race, as the Club spent over $7 million on an anti-Trump group that unsuccessfully tried to take down the former president in the early primary states.

Former President Trump, left, shakes hands with Club for Growth president David McIntosh, as Trump speaks at the group’s annual donor retreat, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2024. (Club For Growth)

However, McIntosh and Trump reconciled in recent weeks, and Trump spoke Friday evening at the Club’s annual donor retreat, which was once again held at The Breakers, an exclusive beachfront resort in the upper crust seaside community of Palm Beach, Florida.

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“We had an argument about a couple of people that you know well, and that broke us up for about a year,” Trump said at the Club gathering, according to a source in the room at the private event. 

However, Trump emphasized that “now we’re back in love, we’re deeply in love.”

McIntosh told Fox News Digital that “it’s time for Republicans to unite and put our differences aside.”

He added that “President Trump always says, ‘When Trump and the Club for Growth are together, we always win.’ And together we are going to win back the White House and more this November.” 

Fox News’ Remy Numa contributed to this report

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Voters in a new poll who favored President Biden by 10 points in 2020 have shifted their support to former President Donald Trump, who now leads among the same voters by five points.

The poll, which was conducted by the New York Times and Siena College from Feb. 25 to 28, shows Trump with a 48-43 edge over Biden, a slightly larger lead than two-point edge the former president held in the same poll when it was conducted in December.

The lead comes despite many of the registered voters sampled indicating they voted for Biden in 2020, with 44% of respondents saying they voted for the president in the last election, compared to 33% who indicated they voted for Trump.

TRUMP LEADS BIDEN AMONG HISPANICS, REGISTERED VOTERS OVERALL: POLL

Former President Trump and President Biden (AP)

The poll shows that Trump has done better work shoring up his base, with 97% of respondents who indicated they voted for him in 2020 saying they plan to do the same this year. Meanwhile, Biden is only garnering the support of 83% of those who say they voted for him in 2020, while 10% indicated they plan to vote for Trump this time around.

Those numbers weren’t the only bad news for the president in the poll, which also showed Trump as having a six-point lead (46%-40%) among Hispanic voters, a demographic that until recent years had been a dependable bloc for Democrats. 

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Hialeah, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

POLL SHOWS BIDEN’S LEAD OVER TRUMP SHRINKING IN 2024 MATCHUP AS CONCERNS OVER PHYSICAL FITNESS GROW

Biden is also struggling with working-class voters of color, who according to exit polls, voted in large numbers (72%) for the president in 2020, with only 22% of the group supporting Trump. But that gap has shrunk significantly, the poll found, with Biden only holding a 47%-41% advantage among the same group today.

President Biden speaks to the National Governors Association during an event in the East Room of the White House on Friday, Feb. 23. (AP/Evan Vucci)

The president also faces an enthusiasm gap compared to Trump, with only 23% saying they would be enthusiastic if Biden were to become the Democratic nominee. Meanwhile, 48% of respondents indicated they would feel enthusiastic about Trump securing the Republican nomination.

But the news wasn’t all bad for the president, who polled better with critical independent voters, who currently are split 42%-42% on who they would support between Biden and Trump. Voters also showed concerns about the criminal cases playing out around Trump, with 53% indicating they believe the former president committed serious federal crimes.

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The New York Times/Siena College poll sampled 980 registered voters nationwide, with a margin of sampling error at plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., penned a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday, calling on him to acknowledge the death of Georgia college student Laken Riley during his State of the Union address Thursday night. 

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was killed last month and the suspect charged in relation to her death is Jose Ibarra, who was found to have illegally immigrated into the U.S. in 2022. 

“At just six years old, Laken knew she wanted to be a nurse so she could help people. She was living her dream until it was shattered by Joe Biden’s wide open border,” Banks told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This was a totally avoidable tragedy. President Biden owes it to her family and the American people to say her name.”

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

Banks implored Biden in the letter to “publicly acknowledge the Riley family’s tragedy” by speaking about their daughter Laken’s death during the annual address to Congress. 

GOP CONGRESSMAN INTRODUCES ‘LAKEN RILEY ACT’ TO REQUIRE ICE TO DETAIN MIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR THEFT

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

“As Commander-in-Chief, it is your duty to protect American citizens, and this tragedy highlights the urgent need to address the surge in crime resulting from your negligence at our southern border,” Banks wrote. 

The Indiana Republican, currently running for the Senate seat being vacated in 2025 by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., further listed what he considered Biden’s failures on the issues of the southern border and immigration. Banks noted Biden’s reversals of Trump-era policies such as “Remain in Mexico,” Title 42, and the building of a border wall. 

“Your failure to publicly acknowledge this tragedy is unacceptable,” Banks added. 

Last week, the White House provided a statement to Fox News Digital regarding Riley’s death. “We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley,” a spokesperson said. “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty. Given this is an active case, we would have to refer you to state law enforcement and ICE.”

Rep. Jim Banks questions witnesses during a House hearing on Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden, himself, has not addressed the death of Riley, despite being asked during a press conference if he bears any responsibility for it following a speech last week. 

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER SURPASS 21,000 IN 72 HOURS, CBP SOURCES SAY

“You have a great opportunity to respect the wishes of Laken Riley’s mother by breaking your silence and saying her name at the upcoming State of the Union address on Thursday, March 7, 2024,” Banks told Biden in the letter. 

Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, recently changed her Facebook profile picture to a heart in UGA’s colors of Red and Black, with the hashtag “#SayHerName.”

In addition to asking Biden to acknowledge Riley at his SOTU address, Banks also called on the president to “take swift and decisive action to secure the border. You can prevent further tragedies and ensure a safer future for all Americans.”

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling Monday is “both unifying and inspirational,” while stressing the importance of the high court’s pending decision in the issue of presidential immunity. 

The Supreme Court sided unanimously with the 2024 GOP frontrunner in his challenge to Colorado’s attempt to kick him off the 2024 primary ballot. 

The high court ruled in favor of Trump’s arguments in the case, which will impact the status of efforts in several other states to remove the likely GOP nominee from their respective ballots. 

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR TRUMP BALLOT REMOVAL CASE OUT OF COLORADO

The court considered for the first time the meaning and reach of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office again. Challenges have been filed to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot in over 30 states.

Former President Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling Monday is “both unifying and inspirational.” (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“A great win for America. Very, very important!” Trump told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Monday morning. 

“Equally important for our country will be the decision that they will soon make on immunity for a president — without which, the presidency would be relegated to nothing more than a ceremonial position, which is far from what the founders intended,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “No president would be able to properly and effectively function without complete and total immunity.” 

He added, “Our country would be put at great risk.” 

The Supreme Court sided unanimously with former President Trump in his challenge to Colorado’s attempt to kick him off the 2024 primary ballot. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

SUPREME COURT DECISION ON CASE BARRING TRUMP FROM COLORADO’S 2024 BALLOT COULD ARRIVE AS EARLY AS MONDAY

The Supreme Court last week agreed to review whether Trump has immunity from prosecution in special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case. 

The justices moved to fast-track the appeal, and will hear oral arguments beginning April 22, with a ruling on the merits expected by late June. 

Trump’s trial stemming from Smith’s investigation has been put on hold pending resolution of the matter. 

The decision will also impact Smith’s classified records case against the president. That trial has not yet been scheduled. 

As for Monday’s decision, Trump described it as a “big win for America.” 

“Today’s decision, especially the fact that it was unanimous, 9-0, is both unifying and inspirational for the people of the United States of America,” he told Fox News Digital. 

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In its unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court concluded that “states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office.” 

“But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the Supreme Court wrote.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, in a concurring opinion wrote, “The Court has settled a politically charged issue in the volatile season of a Presidential election.”

“Particularly in this circumstance, writings on the Court should turn the national temperature down, not up. For present purposes, our differences are far less important than our unanimity: All nine Justices agree on the outcome of this case. That is the message Americans should take home,” she said.

Former President Trump spoke from Mar-a-Lago just hours after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in his favor, keeping him on the 2024 primary ballot in Colorado, thanking the high court for its unifying decision and looking ahead to its pending ruling on his presidential immunity appeal. 

The 2024 GOP frontrunner also blamed President Biden for his legal challenges, and claimed he is using judges and prosecutors to influence the election.

The Supreme Court sided unanimously with the 2024 GOP frontrunner in his challenge to Colorado’s attempt to kick him off the 2024 primary ballot. 

The high court ruled in favor of Trump’s arguments in the case, which will impact the status of efforts in several other states to remove the likely GOP nominee from their respective ballots. 

“I want to start by thanking the Supreme Court for its unanimous decision today. It was a very important decision, were very well crafted, and I think it will go a long way toward bringing our country together, which our country needs,” Trump said from Mar-a-Lago. “And they worked long, they worked hard, and frankly, they worked very quickly on something that will be spoken about 100 years from now and 200 years from now. Extremely important.” 

Trump said, “essentially, you cannot take somebody out of a race because an opponent would like to have it that way. And it has nothing to do with the fact that it’s the leading candidate, whether it was the leading candidate or a candidate that was well down on the totem pole. You cannot take somebody out of a race.” 

“The voters can take the person out of the race very quickly. But a court shouldn’t be doing that. And the Supreme Court saw that very well,” Trump said. “And I really do believe that will be a unifying factor because while most states were thrilled to have me know, there were some that didn’t and they didn’t want that for political reasons.” 

Trump touted his poll numbers, saying he is “beating President Biden in almost every poll.” 

Trump went on to reflect on the legal challenges he is fighting during an election year, saying he is “being prosecuted by Biden,” saying every case is “in total coordination with the White House.” 

The 2024 GOP frontrunner issued a message to Biden. 

“I will say that President Biden, number one, stop weaponization. Fight your fight yourself. Don’t use prosecutors and judges to go after your opponent to try and damage your opponent so you can win an election,” he said. “Our country is much bigger than that. The other thing I say to President Biden, close the borders now. This is not sustainable for our country. It’s not sustainable for our cities. Our country is under siege.” 

Former President Trump-supporting lawmakers celebrated the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision Monday to reject the state of Colorado’s attempt to keep the former president off their presidential ballot, citing the 14th Amendment. 

All nine justices, appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents, agreed that states lack the authority “under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.” However, they may do so in regard to state office. 

“The right decision. Glad to see the Supreme Court stand up to the extreme left’s attempts to undermine our democracy,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., in a post to X. 

Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump pumps his fist as he departs after speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

SUPREME COURT RULES UNANIMOUSLY FOR TRUMP IN COLORADO BALLOT DISQUALIFICATION DISPUTE

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, called the decision a “Big win for common sense and democracy!” 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also cheered the decision, writing on X, “Grateful that SCOTUS blocked Democrats from unconstitutionally attempting to remove @realDonaldTrump from the ballot. President Trump is the choice of the American people!”

“9-0. The commies will have to find other ways to “defend democracy”. #MAGA,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., added, noting the decision’s unanimity. 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he was “glad” to see the court choose “the side of freedom.”

BIDEN PREDICTS 2024 WIN IN RARE INTERVIEW, TAUNTS MEDIA, CALLS TRUMP ‘LOSER’

“BREAKING: The Supreme Court defends democracy against radical leftist low-tier judges. Despite the Far Left’s never-ending political witch-hunt against Donald Trump, the Constitution and our democracy prevailed,” wrote Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on X. 

Democrats had largely been quiet on the Supreme Court’s ruling. Calls placed seeking comment from President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were not immediately returned. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is calling for answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on new data he says shows an “alarmingly low” percentage of DNA samples of illegal immigrants being received by the FBI.

Grassley, in a letter to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) acting Commissioner Troy Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, cites whistleblower data his office has received related to CBP DNA collection practices of immigrants arriving at the northern and southern borders.

“Those disclosures show that in the first three quarters of FY23, FBI received an alarmingly low percentage of DNA samples,” he wrote.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SEEK ANSWERS ON DNA TESTING BACKLOG OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has obtained whistleblower information on DNA testing at the southern border. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The statistics he cites show that in Q1 of FY23, there were 865,333 migrant encounters, and 347,231 DNA samples were received by the FBI — about 40%

In Q2, just 31.21% were received by the FBI and in Q3 that number was 37%. He said he had previously requested FY 23 data but had not received it.

“Given the record number of illegal crossings, CBP encounters, and ICE detainees with prior criminal records, CBP and DHS’s continued failure to collect DNA on illegal immigrants is deeply concerning,” he said. “This failure weakens our justice system and empowers criminals to illegally cross our border, jeopardizing American lives.” 

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES

Grassley has previously noted that the Justice Dept. removed exemptions from the 2005 DNA Fingerprint Act in 2020, broadening the number who can be fingerprinted. There are still exemptions for under 14-year-olds and those who already have a DNA profile, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.

However, the government has also been dealing with a shortage of test kits, and Republicans recently highlighted a reported 15-month backlog on DNA testing. 

Grassley cites a number of reports that show examples of crimes illegal immigrants have been connected to via DNA matches, including unsolved cases, even with what he called “insufficient” DNA efforts by federal authorities.

In his letter, Grassley asks for a range of information, but he specifically asks whether Jose Antonio Ibarra — who was recently charged in the murder of Georgia student Laken Riley and who has since been confirmed to be an illegal immigrant released into the U.S. last year — was ever subject to a DNA sample.

7.2M ENTERED US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES

He also requests data for Q4 and for FY 24 so far, as well as additional plans to implement the DNA Fingerprint Act. Fox reached out to CBP and DHS.

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The letter comes as illegal immigration is set to be a top 2024 issue. President Biden and former President Donald Trump both visited the southern border in Texas last week as polling shows it is a top concern for voters.

CBP sources tell Fox News that there have been more than 21,000 migrant encounters in the past 72 hours, with Tucson Sector being the busiest with more than 5,400. It’s in line with traditional surges as numbers increase as the Spring arrives, but the numbers suggest it is going to be a significant surge.

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided unanimously with former President Trump in his challenge to the state of Colorado’s attempt to kick him off the 2024 primary ballot. 

The high court ruled in favor of Trump’s arguments in the case, which will impact the status of efforts in several other states to remove the likely GOP nominee from their respective ballots. 

The court considered for the first time the meaning and reach of Article 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office again. Challenges have been filed to remove Trump from the 2024 ballot in over 30 states. 

“We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office. But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the Court wrote.

READ THE RULING BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE.

TRUMP REACTS TO SUPREME COURT ORAL ARGUMENTS: ‘GOOD NEWS IS WE’RE LEADING VIRTUALLY EVERY POLL’

The state of Colorado had argued that because they determined Trump’s behavior related to 2020 election interference – culminating with the Jan. 6 Capitol riots – amounted to an “insurrection,” he should be removed from the state’s ballot. 

In more than two hours of spirited, often tense arguments last month, the nine justices asked tough questions of both sides about whether the president or a presidential candidate is exempt from the constitutional provision adopted after the Civil War.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh spoke for colleagues when saying they were confronting “difficult questions.”
 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump points to supporters at the conclusion of a campaign rally at the Atkinson Country Club on Jan. 16, 2024, in Atkinson, New Hampshire. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“When you look at Section 3, the term insurrection jumps out,” Kavanaugh said. “And the questions are, what does that mean? How do you define it? Who decides? Who decides whether someone engaged in it?” 

Kavanaugh noted the courts looked at these questions in an 1869 decision, known as “Griffin’s case,” which found that an act of Congress was necessary to enforce the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding federal office.

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR TRUMP BALLOT REMOVAL CASE OUT OF COLORADO

Supreme Court Justices hear arguments from Trump attorney Jonathan Mitchell.  (William J. Hennessy, Jr.)

“These are difficult questions, and you look right at Section 5 of the 14th Amendmentm … and that tells you Congress has the primary role here,” Kavanaugh said. “I think what’s different is the processes, the definition, who decides questions really jump out at you when you look at Section 3.”

Chief Justice John Roberts questioned Colorado’s attorney Jason Murray about the “consequences” of the state’s position. 

TRUMP HOLDS LARGE LEAD OVER HALEY 4 DAYS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY

“What do you do with consequences of your position? There will be disqualification proceedings on the other side, and some will succeed in very quick order, I would expect that a goodly number of states will say whoever the Democrat is, you’re off the ballot,” he said. “It would then come down to a small number of states deciding the election. That’s a pretty severe consequence.”

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Justice Samuel Alito pressed Murray to “grapple” with “what some people have seen as the consequences of the argument that you’re advancing, which is that there will be conflicts in decisions among the states.”

“The different states will disqualify different candidates. But I’m not getting a whole lot of help from you about how this would not be an unmanageable situation,” Alito said.  

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is introducing legislation that would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants who are charged with local theft or burglary, after a migrant accused of such crimes was released and later charged with the murder of an American college student.

The Laken Riley Act is named after 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley, a college nursing student who was recently killed on the campus of University of Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra, the illegal immigrant from Venezuela charged with the brutal murder, had been arrested multiple times prior to the murder, but was not detained by ICE.

Before being charged with felony murder, Ibarra was arrested for driving under the influence and driving without a license, the Middle District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release citing a sworn affidavit and criminal complaint against the migrant. He also was cited for shoplifting in October 2023, according to police. Collins’ new bill would have required ICE to detain Ibarra after these first offenses, and prior to the death of Riley.

Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District of Athens – where the fatal attack occurred – said the murder of Riley is a “wakeup call” for America and the bill seeks to combat the “illegal crime wave” that he attributes to the ongoing border crisis.

TRUMP SAYS HE SPOKE TO ‘DEVASTATED’ PARENTS OF LAKEN RILEY, BLASTS BIDEN BORDER CRISIS ‘LIKE A WAR’

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

“The senseless murder of Laken Riley by Jose Ibarra, who had no business being in this country, was another wakeup call as Americans experience an illegal alien crime wave because of Joe Biden’s open border and local sanctuary city policies,” Collins told Fox News Digital.

The congressman said the legislation will work to prevent similar tragic incidents from occurring as a result of the open southern border.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER: ATHENS-CLARK COUNTY SHERIFF CAMPAIGNED ON NOT ‘COOPERATING’ WITH ICE: ‘CULTURE OF FEAR’

“I wish we could bring Laken back, but we must now turn our focus to ensuring this doesn’t happen to another American,” the Republican congressman continued. “That’s why I introduced the Laken Riley Act.”

Rep. Mike Collins leaves the House Republicans’ caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on May 23, 2023. (Bill Clark/Getty Images)

The Laken Riley Act would “require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue a detainer for illegal aliens who are charged or cited with local theft or burglary. More serious crimes already require ICE to issue detainers but had Athens, GA Police reached out to ICE about Jose Ibarra when he was cited for shoplifting, and ICE issued a detainer and picked him up, Laken Riley would be alive.”

The bill will also allow individual states to take action against the federal government “if an immigration related action harms the state or its citizens.”

“Allow states to sue the federal government for injunctive relief if an immigration related action (parole, violation of detention requirements, etc.), harms the state or its citizens. This gives states legal resource to force the federal government to address certain failures related to border security,” a press release announcing the legislation read.

Jose Ibarra was arrested on Feb. 23 in connection with Laken Riley’s Feb. 22 murder in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)

The House could vote on the bill as soon as this week, the release added.

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Collins recently led the Georgia congressional delegation in a moment of silence for Riley, and has pledged to continue to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

The former Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol told 60 Minutes that President Biden never spoke to him during his two years on the job. Neither did Vice President Kamala Harris, tapped as the administration’s “border czar” by President Biden in May 2021.

Raul Ortiz served as the U.S. Chief of Border Patrol under President Biden and deputy chief under former President Trump before retiring in May 2023. 

Then-U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz listens during a news conference, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washington (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

In an interview that aired Sunday, Ortiz excoriated politicians – Republicans and Democrats alike – who engage in media ops in a “two-mile stretch,” neglected hundreds of miles of open borders. 

But he expressed particular frustrations for the president, saying that in his two years in office, “I’ve never had one conversation with the president or vice president.” 

“I was the chief of the Border Patrol, I commanded 21,000 people. That’s a problem,” he said. 

US BORDER PATROL SHOOTS, KILLS BANDIT ROBBING MIGRANTS IN CALIFORNIA

Ortiz said the U.S. needs to send a clearer message to Central and South America that they will be sent back if they do not have a legitimate asylum claim. 

Asked if he believed the White House has sent mixed messages to migrants, he said: “most definitely.” 

Ortiz presided over Border Patrol during some of the most high-profile incidents, including 15,000 Haitian migrants under the bridge in Del Rio, agents being falsely accused of whipping, the end of Title 42 expulsions, and record-setting illegal crossings. 

Ortiz testified under oath in March 2023 during a House field hearing in McAllen, Texas that the border is not secure. He retired two months later. 

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His interview comes after Biden and Trump made dueling trips to the southern border, underscoring how central the border is to the 2024 presidential election. 

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley notched her first victory of the 2024 primary campaign, besting former President Donald Trump in Washington D.C.

Haley won the contest with nearly 63% of the vote, according to an Associated Press call of the race shortly after polls closed Sunday. The results mean the former South Carolina governor will walk away with 19 delegates.

Washington D.C. represented Haley’s possible best shot at notching a victory and ending Trump’s undefeated primary streak. While Trump won the district in an uncontested 2020 primary, he finished a distant third behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the 2016 primary. The district also leans heavily towards Democrats, with President Biden garnering 92% of the Washington D.C. vote in the 2020 Election.

TRUMP WINS THE MICHIGAN GOP PRIMARY, BRINGING HIM ONE STEP CLOSER TO SECURING REPUBLICAN NOMINATION

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump has so far made easy work of this year’s GOP primary, notching victories in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the Virgin Islands, South Carolina and Michigan. The seemingly easy stream of wins has solidified the former president’s frontrunner status in the race, with the campaign telling Fox News Digital ahead of the results that they have already begun to look forward to the general election.

“Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest and this race is over,” a spokesperson for the campaign said. “Our focus is now on Joe Biden and the general election.”

Former President Donald Trump. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

DC PRIMARY REPRESENTS HALEY’S BEST CHANCE YET TO BEAT TRUMP

The former president held a commanding lead heading into Washington D.C.’s contest, holding ten times as many delegates as Haley before his first primary loss. Trump still holds a commanding lead heading into the most important week on the calendar, with Haley only gaining 19 with the victory in the nation’s capital.

Haley, meanwhile, has remained as the only other contender in the field, vowing to stay in the race despite a recent loss in her home state of South Carolina.

Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Orangeburg Mall Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Orangeburg, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

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The Haley campaign will look to carry the momentum to Monday’s contest in North Dakota, where 29 delegates will be up for grabs and this week’s “Super Tuesday,” where voters in 15 states will head to the polls to determine who gets a share of 865 total delegates. Haley has invested heavily in Super Tuesday, with her campaign announcing a seven-figure ad-buy in various states set to vote that day last week.

The magic number to secure the nomination is 1,215 delegates, meaning no candidate will become the presumptive nominee yet in the upcoming week.