Author: Daniel

A weekend away from Washington did little to soften Senate Democrats’ resolve as they again blocked Republicans’ effort to reopen the government, ensuring the shutdown will last at least a week.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and most of his caucus are adamant that unless a deal is struck on expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, commonly known as ObamaCare subsidies, they will not provide the votes needed to fund the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs at least eight Democrats to cross the aisle and support the GOP’s bill, which would reopen the government until Nov. 21.

SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN SCHEME EXPLAINED: DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON OBAMACARE CREDITS AS STANDOFF DRAGS ON

However, only Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, have broken with their caucus to end the shutdown. Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., remains the lone Republican to buck his party.

Senate Democrats have remained steadfast in their demand that a deal must be reached to extend expiring ObamaCare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. They argue that unless Congress acts, Americans who rely on the tax credits will see their healthcare premiums skyrocket.

Both Senate leaders are encouraging talks among rank-and-file members to find a solution, but neither side can agree on when exactly the subsidies should be dealt with.

GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ENTERS 3RD DAY AS SENATE STALEMATE OVER OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES DRAGS ON

When asked what the appetite for tackling the expiring subsidies was within the Senate GOP, Thune said it was “a mixed bag.” 

“But like I said, you know, there may be a path forward,” he said. “I think a lot of it would come down to what the White House lands on that, but certainly not without reforms. And we all know the program is broken, it needs to be fixed, so that would be certainly a starting place.”

Schumer wants an additional bulwark added to a deal: President Donald Trump has to sign off on it, given that there may be resistance among House Republicans to extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.

“Look, the bottom line on that is we need the president to be involved. [House Speaker Mike] Johnson and a whole lot of his caucus don’t like the ACA, don’t want to do the extensions,” he said. “A lot of Republican senators in the Senate do, but they’re not enough. Good is not enough.”

DEMOCRATS REFUSE TO BUDGE OVER OBAMACARE FIGHT AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON

“You need Johnson and you need Trump to get it done,” he continued. “So that’s the bottom line.”

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that “we’re talking to the Democrats.” When asked if he would work to make a deal with them on ObamaCare subsidies to reopen the government, he said “Yeah.” 

“I’d like to see a deal made for great healthcare,” Trump said. Ii want to see great healthcare, I’m a republican but I want to see healthcare much more so than the Democrats.” 

Schumer fired back in a statement that Trump’s “claim isn’t true — but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table.”

And Fetterman, who has routinely voted against shutting the government down regardless of which party controlled the Senate, recognized that without Trump’s greenlight, a deal would go nowhere.

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He gave the example of a bipartisan border deal negotiated between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate in 2023 that was sidelined under orders from Trump.

“It got tanked. Trump tanked that, and he wasn’t the president, and he didn’t have to sign that thing,” Fetterman said. “So what I’m saying, where’s the leverage? Because ultimately, doesn’t he have to sign off on any of it anyway?”

Early voting is now underway in California in a special election that will make a huge impact on next year’s battle for the U.S. House majority.

California voters are deciding whether to pass a ballot proposition this November which would dramatically alter the state’s congressional districts, putting the left-leaning state front-and-center in the high-stakes political fight over redistricting that pits President Donald Trump and the GOP against the Democrats.

California state lawmakers this summer approved a special proposition on the November ballot to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature. Ballots began being mailed out on Monday.

The effort in California, which could create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts, aims to counter the passage in the reliable red state of Texas of a new map that aims to create up to five right-leaning House seats. Failure to approve what’s known as Proposition 50 would be a stinging setback for Democrats.

WHAT STATES ARE NEXT UP IN THE CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING BATTLE

Two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is spearheading the push to pass the proposition.

“If we lose here, we are going to have total Republican control in the House, the Senate and the White House for at least two more years,” Newsom emphasized in a recent fundraising appeal to supporters. “If we win here, we can put a check on Trump for his final two years.”

The push by Trump and Republicans for rare mid-decade redistricting is part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad its razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

TRUMP’S SHADOW LOOMS OVER KEY 2025 ELECTIONS

Trump and his political team are aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House, when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

Missouri last month joined Texas as the second GOP-controlled state to pass congressional redistricting ahead of next year’s elections. The new map in Missouri is likely to give the GOP another right-leaning seat.

But unlike Texas and Missouri, California voters need to weigh in before giving redistricting power back to the legislature in Sacramento.

“Heaven help us if we lose,” Newsom said in his fundraising pitch. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for Democrats.”

Proponents and opponents of Proposition 50 reported raising more than $215 million as of Oct. 2, with much of the money being dished out to pay for a deluge of ads on both sides.

One of the two main groups countering Newsome and the Democrats is labeling their effort “Stop Sacramento’s Power Grab.”

Also getting into the fight is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was the last Republican governor of California.

During his tenure as governor, Schwarzenegger had a starring role in the passage of constitutional amendments in California in 2008 and 2010 that took the power to draw state legislative and congressional districts away from politicians and placed it in the hands of an independent commission.

“That’s what they want to do is take us backwards — this is why it is important for you to vote no on Prop 50,” Schwarzenegger says in an ad against Proposition 50. “Democracy — we’ve got to protect it, and we’ve got to go and fight for it.”

As ballots start reaching mailboxes across California, a panel of federal judges in Texas is hearing a case in the legal battle over the passage of the new congressional maps.

If redistricting in Texas is blocked, it’s not clear how the ruling would impact California. 

Newsom this summer indicated that California could continue with its nonpartisan redistricting commission if other states rescinded their efforts to change their maps. But that language was not included in the proposition now on the ballot.

Even before Trump initiated his redistricting push, Ohio was under court order to redraw its maps. That could boost Republicans in a one-time battleground state that now leans right.

Republicans in the GOP-dominated states of Indiana and Florida are also mulling congressional redistricting. And Democrats in heavily blue Maryland are weighing a redistricting push.

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Other states considering altering their maps are Democrat-dominated Illinois and red states Kansas and Nebraska. 

Meanwhile, Democrats could pick up a seat in Republican-dominated Utah, where a judge recently ordered the GOP-controlled legislature to draw new maps after ruling that lawmakers four years ago ignored an independent commission approved by voters to prevent partisan gerrymandering. 

Iowa’s largest public school district is suing the firm that helped it hire an illegal immigrant — Ian Roberts, who is now in Department of Justice custody — for negligence and breach of contract.

The district hired One-Fourth Consulting, which operates under its brand JG Consulting, was sued in the Iowa District Court for Polk County last week by the Des Moines Independent Community School District (DMICSD) for its role in hiring Roberts. 

Roberts was hired to be the superintendent of the district in May 2023 at a salary of $270,000.

Last month, Roberts was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He was subsequently charged with possession of illegal weapons after a loaded handgun was found in his car following his arrest.

SCHOOL CHIEF TO SUSPECT: ICE ARREST OF DES MOINES SUPERINTENDENT EXPOSES FAKE DEGREES, DRUG CONVICTIONS

The district is suing the executive search firm for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, general negligence and is also seeking monetary damages.

Fox News Digital reached out to JG Consulting for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

“The District and JG Consulting entered into a valid, written Agreement for JG Consulting to provide executive search services in connection with the superintendent hire,” the lawsuit states. “JG Consulting materially breached the Agreement by, among other things, failing to properly vet Roberts and by referring Roberts as a candidate when he could not lawfully hold the position.”

The district argued that JG Consulting was negligent in its duties, citing the fact it is in the business of “supplying accurate information regarding candidates,” and presented Roberts as suitable for the position.

“That representation was false,” the suit states in regard to Roberts.    

The district cited costs associated with the controversy, including those incurred from having to find a replacement and reputational damage.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SCREAMS DURING VIRAL DC ARREST: ‘WHAT I VOTED FOR’ 

In addition to JG Consulting’s work with DMICSD, the executive search firm has also helped spearhead candidate search efforts for several other school districts around the country, including in Texas, Virginia and in other districts in Iowa, according to a Fox News Digital analysis of public records.

One of those districts, the Eanes Westlake Innovative School District, which is currently using JG Consulting to find a new superintendent, put out a statement following news of the Roberts arrest to assure its community members that it was committed to “high standards” in its search for a new district head.

“While we are aware of allegations in Iowa, the Board believes JG Consulting is conducting a thorough and comprehensive search for the next Eanes ISD superintendent,” district board president, Kim McMath, said. “As we move forward, the Board will require JG Consulting to provide extensive background information on all candidates who advance for consideration. We are steadfast in our commitment to ensuring this process meets the highest standards. Through the combination of Eanes ISD’s rigorous internal hiring practices and JG Consulting’s enhanced evaluation protocols, we are confident the district will be presented with well-qualified, carefully vetted candidates.”

Roberts is currently facing federal charges and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Polk County jail, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement from last week. In the statement, DHS said that Roberts’ “rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” which the agency said proves “he should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.”

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According to DHS, Roberts was previously convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland in 2012. The statement also said he was convicted in Pennsylvania of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in 2022.

Besides these, he also has charges of criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument in New York dating back to 1996 and charges of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree weapon charges in 2020.

Additionally, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, its civil division served Roberts a sealed restraining order from Jackson County, Missouri, in August 2023. It is unclear what prompted the restraining order since the order was sealed. 

He was also discovered to be illegally registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland, raising serious questions about the state’s voter registration system.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon issued a warning about making threats against her, saying they’re being referred to the U.S. Marshals Service.

“We will tolerate no such threats by woke idiots, including those who work for @GavinNewsom,” Dhillon wrote in a Sunday night post on X. “Govern yourselves accordingly.”

“FAFO,” she added, using the acronym for “f— around and find out.” 

Dhillon told Fox News Digital on Monday that Justice Department staff alerted her to concerning replies beneath a post she said came from a staffer for California Gov. Gavin Newsom that appeared to blame her for the fire at a South Carolina judge’s home.

STEPHEN MILLER TRASHES DEM WHO BLAMED ‘EXTREME RIGHT’ FOR FIRE AT SOUTH CAROLINA JUDGE’S HOME: ‘YOU ARE VILE’

According to a screenshot, one ominous-sounding post from an X account that no longer exists declared, “I’m just saying Harmeet Dhillon’s address can’t be hard to find.” The screenshot also showed that after the person was asked what they were saying, they replied, “I’ll let you know in two weeks.”

Those posts appear to have been made in reply to a post from Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director.

“A few weeks ago, one of Trump’s top DOJ officials publicly targeted this judge. Today, the judge’s home is on fire,” Gardon wrote on Sunday, referring to South Carolina circuit court Judge Diane Schafer Goodstein, whose house burned on Saturday.

TRUMP BLASTS ‘LIGHTWEIGHT’ DEM SENATOR WHO CRITICIZED PUTIN SUMMIT IN ALASKA: ‘STUPID’

Authorities are investigating the blaze at Goodstein’s home and have not confirmed a cause. Three people were injured, and state investigators with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) are leading the probe, officials said.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut retweeted Gardon’s post, which included a screenshot of a post that Dhillon made last month.

In that post, Dhillon had declared, “This @TheJusticeDept’s @CivilRights will not stand for a state court judge’s hasty nullification of our federal voting laws. I will allow nothing to stand in the way of our mandate to maintain clean voter rolls. One Citizen, One Vote!”

While speaking to Fox News Digital, Dhillon indicated that Gardon and Murphy had placed a target on her back for doing her job, describing it as “grossly … outrageous, inappropriate,” warning that in the present milieu it “could cause me physical harm.”

BLUE CITY CRIME DRIVES TRUMP DOJ BATTLE WITH MAJOR DEMOCRAT-LED COUNTY ON CONCEALED CARRY RIGHTS

“Ms. Dhillon owes us a full apology for her blatantly false implications,” Gardon said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Our office never threatened her, in contrast to the Trump Administration’s vile rhetoric against sitting judges. In recent weeks, Trump officials have referred to judges as ‘terrorists’ and ‘legal insurrectionists.’ She and her associates own that dangerous, disgraceful, and un-American rhetoric, and she should apologize for that, too,” Gardon added.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Murphy’s office on Monday.

Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has repeatedly insisted he is not a “communist” when asked by reporters despite a history of promoting communist ideology which has prompted many to place that label on him. 

“No, I’m a democratic socialist,” Mamdani told CNN earlier this week when asked if he’s a communist, a label bestowed on him by many critics, including President Donald Trump. 

“I’ve said that time and again.”

Despite his several rejections of the communist label, a Fox News Digital review found several examples of Mamdani advocating and backing communist principles, including calling for the seizure of the “means of production.” 

NYC COUNCILWOMAN WHO GREW UP UNDER COMMUNISM SOUNDS ALARM ON KEY MAMDANI POSITIONS: ‘DANGEROUS SITUATION’

“Right now, if we’re talking about the cancellation of student debt, if we’re talking about Medicare for all, you know, these are issues which have the groundswell of popular support across this country,” Mamdani told a Democratic Socialists of America conference in 2021. 

“But then there are also other issues that we firmly believe in, whether it’s BDS or whether it is the end goal of seizing the means of production, where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.”

The phrase “seizing the means of production” traces back to Karl Marx’s 1848 “The Communist Manifesto” in which he promotes the idea of workers taking control of factories from private owners. 

Lee Edwards, a former Heritage Foundation fellow and conservative scholar until his death last year, wrote in 2018 that Marx was an “atheist socialist who insisted that his was the only ‘scientific’ socialism based not on wishful thinking but the inexorable laws of history.”

“The whole of history, declared Marx and his close collaborator and friend Friedrich Engels, is the history of the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The inevitable collapse of capitalism and the victory of the proletariat would end the conflict and usher in a classless society and pure socialism or communism (Marx used both terms interchangeably). He listed 10 necessary measures as steps along the way to his utopia, including a progressive income tax, the abolition of private property, free education for all, and centralization of the means of communication and transport in ‘the hands of the state.’”

Private property has found itself a target of Mamdani in the past on numerous occasions, including in a resurfaced video Fox News Digital reported in July where Mamdani said, “If there was any system that could guarantee each person housing, whether you call it the abolition of private property or you call it, you know, just a statewide housing guarantee, it is preferable to what is going on right now.”

WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL SLAMS MAMDANI FOR ‘HOLDING BACK GIFTED STUDENTS IN THE NAME OF EQUITY’

Mamdani’s platform also includes a progressive tax plan aimed at “taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers” that comes under the backdrop of his recent claim that he doesn’t believe billionaires should exist. 

Communist sympathies can also be found in Mamdani’s inner circle based on reporting earlier this year that part of his campaign’s “brain trust” includes Cea Weaver, a housing activist with close ties to communist organizations. 

Weaver is the former coalitions director of Housing Justice for All, a group that counts dozens of radical far-left groups as coalition members, including the Communist Party of the United States of America and the New York Young Communist League.

“Elect more Communists,” Weaver posted on social media in 2017, New York Post reported. “Seize private property,” Weaver posted in 2018. 

When confronted by Fox News Digital in July on whether he is a communist and whether he intends to walk back any of his past communist-aligned statements to earn the endorsement of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Mamdani did not respond. 

NYC MAYORAL CANDIDATE SPARKS ‘MAMDANI EFFECT’ AS MANHATTAN RESIDENTS REPORTEDLY FLEE TO SUBURBS

Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that Mamdani is “absolutely a communist” who “repeats lines out of the ‘Communist Manifesto’ and other writings by Karl Marx.”

“When Marxists today say they are socialists, they usually want to convey the impression that they believe in elections and not just in shooting your way into power,” Gonzalez added. “Of course, that election often ends up being the last free and fair one. Witness Venezuela.”

Mamdani’s platform also includes calls for the state to run basic operations in New York City, including bus lines and grocery stores.

“State stores are the bread and butter of communism, except they don’t contain either bread or butter and are usually empty,” Gonzalez, who penned an article in July titled, “Mamdani Is the Mayor New York Democrats Deserve,” told Fox News Digital. 

In 1875, Marx famously wrote the phrase, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

In 2020, Mamdani posted a similar version of that mantra, writing on X, “Each according to their need, each according to their ability.”

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Also in 2020, Mamdani openly called for a communist mayor of New York City in a post on X where he said the city’s next mayor should be like “Comrade Arya Rajedran,” a communist mayor in India.

Democratic Socialists of America, a group tightly aligned with Mamdani that the New York Post recently reported on is expecting Mamdani to back their agenda if elected, has long backed communist figures and regimes. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment.

This government shutdown isn’t President Donald Trump’s first rodeo navigating a lapse in government funding — but this time, the focus is less on the White House as all eyes are locked on Congress and its budget impasse. 

While the 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term centered around the president’s priorities to fund a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, the current shutdown doesn’t pit the White House against the legislative branch. 

Rather, there is a stalemate between Republicans and Democrats in Congress over certain healthcare provisions — alleviating pressure on the White House and giving Trump time to post videos showing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a sombrero in an AI-generated clip underscoring Republicans’ claims that Democrats want to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants. 

HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN

This paves the way for Trump to remain in the wings during the partial shutdown, and let Democrats take the fall for the consequences, according to libertarian political columnist Kristin Tate.

“By staying relatively quiet right now, President Trump is allowing Democrats to ‘own’ the shutdown,” Tate said in a Wednesday email to Fox News Digital. “The president realizes that if he says anything confrontational right now, the narrative will center around his remarks rather than the Democrats’ refusal to support a reasonable spending bill.” 

“By maintaining a low profile, Trump is allowing the public to see how the Democrats are acting,” Tate said. “The Democrats will ultimately bear most of the political consequences of the shutdown.”

The government entered a partial shutdown Wednesday, amid a stalemate between Senate Republicans and Democrats over a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21. The House had previously passed the temporary spending bill in September. 

Three Senate Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the stopgap funding bill Tuesday, but the measure fell short of the required 60 votes needed for passage. 

Meanwhile, Trump and Republicans have claimed Democrats are seeking to provide health care for illegal immigrants, keeping the government from operating. They cite a provision that would repeal part of Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill — the so-called “big, beautiful bill” — which scaled back Medicaid eligibility for noncitizens. 

But Democrats have said Republicans’ claims are false, and instead, have said they want to permanently extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to lapse at the end of 2025. 

REPUBLICANS ERUPT OVER SHUTDOWN CHAOS, ACCUSE DEMS OF HOLDING GOVERNMENT ‘HOSTAGE’

“They say that undocumented people are going to get these credits,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. “That is absolutely false. That is one of the big lies that they tell.”

The shutdown differs from the one during Trump’s first term, where Trump and Democrats in Congress sparred about nearly $6 billion in funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall in the spending bill for weeks. 

Ultimately, Trump backed off amid mounting pressure to reopen the government so federal employees could resume being paid after weeks of stalled payroll, and signed off on legislation to temporarily reopen the government without the border wall funding. 

Matt Wolking, who previously served as the deputy communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said that the main difference between this shutdown in comparison to the previous one is that Democrats are the one requesting a policy change — not the White House. 

“Trump is as engaged as ever — and using humor effectively, of course — and the biggest difference between now and then is that now it’s Democrats who are demanding a specific policy change,” Wolking said in a Wednesday email to Fox News Digital. “They voted against funding the government because they want taxpayer-funded health care for illegal immigrants, and that’s why Trump and Republicans are well positioned to win the shutdown messaging battle this time.” 

Additionally, Republican strategist Matt Gorman said that Democrats have put themselves in a tough position since they were the ones that voted against the continuing resolution. 

“Times have shown over and over through the years that the public supports funding the government. They penalize the party that attaches extra policy priorities to whatever bill does that,” Gorman, who previously served as the communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a Wednesday email to Fox News Digital. “You’re already seeing moderate Democrats splinter off. As this goes on, I expect that to continue.”

Meanwhile, Trump is taking advantage of the shutdown to advance his priorities to whittle down the federal government in an unprecedented move. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget ordered agencies in September to draw up plans for a reduction-in-force in the event of a lapse in appropriations. 

GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN AFTER CONGRESS DEADLOCKS ON SPENDING DEAL

While federal employees typically are furloughed during government shutdowns, the Trump administration’s plans would permanently scale back the size of the federal workforce if a government shutdown occurs.

“Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud,” Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday. “Billions of Dollars can be saved. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” 

Vice President JD Vance has adopted a proactive role carrying the administration’s position, and told reporters Tuesday he predicted the shutdown wouldn’t last long. Specifically, he said that evidence suggests moderate Democrats are “cracking a little” because they understand the “fundamental illogic” of the shutdown. 

Still, he said that layoffs were forthcoming. Trump said Sunday that layoffs were “taking place right now” as thousands of workers’ jobs remain in jeopardy. 

“We’re going to have to make things work,” Vance said. “And that means that we’re going to have to triage some certain things, that means certain people are going to have to get laid off. And we’re going to try to make sure that the American people suffer as little as possible from the shutdown.”

The White House said in a statement to Fox News Digital that every shutdown comes with consequences.

“The Democrats can reopen the government at any time,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Monday. 

Republican Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas announced Monday that he’s running for the Senate, jumping into an already bitter battle between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and primary challenger Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

“The U.S. Senate race in Texas must be about more than a petty feud between two men who have spent months trading barbs,” Hunt said in a statement as he launched his campaign. “With my candidacy, this race will finally be about what’s most important — Texas.”

Hunt’s entry into the race turns up the heat on an already combustible battle between Cornyn, who’s running in 2026 for a fifth six-year term representing red state Texas in the Senate, and Paxton, the MAGA firebrand who’s an ally of President Donald Trump.

Hunt, a West Point graduate who flew Apache helicopters during his Army service and a rising MAGA star who is in his second term representing a safe Republican district in the Houston-area, emphasized in his statement, “My record speaks louder than words. I am the most consistently conservative legislator representing Texas in Congress.”

IS CORNYN CLOSING THE GAP WITH PAXTON IN THE GOP’S MOST COMBUSTIBLE 2026 SENATE PRIMARY?

Cornyn, who is backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, trailed Paxton by double digits at the beginning of the summer.

TRUMP’S SHADOW LOOMS LARGE IN 2025 ELECTION SHOWDOWNS

But Cornyn has narrowed the polling gap in recent weeks, thanks in part to a massive ad blitz by allies that spotlighted the numerous controversies that have battered Paxton over the past decade.

Trump, whose endorsement would make a major impact in the Texas primary battle, has remained neutral to date.

Hunt, pointing to his backing of Trump as the then-former president launched his 2024 White House comeback, touted that “I was the first person in the nation to endorse President Trump, and I have remained steadfast in my commitment to the people of Texas.”

FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN 2026 MIDTERMS

Hunt had been mulling a Senate run for months and sources confirmed to Fox News earlier this year that the congressman had made his case to Trump’s political team that he’s the only person who could win both a GOP primary and a general election.

And an aligned super PAC spent big bucks this summer to increase Hunt’s name recognition across the state of Texas.

Paxton adviser Nick Maddux, in a statement to Fox News, said that “Primaries are good for our party and our voters, and Paxton and Hunt both know that Texans deserve better than the failed, anti-Trump record of John Cornyn.”

But Cornyn campaign senior adviser Matt Mackowiak argued in a statement that “Rep. Wesley Hunt is a legend in his own mind. No one is happier this morning than the national Democrats who are watching Wesley continue his quixotic quest for relevancy, costing tens of millions of dollars that will endanger the Trump agenda from being passed.”

Hunt’s entry into the GOP nomination race could prevent the winner of next March’s primary from winning a majority of the vote, which would trigger a runoff election two and a half months later.

Democrats are hoping for a Paxton victory in the primary, which they believe would make next year’s general election more competitive.

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It’s been nearly four decades since a Democrat won a Senate election in Texas. You have to go back to the 1988 re-election victory by then-Sen. Lloyd Bentsen.

Former Rep. Colin Allred, who lost last November’s Senate election in Texas to conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz by over 8 points, is running for the 2026 Democratic nomination, along with rising star Texas state Rep. James Talarico and former astronaut Terry Virts.

The Supreme Court declined to take up Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal in her sex trafficking case, quashing the last hope the former associate of Jeffrey Epstein had of fighting her 2021 conviction.

The high court revealed in an order list on Monday that it would not hear her case this term, leaving in place a denial by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.

Maxwell, 63, was convicted by a jury in New York of five counts involving sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

BONDI UNDER SIEGE AFTER DOJ REVEALS NO EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST

In her appeal, Maxwell argued her conviction should be tossed out for several reasons, including that a plea deal Epstein reached with the federal government in 2007 immunized her and that statutes of limitations had run out.

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Maxwell has been serving out her sentence in a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, but was transferred to an all-women minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas, days after meeting with DOJ Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The DOJ has denied extending Maxwell any preferential treatment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Ayesha Curry, the wife of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, raised eyebrows with comments she made in an appearance on Alex Cooper’s podcast.

The comments Curry made went viral on social media over the weekend even as her “Call Her Daddy” podcast appearance occurred in August. In the interview, Curry admitted that she never had immediate plans to get married and have a large family – life just happened.

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“No. So I didn’t want kids. I didn’t want to get married,” Curry said. “I thought I was going to be ‘career girl’ and that’s it. And I had my eyes set on my goals. I was never the little girl that dreamt about the wedding dress and all of that. And then, it happened so early in my life. It’s one of those things like, you actually don’t know what you want.”

Curry spoke to Cooper about getting married at 22. She said she was pregnant with her first child about a month after she was married.

She said, at times, she thought she was choosing between her career and her relationship.

“Yes, to an extent. That was never presented in front of me that way. It kind of just had to be that way, and because … After we got married, we found out we were pregnant with our daughter so quickly, I didn’t even have time to think about what I wanted anymore,” she said. “It’s so interesting. I spent my entire life trying to work toward something, and then it kind of just disappeared and I didn’t think twice about it.

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“After my daughter turned one, I remember there being a shift and being like, uh, I have goals for myself. This doesn’t feel right. I love being a mom but I love doing other things too, and I need to get my s— together and figure out what that looks like for myself now.”

At 22 years old, Curry said she wasn’t ready for what was to come. But she just knew that she was in love with him and that he was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

As his fame grew on the court, her popularity grew off the court.

She addressed having to navigate the added spotlight that came being the wife of an NBA champion superstar who was becoming the most popular athlete in the U.S.

“He’s so gracious. He tries to resonate with me, but he just can’t,” she said. “And he also comes from a place of like, it’s f-ing stupid. Like, it’s not true, so why are you [upset]? And I’m like, but wait, listen to how it makes me feel. And he’s like, ‘But why does it make you feel like that? It’s not real.”

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Ayesha and Stephen Curry share four children. She launched the lifestyle brand Sweet July in 2020 along with Sweet July Productions and Sweet July Skin.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

A growing number of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have declared they’re forgoing their paychecks as the government shutdown drags on.

The federal government has been shut down for nearly a week after Senate Democrats rejected Republicans’ plan to fund agencies through Nov. 21 multiple times.

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, Tom Barrett, R-Mich., Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., are among the Republicans who wrote to the Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives asking for their pay to be withheld during a shutdown.

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Democrats like Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Lou Correa, D-Calif., have requested the same.

But lawmakers requesting their pay be withheld cannot forgo it altogether, because federal law requires them to be paid.

Article I of the Constitution states, “The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.”

Further, the 27th Amendment prevents any changes to congressional pay until after the next election.

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Most House and Senate lawmakers are paid $174,000 yearly — a figure that has not changed since 2009 — while members of congressional leadership can earn more.

A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that members of Congress can elect to have their pay withheld until a shutdown is over, but they must receive that as backpay when the government is funded again.

Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the Committee for House Administration, told Bloomberg Government last week that those checks can go into an account separate from lawmakers’ usual salaries. He told the outlet, “It’s an administrative way of withholding pay for people who choose to.”

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Congressional staffers, meanwhile, automatically miss paychecks if their pay period falls during a government shutdown — but that is also backpaid when the shutdown ends.

Some lawmakers, like Sens. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have announced they would donate their paychecks for the duration of the shutdown.

“Each day the government remains closed, I will be donating my salary to the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, which provides help to vulnerable populations who may be impacted by this reckless choice,” Moody said in a statement last week.