Author: Daniel

President Donald Trump scolded the European nations during his United Nations address on Tuesday morning, specifically over immigration policies in several countries.

Europe has dealt with a major influx of people coming from Africa and the Middle East in recent years, with critics raising concerns about everything from resources to cultural assimilation.  

“The UN is supposed to stop invasions, not create them and not finance them,” he said.

TRUMP SLAMS UN FOR ‘CREATING NEW PROBLEMS,’ QUESTIONS ITS ROLE IN FIERY UNGA SPEECH

“You’re destroying your countries. They’re being destroyed. Europe is in serious trouble. They’ve been invaded by a force of illegal aliens like nobody’s ever seen before. Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe. Nobody is doing anything to change it to get them out. It’s not sustainable. And because they choose to be politically correct, they’re doing just absolutely nothing about it,” he added.

Trump compared the situation to the United States’ own border crisis seen under the Biden administration, which led to millions of people entering the country illegally. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The high number of people crossing the southern border led to a strain on resources in border communities, as well as major cities across the U.S. As part of Trump’s agenda, mass deportations continue to be underway.

TRUMP TO GIVE ‘TOUGH TALK’ ON GLOBALISM ‘FAILURES,’ WHILE HIGHLIGHTING ‘RETURN OF AMERICAN STRENGTH’ AT UNGA

“In the United States, we reject the idea that mass numbers of people from foreign lands can be permitted to travel halfway around the world, trample our borders, violate our sovereignty, cause unmitigated crime, and deplete our social safety net. We have reasserted that America belongs to the American people, and I encourage all countries to take their own stand in defense of their citizens as well,” the president said.

In a May letter, several European countries slammed the European Court of Human Rights for restricting the ability to deport migrants who have committed crimes, saying that it hurts individual countries’ abilities to make their own choices on immigration policy.

“Many have come here via legal pathways. They have learned our languages, believe in democracy, contribute to our societies and have decided to integrate themselves into our culture,” the letter signed by Denmark, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, and Poland stated.

TRUMP IS TARGETING NONVIOLENT AND LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AMERICANS ARE STARTING TO NOTICE

The letter noted that some migrants have opted “not to integrate” and live in “parallel societies” with values aside from “equality, democracy and freedom.”

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“In particular, some have not contributed positively to the societies welcoming them and have chosen to commit crimes,” the letter continued.

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is once again calling for cheaper tickets to the World Cup. 

Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, appeared on the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast last week, where he discussed the ticket prices for World Cup games in New York City, one of the host cities for the finals.

“What we’re seeing is that FIFA’s approach to the ticket process of the World Cup is both without precedent in their own administration of previous World Cups and is also an approach that will price out so many New Yorkers from actually being able to be in the stands,” he said.

CRITICISM OVER SOCIALIST NYC CANDIDATE MAMDANI’S RENT-STABILIZED APARTMENT MOUNTS AFTER ETHICS COMPLAINT

Mamdani, a self-professed fan of the Arsenal Football Club in England, noted that a ticket to the final game when the global soccer tournament was last in the United States in 1994 cost less than $200 in today’s dollars.

“We are now, at face value, seeing tickets for more than $6,000,” he said. “It’s absurd.”

Mamdani recently called for 15% of tickets to be set aside at discounted prices for residents and asked FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to reverse a plan to set ticket prices based on demand.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI SPENDING BIG ON PRIVATE SECURITY DESPITE EARLIER CALLS TO DEFUND POLICE

Fox News Digital reached out to FIFA for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The World Cup will be played across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Eight matches, including the final, will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York.

FIFA’s plan to adopt a dynamic pricing model has sparked backlash among some fans, The Associated Press previously reported.

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Tickets will start at $60 for group-stage matches and increase to $6,730 for the final, officials said earlier this month. However, pricing could fluctuate under the demand-based pricing model.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris detailed her running mate Tim Walz’s debate performance in her new book and recounted a showdown with then-Sen. JD Vance, which ultimately left her disappointed. 

Harris writes in her new book, “107 Days,” that she needed the Minnesota governor to be the “closer” at the Oct. 1, 2024, debate given that she was not going to have another opportunity to debate Trump. But during the debate, she turned to her husband in frustration.

“When Tim fell for it and started nodding and smiling at J.D.’s fake bipartisanship, I moaned to Doug, ‘What is happening?’” Harris wrote, explaining how she believed Walz was duped by Vance’s “mild-mannered aw-shucks” attitude. 

“I told the television screen: ‘You’re not there to make friends with the guy who is attacking your running mate.’”

HARRIS CALLS TRUMP A ‘TYRANT,’ LAMBASTS ‘FECKLESS’ CEOS FOR CAPITULATION

Harris, who lamented that there was “more riding on Tim’s debate than there should have been,” said that being the “closer” and debating on such a large scale was “not a comfortable role” for Walz. 

“He had fretted from the outset that he wasn’t a good debater,” Harris wrote. “I’d discounted his concerns. He was so quick and pithy in front of the crowds at our rallies, I thought he’d bring those qualities to the podium.”

Harris referred to Vance as a “shape-shifter” and said he “complained petulantly,” along with more critiques of Walz. 

“Tim fell into a pattern of defending his record as a governor,” Harris wrote. “Then he fumbled his answer when the moderator, predictably, questioned why he had claimed to be in Hong Kong during the democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.”

KAMALA HARRIS SAYS SHE ‘HAD NO IDEA’ SHE ‘PULLED THE PIN ON A HAND GRENADE’ WITH ‘THE VIEW’ ANSWER ABOUT BIDEN

“Tim had been on his way to teach in China that summer but hadn’t yet left the United States on the date of the massacre. Instead of simply stating that he’d gotten his dates mixed up, but that being in China during a period of human rights oppression had profoundly influenced him, he talked about biking in Nebraska.”

Harris mentioned a “Saturday Night Live” skit after the debate that depicted Harris and her husband Doug watching the debate and spitting out wine in shock. Harris wrote that while she did not actually spit out wine while watching, “it was otherwise uncanny in its portrait of our evening.”

“Tim felt bad that he hadn’t done better,” Harris wrote. 

“I reassured him that the election would not be won or lost on account of that debate, and in fact it had a negligible effect on our polling. In choosing Tim, I thought that as a second-term governor and twelve-year congressman he would know what he was getting into. In hindsight, how could anyone?”

Harris wrote that she encouraged Walz to be “resilient” during the campaign and suggested that he struggled with the “unfair” attacks on his record and that it took a toll on his family. 

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“For the candidate, the family that is your source of strength can become your weakness in a presidential campaign,” Harris wrote, adding that Tim was “outraged by the unfairness.”

“When I was a newly elected DA, an elderly gentleman in Atlanta pulled me aside with a bit of advice: ‘Baby, you be sure and don’t make it look too easy,’” Harris wrote. “He knew it was not. And the higher you rise in the political food chain, the harder it gets. This is not a genteel profession. You must be ready to brawl.”

Harris also detailed in her book the decision process she used to ultimately choose Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Harris made a point of noting that her senior staff “strongly favored Tim” and that her godson, along with her sister and brother-in-law, also preferred Walz.

“Doug and I went back and forth,” Harris wrote. “He had known Josh longer and leaned that way. It was always going to have to be my decision. I told my staff and family that I didn’t want any more input, and I went to do something practical: I made a tasty rub and seasoned a pork roast. By the time I went to bed, I’d decided on Walz.”

A top legal expert and retired Navy JAG threw cold water on claims that Erika Kirk’s “grace” and “forgiveness” of Charlie Kirk murder suspect Tyler Robinson is a boon for the defense in its likely quest to avoid a death penalty case.

Cully Stimson, deputy director of the Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and former George W. Bush administration Pentagon official, said observers should not conflate Erika Kirk’s “grace as a religious person” with erosion of legal accountability.

“Because she had the strength of character and the willingness to forgive as a Christian does not automatically have any bearing on whether the state can and should pursue the ultimate punishment — and whether the state and will get a judgment including the ultimate punishment,” Stimson said.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT URGED TO SEEK DEATH PENALTY IN CAPITAL JEWISH MUSEUM MURDERS

As both a former prosecutor and defense attorney, Stimson said he can envision the case going to trial – though suggested it may not – and when it does that the defense will mount a case pointing to Erika Kirk’s comment.

“Look, even the decedent’s wife has forgiven our client, and therefore, there’s really no reason whatsoever to move forward with the death penalty,” Stimson envisioned the defense arguing.

The state of Utah could then agree, and drop capital punishment as a potential outcome, or dismiss the defense’s notion out of hand.

The case is not Kirk v. [Suspect], it is the State of Utah v. [Suspect], he remarked, noting that the state as a proxy therefore has even more leverage to bring the ultimate punishment against the suspect, regardless of how the defense may translate the Kirk family’s comments.

Stimson pointed to rape cases he has tried where the victim knew the suspect, comes forward, charges are pressed, evidence is presented – but when the suspect gets convicted, the victim suddenly doesn’t want extended or harsh punishment – whether for personal, religious or other reasons.

UTAH PROSECUTORS PREPARE POTENTIAL DEATH PENALTY CASE AGAINST CHARLIE KIRK SUSPECT TYLER JAMES ROBINSON

“In general, state victims’ rights statutes require the government – here, the prosecutor, to take into consideration the views of the victims or the victims’ family members. That doesn’t mean they have to follow them,” he said.

The case has also brought Utah’s unique death penalty scenarios back to the fore.

Utah – along with Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina – still allow firing squad as a method of execution. Until 1996, some states also permitted hanging – with Delaware murderer Billy Bailey being the last such convict to meet that end.

Stimson dismissed criticism of a firing squad as unconstitutionally cruel or unusual, and also rejected claims the death penalty itself is wrongfully antiquated.

RETIRED FBI AGENT WARNS OF ‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE’ AFTER LEARNING KIRK SUSPECT LIVED WITH TRANS PARTNER

“The death penalty is mentioned three times in the Constitution… the death penalty has been held constitutional since 1976.”

He said the firing squad would abide by the Eighth Amendment in that it is not cruel – as the convict dies instantly – and not unusual.

Other methods of execution like the electric chair, however, which are all but moot today, were more mainstream but at the same time less in line with the Eighth Amendment, Stimson said critics could argue in turn.

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The electric chair did not always result in painless, instantaneous death, and the method may have been considered unusual in its construct, he suggested.

The military, he said, still has the firing squad as an execution method on its books, the retired JAG officer said, although the Pentagon has not executed anyone since Pvt. John Bennett was hanged at Fort Leavenworth for rape in 1916.

President Donald Trump sharply criticized a wave of European nations that recently recognized a Palestinian state, warning that such moves reward Hamas and encourage continued conflict in Gaza.

“As everyone knows, I have also been deeply engaged in seeking a cease-fire in Gaza. Have to get that done. You have to get it done,” Trump said. 

“Unfortunately, Hamas has repeatedly rejected reasonable offers to make peace. We can’t forget October 7th, can we? Now, as if to encourage continued conflict, some of this body is seeking to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state … this would be a reward for these horrible atrocities, including October 7th.”

His remarks came one day after French President Emmanuel Macron announced his nation would recognize a Palestinian state, hosting a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly along with Saudi Arabia on a two-state solution. 

ISRAEL CALLS UN PUSH FOR PALESTINE STATEHOOD A ‘CHARADE,’ WARNS OF ‘CONSEQUENCES’ FOR RECOGNITION MOVES

Several other longtime Israeli allies — the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada — did the same on Sunday, citing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and expanding settlements and violence by settlers in the West Bank.

The U.S. remains squarely on the side of Israel, and Trump said such recognition undermines efforts to free hostages held in Gaza and risks emboldening Hamas.

“Even while they refuse to release the hostages or accept the cease-fire, instead of giving to Hamas and giving so much because they’ve taken so much, they have taken so much. This could have been solved so long ago,” Trump said. “Instead of giving in to Hamas as ransom demands, those who want peace should be united with one message: release the hostages now. Just release the hostages.”

Trump said he always knew the last 20 remaining hostages would be “the hardest” to get back — but said the bodies of the deceased were just as important to reclaim.

“Those parents came to me and they want them back … as though they were alive. They want them every bit as much as if their son or daughter were alive.”

On Monday, France became the first major Western nuclear power and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council from the G7 to formally recognize Palestine.

MACRON STAKES ANTI-TRUMP GLOBAL ROLE WITH GAZA INITIATIVE AT UN SUMMIT

Macron said: “The time has come to no longer talk about the existence of Israel — it’s self-evident. The time has come to do justice to the Palestinians, to recognize the state of Palestine.”

“We must do this to save lives.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon warned there will be “consequences” for nations that recognize Palestine. 

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On Tuesday, Trump will hold a closed-door meeting with Arab leaders who are expected to implore him to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to end the war in Gaza.

Trump is expected to present his Middle Eastern counterparts with the U.S. outlook for peace and post-war governance in Gaza.

In her new book, former Vice President Kamala Harris indicates that President Joe Biden’s unpopularity harmed her 2024 presidential bid, suggesting that among the issues was the president’s “perceived blank check to [Israeli leader] Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza,” Axios reported.

“I had pleaded with Joe, when he spoke publicly on this issue, to extend the same empathy he showed to the suffering of Ukrainians to the suffering of innocent Gazan civilians,” she wrote, according to the outlet. 

“But he couldn’t do it: While he could passionately state, ‘I am a Zionist,’ his remarks about innocent Palestinians came off as inadequate and forced.”

KAMALA HARRIS SAYS SHE ‘HAD NO IDEA’ SHE ‘PULLED THE PIN ON A HAND GRENADE’ WITH ‘THE VIEW’ ANSWER ABOUT BIDEN

Trump trounced Harris in the 2024 contest — she lost the Electoral College and the popular vote.

Harris claimed in her book that Netanyahu “wanted [Donald] Trump in the seat opposite him. Not Joe, not me,” according to Axios.

The former vice president’s book about her whirlwind presidential campaign, “107 Days,” was released on Tuesday.

SEN TED CRUZ CALLS OUT VP KAMALA HARRIS FOR PALESTINIAN SYMPATHY PUSH: ‘UNDERMINING ISRAEL’

“I believe Israel was right to respond to the atrocities of October 7,” she wrote, according to Axios. 

“But the ferocity of Netanyahu’s response, the number of innocent Palestinian women and children killed, and his failure to prioritize the lives of the hostages had weakened Israel’s moral position internationally and created angry dissent within Israel itself.”

HARRIS OFFERS TIMID ENDORSEMENT OF MAMDANI, QUICKLY PIVOTS TO OTHER ‘STAR’ DEMOCRATS

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A December 2023 Politico article titled “Kamala Harris pushes White House to be more sympathetic toward Palestinians” quoted Harris press secretary Kirsten Allen claiming that “there is no daylight between the president and the vice president, nor has there been” and they “have been clear: Israel has a right and responsibility to defend itself; humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow into Gaza; innocent civilians must be protected; and the United States remains committed to a two-state solution.”

President Donald Trump canceled a meeting with top congressional Democrats on Tuesday over “unserious and ridiculous demands” as the deadline to fund the government fast approaches.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., were set to meet with Trump on Thursday to discuss a path forward to avert a partial government shutdown before the Sept. 30. deadline.

Lawmakers are still away from Washington, D.C., this week to observe the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and the Senate is expected to return on Sept. 29. Meanwhile, the House is expected to be out until the deadline passes.

THUNE SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘COLD-BLOODED PARTISAN’ TACTICS AS FUNDING DEADLINE NEARS

But Trump nixed the meeting in a lengthy post on his social media platform Truth Social, where he blasted the duo for pushing “radical Left policies that nobody voted for.” 

“I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive,” Trump said. 

The now canceled meeting with Trump came on the heels of a letter from Schumer and Jeffries sent over that weekend where the top congressional Democrats laid the possibility of a shutdown on his and Republicans’ feet.

They argued that the Trump-backed short-term extension was “dirty,” which would mean it had partisan policy riders or spending attached to it, and panned it for continuing “the Republican assault on health care,” ignoring expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies, and possibly leading to the closure of hospitals and other health care facilities across the country.

“With the September 30th deadline fast approaching, Republicans will bear responsibility for another painful government shutdown because of the refusal of GOP congressional leadership to even talk with Democrats,” they wrote at the time.

But Trump argued that their bill would allow for the nearly $1 trillion dollars in Medicaid cuts in his “big, beautiful bill” to be repealed, and also blasted the Democratic continuing resolution (CR) for ending his megabill’s $50 billion rural hospital fund. 

TRUMP-APPROVED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SCUTTLED BY SENATE

“We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed,” he said. 

“I’ll be happy to meet with them if they agree to the Principles in this Letter,” Trump continued. “They must do their job! Otherwise, it will just be another long and brutal slog through their radicalized quicksand. To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court. I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for. DO THE RIGHT THING!”

Schumer and Jeffries last month demanded a meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to strike a deal, given that Thune will need Democratic support in the Senate.

However, that meeting has so far not come to fruition — though Thune has pushed back on Schumer’s characterization and argued that if the Democratic leader wants to talk, it’s on him to make it happen.

“After weeks of Republican stonewalling in Congress, President Trump has agreed to meet this week in the Oval Office,” they said in a joint statement. “In the meeting, we will emphasize the importance of addressing rising costs, including the Republican health care crisis. It’s past time to meet and work to avoid a Republican-caused shutdown.”

The last time Schumer went to negotiate with Trump at the White House ahead of a looming deadline in 2018, the government shutdown for 35 days, which marked the longest partial closure in history. At the time, Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were at odds with Trump on a deal to fund construction of a wall on the Southern Border.

Prior to the meeting being announced, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued that if the government shuttered, it “would be the fault of the Democrats.”

“We want a clean funding extension to keep the government open, that’s all we’re advocating for,” she said.

SENATE REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEMOCRATS’ ‘FILTHY’ COUNTEROFFER AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS

However, the House Republicans’ bill is relatively “clean,” save for tens of millions in spending for increasing security measures for lawmakers in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Congressional Democrats’ counter-proposal, which also failed last week, included more funding for member security, but also sought to repeal the health care portion of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” clawback billions of canceled funding for NPR and PBS, and permanently extend the expiring ACA credits.

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Thune noted last week that CRs “aren’t places to load big health policy changes in.”  

“I think that we are open to the conversation about what we do with the Obamacare premium tax credit,” Thune said. “Is that something in which members, Republican senators, and I think, for that matter, Republican House members, have an interest, as well.”

“But this isn’t the place to do that,” he continued. “This is the place to fund the government, to allow our appropriations process to continue that issue.”

With six weeks to go until Election Day 2025, Zohran Mamdani remains far ahead of his rivals for New York City mayor, according to a new public opinion poll.

Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from Queens who shocked the political world in June with his convincing win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination, holds a 20-point lead over Cuomo.

Mamdani grabs 45% support in the Suffolk University CityView poll of New Yorkers very or somewhat likely to vote in November’s general election for mayor. 

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Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid multiple scandals and who is running as an independent candidate in the general election after losing the primary, stands at 25% support in the survey, which was conducted Sept. 16–18.

Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee in the Democrat-dominated city, stands at 9%. And embattled incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent after deciding to skip the Democratic primary amid anemic polling, grabbed 8% support in the survey.

MAMDANI LANDS CRUCIAL ENDORSEMENT IN NYC MAYORAL SHOWDOWN

Three other candidates on the ballot combined for 1% support, with 9% undecided.

Suffolk highlighted that theirs is the first public poll that includes all seven candidates listed on the official ballot, and the nine affiliated political parties or designations.

“The official ballot lists Mamdani and Sliwa twice each because they represent multiple political parties or designations,” Suffolk University Political Research Center director David Paleologos said. “This helps Mamdani because he is listed first on the ballot as the Democratic Party nominee, and then again fourth on the ballot as the Working Families Party nominee.”

Cuomo is listed once and is the eighth selection out of nine ballot choices.

TRUMP REVEALS NEW NICKNAME FOR MAMDANI

The Suffolk poll is the latest to show Mamdani remains the clear frontrunner in the Democrat-dominated city. Four other surveys conducted earlier this month indicated Mamdani’s lead over Cuomo and the rest of the field ranging from 15 to 22 points.

Both Sliwa and Adams have repeatedly committed to staying in the race in recent weeks amid multiple reports that President Donald Trump’s advisors floated administration roles for both mayoral hopefuls if they dropped out.

Trump, a native New Yorker who now calls Florida home, has urged that the field narrow in order to offer Cuomo a better chance at possibly defeating Mamdani, whom the president repeatedly derides is a communist.

The Ugandan-born Mamdani, if elected, would become the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation’s most populous city.

Mamdani surged to the Democratic primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. It was fueled by a grassroots army of supporters and backing from top national progressive champions, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering free child care for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.

Mamdani has been heavily criticized by his rivals not only for his far-left proposals, but also for his criticism of Israel, his past negative comments regarding the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and his proposal to shift certain responsibilities away from the NYPD and focus on social services and community-based programs. 

The new poll indicates affordability, at 21%, is the top issue on the minds of New York City voters, followed by crime at 20%, economy/jobs at 14%, and housing at 9%.

The survey also indicates voters are debunking much of the negative social media narratives about Mamdani and Cuomo.

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According to the poll, 59% of those questioned or disagreed that Mamdani is antisemitic. And 52% disagreed that Mamdani, if elected, would raise taxes, causing businesses to flee the city.

Additionally, 53% disagreed that Cuomo, if elected, would continue the unwanted touching and groping that were among the controversies that caused him to resign as governor.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence is putting newfound urgency in the push for Congress to streamline the permitting process for new energy projects.

Permitting reform, which refers to efforts to streamline the approval of new energy projects, is one of the rare issues in Congress that still has bipartisan backing.

But the exact details and scale of permitting reform, including deregulatory efforts, have been subject to contentious debate.

“What we’re seeing right now in China is a historic build-out of their grid. Of course, adding nuclear, adding a lot more oil and gas, but in addition to that, they’re adding a lot of coal as well. That is a country that is really focused on using all the energy that they have to build out, to supply the AI future and a growing citizenship,” Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API), told Fox News Digital.

HOUSE PASSES TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

“What we don’t see at the federal level or at the state level in the United States is that same kind of effort. And the first key to that is to get a permitting reform bill done that gives our private sector the ability to actually build things.”

Global electricity demand for AI data centers is projected to double between 2022 and 2026, according to the International Energy Agency.

In the U.S. alone, AI data centers accounted for more than 4% of all U.S. electricity use in 2023, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, and could more than double to 9% by 2030. One AI data center could use as much power as 50,000 U.S. households.

It’s part of what’s driving the House Committee on Natural Resources to advance bipartisan legislation, led by Chair Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, to make the permitting process easier.

“We’re seeing unprecedented demand for electricity in particular. It was kind of flat. And now the year-over-year increase, we’re seeing a three-fold uptick in the demand for electricity. And the numbers that I’m being told almost seem irrational – like a data center that’s close to my district…they’re talking about three gigabytes of power from one data center,” Westerman told Fox News Digital.

“To put that in perspective, I’ve got nuclear power plants in my district, each reactor is a gigabyte. So you’re talking about three nuclear reactors to power one data center.”

He said the U.S. has “gotten way behind the eight-ball in being able to meet the demands that are out there.”

Sommers warned that a failure to act soon could lead to skyrocketing costs for everyday Americans.

“If we can’t figure out a way to get more energy on the grid, when we expect energy demand to go up by 35 to 40% by 2040, consumers are going to revolt,” he said. “And if they revolt, what that means is that there’s going to be fewer data centers, fewer investments in AI, and that makes America at an economic disadvantage to China.”

Earlier this month, API released a policy roadmap with recommendations for Congress to create “durable, comprehensive solutions that cut red tape, sets clear deadlines and provides legal certainty” in unleashing American energy, according to a memo viewed by Fox News Digital.

OLD SMARTPHONES ARE BEING TURNED INTO TINY DATA CENTERS

Sommers also described a “full-throated effort” by API to get their plan into lawmakers’ hands, including in-person advocacy on Capitol Hill and a “major seven-figure” advertising campaign inside Washington.

“We’re not seeing a crisis now, but there is a crisis coming. And if we can get permanent reform done now, it’ll clear the way for that dominance in both energy and in AI that’s going to be required if we’re going to win the future,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the current U.S. energy grid and permitting process was not designed to take the skyrocketing use of AI into account, Westerman said.

“It was done 50-some odd years ago, when it was put in place,” he said.

The Arkansas Republican conceded the National Environmental Protection Act and other similar pieces of legislation were critical when they were passed in the early 1970s.

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“All of those were put in place with the right motives, but over time, they’ve been weaponized and politicized, where they’re used more to stop projects than they are to benefit the environment,” Westerman said. “I contend that we’re hurting the environment by having a poor permitting process.”

He emphasized, however, that any solution needs to be bipartisan, pointing to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for any successful legislation.

“There’s a lot that agree it needs changing, and the challenge is to find out where we all agree on the same things, how it needs to be changed,” Westerman said. “I think for the benefit of the country, we have to work together in a bipartisan manner.”

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump will highlight the “return of American strength” in his second administration during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, while delivering “blunt” and “tough talk” about the “failures of globalism,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The president is scheduled to deliver his first address of his second administration at the UN General Assembly in New York City Tuesday just before 10 a.m.

TRUMP ORDERS ‘LETHAL KINETIC STRIKE’ ON ALLEGED DRUG TRAFFICKING BOAT IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS, THREE KILLED

A White House official gave Fox News Digital an exclusive preview of the president’s address.

“President Trump has effectively restored American strength on the world stage,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “His historic speech at the United Nations General Assembly will highlight his success in delivering peace on a scale that no other president has accomplished, while simultaneously speaking bluntly about how globalist ideologies risk destroying successful nations around the world.”

The president is expected to highlight his successful efforts to negotiate peace around the world—specifically, Armenia and Azerbaijan; Thailand and Cambodia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo; among others.

The president is also expected to highlight his strikes against narcoterrorists from Venezuela.

TRUMP BRINGS PEACE TO CAUCASUS: INSIDE THE ARMENIA–AZERBAIJAN DEAL 30 YEARS IN THE MAKING

Earlier this month, a U.S. military strike blew apart a Venezuelan drug boat in the southern Caribbean, leaving nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists dead. And last week, the president announced that the U.S. military had carried out its second kinetic strike on Venezuelan drug trafficking cartels.

Also last week, the president announced that he ordered a lethal strike on a vessel allegedly linked to a designated terrorist organization conducting narcotrafficking in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. That strike left three narcoterrorists dead.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage en route to poison Americans,” Trump posted to his Truth Social announcing the strike.

The president is also expected to highlight his “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which marked the largest B-2 operational strike in history and represented the United States’ move to deliver a decisive blow against Iran’s nuclear program back in June.

INSIDE OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER: B-2 COMMANDER REVEALS HOW US PULLED OFF SURPRISE STRIKES ON IRAN

Trump’s historic precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites hit their targets and “destroyed” and “badly damaged” the facilities’ critical infrastructure—an assessment agreed upon by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel, and the United States.

Trump is also set to detail his work to “deliver historic peace deals in decades-long conflicts,” the official told Fox News Digital.

Meanwhile, the president’s speech will also feature “some blunt, tough talk about the failures of globalism.”

“This will include the global migration regime, energy and climate, and how these ideologies pushed by globalists are on the verge of destroying successful nations,” a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The president is also expected to discuss America’s position as a “defender of western civilization.”

“As the president delivers peace in major conflicts around the world, what has the United Nations been doing?” the official said.

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After his speech at the United Nations, the president is expected to have meetings with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the president of Argentina, Javier Milei; and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The president is also scheduled to have a multilateral meeting with leaders from Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.