GOP presidential hopefuls have a lot riding on the second debate of the 2024 nominating cycle — but some have more to prove than others.

Thanks to her well-regarded performance at the first Republican presidential nomination debate, expect plenty of attention on Nikki Haley at this week’s second GOP primary showdown.

‘I’ll continue to be myself. I’ll continue to say what I think,’ the former South Carolina governor, who later served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

For Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who was far from the loudest voice at last month’s debate, Wednesday’s showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, could be an opportunity to paint contrasts with his rivals for the nomination.

‘Having an opportunity to talk about where we’re different, I think it’s important for the audience, frankly, at home to understand that there are real differences between the candidates on the stage, and we should have an opportunity to discuss those differences,’ Scott told Fox News Digital last week.

The debate will be televised on the FOX Business Network (FBN) and Univision from 9 to 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

FIRST ON FOX: RNC THREATENS TO PULL NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBATE IF STATE LEAPFROGS IOWA IN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CALENDAR

Longtime Republican consultant David Kochel said the debate gives the candidates a second chance.

‘You’ve got to fix what was wrong in the first debate, or you’ve got to maintain the momentum that built from it,’ noted Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns.

So far, according to a Fox News count, seven of the eight candidates who took part in last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate have already reached the Republican National Committee’s polling and donor criteria to make the stage.

They are, in alphabetical order, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott

Former President Donald Trump, who has reached the donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the RNC’s pledge in which they agree to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. Pointing to his commanding lead over his rivals for the nomination, Trump did not attend the first debate and is not showing up for the second showdown.

Dave Carney, a longtime Republican strategist with decades of presidential campaign experience, said that candidates who ‘have a breakout night’ at the second debate ‘can put some of their rivals to sleep and can start formulating themselves as the alternative to Trump.’

But he warned that ‘If it doesn’t go well, you can pack up your bags and go home and spend more time with your family.’

Here’s a look at what’s on the line for the candidates on the stage Wednesday night.

Ron DeSantis

Carney, pointing to the Florida governor’s slide in the recent polls in the early voting states, said that ‘this is his opportunity to save his campaign or end his campaign.’

‘He has the most riding on this,’ Carney said.

Kochel suggested that DeSantis ‘needs to broaden the appeal.’ And he argued that ‘you’ve already got a Trump imitator on the stage – Vivek Ramaswamy.’

Pointing to the governor’s landslide gubernatorial reelection victory last November, Kochel said, ‘DeSantis needs to draw a distinction between himself and Trump.’

Nikki Haley

Pointing to Haley’s upward movement in the polls since the first debate, Carney said that ‘she has a lot riding on this.’

Kochel said ‘the question now is what do you do with that momentum? Is it a flash in the pan or can you repeat that performance and have an upward trajectory in the race?’

‘People got to see that she’s a pretty talented and effective communicator, and I would just double down,’ he said. ‘My guess is she’s going to get a little more attention [on] this one. Some of the candidates may want to go at her in this debate.’

Tim Scott

Carney said ‘this debate’s important for him. He was sort of quiet and disappeared during the first debate. … He needs to be a little bit more aggressive.’

Kochel suggested that ‘there’s going to be a lot of pressure on someone like Tim Scott, who disappeared a bit in the first debate, to step up and do better.’

Mike Pence

Carney pointed out that the former vice president ‘was very aggressive — probably the most out-of-character aggressive — at the first debate. I think you’ll see more of that at the Reagan Library.’

Pence, who gave a high-profile speech this month in which he criticized Trump and some of his other rivals for the nomination for walking away from core conservative values as he took aim at the wave of populism in the GOP, may reiterate his theme at Wednesday’s debate.

‘Being at the Reagan Library really gives him an opportunity to pivot off ‘Lets get back to Reagan-like ideas,” Carney said.

And Kochel noted that ‘if I were him, I would be touting myself as the Reagan conservative in the traditional sense and take off after populism.’

‘He’s making a bet here. It doesn’t appear to be paying off, but at this point, you’ve got to be who you are. That speech he gave will find a way into a lot of his responses,’ Kochel said.

Vivek Ramaswamy

The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur, political commentator and culture wars crusader is probably the biggest surprise to date in the GOP nomination race as his poll numbers continue to rise.

Ramaswamy faced plenty of incoming fire at the first debate, and since his support continues to grow, expect more attacks coming his way at the second showdown.

Carney said the first-time candidate has ‘got to prove that he can be presidential and serve as president of the United States.’

‘His biggest role right now is to make sure that no one becomes the massive heir apparent to Trump. It’s an interesting role he’s playing,’ Carney added.

Chris Christie

The former two-term New Jersey governor and vocal GOP Trump critic is making is second run for the Republican nomination.

Carney predicted that Christie will ‘once again use Trump as his foil … you can tell, he loves the fight. He loves the engagement with voters. He relishes the interactions with the media. He has a lot of compelling parts for being a president, but his limited focus I think hurts him.’

Kochel said Christie’s ‘an effective communicator, but I don’t think there’s a market for what he’s selling right now.’

Pointing to Trump’s absence from the debate stage, Kochel said Christie ‘wanted to be in these debates so [that] he could get a shot at Trump, and he’s not going to get it.’

‘My guess is he’ll probably throw more haymakers at Ramaswamy because he’s [the] most Trump-like person on the stage,’ Kochel added. ‘He wants to throw these punches, and there’s nobody to hit.’

DOUG BURGUM

Burgum, the least well-known of the contenders on the stage, will likely once again be standing on the wings of the debate stage.

‘It’s hard when you’re going to get the least amount of questions and the least amount of time,’ Carney said.

He emphasized that the North Dakota governor needs to find a way to stand out: ‘That’s his mission. He needs to get people to get interested in him.’

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

FIRST ON FOX: Vivek Ramaswamy’s Republican presidential campaign is explaining the former CEO’s ‘awakening’ on the threat China poses to the United States, following scrutiny for his former company’s partnership with a Chinese Communist Party-backed company just a few years ago.

Ramaswamy has repeatedly expressed his support for banning American companies from expanding into China. Just Thursday, he unveiled his plan to ‘decouple’ from China in a speech in his home state of Ohio.

‘Unless you stop turning our companies into lobbying pawns, unless you actually play by the same set of rules abiding by the same standards we agreed to, then we’re cutting the cord,’ he said. ‘You will not buy land in this country. You will not donate to universities in this country. You will not turn companies into your Trojan horses. Our companies will not expand into your Chinese market.’

Ramaswamy, who has described China as the ‘greatest external threat to America,’ issued the same sentiment during an interview with Fox News in June, saying he supports banning companies from doing business in China.

‘I would ban most U.S. businesses from doing business in China unless and until the CCP reforms its behaviors,’ he said. ‘I’m talking about actual real measures: no data theft, no intellectual property theft, no more turning our own companies into your geopolitical pawns to do you bidding using lobbying conditions as a basis for giving access.’

Ramaswamy, however, was eager to do business with China just five years ago. On July 17, 2018, his company, Roivant Sciences, announced it was partnering with CITIC PE, the private equity arm of the China state-owned investment company CITIC Group Corp., to create the China-based firm Sinovant Sciences.

Sinovant’s website, which has since been deleted, said it was committed to ‘advancing Chinese biopharmaceutical innovation globally,’ according to internet archives by the Wayback Machine.

Ramaswamy campaign communications director Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that the Roivant founder’s views on China have changed due to his experiences with the company and that a Sinovant-like launch would not be allowed under his presidency.

‘No, it would not have been able to launch,’ McLaughlin said. ‘Our country is at a precipice. We cannot depend on an enemy for our modern way of life.’

‘Today, Vivek unveiled exactly how we will sensibly decouple from Communist China: onshore critical supply chains to the U.S. while expanding trade with our closest allies,’ she continued. ‘China exploited the bipartisan U.S. consensus around ‘democratic capitalism’ to achieve parity & co-dependence with the U.S. over the last 30 years, but now is the moment to fix it and regain American sovereignty.’

‘Vivek is the only candidate in either party to lay out a specific plan to diversify away from the Chinese-driven pharmaceutical supply chain through improved domestic onshoring and stronger trade relationships with Israel, India, and other countries will help reduce dependence on China,’ she added.

Sinovant launched in 2018 with a pipeline of 11 investigational biopharmaceutical products for Greater China and other Asian markets, including four therapies suitable for phase III clinical trial application or registration in China, including derazantinib, lefamulin, RVT-802 and naronapride, according to a press release.

Sinovant’s launch came the same year that Ramaswamy spoke at a pharmaceutical conference in Shanghai. Ramaswamy’s campaign told the Wall Street Journal last month that it did not have a transcript or video of the speech.

On April 4, 2019, Roivant and Sinovant announced they were launching Cytovant Sciences to partner with Germany-based MediGene AG to develop immunotherapies in China, South Korea and Japan.

Sinovant’s website went offline sometime after Dec. 2, 2021, when the website was last archived by Wayback. 

Ramaswamy stepped down from Roivant on Feb. 20, 2023, to run for president.

‘Vivek’s views are a product of his experiences,’ McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. ‘We need leaders who understand complex issues deeply in order to address them, and Vivek believes in learning from experiences.’

‘There’s a reason why Vivek was the only prominent CEO who publicly called out the Chinese risks,’ she said. ‘There’s a reason why Vivek is the only candidate to offer a vision for declaring independence from our chief adversary. We hope other candidates and private sector leaders will soon follow suit as they have done on other issues.’

McLaughlin said Roivant ‘eventually wound down its operation’ in China ‘as the risks of doing business in China became apparent.’

A Roivant spokesperson told The New Republic in February that Ramaswamy was CEO when the companies were formed but ‘stepped down as CEO prior to us winding them down.’

The spokesperson said Sinovant and Cytovant are no longer operating companies but still exist for legal purposes and that neither company generated any sales or profits.

Roivant declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

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

The wife of Iran’s president said in a new interview Sunday that the country’s new hijab law is being implemented ‘out of respect for women,’ even as violators could face 10 years in prison. 

Jamileh Alamolhoda, the wife of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, sat down for an interview with ABC ‘This Week’ host Martha Raddatz. 

It was reportedly recorded a day after her husband’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly. Alamolhoda, a writer and researcher, defended the Iranian parliament’s move Wednesday to approve a bill imposing heavier penalties for women who refuse to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf in public, as well as for any business owners who serve women not wearing a hijab and activists who organize against it. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison if the offense occurs in an organized way. 

The U.N. previously compared the bill to ‘gender apartheid,’ ‘This Week’ noted. 

‘What do you think should happen to women who choose not to wear a hijab?’ Raddatz asked. 

‘The issue of hijab is part of a bigger issue about dress code in general,’ Alamolhoda said, according to the ABC host’s translated voiceover. 

‘It is out of respect for women,’ she continued. ‘It is natural in any country, you have dress codes everywhere, even here in university environments, in schools and everywhere else. And I need to tell you that hijab was a tradition, was a religiously mandated tradition, accepted widely. And now for years it has been turned into a law. And breaking of the law, trampling upon any laws, just like in any country, comes with its own set of punishments.’ 

‘I’ll ask again, what do you think the punishment should be? Because there are women who believe it is repressive, while they respect those who wear their hijab, they don’t want to be forced to wear the hijab. So, what do you think the punishment should be?’ Raddatz asked. 

‘I do not specialize in law,’ Alamolhoda said. ‘So I cannot answer you on a professional level, but punishments are equally dispensed to any breaking of the law throughout many countries.’ 

The bill was approved shortly after the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the morality police for violating the country’s dress code. 

More women have continued to openly defy the country’s hijab law after Amini’s death in custody on Sept. 16, 2022. Yet, following months of demonstrations, the United Nations estimates over 500 people were killed and over 22,000 were detained during the government’s crackdown of dissent earlier this year. 

‘You had more than 500 people, including 71 children killed by Iranian police officers or law enforcement or, or military during those protests,’ Raddatz posed to Alamolhoda. 

‘This event has been a big lie,’ Alamolhoda said, according to Raddatz’s translation, disputing the U.N. figures. ‘I do think that things can happen of that nature in any country naturally.’

‘However, in our country, they are turned into political projects. And those are due fundamentally because of the intentions of foreign governments who are keen to see other events occur in Iran,’ she added, reportedly blaming the United States. 

‘So no one was killed? No one was executed because of those protests? Is that what you’re saying?’ Raddatz pressed. 

In response, Alamolhoda claimed, ‘Many were killed, but in defending the Islamic Republic of Iran.’ 

Alamolhoda also disputed claims that Amini was beaten while in custody. 

‘I was in constant contact with all of the medical personnel involved in this case,’ she said, according to Raddatz’s translation. ‘She was ill, she had pre-existing conditions. She was loved by all of us. I’m a mother myself. And I do understand that the value of girls and women as a whole.’ 

Amini’s family strongly disputes that was the cause of her death. Meanwhile, Iran’s president remarked in a fiery speech to the U.N. last week, ‘It is time now for the United States to bring a cessation to her traveling on the wrong path and choose the right-side.’

‘Ladies and gentlemen, a humanity is entering a new framework, old powers will keep their current downward trajectory they are the past and we are the future,’ Raisi said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The clock’s ticking for the Republican White House candidates still trying to make the stage for Wednesday’s second GOP presidential nomination debate.

The candidates have until 9 p.m. ET Monday — 48 hours before the FOX Business- and Univision-hosted showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California — to reach polling and donor thresholds required by the Republican National Committee to qualify for the debate.

According to a Fox News count, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Saturday became the seventh candidate to meet the RNC’s criteria.

Burgum’s campaign and an allied super PAC made investments over the past week to try to boost the national ID of a politician who is far from a household name outside his native North Dakota in an attempt to make the stage. And it appears to have paid off.

Still aiming to qualify is former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who, along with Burgum, took the stage last month at the first GOP presidential nominating debate.

‘We made the last debate. It surprised everybody. People had counted us out. So, don’t count us out in this next debate,’ Hutchinson emphasized in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

FIRST ON FOX: RNC THREATENS TO PULL NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBATE IF STATE LEAPFROGS IOWA IN THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CALENDAR

The RNC, which is organizing the GOP presidential primary debates, raised the thresholds the candidates need to reach to make the stage at the second showdown.

To participate in the second debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 50,000 unique donors to their campaigns or exploratory committees, including 200 donors in 20 or more states. The candidates must also reach 3% support in two national polls or reach 3% in one national poll and 3% in two polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Additionally, candidates are required to sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. They must agree not to participate in any non-RNC-sanctioned debates for the rest of the 2024 election cycle and agree to data-sharing with the national party committee.

So far, according to a Fox News count, seven of the eight candidates who took part in last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate have already met the RNC’s criteria.

They are, in alphabetical order, Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Former President Donald Trump, who has reached the donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the RNC’s pledge. Pointing to his large lead over his rivals for the nomination, he did not attend the first debate and has already made alternative plans for Wednesday night.

Burgum’s campaign last week launched a new national voter contact program that aimed to boost his support in the polls.

‘The direct text video-to-voter program hyper-targets highly persuadable Republicans and conservative-leaning independents likely to vote in the Republican presidential primary with a tested video message most likely to move numbers,’ the Burgum campaign said in a release.

The move by the North Dakota governor’s presidential campaign came as the Burgum-aligned Best of America super PAC shelled out another $2 million to an existing $6 million national ad buy to try and boost the candidate’s poll numbers. 

It appears the investments paid off.

But Burgum told Fox News Digital last week that he would be on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire – the first two states to vote in the GOP presidential primary calendar – regardless of whether he made the second debate stage. 

‘We’re going to be here because the voters of these two states decide who goes forward,’ he emphasized.

Looking toward the second debate, Hutchinson emphasized it is ‘very important because a lot’s happened since the last debate.’

Hutchinson, who has yet to reach the polling and donor thresholds, told Fox News during a recent interview in Newton, Iowa, ‘We’re looking forward to being on the debate stage. We look to increasing those numbers.’

Among those still trying to qualify for the second debate — who did not make the stage for the first debate — are 2022 Michigan gubernatorial candidate, businessman and quality control expert Perry Johnson; former CIA agent and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas; and Larry Elder, a former nationally syndicated radio host who was a candidate in California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election.

Hurd, who has said he will not sign the RNC’s pledge due to his vocal criticism and opposition to Trump, told Fox News earlier this month, ‘We’re working hard to meet those requirements.’

When asked if he would drop out of the race if he does not qualify for next week’s debate, Hurd said, ‘My focus right now is to hit those requirements to be on that second debate stage, and then we’ll go from there.’

Fox News’ Remy Numa contributed to this report.

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

ARLINGTON, Va. – Americans are split in their opinions on the Senate’s new dress code allowing for casual wear by senators.

Fox News Digital asked several Americans in northern Virginia — a short way from Washington, D.C. — about their thoughts on the upper chamber relaxing the longstanding precedent for suits, ties or similarly formal attire this week after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., dropped the dress code.

The change in the dress code came as a surprise and has been dubbed the ‘Fetterman rule’ due to Democrat Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman’s penchant for casual wear in the Capitol.

Americans were split on the issue, with some decrying the rules as a breakdown of decorum, and another saying casual garb is ‘not only more friendly to people, but also to the environment.’

‘I prefer traditional wear,’ one person said. ‘I think that should be a standard.’

‘Maybe a Friday you can take a bit of a lax stance, maybe a hot summer, but I would not sway from tradition,’ she continued.

‘And I think it conveys a sense of confidence, and that is something that is not to be taken for granted,’ she added.

Another person said he thinks the dress code change is ‘cool,’ even though he’s not very into politics.

One respondent said he thinks the change is ‘a good thing’ for the cases when senators need to act fast on a quick vote.

‘But in terms of actual Senate decorum and actually the work there, I think it’d be better if they wore a full suit or a full dress,’ he added.

Conversely, another person said he thinks the change is ‘wonderful.’

‘It’s a lot more comfortable for the senators to not have to wake up in the morning and think about what tie to put on or what suit to wear,’

‘It saves them time so they can help the community more and serve us,’ he added.

The new dress code change has ruffled some feathers on both sides of the aisle in the Senate after Schumer made the change.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., is preparing to issue a bipartisan resolution next week that would re-institute the Senate’s dress code, after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., relaxed the rules last weekend.

The resolution would revert the dress code back to requiring senators to don coats, ties or business attire while on the Senate floor.

‘Next week, Senator Manchin intends to file a bipartisan resolution to ensure the Senate dress code remains consistent with previous expectations,’ a spokesperson for Manchin’s office told Fox News Digital in a statement Friday.

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed reporting.

A Democrat mega-donor who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Biden’s 2020 campaign and previously claimed ‘nobody cares about’ the ongoing genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China is slated to host a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

According to an invitation for the ‘intimate dinner and discussion,’ Golden State Warriors part-owner Chamath Palihapitiya and his wife Nathalie, along with a number of other individuals, will host Ramaswamy at their home in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sep. 29. The event invitation was first reported by Puck News.

The cost to attend the event is a minimum $50,000 donation to Ramaswamy’s American Exceptionalism PAC.

Palihapitiya, a billionaire venture capitalist, made headlines last year when he claimed that ‘nobody cares’ about the Chinese Communist Party-sponsored (CCP) genocide that has been recognized as such by several national governments.

‘Let’s be honest: nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, OK?’ Palihapitiya said on a Jan. 2022 episode of his podcast. ‘You bring it up because you care, and I think that it’s nice that you care.’

‘The rest of us don’t care,’ Palihapitiya said about the ongoing genocide that has reportedly included forced sterilization, beatings and ‘mental torture and physical torture.’ He said it was a ‘very hard, ugly truth.’

‘Of all the things I care about, yes, it is below my line,’ he continued, repeating that the communist state-sponsored Uyghur genocide was ‘below’ his caring ‘line.’

A campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Ramaswamy vehemently disagrees with Palihapitiya on the Uyghur genocide, but will still attend the super PAC fundraiser.

‘He thinks what’s happening to the Uyghurs in China is an atrocity,’ Ramaswamy campaign communications director Tricia McLaughlin said.

During a speech in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday where Ramaswamy laid out his plan to declare economic independence from China, he called the enslavement, imprisonment and forced sterilization of Uyghurs ‘one of the worst human rights atrocities committed by a major nation since the Third Reich of Germany.’

Noting that he is by far the biggest contributor to his own campaign, a McLaughlin added that Ramaswamy believes super PACs and dark money should not be part of the political system in America.

‘Vivek thinks money corrupts politics. He’s felt very strongly on that since day one, and if he is the GOP nominee he would like to strike a deal with the Democratic nominee to make sure there’s no super PAC money in the race. But right now, super PACs are a part of the 2024 primary game, and we’ve got to play to win,’ McLaughlin said.

According to FEC data, Palihapitiya has donated to the campaigns of several prominent Democrats, including Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and the Senate Majority PAC (SMP).

He gave $250,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in support of Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign in July of that year and another $5,600 directly to his campaign. He also donated $66,200 to the DNC.

That same year, Palihapitiya donated a total of $750,000 to the SMP, a political action committee affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He also donated $5,800 directly to Schumer’s campaign in September 2021.

Moderate lawmaker Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said Saturday that threats from hardliners to unseat House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., were all bark and no bite.

Bacon told Fox News Digital that McCarthy is supported by some 200 Republicans in the House GOP conference and that a handful of insurgents, the loudest being Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., would only play into the Democrats’ hands with an attempt to unseat the speaker.

‘[Gaetz] represents two or three percent of the conference, frankly. And I do think a lot of the folks, partisan Democrats, want to see Matt force the issue because it creates problems for us,’ said Bacon, who represents Omaha and surrounding counties to the west. 

‘The bottom line is the 95% should not cower to or be bullied by five people. We’ve got to do the right thing. Let’s just work in a bipartisan manner to begin with and move these five people to the side and start governing for the country,’ he added. 

The immediate problem for House Republicans is the looming deadline to fund the government by Sept. 30. Divisions in the GOP conference derailed the annual defense spending bill last week, one of the 12 appropriations bills considered must-pass to prevent a government shutdown. 

Most of the disagreement is centered around whether to pass a stopgap funding bill extending the current year’s spending agreements, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to fund the government for 30 days while lawmakers hash out a deal on 12 appropriations bills. 

GOP proposals for a CR have included deep spending cuts for those 30 days. But there are still several conservatives who said they would not vote for a CR no matter what, arguing it would extend the previous Democratic Congress’s priorities.

Gaetz is one of them. He went to the House floor on Sept. 12 and threatened to bring up a motion to vacate the chair — which would remove McCarthy’s gavel — ‘every day’ so long last the GOP leader did not comply with his demands.

‘No continuing resolutions — individual spending bills or bust. Votes on balanced budgets and term limits. Subpoenas for Hunter Biden and the members of the Biden family who’ve been grifting off of this country. And the impeachment for Joe Biden that he so richly deserves,’ Gaetz listed. ‘Do these things or face a motion to vacate the chair.’

McCarthy accommodated hardliner demands to begin an impeachment inquiry against Biden but so far has not been able to come up with a deal on spending that Republicans can pass with their narrow majority. It only takes four dissenting GOP votes to block a bill from passing if Democrats unite in opposition. 

However, Bacon says Gaetz’s threat is empty. ‘It only takes four Republicans to potentially put [McCarthy] at risk and lose the speakership, but the fact is they have no alternative,’ he said Friday in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press NOW. 

‘They have nobody else that they can offer to put up there that the 200 of us would ever vote for,’ Bacon added. 

He said McCarthy’s position is ‘secure’ and suggested that were the speaker to ignore the five to 10 hardliners making demands and make a bipartisan spending deal, ‘you’d have some Democrats vote ‘present’ and not vote to vacate.’ 

‘We have 5 people who want it their way or the highway,’ Bacon said. ‘The problem is the other 210 don’t.’ 

Reached for comment, Gaetz said his efforts have forced conservative concessions from McCarthy. 

‘In the last two weeks, Kevin McCarthy has relented on a number of fronts, most notably moving single subject spending bills (finally!). He didn’t do this because I just asked nicely,’ he told Fox News Digital. 

‘Moreover, the premise of Mr. Bacon’s argument is that Democrats would save McCarthy. That would mean he works for them. I doubt that would sit well with Republicans in Pensacola or Omaha,’ Gaetz added. 

In response, Bacon said it was Gaetz and the other insurgents who were helping Democrats by voting against Republican appropriations bills and making demands that ‘keep growing.’ 

He said that a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Problem Solvers Caucus would soon roll out the ‘Keep America Open Act’ to fund the government with a continuing resolution, including money for disaster relief, border security, aid to Ukraine, and funds for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and community health centers.

‘The majority of Republicans have tried to push conservative bills, knowing it’s going to the Senate,’ where Democrats have the majority, Bacon said. ‘But since we can’t get five to 10 people on the team we need to get the best deal ew can get right now.’ 

‘The rest of the conference can’t put up with this crap, we’ve got to move forward.’ 

Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Elizabeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

President Biden spoke to the Congressional Black Caucus Saturday night in Washington, D.C., where he attributed Congress’ failure to reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown thus far and political violence to a group of ‘extreme Republicans.’

The president and Vice President Harris both delivered remarks at the annual awards dinner for the CBC Foundation 52nd Annual Legislative Conference National Town Hall. 

Harris said during her remarks that the CBC is helping to ‘lead the fight for reproductive freedom. Just as you continue to lead the fight for civil rights. And I do believe the right to be safe is also a civil right. Today, however, gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in America. But instead of protecting our children, extremists obstruct.’ 

The vice president also blasted Florida officials for ‘intend[ing] to tell our children that enslaved people benefited from slavery.’ She was referring to a controversial line in Florida’s new instruction on African American history, which addresses ‘how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.’

In taking the stage after Harris introduced him, Biden thanked his vice president for her partnership and ‘always fighting for freedom.’ He said Harris is ‘doing an incredible job, and she really is. I told you I was gonna have a smart vice president and an African American woman, and we got one.’ 

He also thanked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who received a Co-Chair’s Award during the event, saying ‘No wonder I’m doing okay.’

Biden said some members of Congress are ‘sowing so much division’ and willing to shut down the government, referring to a few congressional Republicans who have signaled that they would not support the deal he brokered with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to avoid a government shutdown on October 1.

‘Just a few months ago, after long negotiations between myself and the new speaker, we agreed to spending levels to government fund essential domestic and national security priorities, while still cutting the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade,’ Biden said. ‘Now, a small group of extreme Republicans don’t want to live up to the deal. So now everyone in America could be forced to pay the price.’

‘Let’s be clear. If the government shuts down, that means members of Congress and members of the U.S. military are going to have to continue to work and not get paid,’ he continued. ‘A government shutdown could impact everything from food safety to cancer research to Head Start programs for children. Funding the government is among the most basic responsibilities of Congress. And it’s time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do.’

The president also spoke on the 2024 election, reiterating his previous comments claiming ‘democracy is at risk’ and that there is a ‘battle for the soul of America.’ Biden said Saturday that Americans no longer doubt that U.S. democracy is at stake now and was at stake in 2020.

‘And thank God, because of all of you, we won,’ he said of the 2020 presidential election. ‘I might add, we won convincingly and clearly by a margin of seven million votes, 81 million votes cast. The most in history. And that victory withstood not one, but 60 legal court challenges and an insurrection on January 6. So I’m running again.’

Biden, 80, noted that there are conversations surrounding whether he fit for office given his advanced age, but said he ‘knew what to do’ to support the U.S. and its allies when he took office in 2021.

‘When I came to office, this nation was flat on its back,’ Biden said. ‘I knew what to do. I vaccinated the nation and rebuilt the economy. When Russia invaded Ukraine. I knew what to do. I rebuilt NATO. And brought our alliance to rally the world. And above all, when democracy was taken I knew what to do.’

He later joked that he entered the U.S. Senate ‘200 years ago’ in the early 1970s.

Addressing political division and violence, the president blamed former President Trump and his MAGA Republican base.

The president said hate groups all across American have been emboldened and that the intelligence community has said the greatest terroristic threat to the U.S. is domestic.

‘That’s the greatest terrorist: domestic. Because far too often, it’s still the case, you can get killed or attacked walking on the streets of America just because you’re black or because you’re wearing a symbol of your faith … I want the entire nation to join me in sending the strongest, clearest, most powerful message possible that political violence in America is never, never, never acceptable in our democracy. Never. Because democracy is at stake,’ he said.

Biden added, ‘Let there be no question Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to spread anger, hate, and division. They seek power at all costs, they’re determined to destroy this democracy. I can not watch that happen, nor can you. And I’ll always defend, protect and fight for our democracy.’

The president also claimed he ‘started off as a kid in the civil rights movement in Wilmington, Delaware when I was in high school.’

‘When I ran the first time for the Senate at 29 years old, and Nixon won by 64% in my state, I won because virtually 90% of the African-American community — we have a large community — voted for me,’ Biden said. ‘I owe you.’

Biden also explained that the 2017 Charlottesville shooting and Trump saying at the time that there are ‘very fine people on both sides’ led him to seek the presidency in 2020.

‘The president at the time was asked what happened. He said, quote, ‘There are very fine people on both sides. Very fine people on both sides.’ When I heard that, I knew I could no longer sit on the sidelines because the President of the United States said yes, drawing a moral equivalence equivalency between those who stood for hate, those stood against it,’ Biden said.

Biden also appeared to have some gaffes during his speech Saturday night, mispronouncing rapper LL Cool J’s name and initially referring to the artist as ‘boy’ before quickly correcting himself. He was attempting to acknowledge LL Cool J and MC Lyte for their musical talents as the two artists received the Phoenix Award for their musical contributions at the annual awards dinner.

‘Two of the great artists of our time representing the groundbreaking legacy of hip hop in America, LL Jay Cool J, uhhh…’ Biden said as the crowd laughed. ‘By the way that boy — that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs.’

Biden, notably, has a history of referring to African Americans as ‘boy,’ a term considered a racial epithet when used to describe black men, including earlier this year when referring to Maryland’s Democrat Gov. Wes Moore, the state’s first black governor.

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The Hungarian foreign minister says his country is hoping for a return of former President Donald Trump to the White House, as he says the relationship between the U.S. and Hungary has deteriorated due to the ‘lecturing’ and interference in policy by the Biden administration.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Fox News Digital that his country, which is led by a conservative government, had strong relations with the U.S. during the Trump administration, but that it has soured with the new Biden administration.

‘We had the best ever political relationship with the United States during the term of President Trump, the best ever political relationship. And I think the reason for that was that President Trump has based this bilateral relationship on mutual respect, and he did not have the intention to judge, to lecture or educate us,’ he said. ‘He concentrated on America to develop — America First — and he concentrated on the relationship of ours to develop as well, which can bring mutual benefit for both sides.’

He says that now, the Biden administration has sought to interfere with domestic issues, and highlighted a move in 2022 to end a bilateral tax agreement that prevented double taxation after Hungary reduced its corporate income tax. Last month, the U.S. also restricted visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders, citing security concerns, and has also repeatedly criticized the government for its human rights record.

‘The Democrat administration is making continuous attempts to interfere in domestic issues in Hungary, they are judging us, they are lecturing us. The fact that they have terminated and broken the bilateral tax agreement between the two countries is a clear signal that they tried to put political pressure or economic pressure on us to change policies,’ he said. ‘And this is unacceptable.’

He said there is no longer ‘mutual respect’ that was there during the Trump era, and suggested that political factors are at play. 

‘We understand that the U.S. establishment is very unhappy with the fact that a conservative, right-wing, patriotic Christian Democrat government has been in office in Hungary for such a long time, and it is not enough that we have been in office for a long time, but we have proven to be successful, and I think this is very uncomfortable for many liberal forces around the world. So we do hope that our relationship will come back to the level where it used to be under President Trump.’

As for specific disagreements, he highlighted the war in Ukraine. He estimates that there are 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine, some of whom have been conscripted into the army and deployed. 

‘So we Hungarians are losing our nation mates, let’s put it this way, and we do not want to lose any more Hungarians in this war. We don’t want to see any more casualties in this war — not only Hungarians, none of them,’ he said.

The U.S. has sought to end the conflict by backing Ukraine with funding and weapons to retake territory seized by the Russians, but Hungary sees delivering weapons as prolonging the conflict. President Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday that the U.S. is ‘staying with you’ as he pushes Congress to provide additional funding for the war effort.

Szijjarto said that his country wants to see the U.S. bringing ‘peace into the neighborhood, and not weapons.’ He said he believed that would be more likely under former President Donald Trump, who is running to retake the White House in 2024 and has said that he would launch peace talks to bring the conflict to an end if re-elected. 

‘We understand the position of President Trump, who would like to bring peace into our region. And we wish that an American administration brings peace into the region, because we have to be realistic that, without the United States, there will be no peace in the region,’ Szijjarto said. ‘And as far as we listen to President Trump, this is really encouraging, and we cross fingers for him, for our own interests, because we have a track record already with him. We know how the relationship was under his term, and the fact that he would like to make peace . . . that serves our national interests as well.’

Szijjarto stressed that ‘we are not Americans, so it doesn’t matter what we think about domestic politics, and we would never interfere in domestic politics either.’

‘But of course, we have an experience, and we have a hope. We have an experience about how we work together, and we have a hope for the president of the United States to make peace in our neighborhood. And President Trump is the one.’

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

Critics are pushing back against a ProPublica report criticizing Justice Clarence Thomas for two unreported speaking engagements with a Koch philanthropy group, saying claims of illegality or unethical behavior are ‘false’ that don’t ‘hold water.’

On Friday, ProPublica — which purports to be an independent, non-partisan outlet but has received donations from left-leaning entities — published the latest in a series criticizing Justice Thomas for allegedly violating Supreme Court ethics, which Thomas has denied. 

The Friday report claimed he ‘secretly’ spoke at donor events for a political organization founded by libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch ‘at least twice over the years.’ But the group, called Stand Together, says the report ‘doesn’t hold water.’ 

‘Journalistic inquiry into the private dealings of public officials is essential for our democracy. But honest inquiry applies the same standard to all people rather than single out those with whom one disagrees,’ Gretchen Reiter, senior vice president of communications at Stand Together, told Fox News Digital.

‘There is a long tradition of public officials, including Supreme Court Justices, sharing their experiences, ideas and judicial philosophy with members of the public at dinners and other event,’ said Reiter. 

‘All of the sitting Justices and many who came before them have contributed to the national dialogue in speeches book tours, and social gatherings. Our events are no different. To claim otherwise is false.’ 

The event in which Justice Thomas attended occurred in January 2018 in Palm Springs, California. ProPublica notes that a Stand Together spokesperson said, ‘Thomas wasn’t present for fundraising conversations.’

‘Stand Together’s January 2018 summit was attended by several hundred people, including members of the media who covered the event,’ Reiter said. 

‘In fact, Stand Together has hosted dozens of summits over decades. The idea that attending a couple events to promote a book or give dinner remarks, as all the justices do, could somehow be undue influence just doesn’t hold water,’ she said. 

Reiter added that Stand Together is a ‘philanthropic community that works with thousands of people to remove the barriers holding people back.’ 

‘Our summits provide a forum for people to learn about how they can partner with one another to solve big problems in our country,’ she said.

ProPublica reported that Leonard Leo, chairman of the conservative legal network the Federalist Society, helped to arrange Justice Thomas’ appearances at the summit. 

But Leo says that ‘all necessary due diligence’ was taken to make sure the justices’ attendance was compliant with ethics rules.

‘Justice Thomas attends events all over the country, as do all the Justices, and I was privileged to join him. Justice Thomas has been a dear friend, and I would never pass up an opportunity to help him share, in his own words, his lifetime of accomplishment and judicial philosophy with new audiences,’ Leo said. 

‘All the necessary due diligence was performed to ensure the Justice’s attendance at the events was compliant with all ethics requirements,’ he added. 

Mark Paoletta, a close friend of Justice Thomas and a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., said that Thomas ‘acted ethically and appropriately,’ contrary to ProPublica’s ‘misleading portrait.’

‘Contrary to the false and misleading portrait by the leftwing, billionaire-funded group ProPublica, Justice Thomas acted ethically and appropriately, and consistent with how many Justices have conducted themselves, as even ProPublica admits,’ Paoletta said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘Justice Thomas has given speeches at various events and gatherings across the country. Every Justice does that. This is a good thing, as the Justices should not be cloistered,’ he said. 

Paoletta noted that the ‘Judicial Canons,’ which are part of the code of conduct for federal judges, state that ‘a judge should not become isolated from the society in which the judge lives,’ and encourages justices to speak at organizations dedicated to the law ‘and also engage in a wide range of non-law-related activities.’

In addition, Paoletta notes that justices are not required to disclose every speech or gathering they attend.  

‘Recently, Justice Thomas met at the Court with 60 students from a school in the Bronx. I can’t wait for ProPublica’s expose about Justice Thomas not disclosing this meeting on his form next year,’ he said.

Carrie Severino, president of JCN and former clerk for Justice Thomas, called the article a ‘hit piece.’ 

‘Another day and another hit piece on Justice Thomas from Pro Publica, which is nothing more than a front group for left-wing billionaires and their political agendas,’ she said.

ProPublica notes that Thomas could be a key voice in an upcoming Supreme Court case, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which questions a decades-old legal doctrine — the Chevron doctrine — that courts have leaned on to grant authority to executive administrative agencies when a federal regulation is disputed.

Stand Together has financially supported the Cause of Action Institute, the legal organization representing the plaintiffs in the case.

The plaintiffs, a group of New Jersey fishermen, sued the government in 2020, saying that a federal agency requiring them to pay $700 per day for a contractor who monitors their boats to ensure regulatory compliance, is out-of-bounds for a federal agency, and that such a burdensome requirement should be imposed by Congress only.

The fisherman appealed their case to the Supreme Court in 2022. In May, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

‘Loper Bright is a case seeking to restore one of the core tenets of our democracy: that Congress, not the administrative agency, makes the laws. Cause of Action Institute – which filed the lawsuit in 2020 – is representing family-run fishing companies that the federal government is forcing to pay a tax that Congress never authorized, and that violates our Constitution’s separation of powers,’ said Reiter.

This is an area of law that legal experts from different perspectives have long considered in need of clarification,’ she added.

‘The Supreme Court has an opportunity to correct one of the most consequential judicial errors in a generation. Chevron deference has proven corrosive to the American system of checks and balances and directly contributed to an unaccountable executive branch, overbearing bureaucracy, and runaway regulation,’ Cause of Action Institute counsel Ryan Mulvey said in a statement after the high court agreed to take up the case.