Johnson says vote on Biden impeachment inquiry is ‘necessary step’ after WH ‘stonewalled’ GOP investigations


House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is looking to move forward with a formal impeachment inquiry vote against President Biden, saying that it is a “necessary step” as the White House continues to stonewall investigations by House Republicans into alleged wrongdoing by the Biden family.

Johnson’s remarks came during a Saturday appearance on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” where he, along with House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., spoke to several topics and were asked about plans to bring forth a vote on impeachment.

“It’s become a necessary step,” he said. “Elise and I both served on the impeachment defense team of Donald Trump twice when the Democrats used it for brazen, partisan political purposes. We decried that use of it. This is very different. Remember, we are the rule of law team. We have to do it very methodically.”

“Our three committees of jurisdiction — judiciary, oversight, ways and means — have been doing an extraordinary job following the evidence where it leads,” he continued. “But now we’re being stonewalled by the White House, because they’re preventing at least two to three DOJ witnesses from coming forward, a former White House counsel, the national archives . . . the White House has withheld thousands of pages of evidence.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ANTICIPATE VOTE TO FORMALIZE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY ‘SOON’

Mike Johnson

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said a “formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow [Republicans] to take it to the next necessary step.” (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Reaffirming his belief in moving forward with the process, Johnson said a “formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow [Republicans] to take it to the next necessary step.”

“I think it’s something we have to do at this juncture,” he added.

Johnson’s comments came after multiple Republicans said Friday that a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry of President Biden is likely to come before the House of Representatives breaks for the December recess.

House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters he expected his committee to get the legislation “sometime next week,” which will likely tee up a House-wide vote shortly thereafter.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said that he anticipates a House-wide vote “before we will break” on December 15.

“I think that every Republican should be convinced about voting for the impeachment inquiry, there’s plenty of smoke there,” Gimenez said.

The Republicans spoke after a closed-door House GOP Conference meeting where the three chairmen investigating Biden and his family — Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.; Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. — reiterating their case for lawmakers.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said that the meeting had been held “to see where the votes are and make sure everybody’s communicated with, people have had their chance to understand what an impeachment inquiry is versus impeachment.”

HOUSE GOP DISCUSSING VOTE TO FORMALIZE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Kevin Hern speaks to reporters

Rep. Kevin Hern said that House Republicans had met Friday to see ‘where the votes are’ on formalizing an impeachment inquiry into Biden. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“It’s important we get it done as soon as possible so that we can move forward with this investigation,” Hern said.

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., said a vote would likely come “soon” and contrasted the push to formalize Republicans’ impeachment inquiry with how House Democrats handled former President Donald Trump, moving forward with the impeachment process without a House-wide vote.

“We’re actually trying to do it the right way,” Murphy said.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., directed the House to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden in September, but the White House has dismissed the probe as illegitimate without a formal vote on the matter.

The administration’s resistance to cooperating with House investigators’ subpoenas has inspired even Republicans in districts won by Biden in 2020 to support formalizing the inquiry.

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital, “This is what the administration has asked for.”

“The administration made it very clear, they weren’t going to actually work with our constitutional authority, unless we did the vote. Fine,” Schweikert said.

President Joe Biden

Johnson’s comments came after multiple Republicans said on Friday that a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry of President Biden is likely to come before the House of Representatives breaks for the December recess. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Oversight Democrats sent out a five-page memo Friday morning rebutting Republicans’ claims, citing a “mountain of evidence” they said clears Biden of any wrongdoing.

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“Rather than accept these facts, Republicans have resorted to cherry-picking and distorting facts in order to justify continuing this sham investigation aimed at satisfying the demands for retribution of President Trump who was twice indicted and now faces 91 felony counts,” the memo read.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.



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DeSantis stops in all 99 Iowa counties; will it help him close the gap with Trump and stay ahead of Haley?


As he aims for an upset victory in Iowa’s Republican presidential caucuses, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is fulfilling his goal of stopping in all 99 counties in the state that holds the first contest on the GOP nominating calendar.

DeSantis will make his final stop Saturday in Jasper County, where he’ll be joined by popular Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed him in early November.

Also teaming up with DeSantis will be Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, an influential social conservative organization in a state where evangelical voters play an outsized role in Republican politics. Vander Plaats endorsed DeSantis two weeks ago.

“We’re going to win here. We have what it takes,” DeSantis pledged in a recent Fox News Digital interview in Des Moines, Iowa.

GAME ON IN IOWA WITH THE CAUCUSES CLOSING IN 

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds Endorses GOP Candidate Ron DeSantis For President

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate, speaks with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds during a campaign rally Nov. 6, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. Reynolds endorsed DeSantis’ run for president at the event.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

As part of that push, DeSantis is completing what’s known as “the full Grassley,” named after Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. The longtime Republican senator pioneered the all-county tour and has been doing it more than four decades.

“We’re going to complete the full Grassley. That’ll be 99 counties,” DeSantis told reporters Thursday. “We’re very excited about doing that. I think you have to do it to win Iowa. I think that’s what voters want to see. I think they want to be able to meet you.”

THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT AS THE FIRST VOTES IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE NEAR

And he pledged that “the fact that we did it doesn’t mean we’re not going to hit a lot more counties, again, over between now and caucus night.”

DeSantis is hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (2008), former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (2012) and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (2016), who stopped in all 99 counties en route to Iowa caucus victories.

But none of those three won the GOP nomination.

DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Haley share personal stories at Iowa evangelical forum

Republican presidential candidates (from left to right) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley join The Family Leader president and CEO Bob Vander Plaats (right) at a candidate forum in Des Moines, Iowa, Nov. 17, 2023 (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Pointing to the Reynolds and Vander Plaats endorsements and backing from plenty of other politicians in Iowa, DeSantis argued his campaign is “in better shape by far than previous caucus winners. And so we’re going to continue to take that momentum all the way to caucus night for victory.”

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous presidential and statewide campaigns in Iowa, told Fox News that pulling a “full Grassley” is “kind of an inefficient use of candidate time because 70% of Iowans live in 30 counties. But it is a good messaging point, and it is a way to demonstrate that you’re committed to the process.”

“It’s a way to say, ‘I respect the Iowa caucus process. I’m going to do it the right way, and I’m going to go everywhere and earn your vote,'” Kochel said.

The Florida governor will be the second Republican White House hopeful this cycle to stop in all 99 counties, following long shot candidate Ryan Blinkley, a little-known pastor and entrepreneur from Texas who accomplished his quest in early November.

DeSantis is battling Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor, for second place in the latest GOP presidential nomination polls in Iowa, far behind former President Donald Trump. The former president remains the commanding Republican frontrunner in Iowa, the other early voting states and in national surveys as he makes his third straight bid for the White House.

Former President Donald Trump in IowA

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Nov. 18, 2023, in Fort Dodge, Iowa. (AP Photo/Bryon Houlgrave)

Trump also returns to Iowa Saturday to hold caucus organizing events. And his campaign is ramping up its ad buys in the state the final weeks ahead of the caucuses.

While Trump has hosted nearly 20 events in Iowa this year, the Florida governor has made roughly 130 stops, many of them hosted by the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down. Additionally, the super PAC has spent millions to put together a formidable ground game in Iowa.

However, what once appeared to be a two-candidate fight for the nomination is now a three-way battle.

Haley, who has enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second in the Republican nominating schedule, and her home state, which holds the first southern contest.

She aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where she is pulling even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls.

“The momentum is real. The excitement is there. We’re going to keep working hard to win every Iowan’s vote. We’re not going to give up on Iowa,” Haley said in a Fox News Digital interview ahead of a recent town hall in Newton, Iowa.

Haley recently showcased over 70 new Hawkeye State endorsements and on Friday launched a $10 million ad blitz in Iowa and New Hampshire.

She also landed the backing earlier this week of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Pointing to DeSantis, Haley and Trump, Kochel said “it feels to me like everybody understands how determinative Iowa might be in setting this field up for a big dynamic change.”

There are also other long shots vying for the GOP nomination campaigning in Iowa.

Multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is basing his campaign in Iowa for the final stretch as he barnstorms the state. 

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who failed to make the stage at the third GOP presidential primary debate, is also spending plenty of time in Iowa.

And former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who sits at less than 1% in the polls and who has missed the past two debates, also remains in the race and is campaigning in the Hawkeye State.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is running for the White House a second time, is avoiding Iowa as he once again concentrates much of his firepower in New Hampshire, where he has double-digit support.

“Right now, people are starting to make up their minds,” Kochel said with just over six weeks to go until the caucuses. “They’ve had their top three or top four for a while. Now this thing is really coming down to, ‘Do we stick with Trump or which one of these Trump alternatives deserves to go on with some momentum?’”

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



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Christie ups his game in key primary state, vows he’ll make debate stage next week


With the start of the Republican presidential nominating calendar just a month and a half away, Chris Christie is picking up the pace. 

As he sharpens his jabs at his 2024 White House rivals and vows he will qualify for next week’s fourth GOP presidential primary debate, the former two-term New Jersey governor making his second White House run is upping his sales pitch to voters.

“I’ve enjoyed the dating period. Now it’s time for us to get married,” Christie told the crowd Friday at Politics and Pies, hosted by the GOP committee in Concord, New Hampshire. It was a line he had used at a town hall the previous night.

Asked in an interview with Fox News Digital if he was getting marriage proposals from voters in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar, Christie said, “I got a bunch last night after the town hall meeting.”

WHAT CHRIS CHRISTIE TOLD FOX NEWS ABOUT HIS 2024 CHANCES 

Chris Christie ups his game in New Hampshire

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, takes questions from the audience at Politics and Pies in Concord, N.H., Dec. 1, 2023 (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

“The biggest difference between now and eight years ago is people that are coming to town halls are committing,” he said.

As Christie runs a second time for national office, he faces a steep uphill climb against former President Donald Trump, who’s the commanding frontrunner in the race as he makes his third straight White House bid. And he’s once again concentrating his time and resources in New Hampshire.

POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR IN A CRUCIAL PRIMARY STATE TEAMS UP WITH CHRISTIE, HALEY AND DESANTIS

Christie has shifted his lean campaign into a higher gear, increasing the number of events he’s hosting with Granite State voters. This week’s quick swing included two town halls, including one organized by the New Hampshire State Employees Association. The union said Christie was the first GOP candidate to meet with the membership in three decades. Christie returns to New Hampshire next week for a two-day tour of college campuses.

On Friday, Christie unveiled what his campaign touted was a “strong” and “influential” New Hampshire steering committee, which included former state GOP chair Wayne McDonald, former Rep. Charlie Bass, and two former Republican state Senate presidents.

Chris Christie vows he'll qualify for the fourth GOP debate

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, takes questions in Concord, N.H., Dec. 1, 2023 (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Christie told Fox News he’s stepping up his game “because people here are starting to focus too in a way that was much different than, let’s say, the last four or five months. You can tell by the attendance at the town halls. You can tell by the kind of questions that you get. And you can tell by the way that they’re reacting. They’re getting ready to make their decisions too, and so, you gotta be up here and make sure that you’re making the case.”

The former governor, a one-time Trump ally turned vocal Republican critical of the former president, has been turning up the heat in recent weeks on two other rivals for the nomination.

HALEY’S HAVING A MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Christie’s amplifying criticism of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for not vigorously targeting Trump. DeSantis and Haley are battling for a distant second place behind Trump in Iowa, the state whose Jan. 15 caucuses kick off the GOP nominating calendar. In New Hampshire, Christie’s in third place, behind Trump and Haley.

With Christie and Haley both aiming to win the votes of Republicans and independents who seek a Trump alternative, Christie’s been targeting his rival.

Nikki Haley draws a large crowd as she returns to New Hampshire

Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations, former South Carolina governor and a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks at a town hall in Derry, N.H. Nov. 28, 2023 (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

“My point that I’ve been trying to make about Nikki is just pretty simple. You can’t be running against Donald Trump and then say he was the right president for the right time,” Christie told Fox News. “You can’t be trying to cuddle up to Trump at the same time you’re running against him.”

Christie emphasized that Trump’s “well ahead. So, let’s stop pretending that he’s not, and let’s go after him because there’s a big case made against him.”

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Haley, who’s been sharpening her jabs at Trump on the campaign trail and who’s made the case that she’s more electable than Trump in next year’s general election, has seen her standing in the race rise this autumn.  

Earlier this week, she landed the backing of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. The group pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to help push the Republican Party past Trump and support Haley.

Christie made the stage at the first three Republican presidential primary debates and pushed back at speculation he’ll fail to reach the higher qualifying thresholds for next week’s fourth debate.

In August, ahead of the first debate, Christie said Republican presidential candidates who didn’t qualify for the showdown should drop out of the race. 

Asked on Friday if his blunt suggestion would come back to haunt him, Christie quickly answered, “I’ll be on the debate stage next week, so we won’t have to worry about it.”

And he reiterated that he’s 100% confident he’ll qualify.

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



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Washington state Democrat Rep. Adam Smith says cease-fire activists vandalized home


Washington state Democrat Rep. Adam Smith said his home was vandalized by cease-fire activists.

Smith said in a statement that his house in Bellevue, Washington, was vandalized on Thursday night.

“Last night, my house was vandalized by people advocating for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza. This attack is sadly reflective of the coarsening of the political discourse in our country, and is completely unwarranted, unnecessary, and harmful to our political system,” Smith said. 

“Throughout the course of my career, my staff and I have continually met with groups from all parts of the political spectrum, including Pro-Palestinian and left-wing activists, and I remain open to meeting with these groups and discussing our differences and where we can come together in a productive and peaceful way. We must engage with politics in this way and reject the rise in political violence that we have witnessed over the past several years.”

CALIFORNIA GOP REP. DAVID VALADAO’S OFFICE VANDALIZED BY ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTORS

Adam Smith during a hearing

WASHINGTON, DC – May 19: Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., during the House Armed Services markup of the fiscal 2011 defense authorization bill. (Scott J. Ferrell/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)

The Washington Democrat called out the extremism on both sides of the political aisle, stating it needs to be addressed.

“The extremism on both the left and right side of our political spectrum is a threat to a healthy, functioning democracy and has been condoned for far too long. The simple truth is that extremism on both sides is degrading to our political system and must be rooted out for our democracy to be able to persist,” he said. 

“The world is increasingly complicated and full of tough challenges that require strong leaders. I am committed to taking on these challenges and this act of vandalism has only made me more determined to remain in politics to ensure that we resolve our differences in a peaceful way that truly reflects representative democracy,” Smith added.

Smith isn’t the only Congressman to be targeted in acts of vandalism related to the Israel-Hamas war.

NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS BLASTS STUDENTS’ ‘VILE SHOW OF ANTISEMITISM’ THAT FORCED TEACHER TO HIDE IN OFFICE

Rep. Adam Smith talking at the Capitol

WASHINGTON, DC – APRIL 12:  House Armed Services Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) questions witnesses during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. The Trump administration’s top war-fighters, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, testified before the committee about their FY2019 defense budget request, the possible military response to alleged chemical attacks in Syria and other subjects. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

California Republican Rep. David Valadao’s Hanford, California office was vandalized by anti-Israel activists on Nov. 27.

“This morning, my Hanford office was vandalized by anti-Israel protestors. I strongly support the right to peaceful protest, but violence and vandalism are never acceptable. In a democracy, harassment and intimidation is not how you make your voice heard,” Rep. Valadao posted on X.

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A picture posted by the California Republican shows the office covered in “Murdered by Israel” posters and fake blood.

Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.



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Federal judge denies Trump’s claim of presidential immunity in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case


A federal judge in Washington, D.C. denied former President Trump’s claim of presidential immunity on Friday and ruled against his request to drop the Jan. 6 case.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan of the District of Columbia, responding to Trump’s claim that the Constitution grants him “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions performed within the ‘outer perimeter’ of his official responsibility,” wrote that the former president doesn’t have a “lifelong ‘”get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”

“Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability. Defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office,” Chutkan wrote in her opinion.

Responding to Trump’s First Amendment argument, Chutkan wrote that the Constitution doesn’t protect speech that’s used “as an instrument of a crime.”

TRUMP IS NOT IMMUNE FROM CIVIL LAWSUITS RELATED TO JAN. 6, FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES

Former President Donald Trump

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves to the crowd on the field during halftime in the Palmetto Bowl between Clemson and South Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium on November 25, 2023 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. 

Earlier on Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that Trump isn’t immune from civil lawsuits stemming from the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

Following the ruling, Trump Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung gave the following statement to Fox News Digital:

“Radical Democrats, under the direction of Crooked Joe Biden, continue to try and destroy bedrock constitutional principles and set dangerous precedents that would cripple future presidential administrations and our country as a whole, in their desperate effort to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election. The corrupt leftists will fail and President Trump will keep fighting for America and Americans, including by challenging these wrongful decisions in higher courts,” Cheung said.

BIDEN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS TRUMP CAN BE SUED BY POLICE, DEMOCRATS OVER JAN. 6 RIOT

A court sketch depicts former President Donald Trump’s legal representation in court

A court sketch depicts former President Donald Trump’s legal representation appearing before U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington D.C. on Friday, August 11, 2023. (William J. Hennessy Jr.)

Sri Srinivasan, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, wrote in the court’s opinion that Trump isn’t entitled to immunity.

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Trump speaking

HOUSTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 02: Republican presidential candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Trendsetter Engineering Inc. on November 02, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Former President Trump’s visit to Houston marks his second stop in Texas since earlier this year. The visit comes as his sons Don Jr. and Eric testified at his civil fraud in New York trial today. Trump may be forced to sell off his properties after a judge ruled that he committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“The district court largely rejected his claim of immunity, and President Trump now appeals. The sole issue before us is whether President Trump has demonstrated an entitlement to official-act immunity for his actions leading up to and on January 6 as alleged in the complaints,” Srinivasan wrote. “We answer no, at least at this state of the proceedings.”

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.



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Court suspends federal grant policy for abortion providers in Ohio


A federal appeals court has paused enforcement of a federal government regulation that allows abortion providers to receive federal family planning money — but only in Ohio, where state health officials said the policy took money away from them.

Since 1981, federal policy has changed several times regarding whether programs receiving family planning funds can provide abortions or refer patients to such services. Soon after President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the administration made rules to allow groups with abortion services to receive the funding again.

A dozen states with Republican attorneys general challenged the rule.

OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE FRANK LAROSE CONSULTED ANTI-ABORTION GROUPS WHILE DRAFTING ISSUE 1 BALLOT LANGUAGE

A U.S. District Court judge ruled last year that the Biden administration’s version of the rules could remain in effect while the challenge moves through the court system.

A majority of the three-judge panel from the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruled that in a decision Thursday — but only as it applies to how the federal government distributes the grants in Ohio.

The majority judges — Joan Larsen and Amul Thapar, both nominated by Republican former President Donald Trump — said that Ohio was the only state that demonstrated it had suffered irreparable harm from the policy. The state health department said it was receiving 20% less in federal family planning funding under the current policy that it did under the regulation that was in place previously.

Abortion on the ballot in Ohio on Election Day 2023

People gather in the parking lot of the Hamilton County Board of Elections as people arrive for early in-person voting, in Cincinnati, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The judges said that’s because when referrals were banned, Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio did not apply for funding. When the referrals were again allowed, the group, which also provides abortions, returned. And when that happened, the award to the state’s health department decreased by $1.8 million.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the result could be that the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate might need to make changes or risk losing funding.

A third judge, Karen Nelson Moore, who was nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, dissented, saying her colleagues misunderstand the regulations.

REPUBLICANS CAN WIN ON ABORTION IF PRO-LIFERS TELL THEIR STORIES

The bigger case remains in the court system.

The abortion landscape has changed drastically since the lawsuit was initially filed. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established a nationwide right to abortion.

Since then, most Republican-controlled states, including most of those challenging the Biden administration policy, have enacted bans or strict limits.

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Ohio adopted a ban on abortion after cardiac activity can be detected, about six weeks into pregnancy, which is often before women know they’re pregnant. But a court blocked enforcement, and voters last month adopted an amendment to the state constitution enshrining the right to abortion.



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Lunar mining raises key legal questions as new space race heats up


According to international space laws, no nation can claim sovereignty over the moon or other outer space entities. That’s why NASA is turning to private companies to advance its outer space goals. 

“If we want to maintain our lead, then we need to continue to invest and ensure that we’re the ones setting the pace and not another entity,” said Michael Usowski, senior defense intelligence analyst for space and counterspace at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

The initial space race to the moon brought about the United Nations 1966 treaty, which determined nations could not claim property rights in space. In the new space age, officials warn, China could ignore those laws and norms to advance its goals. 

“No sovereign country is supposed to plant that flag,” DIA’s John Huth, chief of the office of space and counterspace, said. “But we’ve also seen China do things in the South China Sea where they’ve built islands and then have claimed some exclusion zone around it. So, those are the things that we certainly want to keep an eye on.” 

HOW RARE EARTH ELEMENTS FACTOR INTO CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin next to U.S. flag on moon

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands beside an American flag placed on the moon in 1969.  (Bettmann/Contributor)

Lawmakers are also watching China and warn a new set of rules could be necessary to make sure everyone plays fair.

“We need some updated space law for sure. As space becomes not only available for mining, but it’s really becoming a warfighting domain as well,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said.

With rapidly advancing space programs, there are now more questions over who can explore and mine the moon’s resources

“It’s kind of opaque as far as what and when it comes to mineral extraction, whether or not there are any prohibitions against actually taking minerals away from the moon or another celestial body and then bringing them back to the earth,” Usowski said. 

The U.S. and other countries have been passing their own laws to allow for further exploration. 

“We make our own rules, so to speak,” Huth said. “There’s nothing that really precludes any one country from extracting minerals from the moon or other planets. It’s a matter of developing those best practices.”

A 2015 U.S. law asks private companies to explore outer space resources. President Donald Trump’s 2020 executive order encourages advancements in space mining. 

“An interesting piece on the treaty is it only looks at nation states. It doesn’t really pay much attention to commercial concerns,” Usowski said. “So, that’s an area that I think greater specificity would help as we see the greater commercialization of space.”

US-CHINA SPACE RACE FOR MOON MINING HEATS UP

The U.S. plans to return to the lunar surface by the end of the year by utilizing commercial partnerships. Private company Astrobotic will provide the launch and lander for the unmanned Peregrine Mission. 

“We have a flourishing commercial space sector in the United States, and I think encouraging that continued growth, working with our national organizations such as NASA, will allow us to be the leaders for that change for the positive,” Huth said.

NASA plans to contract commercial partners for up to five planned rover missions next year. It’s all part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative. China’s space program aligns more closely with its government.

“China is interesting in that there is a large amount of fusion between the civil and the government sector. So, it’s very difficult to separate the commercial concern from the government concerns,” Usowski said. “They’re very much intertwined with each other. So, one could reasonably assume that if a commercial entity is working on it that it’s funded and supported greatly by the nation state.”

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Satellites and other objects in orbit are compiled in national registers by country and reported to the United Nations. The U.S. has more objects in orbit than any other country. Landing, building and digging on solid ground in outer space is forcing the international community to rethink that shared space. 

“There’s certainly an understanding on Capitol Hill of the necessity to maintain that strong presence both from a government perspective, but also from that commercial perspective,” Huth said. 

Lawmakers and scientists agree while staying ahead of China is important, more needs to be studied about outer space resources before we consider it a reliable source to mine. 

“We need a dramatic increase in our ability to mine and process minerals both here in the United States and around the world,” Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said. 



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House Republicans anticipate vote to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry ‘soon’


A vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry of President Biden is likely to come before the House of Representatives breaks for the December recess, multiple Republicans said Friday.

House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told reporters he expected his committee to get the legislation “sometime next week,” which will likely tee up a House-wide vote shortly thereafter.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said he anticipates a House-wide vote “before we will break” on December 15.

“I think that every Republican should be convinced about voting for the impeachment inquiry, there’s plenty of smoke there,” Gimenez said.

WEISS SAYS HE ‘WASN’T GRANTED’ SPECIAL ATTORNEY AUTHORITY IN HUNTER BIDEN PROBE DESPITE REQUEST: TRANSCRIPT

Biden

President Biden is the subject of a months-long investigation by House Republicans. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

They spoke after a closed-door House GOP Conference meeting where the three chairmen investigating Biden and his family – Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.; Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. – reiterating their case for lawmakers.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said the meeting was held “to see where the votes are and make sure everybody’s communicated with, people have had their chance to understand what an impeachment inquiry is versus impeachment.”

HOUSE OVERSIGHT SUBPOENAS HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN, ROB WALKER FOR TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

“It’s important we get it done as soon as possible so that we can move forward with this investigation,” Hern said. 

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., said a vote would likely come “soon” and contrasted the push to formalize Republicans’ impeachment inquiry with how House Democrats handled former President Trump, moving forward with the impeachment process without a House-wide vote.

Kevin Hern speaks to reporters

Rep. Kevin Hern said that House Republicans had met Friday to see ‘where the votes are’ on formalizing an impeachment inquiry into Biden. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“We’re actually trying to do it the right way,” Murphy said.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., directed the House to open an impeachment inquiry into Biden in September, but the White House has dismissed the probe as illegitimate without a formal vote on the matter. 

The administration’s resistance to cooperating with House investigators’ subpoenas has inspired even Republicans in districts won by Biden in 2020 to support formalizing the inquiry.

SPEAKER JOHNSON: BIDEN ENGAGING IN ‘COVER-UP’ OF ROLE IN HUNTER BUSINESS DEALINGS, IMPEACHMENT PROBE CONTINUES

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital, “This is what the administration has asked for.”

“The administration made it very clear, they weren’t going to actually work with our constitutional authority, unless we did the vote. Fine,” Schweikert said. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

Then-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy opened an impeachment inquiry without first holding a chamber-wide vote. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., said he would “very, very, firmly support” authorizing an impeachment inquiry.

“I believe we have an unregistered foreign agent as our President of the United States and I believe the evidence is in place already to establish that,” he said.

Asked when he believed a House-wide vote could occur, Duarte said, “I think, if we have the votes, it would be by the end of the year.”

Oversight Democrats sent out a 5-page memo Friday morning rebutting Republicans’ claims, citing a “mountain of evidence” they said clears Biden of any wrongdoing.

“Rather than accept these facts, Republicans have resorted to cherry-picking and distorting facts in order to justify continuing this sham investigation aimed at satisfying the demands for retribution of President Trump who was twice indicted and now faces 91 felony counts,” the memo read.



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Blackburn urges answers on removal of CCP from Dept. of Commerce entity list


FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is seeking answers from the U.S. Department of Commerce on why the Chinese Communist Party’s Institute for Forensic Sciences was removed from the department’s Entity List, which restricts trade from certain groups or individuals. 

Entities listed by Commerce are typically involved in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests. The trade control list includes foreign individuals, businesses, research institutions, government organizations and other branches that are subject to specific licensing requirements for the export, re-export or transfer of certain items. 

“This deeply misguided decision to lift sanctions on the CCP — as China continues to indoctrinate our children through social media and poison Americans with fentanyl — will only embolden President Xi,” Marshburn wrote to the department’s secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday. 

Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; JD Vance, R-Ohio; and Katie Boyd Britt, R-Ala., co-signed the letter. 

WHITE HOUSE RECOGNIZES ‘BEST OF THE BEST’ OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN FIGHT AGAINST FENTANYL, DRUG TRAFFICKING 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The department reportedly removed the CCP-run institute in hopes of halting China’s illicit fentanyl precursor exports. 

“While we agree that stopping the CCP’s exportation of these precursors is paramount and long overdue, your administration’s strategy is misguided,” Blackburn wrote. “By preemptively removing the Institute from the entity list, you continue to show weakness on the world stage.”

“We must also continue to stand for human rights around the world. In 2020, President Trump put the Institute on the sanctions list because of their abuse of the Uyghurs. The CCP — and the Institute for Forensic Sciences — subjects the Uyghurs to unthinkable evil,” the letter continued. 

Blackburn also linked America’s fentanyl crisis to the Biden administration’s border policies and urged a focus on border security measures and to “punish the criminal Mexican cartels who have partnered with the Chinese to poison Americans with fentanyl.”

MEXICAN CARTELS’ DRUG DEALINGS ‘TOP PRIORITY’ AS FENTANYL POURS ACROSS SOUTHERN BORDER, DEA SAYS

Fentanyl billboard

A billboard put up by Families Against Fentanyl displays its message in El Monte, California, on April 6.  (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

In July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the Chinese communist regime “bears responsibility” for helping tackle the fentanyl crisis in the U.S. — pointing to areas in which China can assist the U.S. in stopping the drug getting into the country.

“The precursor chemicals, many of which have legal use, the precursor chemicals, the pill presses that are used to manufacture fentanyl, it’s extremely easy to manufacture, it’s extremely quick, it’s easy to conceal,” he said at the time. “We seized vertical, long vertical candles that were hollowed out with pills. China bears responsibility. We need their assistance in interdicting the chemicals and pill presses that are going in volumes that don’t reflect legitimate use.”

HOUSE HOMELAND GOP REPORT ACCUSES MAYORKAS OF ‘INTENTIONAL’ DERELICTION OF DUTY OVER BORDER CRISIS

The U.S. and China flags

A New York Times report explained that tensions between the U.S. and China have threatened exchange student programs, which have been an anchor of goodwill between the two superpowers. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

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Illicit fentanyl is typically created in Mexico by cartels in labs with the use of precursors shipped over from China. The U.S. has called for an international coalition to combat the crisis and has appealed for help from both China and Mexico.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 



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Fox News Politics: Santos sayonara


Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

SANTOS EXPELLED …Read more

The House voted to expel Rep. George Santos 311 to 114 Thursday. Santos walked out of the House chamber just before all the votes that sealed his fate were cast and did not answer reporters’ questions on his way out. 

Slightly more Republicans voted not to expel Santos than to let him stay. But the overwhelming feeling was clearly that Santos needed to go. 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said he was concerned about the precedent it sets to expel a member of congress who has not been convicted (Santos faces several charges in federal court).

New York Republican Rep, Nicole Malliotakis, however, said “it sets a bad precedent that [Santos] stole money from his donors…”

Representative George Santos (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DEMS BACK SANTOS: These 4 Dems bucked their party on vote to expel George Santos from Congress …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

FIGHT NIGHT: Here are the top moments from the DeSantis v Newsom showdown …Read more

‘EVEN DEBATE’: Trump says DeSantis, Newsom ‘both worked hard’ and in Red State vs Blue State showdown …Read more

‘KISS OF DEATH’: Trump campaign calls DeSantis ‘thirsty’ for debating Newsom …Read more

‘THIS IS A MASSACRE’: Conservatives praise DeSantis for ‘complete and total’ debate win over Newsom …Read more

TROUBLE AHEAD? Democrats still wondering whether Biden is best candidate for 2024 …Read more

‘TOUGHEST UPHILL CLIMB’: Political forecaster reveals shift towards GOP in top 2024 Senate race …Read more

NOT IMMUNE: Trump could face civil lawsuits related to Jan 6, appeals court rules …Read more

Capitol Hill

NOT AGAIN: GOP senators call for China travel ban to prevent spread of mystery illness …Read more

AMNESTY OR BUST? Dems want legal path for ‘long-standing’ illegal immigrants …Read more

ON THE MOVE: House passes bill to stop federal funds being used to house illegal immigrants …Read more

‘MOST TRANSPARENT’: Comer vows to release Hunter Biden transcript, schedule public hearing after first son is deposed …Read more

‘TRYING TO HIDE’: Democrat-led committee reject Epstein flight log subpoena request …Read more

White House Watch

‘TITANIC FIGURE’: Former White House staffers praise, critique the late Henry Kissinger …Read more

‘ECO-COLONIALISM’: Biden admin crackdown on oil drilling faces stiff opposition from Native Americans …Read more

‘NO SPECIAL TREATMENT’: Comer, Jordan demand Hunter Biden appear for deposition, say he will not receive ‘special treatment’ …Read more

Across the Nation

SCANDAL: Democrats call for resignation of Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler amid sexual battery allegations …Read more

‘SHAMEFUL’: Dem senator unleashes on Biden admin after EV actions boosting China …Read more

REQUIEM: Reagan historian looks back at historic O’Connor appointment: ‘most qualified’ …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.



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VA’s role in migrant medical care draws scrutiny from advocates as border crisis intensifies


A long-standing arrangement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to process claims for migrant medical care is drawing scrutiny from veterans’ advocates — who are concerned that it could affect the agency’s mission of caring for veterans — amid an ongoing border crisis and existing complaints about the care delivered to veterans.

“I’d like to understand why the VA is involved,” Russ Duerstine, executive director of Concerned Veterans for America and a veteran of the United States Air Force, told Fox News Digital.

When an illegal immigrant under ICE detention requires healthcare, they are typically treated on-site by medical professionals. However, if specialist or emergency care is required, they may be transported to an independent private provider.

VETERANS PLAGUED BY ERRORS IN HEALTH BENEFIT SYSTEM DUE TO COMPUTER MISHAP

In such cases, ICE contracts with the VA’s Financial Service Center (VA-FSC) to process reimbursements to those providers. According to a report from July, ICE has hundreds of letters of understanding in which ICE’s Health Service Corps (IHSC) will reimburse providers at Medicare rates. That uses the VA-FSC’s Healthcare Claims Processing System — a portal that allows providers to submit and view claims and access other resources.

Crowds at Mexican border

Migrants walk into U.S. custody after crossing the border from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 29. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

The arrangement long predates the Biden administration. It was outlined in a 2020 memo during the Trump administration, and the VA told Fox News Digital that it has an interagency agreement with the IHSC since 2002 to provide processing. The agency stressed that it is not the VA that either provides healthcare or pays for it.

“VA does not provide or fund any health care services to individuals detained in [ICE] custody. At no time are any VA health care professionals or VA funds used for this purpose,” VA press secretary Terrence Hayes told Fox News Digital. “[IHSC] provides and pays for all health care services for individuals detained in its custody.”

SENATE DEMS SAY ANY CHANGES TO ASYLUM SYSTEM MUST BE COUPLED WITH AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 

Hayes said the FSC, which is part of the VA’s Office of Management, is a “franchise fund organization that offers medical claims processing services to VA and other government agencies.” Under the agreement with IHSC, ICE pays fees for the claims processing services rendered and covers disbursements made to pay for claims.

“IHSC is solely responsible for the authorization of health care services and obtaining the providers to deliver the health care,” he said.

In a statement, ICE also said that the VA does not provide or fund any services to ICE detainees, instead providing funding to the VA-FSC for reimbursements, and that IHSC executed an operating budget of nearly $352 million on the “spectrum of healthcare services” to people in ICE custody in FY23.

But the arrangement has surprised some advocates for veterans, as well as ICE and Border Patrol agents Fox News Digital spoke to who are themselves veterans. VA officials were also asked about the arrangement at a Senate hearing last month by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and said they were not aware of it.

Darin Selnick, who served as veterans’ affairs adviser on the Domestic Policy Council during the Trump administration and also as a senior adviser to the VA secretary, said the arrangement was also a surprise to him and others he knew who served during the administration. He believes it would have been stopped if it was more widely known among officials.

ICE flight with Venezuelans

A flight operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement takes Venezuelan nationals back to Venezuela on Oct. 18, making it the first flight to resume repatriations of Venezuelan nationals who enter the U.S. illegally. (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

“In my position, we would have stopped this, because if the VA had the extra ability to do this, then they should have been doing it for the veterans and not for another agency,” he said.

Duerstine, of Concerned Veterans for America, said he would like to see Veterans’ Affairs committees in Congress take a deeper look into the VA’s role.

“That is the solution we need to have,” he said.

It also comes amid a historic crisis at the border, which saw more than 2.4 million migrant encounters by authorities at the southern border — although the Biden administration has moved away from detaining immigrants, including family units.

But it also comes amid ongoing tensions between veterans’ advocates and the VA over the use of community care, with the VA indicating they want to encourage the use of VA facilities rather than the use of independent providers and reimbursement. Video from an August employee town hall provided to Fox showed Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health Shereef Elnahal telling employees that the goal is to “reduce our reliance on community care” by maximizing care at VA facilities. He told employees to “press the easy button less with community care.”

“We should be relying on ourselves first and foremost more than anybody else,” he said, adding that “unless we maximize the number of veterans we see while also preventing burnout to the extent that we can, we cannot meet the mark for what veterans deserve.”

CLAIMS BACKLOG AT VA WILL DOUBLE TO 400K AS WORKERS FACE INCREASED RISK OF BURNOUT: REPORT

The VA has pushed back on claims that it is not providing adequate health care, pointing to statistics showing it provided the most health care appointments to veterans in VA history and trust scores reached 91%. Additionally, there were more than 44 million appointments via community care, the most in the agency’s history.

It has also highlighted high ratings of VA healthcare facilities, outpacing non-VA facilities, and a review of studies that suggest VA care is as good as, or better than, non-VA hospitals.

But the VA has also been struggling with burnout, and broader concerns about staffing shortages and backlogs in processing claims. Duerstine said the VA-ICE arrangement would probably be less of an issue if “the VA was not letting veterans down.”

“That is the real issue, veterans not getting health care they deserve through community care and being blocked every step of the way. There’s no excuse for it,” he said.

Selnick said there was a “history of a backlog of medical claims which has resulted in veterans getting bills they shouldn’t be getting, and… having dissatisfied community care providers who are not getting paid in a timely manner.”

“So when you’re talking about health care and you should be simply talking about supporting the VA mission for veterans’ health,” he said.

VA building sign in Washington DC

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs building is seen in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2019. (ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images)

A Border Patrol agent who spoke to Fox said that they had personally received good community care but other veterans they knew were struggling to access it, while illegal immigrants weren’t having that problem.

“They get pretty much not what they want, but pretty much what they need, whether it’s a specialist…they get it,” the agent said.

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The agent also highlighted low-income veterans who were facing additional struggles: “And we’re here helping everybody else, in our own backyard.”

An ICE agent who is also a veteran told Fox News Digital they had repeatedly struggled to access community care for certain health care services — including for services like neurology — and were frustrated that illegal immigrants were able to be seen in the community by providers.

“We served in the military in this country and we have these benefits to use in the VA, and I pay an exorbitant amount of taxes to this country and I can’t even get seen for basic needs,” the agent said. “But illegals can, they can literally cross the border with all these preexisting medical injuries or illnesses or whatever they have going on, and they literally walk right into a primary care doctor or specialty care doctor and get whatever services they need.”





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Another GOP candidate enters crowded primary for Michigan Sen. Stabenow’s seat


  • Republican businessman Sandy Pensler has announced his bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Democratic four-term incumbent Debbie Stabenow.
  • Pensler, who unsuccessfully sought his party’s nomination for the same seat in 2018, joins former U.S. Reps. Peter Meijer and Mike Rogers, as well as former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, in the hotly-contested race for the potential swing seat.
  • The primary’s winner will face off against the Democratic nominee, likely either Lansing-area Rep. Elissa Slotkin or Good Doctor actor Hill Harper, in the general election.

Detroit-area businessman Sandy Pensler launched his second campaign for U.S. Senate on Friday, joining close to a dozen other Republican candidates in Michigan who are hoping to flip the open seat for the first time in over two decades.

Pensler lost the GOP primary for Senate in 2018 by over 9 percentage points to now-U.S. Rep. John James, who would go on to lose to incumbent Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Pensler poured millions into his primary bid at the time.

“The American experiment is in big trouble. It’s burning,” Pensler said in campaign video Friday. “I believe we can turn it around but we need to apply basic morals, take responsibility and fight like hell.”

EX-HOUSE REPUBLICAN WHO VOTED TO IMPEACH TRUMP RUNNING FOR SENATE IN MICHIGAN

Pensler joins a crowded field of Republican candidates that includes former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer and former Detroit Police Chief James Craig. The Republicans are vying for a seat that’s been held by Democrats since 2001 but that will be vacated by Stabenow, who is retiring at the end of next year.

Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Chairwoman speaks at a press conference on the introduction of legislation to help Americans with the nationwide baby formula shortage at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 17, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin has led a field of Democratic candidates that also includes actor Hill Harper. Slotkin had nearly $4 million more in the bank than any other Senate candidate through September, according to campaign finance numbers released in October.

Pensler owns Pensler Capital, an investment group, and The Korex Cos., which manufactures detergents and cleaners. In 2018, Pensler said that he contributed nearly $5 million of his own money to jumpstart his campaign.

In his campaign video posted to social media, Pensler said it was time to take “the Senate back from the morons.”

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Former President Donald Trump’s potential endorsement in the Senate race could have a large impact in a state that he won in 2016. Trump endorsed James over Pensler in 2018.



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Trump is not immune from civil lawsuits related to Jan. 6, federal appeals court rules


A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that former President Donald Trump is not immune to facing civil lawsuits relating to the events on Jan. 6, 2021.

Sri Srinivasan, the Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, wrote in a filing that Capitol Police officers and members of Congress who were at the U.S. Capitol that day have submitted cases seeking civil damages “for harms they allege they suffered arising from the riot,” with the sole defendant in the lawsuits being named as Trump.

“According to the plaintiffs, President Trump’s actions, including ultimately his speech on January 6, sparked the ensuing riot at the Capitol,” he said.

Srinivasan, who is part of a three-judge panel, said Trump has moved in the district court to dismiss the claims against him, “including on grounds of a President’s official-act immunity from damages liability.” 

BIDEN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SAYS TRUMP CAN BE SUED BY POLICE, DEMOCRATS OVER JAN. 6 RIOT

Trump at January 6 event

President Donald Trump greets the crowd at the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 06, 2021. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

“The district court largely rejected his claim of immunity, and President Trump now appeals. The sole issue before us is whether President Trump has demonstrated an entitlement to official-act immunity for his actions leading up to and on January 6 as alleged in the complaints,” Srinivasan wrote. “We answer no, at least at this state of the proceedings.”

Srinivasan said that “since the Supreme Court’s decision in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, Presidents have carried out their official responsibilities free from any exposure to civil damages liability” and that decision “established a President’s absolute immunity from civil damages claims predicated on his official acts.”

But he continued by saying that “the President, though, does not spend every minute of every day exercising official responsibilities” and “when he acts outside the functions of his office, he does not continue to enjoy immunity from damages liability just because he happens to be the President.”

APPEALS COURT REINSTATES GAG ORDER IN TRUMP FRAUD CASE

Former President Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump waves to the crowd on the field during halftime in the Palmetto Bowl between Clemson and South Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen,” Srinivasan said.

He explained that when a “first-term President opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act.”

Srinivasan also wrote that “in arguing that he is entitled to official-act immunity in the cases before us, President Trump does not dispute that he engaged in his alleged actions up to and on January 6 in his capacity as a candidate. But he thinks that does not matter.”

Protesters outside of the Capitol

Trump supporters occupy the West Front of the Capitol and the inauguration stands on Jan. 6, 2021. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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“Rather, in his view, a President’s speech on matters of public concern is invariably an official function, and he was engaged in that function when he spoke at the January 6 rally and in the leadup to that day,” he concluded. “We cannot accept that rationale.”



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Trump says DeSantis, Newsom ‘both worked hard’ and ‘both did well’ in Red State vs Blue State debate


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EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump reacted to the debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, telling Fox News Digital he thinks “they both worked hard and they both did well.” 

Fox News hosted “The Great Red State vs. Blue State Debate,” which was moderated by Sean Hannity Thursday night.

DeSantis, who is running for president in 2024, and Newsom, who made clear he was not, faced off in a first-of-its kind showdown, clashing on a number of policies related to abortion, crime, taxes and COVID-19.

RED VS BLUE STATE DEBATE HIGHLIGHTS: TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM THE DESANTIS, NEWSOM SLUGFEST

Donald Trump wearing a red make america great again hat

Former President Trump. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Trump, who has a commanding lead over the Republican presidential primary field, watched the debate.

“I thought it was a very even debate,” Trump said. “They both worked hard and they both did well.”

The former president has had some harsh words for DeSantis along the campaign trail, but did not make any additional comments about the Florida governor.

NEWSOM, DESANTIS DEBATE GETS HEATED OVER COVID, TAX POLICES: ‘YOU DID A LOT OF DAMAGE’

The conversation Thursday night quickly shifted from issues facing each state, to 2024, with DeSantis saying Newsom is “joined at the hip with Biden and (Vice President Kamala) Harris.”

Ron DeSantis, left, and Gavin Newsom

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred on various topics during the debate Thursday evening. (FOX News)

DeSantis also said Biden is “in decline” and represents “a danger to the country.” 

However, Newsom stressed his support for Biden and his re-election campaign.

“I’m proud of the work Biden and Harris have done,” Newsom said. “I will take Joe Biden at 100 rather than Ron DeSantis any day of the week at any age.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN CALLS DESANTIS ‘THIRSTY ONLYFANS WANNABE’ FOR DEBATING NEWSOM: ‘KISS OF DEATH’

Newsom did take the opportunity, though, to take a swipe at DeSantis and his campaign.

“How’s that going for you, Ron? You’re down 41 points in your own home state,” Newsom said. 

“Neither of us will be the nominee for our party in 2024,” Newsom told DeSantis at one point.

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The RealClearPolitics polling average has Trump leading Biden, 47% to 45.3% in a general election match-up. 

As for the Republican primary, the RealClearPolitics polling average places Trump in first place at 62%. DeSantis is in second place with 13.6%. 



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Newsom and Biden share weak polling numbers, but not the president’s biggest vulnerability


Democrats are still wondering whether President Biden is the best candidate to lead them into the 2024 election.

And whether they win or lose with Biden at the top of the ticket next year, the party will eventually need to find a new leader.

Last night, California Governor Gavin Newsom came to Fox News to be that leader.

But his polling numbers show that if he wants to be the new face of the left, he has an upward climb ahead of him.

DESANTIS-NEWSOM DEBATE LEADS TO ONLINE FIRESTORM AS CONGRESSMAN CALLS CALI ‘A WARNING FOR THE NATION’

In fact, the California governor shares weak levels of support with Biden across the board. There is just one notable difference between the current and would-be commander-in-chief.

Govs. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., went head-to-head in a heated debate Thursday. (Fox News)

In California, voters do not like Newsom any more than Biden

President Biden’s national approval rating is often lower than Governor Newsom’s approval in California, but that comparison obviously isn’t fair, since the governor’s home state leans more blue than the country does.

Instead, we can compare the two leaders’ approval ratings only in California. If Newsom is a more popular political figure, then his rating should be higher than Biden’s. 

According to recent survey data, Newsom’s approval rating in California is the same as the president’s rating. Biden sits at 45% approval and 51% disapproval in an October Berkeley/IGS survey, while Newsom sits at an all-time low of 43% approval and 49% disapproval.

TOP TAKEAWAYS, REAL WINNER OF DESANTIS, NEWSOM DEBATE

Newsom also performs about the same as Biden with voting groups that are key to a Democratic win:

  1. Women give Biden 45% and Newsom 46%
  2. Suburban voters give Biden 44% and Newsom 41%
  3. Black voters give Biden 53% and Newsom 57%
  4. Moderates give Biden 41% and Newsom 38%

It is possible that as Newsom introduces himself to the country, he will become more popular outside his home state than within? So far, we are absent data to prove that. 

President Joe Biden

President Biden’s national approval rating is often lower than Governor Newsom’s approval in California. (Kevin Dietsch)

If Newsom were on the ballot against Trump, there is no evidence so far that he would perform better than Biden 

In a Fox News survey conducted this November, Biden received 46% to Trump’s 50% among registered voters in a head-to-head matchup, a statistically insignificant four-point margin between the two candidates.

In a hypothetical matchup between Newsom and Trump, the California Governor receives 45% support with Trump at 49%, also a 4 point margin. 

It’s a similar story among the key voting groups versus Trump:

  1. Biden gets 50% of women, Newsom gets 49%
  2. Biden gets 49% of suburban voters, Newsom gets 55%
  3. Biden gets 69% of Black voters, Newsom also gets 69%
  4. Biden gets 49% of moderates, Newsom gets 50%

These figures suggest that both Biden and Newsom are attracting the base party vote and not much else. In other words, they are receiving support from voters who will always choose the Democratic Party candidate, no matter which name is on the ticket.

Donald Trump wearing a red make america great again hat

In a hypothetical matchup between Newsom and Trump, the California Governor receives 45% support with Trump at 49%. (Sean Rayford)

Newsom would need to make inroads with moderates, independents and/or undecided voters to separate himself from Biden.

 . . . But Newsom is much younger than Biden

The clear difference between the two candidates is age.

Large majorities say Biden is too old to serve. That includes voters in the battleground states, and key Democratic-leaning voting groups. According to an early November New York Times Times/Siena poll

  1. Overall, 71% of voters in battleground states say Biden is “just too old to be an effective president.” In the same states:
  2. 74% of women voters agree
  3. 69% of voters in suburban areas agree
  4. 56% of Black voters agree

Pollsters haven’t asked whether Newsom is too old to be an effective president, but with Newsom at 56 years old and Biden at 81, they don’t need to.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Gov. Newsom has repeatedly said he will not run against President Biden in 2024. (Justin Sullivan)

Televised debates between politicians not running against each other are rare. (According to the Los Angeles Times, the last one took place in 1967, between California’s then-Governor Ronald Reagan and New York’s Senator Robert F. Kennedy.)

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It is hard to imagine that Newsom would command enough national political attention to warrant a primetime television debate without Biden’s age problem.

That vulnerability will not go away as Election Day draws closer.



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Former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel announces candidacy for state Supreme Court race in 2025


  • Former Attorney General Brad Schimel is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court against incumbent Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in the April 2025 election.
  • The Republican is the first candidate to challenge Bradley, but other conservatives are considering entering the race.
  • Schimel has been a vocal supporter of Wisconsin’s voter ID law and defended Republican-drawn legislative maps in previous legal challenges.

Former Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel announced Thursday that he is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court against incumbent Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in 2025, casting the race as a chance for conservatives to win back a majority and serve as a check on liberals.

Bradley is part of a 4-3 liberal majority that took control of the court in August. She has said she will run for a fourth 10-year term. Schimel, a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge, is the first candidate to announce plans to challenge Bradley in the April 2025 election, but other conservatives are considering getting in the race.

CHIEF JUSTICE OF WISCONSIN’S SUPREME COURT SAYS THE NEW LIBERAL MAJORITY STAGED A ‘COUP’

In his comments announcing his candidacy as prepared for delivery, Schimel said: “There is no check on this new liberal Supreme Court majority.”

Brad Schimel

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel speaks during his inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Jan. 5, 2015. Schimel is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court against incumbent Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)

“The only check on them is to take back the majority by winning in 2025,” he said.

WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT WEIGHS CHALLENGE TO CONSTITUTIONALITY OF STATE-FUNDED SCHOOL CHOICE PROGRAMS

Schimel has been outspoken on abortion and some other political issues that are almost certain to get more attention during the race. Abortion was a key issue in the Supreme Court race this year won by liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, who ran as a supporter of abortion rights.

As Waukesha County district attorney in 2012, Schimel endorsed a Wisconsin Right to Life legal white paper that argued for keeping on the books the state’s ban on abortions except to save the mother’s life. A challenge to that ban is expected to come to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, though Planned Parenthood has been offering abortions since September based on a circuit court judge’s interpretation of the law. As Wisconsin’s attorney general, Schimel supported laws in Indiana and Ohio that limited abortion access.

Schimel also was a staunch supporter of Wisconsin’s voter ID law, which he suggested may have been why former President Donald Trump won the state in 2016. Schimel, as attorney general, joined a multistate coalition that sued to overturn the Affordable Care Act. He also defended Republican-drawn legislative maps that are being challenged before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Schimel, 58, served one term as attorney general starting in 2015. He lost his reelection bid in 2018 to Democrat Josh Kaul. Then-Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, appointed Schimel as a judge after his own defeat but shortly before they both left office. Before being elected attorney general, Schimel spent 25 years as a Waukesha County prosecutor.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler said in a statement Thursday night that Schimel “doesn’t deserve a promotion to our state’s highest court.”

“Wisconsinites rejected Brad Schimel after a single term as attorney general because his extreme politics and inept mismanagement became too great to ignore, with thousands of rape kits left untested at the State Crime Lab and millions of dollars wasted on partisan efforts to suppress voting rights and push new restrictions on abortion access,” Wikler said.

Bradley, 73, was first elected to the Supreme Court in 1995 and is the longest-serving justice on the court. She won her last election in 2015 by 16 points.

Bradley did not return a text message seeking comment.

WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT FLIPS FROM CONSERVATIVE TO LIBERAL CONTROL FOR FIRST TIME IN 15 YEARS

The court is weighing several high-profile cases that were filed after Protasiewicz’s win in April gave liberals a majority. In addition to the redistricting challenge, the court is considering whether to hear cases seeking to overturn Wisconsin’s private school voucher program and to weaken powers the Republican-controlled Legislature have used to block pay raises for University of Wisconsin employees.

Protasiewicz’s race was the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history. With majority control in play again in 2025, Bradley’s race is likely to break spending records.

Republicans have floated the possibility of impeaching Protasiewicz over comments she made during the campaign voicing her opposition to an abortion ban and Republican-drawn electoral maps.

Schimel said the Protasiewicz race set a dangerous precedent.

“We need to restore confidence in the people of Wisconsin that the justice system will be fair and impartial,” Schimel said in his prepared remarks. “I will be honest about my principles, but will never prejudge a case and will never put my views above the law.”



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Arizona rep calls for National Guard deployment to help deal with Tucson migrant surge


FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., is calling for the deployment of Arizona’s National Guard to the southern border to help authorities deal with a surge in migrants to the Tucson Sector.

Fox News reported on Thursday that the border has seen 9,400+ encounters in a 24-hour period. Border Patrol apprehended around 7,700 of those, led by the Tucson Sector with almost 3,000 encounters.

“Tucson Sector is leading in encounters and our agents and officers are overrun and undermanned,” Ciscomani says in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “The situation is far past a breaking point and those on the frontlines of this crisis are in need of immediate support.”

WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS

DOUGLAS, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 03: U.S.Border Patrol agents take an immigrant from Mexico into custody after pursuing and capturing him near the U.S.-Mexico border on November 03, 2022 near Douglas, Arizona. ( (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images))

Ciscomani calls on Mayorkas to “immediately request that the Department of Defense deploy the Arizona National Guard to help with this dire situation.”

While the state government can also deploy the state’s National Guard, that would be at Arizona’s expense, while a move by DHS and the Pentagon would mean the federal government would bear the expense.

BORDER PATROL SAYS IT’S PAUSING SOCIAL MEDIA TO DEAL WITH MIGRANT SURGE 

The Biden administration deployed troops to the border in the Spring in anticipation of a surge of migration when the Title 42 public health order ended in May. Meanwhile, a number of other states also deployed personnel — including the National Guard — to the border.

Numbers border-wide increased over the summer, bringing FY 23 to a new record for encounters. September marked a monthly record in encounters, and numbers dipped in October, but the new surge has again raised concerns at a time of year where encounters typically slow down.

CBP has been surging resources and personnel to the Tucson Sector — which typically sees less traffic than other sectors like the Rio Grande Valley– and has been focusing on transporting migrants laterally to other parts of the border combined with a greater use of expedited removal as an alternative to them being released into the U.S. The Biden administration has promised to increase the use of the authority — and has requested resources to do so as part of its $14 billion supplemental request to Congress for border operations, including staffing and non-custodial housing.

The Biden administration has said it is dealing with a Hemisphere-wide crisis and needs Congress to act to provide more funding for the border processes, while also calling on Republicans to support a comprehensive immigration bill it unveiled on day one of the administration.

Republicans have rejected that legislation, and instead introduced a bill of their own which would increase border security funding while increasing limits on asylum and the use of humanitarian parole. Republicans have blamed the ongoing crisis on the policies of the administration — including its rollback of Trump-era policies.

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“Our CBP agents and officers continue to be undermanned and overrun at every turn of the border crisis,” Ciscomani said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Biden administration must take action to fix this crisis of their own creation and the best way to start is by providing CBP with the support they deserve. By immediately deploying the National Guard in Arizona, we provide the men and women charged with securing our border the much-needed reinforcement to do their jobs.”’

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.





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DeSantis Newsom debate: Conservative reactions


Conservatives across social media celebrated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ debate performance against California Gov. Gavin Newsom and outlined why they thought he won the Fox News debate.

“DeSantis is kicking Newsom’s ass,” conservative radio host Mark Levin posted on X. “In fact, Newsom is looking and sounding silly.” 

“DeSantis went up against the Democrat Party star and whipped him,” Levin added in another post. “It’s just that simple.”

“I was 100% wrong on this debate. I thought Gavin Newsom would be likable and intelligent,” Outkick founder Clay Travis posted on X. “I was incorrect. This is a massacre. If this were a boxing match, Newsom’s corner would have thrown in the towel a long time ago. Complete and total win for DeSantis from open to close.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN CALLS DESANTIS ‘THIRSTY ONLYFANS WANNABE’ FOR DEBATING NEWSOM: ‘KISS OF DEATH’

a side-by-side photo of Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom ((Fox News/Getty))

“My daughter died in the Parkland mass shooting,” Andrew Pollack, father of Parkland victim Meadow Pollack, posted on X. “Ron DeSantis was not even Governor when it happened, but I’m sure as hell glad he became Governor shortly after. Governor DeSantis fired the incompetent people responsible, he didn’t demonize lawful gun owners. Newsom is trash!”

“Holy cow,” conservative commentator Chris Loesch posted on X. “If you aren’t blind you are witnessing the dismantling of the California Governor. Hannity puts up the graphic of the facts and then Gavin says the opposite is true… DeSantis is destroying him with simple comparison of records!”

LIBERAL COLUMNIST PRAISES ‘PATRIOTIC’ NEWSOM FOR ‘SHADOW CAMPAIGN,’ SLAMS DEMOCRATS FOR BACKING BIDEN

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Fox News Digital)

“I’ve never see anything like this,” conservative commentator Dave Rubin posted on X. “Newsom literally can’t say one sentence that is true. DeSantis is calmly just laying out facts and reality. This disconnect from reality Newsom and the Left have is exactly what needed to be exposed. Is there anyone on Twitter dot com that thinks Newsom is a good job here?”

“I think DeSantis just ended Newsom’s POTUS ambitions,” Substack publisher Jordan Schachtel posted on X. “Exposed him as a soulless lizard person. Landed haymakers all night. Best gov in the nation showed up in top form tonight.”

A Newsom spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to social media posts from some conservatives who thought DeSantis lost the debate, including GOP strategist Mike Madrid who posted on X that Newsom was “bludgeoning” the Florida governor.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (Fox News Digital)

Newsom took to social media after the debate and posted: “That was fun — I could have kept going!”



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Top 5 moments from the DeSantis, Newsom slugfest


The Fox News debate between Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had several tense moments as the two governors clashed over policies related to abortion, crime, taxes and COVID-19.

The first-of-its-kind showdown hosted by Fox News’ Sean Hannity put a spotlight on various areas of disagreement between Newsom and DeSantis. The two governors have sought to tackle key issues facing their states with divergent approaches.

Here are five of the most memorable moments from the debate.

DESANTIS VS NEWSOM DEBATE HEATS UP WITH CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS INCLUDING TAXES, COVID-19 | LIVE UPDATES

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom sparred on various topics during the debate Thursday evening. (Fox News)

1. DeSantis confronts Newsom with sexually-explicit children’s book

During an exchange about Florida’s laws prohibiting certain sexually-explicit books in schools, DeSantis defended his actions by showing Newsom images of one of the books banned.

“This is a book that’s in some of the schools in California — in Florida, it’s not consistent with our standards — it’s called ‘Genderqueer.’ Some of it’s blacked out. You probably would not be able to put this on air,” DeSantis remarked. 

“This is pornography. It’s cartoons. It’s aimed at children and it’s wrong,” he continued. “So, this should not be in schools. When people on the left say that somehow you are ‘banning books’ by removing this from a young kid’s classroom — this is not age appropriate.”

He added he would pursue a policy to outlaw such books from classrooms nationwide if elected president, explaining that some states shouldn’t be allowed to “trample on the rights of parents.”

LIBERAL COLUMNIST PRAISES ‘PATRIOTIC’ NEWSOM FOR ‘SHADOW CAMPAIGN,’ SLAMS DEMOCRATS FOR BACKING BIDEN

Newsom, though, accused DeSantis of waging a “cultural purge” of books.

“You want to roll back hard-earned national rights on voting rights, on civil rights, and LGBTQ rights, on women’s rights, not just access to abortion, but also access to contraception. You want to weaponize grievance, you are focusing on false separateness. You in particular run on a banning binge, a cultural purge, intimidating and humiliating people,” Newsom said.

“We actually require parental engagement on curriculum development, and we don’t completely lie. We don’t require K through 3rd grade sexual education. That doesn’t happen until middle school. What you’re doing is using education as a sword for your cultural purge,” Newsom added.

NEWSOM, DESANTIS DEBATE GETS HEATED OVER COVID, TAX POLICES: ‘YOU DID A LOT OF DAMAGE’

2. ‘Freedom to defecate in public’

DeSantis blasted Newsom during the debate for claiming that California, not Florida is the “freedom state.” He noted that while California had certain freedoms other states did not, they were freedoms such as the “freedom to defecate in public.”

“Gavin Newsom at one point tried to say that California was the ‘freedom state,’” DeSantis remarked. “I just kind of laughed, like, you’re locking people down, you’re doing all this stuff. Then, I thought about it and California does have freedoms that other states don’t.”

“You have the freedom to defecate in public in California,” he added. “You have the freedom to pitch a tent on Sunset Boulevard. You have the freedom to create a homeless encampment under a freeway and light it on fire. You have the freedom to have an open air drug market. You have the freedom that, if you’re an illegal alien, to get all these taxpayer benefits. 

“So those are freedoms,” the Florida governor concluded. “They’re not the freedoms our founding fathers envisioned, but they have contributed to the destruction of the quality of life in California. And the results speak for themselves.”

Newsom then responded, saying he “loved the rant on freedom” and accused DeSantis of criminalizing teachers, doctors, librarians and women that “seek reproductive care.”

“Spare me this notion of freedom,” Newsom said. “Ask the folks at Disney about freedom and free enterprise.”

Later in the debate, to highlight the so-called “freedom to defecate,” DeSantis held up a map of San Francisco showing how human feces has been discovered in public in nearly every area of the city.

CONFIDENCE IN US PRESIDENCY HITS LOWEST POINT EVER AS TRUMP LEADS BIDEN IN 2024 REMATCH: SURVEY

3. ‘Shame on you!’: Newsom forcefully corrects DeSantis on pronunciation of ‘Kamala Harris’

During a discussion on school closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom forcefully interjected to scold DeSantis about how he pronounced Vice President Kamala Harris’ first name.

“And by the way, it’s not Kamala Harris,” Newsom said. “Shame on you! It’s Kamala Harris, Ron. It’s Kamala Harris, Madame Vice President to you. Kamala Harris,” Newsom said.

“Stop insulting,” he added.

While Newsom attempted to correct DeSantis’ pronunciation, the Florida governor continued to argue that the long-term closures of schools during the pandemic has harmed children who were forced into remote learning.

4. DeSantis blasts Soros-funded California prosecutor: ‘Gavin’s buddy Gascon’

DeSantis ripped Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascon — one of several left-wing prosecutors nationwide that have received campaign funding from liberal financier George Soros — for his handling of crime in Los Angeles. He said California’s rising crime rate is contributing to a growing number of residents fleeing the state.

“Here’s the thing,” DeSantis said. “People are leaving California in droves because [Newsom] has failed to stand up for public safety. They are on an ideological joyride to let people out of prison early, to go easy on them. Heck, Gavin’s buddy in Los Angeles, Gascon, he doesn’t even prosecute.”

“When I was in Southern California for the Reagan debate, I had a lot of women tell me they have to take off all their jewelry just to be able to go shopping because, otherwise, they’re going to get mugged,” he continued. “That is the reality that people are facing in California. Gavin can try to put lipstick on that pig, but the fact of the matter is he has failed the people of California.”

The Florida governor later noted that he removed prosecutors in Florida who received funding from Soros.

“They were endangering the public and I removed them from their posts,” he remarked. “And Gavin Newsom has not lifted a finger to rein in Gascon in L.A. — that that city has collapsed, that county has collapsed. He is not enforcing the law.”

Newsom then responded, blasting DeSantis for criticizing “one of the great American cities.”

“You’re talking down the great state of California, talking down one of the great American cities, Los Angeles. That’s insulting,” he said. “And you’re doing it because you’re trying to obfuscate the fact that you have a higher murder rate in the state of Florida. In the state of California, we have the lowest crime rate we’ve had in 50 years.”

In 2022, California’s violent crime rate increased 13.5% compared to 2019, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN CALLS DESANTIS ‘THIRSTY ONLYFANS WANNABE’ FOR DEBATING NEWSOM: ‘KISS OF DEATH’

5. Governors spar over handling of COVID-19 pandemic

The two governors then sparred over their handling of the pandemic with Newsom arguing DeSantis both locked down Florida before California shut down and that his lax policies led to a higher death rate in Florida. DeSantis, though, blasted Newsom for shutting his state down for an extended period of time and listening to the advice of teachers unions.

“You were not following science. You were a lock-down governor,” DeSantis said. “You did a lot of damage to your people. You had more kids locked out of school for a longer period of time in California than anywhere else in the country. It was the working-class kids. It was the middle income kids — his kids were in private school, they were in class. He is owned by the teachers union.”

“Let’s talk about your record on COVID,” Newsom responded. “You passed an emergency declaration before the state of California did. You closed down your beaches, your bars, your restaurants. It’s a fact. You had quarantines, checkpoints all over the state of Florida.”

“You were promoting vaccines. You even wore a mask,” he added. “He did all of that until he decided to fall prey to the fringe of his party. And as a consequence of that, tens of thousands of people lost their lives, the equivalent of ten 9/11s.”

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Newsom notably spearheaded one of the nation’s most stringent and aggressive approaches to combating COVID-19.

He was the first governor to lock down his state and the last to reopen schools during the pandemic. The governor has also repeatedly mocked DeSantis’ approach to handling the spread of COVID-19 as “BS,” pointing to the per capita death rate in Florida.

Fox News Digital reporters Adam Sabes and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report. 



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Henry Kissinger’s friends, former colleagues reflect on his legacy: ‘A titanic figure’


The late Henry Kissinger, an esteemed German-born diplomat and statesman known for his role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era, is described by former colleagues and friends as “a really brilliant negotiator.”

Kissinger died at the age of 100 on Wednesday. His legacy included vilification as well as a Nobel Peace Prize.

“And every negotiation, he understood that everybody has to learn something. You can’t have one side just completely eviscerate the other side,” KT McFarland, former President Trump’s deputy national security adviser, told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.

McFarland worked under Kissinger – her first boss – in the Nixon administration. He later became a mentor figure to her, she said. 

FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE HENRY KISSINGER DEAD AT 100

Henry Kissinger visits the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visits the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Dec. 9, 1981. (Ted Dully/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

“When Trump was elected, Henry returned the favor and suggested to President-elect Trump to hire me as his deputy national security adviser,” McFarland said. “So, my time with Henry goes from the full circle, from the White House Situation Room to the White House Situation Room in 45 years.”

As for the controversy surrounding his legacy, such as “secretly” opening the door to China relations, Mcfarland said, “Put him into the context of the times.”

Robert Charles, who served as assistant secretary of state at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs from 2003 to 2005, called Kissinger “a titanic figure in every sense of that word.”

“He was one of the largest political and diplomatic figures of the second half of the 20th century,” Charles told Fox News Digital. “He could manipulate and properly understand the motivations and help to create peaceful environments, using the pieces that were on the board.”

Richard Nixon meets with Henry Kissinger

President Nixon meets with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger outside the Oval Office on Sept. 16, 1972. (White House via CNP/Getty Images)

But Kissinger’s controversial policy with China was a significant shift in U.S. foreign relations. He initiated secret negotiations with China while serving as national security adviser under Nixon, culminating in Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972. This laid the groundwork for the normalization of relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, effectively breaking the isolation that had existed between the two nations since 1949.

The decision to recognize the People’s Republic of China as a legitimate government of China was a departure from the United States’ previous support for Taiwan. This move was criticized for abandoning a longtime ally in favor of establishing relations with a communist regime.

“The thinking at the time was if you could open China economically to free markets or began to integrate them into the global market, that economic freedom would lead to political freedom,” Charles said. “He was in many ways wrong about that, as was Nixon.”

Charles described Kissinger as “a great tactician.” He recalled seeing Kissinger “saunter down the hall with his thumbs in his belt loops” while working occasionally in the George H.W. Bush White House.

kissinger putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, April 29, 2015, near Moscow. (Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)

Kissinger had “an incredibly deep reservoir of knowledge,” Mike Pompeo, who served as secretary of state from 2018 to 2021 and director of the CIA from 2017 to 2018, told Fox News Digital. The two conversed on occasion, and every time, Pompeo said, he would walk away having learned something new. 

“He was just enormously helpful to me during my four years in service, and I think there are many other American leaders of both political parties who turned to him for important data, history, wisdom and guidance,” he said.

But “he did not view [China] as the malevolent actor that I do,” Pompeo said. “And it’s just a difference in judgment, so I don’t critique what he did in 1972. I think it made sense then, that set of policies and effort to get China to become more like us through engagement might even have made sense in 1982.”

He added, “But by 2022, it’s no longer a viable foreign policy process, at least in my view.”

KISSINGER SAYS IT WAS ‘GRAVE MISTAKE’ FOR GERMANY TO TAKE IN SO MANY MIGRANTS AMID PRO-HAMAS PROTESTS

Henry Kissinger medvedev

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, welcomes former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, left, on Dec. 12, 2008. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Ria Novosti/AFP via Getty Images)

Foreign policy strategist, former public official and author of the bestselling book, “The Hundred-Year Marathon: China’s Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower,” Michael Pillsbury, told Fox News Digital that he worked under Kissinger during the Reagan campaign. 

“And I was one of the few people who knew about the China opening, having worked for Kissinger. And in those days, all of the negative, all of the scary things about China was suppressed by Kissinger,” said Pillsbury, who later served as assistant undersecretary of defense for policy planning during the Reagan administration.

“The American policy toward China was based on a series of assumptions [that] turned out to be tragically inaccurate,” he said.

CHINA LEANS ON KISSINGER GOODWILL, BUT INFLUENCE ‘DILUTED,’ EXPERT SAYS

Kissinger, born in Germany in 1923, became a towering figure in American politics and diplomacy and was praised by supporters as a brilliant strategist and condemned by critics as a master political manipulator.

He fled Nazi persecution with his family and settled in the United States in 1938. Educated at Harvard University, he went on to become an academic and a significant authority on international relations.

He served as national security adviser and secretary of state under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, playing a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War era. His policy of détente aimed to ease tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and engage China, altering the dynamics of international relations. He conducted the first “shuttle diplomacy” in the quest for Middle East peace. 

Kissinger, Xi Jinping

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, meets former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the Great Hall of the People on November 8, 2018, in Beijing. (Thomas Peter/Pool/Getty Images)

Kissinger played a crucial role in the Vietnam War, actively engaging in negotiations with North Vietnam and overseeing the Paris Peace Accords that facilitated the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam. His strategies and choices during this period sparked controversy, drawing criticism for prolonged conflict and civilian casualties.

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In 1973, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside North Vietnam’s Le Duc Tho for their efforts in negotiating the Vietnam ceasefire. However, Tho declined the prize, citing the absence of real peace.



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