It is sometimes said that “politics and sports don’t mix.”

But frankly, politics is dotted with sports. And sports is utterly loaded with politics.

Which brings me to the intersection of politics and sports. The end of the regular baseball season is near. The Cincinnati Reds (my team, by the way), just fired their manager, David Bell, after a disappointing season. There are still a handful of games left in the season. Other teams will likely show their skippers the door soon. Look for possible vacancies in Colorado, Miami, Toronto and perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers – depending on how they fare in the postseason.

But the Reds are a special case. There were high expectations with star players Hunter Greene and Elly De La Cruz. Lots of speed. Fresh talent. With one of the best starting rotations in the game, some believed the Reds could win the division and maybe even compete for the National League pennant after years as also-rans.

SHOW VOTE: REPUBLICANS MAKE POLITICAL STATEMENT IN GOING AGAINST SPEAKER JOHNSON

But next to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Reds are the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball. The Reds have been churning in a continual “rebuilding” cycle since 2013. They haven’t won a postseason playoff series since 1995. The Reds haven’t appeared in the World Series since 1990.

Wait till next year, they say.

Which brings us to Congress and its appropriations bills.

The end of the government’s fiscal year aligns nearly perfectly with the baseball season. The final day of the government’s fiscal year is September 30. The last day of the regular season in baseball falls on September 29. A few teams will march into the playoffs. But most, like the Reds, will saunter home for the winter.

Such is the case with Congress.

Since the 1990s, Congress has struggled to approve its 12 spending bills to run the government on time. That’s led to various political standoffs between the parties, a few protracted and ugly government shutdowns and little success. There’s been almost zero reform by Congress toward passing the bills in a timely fashion for decades – despite constant promises from bipartisan lawmakers to do better next time.

Sound familiar, Reds fans?

A DECISION TO MAKE: HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL DIVIDES REPUBLICANS

The House of Representatives edged right up to the deadline of a possible government shutdown around this time last fall. After the House stumbled, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., finally put forth a straightforward bill to just fund the government at current spending levels with no ad-ons until early November. The government remained open. And even though McCarthy excoriated Democrats for failing to pass individual spending bills by the book when they were in the majority, Republicans didn’t do much better. In Fiscal Year 2023 (when Democrats controlled Congress), the House approved six individual spending measures. The Senate: zero. In Fiscal Year 2024 (after Republicans claimed control of the House), the GOP-led House passed seven bills. The Senate: three. For Fiscal Year 2025 (what Congress has been working on now), the House approved five bills. The Senate: nada.

When House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., assumed the Speakership last October, he wanted the House to continue to work on individual spending bills to do things “by the book.” All the while, Congress – with Johnson’s blessing – kept adopting stopgap bills to fund the government. That ran all the way until this past April. Johnson told members he’d continue to push for passage of individual spending measures for Fiscal Year 2025 (which begins October 1).

Again, the House had moderate success – but nothing special. It approved five appropriations bills: Defense, Energy & Water, Interior, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and State/Foreign Operations.

In an embarrassing vote on July 11, the House failed to approve the “Legislative Branch” appropriations bill. In other words, the House failed to even fund itself. Jokes abounded around the Capitol that Congress was teaching itself a lesson. Perhaps Congress didn’t deserve to receive its annual allocation.

So Congress finds itself in a similar position this year. In the fall of 2023, conservatives heckled McCarthy for not keeping Congress in session during the August recess to tackle appropriations bills. There is similar hectoring from Republicans this time.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHAT THE END OF THE YEAR LOOKS LIKE IN CONGRESS

“I think this is a complete failure of the Speaker’s strategy,” complained Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. “We weren’t here in the entire month of August. We could have finished our 12 separate appropriations bills.”

So now Johnson is forced into the same corner that McCarthy found himself this time last year. The House will vote on an interim spending bill just to keep the lights on. It’s notable that Johnson even wanted a bill to run through next spring. But the best he could manage was a measure which runs through December 20. Among other reasons, Johnson pushed for the longer spending bill because he didn’t want a “Christmastime omnibus” spending bill.

That may still happen if lawmakers can’t advance some of the bills between now and mid-December.

But this is similar to what we saw last year. And when it comes to appropriations, the same movie repeats itself. Like McCarthy, there could be calls from some conservative quarters to remove Johnson. Especially if Republicans maintain control of the House. The mid-December funding date really puts Johnson in a bind – if he’s to stand for re-election as Speaker on January 3.

This is where we find a nexus of politics and sports.

Cincinnati Reds fans have endured promise in season after season. The potential of catcher Devon Mesoraco was dashed after he made the All-Star game in 2014 – and then suffered a debilitating hip injury.

CONTINGENT ELECTIONS: WHAT THEY ARE, AND WHAT TO EXPECT IF 2024 TRIGGERS ONE

The Reds dealt ace starting pitcher Johnny Cueto to Kansas City during one rebuild. Two of the pitchers the Reds received as “compensation” went a collective 4-24 for the Reds with ERA’s of 5.44 and 6.25, respectively.

Cincinnati traded flamethrower Aroldis Chapman to the New York Yankees in 2015. For Chapman, the Yankees coughed up Caleb Cotham, who is now pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies. A knee injury forced Cotham to retire. In exchange for Chapman, the Reds also received Rookie Davis. Rookie Davis promptly demonstrated he was best suited for rookie league ball and not the bigs. Davis compiled a 1-3 record and an 8.63 ERA for Cincinnati.

You get the idea.

We don’t know who the Reds might hire as their new manager. But as they often say, the best predictor of future performance is past performance. So, despite a few promising players, cynical Cincinnati fans aren’t optimistic that things will be any different under new leadership next season.

Which brings us back to where we stand in the House and spending bills.

There will be a promise to do better next year and get the bills done on time. However, the political realities of that dynamic might prevent that. There may even be a change in the “management” – be it efforts to oust Johnson or Democrats winning control of the House.

Either way, people who study Congress know there’s not a lot of promise that the fall and winter of 2025 will be any different than this year – or the past several years – when it comes to finishing the spending measures on time and averting a government shutdown.

But you never know. As they say in baseball, there’s always next year.

EXCLUSIVE – Former Attorney General William Barr says he is “dumbfounded” that the Justice Department released a chilling letter penned by would-be assassin Ryan Wesley Routh on Monday, calling the decision “rash” and serving no purpose “other than to risk inciting further violence.”

Routh is the suspect in former President Donald Trump’s second foiled assassination attempt. The DOJ obtained the letter from a witness who says they received it inside a box delivered to them by Routh several months prior to the assassination attempt.

The box contained several handwritten letters as well as ammunition, among other things. One of the letters, addressed “Dear World,” admitted to an assassination attempt on Trump. He also offered money to anyone willing to finish the job.

“I was dumbfounded that the DOJ made public this morning the contents of the letter that, Ryan Routh, left with an acquaintance prior to the attempted assassination of former President Trump,” Barr said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT ROUTH NOT TO BE RELEASED

“The letter calls on people to ‘finish the job’ of killing President Trump, attempts to rouse people in incendiary terms to do so, and offers $150,000 to anyone who succeeds. There was no apparent justification for releasing this information at this stage,” he continued. 

Barr, who served during both the Trump and George H. W. Bush administrations, says that “DOJ had more than enough evidence to have Routh detained pending trial, without publicizing these details.”

“Even if DOJ thought it important to provide the letter to the court, it could have redacted inflammatory material or arranged to have the letter submitted under seal. It was rash to put out this letter in the midst of an election during which two attempts on the life of President Trump had been made,” Barr said. 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: FBI’S RYAN ROUTH TIP HIGHLIGHTS VETTING DEMAND CHALLENGE, FORMER AGENT SAYS

“It served no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence,” he added. 

The department’s detention memo revealed that Routh traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina, to West Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 14, a month before the Sept. 15 golf course incident. One of Routh’s cell phones pinged cell towers near Trump’s golf course and his Mar-a-Lago residence “on multiple days and times” from Aug. 18 to Sept. 15, the detention memo alleged.

Investigators say they also found a book Routh had authored in 2023, titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War: The Fatal Flaw of Democracy, World Abandonment and the Global Citizen-Taiwan, Afghanistan, North Korea, WWIII and the End of Humanity.”

TRUMP ASSASSINATION PLOT EXPOSES RYAN ROUTH’S BOMB BUST, BARRICADE WITH ILLEGAL GUN IN PROFESSIONAL DEMISE

The detention memo also provided a fresh detail on the witness who saw Routh flee the sniper’s nest. The witness made eye contact with the suspect before Routh jumped into a Nissan Xterra and sped away. The witness is credited with photographing the vehicle and reporting it to law enforcement.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Routh will likely face additional charges in the coming days, which could include aggravated assault for allegedly pointing the rifle at a Secret Service agent and making threats against a former president, State Attorney Dave Aronberg previously told Fox News Digital.

A federal judge has ruled that it would be unconstitutional for an Indiana prison to deny a transgender inmate sex reassignment surgery following the inmate’s lawsuit against the facility.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Indiana Department of Corrections last year on behalf of a transgender inmate, Jonathan C. Richardson, also known as Autumn Cordellionè, who was convicted of strangling his 11-month-old stepdaughter to death in 2001.

Indiana law, however, prohibits the Department of Corrections from using taxpayer dollars to fund sex reassignment surgeries for inmates. However, the ACLU argues in the lawsuit, filed on Aug. 28, 2023, that the law is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishment.”

ACLU SUES INDIANA OVER DENIAL OF SEX REASSIGNMENT SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO STRANGLED 11-MONTH-OLD TO DEATH

The surgery for Richardson, who is serving out a 55-year prison sentence for reckless homicide, “is a medical necessity,” according to the ACLU lawsuit.

Judge Richard Young agreed with the ACLU’s claims and ruled in favor of Cordellioné last week.

“Specifically, Ms. Cordellioné has shown that her gender dysphoria is a serious medical need, and that, despite other treatments Defendant has provided her to treat her gender dysphoria, she requires gender-affirming surgery to prevent a risk of serious bodily and psychological harm,” the ruling states.

The DOC must now take “all reasonable actions” to ensure Cordellioné undergoes sex surgery, according to the order.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican, said in a post on X that his office is still reviewing the judge’s decision, “but you can undoubtedly expect our office to appeal this decision.”

“An Indiana inmate convicted of murder wants our taxpayers to fund their gender-altering surgery! Hoosiers do NOT want thism” Rokita said.

TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB

The original ACLU filing says Cordellioné was diagnosed in 2020 with gender dysphoria and prescribed female hormones and testosterone blockers, both of which he has “consistently taken since that time.” Other accommodations provided for the inmate include “panties, make up, and form fitting clothing.”

“Accordingly, at this point gender-affirming surgery is necessary so that her physical identity can be aligned with her gender identity and so her gender dysphoria can be ameliorated,” the lawsuit states.

“She believes that the only remedy for her persistent gender dysphoria, and the serious harm it causes her, is to receive gender-affirming surgery, specifically an orchiectomy and vaginoplasty,” it said.

Cordellioné has identified as a woman since 6 years old, the ACLU lawsuit also claims, and the inmate is “a woman trapped in a man’s body.”

According to court documents, Cordellioné strangled his then-wife’s 11-month-year old daughter to death while she was at work on Sept. 12, 2001. During RCordellioné’s initial interview with one of the detectives, he was calm and “unemotional” when recounting what happened, court documents from Indiana’s Court of Appeals show. 

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In a separate lawsuit last year, Cordellioné filed a civil lawsuit against the prison chaplain for allegedly prohibiting him from wearing a hijab outside his immediate bed quarters, despite identifying as a Muslim woman. 

One group of voters could fuel a win for Democrats in the Arizona Senate race while also propelling former President Trump to victory in the key battleground state. 

Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris among registered voters in Arizona 49% to 45% in a new poll from the New York Times and Siena College. This was a notable shift from their numbers last month, when Harris came out on top. 

At the same time, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., bested Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake 50% to 41%. 

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According to the New York Times, “The respondents who said they were splitting their ticket – supporting Mr. Gallego and Mr. Trump – were much more likely to be Latino, less college-educated and lower-income.”

Gallego voted 100% in line with President Biden and Harris’ administration in the 117th Congress, per FiveThirtyEight, and is by no means a fan of Trump, and the former president is an ardent supporter of Lake. 

Despite their political disagreements, they’ve managed to simultaneously attract a key group of voters. 

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“You always have to consider in American politics whether gender is playing a role,” Melissa Michelson, the dean of arts and sciences and a political science professor at Menlo College in California, told Fox News Digital. 

Trump and Gallego are both facing off against women in their respective races. 

“What gender scholars will tell you is that when women are running, they face additional challenges,” she explained. 

With Trump’s election in 2016, his strength among those without college degrees became evident. He’s also shown an ability to appeal to non-White voters, including Latinos, who are considered integral to the Democrats’ coalition. 

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His enduring appeal to these types of voters is on display in the latest poll as well. “And yes, those same voters would be more likely to prefer the Latino candidate,” said Michelson, explaining the preference of some of those voters for Gallego in the Senate race. 

She noted that Latinos tend to vote Democrat more often than not and that they also tend to vote for Latino candidates. “If a candidate before you is both your shared racial group and your shared party, then that’s easy,” Michelson remarked. 

When it comes to women perhaps feeling inclined to vote for women candidates, she pointed out that gender isn’t “as strong of an identity or as strong of a motivator of vote choice.”

“People just don’t think about their gender the same way they think about their race.”

The potential for a split result in Arizona, with Trump winning the presidency and Gallego taking the open Senate seat, would be notable given the recent decline in split-ticket voting. 

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Republican strategist Kevin Madden said the vote is ultimately “candidate-dependent.”

“Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Ruben Gallego in Arizona are examples of two candidates running very carefully tailored races that are customized to their state’s political environment,” he told Fox News Digital. 

It’s true that Gallego has made a concerted effort to reach a male, Latino audience. For Cinco de Mayo this year, his campaign held a watch party in Glendale at JL Boxing Academy for a match between champion Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez and fellow fighter Jaime Munguía, who was undefeated until that point. The venue was reportedly outfitted with large screens displaying the fight, and the event featured food trucks serving birria tacos and Mexican Cokes outside. 

The watch party was expected to draw over 100 guests, mainly Latino Arizonans and their families. 

“They’re doing whatever they can to get out of the national political jet-stream and make their campaign less of a proxy on the presidential contest,” Madden said. 

Michelson claimed that recent endorsements from the Arizona Police Association (APA) for both Gallego and Trump could encourage the increasingly rare practice of split-ticket voting. Despite backing Trump and reportedly endorsing Lake during her 2022 gubernatorial bid, the union chose Democrat Gallego in the Senate race in 2024. 

However, Lake did get the backing of a separate police union, the Arizona Fraternal Order of Police, earlier this month.

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

The race between Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, for Senate in Texas is heating up, something one expert believes should serve as a warning to Republicans in the dependably red state.

“Texas is an interesting political environment and will become a bellwether within the next decade,” Jimmy Keady, the founder and president of JLK Political Strategies, told Fox News Digital. “With the recent influx of West Coasters, and a fast-growing Hispanic population, recent elections in Texas are closer than Republicans want.”

The comments come as Cruz seeks to fend off yet another tight challenge from a Democratic opponent, this time from Allred, who has represented Texas’ 32nd Congressional District in the Dallas area since 2019.

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While the Real Clear Politics polling average shows Cruz with a five-point lead in the race, there are some troubling signs for the Republican incumbent, including recent polls that show Cruz with a lead close to within the margin of error.

Allred has looked to capitalize on the momentum, taking to social media to highlight a Morning Consult poll that showed him with a slim lead in the race.

“For the first time in this race, a new poll has us leading Ted Cruz by 1 point. I don’t know about y’all but I’m fired up and ready to WIN,” Allred said on X. “We’ve got 47 days, let’s do this Texas.”

Prominent Republicans have noticed the challenge, with Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita taking to X to question what is “wrong with the Senate race in Texas” and calling for “some real professionals” to “save” Cruz.

TEXAS DEM’S SENATE AD FEATURES BORDER WALL HE ONCE BLASTED AS ‘RACIST’

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Some polls leading up to Cruz’s 2018 Senate race with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-Texas, showed a similarly close race, though Cruz was able to hold off the Democratic challenger by under three percentage points.

But that close win was also a stark departure from Cruz’s 2012 victory, when he easily topped former Texas Democratic state Rep. Paul Sadler by nearly 16 percentage points.

That narrowing of the margins in Texas should have Republicans on edge, Keady argued, though he stressed he believed Cruz would be safe in 2024.

“Texas will stay red this November and Ted Cruz will win re-election,” Keady said. “But Republicans should not take the threat of losing this state lightly. As the Republican Party makes a play for blue states, Democrats are going to start making a play for red states… to hold these seats, Republicans will have to stay disciplined on messaging and prioritize candidate recruitment.”

The Cruz campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Request for comment.

Acknowledgment of an improper tax credit received by the Democratic Senate nominee in Maryland is giving her Republican opponent some political ammunition – in a race that’s one of a handful which may decide if the GOP wins back the chamber’s majority.

Angela Alsobrooks’ campaign says the chief executive of Prince George’s County – Maryland’s second-largest county – will pay back taxes after improperly taking advantage of property tax breaks.

The tax credits – which Alsobrooks did not qualify for – included one meant for low-income senior citizens and a homestead tax break, which is restricted to homes listed as an owner’s primary residence.

BLUE-STATE REPUBLICAN TOUTS HIS ANTI-TRUMP CREDENTIALS

Alsobrooks’ campaign says she was not aware of the tax errors, which were first reported by CNN. The campaign adds that the tax error resulted in Alsobrooks paying more in property taxes.

Alsobrooks is facing off with former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland in a very competitive race to succeed Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly two decades in the Senate and nearly six decades as a state and then federal lawmaker. Hogan is aiming to flip a long-held Democratic seat in an overwhelmingly blue state.

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“It’s deeply disturbing that Angela Alsobrooks thinks the rules don’t apply to her. She campaigns on raising taxes while failing to pay her own and taking advantage of tax credits reserved for the poor and elderly. She claims to be unaware of tax laws it was her job to enforce,” Hogan campaign spokesperson Blake Kernen argued.

Kernen added, “Hogan has always stood up for taxpayers and in the Senate he will continue to fight for fairness and fiscal responsibility.”

Alsobrooks’ campaign noted Hogan – in 2016 – also received a tax break on his Maryland home while he was living in the governor’s mansion in Annapolis. But governors are exempt from residency requirements.

Democrats control the Senate by a razor-thin 51-49 margin, and Republicans are looking at a favorable election map this year with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs.

One of those seats is in West Virginia, a deep red state that Trump carried by nearly 40 points in 2020. With moderate Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Manchin, a former governor, not seeking re-election, flipping the seat is nearly a sure thing for the GOP.

Republicans are also aiming to flip seats in Ohio and Montana, two states Trump comfortably carried four years ago. And five more Democratic-held seats up for grabs this year are in crucial presidential-election battleground states.

With Democrats trying to protect their fragile Senate majority, Hogan’s late entry into the race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory. Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.

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

The campaign for former President Donald Trump said it is giving “maximum attention and resources” to its ground game in battleground states, and it’s working.

In key battleground states where voters register by party, and where the margins in 2020 were razor-thin, Republicans have cut into Democrats’ voter registration advantage — in some cases by hundreds of thousands of registered voters. 

During the 2020 election cycle in Pennsylvania, there were approximately 685,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. But going into Election Day 2024, that gap has been cut down significantly, with approximately 343,000 more Democratic voters than Republicans, according to the Trump campaign, which said it compiled the data from secretaries of state offices in Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina and Arizona.

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Similarly, in Nevada, there were 87,000 more Democratic voters in 2020 than Republicans. But going into Election Day 2024, there are just 19,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. 

North Carolina shows a similar shrinking gap for 2024, with just 126,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, down from the 391,000 Democratic voters last cycle. 

And in Arizona, by the end of July, there were 259,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, doubling the GOP advantage since 2020.

“Everyone who will vote in this election has lived through both administrations, and President Trump wins the comparison easily over Kamala Harris,” Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh told Fox News Digital. “The election will be won by those who show up, and that’s where the ground game comes in, which has been a combined effort of the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and many Republican allies.” 

Murtaugh told Fox News Digital that the “Democrats’ massive lead in voter registration in key states is gone.” 

“And in states where the winner will be decided by mere percentage points, it could make all the difference,” Murtaugh said. 

Neither the Harris campaign nor the Democratic National Committee (DNC) immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The Trump campaign’s joint-ground game efforts are continuing to expand, but it is focusing its “Get Out the Vote” efforts on low propensity voters and encouraging voters to vote early. 

Across battleground states, the Trump campaign and RNC have hundreds of paid staff, with more than 300 Trump/GOP offices. 

In July, the Trump campaign launched its “Trump Force 47” grassroots effort to recruit new voters. 

The program, which the campaign says is focused on mobilizing “highly-targeted voters in critical precincts across the battleground states and districts,” has already engaged tens of thousands of volunteers. 

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Trump campaign officials told Fox News Digital they already have more than 27,000 trained Trump Force 47 captains and continue to train daily, adding thousands per week. 

The efforts stretch beyond the Trump Force 47 leaders, with hundreds of thousands more volunteers for phone banking, canvassing, postcard writing, community organizing and poll watching. 

The joint effort and the Trump Force 47 model are focused on spending “maximum attention and resources” on turning out infrequent or “sometimes voters,” the campaign said.

“We put a high premium on personal contacts with voters that are less likely to participate in the election and are more disconnected from politics than high propensity or persistent voters,” a campaign official told Fox News Digital. 

Campaign officials also said they are focused on “meeting voters where they are” more than ever before. 

“From traditional voter canvassing like calls, doors, post cards, mail, to TikTok, to outside groups, our efforts to reach voters have never been more modern or efficient,” the official said. 

Fox News Digital has learned that the Trump campaign’s allied efforts will knock on approximately 15 million doors in the voting window across battleground states. 

The Trump campaign’s field efforts have been focused on volume, where its in-house program is focused on reaching voters that were previously missed or less politically engaged. 

“We have to get our voters to do what they always do — show up at the polls and vote,” the official said. 

Meanwhile, specifically in Pennsylvania, Team Trump is registering voters at doors, campaign rallies, grocery stores, sporting stores, places of worship, college tailgates and more. 

Officials told Fox News Digital that the team is reaching out to voters of all backgrounds through a wide variety of communities, including Hispanic voters, Jewish voters, Black voters, young voters and senior voters. 

“President Trump is well positioned to win in November thanks to our robust ground efforts and vast coalition of supporters and endorsers,” an official said. 

New polls published by The New York Times and Siena College on Monday showed Trump has gained a lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona, putting the former president at 50 and Harris at 45. Trump is also ahead in Georgia, 49 to 45, and North Carolina, 49-45. 

A RealClearPolitics Average shows Harris leading Trump by less than a point in Pennsylvania, and it shows Trump and Harris are tied in Nevada. 

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is pushing back against the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling, suggesting Democrats are eyeing ways to limit former President Trump’s abilities that were expanded by the high court’s decision.

“It is up to Congress, the representative branch of the people, to defend the constitutional order against presidents who would trample the freedoms of the people,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said at a press conference alongside former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh.

“This declaration is about protecting the freedoms of the people by closing statutory loopholes that could allow a president to exploit the executive power to trample constitutional freedom and liberty.”

He’s helping to spearhead an effort urging members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to sign a “No Dictators Declaration.”

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Raskin, who held the press conference backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday, did not mention Trump by name. 

The website for the effort similarly stresses that “this isn’t a partisan issue.” 

When explaining the “five pillars” of the pledge, however, Raskin alluded to a host of accusations that have been lodged against the former president.

“It’s got five main pillars to it – one, limiting the president’s power to declare bogus domestic and foreign emergencies to seize power and bypass congressional authority. Two, restricting the president’s ability to use the Insurrection Act to deploy the military domestically against the people,” Raskin said.

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“Three – preventing the adoption of partisan, personal and ideological loyalty tests, loyalty oaths and similar authoritarian measures designed to purge the professional civil service, and replace qualified workers with unqualified party loyalists and sycophants.”

“Four, ensuring that presidents who abuse their powers to commit crimes can be prosecuted like all other citizens. Because no one is above the law in America, and those of us who aspire and attain to public office are nothing but the servants of the people,” he continued. 

“And fifth, constraining the president’s ability to use investigative and prosecutorial decisions and resources to pursue personal political vendettas against disfavored groups and perceived enemies of the president.”

Trump’s Supreme Court case stems from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the ex-president and his allies’ alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Smith filed an amended, superceding indictment against Trump in the case after the court’s conservative majority granted the office of the president broad immunity for “official” acts, the specifics of which were to be determined by lower courts.

Asked by Fox News Digital whether the effort could turn into legislative action if Democrats win the House majority in November, Raskin suggested it was possible.

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“I hope that when we get back in, that we will be able to have at least a couple of serious hearings about the problem of overreach in the executive branch and weakness to potential tyrants and despots and dictators,” Raskin said.

“I hope that those hearings would lead us to create a legislative package to address these structural deficiencies in our statutory system.”

He added, “I would hope that Republicans would come along.”

Walsh, a Tea Party Republican who left office in January 2013 and who has been a vocal Trump critic, also heavily suggested Trump inspired the “No Dictators” effort but noted it brought together himself and Raskin, despite their larger political disagreements.

“We’re locked in arms right now because we have somebody running for president who has promised to be a dictator,” Walsh said. “This is a bipartisan effort every member of the House and every member of the Senate should easily sign and pledge that they don’t want – we will not have a dictator as president.”

FIRST ON FOX: Dozens of Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate are slamming the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who have come into the U.S. since 2021 – alleging a “cover-up” of information and how policies have led to potential exploitation.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, led lawmakers in a lengthy letter to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing the administration of failing unaccompanied migrant children “by rushing them out of the custody of your Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) into the hands of unvetted sponsors who often continue to exploit and abuse them.”

More than 500,000 unaccompanied alien children (UAC) have crossed the border without a parent or guardian since 2021. When unaccompanied children come to the border, they are currently turned over by Border Patrol to Health and Human Services (HHS) who will attempt to find them a sponsor within the country — typically a family member.

THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT KIDS MISSING ACCORDING TO WATCHDOG REPORT, GOP SENATOR SLAMS DHS: ‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’ 

The letter claims the administration has cut back on background checks and vetting procedures, as part of an effort to speed up the process. They say the administration “continued Vice President Harris’s longtime priority of cutting back on information sharing between HHS ORR and law enforcement related to unaccompanied children and sponsors.”

The letter is led by Grassley, and includes Senate Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Ron Johnson, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy and House Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock. 

The lawmakers point to moves by the administration to limit familial DNA testing, and Trump-era proposals to provide post-release check ups for those handed over to sponsors.

The issue came into the spotlight last year when the New York Times reported on how the agency has been unable to reach 85,000 minors and lost immediate contact with a third of them.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said at that time that the number “doesn’t sound at all to be realistic” and “what we do is we try and follow up as best we can with these kids.”

“Congress has given us certain authorities. Our authorities end when we have found a suitable sponsor to place that child with. We try and do some follow up but neither the child or the sponsor is actually obligated to follow up with us,” he said.

ICE LOST TRACK OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT KIDS, DHS INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDS

This year, the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General sent a report to Congress finding that, over the past five years, more than 32,000 UACs did not show for immigration court hearings, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement could not account for the location of all of those who did not appear. 

The lawmakers said that HHS ORR is “actively attempting to cover up the results of its egregious decisions” to roll back vetting, also accusing the administration of silencing whistleblowers. The letter also says that DHS recently informed Grassley’s office that HHS has not complied sufficiently with two out of three subpoenas/information requests from his referral of possible child trafficking rings.

“By not supplying the information law enforcement requested, ORR denied Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents critical information, including the last known addresses of children and sponsors and the identity of other household members,” the letter says.

They also argue that HHS’s alleged failure to vet sponsors has led to the ignoring of possible gang affiliations, with no policy in place to refer suspected gang members for prosecution or investigation. It highlights the death of Kayla Hamilton, allegedly at the hands of an unaccompanied migrant.

HHS CHIEF ‘UNFAMILIAR’ WITH REPORTS THAT AGENCY CAN’T CONTACT 85,000 UNACCOMPANIED MIGRANT KIDS  

“HHS must stop its cover-up and cooperate with law enforcement and Congress to end this crisis and protect unaccompanied children and the American people,” they say. Fox reached out to the White House and HHS for comment.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

The letter comes as immigration remains a top 2024 issue. Republicans have pointed to the historic crisis at the southern border and tied it to the “open borders” policies of the administration.

The administration says that those numbers have dropped sharply in recent months after President Biden signed an executive order limiting asylum claims at the border. It has called on Republicans to support a bipartisan border security bill unveiled earlier this year. Republicans have said that bill will codify high levels of illegal immigration.
 

Hamtramck, Michigan, Mayor Amer Ghalib made headlines over the weekend by endorsing former President Donald Trump’s latest bid for president, putting the U.S.’ only Muslim-majority town in the national spotlight.

Ghalib, who became Hamtramck’s first Muslim mayor after being elected in 2021, was born in Yemen and immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager in 1997, according to a profile of the mayor posted by Henry Ford College.

He attended Hamtramck High School and worked at a factory, eventually going on to attend then-Henry Ford Community College and Wayne State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in biology and pre-med. He later attended the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, where he completed four years but did not complete his residency.

Ghalib spent most of his career as a medical professional in Hamtramck, an enclave of Detroit with about 28,000 residents. The town was known as a mostly Polish settlement until recent decades, with a large influx of Middle Eastern immigrants eventually making it the nation’s first Muslim-majority city.

MAYOR OF MUSLIM-MAJORITY MICHIGAN CITY ENDORSES TRUMP: ‘RIGHT CHOICE FOR THIS CRITICAL TIME’

He made history when he defeated former Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski, breaking an over 100-year streak of the city being represented by a Polish-American mayor. The city also became the first in the nation with an all-Muslim elected leadership that same year, with Hamtramck’s six city council seats being won by Muslim candidates.

However, Ghalib has also attracted controversy during his time as mayor, including his support of a 2023 resolution that banned the display of LGBTQ+ flags on city property.

“You do not know our city more than we do, and you will not know the consequences of opening the door for every group to fly their flag on city properties,” Ghalib said in a statement to critics of the move in a Detroit Free Press report. “Our residents are all equally important to us, and we will continue to serve them equally without discrimination, favoritism or preferential treatment to any group. The city government will stay NEUTRAL and IMPARTIAL toward its residents.”

Later the same year, he attracted more controversy when he failed to condemn one of his political appointees who was accused of making antisemitic comments. 

According to a report on the controversy from the Hamtramck Review, Hamtramck Plan Commission member Nasr Hussain came under fire for questioning whether Jewish people were being punished by God during the Holocaust for actions Israel is now taking in Gaza.

TRUMP VOWS TOUGH APPROACH TO SANCTUARY POLICIES

“Was the Holocaust God’s advance punishment of the ‘Chosen People’ for the savagery they’re committing today against the innocent Palestinians children and civilians,” Hussain posted on the popular local Facebook page, “Hamtramck Square.”

“A heinous act proving that they’re as savage and cruel as the Nazis themselves, or even worse.(Take into consideration that God isn’t confined by space or time and that they believe in reincarnation.),” he added.

“You can ask Nasr about that. What do I have to do with his posts! I don’t have to comment on every resident’s opinion, otherwise I would have commented on some posts that insult Islam and other religions, which are posted frequently by some residents on that same Facebook group,” Ghalib responded when asked by the Hamtramck Review to respond to the post.

Ghalib and the Hamtramck City Council entered the spotlight again earlier this year, when the city voted unanimously to approve a resolution that required the city to avoid investing in Israeli companies or those supporting “Israeli apartheid,” according to a report from the Detroit Free Press, a sweeping show of support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement that has targeted Israeli companies.

“For now, the city will do its best to refrain from buying, investing or contracting with companies that support the Israeli genocide,” Ghalib said after the vote.

KAMALA HARRIS HIT FOR BEING VAGUE, DODGING QUESTIONS IN RECENT INTERVIEWS: ‘SHE OWES US THESE ANSWERS’

Nevertheless, Trump lobbied hard for Ghalib’s endorsement, according to a report in the Detroit News, holding a private 20-minute meeting with the Hamtramck mayor prior to his event in Flint, Michigan, last Tuesday.

“He asked me if I can endorse him and ask people to vote for him? I told him: ‘I’m here to talk about that and how we can make it happen,'” Ghalib told the Detroit News. “I then handed him an official letter with some details about our concerns and to invite him to come to Hamtramck if possible.”

Ghalib would eventually come through with that endorsement, taking to Facebook to praise Trump as “a man of principles.”

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“Though it’s looking good, he may or may not win the election and be the 47th president of the United States, but I believe he is the right choice for this critical time,” Ghalib wrote in Arabic on his Facebook page. “I’ll not regret my decision no matter what the outcome would be, and I’m ready to face the consequences. For this, and for many other reasons, I announce my support and endorsement for the former, and hopefully, the next president of the United States, Donald Trump.”

Neither Ghalib’s office nor the Trump campaign immediately responded to Fox News Digital requests for comment.