Company of ‘Squad’ member’s husband lands $2B contract from blue state for new courthouse
A company where the husband of Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., is a partner was selected for a nearly $2 billion deal to build a new courthouse in Springfield, Massachusetts — a decision now being challenged in court by rejected bidders who allege conflicts of interest tainted the process. Conan Harris, who has been married to the Massachusetts Democrat for more than a decade, is a partner with John Barros in CoJo Real Estate, which is part of the Liberty Junction team selected in early July for the 40-year courthouse lease, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege Barros’ role as interim executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) created a conflict of interest because several members of that agency’s board also serve on the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, the state agency that selected Liberty Junction. The lawsuit also described Harris as having “deep conflicts,” but its most detailed allegations center on Barros’ leadership role at the MCCA, another state agency. ‘CONFLICT OF INTEREST’: JUDGE WHO AXED TRUMP NAME FROM DC LANDMARK TIED TO ANTI-TRUMP CONSPIRACY THEORY Pressley, a member of the “Squad,” was not accused of any wrongdoing by the plaintiffs, and there is no evidence she was involved in the bidding process to rebuild the aging Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse. Records show the bidding process formally began June 30, 2025, when DCAMM released its request for proposals for the Springfield courthouse project. The plaintiffs argued that when Barros became the head of the MCCA on Jan. 14, 2026, he did not disclose his participation in the courthouse bidding process to the State Ethics Commission. The lawsuit also said the Liberty Junction proposal was not updated to indicate that Barros had been appointed to a leading role on the MCCA. RED-STATE AUDITOR REPORTS ‘EXPLOSION’ OF FRAUD TIPS AS HE TARGETS STATE EMPLOYEES ‘RACKING UP’ TAXPAYER WASTE Massachusetts law generally bars state employees from having a direct or indirect financial interest in state contracts, unless they qualify for an exemption, such as by making required disclosures to the State Ethics Commission and not participating in the contracting agency’s work. Fox News Digital reached out to Barros and Harris for comment. Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, defended the bidding process in a statement to reporters this week, saying that the city of Springfield deserves a new courthouse and calling the current building “sick.” “This was a competitive procurement process. It was a competitive bid, and the project that was chosen was the one that cost the taxpayers the least. I stand up for taxpayers. I’m all about supporting whatever is going to cost the taxpayers the least amount of money, as somebody who wants to protect taxpayer dollars,” Healey said on Wednesday, according to WWLP-TV. The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance told the Boston Herald on Tuesday that the Healey administration should “immediately pause this deal, release the relevant procurement records, conflict disclosures, scoring documents, and communications, and allow these allegations to be fully reviewed.” A DCAMM spokesperson told Fox News Digital the project “is about delivering a modern courthouse for the people of Greater Springfield and the employees who work there every day.” “The conditional selection was made following a competitive procurement process, at the conclusion of which DCAMM agreed with the Massachusetts Trial Court’s recommendation that the selected proposal represents the best value and most affordable option to the Commonwealth,” the spokesperson said. “All applicable procurement requirements were followed to ensure efficient delivery of a well-designed facility that meets the operational needs of the Trial Court while minimizing costs to taxpayers.”
State Department fires back after Walz doubles down on pardon of convicted child rapist
After Democrat Tim Walz doubled down on his move to pardon a foreign child rapist prior to his deportation, the State Department took another swing at the Minnesota governor in an escalating back-and-forth. The Minnesota Board of Pardons, comprised of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and state Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, granted clemency to Laotian national Tou Lue Vang, 42, on June 10. Vang was scheduled to be deported from the United States before the pardon. “Governor Walz’s pardon of a convicted foreign sex offender was a grave and unconscionable betrayal of the very people he is supposed to defend,” State Department Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson told Fox News Digital. WALZ, MINNESOTA BOARD OF PARDONS CLEARS CONVICTED ILLEGAL ALIEN CHILD SEX OFFENDER FACING DEPORTATION “Walz’s plot to sacrifice the safety of Americans on the altar of open borders was thwarted by Secretary Rubio. Now this foreign criminal will never harm another American,” he continued. Vang was convicted for repeatedly raping a 10-year-old girl between 2002 and 2004, and told authorities after he was arrested that “it is a cultural thing… to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked Vang’s visa earlier this month, and he was deported back to Laos. Walz defended the clemency move in a Tuesday press conference, contending that deportation of a convicted child rapist did not make the U.S. safer. “Did that make us any safer?” Walz questioned. “Did that make the children that are left behind any more stable? Did it improve the idea that we can’t all be judged by our worst day?” TIM WALZ OFFERS STRANGE DEFENSE FOR PARDONING CONVICTED CHILD RAPIST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DEPORTED Still, Walz admitted that Vang’s crimes were “horrific.” The State Department raked Walz over the coals for downplaying Vang’s crimes. “Walz sides with foreign criminals. Secretary Rubio sides with the American people,” Johnson told Fox News Digital of the governor’s remarks. “Walz wants open borders. This administration ended the era of mass migration. Walz endangered the American people. Secretary Rubio protected them.” EXPOSED DOCS REVEAL WHY TIM WALZ BOARD AWARDED REPEAT CHILD RAPIST PARDON: ‘NO FUTURE’ Upon last week’s announcement that the State Department had skirted Walz’s pardon and deported Vang anyway, Rubio scolded Walz for granting Vang clemency in the first place. “Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children,” he told Fox News Digital “That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States,” he continued. “Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.” At the time of Vang’s pardon, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) feared that the move would shield the criminal illegal alien from deportation. “Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said at the time. “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting.”
Controversial ICE tactic actually reduces unintended ‘collateral’ arrests: federal agent
Following a week of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle stops making national headlines, a federal special agent working in deportations revealed why vehicle stops are a “very important” part of the agency’s operations. After the second ICE officer-involved shooting in a week took place in Maine on Monday, agents nationwide were given guidance to pause vehicle stops until further notice. That guidance, however, was overruled by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, who called vehicle stops “one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.” Though controversial, the agent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said vehicle stops are actually the preferred tactic for many officers, because they are safer for both law enforcement and the subject than home apprehensions, and they allow more time to identify the target than street apprehensions. Perhaps most notably, while vehicle stops have been widely criticized, the agent explained that they decrease “collateral” arrests, which they said are the apprehension of illegal immigrants who were not the target of the operation but were “at the wrong place at the right time.” “[Vehicle stops] lead to a higher success rate in apprehending the target that they [ICE officers] are looking for and not getting the collateral. The collateral is the person that we’re not looking for, but we encounter, and they deem them as having no legal presence and/or illegal; therefore, they are going to have an admin arrest done on them.” ICE RESUMES NATIONWIDE TRAFFIC STOPS UNDER NEW POLICY REQUIRING BODY CAMERAS The agent said vehicle stops are a “daily” part of ICE’s operations. They described the stops as a critical “tool in the toolbox” for federal officers working on deportation operations. Simon Hankinson, a senior research fellow on border security and immigration at the Heritage Foundation, explained that vehicle stops have become increasingly “crucial” due to growing operational risks. “When you have to go to someone’s house, we’ve seen how difficult that can be if they don’t want you in. You need warrants, and if you’re breaking down doors, chances of somebody getting hurt are significantly higher,” he said. “What they’re trying to do is find people and take them into custody in the calmest, quietest, safest manner possible,” Hankinson continued. “So, ideal is when local law enforcement and police presence will honor ICE detainers, and they’ll hand them over at prisons when they’re finished their sentence or their hearing or whatever it is. But when they release particularly violent criminals into the city, they will go to ground, they’ll hide, they’ll hide in places where they’re hard to find. And so, it is easier to stop them in their vehicle when they are going from A to B than it is to try to pick them up in a building with doors that are locked.” At the same time, Hankinson called out groups using the possibility of danger in these operations to push for an end to all enforcement operations. DOJ ACCUSES MARYLAND OF ‘ACTIVE AND DELIBERATE EFFORT’ TO PREVENT DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: LAWSUIT “They will pretend that what they really want is safety and that they just don’t want anybody getting hurt. But if you scratch the surface, you realize that’s not actually their goal. If we were able to carry out deportations in 100% perfect safety and security, they would still oppose it.” In a social media post this week, Trump wrote, “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” The president reasoned that the announced DHS policy shift would be “playing right into the criminal’s [sic] hands.” Addressing federal agents directly, he then said, “ICE, be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.” The agent said that Trump’s reversal was a “huge” boost for ICE officers. The agent also noted that despite the reversal, new training on vehicle stops and how to respond to dangerous situations is already being administered to many officers operating in the field. They said that, especially given the increase in often adversarial public attention, they would “welcome” even more training for officers on vehicle stops. “Any time you take a tool out of the toolbox, it is going to create challenges for [agents] to do their job in a more efficient way,” the agent said. HARRIS CALLS FOR ICE PROBE AFTER MAINE SHOOTING AMID RENEWED ‘BORDER CZAR’ CRITICISM “In other words, if I’m encountering them on a sidewalk, and they see me, and they can get in the car and leave, that’s what they’re going to do. And I don’t have any recourse, or our team will not have a recourse to go after him and stop him,” the agent said. “We’d have to hope he stops or, God forbid, he crashes into something and causes property and/or bodily harm to someone else, a third party.” “I don’t want to hurt anyone; I really don’t,” they said. “I think any sane person would be in agreement with me to say, ‘Hey, let’s look at how we can do this safer for everybody.’”
Squad Dem in the hot seat after spending spree at luxury hotels: ‘Champagne socialist’
FIRST ON FOX: A far-left “Squad” Democrat is facing scrutiny after spending thousands of dollars in donor cash at lavish hotels nearly 2,000 miles away from her home district, a Fox News Digital review of FEC records found. “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar’s, D-Minn., campaign dropped over $6K on high-end hotels and private transportation between April and June, including payments to a Ritz-Carlton resort in Palm Springs, a hotel with sweeping views from the Hollywood Sign to downtown Los Angeles, and a luxury stay in the heart of Times Square, the congresswoman’s latest financial filings show. The payments, covering April 1 through June 30, included $2,131.90 to W New York in Times Square, $1,613.23 to The Godfrey Hotel Hollywood, $1,143 to Blacklane Transportation, $926.80 to Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs and $682.41 to the Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. Overall, the campaign reported more than $28,000 in travel expenses and more than $23,000 in food, beverage and catering expenses during the three-month filing period. SCHUMER DODGES QUESTIONS AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT ALLEGES DEM SENATOR HAD RELATIONSHIPS WITH HOUSE STAFFERS The Ritz-Carlton Rancho Mirage bills itself as a luxury Palm Springs resort overlooking the Coachella Valley and San Jacinto Mountains, with an exclusive Club Lounge, dedicated concierge service, spa, salon, fitness center, main pool, adults-only Vista Pool and whirlpool. Meanwhile, the Godfrey Hotel Hollywood promotes a rooftop pool and lounge with sweeping views from the Hollywood Sign to downtown Los Angeles. Ace Hotel & Swim Club Palm Springs describes itself as a boutique desert hotel with two pools, a stargazing deck, a nightclub, a spa and rooms with vinyl turntables and “organic mattresses,” and W New York in Times Square advertises panoramic city views, suites, a cocktail bar with DJ sets, in-room dining and on-property restaurants. Blacklane, the luxury transportation service Omar paid for in Q2, markets itself as a professional chauffeur service with business and first-class vehicle options, including Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Cadillac models. Her campaign has previously spent over $5,000 on the car service since joining Congress. Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s representatives for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. “Ilhan Omar is just another champagne socialist who wines and dines at luxury resorts while supporting policies that would make her constituents live in squalor,” Natalie Baldassarre, the national press secretary at the Republican National Committee, told Fox News Digital. ILHAN OMAR’S ALLEGED TIES TO MINNESOTA FRAUD SCHEME IN SPOTLIGHT Omar is not the only high-profile democratic socialist to face scrutiny over campaign spending. Fox News Digital previously reported that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign spent more than $53,000 on luxury hotels in 2025, including spending on a venue rental at a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico, even as critics accused her of hypocrisy over her rhetoric on gentrification and working-class politics. More recently, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a far-left socialist, has come under fire for similar “champagne socialism” accusations after his tax returns showed his income was 10 times the median income in his state. The spending scrutiny for Omar comes as she is already facing renewed scrutiny over her finances. Fox News Digital previously reported that Omar revised a disclosure that had listed millions of dollars in assets tied to her and her husband down to, at most, $125,000, Her campaign has also previously faced questions over millions of dollars paid to her husband Tim Mynett’s consulting firm during the 2020 cycle.
Texas Dem’s claim about abuse victim’s family unravels after relatives say they’re ‘tired of being used’
Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is facing blowback after the family of a child sex abuse victim whose case he invoked publicly contradicted his claim and said they are “tired of being used” in the election. Talarico held a news conference July 9 outside the office of his Senate opponent, Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, at which he accused Paxton of giving an “Epstein-style sweetheart deal” to former Waco, Texas, attorney Adam Hoffman. Pressed by reporters on whether he had personally spoken to the victim’s family, Talarico answered, “Our team has been in contact.” However, Melissa Dieterich, a friend and spokesperson for the family, publicly disputed Talarico’s assertion that his team had been in contact. Dieterich posted a “note from the victim’s family” on Facebook, which said, “We have not given any statement to Talarico. We have not spoke to him.” PROGRESSIVE TALARICO KNIFES BIDEN’S OPEN BORDER, TRIES MODERATING STANCE ON KEY ISSUES IN TEXAS SENATE RACE Dieterich further noted that the family is “tired of being used in this election” and “we are tired of lies being told by both Paxton & Talarico, tired of the divide and just tired.” In response to a comment on her post saying, “I have yet to see any politician NOT use this case as a talking piece,” Dieterich wrote, “Right, but someone said they have spoke to the victims (sic) mom and this and that and it isn’t true.” “That isn’t cool,” she wrote. After Dieterich’s post, JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign, told Fox News Digital, “This family has gone through hell. They have experienced something unimaginable and deserve respect.” Ennis explained that Talarico’s team “facilitated outreach to offer our support and ensure the family has a way to get in touch at any time, for any reason.” “Elected officials on both sides of the aisle have called out this plea deal,” he said. “The judge presiding over the case has called out this plea deal. James is calling out this plea deal and demanding justice to stop this from happening again.” Hoffman originally was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child. Earlier in 2026, Paxton’s office negotiated a plea agreement in which Hoffman pleaded guilty to indecent assault and displaying harmful material to a minor. He was sentenced to 60 days in the McLennan County Jail and was released after 29 days. The deal was reached after a Waco, Texas, jury failed to reach a unanimous decision in 2025, resulting in a mistrial. Assistant attorneys general in Paxton’s office have said the deal was a “difficult decision” and “was made entirely in the best interest of the child involved,” according to Spectrum News. The victim’s mother initially agreed to the plea agreement but later changed her mind, Fox 44 reported. The outlet reported a statement from the mother accusing the judge, police and Paxton of having “bent the system.” “They made sure my son was in the room when they raised the plea deal — knowing he didn’t want to testify again — and they used that against him. They pushed the deal through with or without our approval. That is not justice. That is manipulation,” the mother claimed, adding, “Paxton’s office gave Hoffman a sweetheart deal. That is corruption.” TALARICO SAYS HE ‘HATES CHRISTIANITY’ IN UNEARTHED INTERVIEW WITH TRANSGENDER ‘LATINX’ THEOLOGIAN In a separate post, Dieterich said that what that victim “went through is awful and the way our court systems handle victims in these cases needs to change.” She added, “We are hoping to change laws when the legislators are back in session so this doesn’t happen to another victim!” At his news conference, Talarico likened the plea deal to the prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein. He said that his public information request to release the “Hoffman files” was denied by Paxton’s office. He emphasized that “the victim’s mother called this a corrupt deal,” adding, “We should listen to the victim and their family.” “We don’t need any more pedophile protectors in our government,” Talarico said at the press conference. “Adam Hoffman was a well-connected lawyer who abused an eight-year-old boy. He should be spending his life in prison … He didn’t even have to register as a sex offender in Texas; that’s how good this Epstein-style deal was.” “Ken Paxton should have to answer questions about this sweetheart deal,” he emphasized. Fox News Digital reached out to Paxton’s campaign for comment. SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA A spokesperson for Paxton’s campaign told Spectrum News that his office has “already released information on this, but … the bottom line is that we stand with the child victim, who in this case did not wish to testify again and be forced into the same room as his abuser.” The spokesperson added that “Talarico cares more about turning a child victim into a political pawn than the truth” and that “every time James Talarico chooses to bring this case up he is intentionally re-traumatizing the child victim for personal gain.” Fox News Digital reached out to Dieterich for additional comment.
China dismisses Trump election interference accusations as ‘entirely fabricated,’ threatens countermeasures
China pushed back Friday after President Donald Trump accused Beijing of “working to influence the results” of the 2020 presidential election, describing his accusation as “entirely fabricated.” Trump said in a primetime speech Thursday night that “in mid 2018, China was working to influence the results of the U.S. midterm elections and later the results of the 2020 presidential election itself.” Trump said in a primetime speech Thursday night that newly released documents “show CIA reporting explicitly stated, and I quote, in mid 2018, the Chinese Communist Party’s policy was to leverage all domestic and foreign elements that were opposed to the U.S. president in an effort to reduce the U.S. president’s votes and make him resign or prevent his reelection.” “The reason they wanted me to lose is because they knew I was wise to them,” Trump added, while also accusing members of the U.S. intelligence community of operating a “shadow government” to allegedly conceal evidence of China’s efforts to influence U.S. elections. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Friday said “the relevant allegations by the U.S. are entirely fabricated and aimed at vilifying China.” “We have no interest in interfering in US elections and have never done so,” Jian said. ‘SHADOW GOVERNMENT’: TRUMP CLAIMS INTEL COMMUNITY BRAGGED ABOUT HIDING CHINESE MEDDLING Asked whether this might affect the expected visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the U.S. in September, the spokesperson replied: “As I just said, we urge the U.S. to stop making an issue of China in its elections and do something conducive to China-U.S. relations.” Trump did not claim China changed votes or altered election results. Instead, he argued Beijing engaged in an influence campaign aimed at shaping U.S. public perceptions. Trump said intelligence officials kept significant reporting out of his presidential briefings and highlighted an email in which a National Security Agency analyst allegedly wrote, “We have deliberately massaged our one pending [presidential daily brief] to avoid any direct links to the election.” “Those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden,” Trump claimed. “They did not disclose (it) to me as president or to anyone else.” Trump used the disclosures to press Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, casting the newly released intelligence as evidence that lawmakers must tighten federal election rules before the midterms. SENATE FACES ‘COME-TO-JESUS’ MOMENT ON TRUMP’S ELECTION PRIORITY UNDER GOP’S NEW PLAN The SAVE America Act passed the House in February but stalled in the Senate in March, when a 53–47 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance it. Trump urged Americans to call their senators and representatives and demand its passage “without delay.” The Trump administration also announced Thursday it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the U.S. to 240 days, down from years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days. China’s Foreign Ministry called the decision “discriminatory” and said it would affect the work of Chinese media in the U.S. “China urges the U.S. to immediately revoke its discriminatory policies targeting Chinese journalists and effectively safeguard their lawful rights and interests in the U.S.,” Jian said during a daily briefing in Beijing. He added that “China reserves the right to take reciprocal countermeasures.” Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GOP civil war erupts over Trump’s latest agenda push as key Republicans threaten to sink megabill
House GOP leaders are scrambling to approve a sprawling budget reconciliation package packed with defense and election integrity priorities, but Republican lawmakers in both chambers are pouring cold water on the process. The intraparty skepticism, including concerns over the lack of spending offsets, is throwing the ambitious timeline into doubt. And the move to attach the SAVE America Act to the process has already turned off some of its GOP opponents. “If we keep on layering layers of complexity, like another bogus attempt at the SAVE Act, then we’re never gonna get it done,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. When asked if it included the legislation if he would vote “no,” Tillis said, “Absolutely.” SENATE FACES ‘COME-TO-JESUS’ MOMENT ON TRUMP’S ELECTION PRIORITY UNDER GOP’S NEW PLAN “And I’ll slow other things down, too,” the retiring senator said. “It’s a waste of time. It’s an exercise of futility, and those are the only positive things I can think of to say about it.” Still, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has voiced confidence that both chambers can approve a budget blueprint — the first step in the complex reconciliation process — before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess. The House Budget Committee advanced the budget plan Thursday, teeing up floor consideration as soon as next week. But across the building, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that Johnson’s assurance was, “news to me.” Thune acknowledged the desire to push both defense funding and the SAVE America Act through the party line process, but warned of consequences that could appear along the way. “Again, the question is $60 billion worth the risk of putting something like that on the floor, and all the other harm that could potentially come from that,” Thune said. The truncated timeline comes as the House is expected to leave for August recess by the end of next week, while the Senate will depart Washington, D.C., the first week of August. Some in the upper chamber argue that lawmakers shouldn’t go home if their work isn’t done. “If we don’t get this done, we’re gonna to — I think we’re gonna have to stay,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. The Trump administration is also providing backup to reconciliation 3.0’s proponents. The White House sent an internal memo to Hill offices Thursday expressing support for House Republicans’ $95 billion budget framework, which would allocate $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding among other provisions in a forthcoming bill. “Congress must pass this budget resolution—without modification—immediately,” the document said in part. Several Republicans told Fox News Digital they believe that will be a tough sell. TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL CATCHES UNLIKELY BREAK AS MCCONNELL REMAINS SIDELINED California Rep. Kevin Kiley, an independent who caucuses with Republicans, told Fox News Digital he is “skeptical” about a third reconciliation bill. Kiley said he is concerned that the $73 billion in defense funding could be spent with little congressional oversight. “This is really our opportunity here for the House to assert itself when it comes to directing the resolution of this conflict on acceptable terms,” the California lawmaker said, referring to the war with Iran. Kiley also said he opposes the budget reconciliation process because it intentionally cuts out Democrats from negotiations and said lawmakers should be relying on the normal appropriations process. He voted against Republicans’ $72 billion immigration enforcement funding package earlier this year in part because the measure lacked buy-in from Democrats. Fiscal hawks in both chambers have griped that the budget blueprint does not direct Congress to cut any spending — a move that would almost certainly increase budget deficits and contribute to the national debt. “I think you got to pay for it,” Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told reporters Thursday. The lack of spending offsets was met with a cold reception in the upper chamber as well. “Our national debt is a runaway train. The next reconciliation bill should be fully paid for,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who lost re-election to a Trump-backed challenger, wrote on social media Thursday. Burlison also said he does not support Republicans’ strategy of using a $10 billion funding pool to distribute grants to incentivize states to implement elements of the SAVE America Act, including citizenship verification and voter ID requirements. He added that he could be convinced to vote for the budget framework if GOP leaders are able to force Democratic-led states to implement those provisions. “To me, it’s not worth it if it’s weak language,” he continued. “You have huge incentives in Obamacare, and you still have 11 states that rejected hundreds of millions of dollars to expand Medicaid. So it’s nothing for states … if we’re going to just throw a few million bucks their way.” Complicating matters is whether Trump would even sign a reconciliation bill that didn’t include the entirety of the SAVE America Act, given how much he has pushed Republicans to pass the whole thing. “I know, I know,” Thune told Fox News Digital. “That’s a good question. If you get the answer, let me know.”
‘Shadow government’: Trump claims intel community bragged about hiding Chinese meddling
President Donald Trump accused members of the U.S. intelligence community Thursday night of operating a “shadow government” to allegedly conceal evidence of China’s efforts to influence U.S. elections, seizing on newly declassified emails that he says reveal a bitter internal dispute about how Beijing’s activities should be characterized. Trump did not claim China changed votes or altered election results. Instead, he argued Beijing engaged in an influence campaign aimed at shaping U.S. public perceptions. Trump claimed intelligence officials kept significant reporting out of his presidential briefings and highlighted an email in which a National Security Agency analyst allegedly wrote, “We have deliberately massaged our one pending (presidential daily brief) to avoid any direct links to the election.” TRUMP RELEASES DECLASSIFIED ELECTION INTELLIGENCE, SAYS IT REVEALS ‘SHOCKING VULNERABILITIES’ “Those responsible for sounding the alarm instead kept the information secret and hidden,” Trump claimed. “They did not disclose (it) to me as president or to anyone else.” Trump used the disclosures to press Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, casting the newly released intelligence as evidence that lawmakers must tighten federal election rules before the midterms. “Most importantly, addressing this crisis of election security demands that Congress must pass the SAVE America Act,” Trump said. “These reforms are urgently needed to stop the vulnerabilities that I’ve mentioned.” The SAVE America Act passed the House in February but stalled in the Senate in March, when a 53–47 vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance it. Trump urged Americans to call their senators and representatives and demand its passage “without delay.” REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS The legislation would require documentary proof of citizenship to register for federal elections, photo identification to vote and ongoing state efforts to identify and remove noncitizens from voter rolls. Absentee voters would be required to submit a copy of an eligible photo ID when requesting a ballot and again when returning it. Trump also called for eliminating mail-in voting except in cases of illness, disability, military deployment or travel. The current text of the SAVE America Act does not include that prohibition — it permits absentee voting subject to identification requirements. Trump urged Americans to call their representatives and demand the bill’s passage “without delay.” The newly released emails show that analysts disagreed over whether any alleged Chinese influence operations and intelligence collection should be explicitly linked to elections. After the NSA analyst described “massaging” the President’s Daily Brief, other intelligence officials questioned the decision, with one writing that “the mind boggles” and another calling the approach “highly irregular.” One official alleged the intelligence community was “deliberately avoiding mentioning a connection to elections for non-substantive reasons,” according to a November 2020 email. That official sought to reconnect the intelligence to the election-security assessment and prevent what another described as an “analytic objectivity mistake.” The documents, however, do not establish Trump’s broader allegation of a politically motivated conspiracy. Instead, they portray competing intelligence assessments over whether China’s actions amounted to an effort to influence the presidential contest or a broader campaign focused on U.S. policies, public opinion and issues important to Beijing. Trump went further Thursday, claiming an FBI official wrote that she was running a “shadow government” to prevent the China intelligence from becoming public. China denied any interference in U.S. elections. “China has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference in other’s internal affairs,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Chang told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. election is an internal matter of the U.S. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people. China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S.” Trump is still expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in September, a senior White House official told Fox News. Trump directed the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Justice Department, FBI and CIA Thursday to investigate why the intelligence was withheld, fire anyone found to have participated in a cover-up and pursue criminal charges “if appropriate.” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in response to the address: “Americans heard the president once again repeat claims about our elections that have been investigated for years and repeatedly rejected by the Intelligence Community.”
Trump releases declassified election intelligence, says it reveals ‘shocking vulnerabilities’
President Donald Trump addressed the nation Thursday evening on “free and fair” elections, announcing the declassification of critical intelligence that reveals, as he said, “shocking vulnerabilities” related to “hacking, exploitation and foreign interference.” “This vital information is for many years been covered up and hidden from you,” Trump said. “The American people are beautiful, our great American people. But that all changes right now.” Trump did not claim China changed votes or altered election results. Instead, he argued Beijing engaged in an influence campaign aimed at shaping U.S. public perceptions. Documents were posted to the White House website during the president’s speech. TRUMP KEEPS ‘REALLY BIG’ ADDRESS UNDER WRAPS AS WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘NOBODY KNOWS’ WHAT HE’LL REVEAL The speech came as his administration has aggressively pushed policies, legislation and executive orders to secure U.S. elections. “The documents we will release starting tonight have been gathered by the White House Government Transparency Taskforce, a great group of people, along with the staff of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, supported by our top intelligence agency chiefs, who have all personally reviewed the findings we are presenting this evening and fully confirmed their authenticity,” Trump said Thursday. Leading up to the address, Trump teased that his speech would be “big news.” Trump touted his new Trump Accounts and spoke about how his administration has lowered drug prices, reduced crime and strengthened the border — with the main focus on securing American elections. Trump said the disclosures underscore its push for stricter election security measures and renewed calls for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, while critics have disputed many of Trump’s claims about the 2020 election and widespread voter fraud. Vice President JD Vance, FBI Director Kash Patel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin were among the White House officials seated in the East Room. The White House released four sections of documents focused on alleged vulnerabilities in electronic voting and ballot-counting systems, China’s acquisition and exploitation of American voter data, Michigan voter-registration investigation and noncitizens on state voter rolls. Election law expert and senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom Hans von Spakovsky told Fox News Digital that Trump’s allegations are shocking, especially given that they are from reports produced by the CIA, FBI, and other intelligence agencies. “The president should be commended for declassifying and releasing the reports that support his claims so they can be reviewed in depth,” said von Spakovsky. Trump said China obtained information about American voters such as names, addresses, phone numbers, political affiliations and other personal information to form a dedicated unit to exploit the voter data it had acquired. “China has all along adhered to the principle of non-interference in other’s internal affairs. The U.S. election is an internal matter of the U.S. Its outcome is determined by the votes of the American people,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Mr. Liu Chang said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “China has never and will never interfere in the presidential elections of the U.S,” Chang added. Reports from the CIA and National Security Agency about China’s interference were kept out of Trump’s almost daily presidential briefings, Trump claimed. Trump also said Congress also was not notified. TRUMP THREATENS TO EXPAND STRIKES ON IRAN, SAYS POWER PLANTS ARE NEXT TO GO: ‘HIT THEM HARD’ Trump called on the director of national intelligence, the Department of Justice, the FBI and the CIA to launch an investigation and, if appropriate, fire and press criminal charges against those involved. “To the extent that these intrusions into our election system were covered up, as the president alleges, and hidden from the public, Congress, state election officials, and leadership in the Executive Branch, Pres. Trump is right that everyone involved in that coverup should be investigated and prosecuted for any criminal violations of the law,” said von Spakovsky. Trump again highlighted the issue of noncitizens on voter rolls as he renewed his push for the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship and photo identification to register and vote in federal elections. “I’ve also ordered DHS to notify every state about noncitizens on their voter rolls and direct them to remove all ineligible voters from the lists immediately,” said Trump. The Department of Homeland Security told election officials in California, New Jersey, Nevada and Pennsylvania that a preliminary review identified more than 256,000 potential noncitizens on the states’ voter rolls, according to letters obtained by Fox News Digital. Trump has pushed to get the SAVE America Act passed, which includes the long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification — which Republicans say is key to ensuring elections are safe and secure. Trump has tried to attach the stalled election legislation to defense spending, holding housing legislation hostage and playing Senate primary politics. Republicans are running against the clock to pass the stalled elections bill before the party’s midterm window narrows. Democratic lawmakers swiftly condemned Trump’s remarks and criticized the SAVE Act. “Not now. Not ever. The SAVE Act is dead on arrival in the United States Senate,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X reposting Trump’s speech. “Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. And now he’s trying to rig this year’s election with the SAVE America Act to make it harder to vote for millions of women, veterans, rural folks, & voters of color,” wrote Democratic Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley. “Tonight seems to be the ceremonial kickoff of President Trump’s campaign to interfere in the November election. Trump has badly lost independent voters, even MAGA is disheartened; he is failing and unpopular, and he’s dragging his party down with him in the midterms,” said Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse. Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
White House addresses growing parasite outbreak after more than 400 Americans sickened
The White House said Thursday it was closely monitoring a growing multistate parasite outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people as federal health officials race to identify the contaminated food behind the illnesses. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to trace the outbreak to its source, insisting the agencies have the resources they need despite questions about recent staffing changes. “We’re committed to providing the CDC and the FDA with the resources that they need,” Leavitt told reporters. “Most importantly, [we’re working to] trace the outbreak back to its original source, which we are currently in the process of doing.” NYC HEALTH OFFICIALS WARN CENTRAL PARK VISITORS AFTER LEGIONNAIRES’ OUTBREAK GROWS ON UPPER EAST SIDE The outbreak has heightened concern because investigators still have not identified the contaminated food, leaving consumers without a specific product to avoid as federal and state officials work to trace the illnesses through patient interviews and food supply records. The White House comments came a day after the CDC warned it is investigating a large cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. The agency said the actual number of illnesses is likely much higher because many infected people never seek testing or medical care. The CDC said the outbreak appears to have accelerated since May, and it is simultaneously investigating several additional clusters of cyclospora infections across the country. Public health officials are interviewing patients about everything they ate in the two weeks before becoming sick as they work to pinpoint the source. MAINE COUNTY SEES ALARMING SPIKE IN HIV CASES, PROMPTING ACTION FROM HEALTH OFFICIALS Although investigators have not linked the outbreak to a specific food, cyclospora infections have historically been associated with fresh produce, including leafy greens, herbs and berries. Officials say identifying the contaminated item remains the investigation’s top priority. Cyclospora is not typically life-threatening, but the CDC warns some people can become seriously ill and require hospitalization. Symptoms generally begin about a week after exposure and can include prolonged watery diarrhea, fatigue, loss of appetite, stomach cramps and weight loss. Without treatment, the illness can last for weeks or even longer. The CDC is urging consumers to wash fresh produce thoroughly under running water, cook food when possible and to stay hydrated if symptoms develop. It also said to contact a healthcare provider if diarrhea persists. Because routine stool tests do not always screen for cyclospora, officials say patients may need to specifically request testing for the parasite.