Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Tuesday accused Justice Clarence Thomas of echoing “one of Dred Scott’s core tenets” by opposing the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold birthright citizenship. 

In Jackson’s concurrence with the majority’s opinion in Trump v. Barbara, she argued that the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause was historically intended to apply to all people born in the United States, including children of illegal immigrants, contrary to Thomas’s position that the amendment was ratified specifically to provide slaves freed after the Civil War with citizenship.

“Freed Blacks fought for the shared humanity of all people. And the Great Emancipator eventually foresaw that the only path forward that could prevent a return — in any form — to slavery and race-based subordination was to link the fates of all,” Jackson wrote. “Of course, the ultimate irony is that for all the talk about the detestable Dred Scott decision, the Government and [Thomas] propose a return to its core tenet. Their bottom line is that, for certain people, being born on American soil will not suffice to confer citizenship.”

By invoking “Dred Scott,” Jackson is referencing an 1857 Supreme Court decision in which the majority held that people of African descent “are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States.”

CHINA EXPLOITING ‘BIRTH TOURISM’ TO GAIN LONG-TERM POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN US, AUTHOR WARNS

According to Thomas, however, Jackson’s universalist characterization of the historical context surrounding the 14th Amendment was unfounded.

“After the Civil War, the Reconstruction Congress overruled Dred Scott, first with the Civil Rights Act of 1866, then with the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Thomas wrote. “Both the Civil Rights Act and the Citizenship Clause guaranteed citizenship to persons born and domiciled in the United States regardless of their race. Neither guaranteed citizenship to persons who were not domiciled in the United States.”

LAWYER WHO BEAT HAWAII GUN LAW CALLS STATE’S RELIANCE ON BLACK CODE ‘DISGRACEFUL’

Thomas went on to describe the distinction he believes is drawn between Black Americans and foreigners residing in the country.

“Blacks were entitled to citizenship because they were Americans. They had no other homeland, owed no allegiance to any foreign power, and were subject to no other authority,” the justice went on. “The same could not be said for the children of foreign temporary visitors. Foreign temporary visitors were attached to their home country, lacked similar bonds to this country, and would not be called upon in time of war.”

SUPREME COURT’S SHOWDOWN ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP DECISION COULD RESHAPE AMERICA

Thomas argued that citizenship under the 14th Amendment requires birth in the United States as well as “domicile,” a legal concept he defines as both one’s physical home and one’s permanent allegiance to the country. Children of foreign temporary visitors, per Thomas, do not qualify because, although subject to U.S. laws while here, they remain tied to another sovereign and are not fully “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States in the constitutional sense.

Jackson fired back at this line of reasoning, calling it “myopic.”

“Despite his longstanding endorsement of a ‘colorblind’ Constitution, Justice Thomas now surprisingly suggests that the Citizenship Clause was a race-conscious remedial measure, relating only to ‘freed slaves such as Dred Scott,’” she wrote. “It is for this reason, he says, that ‘children who were born in the United States but [to parents] not domiciled here’ are not entitled to claim birthright citizenship. But that narrow vision of the Fourteenth Amendment bears little relationship to the history of its ratification. Even worse, Justice Thomas’s telling elides the entire point of the Second Founding.”

“The Reconstruction Amendments were an anticaste, antisubordination reset for the Nation, not a mere spot treatment for the dark stain of slavery,” Jackson asserted.

The Air Force revealed Monday that its flagship B-2 Spirit stealth bomber can now strike enemy warships with the long range anti-ship missile (LRASM), publicly unveiling the capability after a live-fire exercise in the Western Pacific.

The stealth bomber launched a long-range anti-ship missile during Exercise Valiant Shield 26, a U.S.-led multinational exercise involving American and allied forces across the Western Pacific, in a sinking exercise north of the Mariana Islands.

The announcement comes as the Pentagon increasingly focuses on preparing for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific, where China’s rapidly expanding navy would present one of the U.S. military’s biggest challenges. Publicly demonstrating the B-2’s new maritime strike capability also serves as a signal that the stealth bomber could play a key role in holding high-value naval targets at risk.

“The B-2’s impressive performance underscores the U.S. military’s commitment to adaptability and flexibility in the face of emerging security challenges,” Gen. Kevin B. Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces, said in a statement.

TRUMP PLAN FOR FOREIGN SHIPBUILDERS COULD CREATE 540,000 JOBS AND EXPAND US FLEET

“By prioritizing counter-maritime strike operations, we can maintain a decisive edge over adversaries, protect our national interests and ensure the free and open Pacific that underpin our global security.”

Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for details, but confirmed to The War Zone that the B-2 fired the anti-ship missile at a decommissioned amphibious warfare ship known as the USS Juneau during the exercise.

U.S. and partner-nation forces battered the decommissioned warship, which entered service in 1969, with coordinated air, surface and subsurface strikes June 27 and June 28, sending it to the bottom of the Philippine Sea more than 200 nautical miles off the coast of Guam, according to a Navy release. A Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine delivered the final blow with a torpedo.

TIM SHEEHY EXPOSES A ‘SCARY’ SHIPBUILDING COLLAPSE THAT LEAVES THE US VULNERABLE TO CHINA

China continues to expand the world’s largest navy and fields an array of long-range anti-ship missiles aimed at keeping U.S. forces at bay in the Western Pacific. The People’s Liberation Army Navy will grow from more than 370 battle force ships to roughly 435 by 2030, according to Pentagon projections. U.S. Navy currently operates about 291 battle force ships.

But Beijing has yet to field its long-awaited H-20 stealth bomber, leaving the U.S. with an operational capability China has not yet publicly demonstrated: pairing a stealth bomber with a long-range anti-ship cruise missile capable of striking high-value naval targets in heavily defended airspace.

While long range anti-ship missile already is carried by the Air Force’s B-1B Lancer and the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, integrating the missile onto the B-2 gives the Air Force a stealth platform capable of carrying the weapon.

The B-2 Spirit is the Air Force’s only operational stealth bomber, designed to penetrate sophisticated enemy air defenses while carrying both conventional and nuclear weapons. Most recently, B-2s flew from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to strike Iranian nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer, dropping 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs in the weapon’s first combat use.

The demonstration could also foreshadow future missions for the B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber, which eventually will replace the B-2. While the Air Force has not disclosed which anti-ship weapons the B-21 will carry, officials say it is being designed to employ a broad mix of stand-off and direct-attack conventional munitions. 

EUROPE’S $116B FIGHTER JET ‘FAILURE’ RAISES FRESH DOUBTS ABOUT ABILITY TO DEFEND ITSELF WITHOUT US

The B-21 is expected to begin entering operational service in 2027.

It’s been nearly four decades since a Democrat won a U.S. Senate election in reliably red Texas.

But a new poll suggests that Democrats have a good shot this year of breaking their long losing streak.

Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico and Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the longtime state attorney general, are tied at 47% support among likely voters in Texas, according to a New York Times/Siena survey released on Tuesday.

Paxton, who defeated longtime GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in last month’s Republican nomination runoff election just days after landing the backing of President Donald Trump, is facing off against Talarico, a state representative considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, in a midterm race that is among a handful that will likely determine if the Republicans hold their slim Senate majority.

MAGA TRIUMPH: PAXTON TOPS CORNYN IN BATTLE FOR GOP SENATE NOMINATION

The poll points to some troubling signs for Paxton, who has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, but he was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state Senate. And Paxton is dealing with a messy divorce, with his wife Angela, a state senator, citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries” in filing last year to end their marriage.

According to the poll, fewer than four in 10 respondents said Paxton has good character or the right kind of moral values. And half said Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and one of the leaders of the legal effort to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss, is too extreme.

Also problematic for Paxton is that his support, at 47%, is below the 50% of respondents who said they preferred Republicans to control the Senate next year.

The poll also shows Talarico winning the support of 61% of Hispanic — voters less than two years after Trump carried the Hispanic vote in Texas in the last presidential election — and leading the 63-year-old Paxton by 27 points among independents.

THE TEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE’S MAJORITY

And the survey spotlights a massive gender gap, with Talarico winning female votes by 18 points and Paxton ahead among male voters by the same margin.

Talarico, a 37-year-old former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who topped progressive firebrand and vocal Trump critic Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the March Democratic Senate primary, has emerged as the top Democratic fundraiser in Senate races, hauling in a massive $27 million in the first three months of this year.

But Republicans have repeatedly targeted Talarico, spotlighting his past controversial comments, including suggesting that “God is nonbinary” or that there are six biological sexes.

TRUMP ROASTS DEM CANDIDATE AS UNELECTABLE FOR CARDINAL SIN IN TEXAS

In his victory speech last month, Paxton mocked the Democratic nominee as “tofu Talarico,” “six-gender Jimmy,” “James Talafreako” and “low-T Talarico.” 

And he said in a Fox News Digital interview after winning the nomination: “James Talarico doesn’t belong in Texas. We cannot let him be the center of the state of Texas. He fits in California. He does not fit here.”

The poll suggests the Democratic Party brand may impede Talarico, with a majority of respondents seeing Democrats as too far to the left.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

And following a divisive primary with Crockett, who is Black, the poll indicates that 12% of Black voters have a negative opinion of Talarico, who is White.

But likely helping Talarico is the economy.

Sixty percent of those questioned gave a thumbs down to how Trump was handling cost-of-living issues, which will do Paxton no favors.

It’s no surprise: Talarico is highlighting economic concerns over soaring prices, saying in a new ad as he walks out of a grocery store that “too many Texans feel like they’re drowning.”

Senate Republicans are taking closed-door conversations online to snipe at one another over stalled voter ID and citizenship verification legislation. 

President Donald Trump wants Republicans to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, but the political reality in the Senate, albeit through extreme measures that don’t have unified support among the Senate GOP, makes passage unlikely. 

Still, that has not stopped Trump, supporters online, and key proponents of the legislation in the Senate from pushing the message that the SAVE America Act can pass, but only if Republicans have the guts to do it.

That avenue would be through the “talking filibuster,” which proponents say would grind down Democrats’ resistance and ultimately lead to the SAVE America Act passing at a simple majority threshold.

‘IT’S A MESS’: GOP TURNS ON HOUSE CONSERVATIVES AS VOTER ID BLOCKADE STALLS TRUMP’S AGENDA

Opponents warn that doing so would dominate the Senate’s most valuable commodity — floor time — and allow Democrats to control the tempo of the upper chamber. And, there’s fear that Republicans wouldn’t stay unified to kill Democratic amendments on a variety of issues. 

Those dueling positions have caused clashes typically kept behind closed doors in the Senate to manifest on social media, notably between Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and John Cornyn, R-Texas. 

“There is not [a] single instance in the history of the United States Senate where a ‘talking filibuster’ has resulted in a favorable outcome for the proponent,” Cornyn said on X while sharing a memo that included numerous “issues” with launching a talking filibuster.

Among those were the arguments that it would make campaigning more difficult because of attendance requirements, that it would allow Democrats to force unlimited votes on politically tough amendments on “issues that divide” Republicans, and that Democrats could drag out the process so long that the SAVE America Act might not be implemented before the election. Lee shot back that Cornyn’s memo “perfectly illustrates why the talking filibuster is necessary — not why we should avoid it like the plague or pretend it doesn’t exist.”

SEN LEE DARES DEMOCRATS TO REVIVE TALKING FILIBUSTER OVER SAVE ACT, SLAMMING CRITICISM AS ‘PARANOID FANTASY’

“The procedural hurdles you list (including the two-speech rule, quorum, calendar drag, and opportunity costs) are real,” Lee said. “But they’re also manageable—and in many instances can even be used to strengthen our negotiating position—if Republicans actually use the rules instead of surrendering to them.”

“The alternative — walking away from the SAVE America Act — has far higher costs: another election without proof of citizenship, more erosion of public confidence, and Democrats continuing to weaponize the same procedures against us,” he continued. 

Cornyn’s response: “fantasy.”

Meanwhile, the House is facing its own SAVE America Act dispute, which has threatened to blow up the perennial, must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., demanded that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., include the legislation in the colossal NDAA package. 

He relented, but it will be the same version of the voter ID bill that the House already passed and that the Senate has been unable to move. And during negotiations over the NDAA in the coming weeks and months, the Senate can easily strip the measure out to ensure that the Pentagon authorization bill passes. 

The House will take its first step on that plan Tuesday afternoon. 

Most Senate Republicans support the original SAVE America Act, which includes voter ID, citizenship verification to register to vote, giving the Department of Homeland Security access to voter rolls, and other policies. 

But Trump wants his version of the SAVE America Act, which tacks on tight restrictions on mail-in ballots, halts biological men from participating in women’s sports and bans transgender surgeries on minors, which does not have 50 votes of support among the Senate GOP. 

TRUMP HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL FOR PIVOTAL MEETING AS SENATE GOP DIVISIONS DEEPEN

That version of the bill has also not passed through the House.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday to allow mail-in ballots that arrive late to still be counted has again stoked Trump’s interest in the legislation and directed his ire toward the Senate.

“In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “There can be no more excuses!” 

Notably, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has never voted against the SAVE America Act in its many different variations in the Senate, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, supports the original version of the bill that passed the House.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., delivered an emotional speech Tuesday revealing for the first time the medical condition that kept him away from the House and campaign stops for nearly four months. 

Kean said he was given a diagnosis of depression after entering the hospital for “some testing.” He said the illness took him months to heal from and left him under doctors’ care during a prolonged stay in the hospital. 

“I’m grateful that I accepted help, because today I stand before you stronger, healthier and excited to return to the work that I love,” Kean said on the House floor.

Tuesday’s speech came after Kean, 57, returned to Washington this week after being absent since early March. A spokesperson for the New Jersey Republican said earlier this month that Kean would return for the June 30 session. 

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN WILL END MONTHS-LONG ABSENCE FROM DC AFTER MISSING 135 ROLL CALL VOTES

During his recovery, he missed 140 roll call votes, amounting to a 100% absence rate, according to the website GovTrack.

Throughout his absence, Kean’s office suggested he would return to work shortly but pushed back the timeline on several occasions. In his speech, Kean said the reason was that he didn’t understand how long it would take him to fully recover.

“When I said I hoped to return in a matter of weeks, I believed it,” Kean said. “Those were the best estimates that the doctors could provide. But as the over 48 million of my fellow Americans being treated for this illness have come to discover, there is no timeline for healing.”

The two-term lawmaker kept the nature of his condition private while recovering, but promised transparency upon his return. His silence appeared to extend to House Republican leadership, who said they were in the dark about Kean’s ailment when questioned by reporters on several occasions.

His return will pad Republicans’ razor-thin majority as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., aims to clear a must-pass defense bill through the House chamber this week.

Johnson said Tuesday that he expected Kean to receive a lot of empathy for his condition upon its reveal, adding that he had encouraged the New Jersey lawmaker to be transparent during his absence.

“It’s not an uncommon kind of condition and ailment that he’s been fighting, and I think people resonate with that,” the speaker said.

Kean previously told The New Jersey Globe that the medical issue did not impact his cognitive ability and that he was not dealing with any chronic problems that could affect his decision to seek a third House term.

Even while away from the Capitol, Kean’s office continued to post on social media, draft legislation and introduce his remarks into the congressional record.

MISSING GOP CONGRESSMAN REVEALS HE’S ‘MORE ENERGIZED THAN EVER’ TO RETURN TO WASHINGTON

Kean’s return to work comes as he is facing a serious re-election threat from former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, a Democrat running with establishment support. 

Bennett is expected to emphasize her national security credentials — a similar playbook that Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., deployed during her rise to the governorship. 

The suburban swing seat is one of the most competitive House districts in the country and Democrats are expected to aggressively seek Kean’s defeat.

The GOP incumbent is endorsed by President Donald Trump and did not face a challenger during the May primary.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Kean’s re-election bid as a “toss-up.”

An embattled Democrat Senator from Arizona is facing a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation after allegedly using campaign donations to fund lavish vacations with his family.

A source familiar with the investigation confirmed to Fox News Digital that Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is subject to the probe for potential violations of campaign finance laws.

A week ago, Politico reported that Gallego used campaign money on family trips to Miami, Saint Barthélemy, Disneyland, Disney World and Chicago. He also used funds to attend the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona, but the senator insisted that the tickets were a legitimate campaign fundraising expense.

The report last week also said that the senator, who was just cleared Monday by the Senate Ethics Committee after a complaint about the alleged campaign finance violations and suspected sexual misconduct, also used $18,000 in funds from his leadership PAC to reimburse himself for childcare costs.

SWALWELL FRIEND GALLEGO DEFENDS CAMPAIGN-FUNDED SUPER BOWL, MIAMI TRIPS: ‘GO WHERE THE MONEY IS’

Gallego brushed off the allegations in the Politico story.

“This is not breaking news,” he reportedly told the outlet. “With the rising costs of child care and the burden it has on the budgets of American families, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC.”

Monday afternoon, after the ethics complaints were dismissed, Gallego said they were merely “right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists,” according to NPR.

DOJ OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO ERIC SWALWELL OVER SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

Less than a day after he was cleared by Congress, the DOJ investigation was revealed.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gallego’s office for comment.

Gallego was close friends with disgraced former Democratic lawmaker Eric Swalwell of California, who was forced to resign from Congress following a wave of sexual misconduct allegations against him, including claims of rape and sexual assault. 

Swalwell admitted to making “mistakes,” but denied the allegations of criminal behavior.

The former congressman, who was running for governor of California at the time of his undoing, attended the 2023 Super Bowl with Gallego.

One Supreme Court justice accepted more than $4,300 in concert tickets from Bad Bunny’s record label during a private trip to Puerto Rico last year, while several other justices collected millions in book deals and other outside income, according to financial disclosures.

The annual reports released on Monday cover activity in 2025 for eight of the nine justices. Justice Samuel Alito received a 90-day extension to file his disclosure.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor reported receiving concert tickets valued at $4,333 from Puerto Rican record label Rimas Entertainment, stating the company “provided tickets for a concert for me and guests while I was on a private trip to Puerto Rico in August 2025.”

Sotomayor’s disclosure did not identify which concert she attended. Rimas Entertainment represents several artists, including global music star Bad Bunny, who was holding a residency with more than 30 shows in San Juan during that period.

ALITO BLASTS LATEST SCOTUS BALLOT RULING AS INVITATION TO ‘VOTER FRAUD’ RISKS

The disclosures also showed four justices earned more than $2 million combined in book payments during the year.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reported receiving a $1.18 million book advance from Penguin Random House for her memoir, “Lovely One,” published in 2024. The payment came after she disclosed nearly $2.07 million in book advance income from the same publisher the previous year.

Jackson also reported receiving a painting valued at $2,500 from Chicago artists Paul Branton and Kristen Williams. The portrait, titled “Worthy,” is displayed in her Supreme Court chambers.

Sotomayor disclosed $88,100 in royalties from Penguin for her children’s books, “Turning Pages” and “Just Ask!” Her filing noted those figures reflected earnings after her literary agent’s commission and that the publisher spent $7,473 to support sales of her book “Just Shine!”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett reported earning $849,071 in royalties tied to her 2025 book, “Listening to the Law.”

FEDERAL JUDGE WHO HAD SEX IN CHAMBERS APOLOGIZES TO FORMER CLERK AS IMPEACHMENT PUSH RAMPS UP

Justice Neil Gorsuch disclosed $300,361 in book royalties, primarily from HarperCollins, which recently published the children’s book he co-authored, “Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration of Independence.”

Several justices also reported income from teaching positions.

Barrett and Justice Brett Kavanaugh each earned $33,285 for teaching at the University of Notre Dame Law School, where both serve as adjunct professors.

Chief Justice John Roberts reported receiving $25,000 from New England Law after teaching a two-week course in Galway, Ireland. Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed $18,000 in teaching income from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, while Gorsuch reported $30,380 for teaching at George Mason University.

The financial disclosure reports have come under increasing public scrutiny in recent years after revelations that some justices failed to disclose luxury travel and certain real estate transactions, prompting calls from lawmakers and ethics advocates for greater transparency and stricter oversight of the Supreme Court.

FIRST ON FOX: A cohort of Senate Republicans are launching an anti-fraud task force to mirror the efforts of the Trump administration in its multibillion-dollar fraud crusade.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is leading the group of nine Senate Republicans in their formation of the Anti-Fraud Task Force, a group that will examine fraud, waste and abuse across federal programs, identify vulnerabilities in those programs and ensure that the buck stops where the flow of funding begins: Congress.

“The fraud epidemic burdening our country is one of the most pressing issues facing Americans today,” Schmitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It’s organized theft on a national scale, and the Americans paying the price are the ones swinging the hammer and driving the trucking, working their tails off to make ends meet.”

TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET

“Our Task Force will go after the fraud rings and bad actors exploiting our systems and robbing Americans,” he continued. “Following President Trump’s lead, we’re declaring war on fraud.”

Schmitt has recruited Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Ashley Moody, R-Fla., Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

SENATE REPUBLICAN PUSHES OVERHAUL TO CUT RED TAPE AND SPEED UP AMERICAN ENERGY PROJECTS

Johnson contended that depending on the database you accessed — like the Government Accountability Office or LexisNexis — the amount of federal government fraud fluctuated between $250 billion and $1 trillion per year.

“It’s nearly impossible to recover those funds through prosecutions, so we must focus on preventing the money from getting to the fraudsters in the first place,” Johnson said.

Schmitt’s task force is meant to align with the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts led by Vice President JD Vance, whom President Donald Trump tapped to be his anti-fraud czar, that were launched earlier this year.

SENATE REPUBLICAN EXPANDS CHILDCARE FRAUD CRACKDOWN TO MORE BLUE STATES

Vance’s operation hit the ground running in April and identified nearly $6.3 billion in government contracts believed to be tied to potentially fraudulent businesses. Those findings showed nearly 400 businesses would be required to prove they had legitimate operations and physical addresses.

In May, the task force withheld $1.4 billion in federal funding from home health and hospice providers nationwide.

Schmitt’s effort isn’t the only one in the Senate, either. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has been ramping up anti-fraud efforts since the beginning of the year in the wake of the Minnesota fraud scandal.

Cassidy launched an anti-fraud task force cracking down on abuses in Minnesota that has since expanded to other blue states, including New York, Michigan and Oregon.

The Supreme Court struck down a longstanding federal campaign spending limit, ruling that political parties can now spend unlimited amounts in coordination with their federal candidates, as long as they otherwise comply with campaign finance laws.

The 6-3 vote in the case National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission saw all the conservative justices in the majority, ruling against the restriction in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA).

“In short, constitutional text, history, and precedent establish that the political-party coordinated-expenditure limits violate the First Amendment,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion. “Importantly, by holding FECA’s political-party coordinated-expenditure restrictions unconstitutional, the Court’s decision today treats all political parties equally.”

Then-Senator J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, was among those who brought the original lawsuit to remove the spending limits in 2022, along with the Republican senatorial and congressional committees.

TRUMP SUFFERS MAJOR SUPREME COURT DEFEAT AS JUSTICES UPHOLD BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Democrats had called on the court to uphold the law, even though there is wide agreement that the spending limits have hurt political parties in an era of unlimited spending by other organizations.

Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented. Kagan wrote in her dissenting opinion that “today, the Court rewrites the rules, to allow circumvention of the contribution limits.”

“The majority invalidates Congress’s restriction of coordinated expenditures, thus enabling a party to serve as an alternative checking account for a campaign,” Kagan wrote.

SUPREME COURT MAKES RULING ON TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

The limits on party spending stem from a desire to prevent large donors from skirting caps on individual contributions to a candidate by directing unlimited sums to the party, with the understanding that the money will be spent on behalf of the candidate.

The Supreme Court had previously upheld the limits in 2001.

The ruling comes ahead of the November midterm elections, as President Donald Trump and Republicans work to maintain their congressional majorities.

Fox News’ Shannon Bream and Bill Mears, along with The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict birthright citizenship, preserving the long-standing constitutional interpretation that most children born in the United States are automatically U.S. citizens, including children born to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country.

The ruling is a major setback for Trump, who made curbing birthright citizenship a key part of his immigration agenda. 

“Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause,” the court said. 

“The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”  

LIVE UPDATES: SUPREME COURT TO UNVEIL BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, TRANSGENDDER ATHLETES DECISIONS ON TERM’S FINAL DAY

The Supreme Court decision was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority. The court found that a person’s citizenship status is not dependent on their parents’, citing the 14th Amendment. Roberts wrote that the Court’s 1898 precedent in Wong Kim Ark had settled the issue.

Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office that would eliminate birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or are in the country temporarily.

Multiple lawsuits followed the executive order. After the Supreme Court curtailed the use of nationwide injunctions, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit on behalf of families affected by the policy. The suit, led by a Honduran woman identified only as “Barbara” to protect her identity, challenged the order as unconstitutional and argued it violated the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.

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