Some of the eight Tajikistan nationals with alleged ties to ISIS who crossed the southern border illegally have already been deported from the United States, or are in detention waiting for removal, officials said on Tuesday.

The eight nationals crossed the U.S. southern border illegally, and a federal source told Fox News in June that no derogatory information was initially flagged during their processing by officials at the border.

The illegal immigrants were nabbed in coordinated raids in Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Joint Terrorism Task Force.

OVER 1.7M MIGRANTS WHO COULD POSE NATIONAL SECURITY RISK ARRIVED IN US DURING BIDEN ADMIN: REPORT

The case highlighted concerns about a potential terror threat that could come across the southern border amid what was then a historic border crisis. 

A DHS spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday that some of the nationals had already been removed.

“In close coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), these individuals were detained in June, have remained in ICE custody since then, and either have already been removed from the United States or remain in ICE custody pending completion of their removal proceedings,” the spokesperson said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“The arrest and removal of these individuals demonstrates the successful collaboration and partnership between DHS and FBI to disrupt and dismantle potential national security threats,” they said.

CBS News had first reported the removals, reporting that three have been deported to Tajikistan and Russia, four are awaiting removal flights to Central Asia and one is still awaiting his legal proceeding after a medical issue.

There have been continued fears over the potential for terror attacks from ISIS in the U.S. FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in June that there is an increasing concern of a potential coordinated attack in the U.S., similar to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) attack in March in Russia.

BIDEN ADMIN SLAPS RESTRICTIONS ON RELEASING MIGRANTS FROM CENTRAL ASIAN COUNTRY AMID TERROR CONCERNS: REPORT

“Just in the time that I’ve been FBI director, we’ve disrupted multiple terrorist attacks and cities and communities around the country. We need funding to continue protecting America from terrorism,” Wray said.

With the November presidential election looming, the Biden administration has been emphasizing its efforts to remove or prevent the entry of illegal immigrants into the U.S. Numbers have gone down sharply since the signing of a presidential order limiting asylum in June.

BIDEN DHS REVEALS 50 MIGRANTS STILL AT LARGE AS ISIS-AFFILIATED SMUGGLING NETWORK BRINGS HUNDREDS TO US

Officials say that since June 5, they have removed or returned more than 131,000 individuals to more than 140 countries, including operating more than 400 international repatriation flights. But returning illegal immigrants can often be difficult if host countries refuse to accept their nationals. 

But a recent report by the House Judiciary Committee shows that there have been more than 1.7 million “special interest aliens” (SIAs) who have arrived at the border during the Biden administration. Special interest aliens come from countries identified by the U.S. government as having conditions that promote or protect terrorism or potentially pose some sort of national security threat to the U.S.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

A group that has labeled Vice President Harris a “pro-genocide candidate” has endorsed third-party presidential candidate Jill Stein in the 2024 contest.

The “Abandon Harris” campaign says America, as well as presidential candidates Harris and former President Trump, is supporting an “Israeli project of Palestinian annihilation” and urges Muslim Americans and those who oppose genocide to cast their ballot for the Green Party this year.

“In October 2023, under the darkening shadow of the U.S.-backed Israeli project of Palestinian annihilation, the Abandon Harris campaign – formerly Abandon Biden – was born. Our movement remains dedicated to ensuring that the American people, especially the Muslim-American community, recognize the responsibility we share in standing up against oppression and using all our power to stop genocide – wherever it may arise,” the group declared in a press release.

ABANDON BIDEN CAMPAIGN RELAUNCHES, TARGETS HARRIS IN KEY SWING STATES

“We are confronting two destructive forces: one currently overseeing a genocide and another equally committed to continuing it. Both are determined to see it through. We call on Muslim-Americans and all those who stand firmly against genocide to vote for the Green Party in 2024,” the press release states.

Stein has expressed her gratitude to the group and its support of her candidacy.

The Abandon Harris campaign says on its website that its “current goal is to hold Harris accountable for her continued support of genocide.”

“It’s painfully obvious that Kamala Harris can only sound articulate and firm when parroting US support for Israel,” the group wrote in an August post on X. “She fumbles through everything else, but when it comes to endorsing the killing of Palestinians, she suddenly finds a pristine level of eloquence,” the post added.

GEORGIA’S MUSLIM VOTERS OPPOSING HARRIS, TRUMP IN ELECTION OVER BOTH CANDIDATES’ SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

Israel launched a war effort last year in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks perpetrated by Hamas terrorists who committed atrocities that included rapes, kidnappings, and murders.

“What Hamas did that day was pure evil – it was brutal and sickening,” Harris said in a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the attack on Monday. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that the threat Hamas poses is eliminated, that it is never again able to govern Gaza, that it fails in its mission to annihilate Israel, and that the people of Gaza are free from the grip of Hamas,” she declared in the statement.

JILL STEIN SLAMS DEMOCRATIC EFFORTS TO ‘SILENCE COMPETITION,’ SAYS THEY ARE ‘NOT SERVANTS OF DEMOCRACY’

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7 launched a war in Gaza. I am heartbroken over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza over the past year – tens of thousands of lives lost, children fleeing for safety over and over again, mothers and fathers struggling to obtain food, water, and medicine. It is far past time for a hostage and ceasefire deal to end the suffering of innocent people. And I will always fight for the Palestinian people to be able to realize their right to dignity, freedom, security, and self-determination,” Harris said in the statement.

The Supreme Court offered clear support Tuesday for continued federal regulation of so-called “ghost guns” that can be assembled from kits into a working firearm without a background check or the usual serial numbers.

At issue in oral arguments was whether the devices meet the federal definition of a “firearm” and “frame and receiver,” and whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) exceeded its authority to regulate and enforce their sale.

Ghost guns are do-it-yourself functional weapons that are often purchased online, and marketed by some sellers as easy to assemble.

The Justice Department said more than 19,000 hard-to-trace ghost guns were seized by law enforcement in 2021, a more than tenfold increase in just five years.

That was driven in part by recent technological advances, many containing polymer-based unassembled firearm components.

Final home assembly typically requires the use of some readily available tools, including drilling holes and milling or sanding the unfinished frame or receiver, which enable the installation of parts.

U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said the rising sale of untraceable “ghost guns” had created a “public safety crisis” with an “explosion” of crimes committed using them.

Several justices in the 75-minute argument appeared to back much of the Biden administration’s arguments, suggesting nearly complete parts meet the ordinary definition of a firearm subject to regulation.

“What is the purpose of selling a receiver without the holes drilled in it?” said Chief Justice John Roberts, rejecting suggestions the kits were marketed at the weekend gun hobbyist. “Drilling a hole or two, I would think, doesn’t give the same sort of reward that you get from working on your car on the weekends. My understanding is that it’s not terribly difficult for someone to do this.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh — who could be the key deciding vote — raised concerns someone ignorant of the law might inadvertently sell or buy a ghost gun kit.

“What about the seller, for example, who is truly not aware, truly not aware that they are violating the law and gets criminally charged?”

But Kavanaugh also signaled some backing of the government’s position, telling Prelogar, “Your statutory interpretation has force.”

The 1968 Gun Control Act was revised in 2022 to regulate the growing market for certain “buy build shoot” kits.

The law defines a “firearm” to include “any weapon… which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive,” as well as “the frame or receiver of any such weapon.”

The administration said it was not seeking to ban the sale or use of these kits, merely requiring them to comply with the same requirements of other commercial firearms dealers. That includes serial numbers on the parts and background checks on the purchasers.

A federal appeals court late last year struck down the updated rules, after a legal challenge from kit sellers and buyers, but the Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court.

Gun rights groups say that the rule is “unconstitutional and abusive,” arguing the ghost gun kits consist of “non-firearm objects.”

Attorney Peter Patterson said only Congress can change the law over ghost gun regulations and added that 42 of 43 unlicensed manufacturers of the kits would be driven out of business if the rules go fully into effect.

The devices can also be made from 3D printers or from individual parts. That is part of separate legal challenges in the lower courts.

In oral arguments, the high court wrestled with questions about the ease of assembling a “ghost gun” from a kit, and whether judges should even be involved in the matter.

“I’m worried about… the Court taking over what Congress may have intended for the agency to do in this situation,” said Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. “I think it can’t be assumed that the agency exceeds its authority whenever it interprets a statutory term differently than we would such that all we have to do as a part of this claim here today is just decide what we think a firearm is.”

But others on the court questioned whether a bunch of unassembled parts really made them into a gun.

“Here’s a blank pad and here’s a pen, all right? Is this a grocery list?” asked Justice Samuel Alito.  “If I show you — I put out on a counter some eggs, some chopped-up ham, some chopped-up pepper, and onions. Is that a western omelet?”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett then appeared to blunt Alito’s argument, focusing on do-it-yourself kits.

“Would your answer change if you ordered it from HelloFresh, and you got a kit, and it was like turkey chili, but all of the ingredients are in the kit?” she asked, mentioning the ready-to-cook meal kits delivery service.

Barrett also appeared skeptical of the legal alternatives to the ATF rules, proposed by Patterson, the lawyer representing the gun rights supporters.

“It seems a little made up,” she said.

Prelogar claimed the new rules had led to a dramatic drop in the online sales of the ready-to-assemble weapons.

The ATF’s rule requires unfinished parts of a firearm, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun, to be treated like a completed firearm. These parts need to be licensed and must have serial numbers.

The rule also requires manufacturers to run background checks before selling these parts, as they are required to do for whole commercial firearms.

The Supreme Court had previously allowed the regulation to remain in effect while the lawsuit continued through the courts, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett voting with the three liberal members of the court to form the majority.

The justices have been revisiting the Second Amendment in recent years, after the conservative majority in 2022 made it easier to carry handguns outside the home for protection.

In June, a federal ban on bump stocks, devices that can convert semi-automatic rifles into weapons that can fire hundreds of rounds a minute, was struck down by the high court.

But that same month, the justices upheld a federal ban on firearms possession for people subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders.

The case is Garland v. VanDerStok (23-852). A ruling is expected by summer 2025. 

President Joe Biden praised GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for being “cooperative” and doing a “great job” in his response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, despite Vice President Kamala Harris slamming DeSantis for “playing political games” instead of doing his job in response to the storms.

NBC News reported Monday that DeSantis was denying phone calls from Harris’ team. “People are in desperate need of support right now and playing political games with this moment, in these crisis situations, these are the height of emergency situations, it’s just utterly irresponsible, and it is selfish,” Harris told reporters Monday. 

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s opinion about the GOP Florida governor’s response to Hurricane Helene and his preparation for Milton, diverged substantially from that of his vice president’s. 

“The governor of Florida has been cooperative. He said he’s gotten all that he needs. I talked to him again yesterday, and I said – no – you’re doing a great job, it’s all being done well and we thank you for it,” Biden said at a press conference from the White House Tuesday. “There was a rough start in some places, but every governor, every governor – from Florida to North Carolina – has been fully cooperative and supportive.”

RON DESANTIS: 51 COUNTIES ARE UNDER A STATE OF EMERGENCY

After a DeSantis staffer told NBC on Monday that the Florida governor had chosen not to take the vice president’s call, DeSantis later clarified that he was never even aware Harris was trying to contact him. 

DeSantis also shot back at Harris’ claims that he was playing politics with the storm, accusing her of being the actual culprit of engaging in political gamesmanship.  

“I’ve worked on these hurricanes under both President Trump and President Biden. Neither of them ever tried to politicize it. She has never called on any of the storms we’ve had since she’s been vice president until apparently now,” DeSantis told “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning following reports of the vice president’s criticism. “Why, all of the sudden, is she trying to parachute in and inject herself when she’s never shown any interest in the past? We know it’s because of politics, we know it’s because of her campaign.”

“Harris is not even in the chain of command. She has no role in this,” DeSantis added. “The idea that I should be, like, worrying about her when I’m focused on the task at hand is just quite frankly absurd.”

BIDEN CANCELS OVERSEAS TRIP AS MILTON BEARS DOWN ON FLORIDA; DESANTIS TELLS VP ‘IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU KAMALA’

Biden, who has had multiple phone calls with DeSantis since Hurricane Helene began barreling down on the Southeast, told him and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor to “call him directly” if any further support is needed. DeSantis, meanwhile, noted Tuesday morning that “every” one of his federal requests for more support have been answered.  

DeSantis pointed out as well that, at the state level, he has been reallocating resources as necessary to help Florida’s smaller communities that have fewer resources. 

COASTAL FLORIDIAN WARNS OTHERS TO ‘GET OUT’ AS HURRICANE MILTON CLOSES IN: ‘WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT’S COMING’

Gov. DeSantis’ office declined to comment to Fox News Digital on the record, but pointed to the governor’s comments on both “Fox & Friends” and “Hannity,” respectively. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but did not receive a response in advance of publication time. 

As Florida continues to clean up the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, it is now preparing for a potentially even worse storm in Hurricane Milton and is calling on millions of residents to evacuate.

“Helene was a wake-up call – this is literally catastrophic,” Castor said Tuesday. “And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

What’s happening…

–North Carolina residents will see changes to early voting after Hurricane Helene

-Atlanta voters split on who will win Georgia

-Prospects of a deal with Israel fade away as Saudis invite Iranian foreign minister to visit

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for an interview on “60 Minutes” on Monday, when she dodged or refused to get specific about her plans for the country.

With less than a month before the election, CBS correspondent Bill Whitaker repeatedly pressed Harris for details on how to pay for her economic proposals, on whether President Biden’s loose immigration policies were a mistake and how a Harris foreign policy might differ from Biden or former President Donald Trump. There were several moments when Whitaker had to ask follow-up questions after Harris did not directly answer his inquiries. 

Overall, the Democratic vice president did not differentiate herself much from her 2020 running mate, the sitting president of the United States. CBS said her Republican rival, former President Trump, backed out of an invitation to appear on “60 Minutes,” though the Trump campaign said there was never a formal agreement for Trump to appear on the program…Read more

‘BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS’: Kamala Harris’ tough words on Iran confounds critics…Read more

‘ALL OUR REQUESTS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED’: Biden cancels overseas trip as Milton bears down on Florida; DeSantis tells VP ‘it’s not about you Kamala’…Read more

STRAINED RELATIONSHIP: Biden White House has ‘very low’ trust in Netanyahu regime, urges transparency…Read more

FLORIDA’S WORST HURRICANE?: Biden says Hurricane Milton could be ‘worst storm to hit Florida in over a century’…Read more

FIRST ON FOX: Top outside group backing House Republicans sets fundraising record…Read more

DENIED: PA gov takes victory lap after Supreme Court rejects GOP bid to overturn election law ‘usurpations’…Read more

LETHAL WEAPONS: GOP lawmaker unveils effort to ban illegal immigrants from using IDs to buy guns…Read more

POST-MCCONNELL PLAN: Mike Lee outlines roadmap for McConnell successor, warns the ‘health of the Republican Party’ is at stake…Read more

BATTLEGROUND 2024: Wisconsin Senate race shifts to ‘toss up’ by handicapper as Tammy Baldwin fights for re-election…Read more

CHANGED AGENT: Harris takes slim lead over Trump in new poll as voters view her as candidate of change…Read more

TACKLING TURNOUT: Trump, Republicans venture to blue areas in Wisconsin to boost GOP turnout…Read more

‘CHAOS AND FEAR’: Trump announces rally in ‘war zone’ Colorado city…Read more

COURTING REPUBLICANS: New poll shows Harris taking a slim lead over Trump thanks to support from a surprising group…Read more

WHO’S MORE ACCESSIBLE?: Trump-Vance ticket has done combined 69 interviews since August compared to 31 for Harris-Walz…Read more

HISPANIC VOTERS IN KEY SWING STATES: Hispanic voters rail against ‘dishonest’ Biden-Harris border record as poll shows Trump gaining in key states…Read more

‘IT CAME THROUGH UPS’: Overseas meth sent to US election building shuts down office for hours…Read more

REGISTERED, NOT VERIFIED: Texas AG demands Biden-Harris admin help verify citizenship of nearly 500K registered voters…Read more

EATEN ‘ALIVE BY INFLATION’: Wisconsin dairy farmer says ‘no question’ Trump admin was ‘much better’ than Biden-Harris…Read more

POLITICAL STORMS: Mayorkas rips ‘politicized’ atmosphere over FEMA disaster response amid GOP criticism: ‘It sows distrust’…Read more

HITS KEEP COMING: NYC First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright resigns as Eric Adams’ administration suffers more departures…Read more

SERIOUS CONCERNS: Oregon mistakenly registered hundreds more voters without proving citizenship…Read more

DEEPLY TROUBLED: Vulnerable Dem Jon Tester turns on Biden admin over DEI after Montana universities stripped of federal funds…Read more
 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

One year ago, Saudi Arabia and Israel were supposedly on the brink of a deal to normalize relations. 

That deal has seemingly evaporated as Iran’s foreign minister visits the kingdom on Tuesday to discuss efforts to halt Israel’s incursions into Gaza and Lebanon. 

“Our dialogue continues regarding the developments in the region to prevent the shameless crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon, in continuation of the crimes in Gaza,” Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a video broadcast on state media. 

He added: “Starting today, I’ll begin a trip to the region, to Riyadh and other capitals, and we will strive for a collective movement from the countries of the region… to stop the brutal attacks in Lebanon.”

The Saudis share a longtime strategic partnership with the U.S. and are the largest purchaser of its weapons. But in recent years, they’ve had a political rapprochement with Iran. 

9/11 FAMILIES URGE TRUMP, HARRIS TO OPPOSE SAUDI DEAL UNTIL KINGDOM ADMITS INVOLVEMENT IN TERROR ATTACK 

Last week, Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, reaffirmed their neutrality in the conflict between Israel and Iran. Iran has warned that if “Israel supporters” intervene directly, their interests in the region would be targeted. That could mean missile strikes on their oil facilities. 

Iran rained some 200 missiles down on Israel last week, many of which were intercepted by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with U.S. assistance. 

“The Gulf states think it’s unlikely that Iran will strike their oil facilities, but the Iranians are dropping hints they might from unofficial sources. It’s a tool the Iranians have against the U.S. and the global economy,” Ali Shihabi, a Saudi commentator close to the royal court, said.

In 2019, drones attacked Saudi Arabia’s key refinery at Abqaiq, briefly shutting down around 5% of the world’s oil supply. Those drones originated in Iran, according to U.S. intelligence.

Prior to Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the Biden administration considered a proposed deal, akin to the Abraham Accords, a major priority. This deal aimed to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, including security guarantees and cooperation on civil nuclear matters. For months, the White House had been saying the deal was nearly done. 

The prospect of a deal was largely blamed as a catalyst for the Hamas attacks. 

OPINION: WHY SAUDI ARABIA MATTERS MORE THAN EVER TO THE US

“I don’t think we were ever really that close,” Robert Greenway, former senior director of the National Security Council, told Fox News Digital. 

“We were closest probably in the waning days of the Trump administration, but we knew that that would be a second-term issue if there was to be one, and obviously that didn’t play out. I don’t know that the Biden-Harris administration ever took it that terribly seriously.” 

Just before the Hamas attack, a group of 20 Democratic senators made clear their opposition to the treaty, voicing concerns over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and that a peaceful nuclear energy program might one day be converted to a military one to produce a nuclear weapon.

And Oct. 7 changed the Saudis’ calculus: they now demand a plan for a Palestinian state. 

“If anyone believes there was a chance of getting the House or Senate in an election year with virtually no majority, getting anything as controversial as a security treaty, with Saudi Arabia – permission for them to enrich with our blessing and support – I don’t know if anyone credibly believes that that was ever possible.”

Former deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates was optimistic that the Saudis could be brought back into the fold. 

“From what I’m hearing from both sides, it’s when, not if,” she said. “There are various reasons you might want to wait to find out what the makeup of the Congress is going to be… you’re going to need supportive majorities in the Senate to get [a civil nuclear agreement] through.”

Triangles of orange and yellow candy corn are now spread around the house. Reese’s Cups have now morphed into chocolate and peanut butter pumpkins from their original, fluted wafer form. The dog regularly freaks out when you take it for a walk and some mechanical ghoul begins cackling in an evil laugh when you ’round a corner in your neighborhood.

The calendar flipped seamlessly from September to October. It’s especially seamlessly in Congress. And while September is “government shutdown season” on Capitol Hill, Congress escaped unscathed this year. Bipartisan lawmakers approved a stopgap spending measure that keeps the lights on through Dec. 20. That’s why those who toil on Capitol Hill – or for the federal government – can enjoy the “Halloween” season this October. They don’t have to focus on “Continuing Resolutions” to keep the government afloat. They can instead embrace apparitions rather than appropriations. 

September’s salvation also rescued Thanksgiving next month. It’s customary for Congress to approve a stopgap spending bill or two each fall. Depending on the congressional schedule – and if it’s an election year – one might run the government through mid-October or later. Another may punt until just before Thanksgiving or just afterward. 

But this year’s emergency spending plan is special. It funds the government for autumn. All of October. All of November. It expires just before Christmas. So does everyone on Capitol Hill get to celebrate Christmas? Don’t bank on on it. 

You got Halloween and Thanksgiving. Two out of three ain’t bad.

“Why have we picked Dec. 20th?” asked Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., during a meeting of the House Rules Committee prepping the temporary spending package. “Because it’s the same reason we always have [with] Dec. 20th. Everybody up here is human. There are no AIs or robots in Congress. And when you get to Dec. 20th, you’re five days from Christmas. You’re four days from Christmas Eve. And you desperately want to be there with your family. This is when the leadership here has the maximum influence.”

FORMER NIH OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF MAKING EMAILS ‘DISAPPEAR’ PLEADS FIFTH TO COVID SUBCOMMITTEE

Massie argues that bipartisan congressional leaders choose such a date so they can maximize their leverage over members. The proximity to the holiday helps leaders wrangle the votes to pass another spending plan – anything – to avoid a holiday government shutdown.

Massie said he’s been in meetings where a speaker of the House basically threatened Republicans that they’d better vote “yes” on a spending measure.

“[He] walks in and says, ‘If you vote for this, you can go home and unwrap presents with your kids. And if you don’t vote for this, you’re going to spend Christmas here with Nancy Pelosi.’ And then the chants start, ‘Vote! Vote! Vote! Vote!’ literally, people get enthusiastic to vote for something that they haven’t read,” said Massie.

The soupcon of jet fumes will permeate the Capitol in mid-December as lawmakers try to fund the government and avoid a shutdown over Christmas. The question is, how long a spending plan might run? Deep into calendar year 2025? Maybe until February? Perhaps late March as some conservatives advocated? Or will lawmakers actually reach an agreement on the 12 annual spending bills or even knock a few out, one by one?

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is ruling out an “omnibus.” He’s also spoken out about doing “minibuses.” That’s where they glom several spending measures together. It’s not an “omnibus.” It’s smaller, hence the Volkswagen comparison. 

What would Herbie the Love Bug say? 

However, the length of another interim spending plan likely hinges on which party controls the House and Senate next year, as well as who won the White House. The wishes of the president-elect will prompt lawmakers to bend the spending bill in his or her direction. 

But in September, the goal was to avert a shutdown and hash out the hard stuff later.

“We’re out of time. We cannot afford a shutdown,” said House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., last month. “This path ensures Americans aren’t needlessly punished with a costly shutdown and allows, importantly, the next president to have a say in the appropriations process.”

Even though the Democrat-controlled Senate advanced zero spending bills on the floor this year, the Republican-operated House did a little better, approving five appropriations measures. But Cole partly blamed his own GOP colleagues for the legislative stumbles.

“We’re the majority. The majority ought to be governing,” said Cole. 

He added that it was “disappointing” that the House GOP majority had to again rely on Democrats to avert a shutdown.

That’s why Cole and others hope the House is able to knock out a few if not the remainder of outstanding spending bills after the election. Otherwise, a harrowing holiday season awaits.

Like Massie, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, warned against “a crazy, massive omnibus train, which is the inevitability of doing something right before Christmas.”

So how is Johnson going to manage this? Especially with the distinct possibility of Congress having to boost FEMA with an “immediate needs” bill nearly as soon as lawmakers return in mid-November? Then there’s the question of a shutdown in December. And that’s to say nothing of approving some plan to address Hurricanes Helene and Milton along with other natural disasters.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: ALL ABOUT THE POLITICS OF DISASTER RELIEF

By the way, if it’s clear that Democrats lost the Senate, failed to capture the House and lost the presidency, there’s a good chance they’ll balk at assisting Republicans with any spending bills. That could well launch the potential second term of former President Donald Trump under a government shutdown. 

There are headaches galore for Mike Johnson as he attempts to fund the government, address multiple crises, satisfy irate conservatives who are already grumbling about his leadership, and possibly cling to power. Calling the wrong play could jeopardize Johnson’s status in the speaker election on Jan. 3, if Republicans maintain the majority.

But what is the right play call for Johnson? No one knows. Johnson tried to appease the right with a spending plan that included a provision to require proof of citizenship to vote last month. However, Republicans couldn’t even pass their own bill. In other words, kowtowing to the margins doesn’t automatically guarantee success in the House Republican Conference.

But regardless, there was little drama passing the interim spending bill to avoid a government shutdown in late September.

That opened the door for the denizens of Capitol Hill to enjoy the end of the rest of the month. Embrace Halloween in October. Even Thanksgiving.

But Christmas? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Christmas may be a struggle.

Face it. Christmas came early this year. In September. There was no government shutdown.

Which is why actual Christmas could be a nightmare this year. 

Increased support from Republicans appears to be one factor fueling Vice President Kamala Harris with four weeks to go until Election Day in her White House showdown with former President Trump, according to a new national poll.

The vice president and Democratic presidential nominee stands at 49% support among likely voters nationwide, with the former president and GOP nominee at 46%, in a New York Times/Siena College survey released on Tuesday.

According to the poll, Harris stands at 47% and Trump at 44% in a multi-candidate field. Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Chase Oliver each grabbed 1%, with roughly 7% supporting another candidate or undecided.

Harris’ edge – which is within the survey’s sampling error – is up from the New York Times/Siena poll from last month, when the two major party nominees were deadlocked at 47%.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW

The top-line number in the new poll is in the range of most other national surveys, which indicate the vice president with a slight edge over Trump.

The poll indicates Harris’ support among Republican voters stands at 9%, up four points from last month.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION

As she turns up the volume on her efforts to court Republicans disgruntled with Trump, Harris last week teamed up with the most visible anti-Trump Republican in the town that claims to be the birthplace of the GOP.

Harris campaigned in battleground Wisconsin with former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and a one-time rising conservative star in the GOP who, in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol, has vowed to do everything she can to prevent Trump from returning to power.

“I have never voted for a Democrat, but this year I am proudly casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris,” Cheney told the audience as she formally endorsed the Democrat presidential nominee. “As a conservative, as a patriot, as a mother, as someone who reveres our Constitution, I am honored to join her in this urgent cause.”

Harris praised Cheney as a leader who “puts country above party and above self, a true patriot.”

The campaign event took place in Ripon, Wisconsin, where a one-room schoolhouse was designated a national historic landmark due to its role in holding a series of meetings in 1854 that led to the formation of the Republican Party.

The new poll also indicated Harris consolidating her support among older voters, and for the first time taking a slight edge over Trump in being identified as the candidate of change.

That’s crucial in a race where voters have repeatedly shared with pollsters that they think the country’s headed in the wrong direction. And the Trump campaign, feeding off such polling data, has repeatedly tied Harris to President Biden and their administration in the nearly three months since she replaced her boss at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket.

The poll was conducted Sept. 29-Oct. 6, with 3,385 likely voters nationwide questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

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

Vice President Kamala Harris had harsh words for Iran in an interview Monday evening as she said the regime is America’s biggest foe. 

In a sit-down with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the Democratic presidential nominee was asked to name the U.S.’s greatest foreign adversary. “I think there’s an obvious one in mind, which is Iran. Iran has American blood on their hands.”

“This attack on Israel, 200 ballistic missiles. What we need to do to ensure that Iran never achieves the ability to be a nuclear power. That is one of my highest priorities.”

Harris declined to say whether she would take military action if given proof that Iran is building a nuclear weapon.

“I’m not going to talk about hypotheticals at this moment,” she told Bill Whitaker.

The suggestion that Iran was the greatest U.S. adversary raised some eyebrows — as China is thought by many to be foe No. 1. 

“Iran is our biggest adversary, not China?,” Mary Kissel, former adviser to ex-Sec. of State Mike Pompeo, wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

5 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM HARRIS’ ‘60 MINUTES’ INTERVIEW 

“Harris is completely clueless for claiming that Iran is America’s greatest adversary rather than China,” former Trump adviser Steve Cortes said. 

“Really? It’s not Russia? It’s not China? A middle power is America’s greatest adversary?” Iranian nuclear researcher Sina Azodi questioned. 

Harris also defended U.S. aid to Israel — at a time when many liberals are calling on her to halt that aid or put conditions on it amid the rising death tolls across Gaza and Lebanon. 

“The aid that we have given Israel allowed Israel to defend itself against 200 ballistic missiles that were just meant to attack the Israelis and the people of Israel,” she said. 

Harris highlighted threats from “Hamas, Hezbollah… Iran,” asserting it is “without any question our imperative to do what we can to allow Israel to defend itself against those kinds of attacks.”

Still, she held out hope that Israel and its enemies could get to a ceasefire deal. 

“The work that we do diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles, which include the need for humanitarian aid, the need for this war to end, the need for a deal to be done, which would release the hostages and create a ceasefire.” She added, “We’re not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel and in the region, including Arab leaders.”

“China is the far greater threat just about, I think, everyone’s estimation,” said Rob Greenway, a former Trump aide and senior director of the National Security Council. “If you really do view Iran as a threat, then the behavior they’ve made makes absolutely no sense.”

Former President Donald Trump has blamed President Joe Biden and Harris for loosening sanctions on Iran, which he said made the U.S. adversary “very rich in a very short period,” and prompted the turmoil that began with the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

During a rally last week, Trump tore into the September 2023 prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Iran that facilitated a detainee swap in Qatar and resulted in the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets from oil sales. 

“If they have somebody who was kidnapped, it’s always $6 billion. Whoever heard of that?” Trump said. “Somebody else gets like $4,000.”

Iran said it had reached a “good understanding” to access the money from a Qatari bank account on Monday.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has long claimed it has not rolled back sanctions on Iran. But “it’s not enforcing any sanctions,” according to Greenway. Iran is now bringing in nearly $36 billion per year from oil sales.

Last week, Iran rained down 200 missiles toward Tel Aviv, many of them intercepted by both Israeli Defense Forces and U.S. capabilities. Though Iran’s proxies have long attacked both Israeli and U.S. postures, it was the regime’s first direct attack on Israel since April. 

Harris was sharply critical of Trump for pulling out of the Iran deal in 2018. President Joe Biden campaigned on returning to the deal, but failed to do so in office. 

“[Iran] made a tremendous amount of money. They have had doors opened by the U.S. administration,” Greenway said. 

HARRIS’ ‘WORD SALAD’ ON ISRAEL ALLIANCE 

The Trump administration’s policies “brought them to the brink of financial collapse.” 

After Biden rolled back sanctions on Iran, the regime went from 500 centrifuges needed to make a nuclear bomb to 7,000. It went from 5% enriched uranium to 60% (90% is needed for a nuclear weapon.) It went from exporting 400,000 barrels of oil per day in 2019 under the Trump administration’s harsh sanctions to 1.7 million barrels per day today.

Reports also suggest renewed activity in two nuclear weaponization sites in Iran – Sanjarian and Golab Dareh.

Last week, Biden warned Israel to make sure its response to the Iranian missile attacks was “proportional,” and urged them not to go after Iranian nuclear facilities.

Trump on Friday said Israel should go after the nuclear facilities.

While speaking at a campaign event in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he said when Biden was asked about Israel attacking Iran, the president answered, “’As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you wanna hit, right? I said, ‘I think he’s got that one wrong. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to hit?’”

He added nuclear proliferation is the “biggest risk we have.” 

Trump said when Biden was asked about Israel and Iran: “His answer should have been: ‘Hit the nuclear first. Worry about the rest later.'”

A package of crystal meth from Europe shut down a board of elections office in New York for hours this week.

The Dutchess County Board of Elections office shut down for three hours on Monday when officials discovered a suspicious package from Europe, sparking a hazmat team to respond to the office and investigate. 

“It came in through UPS from Greece. Prior to Greece, the inner envelope had been around a few other countries as well including France and then UPS’ed to the Dutchess County Board of Elections,” Republican Elections Commissioner Erik Haight told the MidHudson News. “The FBI is involved and I know they will be working with the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and State Police to determine who sent this to us and why.”

A bipartisan team of BOE employees flagged the suspicious package to commissioners, with the team then donning personal protective equipment to further investigate the package before calling law enforcement. The Dutchess County Hazmat team ultimately responded to the scene, according to a press release from the county’s board of elections. 

TRUMP’S TOP LEGAL FOE TO BE HANDED ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ ELECTION POWER AHEAD OF NOVEMBER: ELECTION ATTORNEY

“Dutchess County HAZMAT personnel, under the observation of the bi-partisan Elections Commissioners, examined the suspicious package. The substance was carefully removed from the envelope and tested with advanced chemical and gaseous identification equipment. HAZMAT personnel determined that the material was methamphetamine or more commonly known as ‘crystal meth,’” the press release explained. 

Staffers who came into contact with the package have not “reported any symptoms,” the press released stated. 

The county commissioners celebrated that even though the office shut down for three hours, it did not disrupt “a single voter’s right to vote or harm any of our hardworking staff members.”

NY ELECTION LAW THAT ‘NATIONALIZES’ LOCAL POLITICS FLIES UNDER THE RADAR DESPITE BEING ‘MONUMENTAL’: EXPERT

“The cowards that sent this dangerous chemical to our office failed in disrupting a single voter’s right to vote or harm any of our hardworking staff members. These bad actors may hide in the shadows and endeavor to strike fear, but we will remain vigilant and fulfill our oaths of office by delivering free and fair elections to the good voters of Dutchess County,” Democratic Commissioner Hannah Black said in the press release. 

BLUE STATE EFFORT TO UPROOT ELECTION LAW COULD FOREVER CHANGE LOCAL RACES: EXPERT

“I join my colleague Commissioner Black in commending our staff and am deeply appreciative of all law enforcement, the City of Poughkeepsie FD and emergency personnel that were critical in assisting us through this stressful and dangerous ordeal,” Haight added. 

The sheriff’s office took possession of the package and is working with the FBI and State Police to investigate. The sheriff’s office told Fox Digital on Tuesday that there are no updates to share on the investigation at this time. 

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