Donald Trump Poll News

A House Republican is openly criticizing former President Trump for urging a primary challenger to step up against another GOP lawmaker.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., accused Trump of “bullying” his colleague, Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

“This is unhelpful and unwarranted,” the libertarian firebrand wrote.

Massie praised Lee, a first-term House member, as “a conservative thoughtful member” of the House Judiciary Committee.

SHARPTON WARNS BIDEN TEAM IT’S TOO COCKY ABOUT BEATING TRUMP: ‘I TELL THEM THEIR CONFIDENCE IS MISPLACED’

“She endorsed [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis] for President but then endorsed Trump when DeSantis got out of the race. More of my colleagues should call out these ridiculous bullying tactics,” Massie finished.

What followed was a post by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has been critical of Trump in the past. He added his support by commenting: “Co-sponsor.”

Trump called for a primary challenger to Lee in a post on his Truth Social app on Sunday night, writing, “Any great MAGA Republicans looking to run against Laurel Lee in Florida’s 15th Congressional District? IF SO, PLEASE STEP FORWARD!”

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT

Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for the former president and for Lee’s re-election campaign for a response.

Prior to running for the House of Representatives, Lee had served in the DeSantis administration as Florida Secretary of State from 2019 through part of 2022.

She was the Sunshine State’s top election official in 2021 when DeSantis announced Florida would not audit the 2020 presidential election, despite urging from Trump allies. Trump won Florida over now-President Biden by roughly 3%.

TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lee was the only member of Florida’s House delegation to back the state’s governor against Trump. Massie and Roy also endorsed DeSantis when he was running in the Republican primary, but only Lee switched her endorsement to Trump in late January when DeSantis dropped out of the race.

Trump called for a primary challenger against Roy late last year.

Sen. JD Vance’s Silicon Valley network could play a pivotal role in the upcoming general election as GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno looks to oust vulnerable three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.

Moreno, a Cleveland-based business leader and luxury auto dealership giant, was endorsed by Vance last year, and the first-term senator’s support was seen as a prelude to former President Donald Trump’s backing of Moreno earlier this year.

“We’re going to win. We’re going to unite this party. And Bernie’s going to make a great U.S. senator,” Vance predicted to Fox News Digital on the eve of last week’s primary in Ohio, as he accompanied Moreno at a campaign stop in suburban Cleveland.

HERE’S MORE PROOF OF DONALD TRUMP’S IMMENSE GRIP OVER THE GOP

Thanks in part to Trump’s endorsement, combined with the support from Vance and other top allies of the former president, Moreno ended up winning the primary over two rivals by nearly 20 points. Moreno now faces off in November against Brown in a titanic showdown that may decide whether the GOP wins back the Senate majority.

WHAT BERNIE MORENO TOLD FOX NEWS AFTER WINNING OHIO’S GOP SENATE PRIMARY

But Vance did much more than just stump for Moreno on the Ohio campaign trail.

Republicans involved in the race confirm to Fox News that the senator was responsible for bringing in more than $1 million in fundraising contributions to the pro-Moreno super PAC Buckeye Values. That includes hauling in half a million dollars in just 24 hours to help pay for a rally headlined by Trump just three days before the primary.

Vance, after serving as a Marine in the Iraq War, moved for a handful of years to San Francisco to work as a venture capitalist in the tech industry.

And Vance – the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was made into a Netflix film – two years ago won his own crowded and combustible GOP Senate primary thanks in part to Trump’s late-in-the-game endorsement. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“JD has a Rolodex of Silicon Valley contacts that very few Republican figures can get to. And he put some of those to use on behalf of Moreno,” a source in Vance’s political orbit told Fox News. 

Vance was instrumental in landing a $375,000 contribution to the Moreno-aligned super PAC from Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire founder and CEO of Blackstone Group, who’s a top GOP donor.

And sources familiar with a meeting between Trump and Vance at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, say the senator made the case for Trump to endorse Moreno rather than Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who was angling for the former president’s backing.

Moving forward, Vance is expected to continue his fundraising efforts in support of Moreno. And Vance, who campaigned on behalf of Trump in New Hampshire in January ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary, will continue to help to raise money for the former president’s bid to return to the White House.

As Moreno’s campaign shifts its focus to the general election, the Republican businessman will be up against an onslaught of attack ads and millions of dollars raised by Brown. The longtime senator’s campaign had $14.6 million cash on hand at the beginning of this year and raised over $12 million combined during the last two quarters of 2023.

Fox News Digital reached out to Brown’s campaign about Vance’s fundraising prowess.

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

Vice President Kamala Harris‘ Monday meeting with Guatemala’s president to discuss “legal pathways” to migration comes on the heels of a Biden administration announcement that last month set a February record for illegal immigrant encounters at the U.S. southern border.

White House officials said Harris and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo will discuss efforts by both nations to reduce illegal immigration to the U.S.

The pair is expected to focus on expanding “legal pathways” to migration, including the use of “safe mobility offices.” The offices were rolled out across Central America last year to provide migrants with a place to access legal avenues such as refugee resettlement options and work visas. They have been cast as a key part of the administration’s border strategy, which officials describe as increasing “consequences” for illegal entry while expanding legal pathways and tackling “root causes” of the migration crisis.

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT NEW FEBRUARY RECORD HIGH

As part of the much-balleyhooed campaign to tackle root causes of illegal immigration, Harris, who was tasked in 2021 with leading the government’s diplomatic outreach on the issue, is set to announce $1 billion in private sector commitments to invest in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. It brings the total amount committed to Harris’ “Call to Action” to more than $5 billion. Her efforts have led Harris to be dubbed the “border czar” by Republicans, but it is a label the administration has rejected.

The White House says that those investments have created more than 70,000 new jobs, provided training for more than a million people and connected more than 4.5 million people to the internet.

During their meeting on Monday, Harris is also set to discuss the implementation of Arevalo’s agenda and ways the U.S. can support Guatemala’s efforts to tackle corruption, promote economic development and include indigenous people in the democratic process. Arevalo won the presidency in August after beating the establishment candidate in a landslide. He has promised to fight the country’s established power structure and tackle corruption.

His meeting with Harris about immigration comes at an awkward time – on the heels of an announcement from Customs and Border Protection that migrant encounters in February reached a new high for the month.

REPUBLICAN SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO BLOCK MIGRANTS FROM USING BORDER PATROL APP AS ID AT TSA CHECKPOINTS

There were 189,922 migrant encounters along the border in February 2024, an increase of more than 30,000 from the 156,000 encounters in February 2023. The previous February record was 166,010 in 2022.

Despite the overall record-high, illegal immigrant encounters between ports of entry dropped from the February 2022 total, meaning the new high is explained in part by large numbers descending on ports of entry. 

Monthly encounters at the southern border dropped from a record 302,000 in December to 176,204 in January but did not continue to decline in February, raising the possibility that the border sees another significant surge in the spring and summer months.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Illegal immigration has been a top issue for voters, according to multiple polls, and looks set to be a top issue going into the November elections. President Biden has called on Congress to pass reforms and provide more funding, including via a bipartisan Senate package proposed earlier this year. Republicans have said that Biden needs no such package, and instead should restore the Trump-era policies his administration has reversed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Former President Trump is expected to hold a press conference Monday afternoon in downtown Manhattan shortly after a New York Appeals Court slashed the bond due in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case by more than half, and after a trial date was set in the case brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Trump is set to hold a press conference at 40 Wall St. at 1:00 p.m. 

TRUMP’S $454M JUDGMENT BOND SLASHED BY MORE THAN HALF IN APPEALS COURT RULING

The former president and 2024 GOP presumptive presidential nominee said he would abide by the New York Appeals ruling, which requires him to pay $175 million bond in 10 days. 

The deadline for Trump to post the initial judgment set by Judge Arthur Engoron of $464 million was Monday at 11:59 p.m. Engoron made the ruling in February, after a months-long non-jury civil fraud trial. 

Trump’s press conference also comes after he sat in a Manhattan courtroom for hours Monday morning in a separate case brought by Bragg. 

The judge presiding over that case, Judge Juan Merchan, denied Trump’s motion to further delay the hush-money payments trial. Merchan announced the trial will begin on April 15. 

TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL TO BEGIN APRIL 15, JUDGE RULES, DENYING MOTION TO DELAY

The trial was initially set to begin Monday — March 25 — but Merchan pushed jury selection to mid-April after the Justice Department turned over more than 15,000 records of potential evidence from a previous federal investigation. Merchan wanted to give the defense time to go through those documents. 

Bragg indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Bragg alleged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

The charges are related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted not to charge Trump related to the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

An appeals court slashed former President Trump’s bond payment on Monday, saying Trump must pay $175 million within the next 10 days.

Trump had previously faced a Monday deadline to pay a $464 million bond payment that came as a result of civil fraud allegations from New York Attorney General Letitia James.

TRUMP VOWS TO FIGHT NEW YORK AG CASE ‘ALL THE WAY UP TO THE US SUPREME COURT,’ AS DEADLINE TO POST $454M LOOMS

A New York Appeals Court, hours before the deadline to post the $464 million, lowered that bond considerably. The court ordered that Trump post $175 million within 10 days. 

Trump said he will “abide” by the appeals decision and post the $175 million bond. 

If Trump does post the $175 million by the new deadline, it would effectively block James from attempts to seize Trump’s assets as he continues to appeal the judgment by New York Judge Arthur Engoron.

“Judge Engoron has refused to obey the decision of the Appellate Division relative to the Statute of Limitations. This is a confrontation between a Judge and those that rule above him – A very bad situation in which to place New York State and the Rule of Law! Engoron has disrespected the Appellate Division and its very clear and precise ruling,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Monday. “He should be made to do so, and at the same time, release the GAG ORDER.” 

Trump said the appeals ruling Monday is “the 5th time in this case that he has been overturned, a record.” 

Trump blasted Judge Arthur Engoron, saying “his credibility, and that of Letitia James, has been shattered.” 

“We will abide by the decision of the Appellate Division, and post either a bond, equivalent securities, or cash,” Trump said. “This also shows how ridiculous and outrageous Engoron’s original decision was at $450 Million.” 

Trump added, in all capital letters: “I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN. BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!” 

Trump said Judge Engoron and Letitia James “should be forced to explain why he ruled that Mar-a-Lago was worth $18,000,000 when, in fact, it is worth from 50 to 100 times that amount.” 

“How did the Attorney General of the State of New York force this Corrupt Judge to do that in order to help her narrative – AND WHY?” he posted. 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for James on Monday said Trump “is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud.” 

“The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization,” James’ spokesperson said. “The $464 million judgment – plus interest – against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands.”

Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and his legal team had appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment. Trump’s legal team said the initial requested bond was “unprecedented for a private company,” and said to post it in the judgment’s full amount was a “practical impossibility.” 

Trump has vowed to fight the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.” 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Friday, Trump said he can afford to post bond, but is pushing with his legal team to appeal the ruling altogether. 

Trump said he has nearly $500 million in cash. His company, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, is set to become public after a merger Monday. The company will trade on the Nasdaq as “DJT.” 

Trump owns more than 78 million shares of the stock, valued at nearly $4 billion. 

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge – the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” Trump told Fox News Digital, referring to Engoron and James. 

At this point, however, his shares are frozen. The board of the company can vote to un-freeze those assets if necessary. 

Engoron’s ruling came after a months-long non-jury trial stemming from James’ years-long investigation. James, when campaigning to become attorney general, vowed to “get Trump.” 

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT ALLOWS TRUMP, SONS TO CONTINUE RUNNING BUSINESS, DENIES REQUEST TO DELAY PAYMENT

“We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a–,” James once told a supporter on video.

Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.” 

An appeals court overturned Engoron’s ruling to allow Trump and his sons to continue running the family business as they appeal the decision.

James initially brought the lawsuit accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulent business practices. The court proceedings were contentious, with Engoron repeatedly placing Trump under a partial gag order to prevent him from criticizing court staff.

Trump dismissed the trial as a “witch hunt” throughout the process, accusing both Engoron and James of serving as political operatives for Democrats. Trump’s legal team also repeatedly blasted the lack of a jury in the trial.

TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE

“There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.”

Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.

Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, including former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump, whom they viewed as a “whale of a client.”

Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, including New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements did not violate accounting principles, and he suggested that anything problematic – like a huge year-to-year leap in the estimated value of his Trump Tower penthouse – was simply an error.

“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”

A congressional office aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion was shuttered late last week with the passage of the bipartisan $1.2 trillion government spending package.

The director of the House Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Sesha Joi Moon, announced the office would be dissolved as a result of the House passing its legislative funding bill, one of six bills in the overall package, according to a statement obtained by Fox News Digital late Friday.

It is being replaced by the Office of Talent Management.

HOUSE PASSES $1.2 TRILLION GOVERNMENT SPENDING BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“Since March 2020, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion [ODI] has had the privilege of helping to create and cultivate a congressional workforce that is reflective of the American people at the U.S. House of Representatives [USHR],” Moon said.

“Since our inception, we’ve fulfilled this mandate as a non-partisan and non-legislative support office by delivering candidate services, member services, research and data analytics, professional development, and programming through the tenets of service, commitment, collaboration, integrity, and belonging as our core values.

“Tentatively effective March 22, 2024, ODI will be dissolved as part of the FY2024 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill. However, while I will off-ramp in coming weeks as part of my long-planned departure, some from the team will continue in the USHR’s commitment to ‘put the people in the people’s house’ by transitioning to the newly formed Office of Talent Management within the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.”

TERM LIMITS, PREVENTING LEADER ‘MONARCHY’ BECOME TOP CONCERNS IN POST-MCCONNELL GOP

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., lauded the office’s dissolution, pointing out that like most operations of the federal government, it was run on taxpayer funds.

He told Fox News Digital, “House Republicans promised to claw back Democrats’ wasteful spending, and this is just another example of how we’re delivering. Americans should not be forced to foot the bill for the radical left’s woke agenda in Washington.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for comment. Jeffries’ office referred Fox News Digital to the Democratic minority of the Committee on House Administration, which blamed Republicans for the move.

“Instead of doing anything to make life better for the American people, extreme MAGA Republicans have been targeting the Office of Diversity and Inclusion from the beginning of this Congress, pushing an agenda to defund and dissolve the office. Despite the unilateral decision to eliminate the office, Democrats were able to ensure that the functions and staff are preserved under the auspices of the Chief Administrative Officer and will be closely studying how best to enhance these efforts in a future Democratic majority,” a Democratic spokesperson said.

The ODI was formed under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during the Trump administration.

“Core values” listed on the office’s website include an “unwavering commitment to advancing representation across the House workforce by staying true to its mission and vision” as well as ensuring “the House community is representative of the nation.”

HOUSE SPEAKER JOHNSON SAYS WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T ‘CALL THE SHOTS’ ON WHEN IMPEACHMENT IS OVER

A source familiar with the decision said many functions it was performing were redundant, arguing the Congressional Administrative Office was already charged with many of the same tasks. In its brief active period, it also left millions in unspent funds each year, according to the source.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The $1.2 trillion spending deal, which includes roughly 70% of fiscal year 2024’s discretionary government funding, passed the House 286 to 134 on Friday. It passed the Senate 74 to 24 in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Johnson said when the package passed the House, “During the FY24 appropriations process, House Republicans achieved conservative policy wins, rejected extreme Democrat proposals, and imposed substantial cuts while significantly strengthening national defense. The process was also an important step in breaking the omnibus muscle memory and represents the best achievable outcome in a divided government.”

Former President Trump is expected in a downtown New York City courtroom today for a hearing related to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money payments case. 

The hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m. and last several hours. 

Trump is also up against a Monday deadline to post a $454 million bond that was imposed in his civil fraud trial. New York Attorney General Letitcia James, who has accused him of inflating his net worth, granted him a 30-day grace period that expires today. If he is unable to satisfy the judgment, James has threatened to begin seizing Trump’s property and assets. 

Trump’s criminal trial was originally scheduled to begin today with jury selection. However, earlier this month, Judge Juan Merchan delayed it until mid-April in order to give the former president and his lawyers more time to go through 15,000 records of potential evidence the Justice Department shared from a previous federal investigation. 

TRUMP TRIALS: HERE’S WHERE EACH CASE AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT AND PRESUMPTIVE GOP NOMINEE STANDS

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said much of the newly produced material is unrelated to the state’s case against Trump. Federal prosecutors have already produced more than 100,000 pages of records for review. Fox News Digital has learned, though, that at least 74,000 pages of records initially were sent only to Bragg’s office and not to Trump’s legal team. 

JUDGE DELAYS TRUMP’S HUSH-MONEY TRIAL AMID LAST-MINUTE EVIDENCE DUMP BY FEDS

Trump’s lawyers were seeking a 90-day delay or a dismissal of charges against him, arguing there were violations in “the discovery process,” whereby both sides exchange evidence. Defense lawyers said a 30-day delay was “insufficient.”

Trump’s lawyers have said the materials from the federal investigation are critical for his defense in the state case being brought by Bragg.

TRUMP LAWYERS MOTION TO ADJOURN MANHATTAN DA TRIAL UNTIL AFTER SCOTUS RULES ON PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY

Bragg indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Bragg alleged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

TRUMP SLAMS BRAGG AFTER PLEADING NOT GUILTY: ‘I NEVER THOUGHT ANYTHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN IN AMERICA’

The charges are related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted not to charge Trump related to the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Former President Trump will appear in a Manhattan court on Monday, where he is expected to renew his push for a delay in his hush money payments trial.

The trial is currently scheduled for April 15, a date that was already delayed 30 days thanks to the discovery of new evidence material in early March. In a separate case, Trump also faces a Monday deadline to pay a $454 million bond in the civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Judge Juan Merchan is holding Monday’s hearing to make a final determination for the date of the trial. Trump’s team argues that the evidence uncovered in early March requires more time for review. They also say that prosecutors with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office received elements of the new evidence before the defense and allegedly violated discovery rules.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records in relation to hush money payments he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

JUDGE DELAYS TRUMP’S HUSH-MONEY TRIAL AMID LAST-MINUTE EVIDENCE DUMP BY FEDS

Bragg’s office urged Merchan do deny Trump’s push for further delays in a filing last week. Prosecutors argue Trump’s team is seeking to delay the trial for as long as possible, with an ultimate goal of pushing his legal battles past the November election.

TRUMP HOLDS SLIGHT EDGE OVER BIDEN IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE: POLL

“Defendant’s accusations of a discovery violation are a distraction from the only issue actually presented here, which is how this Court should respond to the late arrival of potentially relevant evidence from sources outside of the People’s direction or control,” Bragg wrote in last week’s court filing.

“On that question, the appropriate remedy is the brief adjournment that this Court has already granted, which is more than enough time for the parties to review what the People now have good reason to believe is the limited number of relevant records in the USAO’s recent productions. This Court should accordingly deny defendant’s request for more extreme sanctions,” the filing continued.

COMER INVITES HUNTER BIDEN, BUSINESS ASSOCIATES TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY MARCH 20 AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

The new evidence is some 15,000 records produced by the Justice Department relating to its investigation of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who is serving as a star witness in the hush money case.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said much of the material is unrelated to the state case against Trump. Federal prosecutors have already provided at least 104,000 pages of records — 74,000 of which initially went just to Bragg’s office and not to Trump’s lawyers.

Bragg’s office has since turned over those 74,000 pages to the defense.

In the civil fraud case brought by the state attorney general’s office, Monday is the end of the 30-day grace period Trump was given to post a $454 million appeal bond. If he fails to do so, Attorney General James can enforce the trial court’s judgment against the former president and start seizing his property and/or assets.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report

President Biden is vowing to forge ahead with his plan to forgive billions of dollars in student loans, just months ahead of his expected 2024 presidential election rematch with Donald Trump.

Despite the U.S. Supreme Court previously serving as a roadblock for such handouts to loan borrowers, the president is again vowing to forgive the borrowed sums.

“From day one, I promised to fix broken student loan programs and make sure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” Biden wrote on X.

He added: “I’m not backing down.”

BIDEN PLANS EVEN BIGGER STUDENT LOAN HANDOUT, DUMPING THE BILL ON YOU

While some college students have praised the free money, the move has drawn criticism from many conservatives. 

Biden’s repeated attempts to give thousands of dollars to each borrower are akin to “buying votes,” according to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.

“He’s buying votes,” Noem argued in Feb. on “FOX & Friends.” “That’s exactly what he’s doing. The timing of this, to follow through on what he has threatened to do for so long, is incredibly hypocritical of him to say that he cares about this country and continue to accumulate debt and hand out money to get himself re-elected.”

She added: “I just hope everybody in America realizes that we’re still spending more money than what we bring in in this country. So when he does stuff like this, he’s literally borrowing this money from China and then giving it to people so that they will support him and put him back in the White House, so he can continue his reign of control.”

“So, it’s really the worst of the worst and Americans are waking up to it with all these crises we have going on at the border, our national security, people’s gas and groceries being unaffordable,” Noem continued.

BIDEN BRAGS SUPREME COURT ‘DIDN’T STOP’ HIM FROM CANCELING STUDENT LOANS: HE’S ‘HAPPY TO BREAK THE LAW’

In Feb., Biden announced the Savings on Valuable Education (SAVE) plan and asserted that the Supreme Court would not stop him from canceling student debt.

The plan cancels debt for enrolled borrowers who have been in repayment for at least 10 years and hold $12,000 or less in student loan debt. Those with larger debts will receive relief after an additional year of payments for every additional $1,000 they borrowed.

The president said he was canceling federal student loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers enrolled in the plan. More borrowers are now eligible to have their monthly payments reduced to $0, and many will qualify for lower payments compared to other repayment plans.

“Early in my term, I announced a major plan to provide millions of working families with debt relief for their college student debt,” Biden said at the Julian Dixon Library in Culver City, California. “Tens of millions of people in debt were literally about to be canceled in debts. But my MAGA Republican friends in the Congress, elected officials and special interests stepped in and sued us. And the Supreme Court blocked it. But that didn’t stop me.”

Months earlier, in June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that federal law does not allow Biden’s Secretary of Education to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden said at the time that his administration would continue to push for relief for students.

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

Former President Trump was ordered to post $454 million by the end of Monday following his months-long, non-jury civil trial. But what the 2024 GOP presumptive nominee will do remains unclear amid his ongoing appeal to the state.

The deadline for Trump to post the bond, according to New York Attorney Letitia James’ office, is the end of the day on Monday.

Trump, the 2024 presumptive GOP presidential nominee, and his legal team have appealed and requested a stay on his $454 million civil fraud judgment. 

TRUMP VOWS TO FIGHT NEW YORK AG CASE ‘ALL THE WAY UP TO THE US SUPREME COURT,’ AS DEADLINE TO POST $454M LOOMS

Trump lawyers on Monday said that “ongoing diligent efforts have proven that a bond in the judgment’s full amount is a ‘practical impossibility,’” amid attempts to approach about 30 surety companies. 

The lawyers said the “enormous magnitude” of the bond requirement, which effectively requires cash reserves approaching $1 billion, is “unprecedented for a private company.” 

NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT

James has pushed back, calling Trump’s request for a stay “extraordinary” and “improper.” James has said Trump should be able to secure the entire value via multiple sureties or offer his real estate holdings as collateral.

But Trump attorney Clifford S. Robert on Thursday sent a letter to the Appellate Division of New York’s Supreme Court, arguing James’ efforts are “unconstitutional.” 

If Trump does not post the bond by the deadline, James is expected to begin taking steps to enforce the judgment. 

Could James begin seizing Trump properties?

Trump’s real estate would not automatically be turned over to the state. James, instead, would begin to file liens on his property if Trump doesn’t post the bond. James could attempt to foreclose through the liens, but each party is eligible to object and request the court stay or stop James’ efforts. Seizing or placing liens on Mar-a-Lago and other Trump properties outside of New York would be more challenging for James.

James could also begin freezing Trump’s bank accounts starting Tuesday, having sheriffs or marshal’s offices order Trump’s banks to freeze and turn over his money.

Trump has vowed to fight the case “all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.” 

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Friday, Trump said he can afford to post bond, but is pushing with his legal team to appeal the ruling altogether. 

Trump said he has nearly $500 million in cash. His company, Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, is set to become public after a merger Monday. The company will trade on the Nasdaq as “DJT.” 

Trump owns more than 78 million shares of the stock, valued at nearly $4 billion. 

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge – the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” Trump told Fox News Digital, referring to New York Judge Arthur Engoron and James. 

TRUMP SAYS HE HAS NEARLY $500M IN CASH, SUGGESTS HE COULD AFFORD BOND IN NEW YORK AG CASE, SLAMS ‘HACK’ JUDGE

Trump said Engoron “openly and hostilely disrespects the decision of the appellate division, which ruled in my favor.” 

“Hopefully they will set the record straight – he has already been overturned four times on this case,” Trump said. “A record. 

Trump vows to fight ‘all the way’

But Trump vowed to fight the judgment through the court system. 

“I’ll fight this all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal the decision of a Trump-hating, incompetent judge who has been overturned more than any judge in the state.” 

Trump added: “The business community in New York is being devastated by this decision and businesses are fleeing New York – never to return, because they don’t want this to happen to them. In the meantime, violent crime is flourishing.” 

Engoron’s ruling came after a months-long non-jury trial stemming from James’ years-long investigation. James, when campaigning to become attorney general, vowed to “get Trump.” 

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT ALLOWS TRUMP, SONS TO CONTINUE RUNNING BUSINESS, DENIES REQUEST TO DELAY PAYMENT

“We’re definitely gonna sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the a–,” James once told a supporter on video.

Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.” 

The judge also barred Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity in New York for two years. 

Engoron also “permanently” barred defendants Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and former corporate controller Jeffrey McConney from “serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State” and as a director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years. 

An appeals court overturned Engoron’s ruling to allow Trump and his sons to continue running the family business as they appeal the decision.

James initially brought the lawsuit accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulent business practices. The court proceedings were contentious, with Engoron repeatedly placing Trump under a partial gag order to prevent him from criticizing court staff.

Trump dismissed the trial as a “witch hunt” throughout the process, accusing both Engoron and James of serving as political operatives for Democrats. Trump’s legal team also repeatedly blasted the lack of a jury in the trial.

TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE

“There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.”

Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump’s legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.

Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, including former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump, whom they viewed as a “whale of a client.”

Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, including New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements did not violate accounting principles, and he suggested that anything problematic – like a huge year-to-year leap in the estimated value of his Trump Tower penthouse – was simply an error.

“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”

FOX Business correspondent Lydia Hu contributed reporting.

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, widely viewed as one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate this November, released an ad on Friday touting his strength on the immigration issue which drew pushback from Republicans and highlighted seemingly contradictory positions from his voting record.

“Every day, 12 Ohioans die of a drug overdose,” Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin said in the Brown ad released on Friday before two other Ohio sherrifs joined in.

“And some of the most dangerous drugs are the ones brought here illegally,” Summit County Sheriff Kandy Fatheree continued. “It’s Sherrod Brown who sponsored the law signed by President Trump to crackdown on illegal drugs being smuggled across the border,” Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla Jr. said. 

The 30-second ad went on to say that Brown is “working to punish” Chinese companies and Mexican cartels that are bringing fentanyl into the country.

TRUMP’S ENDORSEMENTS HAILED AS ‘MOST POWERFUL…IN MODERN POLITICAL HISTORY’ AFTER VICTORIES IN OH, IL, CA

“Sherrod Brown has always stood up for us,” Abdalla added before Baldwin says, “He’s fighting to keep our communities safe.”

With immigration expected to be a main focus of the Ohio Senate election, Fox News Digital reviewed Brown’s voting record and found several examples of votes against drug enforcement at the border. 

In August 2022, Brown voted against an amendment that would have sent $500 million to Border Patrol to detect drugs at the border that would have provided the funds needed to install hundreds of millions of unused fentanyl scanning equipment, the acting CBP commissioner said at the time. 

Brown’s vote proved to be a consequential one as the amendment failed on a 50-50 vote.

In March 2021, Brown voted against an amendment sending $300 million in COVID stimulus funds to CBP for narcotic and opioid detection. That effort failed in the Senate 48-50 with two senators not voting.

Additionally, Brown voted multiple times against legislation that would have cracked down on illegal immigration.

In May 2019, Brown was an original co-sponsor of the End Mass Deportation Act rescinding a Trump executive order that would have prioritized the removal of some criminal illegal immigrants and allowed DHS to withhold federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions.

Shortly after arriving in Washington, D.C., Brown voted against an amendment aimed at ensuring illegal immigrants could not receive Social Security benefits for fraudulent work while also capping student loans repayments at 15% of discretionary income.

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR FLIP-FLOPS ON SUPPLYING ENERGY TO CHINA IN MIDDLE OF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

On another amendment during the COVID pandemic, Brown voted against a March 2021 move from GOP Sen. Tom Cotton that would have instructed the Senate Finance Committee to ensure that COVID funds be restricted from sanctuary jurisdictions. That amendment failed 48-50 with two senators not voting.

This month, Brown voted against an amendment aimed at ensuring that illegal immigrants are not counted in the census which determines congressional apportionment and Electoral College votes. Not a single Senate Democrat voted for the measure which died in the chamber.

Brown spoke out against Trump’s efforts to build a border wall several times including in February 2019 when he released a scathing statement in response to Trump “declaring a national emergency at the Southern border” and allocate funds to build a border wall during a government shutdown debate.

“The President’s decision to take funding away from our military to support his vanity project is reckless and irresponsible,” Brown said. “The President continues to hurt the people who make this country work by wasting time and standing in the way of important work like protecting pensions for millions of workers and retirees, bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, or rewriting the tax code to put people first. 

“Instead of building a wall, we should be passing a bill to provide back pay for the contract workers the President hurt with his shutdown.”

STATE OF THE RACE: SIX KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS LOOK TO FLIP IN 2024

During an appearance on CNN in 2019, Brown was asked about former Democratic Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke’s call to tear down the border wall in El Paso because it wasn’t effective and Brown did not rule it out and  suggested the country doesn’t need a “long wall.”

“I don’t think you look at the border wall in a 12 mile area, I take a backseat to nobody on border security and it’s clear we’ve learned over time that we have the technology, helicopters, border agents to make our country safe, to keep illegal crossings at a minimum, without building a long wall,” Brown said. 

“That’s a decision that should be made in the whole context, you don’t say well this congressman says take it down here, this congressman says build it up there. You want to look more broadly than that.”

The Senate rejected a proposal in 2013 that would have delayed permanent legal status for many illegal immigrants until a 700 mile double layered border fence was constructed. That vote failed 39-54 with Brown one of the Democrats who voted against it. 

This week, Brown joined every other Senate Democrat in voting down an amendment  51-47 that would have prohibited Biden from putting migrants on charter flights at the taxpayers’ expense and settling them throughout the country.

Brown’s voting record on illegal immigration, according to his critics, paints a different picture than the ad released on Friday.

“Sherrod Brown is lying to Ohioans about his record on border security,” Reagan McCarthy, Communications Director for Brown’s Ohio GOP opponent Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital. 

“Time and time again, Brown has voted against deportations, border wall funding, and mandatory minimums for migrants here illegally, and in favor of sanctuary cities. He voted in lockstep with Biden and DC Democrats to create this border invasion and fentanyl surge, and Ohioans will send him packing in November.”

Philip Letsou, Deputy Communications Director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital that “no amount of election year lies can change the fact that Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden have worked hand-in-hand to open our border and allow our country to be flooded with fentanyl.”

“Brown is an open-border extremist who has done everything he can to make life harder for hardworking Ohioans.”

Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital that Brown’s ad is attempting to “distract voters’ attention away from the illegal migration disaster caused by the Biden policies and emphasize a few gestures toward the drug crisis.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Vaughan continued, “But voters are more likely to notice that he has been all in on the Biden open border policies, backing the recent catch-and-release bill proposed in the Senate and helping thwart a few narrowly focused GOP bills aimed at curbing this historic flood of illegal migration.”

“No doubt Sen. Brown is concerned about the opioid problem, but he’s either naive or disingenuous to pretend it isn’t enabled by the mass migration and open border policies.  Voters rightly connect the two, and won’t be fooled.  Brown and other Senators who avoid acknowledging the reason for the border crisis, and by extension the exacerbated deadly illicit drug crisis, can run, but they can’t hide where they stand at this point.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Brown campaign but did not receive a response.

Brown’s race against Moreno in November will be one of the most closely watched in the country as many view it to be one of the best opportunities Republicans have to take back control of the Senate which Democrats currently hold by a 51-49 margin. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told reporters this week she is the only DA in the country with enough “courage” to prosecute former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case. 

During an Easter event in College Park Saturday for families in need, Willis, 52, spoke to the media for the first time since a judge ruled she could remain on the case.  

“There’s one district attorney in the state – and really around the country – that has had the courage to do this, and she continues to do it,” Willis told FOX 5 Atlanta. “The case landed in Fulton County, not by anything that I did, but by the actions of others, and when a case lands in my jurisdiction, I’m going to prosecute it, and that’s the end of that.” 

Defense attorneys have accused Willis of mishandling the case, alleging that she hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade to profit from the Trump prosecution through their romantic relationship.  

Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove those claims but rebuked Willis for what he called a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”

Judge McAfee has allowed attorneys for Trump’s codefendants to appeal his ruling that she could stay on the case after the withdrawal of special prosecutor Wade. 

INFLUENTIAL POLLSTER SAYS NY AG SEIZING TRUMP’S PROPERTY WOULD ‘ELECT’ HIM

In remarks to Atlanta News First, Willis implored the media to focus on “the charges, the facts, and the law and leave all the drama behind.” 

“I’m 52 years old. It really ain’t that interesting if I’m in a relationship or not. If just ain’t. It’s not cool to anybody, and it ain’t that sensational of a story,” Willis said. 

Willis also told CNN that the prosecution against Trump hasn’t been delayed by proceedings over her romantic relationship. 

“I don’t feel like we have been slowed down at all,” Willis said. “I think there are efforts to slow down the train, but the train is coming.”

She also said she didn’t believe her reputation needed to be reclaimed and that she hadn’t done anything embarrassing.

“I’m not embarrassed by anything I’ve done,” Willis said. “I guess my greatest crime is that I had a relationship with a man, but that’s not something I find embarrassing in any way.”

ABC HOST CAN’T BELIEVE RUBIO WOULD SERVE AS TRUMP’S VP IF ASKED: ‘REALLY?’

On Twitter, Trump attorney Steve Sadow accused Willis of ignoring Judge McAffee’s warning “in his disqualification order about talking about the case in a public forum.” 

“Does this surprise anyone?” Sadow tweeted. 

In a follow-up tweet, Sadow wrote: “Does political ambition, opportunism, and pretentiousness equal courage? NO!” 

Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State University law professor who’s been following the case, criticized her comments in a post on X.

“If I were Fani Willis, I would simply not talk to the media at all at this point just out of an abundance of caution,” Kreis said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the DA’s office for comment. 

Trump faces four felony indictments — including separate federal and state cases for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election that he lost to President Joe Biden — but has fought to delay and dismiss the cases, arguing that political opponents are wrongly targeting him.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is presiding over the criminal trial of Trump’s alleged hush-money payments to an adult film star. New York Attorney General Letitia James brought a case against Trump in October, alleging that he inflated his assets and committed fraud. And Special Counsel Jack Smith charged last summer that Trump plotted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Tammy Murphy, the wife of New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, suspended her bid for U.S. Senate on Sunday, after running a campaign that critics claimed was nepotistic.  

The first lady of the Garden State had been vying to win the Democratic primary for the upcoming U.S. Senate election, in light of Sen. Bob Menendez’s federal corruption charges. On Thursday, Menendez indicated that he would not run as a Democrat and entertained the idea of running as an independent.

Murphy’s main contender in the race was Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who has been in office since 2019. In a video posted on X, she explained the “enormous challenges” that face the state of New Jersey. 

“After many busy, invigorating, and yes, challenging months. I am suspending my Senate campaign today,” Murphy said.

ANDY KIM GAINS MOMENTUM OVER NJ FIRST LADY IN DEMOCRATIC SENATE CONVENTION TO REPLACE BOB MENENDEZ

The New Jersey Democrat claimed that her main reason for leaving the race involved her desire to not “wag[e] a very divisive and negative campaign.”

“With Donald Trump on the ballot and so much at stake for our nation, I will not in good conscience waste resources tearing down a fellow Democrat instead of talking about process and politics,” Murphy said. “My campaign has been about solutions for families and a vision for the next generation.”

The first lady also criticized former President Donald Trump in her speech, calling him a “dangerous threat” and encouraging Democrats to unify the country.  

FORMER NJ GOV. MCGREEVEY ANNOUNCES MAYORAL RUN IN JERSEY CITY

“As we face grave, dangerous threats on the national level, thanks to Donald Trump and far-right extremists, it’s time to unify, not divide,” she added. “I will now focus entirely on reelecting President Biden and ensuring Democratic victories up and down the ballot all across New Jersey.”

“I look forward to partnering with you to ensure our communities are affordable, our rights and freedoms protected, and our futures safe and secure.”

Murphy’s critics have given her flack for running a campaign that appeared nepotistic, considering her husband’s position as New Jersey governor. Days after the first-time candidate announced her Senate bid, she was endorsed by four New Jersey congressmen. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to the Kim and Murphy campaigns for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s expected vice presidential announcement on Tuesday could bring the third party candidate a major cash influx and boost to his campaign, according to a report. 

That Kennedy plans to announce a running mate means he met a necessary benchmark required by two dozen states to be listed on the ballot, propelling the independent further toward a face off against most likely former Republican President Donald Trump and incumbent Democrat President Biden in November.  

Choosing a vice president will come with a likely boost in support, as many within the Democratic establishment anticipated Kennedy’s campaign to wane early on. RFK J. initially launched his presidential bid as a Democrat last April, but he later announced an independent run in October after the DNC said it would not hold primary debates and was standing behind the current president. 

“Having a vice president on the ticket shows that he’s moving forward,” Tony Lyons, co-founder of Kennedy’s American Values super PAC, said in an interview with The Hill last week. “Voters then get to see that he’s very serious about becoming president.”

RFK JR RACKS UP $1.4M DEBT WITH PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM AS BIDEN IGNORES PLEA FOR SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION

While Kennedy’s campaign has been tight-lipped about his choice, reports suggest Nicole Shanahan, a lawyer and mega-donor, is a top choice for VP. Though Kennedy has insisted that Shanahan’s access to funds is not why she’s being considered, she does have deep ties to Silicon Valley and is the ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

Other names floated include NFL star Aaron Rodgers, wrestler and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang. 

One source familiar with Kennedy’s strategy told The Hill that the funding it takes to compete against the Democratic and Republican parties can be a daunting hurtle. Biden enjoys a comfortable war chest as the incumbent president, reporting $21 million in donations in February and $71 million in cash on hand, according to his campaign’s most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) last week. 

“It costs so much money,” the pro-Kennedy source reportedly said, referring to the candidate’s operation. “That’s one of the other issues running an independent insurgent campaign. It’s hard to compete financially against the two campaigns. They seemingly have unlimited funds.”

WHO IS ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. AND WHY IS HE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

“Anything that gets him closer to being on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia is a step forward and shows people that he’s going all the way,” Lyons, whose PAC was behind the $7 million Kennedy-style Super Bowl ad, said. The Hill noted that Shanahan played a key role in that ad purchase.

“That, I think, really matters to donors,” he said.

RFK Jr.’s campaign said he qualified for the ballot in New Hampshire, Utah and Hawaii. 

Lyons said Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and South Carolina have also been added to the list. Notably, the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia have already shown warning signs for Biden. 

“We’re very happy to have completed them,” Lyons said. 

Other third-party candidates did well after announcing vice presidential picks early in the campaign cycle, Richard Winger, the publisher of Ballot Access News and a political analyst, told The Hill, noting how Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 played on star power from U.S. Sen. Hiram Johnson of California

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“RFK Jr. looks somewhat more appealing by having a VP already,” he said. 

Winger also noted how Ross Perot, considered a “spoiler” candidate, never had a set vice presidential choice and instead relied on “stand-in” candidates, who were taken less seriously, damaging Perot’s run. 

Groups aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have meddled in several Republican primaries this election cycle, a tactic that has been underway a number of years.

The Senate Majority PAC (SMP), which works to elect and keep Democrats in Congress’ upper chamber, has targeted Republican primaries in at least two states for the 2024 elections.

SMP tends to maneuver using other groups to conceal its involvement until after the primaries. It mainly targets swing states by boosting candidates supported by former President Trump, who they likely view as more prone to lose to their Democrat Senate candidate in the general election.

SMP most recently used the tactic in Ohio’s Republican primary, backing businessman Bernie Moreno, whom Trump endorsed, using a group called the Duty and Country PAC.

SCHUMER-ALIGNED GROUP PULLED IN $270M FROM SECRET DONORS IN RECENT YEARS AS HE DECRIED DARK MONEY

The Duty and Country PAC injected $2.5 million into a last-minute effort to propel Moreno by labeling him “too conservative” in a presumed attempt to solidify his standing among some Republican voters, Politico reported.

“Bernie Moreno is too conservative for Ohio,” a Duty and Honor ad that began running right before the primary election said. “In Washington, Moreno would do Donald Trump’s bidding. That’s why Trump endorsed Moreno, calling him ‘exactly the type of MAGA fighter that we need in the United States Senate.’”

SCHUMER REFUSES NETANYAHU REQUEST TO SPEAK TO DEMOCRATS

What’s more, the ad continued, Moreno would “lead the charge” for Trump’s agenda to “repeal Obamacare” and “institute a national abortion ban.”

Federal Election Commission records show the Duty and Country PAC received nearly $900,000 last year from Majority Forward, a dark money nonprofit that shares staffers with SMP. Majority Forward has also funneled millions in donations directly to SMP.

While Duty and Country is not required to file another report until mid-year showing its financing for the first half of 2024, it likely continued to be exclusively bankrolled by anonymous contributions channeled from Majority Forward.

“Ohio voters deserved to know the truth about Bernie Moreno, and the truth is that Moreno is a MAGA extremist who embraced Donald Trump just like he embraced his policies to ban abortion nationwide and repeal the ACA,” SMP spokesperson Hannah Menchhoff told Fox News Digital.

Moreno defeated Republican State Sen. Matt Dolan in Tuesday’s Ohio Senate primary and will face Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in November.

SCHUMER TRASHED FOR ‘DISGUSTING’ SPEECH CALLING ON ISRAEL TO DUMP NETANYAHU: ‘OUTRAGEOUSLY INAPPROPRIATE’

SMP also recently used identical tactics in Montana. A mysterious entity called the Last Best Place PAC jumped into the Senate race earlier this year and began spending millions targeting former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy ahead of the state’s Republican primary.

The Last Best Place PAC is also solely supported by Majority Forward. Federal records filed in late January show the nonprofit donated $2.14 million to the PAC and was its only contributor.

However, the PAC’s efforts led to a complaint from the watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT) over its failure to file a single independent expenditure report showing its activity in Montana as required by Federal Election Commission rules.

“Last Best Place PAC is masquerading as a local Montana operation while quietly laundering millions of dollars from D.C. liberals,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland previously told Fox News Digital. 

“Spending massive sums of money to impact this election without filing the legally required reports flies in the face of the letter and spirit of our election laws. This behavior warrants an immediate investigation by the FEC in order to uphold the basic standards of transparency and public trust.”

Additionally, SMP has intervened in other Republican primaries, including in Colorado.

During the Republican Colorado Senate primary in 2022, an obscure group called Democratic Colorado spent millions reinforcing the more conservative state Rep. Ron Hanks, who faced off against businessman Joe O’Dea. 

Democratic Colorado’s donors were unknown as they poured millions into the primary. However, following the release of the group’s first campaign finance report, The Colorado Sun discovered the Senate Majority PAC was the sole source of the group’s $4 million in funding. 

The tactic backfired. O’Dea won the primary by nearly ten points and faced Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet that November, where he lost.

SMP also used this tactic in states like New Hampshire and Arizona in previous election cycles.

The controversial approach, which Democrats have also utilized in House races, has drawn scorn from Republicans.

“When you involve yourself in another party’s primaries, it sharpens the divide,” veteran Republican strategist Keith Naughton told The Hill in November 2022.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It makes it harder to compromise,” he said. “It makes it harder to make a deal because there’s a lot less trust. So, there’s an immediate advantage, but you’ve got a long-term disadvantage.”

Democrats, meanwhile, have defended the tactic.

“I like winning, and this was a strategy that brought us multiple victories. And everybody said there was going to be a red wave,” Democrat strategist Jonathan Kott told the publication at the time.

“So, if Republicans want to keep putting up extreme candidates, I think it’s the Democrats’ job to show exactly who those people are.”

SMP did not comment on the general tactic of meddling in Republican primaries.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she doesn’t feel her reputation has been tarnished as she moves forward with her 2020 election interference case against former President Trump after being accused of having an “improper” relationship with the special counsel she hired. 

“I don’t feel like my reputation needs to be reclaimed,” Willis told CNN on Saturday after a reporter asked her about it. “I guess my greatest crime is I had a relationship with a man, that’s not something I find embarrassing in any way. And I know that I have not done anything that’s illegal.”

Although the racketeering case was delayed by two months, Willis said her team hasn’t slowed down. 

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE MOVES TO DISBAR FANI WILLIS: ‘UNFIT TO SERVE’

“My team’s been continuing to work it … We were still doing the case in the way that it needed to be done,” she said. “I don’t feel like we’ve been slowed down at all. I do think there are efforts to slow down this train, but the train is coming.” 

Trump and several co-defendants said Willis was romantically linked with Nathan Wade, whom she hired to prosecute the case, prior to his hiring and alleged that she was financially benefiting from the position he held in her office. 

Both Willis and Wade denied those allegations. 

After hearing all the evidence presented in court, Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee last week gave Willis an ultimatum — remove herself from the case or fire Wade. Hours after the judge’s order, Wade resigned from the case, allowing Willis to remain on it. 

McAfee said that the defendants “failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor.”

FANI WILLIS’ ‘SORDID SCANDAL’ COULD MAKE FINDING A JURY IN THE TRUMP CASE ‘MUCH HARDER’: EXPERTS

However, the established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team — an appearance that must be removed through the state’s selection of one of two options,” he wrote, adding that Willis and her whole office can choose to step aside, or Wade can withdraw from the case.

McAfee said that “[w]ithout sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the Defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied.”

But he went on to say that his finding is “by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Rather, it is the undersigned’s opinion that Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices — even repeatedly — and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it,” McAfee said. 

McAfee has also given Trump team 10 days to appeal his ruling. 

Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Claudia Kelly-Bazan contributed to this report. 

Pollster Frank Luntz recently warned that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ efforts to seize former President Donald Trump’s properties could devastate Democrats in the upcoming election.

The ex-president recently failed to secure the $464 million appeal bond he needed in the recent New York civil fraud judgment against him. In a Monday court filing, Trump’s legal team said getting the amount of money needed was a “practical impossibility under the circumstances presented.”

James has threatened to seize Trump’s assets and suggested that the former president should secure the entire value by selling off his real estate holdings – which his attorney Clifford S. Robert called “unconstitutional.”

TRUMP LEGAL TEAM BLASTS ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ ATTEMPTS TO FORCE PROPERTY SALE AS DEADLINE FOR $454M FINE NEARS

“It would be completely illogical — and the definition of an unconstitutional Excessive Fine and a Taking — to require Defendants to sell properties at all, and especially in a ‘fire sale,’ in order to be able to appeal the lawless Supreme Court judgment, as that would cause harm that cannot be repaired once the Defendants do win, as is overwhelmingly likely, on appeal,” Robert wrote. 

During a Friday night appearance on CNN, Luntz asserted that any efforts to seize Trump’s assets will destroy Biden’s chances of being reelected in November.

“I want you to remember this moment, and don’t forget it,” the pollster began. “If the New York attorney general starts to take his homes away, starts to seize his assets, it’s all going to be on camera….You’re going to create the greatest victimhood of 2024, and you’re going to elect Donald Trump.”

The campaign expert said that such efforts would boost Trump’s ratings and help him secure the presidency.

“If they take his stuff, he’s going to say that this is proof that the federal government and the establishment and the swamp in Washington…that this is a conspiracy to deny him the presidency,” he continued. “He’s going to go up in the polls just like he went up every single time they indicted him.”

NY AG ASKS COURT TO IGNORE TRUMP CLAIM THAT POSTING $464M BOND IS ‘PRACTICAL IMPOSSIBILITY’

Luntz, who has worked as a Republican political strategist, went so far as to call the 45th president’s critics “stupid.”

“In the seven swing states, Trump is up by the margin of error in five out of seven. Why is that happening? Because his critics are stupid and they’re running a horrible campaign,” he argued.

“And for those people who do not want Donald Trump back, they should be thankful that the people who are orchestrating his loss are as pathetic and they don’t understand the American people.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A Fox News Poll released on Mar. 3 found that Trump currently has a 2-point advantage over Biden. The presidential election will take place on Nov. 5.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

President Biden’s 2024 campaign has employed a new strategy, one taken right out of former President Donald Trump’s playbook: name-calling.

Trump, during his 2016 primary campaign, referred to top Republican primary opponents as “Lyin’ Ted” Cruz and “Little Marco” Rubio. He took jabs at Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas” and Sen. Majority Leader “Cryin'” Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House “Crazy Nancy” Pelosi.

He called his 2016 presidential opponent “Crooked Hillary” and then, in 2020, called Biden, “Crazy Joe.”

BIDEN SAYS $1.2T SPENDING PACKAGE IS ‘GOOD NEWS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,’ BUT CONGRESS’ WORK ISN’T OVER

The Biden camp distributed an email this week calling the president’s opponent “Broke Don” – a reference to Trump’s financial troubles. The 45th president recently failed to secure an appeal bond to delay payment of the $464 million he owes, due to AG Letitia James’ civil investigation of The Trump Organization.

“Trump can’t raise money, isn’t campaigning, and is letting convicts and conspiracy theorists run his campaign,” the email claims.

Trump has mocked Biden for years, saying the 46th president allegedly was avoiding the press and “hiding” in his Wilmington, Del. basement during the 2020 race – which the email appears to reference. 

“We have a guy that doesn’t come out of his basement,” Trump said during a “FOX & Friends” appearance in 2020. “Somebody like Biden, he doesn’t know what to do.”

“He doesn’t come out because he can’t. He doesn’t take any questions from reporters… This guy doesn’t come out of his basement, and he hasn’t taken one question.”

Election filings that were publicized on Wednesday showed that Trump raised $20 million for his campaign in February, while Biden’s campaign raised $53 million. Going into March, Trump’s camp had $41.9 million in hand, while Biden’s had $155 million.

SENATE PASSES MAMMOTH $1.2T SPENDING PACKAGE AFTER BRIEF PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Reuters correspondent Nandita Bose tweeted a screenshot of the Biden campaign’s email titled “Not a Winning Campaign: Broke Don Hides in Basement” on Thursday. 

Political strategist Ashley Hayek criticized the Biden campaign’s name-calling email while speaking with Fox News Digital on Saturday.

“Crooked Joe’s campaign just can’t keep up,” Hayek said. “Not only does he fail at mocking Teflon Don, he highlights his own department’s illegal seizure of the Trump empire, reminding Americans of the alarming overreach by his administration.”

“Gallup polling shows that 66% of Americans view the DOJ negatively, [which is] purely a reflection of his failure of leadership,” she added. “Biden would be better off running from the basement again.”

Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung lambasted the Biden campaign email in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“If Crooked Joe’s broken brain campaign thinks it can play this game better than we can, they are in for a rude awakening,” Cheung wrote. “They have a cognitively impaired freakshow candidate who literally embarrasses himself every time he opens his mouth or shuffles his feet, only to fall on his ass for the world to see.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

While House and Senate conservatives railed against the $1.2 trillion federal funding bill that passed Friday, as the de facto leader of the Republican Party remained silent.

Former President Donald Trump, the GOP’s presumptive 2024 nominee, made no public comments, and his campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the bill, which President Biden signed into law on Saturday.

“This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted,” Biden, a Democrat, said in a statement. “But it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border that my administration successfully fought to include. That’s good news for the American people.”

Congress avoided a lengthy partial government shutdown Saturday when the Senate passed the spending package 74-24 in the wee hours of the morning. The bill passed the House on Friday by a vote of 286-134, with a majority of Republicans, 113, voting against it. 

US NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER FOR MARCH 22, 2024: SEE WHAT AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) OWE IN REAL TIME

Republican opponents seethed as the package moved through Congress, arguing that it did little to address the $34 trillion national debt, funded Biden’s policies that they oppose and failed to include border security enforcement measures that GOP lawmakers had demanded in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security. 

The final vote violated the so-called Hastert Rule, a long held GOP “rule,” named after former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, that holds Republican leadership should allow votes only on bills that have a “majority of the majority” in agreement — in other words, only if a majority of Republicans support them. 

That outcome reflected deep divisions within the House GOP conference, with many Republicans expressing frustration at leadership for unveiling the 1,012-page package just 48 hours before lawmakers were asked to vote. 

“It’s total lack of backbone, total lack of leadership, and a total failure by Republican leadership. There’s no other way to describe it,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Thursday on former Trump White House adviser Stephen K. Bannon’s “War Room.” “This bill is an abomination.”

SENATE PASSES MAMMOTH $1.2T SPENDING PACKAGE AFTER BRIEF PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Senate Republicans who opposed the package made similar complaints, with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah., telling Fox News Digital that it was an “utterly absurd, insulting and lawless suggestion that that is an appropriate legislative process.” 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., accused the bill’s supporters of “caving to Biden & Schumer & voting for billions in earmarks and special interest giveaways,” in a post on X. 

GOP firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., went so far as to introduce a motion to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., from leadership, accusing him of betrayal. Other Republicans, like Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said that removing Johnson would be a “mistake,” arguing that the speaker has done “the best he could” with a one-seat majority.

While Washington Republicans fight each other, Trump has not yet offered a clear vision for how he would manage these spending crises, were he to win back the White House in 2024. 

HOUSE PASSES $1.2 TRILLION GOVERNMENT SPENDING BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

On the campaign trail, the presumptive GOP nominee has insisted that he will pay off the national debt if he ousts Biden. But while Trump was president from 2017 through 2020, the laws and executive orders he signed added an estimated $8.4 trillion to the national debt, with interest, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).

Indeed, Trump was responsible for signing several trillion-dollar omnibus spending bills into law, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Excluding COVID relief, Trump added $4.8 trillion to the debt over his four years in office, CRFB estimates. 

In his first two years in office, when the House and Senate were in Republican hands, the Trump White House unsuccessfully sought to cut about $15 billion in federal spending with a recissions request. That effort narrowly passed the House and died in the Senate, where Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Richard Burr, R-N.C. sided with Democrats on a procedural vote to kill it. 

In 2018, faced with a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill, Trump backed down from a veto threat and reluctantly signed the bill, reasoning that it provided needed funds for the military. 

BIDEN SAYS $1.2T SPENDING PACKAGE IS ‘GOOD NEWS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,’ BUT CONGRESS’ WORK ISN’T OVER

“I say to Congress, I will never sign another bill like this again,” Trump said in remarks after he signed the bill. 

The very next year, Trump signed a $1.4 trillion spending package to avert a partial government shutdown. He did so again as one of his last acts as president in December 2020, putting his signature on another massive $1.4 trillion omnibus that included $900 billion in COVID-19 aid.

But while Trump did not keep his promise to get federal spending under control in his first term, Biden is on track to exceed Trump’s debt accumulation by the end of this year. In his first three years as president, Biden has added $6.75 trillion to the national debt, according to Treasury Department data. In his final year, the Congressional Budget Office projects a deficit of $1.58 trillion — which would total $8.3 trillion by the end of Biden’s first term. 

Those estimates were made before Biden signed the new $1.2 trillion appropriations package on Saturday.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget calls for $3.3 trillion in net deficit reduction, although the revenue that is needed to achieve that goal would mostly come from tax increases. Biden has promised not to increase taxes on those making less than $400,000, but he otherwise has called for a repeal of Trump’s tax cuts and additional taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Trump has campaigned on new rounds of tax cuts, arguing that economic growth stimulated by lower taxes will make up for any loss in government revenue. But he has yet to tell voters how he plans to cut spending, or how he will work with Congress to break the cycle of last-minute omnibus spending bills that were characteristic of his first term.

Donald Trump Jr. is on the search for a “fighter” to run alongside his father, former President Donald Trump, in the 2024 race for the White House.

Highlighting the importance of the vice presidential role, Trump Jr., who is lobbying his father to choose a running mate who is willing to take on distinct challenges, told the New York Post that the position needs someone who can take the political attacks — and hit back.

“What I want in that role is, I want a fighter,” said Trump Jr., 46. “I understand what they are going to throw at us.”

“In 2016 you needed someone to balance out [the ticket] — that’s where Mike Pence made sense, sort of the yin and yang, but [given] the vicious nature of the swamp and the insanity we see on a daily basis, you need someone who can take those hits,” said Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest child.

BILL MAHER PANICS OVER TRUMP’S GAIN WITH YOUNG VOTERS: BIDEN MIGHT LOSE ‘BECAUSE HOT DOGS COST MORE’

In his comments to the outlet, Trump Jr. said he’s pushing people like Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio; former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy; and former Fox News host and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.

Trump Jr., although he said he will “never rule anything out,” told the Post that he isn’t looking to serve in his father’s administration if he gets re-elected this November, a stark contrast to that of his sister, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner — both of whom served in senior White House roles during Trump’s first term in office.

RUBIO SAYS BEING TRUMP RUNNING MATE WOULD BE ‘INCREDIBLE HONOR’

Should Trump get re-elected later this year, Trump Jr. noted that he plans to be “very active” with the 2024 presidential transition team. However, the Post reported that Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, would remain committed to fundraising.

“Mostly just to make sure we stop some of the D.C. swamp rats and the swamp creatures from getting in there and doing their thing,” he said.

As for other individuals he would like to see run alongside his father, Trump Jr. mentioned John Ratcliffe, who previously served as the director of national intelligence, and Cliff Sims, a former special assistant to Trump who made a variety of claims in a 2019 tell-all memoir detailing his brief stint at the White House.

Trump Jr. is mostly searching for someone who will be “loyal” and put forth the “America First” agenda that his father has preached for the last decade.

TRUMP RUNNING MATE SCREEN TESTS: POTENTIAL CONTENDERS AUDITION FOR VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOD

“There are so many great people to choose from now with the first four years of the administration, you have a good understanding of who would be great and loyal and implement the America First policies,” he said.

Despite past remarks that his father has made with regard to political retribution, Trump Jr. told the outlet that his father is “going to lead the country the way it’s supposed to be led” and insisted that his sole “retribution will be success for our country.”

Earlier this year, Trump said he already knew whom he was going to select to serve as his running mate, but wouldn’t announce their name yet.

“I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said during a Fox News Town Hall event in January in Iowa.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Earlier this month, several reports suggested that Trump had ruled out having Ramaswamy serve as his running mate and was instead considering him for a cabinet position.

Several other leading Republicans — including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson — have been rumored to be under consideration as the former president’s running mate.