A member of the House Appropriations Committee says that the chamber’s Department of Homeland Security appropriation bill is centering around border security — particularly restarting border wall construction — to combat the ongoing crisis at the southern border, as well as cutting spending and getting rid of ‘woke’ funding sources.

‘We said we’d do two things: We’d curb the spending, and we would remove the woke,’ Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital in an interview this week.

The appropriations bill for DHS includes a slew of Republican priorities when it comes to the border, including increasing funding for wall construction along the southern border by over $2 billion, and would force the agency to allocate the funding to build it within 120 days. It is expected to move forward next week.

The Trump-era wall project was scrapped by the Biden administration, although some construction is still ongoing due to language in appropriations bills approved during the Trump administration. Zinke made clear that it remains a top priority for Republicans in this legislation.

‘People ask me, ‘What does a bill look like?’ I say, ‘Well, primarily it looks about 32 feet tall and about 600 miles long. That’s what it looks like.”

It would also provide funding for 22,000 Border Patrol agents and fund border security technology with $228 million.

‘You have more money directed to the men who man the wall. That’s our Border Patrol professionals, because, you know, they’re having a hard time recruiting and those type of things, so it puts more money on actually the people that man the wall and then increases the technology around the wall,’ he said.

That would include Autonomous Surveillance Towers and Tactical Aerostats — the administration grounded those aerostats last year. Separately, it would fund ICE to the tune of nearly $10 billion.

He also pointed to language that would prevent funding for ‘gender-affirming care’ for illegal immigrants in detention and for diversity, equality and inclusion programs and add restrictions on programs that include critical race theory.

The bill will be open to amendments, of which a number of Republicans have proposed a number of hard-hitting amendments — including reducing Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ salary and defunding ‘sanctuary’ cities. Zinke said he expects the bill to remain roughly the same after the amendment process.

‘There might be a few additions, subtractions back and forth, but I think the core and the thrust of the bill will remain the same,’ he said. ‘I think it’s a good bill. And if you’re a conservative, you know, I think you want to curb the spending and remove the woke. And all these appropriation bills do just that.’

Zinke does not expect the Democratic-controlled Senate to think much of the bill that would eventually emerge from the lower chamber. He was blunt in his assessment of the upper chamber. 

‘Looking at what the Senate passed, I don’t think the Senate is going to like our bill at all . . . the Senate in many ways, I think, is too old and too fat on pork to change.’

The bill comes amid a looming shutdown threat if the government is not funded past September 30. Lawmakers have until then to fund the government or pass a short-term stopgap continuing resolution. Zinke says it is up to the House to do its job in passing its appropriations bills, and then it’s in the hands of the Senate.

‘We need to get two or three or four appropriations done, and that’s enough just to begin the reconciliation process to get the bills in shape where they become law. But if the Senate doesn’t take them up, the shutdown is going to be squarely on their lap, because we’ll do our job.’

He also emphasized the importance of the appropriations process over tools like continuing resolutions.

‘These firewalls we’ve built over time, continuing resolutions and mandatory and discretionary, all these clever terms, I think have drawn us away from our primary duty of appropriations, and they are conveniences that allowed Congress to punt all these years,’ he said. 

‘And now we’re going down to the one-inch line. I don’t think we can punt anymore. We’ve got to take the hard call.’

‘I always have a plan. That doesn’t mean it happens,’ House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said early Thursday afternoon. ‘I had a plan for this week. It didn’t turn out exactly as I had planned.’

McCarthy’s ‘plan’ was for the House to approve a defense spending bill stocked with all sorts of conservative priorities. The measure included the elimination of ‘woke’ policies in the military focused on ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity.’ 

The bill also torpedoed a Pentagon decision to permit service members seeking abortions to travel across state lines. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is holding up the promotions of about 300 senior officers across all branches in protest. 

But that wasn’t enough for House Republicans. McCarthy lacked the votes to even put the defense bill on the floor.

MASK CONFUSION ENTERS CONGRESS AGAIN AS COVID-19 CASES TICK UP

‘I don’t have one complaint by any member about what’s wrong with this bill,’ McCarthy groused.

It’s always about the math on Capitol Hill. McCarthy’s margin is even tighter now thanks to the resignation of former Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah. There are just enough arch-conservatives to vote no who won’t support much of anything. That’s despite McCarthy stripping spending on various appropriations bills well below the level agreed to in the debt ceiling accord forged with President Biden.

McCarthy torched his opponents in a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting Thursday. The speaker is exasperated by right-wing intransigence to passing even GOP bills that articulate core conservative priorities. That’s to say nothing of intimations from right-wing members who are threatening to oust McCarthy from the speaker’s position, disappointed in his stewardship.

McCarthy brought the heat in the private meeting, dropping F-bombs on fellow Republicans he believes were obstinate.

‘I showed frustration in here because I am frustrated with the committee or frustrated with some people in the conference,’ McCarthy said afterward. ‘I don’t walk away from a battle.’

McCarthy promised that if it will take ‘a fight, I’ll have a fight.’

The speaker’s loyalists closed ranks around the California Republican.

‘He’s irritated,’ said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., when asked about McCarthy’s salty language.

‘The speaker said, ‘Look, if you want to make a motion to vacate the chair, bring it on,’’ added Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Let’s go back to the math.

MCCARTHY TO GREEN LIGHT BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY THIS WEEK

It’s doubtful that anyone would have votes to dethrone McCarthy at this stage. And while few say it out loud, many believed McCarthy talking impeachment all summer long would buy him political capital with detractors. 

Even some moderate Republicans representing battleground districts like Bacon and Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, embraced McCarthy’s impeachment gambit of President Biden.

‘I think we should have impeached his ass a long time ago,’ said Gonzales, miffed about how the president handled the border.

But McCarthy faces a triangle of trouble.

The impeachment inquiry begins as McCarthy attempts to avert a government shutdown and could face a no-confidence vote from rank-and-file members.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., characterized it as a ‘three-ring circus.’

‘They can’t even bring the defense appropriations bill to the floor because they’ve totally lost control of the floor to the extremists who are running the House,’ said Jeffries.

The New York Democrat seemingly sympathized with McCarthy about his conundrums.

‘He’s not wrong in terms of the schizophrenic nature of some of the demands that have been made by House Republicans,’ said Jeffries.

McCarthy’s angered right-wingers because the House must likely approve an interim spending bill that simply renews all old funding on a temporary basis to avoid a shutdown. McCarthy said this week the stopgap measure could last for a month or two. 

What McCarthy didn’t say was that he probably needs to lean on Democrats to provide the votes to avoid a shutdown. The combination of failing to trim spending immediately and relying on more Democratic votes — a la what happened in May to approve the debt ceiling accord — is a toxic political cocktail for the speaker. It doesn’t matter what he does on impeachment.

‘If it takes too long get a vote for impeachment, I’m forcing a vote on impeachment,’ vowed Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.

It was Boebert who tried to deposit a snap resolution on the floor in June to impeach President Biden on the spot. This was all without committee hearings or any other vetting. The speaker intervened, euthanizing Boebert’s resolution. It’s unclear if McCarthy wishes he could rapidly say ‘Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice’ to make antagonists like Boebert disappear. 

Some conservatives accused McCarthy of pivoting to impeachment because of struggles to prevent a shutdown and slash spending.

‘He likes talking impeachment because it is a way to divert from the very failure to align to the commitment that was made in January,’ said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Gaetz nearly blocked McCarthy from becoming speaker in January.

Some conservatives vow they will abandon McCarthy if he attempts to just re-up the old funding without immediate cuts. 

‘Speaker McCarthy is not living up to the promises that he made in order to secure that gavel,’ said Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.

It’s notable that Gaetz, Boebert and Rosendale — along with representatives Bob Good, R-Va., Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz., all voted ‘present’ and never supported McCarthy on the 15th and final ballot for speaker in January.

All it takes is one member to demand the House conduct a vote to ‘vacate the chair’ and there’s a potential challenge to McCarthy’s speakership. The House has voted to elect a new speaker before when a speaker died or resigned in the middle of the Congress. 

Such was the case in 2015 when former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced his retirement. Thus, a successful vote to ‘vacate the chair’ would trigger an unprecedented mid-Congress vote for speaker on the floor. 

Ironically, some Democrats could bail out McCarthy if it comes to that. 

‘I think the motion to vacate the chair should be opposed,’ said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. ‘We’d rather have the speaker we know than the speaker we don’t know.’

But the top House Democrat said McCarthy could be on his own.

‘They’re going to have to work out their own, internal poisonous, partisan, political dynamics,’ Jeffries said of House Republicans.

Fox is told that House leaders don’t expect any motion to vacate the chair until after the House votes on a still-hypothetical interim spending bill that doesn’t align with conservative demands. So, for now, McCarthy is trying to spray foam on the smoldering spending embers. 

‘Nobody wins in a government shutdown,’ said McCarthy. 

That is McCarthy’s plan.

But as the speaker conceded, his plan doesn’t always work out.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – When it comes to the combustible issue of abortion, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley appears to be on a mission.

‘We are not going to demonize this issue anymore. We’re going to humanize it because it’s too personal of an issue,’ the former ambassador and former two-term South Carolina governor said Saturday in a Fox News Digital interview minutes before she headlined a town hall in the suburbs of Iowa’s capitol city.

That line echoes Haley’s statements on the issue from last month.

‘We need to stop demonizing this issue,’ Haley said in August at the first Republican debate, a Fox News hosted showdown last month in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ‘It’s personal for every woman and man.’

The blockbuster move last year by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which had allowed for legalized abortions nationwide, moved the divisive issue back to the states.

And it’s forced Republicans to play plenty of defense in elections across the country, as a party that’s nearly entirely ‘pro-life’ has had to deal with an electorate where a majority of Americans support at least some form of abortion access.

Haley, as she faces off against a dozen rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is pushing a message that she hope will resonate both with the GOP’s anti-abortion base as well as moderate Republicans and swing voters who support some degree of legalized abortion.

She’s also been critical — as witnessed in the first debate — of some of her rivals who are heavily advocating for a 15-week federal abortion ban.

‘Our goal is to save as many babies as we can. Support as many moms as we can. That’s the goal. So in order to do that, we have to have 60 Senate votes. Let’s see where that is but we only have 45 pro-life senators,’ Haley said on Saturday. 

‘So let’s focus on what we do agree on,’ she said. ‘Let’s ban late-term abortions. Let’s encourage adoptions. Let’s make sure contraceptives accessible. Let’s make sure that nurses and doctors who don’t believe abortion don’t have to perform them. And let’s make sure no state law requires a women to go to jail or get the death penalty for abortion. We’re talking about hard truths and women around the country agree with me.’

Haley was interviewed at Jethro’s BBQ, a popular eatery with multiple locations in Iowa, the state whose caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

And she spoke hours before she and most of the rest of the field of Republican presidential candidates attend the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual fall banquet, as the contenders each make their case to a large and influential crowd of social conservative leaders, activists, and Evangelical voters, who play an outsized role in Hawkeye State Republican politics.

Nicole Schlinger, a longtime Republican strategist in Iowa who’s well-connected to the social conservative community, said that former President Donald Trump’s ‘track record on issues concerning life is extremely good,’ and that ‘it’s not surprising that there hasn’t been much change’ when it comes to his large double-digit lead in the Iowa polls.

Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the latest polls in Iowa, the other early voting states, and especially in national surveys, as he runs a third striaght time for the White House.

But Schlinger added ‘I think there’s a path open for another candidate or two to perform well and exceed expectations in Iowa… The door’s open but someone needs to walk through it and that hasn’t happened yet.’

Pointing to Haley, she said ‘I think she has a great story to tell but she needs to clarify more what she said on that debate stage’ regarding abortion.

Haley has enjoyed plenty of polling and fundraising momentum since her well-regarded performance in the first Republican presidential primary debate.

And in her first trip back to Iowa sine the debate showdown, she drew healthy crowds Friday at a couple of agriculture-themed events in eastern Iowa and a large crowd Saturday morning to her town hall in suburban Des Moines.

‘We’ve seen hundreds of people come out. We love it. Iowa’s ready. They’re paying attention,’ Haley spotlighted. ‘Momentum from the debate but they also like what we have to say and I’ve said for a long time – we have a country to save and I’m determined to do it and it all starts here in Iowa.’

Haley emphasized that ‘people are excited. They want something different. They want a new generational leader. They want to leave the chaos of the past and they want go forward and they’re tired of the fact that they just don’t feel like anyone’s listening. What we tell them is not only do we hear you, but we’re ready to get to work for you and I think that’s what the people of Iowa and that what the people around the country want.’

It’s expected for Haley to tout her momentum. But two well known GOP strategist in Iowa who are neutral in the 2024 nomination battle are also pointing to her upward trajectory.

‘I think Ambassador Haley did herself a lot of favor. I think she’s in a really good spot,’ longtime Iowa based Republican strategist and communicator Jimmy Centers said, as he pointed towards the first debate.

And David Kochel, a longtime Republican consultant and veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns in Iowa and nationally, said that ‘Nikki got the best bounce out of the debate. I’ve seen it in our internal data.’

‘Maybe she’s in a dead heat with [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis,’ Kochel said, before adding that ‘it’s still 25 points behind Trump.’

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

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday revised her original public health order which would have temporarily banned individuals from carrying guns across Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County.

The new revised order would temporarily ban individuals from carrying guns only in parks and playgrounds. The revised version comes after portions of her original version were struck down by a federal judge.

Biden-appointed U.S. District Court Judge David Urias said during a Wednesday hearing that the order violated the Constitution.

‘The violation of a constitutional right, even for minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury,’ Urias said during the hearing.

The temporary restraining order imposed by the judge will remain in effect until at least Oct. 3, when the next hearing is scheduled.

According to the revised public health order, law enforcement officers, security officers, and active duty military personnel are exempt from the order.

‘I’m going to continue pushing to make sure that all of us are using every resource available to put an end to this public health emergency with the urgency it deserves,’ said Lujan Grisham. ‘I will not accept the status quo – enough is enough.’

‘Today a judge temporarily blocked sections of our public health order but recognized the significant problem of gun violence in this state, particularly involving the deaths of children,’ she wrote in response to the judge’s decision. ‘As governor, I see the pain of families who lost their loved ones to gun violence every single day, and I will never stop fighting to prevent other families from enduring these tragedies.’

‘Over the past four days, I’ve seen more attention on resolving the crisis of gun violence than I have in the past four years. Now is the time to bring clarity of purpose: New Mexicans must again feel safe walking home from school, driving to the grocery store, or leaving their hometown baseball stadium,’ Lujan Grisham added. ‘And I call on leaders across the state, from local law enforcement to the Legislature to mayors and county commissioners: Stand with me to enact solutions that save people’s lives. Throwing up our hands is not an option.’ 

Her initial public health order gained pushback from both sides, with two Republican state representatives calling for the governor to be impeached.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a scathing letter directed towards the White House after he was acquitted of state impeachment charges Saturday.

Paxton, a Republican, was accused of corruption, bribery and unfitness for office by a bipartisan group of Texas state senators. All 12 Democrats in the jury voted for his impeachment, along with two Republicans: Sens. Robert Nichols and Kelly Hancock.

The attorney general was accused of misusing his political power to hire Nate Paul, a real state developer who employed Paxton’s alleged mistress Laura Olson. Paul was indicted in June for allegedly making false statements to banks.

The jury needed 21 votes to confirm the impeachment, but a two-thirds majority was not reached. The vote finished just before 1 p.m. Saturday.

‘The sham impeachment coordinated by the Biden Administration with liberal House Speaker Dade Phelan and his kangaroo court has cost taxpayers millions of dollars, disrupted the work of the Office of Attorney General and left a dark and permanent stain on the Texas House,’ Paxton’s letter read.

‘The weaponization of the impeachment process to settle political differences is not only wrong, it is immoral and corrupt,’ the embattled attorney general added.

Paxton then accused the White House of promoting ‘lawless policies’ and promised that President Biden will be ‘held accountable.’

‘Finally, I can promise the Biden Administration the following: buckle up because your lawless policies will not go unchallenged,’ the statement read. ‘We will not allow you to shred the constitution and infringe on the rights of Texans. You will be held accountable.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a statement, but has not heard back.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

–>

CONCORD, N.H. – Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is pledging that his state ‘will not back down’ to the Democratic National Committee.

The popular Republican governor taking to social media after the DNC once again kicked the can down the road in its fight with the crucial early voting state of New Hampshire over an effort to dramatically refigure the party’s 2024 presidential nominating calendar.

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee on Thursday voted to grant New Hampshire — which for a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — a third extension to give the state more time to come into compliance with the national party committee’s new schedule, which moves South Carolina to the top of the nominating order.

The move by the panel came one day after New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan announced that his state’s presidential primary filing period would start on Oct. 11, leading to a contest that will likely be held in late January — ahead of South Carolina — and putting the Granite State on a collision course with the DNC.

The extension unanimously granted by the DNC panel on Thursday would last until Oct. 14.

‘We committed at the outset of this process to allow for every opportunity for states to honor the opportunity of hosting their nominating contests within the early window. We want to recommit to that principle and continue to work with the New Hampshire Democratic Party towards that goal,’ Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chair James Roosevelt said.

However, New Hampshire is extremely likely to eventually be found in non-compliance and penalized, with the state all but certain to hold an unsanctioned primary that would probably keep President Biden from putting his name on the ballot.

Sununu, responding to the news in a social media post, reiterated that ‘New Hampshire will not comply with the arbitrary demands and deadlines coming from @JoeBiden and the @DNC. We will not back down. New Hampshire will be going first whether Joe Biden likes it or not.’

The governor, who seriously mulled a 2024 GOP White House run before ultimately deciding against it in June, has been vocal defender of his state’s cherished presidential primary position, and has long railed against efforts by national Democrats to knock New Hampshire from the top of the order.

‘It’s an outrageous request to think that the Democrat National Committee is going to dictate our laws and our process, which has been tried and true,’ Sununu told Fox News Digital last December.

The DNC overwhelmingly voted in early February to dramatically alter the top of its presidential nominating calendar for the 2024 election cycle, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire from their longtime leadoff positions.

However, seven months later, there is no resolution with New Hampshire or Iowa, and the national Democratic Party is still working to implement its revamped primary schedule.

The push by the DNC to upend its primary calendar — in order to better reflect Black and Hispanic voters in the early primary contests — has been vigorously opposed in New Hampshire.

‘Granite Staters appreciate and respect the responsibility of the over 100-year tradition of the First in the Nation New Hampshire primary. They understand New Hampshire has a special place in the history of American politics and their place in it. We look forward to continuing that tradition here next year, and in the years to come,’ longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said earlier this summer.

Democrats for years have knocked both Iowa and New Hampshire as unrepresentative of the party as a whole, for being largely White with few major urban areas. Nevada and South Carolina, which in recent cycles have voted third and fourth on the calendar, are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire. Nevada and South Carolina were added to the Democratic calendar nearly two decades ago to increase the diversity of the early states electorate.

The DNC overwhelmingly approved a calendar proposed by President Biden to move South Carolina to the lead position, with a Feb. 3, 2024, primary. New Hampshire and Nevada are scheduled to hold primaries three days later, followed by Georgia and Michigan. The president and supporters of the plan have argued that it would empower minority voters, whom Democrats have long relied on but have at times taken for granted.

‘This committee put together a calendar proposal that reflects our values and will strengthen our party. This calendar does what is long overdue. It expands the number of voices in the early window. And it elevates diverse communities that are at core of the Democratic Party,’ DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said earlier this year.

However, implementing the calendar has been anything but easy.

South Carolina Democrats are on board, but Palmetto State Republicans will hold their primary later in February. Nevada Democrats are game, but the Silver State’s GOP — after an unsuccessful legal push to opt out of a Feb. 6 primary — is aiming to hold a Republican presidential caucus two days later. Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State this spring set the state’s primary date for May 12 of next year, rebuffing the DNC.

Iowa, which was left out of the DNC’s early voting states calendar, is still looking for ways to remain the leadoff contest without violating party rules. 

New Hampshire has a nearly half-century-old law that mandates that it hold the first presidential primary, a week ahead of any similar contest.

The DNC earlier this year extended an earlier deadline until Sept. 1 for New Hampshire to come into compliance or face getting booted from the early state window for the 2024 cycle.

To comply, New Hampshire needs to scrap its state law protecting its first-in-the-nation primary status and must expand access to early voting. However, with Republicans in control of New Hampshire’s governor’s office and both houses of the state legislature, state Democrats have repeatedly argued that is a non-starter.

‘The DNC’s waiver requirement is unrealistic and unattainable, as the New Hampshire Democratic Party cannot dictate to the Republican governor and state legislative leaders what to do, and because it does not have the power to change the primary date unilaterally,’ Buckley has repeatedly emphasized.

And on Thursday he added that ‘we have done everything in our power to comply with the DNC’s requests with regard to our primary calendar and have every intention of complying with New Hampshire state law from which the primary date is set. We look forward to putting this unnecessary distraction behind us and focusing on electing Granite State Democrats.’

If New Hampshire is eventually ruled non-compliant, the state could lose half of its delegates to next summer’s Democratic presidential nominating convention, under DNC penalties passed last year.

That appears to be the route ahead.

Scanlan announced at a news conference Wednesday that the filing period for presidential candidates to sign up to put their name on the New Hampshire ballot will extend from Oct. 11 to Oct. 27. That is about three weeks earlier than four years ago during the 2020 cycle, when the New Hampshire primary was held on Feb. 11. Scanlan said such a filing period would likely lead to a January primary.

‘I don’t think it’s a secret that we’ll be going ahead of South Carolina, which puts us into January,’ Scanlan emphasized.

‘I’m just assuming we’re going to be in noncompliance with the Democratic National Committee,’ Scanlan told Fox News. 

Pointing to a DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting, Scanlan emphasized that ‘we’ll see what comes out of that. But that’s not going to affect what we do in New Hampshire at all.’ 

There are plenty of Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire who see the upending of their leadoff positions as sour grapes from Biden, who finished a disappointing fourth in the 2020 Iowa caucuses and fifth in the New Hampshire primary, before a second-place finish in Nevada and a landslide victory in South Carolina propelled him toward the nomination and eventually the White House.

With New Hampshire nearly certain to move up the date of its contest, President Biden will likely stay off the ballot in the Granite State to avoid an unsanctioned primary. With Biden’s two primary challengers — environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and best-selling author and spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson — taking aim at the president and the DNC as they repeatedly campaign in New Hampshire, trouble could be brewing for the president in the Granite State’s primary.

However, Buckley says there is a near consensus among New Hampshire Democrats in writing in Biden’s name on the primary ballot.

‘Whether or not Joe Biden puts his name on the ballot, he will win the New Hampshire Primary,’ Buckley told Fox News recently. 

Longtime New Hampshire based Democratic strategist Jim Demers, a top Biden supporter, said there’s ‘a lot of interest out there in doing something.’

‘I think he has done a good job as president and is worthy of being re-elected. That is my primary reasoning for writing Joe Biden’s name in come January if I have to,’ Demers told Fox News.

Pointing to Kennedy, who charges he is not getting a fair shake from the DNC as he challenges the president for the Democratic nomination, Demers said, ‘I also think that the views and positions that Robert Kennedy has taken are so out of touch with the average Democrat that it is concerning to see him on a ballot here, even if the election is non-binding.’

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

The Biden administration has hired a new czar to monitor efforts to remove certain books from school libraries across the country as officials continue to face backlash for instances in which sexually explicit and controversial LGBTQ+ books have been present, according to Politico.

Former Obama administration official and non-profit leader Matt Nosanchuk began work in the role this week as deputy assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights, and will lead training sessions for schools and libraries on book bans. Nosanchuk’s past work has focused heavily on the LGBTQ community.

‘Across the country, communities are seeing a rise in efforts to ban books — efforts that are often designed to empty libraries and classrooms of literature about LGBTQ people, people of color, people of faith, key historical events and more,’ an Education Department official said in a Thursday email to reporters. ‘These efforts are a threat to student’s rights and freedoms.’

The first session will be held via webinar for up to 1,000 attendees on Sep. 26.

According to the American Library Association, which will be hosting the session, attendees will learn how the Education Department enforces federal civil rights laws, including how the law applies to libraries, how ‘book bans’ might violate civil rights laws, and how to submit complaints about potential violations.

Nosanchuk’s appointment comes just days after a contentious Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on so-called ‘book bans’ that went viral after Sen. John Kennedy, R.-La., grilled a college activist over whether parents should have a say in what books are available in public libraries.

One of the books Kennedy read from during the hearing, ‘All Boys Aren’t Blue’ by George M. Johnson, has been banned in at least 29 local school districts and includes a graphic description of anal sex and other activities.

It was just the latest example of some of the controversial books being brought to light as concerned parents have been clashing with school districts over the last two years over their rights to be involved, and opt their kids out of certain curricula deemed inappropriate. 

The Education Department and White House have not responded to Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

A non-profit Catholic advocacy group is speaking out against an ad in Ohio supporting abortion that depicts an image of Jesus Christ and a man praying inside a church to promote ‘abortion rights.’

The ad in question, posted by Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, includes a shot of a man kneeling and praying inside a Catholic Church with the Divine Mercy image of Christ in the background along with messaging supporting a November measure that would enshrine abortion access into the Ohio state constitution. 

‘When we face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our faith, our family, and the last thing we want is the government making those decisions for us,’ the ad says.

The ad has generated controversy and criticism from Catholics and opponents of abortion. 

‘Those who want to eliminate all protections for the unborn in Ohio have resorted to exploiting images of Jesus in order to impose a radical change to the Ohio constitution,’ CatholicVote president Brian Burch said in a statement in response to the ad. 

‘Their newest ad campaign features the Divine Mercy, a sacred image for Catholics given to a saintly polish nun in the early 20th century. The use of this image to advance the cause of abortion, even painful late term abortion, is abhorrent, and reveals a gross disregard for the cherished faith of millions of Christians in Ohio. We urge those responsible for this ad to remove it immediately and apologize for the great offense it has caused.’

In addition to outrage about the Catholic imagery, opponents of the ad say its misleading in other ways. 

‘The backers of Issue 1 stooped lower than anyone could have imagined with their ad, invoking faith and family, medical misinformation and fearmongering to distract from the dangers lurking within the proposed amendment,’ Amy Natoce, press secretary for Protect Women Ohio, told Fox News Digital about the ad. 

‘The ad fails to mention that Issue 1 will strip Ohio parents of their basic rights, permit abortion-on-demand through all nine months, including when the unborn child is capable of feeling pain, and remove commonsense health and safety protections for women. The ACLU pedaled the same lies in Michigan, and now they’re coming for Ohio. Issue 1 is too radical for Ohio families and parents will not stand for it.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said, ‘When Ohioans face personal medical decisions, we depend on our doctors, our family, and our faith. Voting Yes on Issue 1 puts Ohioans back in charge of their families’ personal medical decisions and stops government from making these decisions for us.’

Some Democrats in the commonwealth of Virginia are rallying around a House of Delegates candidate who posted videos online that showed her engaging in sexual acts with her husband while soliciting tips.

Virginia State Sen. L. Louise Lucas, a leading Democratic lawmaker in Virginia, came to the defense of Democratic House of Delegates candidate Susanna Gibson, calling on voters to ‘make this the biggest fundraising day of (Gibson’s) campaign’ along with a link to donate to the campaign. 

‘Susanna and I just crossed over 100 donations today to fight back against the Republicans,’ Lucas wrote in another post. ‘If you are as pissed as I am then please donate tonight!’

Lucas accused Virginia’s Republican governor of being behind the story leak in an effort to ‘try to embarrass and humiliate her and they failed completely.’

A Washington Post report earlier this week first revealed that Gibson, a 40-year-old nurse practitioner and mother of two, used a platform called Chaturbate to stream sex acts with her husband and solicited ‘tips’ from viewers for performing certain acts that would go to a ‘good cause.’ 

Gibson posted more than a dozen videos in September 2022, after she had officially entered the race in suburban Richmond for the House of Delegates in the 57th district.

‘Anybody who looks at this knows it’s a hit job,’ said Amanda Linton, a 45-year-old defense contractor who donated $25 to Gibson’s campaign after reading about the videos. Linton said she plans to donate another $100 to Gibson’s campaign even though she can’t vote for her because she lives outside her district.

Emily’s List, an advocacy group for Democratic female candidates, also defended Gibson.

‘Susanna originally ran for office because of the overturning of Roe and she’s been very outspoken on standing up for reproductive rights. People are coming out in support of Susanna because they know that Republicans are coming after her because she was standing up for them,’ said spokesperson Lauren Chou.

Gibson responded to the controversy by calling it ‘an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me.’

‘My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up,’ Gibson told CNN in a statement on Tuesday.

If Gibson stays in the race, she is set to face her GOP opponent, David Owen, in a Nov. 7 election.

Associated Press contributed to this report

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she is ‘fearful that any day’ planes filled with illegal immigrants will be flown into the city.

During an event hosted by Axios on Thursday, Bass said, ‘We live in a city that welcomes immigrants, and so I think we have been able to handle it, but I am fearful that any day, planes could start coming.’

She added that the transportation of immigrants from border states and Florida to ‘sanctuary’ juristictions ‘is just setting the stage for the presidential election next year.’

The liberal city mayor’s comments come as governors overrun by illegal immigration have sent busloads of migrants to cities like New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already sent 13 busloads of migrants to Los Angeles — which touts itself as a sanctuary city — as part of Operation Lone Star. 

Abbott continued to send buses as the city was hit by Tropical Storm Hilary, which Bass called ‘evil.’

‘Our border communities are on the frontlines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border,’ Abbott said in a statement.

In June, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis transported batches of migrants from border states to Sacramento. In the preceding fall, Florida also facilitated the travel of 49 Venezuelans to Martha’s Vineyard, a wealthy Massachusetts island.

Bass called the effort by Republican governors an attempt to ‘destabilize cities.’

‘It’s the narrative that these are Democratic-run cities and that we don’t know how to govern and that everything is chaotic here,’ Bass said during the event, Axios reported. 

Illegal immigrants entering Los Angeles are reportedly coming from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela. 

According to the Migration Policy Institute, in 2019, it was estimated that there were approximately 951,000 illegal immigrants residing in Los Angeles County, nearly 10% of the county’s total population, marking the highest concentration of migrants in any U.S. county.

‘What’s maddening is the fact that in New York and Chicago, in D.C. and LA, and other places, they put out policies self-proclaiming that they’re sanctuary cities, and they love to promote these liberal ideologies until they have to actually live up and apply them,’ Abbott said recently on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime. ‘It was clear that the policies of sanctuary cities and letting everybody live for free simply do not work. This is a day of reckoning for all of the United States, realizing that the liberal policies of open borders will not work in this country.’

Other cities with incoming migrants include Chicago and New York. On Friday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other Democrats were shouted down at a press conference in New York City regarding the illegal migrant crisis there.

The Democrats, who spoke outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, which has become a relief center for more than 100,000 asylum seekers in the past year, were drowned out by shouting protesters chanting, ‘Send them back!’ and ‘Close the border!’