A federal judge Wednesday ordered Texas to remove floating buoys from the Rio Grande no later than Sept. 15.  

Gov. Greg Abbott deployed the buoys in July to curb the flow of illegal immigrants to the state. The plan was part of the Republican governor’s broader Operation Lone Star. 

Texas installed the buoy barrier near the border town of Eagle Pass, with anchors in the riverbed. Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second-highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters — though that is lower than it was at this time last year.

The buoys brought a swift legal challenge from the U.S. Justice Department, which accused Texas of putting a barrier on the international boundary without permission. President Joe Biden’s administration also said the water barrier raised humanitarian and environmental concerns.

The bright-orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys have created a water barrier longer than a soccer field on a stretch of river where migrants often try crossing from Mexico. Texas also has installed razor wire and steel fencing on the border, while also empowering armed officers to arrest migrants on trespassing charges.

Abbott said his administration planned to appeal Wednesday’s decision by U.S. District Judge David Ezra. 

‘Today’s court decision merely prolongs President Biden’s willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along. This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal,’ Abbott said in a statement. ‘We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers. 

‘Our battle to defend Texas’ sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden’s open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden campaign is taking aim at GOP candidate Nikki Haley for the first time Wednesday—slamming her education platform while casting her as a ‘MAGA Republican’ with ‘no real plan’ to improve the nation’s public schools system.

Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, is pandering to the ‘extreme’ right.

‘Nikki Haley’s education ‘platform’ is just a retread of the same extreme policy points the other Republican candidates are echoing, reminding Americans just how out of touch 2024 Republicans are,’ Munoz said.

Munoz said her plan ‘isn’t a platform for parents, students, or teachers,’ but instead, ‘an extreme attempt to appease a right-wing, extremist group that cares about banning books in schools instead of keeping out children safe from gun violence.’

‘MAGA Republican candidates continue to show they have no real plan to improve our nation’s public schools, address youth mental health, or keep guns out of our schools,’ Munoz said. ‘Our students shouldn’t be used as political pawns — they need real leadership and real solutions from their president.’

He added, ‘President Biden is that leader.’

This is the first time the Biden campaign is taking on Haley. The comments come before Haley’s planned New Hampshire event Wednesday evening with Moms for Liberty.

Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas responded to the Biden campaign’s comments, telling Fox News Digital that ‘Joe Biden knows he’s in a world of hurt if Nikki Haley is his opponent. 

‘A bold new generation conservative who stands up for parents, children, and taxpayers is Biden and Harris’ worst nightmare,’ Perez-Cubas said. 

Last month, a senior Democratic aide close to the Biden campaign reportedly told Politico, ‘If they nominate Nikki Haley, we’re in trouble.’ 

Meanwhile, during a joint appearance on ‘Fox & Friends’ earlier in the day Wednesday with Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice, Haley said she was ‘so grateful that Tiffany and Moms for Liberty for the fight that they’re doing to bring this back to the parents because parents have one job and that’s to get this right for their kids. And we have to fight for them to make sure that they get that.’ 

Justice, responding, highlighted that ‘this is why so many moms love Nikki Haley. Because she’s standing up as a mom fighting for kids.’

Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in former President Trump’s administration, is the only mother among the major Republican contenders for the GOP presidential nomination.

‘We’re excited to partner with Tiffany Justice and Moms for Liberty. This is a group that many have said are extreme. And I’ve said if this is extreme, count me in because this is about parents getting control of their children again,’ Haley emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview on Wednesday.

She highlighted: ‘We don’t want to give custody of our kids to the teachers’ unions. We deserve to know what’s happening in schools, and we should get complete transparency in the classroom. No parent should ever wonder what’s being said or taught to their child in the classroom, and that’s the case right now. And you look at Tiffany and what she’s done with Moms for Liberty. She’s given the voices back to parents. Parents are fighting back.’

Moms for Liberty was founded two years ago amid the coronavirus pandemic as a ‘social-welfare’ nonprofit group, which means it can engage in political and policy activity without disclosing its donors. The group says its mission is to protect parental rights in education, which they describe as ‘God-given and fundamental.’

According to its website, the mission of the group is to ‘unify, educate and empower parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.’ It has fought against mask mandates in schools and has targeted critical race theory. 

The Democratic National Committee has argued that Moms for Liberty is ‘one of the nation’s most notorious anti-freedom, history-erasing, book-banning groups.’

And hours before the town hall in Manchester, the New Hampshire Democratic Party took aim at both Haley and Moms for Liberty.

‘It comes as no surprise that Nikki Haley is debuting her extreme education agenda standing shoulder to shoulder with an anti-freedom group hellbent on erasing history and banning books across the country. Haley has been all for attacking public education and pushing toxic culture wars throughout her career, even railing against providing more education funding for South Carolina schools as governor,’ NHDP spokesperson Aida Ross charged.

I have a parliamentary crystal ball for how September may go on Capitol Hill.

That doesn’t mean I have many answers.

Like most crystal balls, they are limited in their accuracy. They won’t give you the full story. But they will absolutely nail some aspects.

No. The crystal ball cannot definitively predict whether the government will shut down Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year. In fact, information from the crystal ball surrounding that very question is especially cloudy.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO MCCONNELL’S HEALTH AND A POTENTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

Impeachment of President Biden? Or Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas? Or Attorney General Merrick Garland?

Just as hazy.

But the crystal ball does forecast the following:

The Senate will advance a few individual appropriations bills in the coming weeks. And House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will try to advance a fig leaf, interim spending package that appeases the right. The House Freedom Caucus and other conservative members will demand various provisions that either trim spending, address the border or wrestle with potential impeachment. 

McCarthy’s bill won’t actually be what Congress settles on to fund the government. In fact, one can’t even technically call it a ‘Continuing Resolution’ or ‘CR’ if it cuts funding or addresses ancillary issues important to Republicans. By its nature, a CR sustains funding at present levels so the government doesn’t shutter. But McCarthy will have made his point.

However, what’s murky in the crystal ball is whether McCarthy and House Republicans can later digest a CR from the Senate that doesn’t address any of their priorities just to keep the government funded.

However, the crystal ball is crystal clear about one thing: If the House doesn’t eventually swallow a bipartisan CR from the Senate, there will be a government shutdown.

That’s as definitive as anything we’ve drawn from the crystal ball.

So, here are some of the machinations surrounding a potential government shutdown and possible funding measures over the next four weeks.

The Senate is back from its summer recess a full week ahead of the House. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., notes that the Senate cleared 12 appropriations bills in committee before the recess. So, he’ll deposit three of those on the floor soon.

‘All 12 appropriations … have been reported out of the committee with bipartisan support. Some of them, many of them, were with unanimous, bipartisan support,’ said Schumer. ‘Now, that doesn’t mean everyone agreed on everything. It sometimes means something more important. It means that disagreements haven’t paralyzed the process.’

Schumer scored backup from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

‘Congress needs to address our nation’s most pressing needs with timely appropriations. And we need to keep the lights on come Oct. 1,’ McConnell said.

Before the recess, the full House OK’d only one of its 12 spending measures. So, this is a chance for the Senate to get ahead of the House and inoculate it from criticism it hasn’t passed any appropriations bills.

But Schumer understands the stark reality. No matter what, the solution to averting a government shutdown is for the House and Senate to pass some sort of interim spending bill that keeps the federal lights on for a few weeks, if not a couple months. And the only tangible recipe to make that work? A Band-Aid bill can only pass with a coalition of Democrats and Republicans.

McCarthy doesn’t need a crystal ball to understand that a bipartisan, temporary bill is the route too. He’s indicated to House Republicans a stopgap bill is necessary right away, asserting that the GOP will fight for deep spending cuts with the ‘real’ bills later.

But McCarthy hasn’t addressed something else that is clear in the crystal ball. It remains unsaid because it’s politically radioactive: A clean CR likely requires a substantial chunk of Democratic votes in the House. In fact, it may score far more Democratic votes than GOP votes.

‘We all agreed a CR is the best way to go,’ Schumer said of a meeting he had with McCarthy about government funding. ‘He’s going to have a rough time implementing it.’

That’s why a clean CR with substantial Democratic support is politically the most malignant bill to McCarthy.

House conservatives will bray if McCarthy defaults to that position – even if he goes through the proper motions to appeal to the right on impeachment, spending cuts or border policy. However, McCarthy likely needs to embrace some of these appeals by the right if he wants to stay in good graces with the House Freedom Caucus.

But the second McCarthy dials back from those positions …

If he dials back from those positions …

That’s why the crystal ball can’t predict if there might be a government shutdown.

This boils down to the math.

The current breakdown in the House features 222 Republicans to 212 Democrats with one vacancy. In other words, Republicans can only lose four votes from their side and still pass a bill without Democratic assistance. More Democrats voted for the debt ceiling pact with President Biden in the spring than Republicans. And conservatives haven’t let McCarthy forget it.

But it gets worse for the GOP.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., could miss some time for his cancer treatments. And Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah., resigns effective Sept. 15. So, that could mean Republicans are effectively operating with only 220 members. That drops the GOP margin to three votes.

The biggest roadblock for putting any piece of legislation on the House floor is what’s known as the ‘rule.’ The House Rules Committee is the gateway for most bills to get to the floor. The Rules Committee and the entire House must first adopt a ‘rule’ before considering legislation. The rule determines the parameters for debate on a given bill. But if the Rules Committee or entire House fails to approve a rule, the bill can’t come up for debate.

This could be nettlesome for McCarthy with Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., serving on the Rules Committee.

That said, there is a way to skate around the Rules Committee on a CR that simply renews all old funding on a temporary basis.

The House can bypass the Rules Committee by putting a ‘privileged’ Continuing Resolution on the floor after Sept. 15. ‘Privileged’ means the resolution is written in a manner that whisks it to the front of the legislative line. 

Granted, such a ‘privileged’ CR is subject to multiple points of order on the floor. That could be messy enough. But such an option to skip a step does exist in the House quiver.

Will that scenario unfold?

The crystal ball has not even considered the ‘privileged’ CR option because it is obscure.

So, what’s going to happen? I have no idea. And frankly, neither does the crystal ball.

I asked the crystal ball about its future in congressional soothsaying.

The response? Foggy at best.

The House Oversight Committee is launching a probe into a ‘series of aviation and rail safety failures’ on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s watch.

‘These failures indicate a recent and disturbing pattern of failures at the Department placing…the safety of Americans at risk,’ the committee’s Republican majority wrote to Buttigieg Tuesday. 

‘Therefore, we request a briefing, documents, and communications related to the Department’s efforts to investigate and remediate these issues to protect the safety of all Americans.’

Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., cited nine specific train derailments involving hazardous or flammable materials that occurred between November 2022 and June 2023. 

The letter also named nine aviation issues, including several near-collisions and incidents at Alabama’s Montgomery Regional Airport and San Antonio International Airport that caused the deaths of ground crew members there. 

‘Data collected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and DOT Federal Railroad Administration indicates that there were 1,730 runway incursions in 2022 and approximately 2,000 rail incidents reported nationwide, including approximately 1,310 derailments and 146 collisions,’ the committee said in a press release

Lawmakers are urging Buttigieg and his Transportation officials to hand over information on all incidents that have resulted in death, injury or financial damage, including any such communications between the department and President Biden’s White House.

‘The safety failures have eroded the public’s confidence in air and rail safety and necessitates thorough investigation,’ the Republicans wrote. 

They are urging Buttigieg and his Transportation officials to hand over information on all incidents that have resulted in death, injury or financial damage, including any such communications between the department and President Biden’s White House. 

Comer also called on the department to provide the Oversight committee with a staff-level briefing by Sept. 19. 

The scrutiny came on the same day that chaos briefly broke out in airports across the country as United Airlines flights were forced to issue a ground stop over computer server issues.

‘We are experiencing a systemwide technology issue and are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights that are already airborne are continuing to their destination as planned,’ United said in a statement on Tuesday before the issues were resolved hours later.

Florida state Sen. Tom Wright, a Republican, allegedly ‘aggressively’ put his hand on a domestic violence shelter worker, according to an incident report from the Daytona Beach Police Department, but the lawmaker recalls the incident differently.

Women domestic violence survivors and their children were boarding a school bus for a field trip Saturday afternoon as counselors from the Department of Children and Families and other domestic violence state employees were on a tour with Wright.

The bus driver was preparing to depart when a woman observed Wright approaching the bus, the incident report said, according to Fox 35. 

‘Excuse me, sir. You may not board the bus full of survivors and children,’ the woman told him, adding that they deserve safety and anonymity and that it is her job to protect them.

Wright informed her that he was not going to get on the bus and was not attempting to speak with the survivors, according to the report. He said he wanted to speak with the bus driver.

The woman told police that Wright spoke to her in ‘an aggressive manner’ and placed his hand on her shoulder. 

‘Do not put your hands on me,’ she told him, and he backed away from her, according to the report. She also accused him of lunging at her multiple times and getting in her face in an effort to intimidate her.

Another worker attempted to intervene, but the woman told police she still felt threatened.

A request to have Wright trespassed from the property was later granted, as police officers issued a warning prohibiting the senator the property until further notice.

Another witness told police she saw Wright approach the bus but did not see him physically touch the woman. This witness also recalled seeing Wright with his arm extended, but could not remember what happened afterward. The witness said Wright aggressively approached the woman and refused to de-escalate the situation, according to the report.

Wright left the property before police were able to talk to him, but officers found him at a nearby store. He told officers he approached the bus to speak with the driver when the woman began to yell at him that he was not allowed on the bus, the report said. He said the woman continued to scream at him as he attempted to explain that he was not getting on the bus.

The woman was getting in his face, the senator said, so he put a hand on her shoulder to tell her that he was not about to get on the bus. He said she told him not to touch her and she walked away.

Another witness said they observed Wright placing his hand on the woman’s shoulder to tell her he was not going to get on the bus.

The woman who accused Wright of ‘aggressively’ putting his hands on her refused medical treatment and would not allow officers to take a photo of her shoulder because there were no visible injuries, according to the report.

The incident remains under investigation.

–>

A judge ruled on Tuesday that Georgia may resume enforcing its ban on hormone replacement therapy for transgender youth, putting the judge’s previous order blocking the ban on hold.

The ruling comes after a federal appeals court granted neighboring Alabama the ability to enforce a similar restriction last month and as GOP-led states across the country seek to prohibit gender transition treatment for people under 18-years-old. At least 22 states have enacted laws restricting or banning transgender treatment for minors and most of these states have been sued.

Attorneys for the state of Georgia had asked Judge Sarah Geraghty to vacate the preliminary injunction after the ruling in Alabama’s case, which came a day after Geraghty issued her initial ruling.

Geraghty did not go as far as to vacate her earlier decision but said that keeping her injunction in place was not possible after the ruling on Alabama’s law by a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Georgia. The judge instead issued a stay on her injunction ahead of a possible rehearing of the Alabama case before a larger panel of the court’s judges.

The Georgia attorney general’s office spokesperson Kara Richardson said in a statement that the office applauds the ruling and ‘will continue fighting to protect the health and well-being of Georgia’s children.’

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they were disappointed ‘primarily for the families who are unable to get the care they need in Georgia or make medical decisions based on the best interest of their children.’ They also emphasized that their legal fight was not finished.

The ruling last month in Alabama’s case said the state may impose a ban on puberty blockers and hormones for transgender minors.

Georgia’s Senate Bill 140 allows doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking medication, and children who are already receiving hormone therapy can continue. However, new patients under 18 are prohibited from beginning hormone therapy. The law, which went into effect on July 1, also bans most gender-affirming surgeries for transgender children.

Geraghty granted a preliminary injunction blocking Georgia’s law on August 20 after parents of transgender children and a community organization filed a lawsuit challenging the ban.

The judge said In her decision last month that the transgender children who sought the injunction faced ‘imminent risks’ from the ban, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Geraghty said the risks outweighed any harm an injunction would pose to the state.

The 11th Circuit judges who ruled on Alabama’s law said states have ‘a compelling interest in protecting children from drugs, particularly those for which there is uncertainty regarding benefits, recent surges in use, and irreversible effects.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

–>

Showcasing his resume and emphasizing he’s ‘ready to serve again,’ former longtime U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan on Wednesday announced his 2024 candidacy for Senate in the crucial Great Lakes battleground of Michigan.

‘America under Biden and his cronies is going in the wrong direction,’ the Republican argued in a campaign launch video. ‘We can do better, and that’s why I’m running for the United States Senate. To get government out of the way, unleash American innovation and take common sense back to Washington.’

Rogers, who represented parts of central Michigan 14 years in Congress before deciding against running for re-election in 2014, served as House Intelligence Committee chair during his last four years in office. 

And he becomes the first prominent Republican to run for the open Senate seat held by longtime Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow. 

Stabenow announced eight months ago she wouldn’t seek re-election in 2024 for a fifth six-year term representing Michigan in the Senate.

‘Michigan’s way of life is worth defending. That’s why I served in the Army. That’s why I served in the FBI, taking down organized crime. That’s why I led the House Intelligence Committee in the hard years after 9/11,’ Rogers said in his video as he showcased his resume. 

He also highlighted in his video that he ‘left politics to help build cybersecurity companies that can stop foreign threats like China.’

Rogers emphasized that ‘Michigan’s future is at risk’ and touted that ‘no candidate is better prepared to have an impact on day one.’

Rogers’ announcement could make the race in Michigan competitive as the GOP aims to win back the Senate majority next year. Republican sources confirmed to Fox News the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP, encouraged Rogers to run.

‘Mike Rogers has devoted his life to serving the people of Michigan and holding communist China accountable. Mike is the type of candidate who can perform well with suburban Michiganders and be a strong part of the eventual ticket in Michigan. I am pleased to see Mike stepping up to run for the U.S. Senate,’ NRSC Chairman Sen. Steve Daines said in a statement.

Rogers last year and earlier this year flirted with a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and made multiple stops in crucial early nominating states, like New Hampshire and Iowa, before deciding against a White House run.

Michigan State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder, businessperson Michael Hoover and attorney Alexandria Taylor have also filed to run for the GOP Senate nomination.

James Craig, a former Detroit police chief and former gubernatorial candidate, is also mulling a Republican run for Senate.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin is the front-runner for the Democratic Senate nomination in a field that also includes actor and businessman Hill Harper, state Board of Education President Pamela Pugh and former state Rep. Leslie Love.

Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who caucus with the Democratic conference.

That means Republicans need a net gain of just one or two seats in 2024 to win back the majority, depending on which party controls the White House after next year’s presidential election.

The math and the map favor the GOP in 2024. Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs, including three in red states and a handful in key general election battlegrounds.

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

ROCHESTER, N.H. – Former Vice President Mike Pence argues that former President Donald Trump ‘and some of his imitators in the Republican primary’ are walking away from core conservative values.

It’s a charge the former vice president made in an interview with Fox News Digital on the eve of a highly-billed speech Pence will deliver on Wednesday titled ‘Populism vs. Conservatism: Republicans’ Time for Choosing.’

Pence will give his address at Saint Anselm College’s New Hampshire Institute of Politics, a must-stop for White House hopefuls in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

‘I think we have a very clear choice that’s emerging, not just between candidates but between a philosophy of governance, and Republicans are facing a Republican time for choosing,’ Pence emphasized during his Fox News interview at a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

‘Time for choosing’ is a clear nod to the late President Ronald Reagan, who famously used the line in a 1964 speech in support of conservative Barry Goldwater’s presidential bid. That address has long been seen as a key moment in Reagan’s transformation from Hollywood actor to politician, and eventually president and conservative icon.

Pence’s speech in New Hampshire comes three weeks ahead of the second GOP presidential nomination debate, a Fox Business hosted showdown that will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California

‘I really do believe that we’re in the midst of a healthy debate in the Republican Party today – whether or not we’re going to continue to hue towards that time honored conservative agenda of a strong national defense, American leadership in the world, limited government, fiscal responsibility, traditional values, and the right to life, or whether we’re going to follow the siren song of populism away from many of those same timeless conservative principles,’ Pence argued.

Pence said he aims to use his address ‘to frame that for people. I want people to know that I’m not only offering what I believe is a campaign that brings my experience and my record in the Congress and as governor and as Vice President to bare, but also I want people to see me as the most proven, consistent, conservative in this race and I’ll lead this party and I’ll this country back to those principles that have always made our country strong and free.’

It’s a message Pence first spotlighted during a speech at conservative Heritage Foundation last October in which he warned of the rise of populism in the GOP.

As he launched his 2024 White House campaign during a speech in June in Iowa, Pence highlighted the competing visions for the future of the Republican Party, and emphasized that the GOP must be the party of the Constitution.

The former vice president is currently polling in the single digits — along with most of the rest of the large field of contenders — in the latest GOP nomination polls, far behind his former running mate. Trump, who’s making his third straight White House run, is the commanding front-runner right now in the Republican nomination race.

Pence, a former representative and Indiana governor whom Trump picked as his running mate seven years ago, highlighted that ‘when Donald Trump ran in 2016, he ran on a promise that we would governor as conservatives. And we did. For four years we rebuilt our military, we cut taxes, we rolled back regulations, unleashed American energy, and appointed conservatives to our courts at every level.’

‘But now, the former president and some of his imitators in the Republican primary make no such promise,’ Pence said, as he pointed to Trump and some of the other 2024 GOP presidential contenders.

One of his rivals Pence was likely referring to is Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate who’s seen his standing in the polls rise as he runs as an outsider and leading Trump defender.

Since the two candidates repeatedly clashed at last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate, the 64-year-old Pence has taken aim at Ramaswamy’s apparent fluidity on a number of issues, from his tax proposal to Russian’s war on Ukraine, to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. 

But top Pence campaign aides, speaking with reporters on the eve of the former vice president’s address, emphasized that Wednesday’s speech isn’t about targeting any single candidate and is much broader in scope.

‘Mike is trying to take a stand to remind our party of the value of conservatism,’ an aide said.

Trump, thanks to his dominance over the GOP the past eight years, has dramatically reshaped the party, fueling the base with working class support, and to a degree replacing conservative dogma with a more populist and nationalist agenda.

But Pence campaign aides argued it’s not too late to make the case for conservatism. 

And the former vice president, in his Fox News Digital interview, highlighted that ‘I believe that the majority of Republican primary voters, I believe the majority of Americans, know that the commitment to a strong national defense, American leadership, fiscal responsibility, and traditional values is an American agenda that will make our country more prosperous and more secure and more free.’

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

Vice President Kamala Harris said during an interview Wednesday that she was ready to fulfill her constitutional duty to assume the presidency should President Biden be unable to govern as questions swirl around his health and age.

Biden, who is 80 and is turning 81 in November, continues to be the oldest serving president in U.S. history. Should Democrats win again in 2024, he will be 82 before he is sworn into a potential second term and would be 86 at the end of it. Harris described the idea of possibly stepping into the role of president as ‘hypothetical’ but said she was ready.

‘Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition,’ Harris told The Associated Press in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she was attending a regional summit. ‘But let us also understand that every vice president — every vice president — understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president.’

She added, ‘I’m no different.’

The vice president also dismissed concerns about Biden’s age, even though he is widely seen as too old for office.

A recent AP/NORC poll showed that 77% of Americans and 69% of Democrats think Biden is too old for a second term.

Some Republican presidential candidates, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, have argued that a vote for Biden would really end up being a vote for Harris.

‘I see him every day,’ Harris said of Biden. ‘A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out.’

She added, ‘And so I will say to you that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers. And Joe Biden delivers.’

Harris ran for the presidency in 2020 but quickly burned out following the Democratic primary debates. She ultimately dropped from the election in Dec. 2019 and received fewer pledged delegates than fellow candidates Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar or Tulsi Gabbard.

During the interview, Harris also cited her former work as a prosecutor in arguing former President Trump should be held responsible for the protests at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Harris served as the San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011 and California’s attorney general from 2011 to 2017.

‘Let the evidence, the facts, take it where it may,’ Harris said during Wednesday’s interview.

She continued, ‘I spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor. I believe that people should be held accountable under the law. And when they break the law, there should be accountability.’

Trump, the current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is facing four federal indictments, including one in Georgia for allegedly attempting to reverse the results of the 2020 election.

With the 2024 presidential election cycle fully underway and with Trump likely becoming the Republican nominee, Biden and Harris have expressed that he is a threat to American democracy.

‘Democracies are very fragile,’ Harris said in Wednesday’s interview. ‘They will only be as strong as our willingness to fight for it.’

Harris is currently representing the United States at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The president’s absence disappointed some, but the White House emphasized his commitment to the region, which Harris also reiterated in her interview.

‘We as Americans, I believe, have a very significant interest, both in terms of our security but also our prosperity, today and in the future, in developing and strengthening these relationships,’ she said.

Harris’ approval ratings have remained low throughout her vice presidency, and an NBC News poll found she had the lowest rating for any vice president in the poll’s history.

Only 32% of registered voters have a positive view of Harris, compared to 49% with a negative view, and 39% with a ‘very negative view.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

–>

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., on Tuesday accused his primary challenger for Indiana’s open Senate seat of trying ‘to screw’ Indiana families during the height of inflation.

‘This fella has a lot of obstacles overcome to actually get on the ballot. But if he does, we’ll have a spirited race and talk about the differences between my proven conservative track record and his lifetime of voting for Democrats,’ Banks said in an interview at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 

John Rust, chairman of Rose Acre Farms and a sixth-generation Indiana egg farmer, recently announced a long-shot bid for the spot being vacated by current Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who is running for governor. 

Banks has been the favorite in the race for months, having snagged endorsements from a litany of local, state and federal Republicans. He told Fox News Digital that he would ‘welcome competition’ in the race, but did not hesitate to cut deep into his new opponents perceived flaws – including an ongoing lawsuit against Rose Acre Farms and other companies over accusations of price gouging and coordinating to maximize profits. 

‘I find that to be just disgusting that this guy, and his family, would be a part of a scheme to screw people in Indiana who are trying to put food on the table, and they made it even harder on them during COVID to do that,’ Banks said. ‘His business is being sued for it. I’m going to make sure that a guy like that never goes anywhere near the United States Senate.’

Rust, who spoke with Fox News Digital last month, said at the time he was a lifelong conservative who only voted for Democrats when he ‘knew people personally’ running in left-wing primaries. His campaign did not immediately respond to Banks’s latest comments. 

But Banks is still considered Braun’s likely successor for the deep-red state’s Senate seat. He told Fox News Digital that Indianans want a senator who’s committed to restoring Trump administration policies on China, the border and the economy, among other issues. 

‘They want a senator to shake it up… hold China accountable, secure our border, rein in wasteful spending, do something about the big issues of the day to save this country. This is a great country, and the Democrats are doing everything that they can to destroy it,’ he said. 

His campaign has also clinched support from former President Donald Trump, the Club For Growth, and the Senate GOP’s campaign arm – factions of the GOP that are diametrically opposed on most issues. That did not ‘happen overnight,’ Banks said.

‘We’ve been out criss-crossing the state for several months, building relationships all over Indiana to try to bring the party together – and having President Trump’s endorsement goes a long way to bring Republicans on of all stripes to my side to help me win the primary,’ the lawmaker explained, adding that he also has ‘nearly 400 endorsements at the local level’ across Indiana.

He also pointed out that keeping Indiana’s Senate seat in GOP hands is critical to winning the majority next year, arguing he was best positioned to take that on.

‘That’s what’s most important – to win back the Senate Republican majority, we have to keep Indiana Republican and then go out and beat Democrats in Ohio, West Virginia, Montana, and elsewhere so that we can save this country,’ Banks said. ‘And I’m proud to have the support of Republicans – whether they’re traditional Republicans, Trump Republicans, conservative Republicans – from all over the state of Indiana to help us get that done.’