Author: NOVA Corp

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., a scandal-plagued lawmaker facing bipartisan calls to resign, drew a GOP challenger Tuesday who threatens to scramble his re-election bid.

Ryan Elijah, a veteran former news anchor for FOX 35 Orlando, is launching a bid for Mills’ central Florida House seat, vowing to defeat the embattled incumbent in the Sunshine State’s August primary.

Elijah told Fox News Digital that Republican voters should have an alternative to Mills, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations, among other improprieties. 

“People in the Seventh District want another choice,” Elijah said in an interview. 

RESIGNATION IS THE NEW ESCAPE HATCH AS LAWMAKERS FACE EXPULSION

Elijah called the allegations against Mills “serious” and said the House Ethics Committee should continue its investigation into the incumbent’s alleged misconduct. The panel announced last week that its only active investigation related to “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence” is the Mills probe.

The committee has not indicated when it plans to wrap up its investigation into Mills, which began in November.

Mills allegedly threatened to release nude images and videos of an ex-girlfriend after their relationship ended, leading a judge to bar him from contacting that individual. He was also involved in an alleged domestic violence incident that drew a police response in Washington, D.C., last year.

The incumbent has denied any wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged.

“I’ve never been indicted for anything,” Mills told Fox News last week. “Everything has just been an accusation, allegation.”

HOUSE REPUBLICAN TO MOVE TO CENSURE DEM ACCUSED OF STEALING DISASTER RELIEF MONEY FOR CAMPAIGN

Elijah, a 20-year Florida resident, said he decided to challenge Mills after receiving “overwhelming support” from community leaders in the district to jump into the race.

He also characterized Mills as a weak general election candidate who could put the GOP in danger of losing the Republican-leaning district in November’s midterm elections. Democrats are notably targeting Mills’ seat as a top flip opportunity in the Sunshine State.

“There’s obviously a chance we could lose the seat,” Elijah said, if Mills is the Republican nominee.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report downgraded Mills’ re-election bid from “solid” to “likely” Republican in February.

Mills’ campaign entered April with just over $115,000 in the bank and is more than $2 million in debt, according to recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. 

Former NASA chief of staff Bale Dalton, Mills’ leading Democratic challenger, ended 2026’s first fundraising quarter with $464,000 in cash on hand.

Mills is running for a third House term with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, which can be consequential in competitive GOP primaries. 

Elijah said he would still vie for the president’s support.

“I’m not going against the president’s endorsement or even going against the party. I’m going for both of those,” Elijah told Fox News Digital. “Right now, I’m just focused on getting out of the gate and just talking to people, and we’ll see where those chips fall.”

Mills is also facing a potential expulsion threat from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who has yet to force a vote on her removal measure.

Three House members facing misconduct allegations resigned from Congress earlier in April to avoid potential expulsion votes. Those lawmakers were former Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla.

Mace’s measure accuses Mills of misrepresenting his military service and of illicit involvement in federal contracts as a sitting lawmaker, in addition to alleged sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations.

“This guy has no place in Congress, especially if you’re a woman, especially if you’re a military vet, what he’s done is shameful, and at some point we have to take responsibility for ourselves,” Mace told Fox News on Monday. “If we’re going to hold the left accountable, we’ve got to hold the right accountable too.”

Asked whether Mills should resign, Elijah said members of Congress could force the issue.

“There’s been a lot of calls for him to resign. He obviously decided he wasn’t going to,” Elijah said. “He was going to fight it out at this point. So I think his fate is in the hands of Congress.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mills’ campaign for comment.

Republicans are warning that their ability to deliver on lowering everyday costs, one of their core campaign promises heading into the 2026 midterms, is being tested by an AI-driven chip shortage that has spilled into consumer markets.

“When you have a big race like we have with AI, there are secondary effects that we need to be very concerned about,” former Rep. Patrick McHenry, who served as House Financial Services Committee chairman, told Fox News Digital, adding, “It is hurting Republicans.”

Tech industry reports have for months been raising alarm over a global chip shortage. In January, a report predicted that this year, 70% of the high-end memory chips produced would go toward data centers, which store AI memory, constraining all other downstream technology and driving up prices, directly undermining Republicans’ affordability agenda.

AFFORDABILITY: THE ISSUE THAT BOOSTED TRUMP AND REPUBLICANS IN 2024 DEFLATED THEM IN 2025

“We see this from our handheld devices to our computers, to TVs,” McHenry, a North Carolina Republican congressman turned policy advisor, said in an interview. “Even autos are impacted, and even things such as what we think of as average everyday things that aren’t particularly high-tech, like the things we use to manicure our lawns are impacted by rising prices of chips, so there’s a lot of secondary effects across consumer goods and should be a huge concern.”

Heading into 2026, President Donald Trump framed the midterms as a referendum on cost of living, saying in a Politico interview the elections “will be about pricing.” 

Historically, the party in control loses seats during the midterms. One Republican strategist told Fox News Digital that AI’s well-documented dominance over the chip market should be viewed as hurting voters’ pocketbooks. The strategist called on the three largest chip manufacturing companies to expand production, which he said would help bolster the GOP’s campaign message.

“America must win the artificial intelligence race. Companies like Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron understand that,” the strategist said. “At the same time, we can’t forget about consumer goods. Memory chip manufacturers need to increase production to boost both American AI and lower the cost of consumer goods. If they don’t, it will undoubtedly hurt Republicans politically in the midterms. How can Republicans campaign on ‘lower costs’ in 2024, but see computer and car prices rise in 2026 due to a lack of chip production?”

TRUMP TORCHES DEMS’ ‘FAKE AFFORDABILITY’ PITCH – BUT GOP PANIC IN DEEP RED STATE HINTS VOTERS AREN’T BUYING IT

The AI boom is increasing demand for memory chips, which are semiconductor components used in data centers, laptops and smartphones.

That chip consumption has rippled across industries. Microsoft this month attributed its rise in laptop prices to “recent increases in memory and component costs.” The smartphone market remained “under pressure,” with shipments down 6% this year, largely because of chip shortages, Counterpoint Research found. 

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, previously a car dealership owner, warned in a letter this month his state was seeing “immediate and severe” consequences of rising chip prices and that automakers have said they could begin halting assembly lines as early as next month.

While affordability has been a resounding priority for Republicans seeking to retain control in Washington, AI advancements are also a pillar of Trump’s agenda. The White House declared last year in a sweeping plan that the country was in “a race to achieve global dominance in artificial intelligence” and cited the need for a “revitalized U.S. chip industry.”

Asked about the AI-driven affordability concerns, White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in a statement that the White House was cognizant of the clash and balancing it with a “nuanced” economic plan, which includes Trump’s signature worldwide tariffs, which the president restructured after the Supreme Court struck down his initial plan implementing them in the name of what he said was a global economic emergency.

“The fact that semiconductor chips are absolutely critical for everything from cutting-edge AI technology to everyday consumer goods only reinforces the importance of President Trump’s push to reinvigorate America’s semiconductor industry,” Desai said. “Hundreds of billions in semiconductor manufacturing investments reflect how the private sector is enthusiastically responding to the Administration’s nuanced and multi-faceted agenda of tariffs, deregulation and tax cuts.”

KEVIN O’LEARY WARNS CHINA ‘KICKING OUR HEINIES’ IN AI RACE AS REGULATORY ROADBLOCKS STALL US

The strain on supply is also raising new questions about the effectiveness of the bipartisan CHIPS Act, a Biden administration bill designed to boost domestic production and prevent precisely the kind of shortage markets are now seeing.

McHenry, who specializes in fintech policy, said the CHIPS Act, a multibillion-dollar effort to pour federal subsidies and tax incentives into U.S. chip manufacturing, has been a “grave disappointment.” McHenry said both that the White House had “a lot more work” to do to address the supply shortage and that congressional reforms were another way to improve domestic chip production.

“Unfortunately for the taxpayer, they paid for the CHIPS Act the first time, and now they’re paying for it a second time with the rising price of consumer goods,” McHenry said. “Republicans need to address this on Capitol Hill. They need to clean up the CHIPS Act, so the president can deploy these tools to incentivize and grow chip manufacturing here in the United States.”

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who founded a successful car security company, said he sees a need for chip production expansion, tying it to consumer costs, in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“America leads the world in AI — and we stay there by unleashing the nation’s industrial base, ramping up chip production and memory as never before and lowering the consumer costs people pay every day,” he said.

The congressman said more chips were “essential” to delivering on the GOP’s promises of “opportunity, prosperity and affordability.”

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives of Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron for comment.

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is running for St. Petersburg mayor.

“Well, it’s official. I’m now a candidate for mayor of St. Pete. God bless you all,” he said in a video posted to X on Monday.

His post includes the message, “I’m in! #stpete.”

RON DESANTIS UNVEILS NEW FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL MAP THAT WOULD GIVE THE GOP AN EXTRA FOUR SEATS

“I’ve fought for the City of St. Petersburg in the Legislature, as Education Commissioner, Attorney General, and Governor, and as a United States Representative. Now I’m taking that fight back home, to City Hall, where the city government is failing to address issues that matter most to YOU, my neighbors,” Crist declared on his campaign website.

Crist served as governor of the Sunshine State from early 2007 until early 2011. He was elected to the governorship as a Republican but lost a 2010 U.S. Senate race while running as an independent. 

DESANTIS TAUNTS JEFFRIES WITH FLORIDA INVITE — DEM LEADER RESPONDS WITH $20M WARNING SHOT

He lost the state’s 2014 gubernatorial contest while running as a Democrat.

Crist went on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat from early 2017 through August 2022.

DESANTIS UNDER PRESSURE AS FLORIDA REDRAW COULD TIP HOUSE BALANCE IN GOP MAP FIGHT

Crist unsuccessfully sought the governorship again, but incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis shellacked him in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial contest.

King Charles III will address a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday during his U.S. state visit marking America’s 250th birthday, stepping into a high-profile ceremonial moment as Washington remains on edge over heightened security concerns and tensions tied to the war with Iran.

The four-day trip is stacked with various events and private meetings, and comes during escalating pressure on security in Washington, D.C. following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that targeted President Donald Trump and his administration officials. 

Queen Elizabeth II was the first monarch to deliver a speech at the U.S. Capitol during a state visit in 1991, two months after the end of the Gulf War, hammering down the importance of transatlantic alliances in her speech. 

Former advisor to Prime Minister Boris Johnson Thomas Corbett-Dillon told Fox News Digital that Elizabeth famously received three standing ovations during her speech. “The biggest [applause came] after quoting President Abraham Lincoln: ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people.’”

PRINCE WILLIAM VIEWS TRUMP RELATIONSHIP AS KEY TO MONARCHY’S FUTURE: EXPERT

Elizabeth’s speech emphasized the importance of transatlantic alliances. 

“We, like you, are staunch believers in the freedom of the individual and the rule of a fair and just law,” she said during her address more than 30 years ago. “These principles are shared with our European partners and with the wider Atlantic community. They are the bedrock of the Western world.”

KING CHARLES URGES ‘DIGITAL DETOX,’ RECONCILIATION IN CHRISTMAS SPEECH AFTER YEAR OF ROYAL DRAMA

The war in Iran backdrops the visit this week. 

“Her late Majesty praised the U.S. for leading our two nations coalition during the Persian Gulf War,” said Corbett-Dillon. “The King, of course, will have no such praise for US Forces operating in the Gulf, because the UK has so far refused to support the U.S. in its war.”

Trump has expressed frustration with Britain’s refusal to fully join the U.S. campaign against Iran, and has urged U.S. allies to get involved militarily or operationally, particularly around protecting oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz.

“This is not Winston Churchill we are dealing with,” Trump said on March 3, referring to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “By the way, I’m not happy with the U.K. either,” the president continued, referring to Starmer blocking the United States’ use of U.K. bases to launch attacks on Iran.

KING CHARLES HEADS TO TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AS AMERICA MARKS 250 YEARS SINCE BREAKING FROM THE CROWN

Corbett-Dillon predicted the speech will be “non-political” but predicts Charles may slip in a few remarks about climate change and protecting the environment. 

“The Palace seem to have decided is not a political issue and allows The King to openly and often discuss,” he said. 

Trump has repeatedly dismissed climate change as a “hoax,” while his administration has prioritized U.S. energy independence by accelerating domestic oil and gas production.

“The King’s one goal from this speech is to maintain unanimous applause from across The House,” said Corbett-Dillon. “If he leans too hard into the Green agenda, he may face an embarrassing moment where half of the House stands and applauses while the other half remains seated.”

“Many of the American people won’t like hearing the Green Agenda, often seen as a globalist talking point, being pushed to Congress by a foreign King,” he added.

Republicans want swift action to fund the Secret Service after it foiled a third apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump’s life.

The federal policing force, along with many other agencies, has not been funded for 74 days amid the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. While the shutdown began over Democrats’ refusal to fund immigration operations, it has now shifted to House Republicans to resolve it. 

A bill to fund most of the department has been languishing in the House after clearing the upper chamber in March. That legislation would fund the Secret Service, too. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has yet to put the bill on the floor over concerns that the legislation carves out funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES RAGE AGAINST SENATE DHS SHUTDOWN DEAL

But the apparent assassination attempt appeared to nudge Johnson from that position.

“We have to move DHS funding because it’s urgent. As the secretary of Homeland has said, we’re out of money. He’s out of money at the end of this week,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “It’s very dangerous, as demonstrated Saturday night. We’ve got to get the job done.”

Some House Republicans are urging Johnson to bring the Senate bill to the floor.

Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., sent a letter to Johnson, obtained by Fox News Digital, that asked for immediate consideration of the Senate’s partial DHS bill.

“There is no time for delay,” Langworthy wrote. “As put on full display for the American people with the attack surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this weekend, our country remains at risk. While we continue to have significant work ahead to fully fund immigration enforcement through the reconciliation process, we should demonstrate clearly that we are committed to delivering solutions at the earliest possible moment.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Monday blamed House Republicans for the record-breaking funding lapse for letting the Senate bill stall in the chamber.

“Bring the bipartisan Senate-passed bill to the House floor today, and it would fund the Department of Homeland Security in its entirety, with the exception of ICE and the violent Republican mass deportation machine,” Jeffries said.

White House budget chief Russ Vought was expected to meet with House Republicans later on Monday to discuss the way forward on DHS funding, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

Congressional Republicans have been undertaking a two-track approach to funding DHS after Democrats repeatedly failed to come to an agreement on a full-year spending bill. 

One piece would fund ICE and the Border Patrol for three-and-a-half years through the budget reconciliation process.

House Republicans are expected to sign off on a Senate-passed budget resolution to fund ICE and CBP as soon as Wednesday. Trump urged House Republicans to approve the Senate measure without any modifications on Monday afternoon.

SCALISE ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF REVIVING ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ PUSH WITH DHS FUNDING GAMBIT

That forthcoming vote will unlock the reconciliation process and will see Republicans enter a mad dash to complete the package by June 1. 

Meanwhile, some Senate Republicans are eyeing several options to fund the Secret Service and the rest of DHS. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said on X that Republicans should again force Democrats’ hand following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday.

“This week, the Senate should put Democrats on record again and see how they vote,” Scott said. “Will they decide now is a good time to finally fund [the] Secret Service and all of DHS? Even after last night’s violence and ANOTHER assassination attempt against the President of the United States, this shouldn’t be such a fight to get done.”

And Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said “this may be the moment” to nuke the filibuster.

“The Democrats will do it when they get the majority,” Johnson said on “Mornings with Maria.” “At a moment of natural danger, if Democrats refuse to fund DHS, I will say this would be the time to nuke the filibuster for good.”

Trump has long pushed for the elimination of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold throughout his second term, but a swath of GOP senators have balked at that request over concerns it would advantage Democrats the next time they control the chamber.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, got into a heated exchange with Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on Monday over whether she was familiar with precedents governing the EPA’s mission.

“You’re upset that you don’t know what Loper Bright is,” Zeldin said, referring to the landmark Supreme Court case from 2024 that reshaped the power of regulatory agencies.

“I’m upset — because,” DeLauro started to respond.

“You know what the major policy doctrine is?” Zeldin interjected. “You’re a member of Congress. You should know.”

STACEY ABRAMS SLAMMED AFTER DEFENDING $2 BILLION IN BIDEN-ERA EPA FUNDS TO BUY GREEN ENERGY APPLIANCES

DeLauro, who had been asking about the framing of President Donald Trump’s 2027 budget request, tried to answer again but was cut off.

“You want me to tell you what the two biggest Supreme Court cases are of the last few years?” Zeldin said.

The moment came as Zeldin appeared before Congress for the EPA’s 2027 budget request — a proposal that asks lawmakers to slash the agency’s budget by more than 50%. The tense back-and-forth highlights sharp divisions between the administration and Democrats in Congress over what threat, if any, climate change poses and what resources the U.S. should devote to combating it.

The exchange began when DeLauro raised alarms about the framing of the 2027 budget request, arguing that the EPA had made an assertion that climate change didn’t exist.

“The budget proposal reads like a climate change denier’s manifesto,” DeLauro said.

“When climate change is flooding our streets, poisoning our air, driving up health care, how can the EPA justify abandoning that duty to protect Americans, to appease polluters under the false flag of economic growth?” DeLauro asked.

TRUMP OFFICIAL FIRES BACK AT DEM’S EPSTEIN DONOR CLAIM: ‘TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSON’

In response, Zeldin argued the agency lacked the power to make that determination.  

“You do not have the right to say climate change does not exist, that it’s a hoax,” DeLauro responded. “And that’s where this administration is.”  

“You’re very defensive about not knowing the two biggest landmark Supreme Court cases of the last year with regards to your question,” Zeldin fired back.

TRUMP TAPS FORMER NEW YORK REP LEE ZELDIN TO LEAD EPA

Zeldin’s exchange immediately went viral Monday night, with conservatives praising Zeldin’s exchange and slamming DeLauro.

“FATALITY,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X.

“Terrible take. Even worse hair,” the White House posted on X.

“This is one of the most satisfying hearing exchanges I’ve ever seen. Rosa De Lauro clearly *doesn’t* understand the law or Loper Bright – she’s used to just spewing climate alarmism pablum,” longtime Republican operative Matt Whitlock posted on X. “She gets so flummoxed she threatens to *defund EPA* – uh oh don’t do that!”

“Brilliant,” Kari Lake, a senior advisor for the U.S. Agency for Global Media, posted on X.

“This is a tough look for [Rosa DeLauro]. No idea what she’s talking about, no idea about relevant Supreme Court decisions — completely ill prepared,” John Seravalli, a top Republican National Committee official wrote on X. “She, and her staff, don’t know what they’re doing.”

DeLauro, who struggled to bring the conversation back to the budget, reminded Zeldin he would eventually need congressional authorization to continue the EPA’s work.

“You know, you’re here because you need money from us. So halt for a second and wait for the questions and answer the question,” DeLauro said.

A defiant Zeldin doubled down on his attacks on DeLauro.

BIDEN-HARRIS EPA FUNDING ‘RADICAL, LEFT-LEANING’ ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS CALLING TO END FOSSIL FUELS: REPORT

“I answered your question. You didn’t like my answer because you don’t know what Loper Bright is, because you don’t know what the major policy doctrine is,” Zeldin said.

“I don’t have to listen to this BS,” DeLauro said.

“BS. You think I made up these cases?” Zeldin fired back.

The EPA was given roughly $8.82 billion in the 2026 fiscal year. For 2027, Trump has requested just $4.2 billion for 2027 — a drop that would represent a 52% decrease year over year.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, posted on social media what appeared to be contradictory messages about the shooting over the weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

In the shooting that unfolded at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., gunman Cole Tomas Allen of California rushed through a security checkpoint with guns and knives. One Secret Service agent was shot in the chest but was saved by his bulletproof vest.

The Justice Department charged Allen with attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

DOJ CITES WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER SHOOTING IN PUSH TO DROP LAWSUIT AGAINST BALLROOM

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other administration officials were in attendance, as were members of Congress and the media. Trump and other attendees were rushed off the stage, and the suspect was taken into custody.

Crockett, who lost in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate this year, has made multiple posts about the shooting since it happened, with some condemning political violence and others questioning whether assassination attempts against Trump were staged.

On her official X and Threads accounts, she said, “The political violence is unacceptable and must stop.”

“I am grateful that everyone attending tonight’s WHCD is safe,” the congresswoman added.

OHIO TEACHER FIRED AFTER VIDEO APPEARING TO LAMENT TRUMP SURVIVING WHCA DINNER SHOOTING

But on her Jasmine For US campaign Threads account, she posted, “Has there ever been a president have this many close ‘attempts’ on their life?”

“Maybe it’s lax gun laws, maybe it’s lack of mental health funding, or maybe it’s fake… who knows,” the post continued.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Crockett’s office for comment. A message was also left with the office of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., seeking comment.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Trump began claiming that the incident showed the need for his proposed White House ballroom. Other administration officials and the president’s allies in Congress quickly began pushing for the ballroom as well.

But the dinner was hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association and not the White House, and it had more than twice as many guests as the proposed ballroom could hold.

A judge had, on multiple occasions, halted construction of the $400 million White House ballroom, ruling that it lacked congressional approval, while offering an exception for “actions strictly necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House and its grounds.”

There’s no such thing as hazing in Congress.

You won’t find “fraternity row,” with each house festooned with a trifecta of deltas, gammas and epsilons.

No drinking games here.

At least not officially.

WHCD SHOOTING SHOWS DEMS ARE ‘PLAYING’ WITH AMERICANS’ SAFETY BY WITHHOLDING DHS FUNDING, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS

But get ready for something on Capitol Hill with which many Greek pledges are all too familiar:

“I’m going to say next week is hell week,” warned Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, last Thursday. “Next week is going to be hell week.’

And this was all before the harrowing episode Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington.

HOUSE GOP PUSHES BACK ON SENATE’S ‘SKINNY’ PLAN TO END RECORD-BREAKING DHS SHUTDOWN

To wit about the week facing Capitol Hill:

House Republicans face a devil of a week. They must get on the same page as the Senate to pass a budget framework – to prospectively fund ICE and the Border Patrol. FISA, the nation’s controversial spy program expires early Friday morning. That’s to say nothing of trying to pass the farm bill.

If they don’t get all of this done, “Dean Wormer” (of Animal House fame) might just place House Republicans on “double secret probation” before the week is through.

So let’s examine what got House Republicans in this bind.

Let’s start at 3:36 a.m. last Thursday.

We begin there, because in the past several weeks, the most important moments in Congress have unfolded at 2:12 on a Friday morning, 2:16 on a Friday morning and now 3:36 on a Thursday morning.

3:36 a.m. is when the Senate approved a budget framework to possibly fund ICE and CBP. Republicans are running a special legislative gambit called “reconciliation” to bypass a filibuster. That’s because Democrats won’t help. They’ve never secured the reforms they need to support ICE. So Republicans are going it alone.

“We’re trying to use the reconciliation process to get money to secure the border,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Democrats have balked about funding ICE since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the winter.

“They want to give $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol without any reforms,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “(They’re) adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody – well, two groups, Border Patrol and ICE – that nobody respects in this country.”

That prompted an explosive response from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during an appearance on Fox.

“It makes my ears red. It takes a lot to get me upset. But Chuck Schumer, no one respects you. The definition of a lying scumbag politician. That is you,” said Mullin of his former Senate colleague.

ICE SHUTDOWN FIGHT MIGHT RESTRICT FEMA, COAST GUARD TO ‘LIFE-THREATENING’ EMERGENCIES

Perhaps this why the white-hot rhetoric on both sides may have contributed to the mayhem of Saturday night.

Mullin says emergency DHS money is about to expire. So pressure is intensifying on the House to align with the Senate with no changes to the outline adopted by the Senate.

“It has to be clean, because it’s got to be quick,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “The last paychecks go out at the end of this month.”

But remember, this is just the House lining up with the Senate on a blueprint to address the funding lapse at ICE and CBP. The assassination attempt at the White House dinner only amplified the need to fund DHS. And fast. However, Johnson refused to pick up a bill to fund everything else at DHS which the Senate passed twice. Then Johnson agreed to pass the bill after dissing it. But the House has never synced up.

Johnson says the Senate funding package – not the reconciliation framework – “has some problematic language” because it was “haphazardly drafted.”

And now Johnson is suggesting there may be yet another DHS funding bill in the works.

That may be inevitable, considering the chaos of the weekend.

REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN

Budget reconciliation takes a while.

“Reconciliation is still a little ways off,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “They’re running out of runway to fund a lot of those agencies.”

But here’s the other problem with reconciliation: Many conservatives insist on add-ons.

“We should be taking a broader approach to reconciliation,” said Rep. Chip Roy R-Texas.

Here’s what they’re mulling: Maybe money to cover the cost of the war in Iran. Perhaps a suspension of the federal gasoline tax. Additional tax cuts. You name it.

Many on the right demand the inclusion of the SAVE America Act. The bill requires proof of citizenship in order to vote.

“I think you’d see a lot more folks on our side jump on board with it if they had that,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., about the SAVE America Act.

However, even advocates of the SAVE America Act doubt the GOP can stuff that into a Senate bill which must be fiscal in nature. Many demand an additional, expansive reconciliation bill which is not limited to DHS.

“This is probably the only reconciliation we’re going to have before the break. That’s a poor excuse for the work we’re doing up here,” complained Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “One bill with that limited amount.”

“People probably intend to do a third reconciliation bill. But you’re not looking at Bambi’s baby brother here,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “This is the last train leaving the station.”

All aboard?

SENATE TAKES FIRST STEP TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL IN BID TO CUT DEMS OUT OF THE FUNDING PROCESS

For the moment, President Trump is still focused on the reconciliation outline.

“We need all Republicans to join together and support this Budget Blueprint, which will allow us to bypass Democrat obstruction in the Senate, and fund Immigration Enforcement with only Republican Votes. The Senate passed this Blueprint last week on Thursday morning, and now, House Republicans must UNIFY, and pass the same Blueprint to get the Bill done,” wrote the President on Truth Social.

The President added that he wants a “FAST and FOCUSED” bill by June 1.

That’s nearly five weeks from now.

Hence the challenge of the week.

“This is so difficult. Up here, we can’t agree with much,” fumed Nehls.

But here’s a little secret. Every week on Capitol Hill in recent memory has morphed into a political inferno. A failed exercise to fund the government which lingered since last summer. Fights over the Epstein files. Resignations amid dark political scandals. Efforts to expel other lawmakers. You name it.

“If you’re going through hell, keep going,” said Winston Churchill.

Which is maybe why Congress goes through the same hellish, legislative landscape nearly every week.

NEW YORK, N.Y. — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s education agenda might be the most concerning of his administration and would have a damaging impact, a local GOP leader told Fox News Digital, arguing that schools will be shifting away from merit-based achievement under Mamdani’s tenure.

Mamdani has proposed phasing out the city’s gifted and talented programs for younger students over inequity concerns, a move critics argue could limit academic opportunities for high performers from low-income families.

“That’s my biggest concern,” Forte told Fox News Digital. “The lack of merit and the lack of competitiveness…is going to lead to test scores declining and the quality of our education declining significantly.”

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Forte went on to caution that Mamdani and the people he appoints would “gut” the entire program.

“He’s going to gut the gifted and talented program. He said this already,” he said. “Who he’s put into the Department of Education here in New York, gonna gut the program.”

He said Mamdani would transform the system into one “based on race and racial quotas,” undermining academic fairness in schools.

“It’s not going to be about merit anymore,” he said. “It’s going be about what is somebody’s skin color? What is their race? They’re going to make this an equity-based system based on race and racial quotas, and a lottery system. That is no way to have education. That is no way to educate students.”

But he said this would backfire, with Mamdani’s plan ultimately harming students.

“What this is going to do is lower test scores across the board, it is going to lower expectations across the board, and students are going to suffer because of it.”

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Turning to the new curriculum, he said teachers will eventually lead students to “hate their history.” 

“We don’t know what he’s going to be implementing as curriculum,” he said. “We don’t know what he is going to do with American history. We don’t know what’s he’s gonna do with the history of New York.”

“Is that going to be standard operating procedure for all of New York schools? Is that what they’re going to be teaching? That they hate their history?” he added.

Shortly after taking office, Mamdani appointed Kamar Samuels, a longtime New York City educator and Manhattan superintendent, as the city’s next schools chancellor, which many critics took issue with given Samuels’ history of attempting to dismantle the gifted and talented program.

Teacher unions and their potentially increasing power under Mamdani are another issue Forte raised, saying they “will play a more active role.”

“The teachers’ union is the most, I don’t even want to call them progressive. They’re more than that,” he said. “The most socialist, militantly woke organization in the country. That doesn’t make sense. That’s not good.” 

He said American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten is going to be “a very powerful figure in Mamdani’s New York.”

“That is going to be what is educating the next generation of Americans and they’re not keeping their politics out of the classroom,” he added.

Forte also targeted teacher training programs. He said they are shaping how future educators will think and teach.

“We have to do something about the teacher colleges where they are teaching the next generation of educators how to be Marxist, how to be liberals…and how to indoctrinate the next generation of students.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office and the American Federation of Teachers for comment.

Mamdani found himself in hot water on education last week when he announced that his first veto as mayor was to derail a bipartisan bill aimed at combating antisemitism by expanding protest security safeguards for places of education.

California’s “First Partner,” Jennifer Siebel Newsom, ripped into President Donald Trump after his contentious “60 Minutes” interview with the female host, slamming the president for “speak[ing] to a woman journalist with that level of contempt.”

The interview included a contentious back-and-forth between Trump and Norah O’Donnell over her questions about the shooter from this past weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, with President Trump calling O’Donnell a “disgrace” and “disgraceful” amid the interview.

Trump’s comments came after O’Donnell was reading excerpts from the shooter’s alleged manifesto, which described the president as a “rapist,” “pedophile” and “traitor,” O’Donnell recounted during her talk with the president Sunday evening.

“My family and I watched the 60 Minutes interview with Donald Trump and Norah O’Donnell last night, and we were shocked. Seeing a president speak to a woman journalist with that level of contempt — and a clear allergy to facts — is disturbing, though at this point not unexpected given his pattern of behavior,” California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wife said in a scathing X post on Monday.

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“But that is the problem,” she continued. “Because when that level of disrespect from the highest office in the country repeats itself, it starts to trickle down into our culture and define what power looks like, shaping how boys and plenty of men see women and girls and what they come to accept as normal behavior.”

Fox News digital reached out to the White House and to representatives for Governor Newsom and his wife, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Trump’s “60 Minutes interview came Sunday evening after authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen, of Torrance, Calif. Authorities indicated Allen had prepared a manifesto outlining his intent, which included anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric on social media. O’Donnell, during the interview, read alleged portions of the document that alluded to concerns about Trump being a sexual abuser and a traitor, leading to a defensive reaction from Trump.

“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re horrible people,” Trump answered. “Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”

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“Do you think he was referring to you?” O’Donnell asked.

“I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with all…stuff that has nothing to do with me,” Trump continued. “I was totally exonerated. Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, ‘You know, I’ll do this interview and they’ll probably…’ I read the manifesto. You know, he’s a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things.”

O’Donnell interrupted to argue that she was quoting the alleged gunman’s words, but Trump continued to call her “disgraceful.”

“You shouldn’t be reading that on ’60 Minutes.’ You’re a disgrace. But go ahead. Let’s finish the interview,” Trump said.

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Trump’s “disgrace” comments garnered widespread attention online, including from Siebel Newsom, who said after the interview that the “culture of misogyny” exhibited by Trump “is on all of us, and it has to end.”

“Add in rhetoric rooted in political division, amplified by a digital ecosystem that rewards outrage and misinformation, and this cultural norm of hate, othering, and misogyny becomes pervasive,” Siebel Newsom continued. “Behavior that should be challenged gets normalized; what should raise concern is amplified and cheered on. It’s no wonder we have a culture that normalizes dominance and aggression toward women and girls, which not only silences them but also leads to internalized misogyny in others.”

However, conservatives rallied around Trump.

“What’s really disgusting about this clip is Norah O’Donnell’s fake innocent surprise: ‘oh you think he was referring to you?’ She knows perfectly well that every day some fellow Democrat like Ted Lieu calls Trump a pedophile and rapist,” said New York Post columnist Miranda Devine in response to pushback on Trump’s interview comments.

“Their white supremacy lies ran out of steam so this is the new hoax. Rich from a party that protects illegal alien child molesters.”

“Norah O’Donnell may have reached the low point in disgusting and inhumane demagoguery disguised as journalism,” added former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “The idea that you would take the vicious dishonest and disgusting words of a would be killer who had been blocked by the Secret Service but would otherwise have killed a lot of people and you would dignify them by putting them on the air and asking the President of the United States to comment is about as destructive as anything a major reporter has done in a long time.”

Gingrich said O’Donnell “should be fired for demeaning her entire profession and being the mouthpiece of a would-be killer.”