Conservative Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale tells Fox News he won’t vote for any continuing resolution to fund the government past Sept. 30 as Congress readies for what could be a messy showdown over government spending levels and legislative priorities.

Rosendale, R-Mont., cited his distaste for current spending levels and promises from House leadership to change how Congress operates in an interview with Fox News.

‘In January, we were assured that we were going to restore regular order to Congress,’ Rosendale said. ‘And to now wait until this time in the 118th Congress, when we knew the appropriation bills were necessary in order for us to properly fund government, and to say, ‘No, we’re just going to go back to the old way of doing business,’ I find that unacceptable and I find it offensive.’

‘If we’re going to use continuing resolutions and omnibus bills to fund government, then you explain to me the difference between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Speaker Kevin McCarthy because I don’t see a difference,’ the congressman added.

Rosendale’s stance comes the day after the conservative House Freedom Caucus (HFC) released its position statement on a continuing resolution, and it is a slight break from the group. The HFC said it would only vote for a stopgap government funding bill that simultaneously passes House Republicans’ border bill and addresses alleged weaponization of the Justice Department and ‘woke’ polices in the Defense Department.

Rosendale said he doesn’t believe those asks are realistic.

‘Why put out a statement that says you won’t support a continuing resolution unless it contains the following items when you in your heart don’t believe that those items will be in there anyway?’ he said.

Congress will almost certainly need to pass a continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government in the coming weeks. Lawmakers are nowhere near passing all 12 of the yearly appropriations bills, and they only have until the end of September before government funding runs out. The Senate is out until Sept. 5 and the House is out until Sept. 12, leaving little time to push through all of that legislation before a possible shutdown.

Rosendale, however, said he’s not concerned about a government shutdown.

‘When people talk about a government shutdown, it’s a little bit ridiculous because you’re only talking about shutting down about 15% of it. And again, the people across Montana, unfortunately, they think most of what we’re doing in Congress is bad anyway,’ he said.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on a phone call with Republican members last week that he’d like to pass a continuing resolution that would fund the government until early December to allow time to pass the 12 appropriations bills without creating a deadline around the holidays.

But Rosendale’s stance is just one more piece of the complicated equation for McCarthy to reach 218 votes to keep the government open. He could work with the HFC on its demands – likely alienating possible Democrat yes votes in the process – and still not get all of his own members to vote yes.

The alternative could be that McCarthy searches for Democrat votes to help get the bill across the finish line. A move like that, however, could anger conservatives like Rosendale who are still upset that more Democrats than Republicans voted for the debt ceiling deal this year. 

Rosendale’s stance also comes as he’s considering a run for U.S. Senate in Montana. Many Republicans – including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines, R-Mont. – have coalesced around former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy for the seat. But nearly 40 Montana state lawmakers signed a letter last week to support Rosendale as ‘someone unafraid to defy the Mitch McConnell establishment,’ KULR reported.

‘I am honored and humbled to receive this statement of support and encouragement from leaders across our state. It is evident that Montanans will not have their next senator chosen by Mitch McConnell and the DC Cartel,’ Rosendale tweeted in response to that statement.

Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which calls itself bipartisan, a ‘right-wing super PAC’ and accused it of being funded by ‘dark money.’ 

Omar is accusing a pro-Israel group of working to unseat her with a more moderate primary challenger in the upcoming 2024 election. 

The group recently helped facilitate a House Democrat-led trip to Israel spearheaded by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

‘THIS IS URGENT,’ began an ad for Omar’s campaign on X, formerly Twitter. ‘A right-wing Super PAC funded by millions of dollars in Dark Money spending is working around the clock to unseat Ilhan from Congress in 2024.’

‘AIPAC is recruiting moderate candidates to run against Ilhan and other progressive incumbents who are speaking out against the establishment and will spend MILLIONS on attack ads to silence our movement.

‘Their attacks will never stop the momentum of this movement, but we need your help to fight back with TV ads of our own. So if you can, please rush a donation to Ilhan’s campaign now to allow us to do so.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office asking when those TV ads would debut but did not immediately hear back. A spokesperson for the progressive ‘Squad’ member previously accused AIPAC of putting Omar’s ‘life at risk with repeated Islamophobic attack ads’ after the group ran an ad attacking her for comments equating the U.S. and Israel to Hamas and the Taliban.

An AIPAC spokesman called Omar’s most recent fundraising ad targeting them ‘clumsy’ and denied that the group did not support progressives. 

‘We proudly engage in the democratic process — just as our adversaries do — and we will not be deterred by clumsy fundraising ads that falsely attack us,’ the spokesman said. ‘In fact, we support scores of pro-Israel progressives who understand that it is entirely consistent with progressive values to support the Jewish state.’

A Jewish Insider report from early August suggested that AIPAC was actively working to find potential Democratic challengers to Omar and her fellow ‘Squad’ member, Rep. Jamaal Bowman. They were two of nine progressives who voted against a resolution affirming Israel was not a racist or apartheid state earlier this year.

House Republicans removed Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year over her past controversial comments about Israel. 

Emily Drabinski, the controversial president of the American Library Association (ALA), previously expressed she wants to re-center children’s libraries on ‘notions of queerness’ and prevent what she described as ‘angry, White mob parents’ from trying to block the efforts.

The ALA elected the self-described ‘Marxist lesbian’ to lead the organization in April 2022, sparking outrage from parent advocates who pointed to her history of anti-conservative rhetoric, push for LGBTQ literature in libraries and positions on parental rights. 

‘Emily Drabinski’s own statements speak for themselves, exposing her to be a dangerous radical hell-bent on sexualizing and indoctrinating America’s kids, and using your local library to do it,’ said American Accountability Foundation president Tom Jones, whose group discovered and shared Drabinski’s controversial statements with Fox News Digital.

‘It should be a self-evident fact that politics and pornography have no place in kids’ libraries,’ Jones said. ‘Yet that is exactly the vision Drabinski seeks to implement.’

In an attempt to explain why sexually explicit content should be shared with children, Drabinski recalled reading a book about ‘fantastic queer sex in a field’ when she was just 14 years old. The LGBTQ activist used the example to suggest that allowing such books in school libraries allows kids to find ‘refuge,’ she told ‘Gendered S(h)elves: Body and Identity in the Library’ for Women & Environments International Magazine in 2009.

Many parents are forming a movement to push back against access to sexually explicit books in their children’s libraries and schools. But despite the growing concern, Drabinski labeled these individuals as ‘White mob parents.’

During an appearance on the ‘Thought Project Podcast’ in 2022, Drabinski claimed that those who try to get particular books removed from library shelves are ‘angry, White mob parents’ that ‘don’t want Black people, Jewish people, gay people to exist at all.’ 

‘So, it’s very scary and very violent and super organized,’ she added. ‘And I think, that’s the thing that’s most frightening to me.’

In several interviews and articles ranging from recent to 15 years ago, Drabinski outlined how she envisioned reshaping libraries.

Drabinski said that libraries are ‘good places that do all kinds of things that people on the right don’t like’ during an appearance on the ‘Citations Needed’ podcast in March 2023.

The contentious library chief’s views appear to have remained consistent throughout the years. In a 2008 article titled ‘Queering Library Space: Notes Toward a New Geography of the Library,’ Drabinski said that the aim is to make libraries ‘a space based on an ideology that centered notions of queerness and difference rather than of democracy and citizenship.’

There has been significant controversy surrounding the ALA since Drabinski was elected its leader, and some Christians are now being denied the ability to read to kids by the same libraries promoting drag story hours.

Actor Kirk Cameron recently recalled being denied the chance to read to children by over 50 ‘woke libraries’ that had previously held drag story hours. Cameron recalled a particular library even inviting him to read, but then having the head librarian revoke the invite because of his beliefs, telling him, ‘Now that we know who you are and what you’re bringing, we don’t want your movement at our library.’

Amid the pushback, Montana was the first state to withdraw from the ALA In July, citing their ‘far-left-leaning ideologies’ and electing a ‘Marxist’ president.

‘Ms. Drabinski is a supporter of Critical Race Theory, which Montana rejected as discriminatory, and other far-left-leaning ideologies that have no place in our schools and libraries,’ Elsie Arntzen, commission superintendent of public instruction in Montana, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. ‘By electing a declared Marxist as their President, the ALA has not only turned its back on families, parental rights, and American values — it has turned its back on America itself.’

The Texas State Library & Archives Commission (TSLAC) recently announced its decision to also reportedly cut ties with the ALA, after Republican Texas State Rep. Brian Harrison called out the association for pushing ‘dangerous Marxist ideology.’

The ALA did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady, Thomas Phippen and Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley blasted her fellow Republican presidential opponent Vivek Ramaswamy over his foreign policy views and recent comments about Israel.

Haley fired off a blistering press release Monday against Ramaswamy after the GOP presidential candidate’s recent comments about cutting off Israel funding in 2028.

‘Vivek Ramaswamy is completely wrong to call for ending America’s special bond with Israel,’ Haley said. ‘Support for Israel is both the morally right and strategically smart thing to do.’

‘Both countries are stronger and safer because of our iron-clad friendship,’ the former South Carolina governor continued. ‘As president, I will never abandon Israel.’

Haley called Ramaswamy’s comments ‘part of a concerning pattern with Vivek’ and that between ‘abandoning Israel, abolishing the FBI, and giving Taiwan to China, his foreign policy proposals have a common theme: they make America less safe.’

Haley campaign spokesperson Ken Farnaso also tweeted on Monday that the former U.N. ambassador ‘will always defend America’s ironclad friendship with Israel.’

In response to Haley’s comments, Ramaswamy campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital, ‘We wish her well on her future in corporate America’s boardrooms.’

During an interview this weekend on Russell Brand’s Rumble show, Ramaswamy said he would end funding to Israel when a $38 billion package ends in 2028.

‘Come 2028, that additional aid won’t be necessary in order to still have the kind of stability that we’d actually have in the Middle East by having Israel more integrated in with its partners,’ Ramaswamy said.

Ramaswamy also said that he would expand the Abraham Accords if elected president and that Israel should be able to stand ‘on its own feet.’

‘Israel should not receive preferential treatment from the United States, even though our relationship with Israel has advanced American interests,’ he continued.

‘We will not leave Israel hanging out to dry — ever,’ Ramaswamy also said. ‘The centerpiece of my Middle East policy in year one will be to consummate ‘Abraham Accords 2.0,’ which will be good for the U.S. and good for Israel.’

‘If we can lead the way in helping Israel fully integrate into the economic and security infrastructure of the Middle East via Abraham Accords 2.0, it is better for everyone if Israel is truly able to stand on its own feet with support from partners across the Middle East that we diplomatically bring to the table.’

Ramaswamy garnered some controversy when he said he would allow Russia to keep parts of Ukraine and is against the eastern European nation from joining NATO.

The shots between the presidential candidates come ahead of Wednesday’s first GOP debate to determine the White House nominee in 2024.

Both Haley and Ramaswamy are set to take the debate stage this week and test their mettle against the panel of other candidates.

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis’ campaign is boasting of endorsements and the latest poll numbers as signaling growing ground support in Iowa. 

DeSantis’ team said he’s received a historic 40 endorsements from state legislators and has a total of 120 county-level chairs supporting him – at least one in each of the state’s 99 counties. That’s the most of any candidate in the race, DeSantis campaign spokeswoman Carly Atchison told Fox News Digital. 

The Florida governor — just months away from Iowa caucus day — also has more than 10,000 Iowans committed to caucus for him, representing one-fifth of the total Iowans who caucused for former presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, when Cruz won the Iowa caucuses in 2016.

‘It’s not just the promises that are being made or the ideas that he’s bringing to the table. Those are a big part of it, don’t get me wrong. But it’s also the fact that he can point back to what he’s accomplished in the state of Florida, which is very similar to what we have been doing here in the state of Iowa,’ Iowa state Rep. Matt Windschitl, who endorsed DeSantis months ago, told Fox News Digital Monday.

‘There’s almost a mirror reflection in the underlying policies. The governor has said, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do, and I’m not going to stop until we get it done. I’m not going to back down.’ And he’s been able to accomplish that. That resonates because that’s promises made and promises kept.’ 

DeSantis’ campaign said he is the only candidate who has committed to doing the 99-county tour.

‘Nobody is working harder in Iowa than Ron DeSantis, who has visited 38 of 99 counties so far and boasts the most endorsements from state legislators than anyone else in the race,’ Atchison said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘The more Iowans see and hear Ron DeSantis in person, the more his message to reverse our nation’s decline and revive the American dream will continue to resonate.’

‘I mean, you can’t turn on the TV without seeing the political ads from the super PACs and things like that. But you can’t buy Iowa and the caucuses,’ Windschitl said. ‘You have to actually get out there through the grassroots. And I think with the governor not only having the boots on the ground, him personally and the first lady personally, but having support in all 99 counties with county chairs stepping up to say, ‘We’re going to help get some more people to go to the caucuses,’ having over 10,000 Iowans already committed to saying that, yes, they’re going to go to caucus for the governor, and we’re only five months away. I mean, that’s a big deal.

‘That tells me that the momentum is there,’ Windschitl added. ‘Things are building. And I think it’s truly, truly a message to the other early states as the governor travels to those states. Hey, Iowans are hearing what the governor’s saying. Everybody else should listen as well, because it is making a difference here in Iowa.’ 

Fox News Digital recently reported that political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s received a recent surge in polls days before the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee, received the first endorsement from a statewide official in Iowa. Iowa Treasurer Roby Smith announced that he threw his support behind Ramaswamy, crediting him as the candidate best suited to revive American economic prosperity and lead the crusade against ‘crony capitalism’ like ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] and CBDCs [central bank digital currency]. 

Despite having more than $20 million spent against him, DeSantis is still viewed as favorable by two-thirds of likely caucus-goers, the highest favorability of any candidate in the field, according to a new Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom Iowa Poll of 406 likely Republican caucus-goers conducted Aug. 13-17.  

Windschitl, however, cautioned against relying on poll numbers at this stage. 

‘A follow-up question that you have to ask is, are those people that are expressing that opinion that you’re basing those poll numbers off of actually caucus-goers? Are those people that are going to go through the caucus, the convention process through the primary and continue to support that candidate?’ he told Fox News Digital. 

‘That makes a difference, and the numbers that we’re seeing for the numbers that are already committed to Gov. DeSantis to not only support him now through the caucus process, but actually show up at caucus in January and caucus for him, that’s – that’s a drastically different number than what I think those polls are showing.’ 

The Des Moines Register poll shows 66% of respondents viewed DeSantis favorably, compared to 29% who saw him as unfavorable. This was ahead of the current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, who was viewed as favorable by 65% of respondents. 

DeSantis is also the first choice, second choice or being actively considered by 61% of likely caucus-goers, just slightly behind the 63% of respondents who said the same for Trump. No other candidate has broken out of single digits.

Overall, Trump garnered 42% support as the top choice in the new poll of Iowa’s likely Republican caucus-goers, leading by 23 points over DeSantis, who garnered 19% support. 

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., came in third place with 9% support, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence tied for fourth at 6%. 

One vulnerable swing state Democrat seeking another term in the Senate is cozying up to President Biden ahead of what is expected to be one of the most closely watched 2024 races despite his approval rating falling well underwater in the state and across the country.

‘Yes,’ Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said during an interview with The Messenger when asked if she would ‘happily’ campaign alongside Biden in her quest to win over Nevada voters. ‘I think what we have to talk about are the policies that we put in place.’

The outlet noted Rosen’s confirmation on multiple other occasions that she would be campaigning alongside Biden in Nevada, as well as her frequent touting of legislation passed with largely party-line support through the Democratic controlled Congress of the administration’s first two years, including the controversial Inflation Reduction Act, and the 2021 $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill.

‘When you’re an incumbent, you run on how you’ve been dealing with people, and that’s really important,’ Rosen told the outlet. ‘We had the message that we were going to deliver, and we have delivered.’

Biden faces an underwater approval rating nationally. According to a recent Fox News poll, just 42% approve of the job he’s doing compared to 58% who disapprove, for a net negative 16 rating. That’s worse than in July, when he was underwater by 11 points.

He faces a similar outlook in Nevada, where polls consistently show his approval rating trailing his disapproval rating by double digits, heightening the awareness around just how close statewide races have been in recent election cycles.

Rosen defeated former Republican Sen. Dean Heller by 5% in the 2018 midterm elections, a year Democrats were heavily favored to outperform the GOP, who, at the time, held control of both houses of Congress and the White House. In 2012, Heller narrowly defeated his Democratic opponent by just over 1% while the margin in the last two presidential elections has been less than 3%.

Additionally, Republican Adam Laxalt narrowly failed to oust Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in the 2022 midterm elections, falling short by less than 8,000 votes.

A crowded field of Republicans is vying to take on Rosen, which includes Afghanistan War veteran Sam Brown who unsuccessfully sought the GOP Senate nomination against Laxalt in 2022.

The race could ultimately determine which party will control the Senate in a 2024 election cycle map widely seen as favorable for Republicans. Democrats currently hold a one seat majority with three independents caucusing with the party.

Accordingly, Republicans are eying the seat as one most likely within reach of flipping from blue to red. They also have no qualms with Rosen for her willingness to stay close to Biden.

‘Jacky Rosen has done nothing to distance herself from Joe Biden despite the fact that he is extremely unpopular in Nevada. Nevadans will hold Rosen accountable for backing the Biden agenda that has emptied their wallets and opened the southern border,’ National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Maggie Abboud said in a statement.

FIRST ON FOX: The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) threw down the gauntlet on critical race theory in public schools, demanding superintendents turn over materials for the recently pulled, controversial Advanced Placement African American Studies pilot program.

This month, Arkansas became the latest state to pull the controversial College Board AP African American Studies pilot program from its schools.

Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva wrote that the department ‘is charged with oversight of education in public school districts, which includes ensuring school district compliance with state law and State Board of Education rules.’

‘Since the Advanced Placement African American Studies pilot program is a direct partnership between your school district and College Board, the Department has not been provided the necessary materials and resources needed to enable the Department to support districts in complying with the law and rules,’ Oliva wrote.

‘Given some of the themes included in the pilot, including ‘intersections of identity’ and ‘resistance and resilience,’ the Department is concerned the pilot may not comply with Arkansas law, which does not permit teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory,’ he continued, citing the Arkansas LEARNS Act that GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law in March.

Oliva wrote in his letter that in order to ‘assist public school employees, representatives, and guest speakers at your district in complying with the law,’ the superintendents must ‘submit all materials, including but not limited to the syllabus, textbooks, teacher resources, student resources, rubrics, and training materials, to the Department by 12:00 pm on September 8, 2023.’

The Arkansas secretary of education also called on the superintendents to include their ‘statement of assurance that the teaching of these materials will not violate Arkansas law or rule.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the superintendents of the districts involved in the pilot program – the eStem Public Charter Schools, the North Little Rock School District, the Little Rock School District, the Jacksonville School District and the Jonesboro School district – for comment.

According to screenshots obtained by Fox News Digital, the ‘Intersections of Identity’ section of the AP pilot program ‘examines the interplay of distinct categories of identity (such as race, ethnicity, class, gender, region, religion, and ability) with each other and within a society.’

‘Various categories of identity are emphasized throughout the course,’ it continues. ‘Although different identities vary in prominence in the given units, students should develop the habit of thinking about identity as both a unified concept and intersectional framework and consider how different aspects of identity impact their experience.’

Intersectionality is a key tenet of critical race theory and examines how one’s characteristics – such as race, sex and sexuality – intersect and how society treats that person based on them, discriminatory or otherwise.

The term was coined by Columbia Law professor and ‘pioneering’ critical race theory scholar and writer Kimberle Crenshaw.

The Arkansas LEARNS Act prohibits school curriculum from introducing ‘ideologies’ that promote discrimination based on immutable characteristics and ‘conflict with the principle of equal protection under the law.’

Additionally, College Board committee member Teresa Reed said in a February interview with NPR that ‘the resources that address those controversial topics will live on AP Classroom that’s being constructed for AP African American Studies’ – including critical race theory.

‘It’s an online platform. And so that’s separate and different from the framework itself,’ Reed said. ‘But it will be available to – it’ll be widely available. And I should mention, those resources will be available – accessible free of charge.’

FIRST ON FOX: Alabama’s attorney general is calling for an investigation into President Biden reversing his decision to put Space Command headquarters in Huntsville.

Fox News Digital obtained Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s letter to Government Accountability Office (GAO) Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Elizabeth Field and Department of Defense (DOD) Assistant Inspector General (IG) Randolph Stone with regard to Biden’s ‘sudden reversal’ of placing Space Command headquarters in Colorado.

‘On January 13, 2021, after a thorough vetting process that spanned almost two years, the Secretary of the Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, as the preferred location for Space Command’s headquarters,’ Marshall wrote.

‘According to the announcement, the Air Force evaluated six possible headquarters locations ‘based on factors related to mission, infrastructure capacity, community support and costs to the Department of Defense,’’ he continued, noting that the ‘factors strongly favored Huntsville.’

Marshall wrote that multiple ‘independent reviews’ by the two offices ‘confirmed the Air Force’s decision that Huntsville was the best location for Space Command’s headquarters’ and that the DOD IG’s ’20-person team’ found the Air Force’s selection process was lawful.

The Alabama attorney general also said the GAO ‘similarly reported that Huntsville was clearly the preferred headquarters location’ for Space Command.

‘After its investigation, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the selection of Huntsville ‘was consistent with the Air Force’s analysis,’’ Marshall wrote. ‘The Huntsville headquarters should have cleared its final hurdle when the Air Force determined last year that the site ‘will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment.”

‘Yet on July 31, 2023, government officials reported that President Biden had reversed the decision to locate Space Command’s headquarters in Huntsville and instead selected a location in Colorado. News reports credited General James Dickinson with convincing Biden to choose Colorado,’ he continued, citing Associated Press reporting of the southern snub.

Marshall wrote that Dickinson’s ‘role understandably surprised Alabama officials’ weeks after the U.S. Space Command commander ‘confirmed to Alabama’s congressional delegation that ‘the headquarters of U.S. Space Command belongs on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala.’’

‘Newly uncovered Colorado property records reveal that General Dickinson had at least 1.5 million reasons to recommend Colorado over Huntsville for the permanent U.S. Space Command headquarters,’ Marshall wrote.

‘In April 2023, General Dickinson registered a deed to a $1.5 million, 20-acre ranch near the Colorado headquarters location,’ the Alabama attorney general continued. ‘When he was assuring them that ‘he couldn’t envision any circumstance where he wouldn’t recommend Huntsville,’ General Dickinson did not disclose his Colorado purchase to Alabama officials.’

‘It is unknown whether General Dickinson disclosed his personal interests in the Colorado site to President Biden or any other superiors,’ Marshall added.

Marshall alleged that Dickinson’s ‘personal interests may explain why the Secretary of the Air Force announced in May that General Dickinson ‘had recently changed his needs for a headquarters and that the ‘fundamental changes’ could affect the basing decision.’’

The Alabama AG also noted the GAO found that ‘the Huntsville location was the highest scoring location at every stage of the decision-making process.’

‘It is unknown how General Dickinson’s ‘fundamental changes’ affected the scoring process or how much taxpayer money was spent to implement these changes during the decision-making process,’ Marshall wrote.

Marshall alleged that other ‘improper factors may have influenced the decision as well’ and that multiple ‘government officials reported that the White House would not move Space Command’s headquarters to Alabama because of partisan concerns about the state’s abortion law.’

‘The White House denied that claim but did not provide any evidence to substantiate the denial,’ Marshall wrote, adding that transparency ‘is needed to understand these issues and any others that were part of the effort to reverse the decision to locate Space Command’s headquarters to Huntsville, Alabama.’

‘I respectfully request that your offices investigate the process to select the Colorado location with at least as much thoroughness as you did with the initial selection of the Huntsville location,’ Marshall concluded the letter.

A DOD IG spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the letter ‘hasn’t come through official channels’ and they ‘aren’t in receipt of the letter.’

Field told Fox News Digital that ‘GAO’s review assessed the process that the Air Force used from December 2018 to March 2020 to select the preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters, as well as the revised selection process that the Air Force used from March 2020 to January 2021.’

‘As stated in our June 2022 report, while the January 2021 selection of Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters was consistent with the Air Force’s analysis, our assessment of the Air Force’s revised selection process and attendant analysis against best practices identified significant shortfalls in its transparency and credibility,’ Field said.

‘At this time, GAO does not have any new work regarding U.S. Space Command headquarters,’ she continued. ‘Per our congressional protocols, GAO’s work is generally conducted at the request of congressional committees, subcommittees, or members or is statutorily required by public laws or committee reports.’

Last month, Biden informed the Department of Defense that the U.S. Space Command headquarters will remain in Colorado, rejecting a push by former President Donald Trump to move operations to Alabama.

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Biden had consulted with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and senior military leaders before deciding that Colorado Springs, Colorado, will remain as the permanent location of the U.S. Space Command headquarters.

Having the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters remain in Colorado Springs, Ryder said, will ensure that the U.S. maintains ‘peak readiness in the space domain … during a critical period.’

‘It will also enable the command to most effectively plan, execute and integrate military spacepower into multi-domain global operations in order to deter aggression and defend national interests,’ he said.

Senior U.S. officials told the Associated Press that Dickinson convinced the president that moving his headquarters would jeopardize military readiness. Dickinson’s view, however, was in contrast to Air Force leadership, which studied the issue at length and determined that relocating to Huntsville, Alabama, was the right move.

The president, they said, believes that keeping the command in Colorado Springs would avoid a disruption in readiness that the move would cause, particularly as the U.S. races to compete with China in space. And they said Biden firmly believes that maintaining stability will help the military be better able to respond in space over the next decade. Those factors, they said, outweighed what the president believed would be any minor benefits of moving to Alabama.

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and Liz Friden contributed reporting.

Entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy prepped for Wednesday’s upcoming GOP presidential primary debate with three hours of tennis on Monday. 

In a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ramaswamy was seen hitting several volleys on the tennis court. 

‘Three hours of solid debate prep this morning,’ he wrote. 

Ramaswamy, a dark horse candidate who has steadily gained support, will join his fellow Republicans vying to win the GOP presidential nomination. 

The other contenders in Wednesday’s debate in Milwaukee will be former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as well as former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. 

On Sunday, former President Donald Trump said he would not be participating, citing recent poll figures. 

He also previously said he would not sign a pledge from the Republican National Committee, which asks the primary losers to support the eventual GOP nominee. The pledge was a requirement to take the stage Wednesday. 

Hours before the post, Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), said she was ‘holding out hope’ that Trump would join the field on the debate stage. 

‘I think it’s so important that the American people here from all the candidates,’ she said on ‘Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.’

Fox News will air the first Republican primary debate, which will be hosted by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. 

A Georgia court set bond for former President Trump at $200,000, after he was charged by Fulton County prosecutors with 13 counts last week related to its investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump will be processed Thursday in Fulton County, a source familiar told Fox News Digital. The source said this will take place Thursday afternoon, but the exact timing is unclear at this point.

The source said Trump will have his arraignment and first court appearance in September.

Trump was charged by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

Judge Scott McAfee of the Fulton County Superior Court set bond for the former president, and current 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, at $200,000.

The filing, reviewed by Fox News Digital, reveals that Trump may ‘post bond as cash, through commercial surety, or through the Fulton County Jail 10% program.’

The filing also says Trump ‘shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice.’

The filing notes that includes, but is not limited to, ‘posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.’

Trump and more than a dozen others were charged out of the Fulton County probe, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his former attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Jeff Clark, John Eastman, among others.

The charges include violating the Georgia RICO Act—the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act; Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings; Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Filing False Documents; and Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. Not everyone faces the same charges.

Trump’s indictment out of Fulton County is his fourth. 

Trump is the first former president in United States history to face criminal charges.

He was indicted out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 earlier this month. He pleaded not guilty to all charges–conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Smith also charged Trump in June in his investigation into his alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency. 

Last month, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of that probe. 

And in April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts in New York in April stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation. Trump is accused of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign.

Willis gave Trump and the 18 other defendants until Aug. 25 to surrender. Willis, Monday night during a press conference, said she would like a trial to take place within six months – which would be by February 2024 – right as the GOP presidential primaries are ramping up. 

Fox News’ Claudia Kelly-Bazan and David Lewkowict contributed to this report.