Biden to address disability advocates in first major speech since leaving White House
Former President Joe Biden is expected to deliver what is billed as his first public speech since leaving the Oval Office, delivering the keynote address on Tuesday before the national conference of Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled (ACRD). “We are deeply honored President Biden is making his first public appearance at ACRD’s sold-out conference,” the group’s executive director, Rachel Buck, said in a press release provided to Fox Digital. The conference will be held in Chicago. “As bipartisan leaders have long agreed, Americans who retire after paying into Social Security their whole lives deserve the vital support and caring services they receive. As a result, we are thrilled the President will be joining us to discuss how we can work together for a stable and successful future for Social Security.” The event is billed as the 46th president’s first public speech since leaving the White House, with the former president expected to address the conference sometime after 5 p.m. ET, Fox Digital learned. Biden, however, has delivered other public remarks since Jan. 20, Fox Digital found, including speaking before the National High School Model United Nations in March, which received little media attention, as well as joining an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers event this month. ACRD is an advocacy organization that works to equip “disability professionals with the tools, technology, and training to lead the industry forward,” according to its website. “Our mission is to empower and educate disability representatives by providing comprehensive training, fostering leadership skills, promoting technological proficiency, and offering valuable networking opportunities.” BIDEN’S TEAM HID TRUTH ABOUT HIS HEALTH ALL ALONG: WH PRESS SEC Biden will headline the event, which will focus on strengthening Social Security, and will be joined by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., former Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and former Democrat Maryland Gov. and Social Security Administrator Martin O’Malley, according to the press release. Blunt reported in comments provided in the press release that discussions on Tuesday will focus on bolstering the Social Security system so it can meet the needs of Americans by “reducing red tape, strengthening claims processing, and ensuring unnecessary spending is eliminated.” “Social Security is a sacred promise between generations,” O’Malley, who serves as chair of ACRD’s Advisory Board, added in the press release. “It’s a promise that ensures dignity in retirement, security after tragedy, and support for those with disabilities. We are deeply grateful to the President for joining us at ACRD to discuss how we can keep that promise for all Americans.” BIDEN AIDES ‘SCRIPTED’ EVERYTHING, ALLOWED HIS FACULTIES TO ‘ATROPHY,’ NEW BOOK CLAIMS Biden has been out of the public’s view since leaving the Oval Office on Jan. 20, when President Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th commander in chief. Biden attended the inauguration and was seen chatting with his successor after offering five family members pardons in the final minutes of his tenure, including to his two brothers and his sister. BIDEN ENDS BID FOR SECOND TERM IN WHITE HOUSE AS HE DROPS OUT OF HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH TRUMP Biden was slated to face off against Trump for the second time during the 2024 presidential election cycle but dropped out of the running in July as concerns mounted over his mental acuity and age. Biden passed the torch to his then-vice president, Kamala Harris, who failed to rally enough support to defeat Trump after just over 100 days on the campaign trail. The Bidens have been spotted at various events since Trump’s Inauguration Day, including attending the opening night of “Othello” on Broadway last month in New York City and traveling to Santa Barbara County, California, immediately following the end of his administration. Biden has been spending his days in both Delaware and the nation’s capital since his Oval Office exit, with the 46th president working on his next memoir while meeting with various Democratic Party leaders such as DNC Chair Ken Martin, NBC News reported in March. Fox Digital reached out to Biden’s office for additional comment on the matter but did not immediately receive a reply.
Federal judge weighs in on last undecided 2024 election
A federal judge has ordered the North Carolina Board of Elections to begin implementing a state Supreme Court decision in the last unresolved 2024 election in the country. The North Carolina Supreme Court issued a decision on Friday that partially overturned a ruling from a week earlier by a panel of the intermediate-level Court of Appeals that had favored Republican Jefferson Griffin. Griffin is trailing Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs by a razor-thin margin of 734 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast last fall in the election for a seat on the state’s highest court. Griffin formally protested more than 65,000 ballots covering three categories. The largest category of challenged voters — roughly 60,000 — included ballots cast last fall by people who have been registered to vote since 2004, but their records lack a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Friday’s prevailing opinion said the Court of Appeals got it wrong by declaring these ballots shouldn’t have been counted. The opinion said the blame rests with the State Board of Elections for failing for years to properly collect those numerical identifiers, not the voters. These voters ultimately proved their identity by complying with the state’s new photo ID law, and longtime legal precedent says such mistakes by election officials cannot result in cast votes being voided, the order reads. FEDERAL JUDGE KICKS BATTLE OVER NC SUPREME COURT ELECTION BACK TO STATE COURT The state board of elections said in a statement on Monday that it will provide, “as soon as possible,” detailed instructions “to the affected counties and voters on how to comply with the decision.” “The Supreme Court decision removed from the protest voters whose voter registration forms did not include a driver’s license number or last four digits of a Social Security number (and didn’t check the box indicating they lacked these numbers). Those voters – the largest group of voters challenged by the protest – no longer must provide that information to their county boards of elections to ensure their votes for the supreme court contest count in the 2024 general election,” the state board said. But a majority of justices — all registered Republicans — let stand the lower court’s determination that additional ballots from two other categories that Griffin contested were wrongly allowed in the tally. Some of these voters, potentially thousands who serve in the military or live overseas, would still get a chance to turn in a photo identification or an ID exception form for their choice in the race to remain in the count, the court’s prevailing order says. The state Supreme Court also agreed to throw out votes from people who had never lived in North Carolina or the United States altogether. “The Supreme Court decision, however, would require challenged military and overseas-citizen voters who submitted an absentee ballot to provide a copy of their photo identification, or a Photo ID Exception Form, to ensure their votes for the supreme court contest count in the 2024 general election,” the state board of elections said Monday. “The decision would also require certain county boards of elections to identify and remove from the count – in the Supreme Court contest only – the votes from U.S. citizen voters who have never lived in the United States but have parental connections to North Carolina.” Riggs and the State Board of Elections, which had previously thrown out Griffin’s formal protests of the more than 65,000 ballots, had previously signaled plans to return to federal court if necessary, if the justices sided with Griffin to potentially plead violations of federal elections and voting rights laws. Riggs’ attorneys filed a motion late Friday in U.S. District Court in Raleigh asking a judge to issue an injunction preventing the state appeals court decisions from being carried out immediately. DEM TAKES AIM AT TRUMP IN 2026 SENATE LAUNCH VIDEO FOR ‘TANKING OUR ECONOMY’ U.S. Chief District Judge Richard Myers – who was nominated by President Donald Trump during his first term – on Saturday ordered the state board of elections to comply with the plan set forth by the Supreme Court to resolve the election dispute. Meyers set an April 15 deadline for the state board of elections to “provide notice to the court of the scope of its remedial efforts, including the number of potentially affected voters and the counties in which those voters cast ballots.” The judge also gave both parties until April 20 to submit opening briefs and until April 28 to submit final briefs in the case. Myers ordered the state Supreme Court not to certify the election results “pending further order of this court.” It’s unknown whether the outstanding ballots that could ultimately get taken out of the count could flip the result to Griffin, himself a current Court of Appeals judge. Griffin did not sit on the three-judge panel whose majority ruled for him last week, and Riggs did not participate in the Supreme Court deliberations. Riggs, meanwhile, hosted a “Protect Our Votes” rally in the state capital of Raleigh on Monday. “I will not give up on my fight to protect those fighting for us,” Riggs, whose father and brother served in the military, said, according to WRAL. “This presents a very real burden and threat to North Carolina voters in uniform, North Carolina voters who are missionaries serving on the mission field, foreign service officers, students studying abroad The threat is real, the burden is real, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that their vote counts.” Republican strategist Paul Schumaker issued a statement on behalf of Griffin saying Friday’s ruling “is consistent with our request, and clearly, the matter warrants a thorough review, which the Courts have set forth. “ “What is most disturbing is Justice Riggs’ desire to hold interviews and rallies to litigate this case outside of the Courts,” Schumaker said, according to WRAL. “Justice Riggs clearly is a judicial activist who believes judges should make new laws, not interpret
House Republican campaign arm touts ‘unstoppable momentum’ with record fundraising haul
As it aims to defend its razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is off to a fast fundraising start. The NRCC, which is the House GOP’s campaign arm, announced on Tuesday that it “shattered records” with a $21.5 million fundraising haul last month, which it says was the committee’s best month of an off-year and the best March in NRCC history. Last month’s fundraising fueled an overall $36.7 million haul during the January-March first quarter of 2025. The NRCC showcased that its fundraising in the past three months was its strongest off-year first quarter, outpacing by nearly $11 million what it brought in during the same period in the 2024 election cycle. The NRCC also highlighted that it had $23.9 million cash on hand heading into April and that it had paid down its debt to $4.5 million, which it said was ahead of its pace in the 2024 cycle. CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS TARGETING THESE HOUSE REPUBLICANS IN 2026 MIDTERM BATTLE “The NRCC is on offense and fueled by unstoppable momentum and widespread support,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella emphasized. Marinella claimed that “while out of touch House Democrats are fighting amongst themselves, we’re charging toward 2026 with unmatched energy, ready to grow our House majority and continue delivering results for the American people.” The NRCC’s first-quarter haul does not include the eye-popping $35.2 million it says it brought in at a fundraiser earlier this month in the nation’s capital that was headlined by President Donald Trump. Those funds will be included in the committee’s second quarter figures. WERE THIS MONTH’S ELECTIONS IN WISCONSIN AND FLORIDA A CRYSTAL BALL FOR THINGS TO COME IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERMS? The rival Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) had yet to announce its first quarter fundraising at the time this report was posted. The DCCC outraised the NRCC $11.1 million to $9.2 million in February fundraising. Republicans currently control the House with a fragile 220-213 majority, with two blue-leaning vacant seats likely to be back in the hands of Democrats when special elections in those districts are held later this year. Fundraising is a crucial component to the GOP’s game plan to keep control. When asked what concerns him the most when it comes to defending the House majority, NRCC Chair Rep. Richard Hudson said in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this month that “Democrats have a structural advantage when it comes to fundraising. They always seem to have just mountains of money. So I think the amount of money the Democrats raise is probably the only thing that really concerns me.” “We have to raise enough money to keep up with the Democrats and make sure that our candidates can get their message out,” Hudson emphasized. POLL POSITION: WHERE TRUMP STANDS WITH AMERICANS 11 WEEKS INTO HIS SECOND TOUR OF DUTY IN THE WHITE HOUSE Hudson, a North Carolina Republican and 12-year veteran of the House, said that “the President understands that he’s got to keep the House majority in the midterm so that he has a four-year runway, instead of a two-year runway to get his agenda enacted.” Pointing to the House Democratic leader, Hudson added, “Speaker Hakeem Jeffries would fight President Trump on every front, and it would be really difficult for him to achieve his agenda. President Trump understands it’s important to hold the House and he’s, he’s been extremely helpful to us and we appreciate it.” The DCCC is taking aim at nearly three dozen Republican-held seats in the chamber as it aims to win back the majority. Earlier this month, the House Democrats’ campaign arm released its initial 2026 target list, which included 35 GOP-controlled seats, and launched an effort to fundraise for the party’s eventual nominees in each of the districts. The DCCC emphasized that their moves signal that “Democrats are on offense and poised to win the majority in 2026.”
GOP senator reveals why Trump’s ‘complete and total endorsement’ will be crucial for his midterm race
Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was sworn in as a Senator less than three months ago, spoke to Fox News Digital about receiving the “complete and total” endorsement of President Donald Trump to run again next year. “When Governor DeWine appointed me to the U.S. Senate, I promised that if I took the job, that I would run to keep the job and then this week, President Trump really gave me a big boost when he announced on True Social that he was endorsing me, that I had his complete and total endorsement,” Husted, who was recently appointed to replace now-Vice President JD Vance in the U.S. Senate, told Fox News Digital. “He said a lot of really kind things about me,” Husted continued. “And that was a great boost to the work that we’re going to do, because President Trump has been the decisive factor in the last two U.S. Senate races in Ohio.” Husted must run again next year in a special election to earn the right to serve out the rest of Vance’s term, which runs through 2028. LAWMAKERS REVEAL WHETHER AMERICANS SHOULD PICK UP THE MEDICAID TAB FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Trump’s endorsement of Vance was widely considered the moment that put him over the top when he won the Ohio Senate seat in 2022. Trump’s endorsement was also a key factor in GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno’s toppling of longtime Dem. Sen. Sherrod Brown in November. “President Trump has won Ohio three times, and I’ve been a candidate and won statewide four times,” Husted said. “So the combination of my work and President Trump’s endorsement is a big boost to my election prospects.” Husted told Fox News Digital that “a lot’s happened” since he was sworn into office. ‘BORN LEADER’: OHIO GOVERNOR NOMINATES FORMER LEGENDARY COLLEGE FOOTBALL COACH AS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR “I’ve never worked in Washington, but this is really a record pace for the U.S. Senate in getting a president’s confirmations done,” Husted said. “We’ve also got the reconciliation package through both the House and the Senate, which is gonna set forth the process for getting President Trump’s agenda accomplished on preserving tax cuts for working families and small businesses, towards securing the border and deporting illegal immigrant criminals.” “All of those things are important priorities of the presidents, and we’ve leaned in hard. We’ve spent sometimes into the weekends working to get that agenda accomplished, so President Trump and the Republican team could be successful. And that’s my introduction to the U.S. Senate, and I look forward to continuing to serve.” It is unclear who Husted will be running against in next year’s election, although some have speculated that Brown, who was defeated by Moreno in November, could be interested. Husted told Fox News Digital he is not “worried” about who his opponent will be in a race that will be closely watched given the 53-47 GOP majority in the Senate. “I just take care of my own work and what that means is spending time with the people of the state of Ohio, going to Washington, getting my work done there, and delivering on the promise of the America first agenda which means securing our border, installing common sense values, making sure that men aren’t playing women’s sports, and invading their locker rooms,” Husted said. “It’s also focused on the economy, doing Made in America, because you can’t do Made in America without Made in Ohio, because we are the heart of it all. We make the things that people need to live and thrive. And if you can put all those things together, a great campaign, work hard, deliver on the policies, that’s good politics and that will result in an election victory.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump posted on Truth Social last week that Husted is a “wonderful man” that is “doing an incredible job.” “Jon Husted has my Complete and Total Endorsement — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” Husted spoke to Fox News Digital about what he hopes he and the GOP Senate will continue to accomplish in the next 100 days, which includes the president’s tax package, balancing the budget, restoring fiscal sanity and adding some “predictability” to the tax code. “I also want to bring my own game to the Senate by showing people the work that we did in regulatory reform in Ohio,” Husted said. “We eliminated 5 million of 17 million words in the Ohio regulatory code. I want to do that for America. I wanna use the AI tools that we used in Ohio to do regulatory reform at the nation’s capital. If you looked at the federal regulatory code, it would be 35 feet tall if it were a book, and it would take you over three years to read. I wanna cut that down. I wanna make the regulatory code make sense to people so that average Americans can actually use it and understand it. And that will unleash the American spirit of entrepreneurship, save people time and money.”
Key Trump agency facing ‘unprecedented backlog’ inherited from Biden admin
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is working through a backlog of roughly 3,200 grant awards that did not have signed agreements to go with them, which Secretary Sean Duffy said was inherited from when former Secretary Pete Buttigieg oversaw the department. “Since coming into office, my team has discovered an unprecedented backlog of grants leftover from the previous administration,” Duffy revealed a couple of weeks ago in a statement. Most recently, one of these backlogged grants was the Washington Bridge in Rhode Island, which has been closed since 2023 on its westbound side until proper repairs are made, according to the Rhode Island state government. DUFFY SLAMS MTA OVER ‘FACT CHECK’ ON ANTI-ISRAEL MOB’S GRAND CENTRAL TAKEOVER “This backlog, along with ridiculous DEI and Green New Deal requirements, prevented real infrastructure from being built and funded. Under the Trump Administration, we’ve ripped out this red tape and are getting back to what matters,” Duffy said. “As part of our work to deliver real results, we are pleased to announce $221 million in grants for Rhode Island’s Washington Bridge — a critical link that carries thousands of vehicles a day.” A DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital on background that the backlog totals $43 billion and that 1,000 grant winners were selected by the Biden administration after Trump won but before then-President Joe Biden left office, which made up for $9 billion of the total needing to be made official. However, the department said that “nothing was done to actually get these grant agreements signed and sent to projects.” The DOT further noted that they are “quickly reviewing” the grants and looking at “executive grant agreements” when it comes to major infrastructure projects like roads and bridges. I USED TO LOVE AMTRAK, BUT NOW I REALIZE IT NEEDS DOGE When it comes to the grant awards for roads and bridges, Duffy noted in an April 10 Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump that “most of them are good” but said that while the Biden administration announced the grants, many of those agreements did not end up getting signed and dealt with. Duffy also reiterated that the projects also had “green and social justice requirements.” “Take it out,” Trump said. “We’re pulling all that out and putting the money toward the infrastructure and not the social movement from the last administration,” the secretary responded. ZERO-EMISSIONS HYDROGEN-ELECTRIC JET DISRUPTS CONVENTIONAL FLIGHTS “Good steel, as opposed to green paper mache,” the president quipped to laughs in the room. The Trump administration has been adamant overall about scrutinizing federal funds that were doled out through grants, especially if they were believed to have ideological strings attached. Shortly after Duffy’s confirmation, he scrapped the DOT Equity Council and other “environmental justice” related measures. The DOT has also notably placed the California high-speed rail project under federal investigation for its funds, as the cost of the project continues to rise, as critics of the project say little results have emerged so far.
ICE using Social Security records to aid Trump push to deport illegal immigrants
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has become the latest government agency to join President Donald Trump’s deportation push, showing the president’s whole-of-government approach to keeping a key campaign promise. “This is the Trump administration using every tool it has in its toolbox to crack down on illegal immigration,” Tom Jones, the executive director of the American Accountability Foundation, told Fox News Digital. The comments come as the SSA sifts through the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who are in the country under “temporary parole” status that was granted during the Biden administration and allowed those migrants to have Social Security numbers in order to work. FLORIDA’S LARGEST VENEZUELAN STRONGHOLD POISED TO JOIN FORCES WITH ICE: REPORT Trump administration officials claim that more than 6,300 of those people are on the FBI terrorist watch list or have FBI criminal records, according to a report from Axios. The SSA began moving the names of those migrants on the terrorist watch list to its “Death Master File,” its current database of dead people, the report notes, adding that the agency has since moved those names to the “Ineligible Master File.” The move to tap the SSA comes as Trump has used every resource at his disposal to continue his deportation push, coming after the president used military forces to help secure the border and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to begin cross-checking information for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). But not everyone has been fully on board with Trump’s aggressive push, with the IRS and ICE partnerships leading to the resignation of IRS Acting Commissioner Melanie Krause last week. BLUE STATE SHERIFFS COMBINE FORCES TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST SANCTUARY LAWS Similar scenarios could play out at the SSA, with some of the agency’s staff expressing concern over the data-sharing agreement. “Some agency staff have since checked the names and Social Security numbers of some of the youngest immigrants against data the agency typically uses to search for criminal history and found no evidence of crimes or law enforcement interactions,” some staffers told the Washington Post. Jones believes the defections are an example of why Trump’s shakeup of the federal workforce is long overdue. “The fact that IRS leadership resigned over cooperating with ICE shows exactly why there needs to be a concerned effort to ensure that the federal workforce is composed of leaders who are willing to implement the president’s agenda,” Jones said. “For every three senior officials who resign, there are dozens of civil servants below the radar screen who are in place and still able to obstruct the president’s agenda.” Nevertheless, Jones expects Trump to continue using whatever resources possible to make good on his immigration agenda. “The Social Security Administration is just one example. I suspect we will also see places like OSHA, which has staff on job sites, using their inspectors to target illegal alien workers and the businesses that employ them,” Jones said. “This administration has been waiting years to deploy an aggressive America First playbook they built during four years in the wilderness.”
El Salvador’s Bukele after friendly White House meeting with Trump: ‘I miss you already, President T’
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, tweeted on Monday night, “I miss you already, President T.” While seated next to Bukele in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump spoke highly of the foreign leader, saying that Salvadorans “have one hell of a president.” Bukele took note last week when Trump referred to him as “President B” in a Truth Social post. BUKELE SAYS TRUMP HAS 350 MILLION AMERICANS TO ‘LIBERATE’ BY ENDING CRIME, TERRORISM “President Bukele has graciously accepted into his Nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the World and, in particular, the United States,” Trump declared in that April 12 Truth Social post. “These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign Nation, and their future is up to President B and his Government. They will never threaten or menace our Citizens again!” Bukele shared a screenshot of the post on X, drawing particular attention to Trump’s “President B” nickname for him. ‘UP TO EL SALVADOR’: TRUMP ADMIN PUNTS ON RETURN OF WRONGFULLY DEPORTED MARYLAND RESIDENT Trump noted on Monday that he would be interested in sending violent “homegrown criminals” to El Salvador, if that could be done legally. “Honored to join @POTUS in welcoming my friend President @nayibbukele to the United States,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Monday post on X. TRUMP, OFFICIALS HAVE TENSE EXCHANGE WITH CNN REPORTER OVER DEPORTATION OF EL SALVADORAN NATIONAL CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Since my visit to El Salvador, the United States has deported dangerous MS13 and Tren de Aragua gang members to El Salvador’s prison. Because of this, our nation is safer and more secure. Our hemisphere is lucky to have two leaders who are totally aligned in their commitment to law and order,” Rubio noted.
First Mexico-born rep targets indictment-plagued Democrat in House GOP comeback bid
FIRST ON FOX: The first Mexico-born member of Congress is launching her comeback bid on Tuesday, setting her sights on a Democrat who Republicans view as one of the most vulnerable House incumbents of 2026. “Unfortunately, we don’t have that many voices in the Spanish-speaking community — in Telemundo, in television — talking to the Spanish-speaking community about the amazing work President Trump is doing, and his administration,” former Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview prior to her announcement. “And that’s something that I feel I’m obligated to do, because there’s a lot of misinformation being spread from the left, and they’re trying to instill fear and hate in the Hispanic community.” Flores served in Congress for roughly six months, from late June 2022 until early January 2023, having flipped Texas’ 34th Congressional District from blue to red after winning a special election to replace ex-Rep. Filemon Vela Jr., D-Texas. WILL THIS BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN END THE GOP’S 20-YEAR LOSING STREAK IN HIS STATE? She lost re-election to Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, twice, though their rematch saw Flores come within less than 3% of Gonzalez’s victory. Flores’ 2026 bid is aimed at challenging a different Democrat, however. The former GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital that she intends to run in Texas’ Loredo-anchored 28th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. Cuellar is a moderate known to break from his own party on issues like border security, crime and abortion. He’s served in Congress since 2005, with victories spanning from a few thousand votes to margins as high as 30%. LONGTIME HOUSE REPUBLICAN WEIGHS SENATE BID IN KEY BATTLEGROUND Cuellar most recently won last November by less than 6% – or roughly 13,000 votes – amid a federal indictment accusing him of an array of corruption charges. “It’s not about what Mayra Flores wants. It’s what this country needs me to do. And this country needs me to run in Texas 28 and win this seat,” Flores said. “This is a seat that can be flipped in 2026. Right now we need a much bigger majority. It makes it very difficult for President Trump to get anything across with such a small majority.” Flores said she was deeply familiar with the district and has familial ties to it. In addition to the seat being a viable opportunity for the GOP, she pointed to the criminal indictment as an argument for taking on Cuellar, and she noted he had been in office since she was a 1-year-old, having first served in the Texas State House in 1986. “At the end of the day, I don’t care what party he is, whether you’re a Republican or you’re a Democrat,” Flores said. “Being a member, it’s … a position where you can help so many people, and you are able to represent an entire district. And yet he threw it all away. And no amount of money is worth you doing that to your country.” Cuellar denied any wrongdoing on his or his wife’s part in a statement when the indictment was announced. “I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations. Everything I have done in Congress has been to serve the people of South Texas,” Cuellar said in May 2024. “Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm,” he said. “The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people. Furthermore, we requested a meeting with the Washington D.C. prosecutors to explain the facts, and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side.” Flores signaled she intended to focus heavily on the issues of agriculture and the economy when asked what she wanted to make another stint in Congress look like. “At the end of the day, you know, money’s important. Without money, you can’t have a shelter, you can’t have a car, you can’t provide for your children. So the economy is a top priority for me,” Flores said. “And of course, agriculture is a passion of mine. I was a farmworker. My parents were migrant workers. We traveled a lot. I believe our farmworkers need to be prioritized.” She compared her push on agriculture to the Republican stance on U.S. energy independence. “We talk about being independent, right, on oil and gas, which I agree, 100%. But we need to be food-independent as well,” Flores said.
Josh Shapiro barely escapes assassination; why Trump should call him
Political violence is spiraling out of control. I don’t care which party you identify with. I don’t care if you like or dislike Donald Trump. This has been building for years, and perhaps we’ve become as inured to it as we have with most mass shootings. The most prominent example, of course, is the two assassination attempts against the president. On the shooting in Butler, Pa. that grazed his ear, Trump would not have survived if he hadn’t been turning his head to point to a chart. The second attempt was foiled by the Secret Service. More than 60 years after the death of JFK, a would-be assassin’s bullet nearly changed the course of the 2024 election by taking out the man who would go on to win a second term in the White House. The photo of Trump, with a bloodied face, raising his fist became iconic. PENNSYLVANIA POLICE ARREST SUSPECT AFTER GOVERNOR’S MANSION SET ON FIRE WHILE GOV JOSH SHAPIRO, FAMILY SLEPT It’s rather embarrassing that the press moved on so quickly after a few days. Even more cringe-worthy was the way the media provided scant coverage of the man who was determined to kill Brett Kavanaugh in 2022. He had driven from California and was a block away from the Supreme Court justice’s Maryland home – with a Glock pistol, two magazines of ammunition, a knife, pepper spray and zip ties – when he called police and turned himself in. The would-be murderer just pleaded guilty last week. This has been going on since President Clinton tried to blame Rush Limbaugh for the Oklahoma City bombing. And since the New York Times blamed Sarah Palin for a crosshairs map never seen by the shooter who killed six people and wounded Gabby Giffords in Arizona. A retrial of her defamation suit is about to get under way. When a liberal shooter who liked Rachel Maddow opened fire at a Republican baseball practice in Virginia, badly wounding GOP leader Steve Scalise, the finger-pointing began again. Inevitably, each side tries to score political points based on the perceived motive of the shooter. And that brings me to the attempt to kill Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on the first day of Passover. The governor, who is Jewish. His family and friends are lucky to be alive. JOSH SHAPIRO TELLS MAHER HE’S ‘DAMN PROUD’ OF BEING JEWISH, DODGES WHETHER IT FACTORED INTO VP SNUB IN 2024 It is frightening. It is infuriating. It is the epitome of anti-Semitism. The Harrisburg mansion, where Shapiro, his wife Lori and children live, was set on fire, and the 38-year-old arsonist admitted to police that he set the fires. Imagine being woken up by state police at 2 a.m., with the smell of smoke in the air, and told that you, your family and friends must immediately evacuate. Who wouldn’t feel vulnerable, no matter their title? The only reason they survived is that they were sleeping in another part of the mansion, which the arsonist had no way of knowing. The building remains badly damaged. Shapiro was clearly and justifiably angry when he said: “This type of violence is not okay. I don’t give a damn if it’s from one particular side or another. It’s not okay.” The governor pointed out that it was the first night of Passover and members of the local Jewish community had been celebrating with him in the state dining room. “No one will deter me or my family or any Pennsylvanian from celebrating their faith openly or proudly,” he declared. Ironically, it was Shapiro who led the investigation of the attempted assassination of Trump at Butler, where a man in the crowd was killed. The president has been posting up a storm at Truth Social, including messages on Easter Week and Passover, but hasn’t said a word about Shapiro. I think Trump should call Shapiro as a way of demonstrating that he deplores political violence no matter which party is involved. FBI Director Kash Patel did call, but that’s not at the same level. The Harrisburg man told police he was “harboring hatred” for Shapiro and had he found him, he would have beaten the governor with his hammer. His mother told the AP he was mentally ill. PENNSYLVANIA FIRE CHIEF CREDITS CLOSED DOORS FOR SAVING LIVES DURING GOVERNOR’S MANSION ATTACK At the Free Press, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Penn., a Republican who supports Trump, said: “When Governor Josh Shapiro and I spoke on Saturday afternoon about a potential data center investment in Pennsylvania, he ended the call by noting that he needed to go prepare for an 80-person seder which he was leading. Less than 12 hours later, he and his family were evacuated from the governor’s residence, because an arsonist had set it on fire. “The pictures of the damage to the residence are horrifying. Yet even more frightening is the trend that this attack is a part of. And if left unchecked, this trend — of using political violence to settle our differences — has the potential to destroy our republic.” SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES Now, it must be said the security was awful. This guy scales the fence and the state troopers on duty can’t stop him from reaching the mansion? And then let him get away? As for journalists, we should resist the temptation to say, well, Shapiro wasn’t hurt, let’s move on. A Jewish governor was targeted and nearly assassinated. That’s not a one-day story by any stretch of the imagination.
Bernie Sanders compares Trump, Musk and other ‘oligarchs’ to ‘heroin addicts,’ says drug of choice is ‘greed’
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blasted President Donald Trump and Elon Musk for undermining democracy, while comparing billionaire “oligarchs” in both parties to “heroin addicts” whose drug of choice is “greed,” at a rally Monday night. The comments came during a “Fight The Oligarchy” rally in Idaho, which included an address by progressive “Squad” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Both politicians took most of their time speaking on stage to blast Trump and Musk repeatedly by name, and blamed them for destroying democracy in an effort to provide benefits for their billionaire friends. “I used to talk about oligarchy. And people say, What is he talking about? Everybody knows what I’m talking about tonight. When Trump got inaugurated, sitting right behind them were the three wealthiest people in this country: Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg,” Sanders told a raucous crowd in Nampa, Idaho Monday night. BERNIE SANDERS GETS UP DURING INTERVIEW AFTER ‘NONSENSE’ QUESTION ABOUT AOC “Well, these guys, these oligarchs, have a major, major addiction problem. And you know what it is? It is greed,” Sanders added during his Monday address. “They’re like heroin addicts. They can’t control themselves. They need more and more, and they do not care who they step over in order to get another billion dollars. So we are going to take care of their addiction problems.” Sanders noted that billionaire “oligarchs” can come from both political parties – Republicans and Democrats – but the night’s sentiment was directed towards those billionaires in Trump world. “Understand that all of this right now is what it feels like to be governed by billionaires. This is what oligarchy feels like,” AOC told rally goers. “This concentration of power, greed and corruption is oligarchy. It’s oligarchy in America, and we must acknowledge the terrifying moment that we are in right now.” TYRUS BURNS BERNIE SANDERS’ SOCIALIST MESSAGE AT COACHELLA FESTIVAL Both Sanders and AOC referenced the president’s inauguration as a key example of the “oligarchy,” pointing to Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk being in attendance and sitting very close to the president. Sanders also noted the “13 other billionaires who Trump had nominated” to be in his cabinet, who were also in attendance that day. Sanders and AOC also took their moment on stage Monday night to call for action. “It will never be just institutions and politicians and officials alone that uphold our democracy. It will always be the people, the masses, who refuse to comply with authoritarian regimes, who are the last and strongest defense of our country and our freedoms. It is you. It is you Idaho,” AOC told the crowd. “We are here today because we choose democracy, we choose freedom, we choose justice. And that means we must choose to out-organize the oligarchy. We must do away with the power of big money.”