Author: NOVA Corp

Out of more than 36,000 votes cast in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, mayoral runoff contest, the candidates are shockingly separated by just two votes.

Christine Erickson, a former South Dakota state representative and former Sioux Falls city council member, is leading state Sen. Jamie Smith, who is also a former state House member, by that razor-thin two-vote margin.

The candidates have 18,280 and 18,278 votes respectively.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR KRISTI NOEM? 2026 SENATE CHATTER GROWS AFTER DHS EXIT

Smith, who plans to request a recount, said during a phone call with Fox News Digital on Thursday that “every vote does count,” noting, “This is exactly an election that shows you that.”

While the race was nonpartisan, Smith is listed as a Democrat on the South Dakota legislature’s website, while Erickson, who served in the state House over a decade ago, is listed as a Republican on the site.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR SURVIVES CROWDED PRIMARY — FOR NOW

“Thank you Sioux Falls! To my family, friends and supporters, I couldn’t have done this without you. This election exemplified that every single vote truly matters. To the people of Sioux Falls, even with a close margin, I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to lead Sioux Falls forward for the next four years,” Erickson said in a Wednesday statement.

“Even though the polls have closed, the fight continues. We know there will be a recount and I feel confident going into this next phase. My team and I are prepared to make sure the recount moves forward fairly with accuracy and transparency,” she continued.

TRUMP MAKES LATE-NIGHT ENDORSEMENTS IN SIX STATES AHEAD OF TUESDAY PRIMARIES, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA

“Congratulations also to Jamie for a hard fought campaign. Sioux Falls has a bright future, and we will come together to make sure our community thrives today and for generations to come. My promise is the same as it was on day one of this campaign: I will lead with common sense and make sure city government serves you, the people. I’m excited to get to work,” she concluded.

An Obama-appointed judge blocked President Donald Trump‘s effort to curb noncitizens from registering to vote or voting in federal elections.

“President Trump is committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of our elections. The President’s executive order lawfully protects our elections, and we are confident that we will ultimately prevail in its implementation,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital. 

The lawsuit centers on President Trump’s March executive order, Executive Order (EO) 14248, which directed the creation of a federal voter registration list and imposed new restrictions on eligibility for voting by mail as part of the administration’s broader effort to combat voter fraud.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani ruled Thursday that the president does not have the power to set election rules because only Congress and the states have that authority. Talwani has served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 2014, after then-President Barack Obama appointed her to the bench.

‘ROGUE’ OBAMA JUDGE’S SMACKDOWN OF TRUMP ELECTION RULES PROVOKES OMINOUS WARNING FROM WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY

The lawsuit also comes after Trump recently threatened to withhold support for the bipartisan 21st Century Housing Act in an effort to pressure Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.

“President Trump has also urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting to secure our elections for generations to come,” Jackson added.

Trump’s EO ordered a federal voting registration list and directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots only to individuals on said list.

TRUMP VOWS BLOCK ON SIGNING NEW LAWS UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES SENATE

Talwani’s ruling prevents the administration from enforcing those provisions ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The lawsuits were brought by a coalition of states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, joined by 22 other states and the District of Columbia as well as voting rights organizations.

The decision found that Trump exceeded his authority by trying to change election rules through executive action, writing that the Constitution gives that power to Congress and the states, not the White House.

The ruling follows a decision Tuesday that struck down parts of President Donald Trump’s March election integrity executive order titled, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.”

Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper found that the order went beyond enforcing existing law and instead attempted to create or change election rules on its own.

The decision blocks the administration from requiring documentary proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, changing voting rules for military and overseas voters, or withholding election funding from states that reject certain election rules, including counting ballots received after Election Day.

Trump abruptly canceled the signing of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on Wednesday and issued an ultimatum demanding passage of the SAVE Act.

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act includes Trump’s long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification requirements ahead of the midterm elections.

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report.

Following a socialist sweep in New York City’s Tuesday elections, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are dictating their terms and sending warnings to the Democratic Party not to cross them.

In a post-election call clipped by Manhattan Institute analyst Stu Smith, a DSA leader remarked that in addition to socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, “more than three million New Yorkers are now represented by socialists at multiple levels of government, and in some cases that is every level of government.”

To anyone looking to break the DSA’s hold on these areas, the leader warned, “Don’t even try it,” adding, “We control these areas.”

“We have a democratic socialist mandate in New York City,” he said.

ZOHRAN MAMDANI IN POSITION TO HELP SOCIALIST PARTY ‘SEIZE STATE POWER,’ DSA LEADER ADMITS

Meanwhile, Sanders, once one of the few openly socialist politicians on the national stage, declared that “working people” across New York “delivered a powerful message: the era of status quo politics is over.”

Sanders boasted in a post about “lessons” from Tuesday’s election that “when working people stand together, organize, and fight back, they can defeat establishment politicians and enormous amounts of money and political influence.”

“We’re making progress. The task before us now is to build on that momentum,” he continued, cautioning that “if Democrats regain control of Congress next year, they must listen to the people who put them in office.”

NYC MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI SAYS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ‘LOST ITS FOCUS ON WORKING PEOPLE’

At least a dozen candidates endorsed by New York City-DSA statewide were victorious on Tuesday night, signaling the embrace of Mamdani’s socialist policies and the reach of his influence in the party.

Tuesday’s primaries also cemented Mamdani’s status as a kingmaker in the Democratic Party. Most notably, Mamdani’s endorsed Democratic Socialist candidates Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez won their primary races in deep-blue congressional districts, with two of them ousting incumbent Democratic Reps. Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, all but securing their seats in the November general election.

All three candidates ran on platforms broadly aligned with Mamdani’s socialist economic agenda, anti-Israel posture and opposition to ICE, while facing candidates backed by the establishment wing of the party.

RISING SOCIALIST STARS ON TRACK TO CONGRESS: WHO ARE DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER, BRAD LANDER AND CLAIRE VALDEZ?

The victories sent a warning shot to Democratic leadership, with both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer representing New York.

Socialist supporters at Valdez’s election night party were seen shouting “you’re next” at a television screen showing Jeffries on Tuesday night.

Sanders, a close ally of Mamdani’s, praised the candidates for having “ran bold campaigns focused on the struggles facing working people.”

He also noted that these victories occurred “despite the fact that super PACs funded by AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee], the crypto industry, AI and other billionaire-backed groups have spent tens of millions of dollars trying to defeat progressive candidates and crush a movement that threatens their economic and political power.”

“Status quo establishment policies are not enough,” said Sanders. “We must be bold. We must take on Oligarchy. We must represent working families and create a government that works for all, not just the few.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Republican Michigan Senate candidate and former Rep. Mike Rogers said the Democratic Party’s recent embrace of socialist candidates is evidence that the party has moved “so far to the left” that everyday Americans are now starting to “wake up” and notice.

“Welcome to the modern Democratic Party,” Rogers told Fox News Digital. “This is not your dad’s Democratic Party. It’s not your grandmother’s Democratic Party. This thing has veered so far to the left, and Michigan is at the epicenter of that.”

Following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral primary victory, which shook the Democratic Party, three more socialist and progressive candidates emerged victorious in Democratic primaries.

Mamdani-backed Democratic Socialists of America members Darializa Avila Chevalier and state Rep. Claire Valdez, as well as progressive Brad Lander, prevailed in their Democratic primaries this week. The candidates have campaigned on platforms centered on abolishing ICE, universal healthcare, affordability and criticism of Israel.

WINNERS AND LOSERS EMERGE AFTER SOCIALIST EARTHQUAKE ROCKS NYC PRIMARIES

The winning candidates have raised renewed concerns about where the future of the Democratic Party is headed. Rogers said the Democratic Party has neglected working-class and middle-class Americans, leaving more people in Michigan questioning whether they should build their futures in the state or look for opportunities elsewhere.

“I think that the Democratic Party walked away from working and middle-class Americans a decade ago, and in Michigan, people are starting to wake up to this notion that we can’t continue to do this and expect our kids to stay,” he said.

Rogers said Michigan has its own worries about socialism and called the ideas from far-left figures in Michigan “a little bit terrifying.”

“Matter of fact, I think all three of the Democrats who are running for the nomination are out of step already, and it’s only gonna get worse,” he said. “This really will be about crazy versus common sense in the state of Michigan.”

Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has campaigned on many of the same policies as New York City’s winning candidates. The progressive has also faced criticism for opposing the current U.S. partnership with Israel over humanitarian concerns during the war in Gaza and for campaigning with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, who has called Hamas “the lesser of two evils” and said the U.S. “deserved 9/11.”

DEMOCRATIC U.S. SENATE HOPEFUL SAYS HER PARTY NIXING ROGAN INTERVIEW IS WHY PEOPLE ARE ‘TURNING AGAINST’ IT

However, Rogers said voters are rejecting the Democratic Party’s shift, pointing to Graham Platner’s Senate primary victory in Maine and accusing Michigan Democrats of “flirting” with socialism.

New York’s socialist sweep came just weeks after another closely watched race in Maine, where Graham Platner won the party’s nomination despite multiple controversies, including inflammatory Reddit posts, a Nazi-linked chest tattoo, reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women while married, and allegations from former girlfriends involving rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent behavior.

“But people see a guy in Maine, Nazi tattoo, communist in 2019 espousing,” Rogers said. “You see the candidates in our race who are flirting with all that Democrat socialism. That’s why our message is resonating, and that’s why we’re doing as well as we are on the ground.”

Rogers is running in Michigan’s Republican Senate primary, while El-Sayed will face fellow progressive state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the Democratic primary. Both primaries will be held on Aug. 4 to determine who will fill the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.

Rogers said Michigan Democrats are promoting “shared misery” and predicted “the rest of the country is going to be as confused as we are about who they are and what they want to do.”

“What these three Democrats are talking about, shared misery,” he said. “We’re gonna share our misery with everybody in the state. Not selling well, so we look forward to November and let them hash it out between now and then about who the Democrats are.”

LIZ PEEK: DEMOCRATS FACE A SOCIALIST RECKONING THEY ARE TOO SCARED TO STOP

Michigan depends on manufacturing jobs, Rogers said, arguing a socialist environment “doesn’t allow those jobs to grow” and instead “makes a lot less of them.” He said Sanders’ win in Michigan’s 2016 Democratic presidential primary is evidence that “there is a faction of Democrats that are willing to give up on the free-market idea of an American economy and aren’t really happy with America.”

But Rogers said voters he has spoken with no longer trust Democrats’ promises to lower costs, saying they are “ready for change” after years of Democratic control in the state and that “everything bad that’s happened to us has really happened in that time frame.”

Rogers also blamed Democratic leadership for weaker school rankings, slow wage growth, manufacturing job losses and higher utility bills, saying those issues can be “traced back to what Democrat policies did to us in the state.”

Highlighting his own campaign, Rogers said his “optimism” and focus on affordability, jobs and education is helping him beat his Democratic opponents in recent polls.

“Our positive, issue-centered campaign for Michigan is working, and that’s why in the last six polls or so we’ve been ahead of our Democrat opponents,” he said.

The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump two major immigration victories on Thursday morning, both having to do with his administration’s efforts to reduce asylum claims.

In the first case, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the court held that migrants who are turned away at the border before entering the United States are not entitled to apply for asylum. In the second case, Mullin v. Doe, the court ruled that Haitian and Syrian nationals in the United States with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) could not receive judicial relief postponing the revocation of their status while they challenge the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke it in court.

Together, the rulings mark a shift in the legal fight over who can seek protection in the United States, giving the Trump administration a new avenue to limit asylum claims at the border and more leeway to move forward with ending temporary protections for certain migrants already in the country. The rulings also remove key legal obstacles to the administration’s broader push to reduce border crossings and accelerate removals.

Writing the opinion in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, Justice Samuel Alito argued that a migrant who reaches the southern border but is turned away before entering has not, for legal purposes, “arrive[d] in” the United States. The holding is significant because current law provides that anyone who “arrives in the United States” has the right to apply for asylum.

SUPREME COURT DIVIDED ON TRUMP EFFORT TO TERMINATE TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS

“This case presents a straightforward question: whether an alien who seeks to enter the United States from Mexico ‘arrives in the United States’ when he or she is still in Mexico,” Alito wrote. “In the decision below, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit answered ‘yes.’ That is wrong. In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person ‘arrives in’ a place — for example, a house, a city, or a country — before the person enters that place.”

“We had to go all the way to SCOTUS to vindicate the principle that an alien is not ‘in the United States’ until he is, in fact, in the United States. We have yet AGAIN been vindicated by the Supreme Court. This decision opens up an important tool to continue securing our southern border,” Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival told Fox News Digital. 

Also writing the opinion in Mullin v. Doe, Alito held that the law establishing TPS explicitly blocks recipients from legal relief unless their claims have a constitutional basis. 

ALITO BLASTS LAWYER’S WORD-SALAD BLURRING ASYLUM LAW

“In these cases, we consider whether respondents, who challenge the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for aliens from Syria and Haiti, are entitled to orders postponing the terminations during litigation,” Alito wrote. “We hold that they are not.”

SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

“The TPS statute plainly bars consideration of respondents’ non-constitutional claims. It allows ‘no judicial review of any determination . . . with respect to the . . . termination’ of a TPS designation,” the justice continued.

“In our second Supreme Court win of the day, the Court vindicates DHS yet again. The T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense,” Percival continued. 

Both TPS and court rulings recognizing asylum-processing rights for migrants stopped just outside U.S. ports of entry had become flashpoints for conservatives, with immigration hawks arguing they facilitated abuse.

By making asylum applications more difficult and green-lighting the termination of Temporary Protected Status for some people already in the country, the Supreme Court’s decisions give the Trump administration an advantage in its effort to reduce asylum claims.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

U.S. Postmaster General David Steiner indicated to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gary Peters, D-Mich., during a Wednesday hearing that under a proposed rule, if a state declined to furnish the federal government with its absentee voter list, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) would not mail election ballots in that state.

Peters asked Steiner whether, under the proposal, the USPS would mail ballots from a state that “refuses” to provide the federal government with the state’s absentee voter list.

“Under our proposed regulation, no,” Steiner said.

DHS APPROVES PLAN TO VERIFY VOTER CITIZENSHIP, MONITOR MAIL BALLOTS AS TRUMP PUSH INTENSIFIES

“All that does, senator, is make sure that we match the ballots that a state believes they’re sending out to what actually gets sent out,” he said.

Part of the proposed rule, which pertains to federal election balloting, would create a process in which states “will notify the Postal Service of the individuals to whom they are mailing a mail-in or absentee ballot, along with the unique barcode applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelope for such individuals such that the name and barcode of the voter will be included on a Mail-In and Absentee Participation List,” according to the text of the proposal.

The states “may thereafter add to or modify the list of enrollees until the last day that ballots may be mailed out to individuals under state law,” the proposal notes, adding that “the Postal Service will provide to each state’s chief election official a final State-Specific Mail-In and Absentee Participation List for each state compiling the names of all enrolled individuals in such state, along with the barcodes associated with such individuals’ mail-in or absentee ballots.”

USPS REVEALS SHOCKING NUMBER OF DOG ATTACKS ON MAIL CARRIERS, ISSUES URGENT WARNING TO PET OWNERS

Peters said the “effort by this administration to nationalize elections and have the federal government having this information is incredibly dangerous precedent.”

“We need to protect the integrity of the voting rolls. We need to protect the separation of elections from federal government and ensure that our state and local governments are the one administering their own elections,” he declared.

POSTAL SERVICE CAN’T BE SUED FOR INTENTIONALLY NOT DELIVERING MAIL, SUPREME COURT RULES IN 5-4 SPLIT

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

With just over four months until November’s midterm elections, the House of Representatives is consumed by GOP infighting as President Donald Trump continues to push for the SAVE America Act.

A group of conservatives, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has vowed to effectively block all legislation on the House floor until the Senate passes the stalled Trump-backed elections bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is racing to unlock the House floor and is set to meet with Trump at the White House Thursday afternoon in an effort to break the impasse.

At stake is whether House Republicans can advance government funding bills, a long-shot third party-line reconciliation package incorporating defense spending and fraud prevention safeguards, and the annual defense policy bill, among other priorities, before the chamber leaves for the August recess.

‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’: TRUMP ALLIES FREEZE HOUSE FLOOR TO PRESSURE SENATE ON VOTER ID BILL

Thursday’s meeting comes after House Republican leadership was forced to cancel a series of votes Wednesday after the conservative bloc declined to end its blockade.

“We’re not giving up on it yet, but we’re having contingencies in place,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters.

Luna indicated she is not planning to relent anytime soon, despite having no apparent leverage to force the Senate to weaken the legislative filibuster or pass the SAVE America Act.

“The president’s been very clear,” Luna told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. “He’s not playing these games anymore, and I’m going to fully back him, and I have the votes to do it.”

“There’s going to be no votes this week,” Luna added. 

For months, Trump has stated that passing the SAVE America Act is at the top of his legislative agenda. But progress has not materialized as the legislation has failed to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

The House has yet to pass a version of the SAVE America Act that includes Trump-backed provisions that restrict mail-in voting, bar men from women’s sports and ban child sex change procedures. 

Signaling his frustration with the bill’s stalled progress, Trump on Wednesday canceled a signing ceremony for a bipartisan housing bill the White House endorsed. 

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP WEIGHS ‘NUKING’ FILIBUSTER TO PASS TRUMP’S SAVE ACT

Johnson, in a likely attempt to break the logjam, proposed incorporating a skinny version of the SAVE America Act into a third party-line package that House Republicans are currently negotiating. Johnson’s legislation would provide grant funding to states to encourage them to mandate federally verified REAL IDs when voting.

But Luna warned against passing a watered-down version of the elections bill. 

“I want to warn the American people that you cannot get SAVE America Act on reconciliation,” Luna said, referring to another GOP-only megabill. “It’s not possible to be done, so we’re not drinking the Kool-Aid on that. Unless the Senate decides to fire the parliamentarian, nothing will change.”

House GOP fiscal hawks have also warned their support for a third reconciliation bill is contingent on including “dollar-for-dollar and year-for-year spending cuts” to offset the package’s deficit impact.

The Senate left Washington late Wednesday to begin a two-week recess, meaning the standoff is not expected to resolve anytime soon.

No senators — including the SAVE America Act’s biggest proponents — objected to beginning the July 4 recess early. 

“I will not be voting to reopen the floor until the Senate gets back to Washington,” Luna wrote on social media.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the state of Hawaii, granting concealed carry holders a huge victory in the blue state in a 6-3 decision Thursday.

The Supreme Court sided with the plaintiff in Wolford v. Lopez, who contested Hawaii’s state law requiring a property owner’s explicit permission to allow lawful gun owners to bring firearms into public businesses.

“Hawaii’s law at issue here violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote. “This regime hobbles what the Second Amendment protects: the right of Americans to carry arms for self-defense as they go about their daily lives.”

The ruling reverses a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which had upheld Hawaii’s restrictions after the state enacted them in response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision.

After Bruen struck down New York’s “proper cause” licensing requirement and held that Americans have a constitutional right to carry handguns outside the home for self-defense, Hawaii overhauled its firearms laws.

Among the new provisions was a requirement that concealed-carry permit holders could not bring firearms onto another person’s private property, including businesses open to the public, unless the owner provided express authorization through signage or verbal or written permission. Among Second Amendment rights advocacy circles, the law became known as the “vampire rule.”

Alito wrote the law could subject lawful concealed-carry permit holders to criminal liability for doing routine things like stopping at a gas station, grocery store or pharmacy while carrying a firearm.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

FIRST ON FOX: Vandals have targeted the National Mall with multiple separate “8647” markings, a blood-written message on the Washington Monument and damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, prompting federal officials to warn of a growing trend. 

“Unfortunately, this summer has seen a significant increase in vandalism to the National Mall – for example, several 8647 markings, a person writing words in their own blood on the Washington Monument and the cutting of fuel lines around the Great American State Fair,” Interior Department communication director Katie Martin told Fox News Digital. 

The pattern emerged after President Donald Trump ordered a restoration and repainting of the reflecting pool, which was met with protestors leaving multiple “razor-blade cuts” and removing fencing to then toss in water.

Fox News Digital learned that the first known incident targeting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool occurred June 9. Interior Department officials said they initially did not publicize the incident to avoid inspiring copycats, but a vandalism trend emerged nonetheless.

WHO IS DAVID HEARN? US OLYMPIAN WHO DENIES VANDALIZING REFLECTING POOL AFTER VIRAL ARREST

“At the time of the June 9 incident, the vandalism was under investigation and believed to be isolated. So as not to encourage deranged individuals, we did not announce what we hoped to be an isolated incident,” Interior Department communication director Katie Martin told Fox News Digital about the initial vandalism on the Reflecting Pool.

“It wasn’t until several days thereafter that there were recurring cases and videos of people ripping at the coating began to circulate,” she added. “We then knew this was not an isolated incident, but a new trend to attempt to damage the Reflecting Pool.”

Among the incidents cited by DOI unfolding on the National Mall were multiple “8647” markings. In a separate case, an individual used their own blood to write “I’ve come” on the Washington Monument, according to a police report reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

The administration has previously interpreted the number “86” as a political threat, pointing to its common use in the restaurant industry to mean removing or refusing service, while 47 appears to refer to Trump as the 47th president.

WATCH: TRUMP REVEALS FLASHY NEW COLOR FOR NATIONAL MALL’S REFLECTING POOL MAKEOVER

Earlier this month, a giant “8647” message appeared to be etched into the grass of the National Mall, prompting an investigation as federal authorities remain on heightened alert over political threats and violence. 

The Reflecting Pool was vandalized on the very day it reopened after restoration and repainting, with the first perpetrator leaving “razor-blade-like slashes along the liner in the southern middle section of the pool,” according to a police report reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The damages totaled over 300 feet with “some cuts [that] were slits while other sections measuring roughly 6–15 inches had been cut out entirely.”

TRUMP WORKING TO CLEAN ‘FILTHY’ LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL, BLAMES BIDEN FOR MAINTENANCE DELAYS

The same day, it was also reported that pieces of the surrounding metal fence were removed and thrown into the pool along with a broken black chain near the fence, said the same report.

U.S. Park Police posted a bulletin on X asking for public assistance in searching for a Reflecting Pool vandal along with a photo of the suspect.

“The United States Park Police is seeking assistance in identifying the individual depicted here in connection with a Destruction of Government Property investigation. The incident occurred on June 19, 2026, at approximately 3:36 p.m. at the Reflecting Pool on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC,” said the post.

“Anyone with information regarding the identity of this individual is asked to contact the United States Park Police Tip Line: USPP_TIPline@nps.gov or (202) 379-4877,” it read.

Trump posted a photo of the pool on Truth Social Wednesday after the pool redone prior to it being filled with water.

“This is the hard rubber surface — No Paint — Before the Vandals cut and pulled it apart,” he wrote.

An administration official previously told Fox News Digital that five people have been arrested on vandalism charges for the pool, while federal citations were issued to five additional individuals. There also have been 14 police reports filed for vandalism against the pool.

Among those charged was former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was cited Saturday for misdemeanor destruction of government property. Authorities allege he reached into the water and grabbed a hose being used by a National Park Service worker.

TRUMP TAKES MOTORCADE INTO REFLECTING POOL, BLASTS PAST ‘$38M DISASTER’ FIX UNDER OBAMA

The administration had planned to fence off the Reflecting Pool ahead of the Fourth of July, when the area will serve as a fireworks launch site. Following the vandalism, officials moved up the installation by a week.

“The Reflecting Pool was always set to be fenced off ahead of the 4th of July. As in years prior, one of the launch pads for the fireworks is around the pool so fencing is put up to ensure public safety,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers. “With the increase in vandalism by leftist activists, the fencing is going up earlier than originally planned to ensure no more damage is done to this historic site.

“While the President was restoring a crown jewel of our nation’s capital, which is supported by Americans across the country, vandals were attempting to destroy, impede and delay the ongoing work,” she added.

CALIFORNIA BEACH ‘RESIST!’ PROTEST PUSHES ‘KINDNESS’ WHILE CALLING TO ‘86 47’ IN ANTI-TRUMP MESSAGE

Trump has publicly blasted the vandalism, first raising the issue on Truth Social Friday. 

“Somebody went in with the knife and cut it. They cut it up good and then they cut at 200, 350 [feet], in the form of lots of little slits. We know horrible stuff,” Trump said Tuesday while speaking with reporters.

Vandals “destroyed the grass. We put a brand-new big load of grass out there. They destroyed it. So it’s all been fixed. But it’s a shame,” he added speaking of an “8647” message.

Protesters have gathered at the National Mall each day over Trump’s restoration with signs that read “Team Algae” referencing the water.

NEW YORK CITY — Florida Republican House candidate Scott Singer, the former mayor of Boca Raton, is outlining the reasons he believes people and businesses will continue to flee New York City after socialists had a dominant night in Tuesday’s primary. 

“It should be concerning for all Americans because you had the Democratic Party continuing to be co-opted by a fringe socialist base, which is now not the fringe,” Singer, running for Congress in Florida’s 25th Congressional District, told Fox News Digital. 

“When you have two Democratic members of the House taken out by candidates who say things like they want to abolish ICE, abolish all prisons, and end private healthcare, it shows that the Democratic Party in New York and increasingly in America is not only not our parents’ Democratic Party, it’s not the Democratic Party of just a year ago. And this radical influence is going to continue to send shock waves that I hope will wake people up to understand where we are as a nation and where that party is.”

Three Democrats running for Congress endorsed by New York City’s socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani, two of whom were also endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), defeated their establishment opposition and signaled that Mamdani’s political power remains strong in the city.

FAR-LEFT SURGE: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST DEM ESTABLISHMENT INCUMBENTS

A common theme for all three Democrats who won their primaries was hostility toward Israel, which often surfaced in the race between Mamdani-backed Brad Lander and Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman, a race that Lander won easily. 

“I think antisemitism is raging in the Democratic Party, it’s alarmingly raging in New York City,” Singer explained.

“Congressman Goldman’s office was vandalized three days ago. You had him shut out of a restaurant because of the fact that he was Jewish, and he’s a congressman. If this is happening on everyday streets in New York, it’s bearing more and more similarities to Germany in the 1930s. God help us if we get there, but we have to understand what people want to do and what’s winning in the Democratic Party right now.”

‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’: JEWISH LEADERS WARN OF NYC ‘MASS EXODUS’ IF ZOHRAN MAMDANI WINS IN NOVEMBER

Most political experts have concluded that Tuesday night was a sign the “moderate” wing of the Democratic Party is on its heels dealing with the momentum from the party’s socialist wing led by progressive activists.

“The far left is trouncing what used to be the moderates in the Democratic Party and the Democratic moderates are now becoming Republicans,” Singer said. “And I think anyone who’s still looking at what this Democratic Party used to be even a few months ago has to understand where it’s going. Democratic members of Congress don’t often lose primaries and two get trounced by far-left radicals who want to end prisons, end ICE, and end private healthcare.”

SOCIALIST SURGE: MAMDANI FLEXES GROWING POLITICAL MUSCLE AS HE TAKES ON DEM ESTABLISHMENT

Singer continued, “Everyone needs to take note because when we’re running in November, we have a real choice between people who value our American system, our free markets, opportunities for all and law and order, and those who want to end prisons.”

Singer has previously spoken out about how many business leaders have contacted him about leaving New York and coming to Florida due to high taxes and socialist policies. He told Fox News Digital on Tuesday he only expects that to continue after Tuesday night’s results.

“We’re going to continue to see people flee New York and last night’s election should give a lot of people pause because if these Democratic socialists continue to win, not only in New York, but throughout America, we’re not going to recognize the country,” Singer said, adding that one of the reasons he is running for Congress is his worry about “radicals influencing our state” when they move to Florida from other places like New York.