A House Oversight Committee panel is probing accusations that the Biden administration pressured a global medical recommendations body to drop age limit guidelines for transgender care.

‘The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating allegations of political interference by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in third-party medical organization recommendations,’ a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra sent on Tuesday read.

‘We are concerned that HHS officials, acting in their official capacity, inappropriately applied pressure for changes to international pediatric medical standards.’

The letter was written by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., chair of the subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services. She cited a June 2024 New York Times report that the administration pressed the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to remove its age limit recommendations for transgender youth surgeries because it ‘could fuel growing political opposition to such treatments.’

The pressure campaign was led by the staff of HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman, according to the report.

‘Officials applied this inappropriate pressure by urging for the removal of age limits that expands the pool of children and adolescents recommended for irreversible gender transition surgical procedures. The Committee requests documents and information from HHS to assist our investigation of this matter,’ McClain wrote.

‘The Biden Administration’s advocacy for expanding the pool of vulnerable children subjected to life-altering procedures they may later regret is reprehensible. Emails indicating that this advocacy was done for political advantage – possibly to satisfy extremist elements of its base – is even more outrageous.’

The topic of transgender medical care, particularly for minors, has been a political lightening rod in recent years.

Backlash over the Times report prompted the White House to say it did not support gender-affirming surgery for minors. 

However, the White House later altered its response after backlash from progressive groups, telling 19th News that such surgeries ‘should be limited to adults,’ but, ‘We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care, and respect the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions.’

The 2021 medical guidelines at the heart of McClain’s Tuesday letter initially recommended lowering the acceptable age for transgender hormone therapy to 14, the age for mastectomies to 15 and 17 years for genital or hysterectomy procedures.

However, those limits were dropped from the final version of those recommendations, according to the Times.

In the outlet’s story, WPATH President Dr. Marci Bowers rejected accusations that the change was politically motivated. Bowers said ‘the politics were already evident’ and said the body ‘doesn’t look at politics when making a decision.’

Nevertheless, the subcommittee demanded that HHS turn over all relevant documents and communications by Sept. 10, and warned the department not to obstruct the probe.

‘Under your purview, HHS has not cooperated in good faith with the Committee’s oversight of HHS and its subagencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,’ the letter to Becerra said. 

‘It is unacceptable for HHS to interfere with congressional investigations by refusing and delaying cooperation with the Committee’s oversight.’

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS and the White House for comment but did not receive a response by press time. 

More than 200 Republicans who previously worked for former President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., or Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, penned an open letter Monday endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

The cohort of Republican officials, which also includes a handful of aides to former President George H.W. Bush, previously sought to rally voters against former President Donald Trump in 2020. In their letter, the GOP officials singled out ‘moderate Republicans and conservative independents,’ calling on them to vote for Harris.

‘Four years ago, President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, and then-Gov. Mitt Romney alumni came together to warn fellow Republicans that re-electing President Trump would be a disaster for our nation. In those declarations we stated the plain truth, each predicting that another four years of a Trump presidency would irreparably damage our beloved democracy,’ stated the letter, published Monday by USA Today.

‘We reunite today, joined by new George H.W. Bush alumni, to reinforce our 2020 statements and, for the first time, jointly declare that we’re voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz this November,’ the letter continued. ‘Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.’

Monday’s big endorsement from GOP officials follows a separate endorsement released late last week from a dozen Republican White House lawyers who served under former President Ronald Reagan, as well as under both Bush administrations. Similar to the Monday endorsement, Republican officials argued that returning to a Trump administration ‘would threaten democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country.’

The Monday letter included nearly 240 signatures. It described Trump’s leadership as ‘chaotic’ and implied the former president wants to advance the goals of Project 2025 – a Republican blueprint for a potential GOP administration. Trump, however, has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the presidential transition blueprint, including during his recent visit to the southern border.

‘They’ve been told officially, legally, in every way, that we have nothing to do with Project 25,’ Trump said, according to NPR. ‘They know it, but they bring it up anyway. They bring up every single thing that you can bring up. Every one of them was false.’

Meanwhile, the Monday endorsement letter also charges Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, with ‘kowtow[ing]’ to dictators, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, while ‘turning their backs’ on U.S. allies. 

‘We can’t let that happen,’ the officials wrote. 

‘We know now, thanks to exit polling and voter data, that it was moderate Republicans and conservative independents in key swing states that ultimately delivered the presidency to Joe Biden,’ the open letter concluded. ‘We’re heartfully calling on these friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members to take a brave stand once more, to vote for leaders that will strive for consensus, not chaos; that will work to unite, not divide; that will make our country and our children proud.’

In response to the letter, Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung said, ‘It’s hilarious because nobody knows who these people are. They would rather see the country burn down than to see President Trump successfully return to the White House to Make America Great Again.’

One more Israeli hostage has been rescued.

The Israel Defense Force and Israel Security Agency announced Tuesday that another hostage taken during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack has been rescued.

‘The IDF and ISA have rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Gaza where he was held hostage, and brought him to his family in Israel. This operation was part of the IDF’s daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza strip,’ said Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

‘This operation joins a series of actions taken by the IDF that bring us closer to achieving the goals of this war,’ Gallant continued. ‘I would like to reiterate and emphasize: Israel is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages home to Israel.’

Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Rahat was reportedly rescued by a mixed company of Israeli combatants, including members of the 401st Brigade, 162nd Division, and Shayetet 13.

Members of the engineering combat spec-ops unit Yahalom and intelligence operatives from the Israel Security Agency also contributed to the rescue.

Alkadi, 52, has been held in the Gaza Strip for almost a year. No further details are being made available on the nature of the rescue operation, ‘due to considerations of the safety of our hostages, the security of our forces, and national security.’

He is currently being held in the hospital for medical care and is undergoing extensive health checks. He is in stable condition.

Alkadi’s family has been alerted to his recovery and are being accompanied by IDF personnel to meet with him.

Following the rescue of Alkadi, 108 Israeli hostages remain under terrorists’ control in the Gaza Strip. 36 are confirmed dead.

The vast majority were taken during the Oct. 7 attack last year and have been held for over 320 days.

Fox News Digital’s Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

There are 70 days until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

But if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Early voting starts as soon as Sept. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending out ballots to at least some voters the same month.

It makes the next few months less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of ‘election season.’

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between ‘early in-person’ and ‘mail’ or ‘absentee’ voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is , where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is , where the process and eligibility varies by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail voting, or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with seven more battleground states starting that month

This list of early voting dates is for guidance only. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

The first voters to be sent absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which begins mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6.

Seven more battleground states open up early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.

September deadlines

In-person early voting in bold.

Sept. 6

North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters

Sept. 16

Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters

Sept. 17

Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 19

Wisconsin – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 20

Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
Minnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting begins
Virginia – In-person early voting begins
Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 21

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
Indiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sent
Maryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 23

Mississippi – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
Oregon, Vermont – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 26

Illinois – In-person early voting begins 
Michigan – Absentee ballots sent
Florida, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent
North Dakota – Absentee & mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 30

Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 4

Connecticut – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 6

Michigan – In-person early voting begins 
Maine – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
California – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
Montana – In-person absentee voting begins
Nebraska – In-person early voting begins 
Georgia – Absentee ballots sent
Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 8

California – Ballot drop-offs open
New Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting begins
Indiana – In-person early voting begins
Wyoming – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent

Oct. 9

Arizona – In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 11

Colorado – Mail-in ballots sent
Arkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 15

Georgia – In-person early voting begins
Utah – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 16

Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting begins
Iowa – In-person absentee voting begins
Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 17

North Carolina – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 18

Washington, Louisiana – In-person early voting begins
Hawaii – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 19

Nevada, Massachusetts – In-person early voting begins 
Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins 
Colorado – Ballot drop-offs open

Oct. 22

Hawaii, Utah – In-person early voting begins 
Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 23

West Virginia – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 24

Maryland – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 25

Delaware – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 26

Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 30

Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 31

Kentucky – In-person absentee voting begins

The White House insisted again Monday that President Biden remains in charge of the country despite being on a second straight week of vacation. 

During a teleconference Monday, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby recognized the three-year-anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, Abbey Gate suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans outside Kabul Airport. 

Biden, who is at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for the week, notably remained out of public view on the anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack. Last week, Biden was vacationing in California, including when the Israeli military said they launched a preemptive strike destroying thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, essentially deterring a major attack by the terrorist group intended for central Israel.  

A journalist noted Biden’s public absence in a question to Kirby on Monday.

‘The President’s public comportment and the paucity of events on his public schedule, as on this very day, have fostered a public perception that Mr. Biden is increasingly disengaged from the presidency,’ Newsmax’s James Rosen said on the teleconference. ‘Time and again, the question I am hearing from members of the general public, and which I put to you here, Admiral, is: Who is running the country?’

‘Is he a ceremonial figure in some sense at this point?’ he added. 

‘James, now you know better than that. I mean, my goodness, he talked to Prime Minister Modi today,’ Kirby said of Biden. ‘He had calls with leaders in the region and in Europe, President Zelenskyy, last week.  He monitored in real time what was going on over the weekend. I mean, come on.’ 

‘The President is on vacation, but you can never unplug from a job like that, nor does he try to,’ Kirby added. ‘He’s very much in command of making sure we can continue to protect our national security interests here at home and certainly overseas.’ 

Former President Trump participated in a wreath laying ceremony Monday with relatives of the 13 fallen at Arlington National Cemetery. Biden and Vice President Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, were both absent but released separate statements listing the names of the 13 U.S. service members killed. 

Some of the relatives of the fallen took to the stage of the Republican National Convention last month to condemn Biden for never publicly stating their names, and the Trump campaign doubled down on their criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, noting that Harris had ‘bragged’ about being the last person in the room with Biden before he made the decision.

The Trump campaign on Monday also slammed how neither Biden nor Harris, despite their written statements, have ever said the names of the 13 Americans killed out loud publicly and stressed how their handling of the withdrawal ‘stranded thousands of American citizens and left billions of dollars worth of U.S. equipment behind for the Taliban.’ 

The statements from Biden and Harris each noted that ‘America’s longest war’ was over and remembered the 2,461 U.S. service members killed and the 20,744 wounded during the two-decade-long conflict. 

The chief administrator of President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posed for a photo at the Democratic National Convention with one of the ‘top soldiers’ of notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan, who has compared Jews to termites and previously called them ‘Satanic.’

‘Maaaaaaaaan, I had a great time seeing My Environmental Justice Squad along with My Political/Social Justice Squad mixed in with some HBCU LOVE, while here in Chicago,’ Terence Muhammad, the lead events and field coordinator for the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Hip Hop Caucus, said in a now-deleted Facebook post last week with a photo alongside EPA Administrator Michael Regan. 

‘Yea, the EPA Administrator of the President’s Cabinet is an AGGIE,’ he added.

Muhammad’s social media profiles are littered with pro-Farrakhan posts and the Hip Hop Caucus, whose stated mission is to fight injustice and enact change, has been involved in key Biden administration policy decisions, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

Hip Hop Caucus President and CEO Lennox Yearwood, who was also pictured with Regan and Muhammad, once referred to Muhammad as one of Farrakhan’s ‘top soldiers’ and thanked Farrakhan for allowing Muhammad to be part of his organization.

‘Bless Minister @LouisFarrakhan allowing one of his top soldiers [Muhammad] 2 be w/ me for #MOW50. Much LOVE to the NOI,’ Yearwood wrote in a now-deleted 2013 post, referring to Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam.

‘Happy Birthday [Terence Muhammad] You’re a blessing to our Movement & our People!’ Yearwood wrote in 2016. ‘Thank you for your love [Louis Farrakhan].’

In a 2014 Facebook post, Muhammad posted a photo of Yearwood and Farrakhan with the caption, ‘I am that I am(The Good) because I was introduced to a man named the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and a Life giving teaching from the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I can move/help my people like I do cause of Rev Lennox Yearwood, CEO/President of the Hip Hop Caucus. I work for these great men.’

‘Maaaaaaaaan [Louis Farrakhan] gave me life and [Rev Yearwood] gave me a lifestyle thru @HipHopCaucus to serve our people. I’m sooooo grateful,’ Muhammad wrote in 2017 with the same photo.

Despite the social media posts, the Hip Hop Caucus claimed they are not involved with the Nation of Islam in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘The Hip Hop Caucus and Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. have no relationship with the Nation of Islam and condemn the anti-semitic statements by Louis Farrakhan,’ a spokesperson said. ‘As a multi-platform organization, Hip Hop Caucus centers Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Queer folks in our voting rights, racial justice, and climate and environmental justice work, we believe in building true allied relationships with well-intentioned communities, who want to collaborate in good faith, as we work to make the United States a more just place.’

White House visitor logs show Yearwood has visited at least seven times since Biden took office, with six of those visits happening in 2023. In the most recent example, Yearwood and two other Hip Hop Caucus officials, Tanya House and Cynthia Swann, were hosted in the West Wing for a private meeting with White House Domestic Policy Council adviser Sofia Carratala.

During a 2021 speech, Regan referred to Yearwood as a ‘good friend.’

EPA spokesperson Timothy Carroll doubled down on defending Regan’s partnership with Yearwood, telling Fox News Digital that the ‘EPA appreciates the important on-going work of the Hip Hop Caucus and Reverend Yearwood to advocate for environmental justice across the country’ and that the ‘EPA condemns any statements of hate or prejudice against any group or individual based on religion, race, or background.’ 

This statement is almost verbatim what Carroll said in March of this year when Fox News Digital asked about his association with one of Farrakhan’s ‘top soldiers.’ Muhmmad’s Facebook post appears to have been deleted shortly after Fox News Digital reached out to the EPA and Hip Hop Caucus.

In April 2015, during an event protesting police brutality, Muhammad posted a picture of Yearwood ‘with Malik Farrakhan and the brothers of the F.O.I.’ The acronym ‘F.O.I.’ appears to be a reference to the Fruits of Islam, the paramilitary wing of the Nation of Islam. 

Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have been heavily criticized by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which was founded to stop the defamation of Jewish people and by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The ADL has called Farrakhan ‘one of the most prominent antisemites’ and SPLC has classified Nation of Islam as a hate group.

Muhammad – who Yearwood described as a ‘dear brother and friend’ in 2020 – has a long history of himself praising and, on multiple occasions, raising money for Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

‘Just for the record AGAIN. I love [Louis Farrakhan]. He is my heart,’ Muhammad said in a March 2018 post that included a picture of him with Farrakhan.

In addition to Regan, Muhammad posted photos with several other attendees at the DNC, including MSNBC host Al Sharpton, who has a long history of associations with Farrakhan, and disgraced Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory, who has also praised Farrakhan and attended several events with him over the years.

Mallory previously faced backlash after she said that the controversial Farrakhan was the ‘greatest of all time because of what he’s done in Black communities.’ Mallory admitted to attending dozens of the Nation of Islam’s annual Saviour’s Day addresses, including one where Farrakhan said ‘the powerful Jew is my enemy.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House.

Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report

A Harris campaign adviser conceded Sunday that Vice President Kamala Harris ‘owes responses’ to the American public about why she has shifted her stance on policies like fracking, adding that she will sit for an interview ‘before the end of this month.’

News of Harris’ first formal interview since becoming the Democratic Party’s nominee for president came Sunday, during an appearance by Harris’ deputy campaign manager, Quentin Fulks, on Fox News’s ‘Media Buzz’ with Howie Kurtz. During the discussion, Kurtz pressed Fulks on whether he felt Harris needed to explain to voters why – on issues like fracking and health care – she has backtracked on several of her formerly far-left, progressive stances touted amid Harris’ 2020 presidential run.

‘Look, I think that the vice president owes responses to the American people,’ Fulks said. He pointed the finger at former President Trump for stirring up misinformation about Harris’ views on topics like fracking and health care. ‘We’re not going to be worried about explaining anything to Donald Trump, or people – the vice president is going to talk to the American people about what her positions are.’ 

Harris has been criticized for failing to take interviews or hold press conferences since becoming the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee over a month ago. The Harris-Walz campaign lacks any information about the pair’s policy views on their campaign website as well, and the recent policy platform unveiled by the Democratic National Convention (DNC) cited President Biden and his policies more than it did Harris’. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign to glean more details about the vice president’s upcoming interview, but did not receive a response.

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton said Sunday on ABC News that Harris ‘owes’ the American public an explanation on when and why she changed her policy positions on various issues.

‘She needs to address the American people and speak to these questions because the only basis they have to conclude what she will be like as president is what she’s done for four years in this administration and what she said in her own voice in the last campaign,’ Cotton said.

Meanwhile, some of Harris’ supporters think she should continue dodging the media. 

For example, Rick Wilson, former GOP strategist and co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, said last week that Harris ‘has no f—ing necessity to do interviews right now.’ 

‘They should go out and keep racing along and doing the big things, do what’s working right now – which is going out and holding massive, enthusiastic rallies that are bringing people into the Democratic fold again, that are exciting voters,’ Wilson continued.

The same opinion was echoed by legendary Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino, who told talk show host Bill Maher that ‘sometimes it’s just about f—ing winning.’ 

‘She’s not stopping to stumble,’ Tarantino told Maher. ‘And there’s nothing wrong to – and I’m going to vote for her f—ing anyway, no matter what she says in a stupid f—ing interview. So don’t f— s— up!’ 

Delegates at the DNC last week had similar, albeit less aggressive, takes on Harris’ failure to go in front of the media.

‘Let’s give some time,’ Heather Pirowski, a delegate from Indiana, said last week. ‘I think just be patient because it’s all gonna come.’

‘Right now, our main concern is uniting the party,’ said another. ‘And once that’s done, I think she’s gonna come out and speak to the American people.’

At least one delegate couldn’t understand why Harris was being criticized for not going in front of the media. ‘I don’t know what that’s about,’ the Texas delegate said at the convention last week. ‘I mean, when they have to resort to those tactics and the name-calling and the vitriol and the misogynistic – he’s back to 2016 when that’s all he did against Hillary.’