Pennsylvania Dem Gov. Josh Shapiro sides with state supreme court ruling not to count certain mail-in ballots
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is siding with the state’s high court after the justices ruled that faulty mail-in ballots can’t be counted amid a contentious recount, delivering a victory to Republican Party officials. The state Supreme Court reaffirmed its prior decision in a 4–3 ruling Monday that counties cannot count incorrectly dated or undated ballots. The decision singled out the Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, whom they said “SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified” for mail-in and absentee ballots in their Nov. 1 ruling. “Any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process,” said Shapiro, a Democrat. “The rule of law matters in Pennsylvania. … It is critical for counties in both parties to respect it with both their rhetoric and their actions.” As governor, Shapiro said he would “continue working to protect our democracy and the votes of all eligible Pennsylvanians.” REPUBLICANS FILE 12 PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUITS IN ‘AGGRESSIVE’ PUSH TO END RECOUNT The high court initially ruled on Nov. 1 that mail-in ballots without formally required signatures or dates should not be counted. Democratic-led election boards, however — including in Philadelphia, Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Centre County — balked at the ruling and voted to include such ballots in the recount. “People violate laws any time they want,” Democratic Bucks County commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia said last week, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.” Monday’s ruling came amid a slew of lawsuits filed by Republican Party officials in the midst of an aggressive Senate recount effort following the narrow victory of GOP candidate David McCormick over three-term Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. ‘ABSOLUTE LAWLESSNESS’: GOP BLASTS PA. DEMS’ RECOUNT EFFORT IN CASEY SENATE LOSS McCormick had defeated Casey by some 17,000 ballots in the state, or within the 0.5% margin of error. The narrow victory allowed Casey to qualify for an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law. The Republican National Committee criticized Shapiro for not speaking up sooner in defense of the court’s actions. “Heartening to see. Once Democrats came to the conclusion that even ignoring the Pennsylvania Supreme Court can’t scrape up enough ballots to win…,” RNC Chair Michael Whatley wrote on X. “Governor Shapiro suddenly discovers that he stands with the rule of law. Better late than never.” Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita said Pennsylvania elections officials would face jail time for counting incorrect mail-in ballots. “They will go to jail,” he wrote Sunday evening on X. “Count on it.” Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Delhi pollution soars to highest level, AQI breaches 500-mark
As recorded on Tuesday morning, the AQI of Anand Vihar, Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Jahagirpuri, Mundka, Rohini, Vivek Vihar, Wazirpur and Narela exceeded 500-mark.
Savarkar defamation case: Pune court summons Rahul Gandhi on December 2
Satyaki Savarkar had filed a complaint in a Pune court claiming Gandhi, in his speech in London in March 2023, stated that Savarkar had written in a book that he and five to six of his friends once beat up a Muslim man and he (Savarkar) felt happy.
Senate GOP initiates Thune-engineered slow down as Schumer looks to stack judicial votes
Senate Republicans opted to delay votes and draw out floor action on Monday night after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sought to stack additional judicial confirmation votes on the calendar ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Two sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the plan to slow down the Senate was spearheaded by Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who was recently elected as the next Republican Senate leader. “If Sen. Schumer thought Senate Republicans would just roll over and allow him to quickly confirm multiple Biden-appointed judges to lifetime jobs in the final weeks of the Democrat majority, he thought wrong,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. In response to the Democrat leader’s decision to file cloture on a number of judicial nominees, which would come up for confirmation votes in a number of days, Republicans plotted procedural maneuvers on the Senate floor to significantly delay votes, multiple GOP sources told Fox News. GOP CRIES FOUL ON DEM BORDER SPENDING BILL THEY SAY WOULD DRAG OUT MIGRANT CRISIS The additional cloture filings by Schumer come as Democrats are focusing their efforts on confirming as many judges nominated by President Biden as they can in the time they have left in the majority. During the first procedural vote of the evening, a source familiar told Fox News, “it could be a late night.” SPENDING BILL TROUBLE BREWS AS SEN MIKE LEE WARNS OF CHRISTMAS ‘SWAMPBUS’ In order to file cloture on a nomination, the Senate needs to transition from legislative session to executive session. This is typically done by unanimous consent from the Senate. But on Monday evening, Republicans began objecting to the requests for unanimous consent. When a senator objects, it requires the transition between executive and legislative sessions to be voted on. By objecting to Democrats’ unanimous consent requests in order to file cloture on the Biden nominees, Republicans are adding additional votes to the schedule, taking up a substantial amount of time. THUNE ‘ADAMANT’ ABOUT TRUMP SUPPORT, DRIVING MAGA AGENDA DESPITE TENSE PAST RELATIONSHIP Schumer’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. In floor remarks on Monday, Schumer emphasized that Democrats are prioritizing judges in the lame duck session. “The judges we’ve confirmed represent perhaps the widest range of backgrounds and experiences ever seen under any president. We have more judges that worked as public defenders, legal aid attorneys, civil rights lawyers, federal prosecutors, voting rights lawyers, and more women and people of color than we’ve ever had under one Administration,” he said of the 215 nominees that have already been confirmed. TOP GOP SENATORS WARN DOJ TO PRESERVE JACK SMITH DOCS IN TRUMP CASES, CITING ‘PAST DESTRUCTION’ OF RECORDS “After we vote today, we’ll keep going. Tonight, I will file on additional judges who we will move forward on the floor this week.” “So, let me repeat: the Senate is going to keep prioritizing judicial and administrative confirmations this week, this month, and for the rest of this year,” he said. During Biden’s term, his administration has sought to surpass President-elect Donald Trump’s first-term legacy of 234 confirmed Article III judicial nominees. And as Democrats look down the barrel of a Republican trifecta in Washington, D.C., controlling the House, Senate, and White House, they appear more energized than ever to push Biden’s judges through and potentially beat Trump’s number.
Trump nominates former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation
President-elect Trump announced that he is nominating former Congressman Sean Duffy of Wisconsin to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. “Sean has been a tremendous and well-liked public servant, starting his career as a District Attorney for Ashland, Wisconsin, and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District,” Trump said in his announcement on Monday. “Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!” While in Congress, Duffy helped advocate for fiscal responsibility, economic growth and rural development.
Trump campaign official says Pennsylvania Dems will face jail time over ballot recount
Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita predicted election officials in Pennsylvania will face jail time for counting mail-in ballots with either incorrect or missing dates after the state Supreme Court previously ruled such ballots should not be counted. “They will go to jail,” LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager, posted to his X account on Sunday evening. “Count on it.” LaCivita was reacting to a social media post touting a Washington Free Beacon article detailing that Democratic Sen. Bob Casey endorsed Democratic Bucks County commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia last year during her campaign for the position, before she and other Democratic commissioners in the state voted to count the disqualified ballots. “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” Ellis-Marseglia said Thursday as she and other Democrats voted to reject a GOP-led challenge to ballots that should be disqualified. PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS OPENLY ADMIT TO COUNTING ILLEGAL BALLOTS IN MCCORMICK-CASEY RACE Pennsylvania is in the midst of a ballot recount after Casey refused to concede his race against Sen.-elect Dave McCormick earlier this month. McCormick’s unofficial margin of victory stands at roughly 17,000 votes, or within the 0.5% threshold required under Pennsylvania law to trigger an automatic recount. “Pennsylvanians deserve to have their voices heard, and the worth of someone’s vote is not determined by how long it takes to be counted,” Casey wrote in an op-ed defending his decision to not concede the race. “When a Pennsylvanian takes the time to cast a legal vote, often waiting in long lines and taking time away from their work and family, they deserve to have their vote counted, whether it is the first ballot counted or the last.” The state Supreme Court ruled ahead of the election that mail-in ballots that do not include formally required signatures or dates should not be counted for the official tally of votes in the state. Democratic-led election boards, however — including in Philadelphia, Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Centre County — bucked the state high court’s ruling and voted to include such ballots in the recount. “People violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said last week, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.” REPUBLICANS FILE 12 PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUITS IN ‘AGGRESSIVE’ PUSH TO END RECOUNT In addition to Casey endorsing the Democratic commissioner during her campaign last year, Ellis-Marseglia, as well as fellow Democratic Bucks County commissioner Bob Harvie, donated a combined $2,600 to the Casey campaign this year, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Republicans have launched a bevy of lawsuits over including the disqualified ballots in the recount. Republican Party officials are filing 12 lawsuits in Pennsylvania in order to protect the Senate seat. ‘ABSOLUTE LAWLESSNESS’: GOP BLASTS PA. DEMS’ RECOUNT EFFORT IN CASEY SENATE LOSS Both national and state Republican parties have filed lawsuits in four counties across Pennsylvania, urging the courts to not count mail-in ballots with either incorrect or missing dates, in accordance with a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling this month. RNC officials challenged the notion that the Senate recount, which continues through Nov. 26, will change the outcome of the election in any substantive way. They have decried the effort, which costs an estimated $1 million, as a waste of taxpayer money, noting that since 2000 there have been just three statewide election recounts in Pennsylvania, and each has resulted in an average change of 393 votes. PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS SLAMMED FOR COUNTING ILLEGAL BALLOTS IN SENATE RACE: UNBELIEVABLY ‘BRAZEN’ “Democrat officials are on video saying that they’re going to choose to break the law, and there will be legal consequences for that,” a senior party official told Fox News earlier Monday. “The Casey campaign could end the recount at any time,” Pennsylvania Republican Party Chair Lawrence Tabas added of the lawsuits. “And there are political ramifications of eroding the voters’ confidence in elections that has been built. So we need to stop this attempt at electioneering and declare McCormick the winner.”
Fox News Politics: Trump border czar pick fires back at House Dem critic
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – House Ethics Committee to meet Wednesday after postponing Gaetz investigation meeting – Trump confirms support for major step in mass deportation push to ‘reverse the Biden invasion’ – Republicans file 12 Pennsylvania lawsuits in ‘aggressive’ push to end recount The Congressional Hispanic Caucus will oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation campaign, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-Calif., declared during remarks on Friday. The congresswoman – who chairs the group composed entirely of Democrats – claimed that mass deportations would “have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.” During a Saturday appearance on “Fox News Live,” Tom Homan, who Trump tapped to serve as “border czar,” responded to the lawmaker’s remarks…Read more ‘TOTAL CATASTROPHE’: Biden pushes to finalize more student debt relief before end of term, including for ‘future borrowers’…Read more ‘A DEFINING CAUSE’: Biden touts six-fold climate funding increase under his administration: ‘A defining cause of my presidency’…Read more ‘LIKELY BE IMPOSSIBLE’: Trump would need congressional approval in order to dissolve Education Department, experts say…Read more ‘FACE THE CONSEQUENCES’: Democratic effort to block Biden weapons sale to Israel gains momentum: ‘Congress must step up’…Read more STATE OF EMERGENCY: Trump declaring national emergency at border would not lead to militarization of country, expert says…Read more LAME DUCK ESCALATION: Trump allies warn Biden risking ‘World War III’ by authorizing long-range missiles for Ukraine…Read more POLITICAL STORM: Biden asks Congress for $98 billion in Helene, Milton disaster relief funding…Read more ‘PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM’: Fetterman calls out ‘UN’s rank, pervasive antisemitism,’ says he looks forward to confirming Elise Stefanik…Read more FORWARD FOCUS: Trump’s choice for FCC chairman says agency ‘will end its promotion of DEI’ next year…Read more CLEAN HOUSE: Pentagon bracing for sweeping changes after Trump nominates Pete Hegseth for secretary…Read more ‘BUSINESS-AS-USUAL’: Musk pegs potential Trump Treasury secretary pick Bessent as ‘business-as-usual choice,’ backing Lutnick…Read more ‘THAT’S THE LAW’: Fetterman defends Casey-McCormick recount as challenger’s team says ‘zero’ path for Democrat…Read more ‘SWAMPBUS’: Spending bill trouble brews as Sen Mike Lee warns of Dec. 20 govt. funding deadline…Read more BIG SPENDERS: What is reconciliation, the tool Republicans want to use to ‘push the outer limits’ on federal policy?…Read more ‘RECKONING’ COMING’: Dozens of state financial officials warn new Congress of national security implications of ignoring US debt…Read more YOUNG GUNS: Youngest House Republican-elect reveals how GOP won back America’s youth…Read more LET’S CIRCLE BACK IN JANUARY: DeSantis sets timetable for naming a replacement for Rubio in Senate…Read more CONCESSION STAND: Hovde concedes 12 days after Wisconsin Senate race call, blames Dem-recruited 3rd-party candidate…Read more MILLION-DOLLAR BOB: McCormick-Casey recount to top $1M, as GOP slams blue counties defying high court…Read more BREAKING THE BANK: Harris campaign budget for star-studded events on election eve ballooned to over $10M…Read more STILL TOO CLOSE: Size of slim Republican House majority hangs on five uncalled races…Read more ‘ABSOLUTELY WRONG’: Federal complaint targets Boston school district for Whites-only teacher training on racism…Read more ‘SUBSTANTIAL FLAWS’: GOP cries foul on Dem border spending bill they say would drag out migrant crisis…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Transgender women to be banned from Capitol Hill female bathrooms under new House GOP proposal
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is introducing a resolution to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Mace is expected to file the resolution on Monday. She told Fox News Digital of the measure, “The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol.” JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ The South Carolina Republican plans to introduce a measure “prohibiting Members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes,” according to text previewed by Fox News Digital. It comes just before the first openly transgender lawmaker, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is set to join Congress in January. House Republicans have previously changed rules on their side of Congress, such as when ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., scuttled metal detectors outside the House chamber after winning the gavel from previous Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT Mace’s legislation would charge the House sergeant at arms with enforcing the rule. It’s a preview of what kind of changes Republicans could look to pass when they control both houses of Congress next year. MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL Republicans hammered Democrats on transgender issues in the most recent election, particularly the topic of trans youth athletes in school sports. The House GOP moved to restrict federal dollars for transgender health care and to block trans student athletes from participating in school sports teams of their chosen gender. Mace previously introduced a bill that would have forced illegal immigrants with a history of sex crimes or violence against women to be deported. That bill passed with the support of 51 Democrats and all House Republicans.
Dems’ Gaetz outrage follows long history of questionable DOJ acts under Biden
Criticisms have mounted surrounding President-elect Trump naming former Rep. Matt Gaetz as his pick for U.S. attorney general, following nearly four years of actions taken by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice that came under fierce fire from conservatives. Trump named Gaetz as his pick for attorney general last Wednesday, coming as a surprise to both conservatives and liberals alike. Democrats have notably slammed the choice, citing the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Trump transition team said they are confident the Senate will confirm Gaetz. “I know Matt personally. He is a great person. He’s a man of integrity. He also is a brilliant litigator. He served on the House Judiciary Committee for eight years. Anyone who has watched him in those hearings knows that he’s incredibly impressive,” Karoline Leavitt, the transition team’s spokesperson and Trump’s recently announced pick for press secretary, said on Fox News last week. “Like President Trump, Matt Gaetz has been a victim of the weaponized Department of Justice, and one of the promises President Trump made to the American people was to root out the corruption at the DOJ. We have seen this agency turn against the American people because of their political beliefs. Matt Gaetz and President Trump are going to put an end to that, and that’s what the American people want. That’s why they elected him,” Leavitt added. SPEAKER JOHNSON OPPOSES RELEASING MATT GAETZ’S HOUSE ETHICS REPORT: ‘OPEN A PANDORA’S BOX’ The Biden administration’s Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has repeatedly come under fire for a series of actions viewed as targeting conservatives. The DOJ was heavily criticized by parents nationwide in 2021, when Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to use counterterrorism tools related to parents speaking out at school board meetings against transgender-related issues and critical race theory curricula. The memorandum followed the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sending a letter to President Biden, asking that the federal government investigate parents protesting at school board meetings, claiming school officials were facing threats at meetings. The NSBA requested that parents’ actions should be examined under the Patriot Act as “domestic terrorists,” sparking Garland’s eventual memo, which did not use the phrase “domestic terrorist.” “After surveying local law enforcement, U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country reported back to Main Justice that there was no legitimate law-enforcement basis for the Attorney General’s directive to use federal law-enforcement and counterterrorism resources to investigate school board-related threats,” the House Judiciary Committee stated in an interim report on the memo last year. Garland testified before the Senate last year that the memo “was aimed at violence and threats of violence against a whole host of school personnel,” not parents “making complaints to their school board,” but the memo set off a firestorm of criticism from parents, nonetheless. “The premier law enforcement agency of the United States of America, the FBI, was used as a weapon by the DOJ against parents who dared to voice their concerns at the most local level – their school board,” Moms For Liberty founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital last year. Other parents sounded off on social media, facetiously asking if they looked like a “domestic terrorist,” and others stating “arrest me” online in response to protesting liberal school policies. GAETZ-GATE: NAVIGATING THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S MOST BAFFLING CABINET PICK The Biden DOJ again came under fire for claims it was fraudulently targeting religious Catholics when the FBI arrested a Pennsylvania dad in 2022 who frequently prayed outside of abortion clinics. Mark Houck, a Catholic dad of seven who would often pray outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic, was arrested at his rural Pennsylvania home in Kintnersville by the FBI. The arrest stemmed from an altercation he had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021. Houck was accused of pushing the abortion clinic escort, who allegedly verbally harassed Houck’s 12-year-old son outside the clinic. The Biden administration alleged Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person provides reproductive health care. Houck was acquitted by a jury last year, after arguing that he was protecting his son. He and his wife Ryan-Marie argued the FBI used excessive force during the arrest, filing a lawsuit against the DOJ earlier this year alleging the arrest followed a “faulty and malicious investigation.” FBI ARREST OF PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ‘STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN,’ FORMER PROSECUTOR SAYS: ‘LOSER CASE’ In Georgia, the DOJ came under fire for suing the state after it passed the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which overhauled its election laws, including limiting ballot drop box locations and requiring absentee voters to provide a form of identification – such as a driver’s license or the last four digits of their Social Security number – when requesting an absentee ballot. Biden, along with Democrats nationwide and Hollywood actors who frequently film in the Peach State, sounded off on the election laws, including the 46th president calling them “Jim Crow 2.0.” “This is Jim Crow in the 21st century. It must end. We have a moral and constitutional obligation to act,” Biden said in March 2021. ‘JIM CROW 2.0?’ CONSERVATIVES BLAST DEMOCRATIC FEARMONGERING AFTER GEORGIA SMASHES EARLY VOTING RECORDS “This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in statehouses across the country is a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience. Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over. It adds rigid restrictions on casting absentee ballots that will effectively deny the right to vote to countless voters,” Biden added. The DOJ filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that portions of the law had a “purpose of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race,” the DOJ
Pennsylvania Supreme Court upholds exclusion of certain mail-in ballots, in victory for GOP
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing dates cannot be counted in the 2024 election, delivering a victory to Republican Party officials as they moved to aggressively defend their narrow Senate victory in amid a recount challenge in the Keystone State. In a 4-3 decision, the state Supreme Court reaffirmed its prior decision that counties in the state cannot count incorrectly dated or undated ballots, explicitly singling out Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, whom they said “SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified” for mail-in and absentee ballots in their Nov. 1 ruling. The decision is a victory for Republican Party officials, who had filed 12 different lawsuits in the state amid an aggressive Senate recount effort following the narrow victory of Republican candidate David McCormick over three-term Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. REPUBLICANS FILE 12 PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUITS IN ‘AGGRESSIVE’ PUSH TO END RECOUNT McCormick had defeated Casey by some 17,000 ballots in the state, or within the 0.5% margin of error that allows Casey to qualify for an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law. But ahead of the Pennsylvania Senate recount, which officially kicked off on Monday, Republicans had sounded the alarm by election county commissioners in Philadelphia, Bucks County, and Montgomery Count for moving to allow for the counting of incorrectly dated and undated mail-in and absentee ballots—an effort party officials said broke with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision. Speaking to reporters on a call Monday, Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley vowed to maintain “an aggressive, comprehensive and strategic legal posture for as long as it takes to ensure that this election is going to be certified” in Pennsylvania, and to bring an end to what party officials described as “corrupt and despicable conduct” by Democrats in the state. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Nov. 1 that requiring mail-in ballots to have handwritten dates is constitutional, in a victory for the GOP, the new framing is more direct— establishing that counties trying to count such ballots are indeed trying to violate the law. This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for more updates.