President Donald Trump announced plans to build a National Garden of American Heroes in Washington, D.C.’s West Potomac Park in a Friday morning post on Truth Social.

“I am proud to announce the site of the NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES. This magnificent exhibition of statues will be located in West Potomac Park, which we are transforming into one of the World’s most beautiful public spaces,” Trump wrote.

“Right now, it is a totally BARREN field of Prime Waterfront Real Estate along our Mighty Potomac River. When finished, West Potomac Park will be a World Class Masterpiece with elegant Landscaping, and adorned with Beautiful Statues, and be yet another one of my great projects to make Washington, D.C., the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital in the World,” Trump’s post continued.

“The National Garden of American Heroes will feature the MOST BEAUTIFUL collection of statues of AMERICAN HEROES, featuring our Illustrious Founding Fathers, Military Warriors, Religious Leaders, Civil Rights Champions, World Class Athletes, Artists, Entertainers, and MORE. The people of America (and the World!) will come here to learn and be inspired by the ‘Greats’. The National Garden of American Heroes is one more project we are undertaking to honor the 250th Birthday of the Greatest Nation on Earth, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” Trump’s post concluded.

GOP SENATORS PUSH FOR CHARLIE KIRK STATUE IN TRUMP’S NATIONAL GARDEN OF AMERICAN HEROES

The post also included an aerial photo of West Potomac Park, the planned site for the project.

The project would build upon Trump’s ongoing plans to significantly build legacy infrastructure in the nation’s capital.

The White House ballroom project, which is currently underway, is the most high-profile example of Trump’s D.C. buildout, but the president is also seeking approval for a number of other major projects.

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

For upcoming celebrations of America’s 250th birthday, Trump is renovating the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, addressing leaks in the pool’s structure and adding a blue liner to make the water more visually striking.

Trump said the project will cost under $2 million. “It’s so important for our country,” he said in a May 7 announcement.

Trump is also seeking approval from Congress and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) for a massive “Triumphal Arch” to be placed in front of the Arlington National Cemetery.

The massive undertaking would be 250 feet high, making it taller than any building in D.C., White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced in April.

Xavier Becerra was forced to fend off a barrage of attacks from rivals in the race for California governor after a pair of his former employees pleaded guilty in a campaign finance scandal the same day as the debate.

After two of Becerra’s staffers pleaded guilty on Thursday to siphoning money from an inactive campaign account to supplement their salaries, questions emerged over whether the former Health and Human Services secretary knew about, or assisted in, the act — a clear breach of federal restrictions on using campaign funds for personal ends.

The guilty pleas complicate a tense political picture for Becerra, a Democratic frontrunner to replace outgoing California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Steve Hilton, a Republican frontrunner in the crowded field, said at Thursday’s debate that knowledge of the scheme should disqualify Becerra from pursuing the office any further.

FORMER TOP BIDEN OFFICIAL RIPPED OVER SCANDAL-PLAGUED PAST DURING FIERY DEBATE: ‘MORE FRAUD’

“Today we learned that he knew about illegal and improper payments from his campaign account to his former chief of staff,” Hilton said.

“Honestly, it pains me to say because I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn’t be on this stage. You shouldn’t be in this race. You should be preparing your criminal defense,” Hilton added.

Becerra has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement ahead of Thursday night’s debate: “I did nothing wrong. Case closed.”

The candidate’s former chief of staff, Sean McCluskie, and California political strategist Dana Williamson pleaded guilty to stealing $225,000 from an out-of-use campaign account that Becerra used to previously pursue a state-level office.

According to prosecutors, McCluskie and Williamson withdrew payments in increments of $7,500 to $10,000 from Becerra’s war chest between 2022 and 2024.

FORMER GAVIN NEWSOM CHIEF OF STAFF CHARGED IN $225K FRAUD AND CORRUPTION SCHEME, DOJ SAYS

Under Federal Election Commission regulations, government employees are prohibited from using campaign funds for expenses unrelated to the election or official duties.

Becerra countered the attacks at Thursday’s debate by pointing out he hadn’t been named in the case.

Fellow Democratic candidate Katie Porter, a former congresswoman, said that his defense isn’t proof of innocence.

“What the quote was, was that you had not been mentioned in the charging documents,” Porter remarked.

“But as you know, that does not preclude, because you are also a trained attorney, you know that does not preclude an indictment from being issued against you,” she went on. “We do not know what Dana Williamson said about your involvement, and the government will have the ability to reveal that later.”

EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL’S CAMPAIGN FACES HEAT AS MISSING CHILDREN SCANDAL RESURFACES: ‘VOTERS DESERVE BETTER’

In his role as HHS secretary, Becerra advised President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2021 to 2025.

He began his political career as deputy attorney general of California and served in the California State Assembly from 1990 to 1992. Becerra then held a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017 before becaming California attorney general from 2017 to 2021 before being tapped to lead HHS.

The California primary will be held on June 2. The top two candidates will advance to a general election on Nov. 3.

President Donald Trump returned from his high-stakes summit in China with President Xi Jinping touting trade progress and warmer ties, but several of the biggest pressure points in the U.S.-China relationship — from trade and Taiwan, to AI and human rights — appeared to end without firm public breakthroughs.

“We had a great stay. It was an amazing period of time. President Xi’s an incredible guy. We’ve made a lot of great trade deals,” Trump said Friday aboard Air Force One while returning to the White House.

The trip gave Trump several economic talking points, including potential Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft, U.S. soybeans and American energy, but public readouts and Trump’s recent remarks show some major questions went unresolved.

WHAT XI WANTS FROM TRUMP AS BEIJING SEEKS LEVERAGE IN HIGH-STAKES SUMMIT

During the summit, Xi warned that mishandling the Taiwan issue could lead to “clashes and even conflicts” between the two countries. 

Trump said “he heard [Xi] out” on Taiwan, adding, “He does not want to see a fight for independence because that would be a very strong confrontation.”

There was no pledge from Beijing to reduce military pressure or any visible easing of the core Taiwan dispute.

TRUMP WARNS TAIWAN NOT TO EXPECT BLANK CHECK FROM US MILITARY AFTER INTENSE XI SUMMIT

Lawmakers have pressed Trump over Taiwan’s security and U.S. arms sales to the island, though Washington does not formally recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and maintains a longstanding “One China” policy.

“We’ve had it for thousands of years. And then, at a certain period of time, they left that they were going to get it back. They had the Korean War. A lot of things happened and all this. But no, yeah — Taiwan, he feels very strongly. I made no commitment either way,” Trump said, referring to Xi’s view of Taiwan and Beijing’s historical claim to the island. 

A White House official said Trump is expected to decide soon whether to move forward with a new Taiwan arms package, pointing to his December 2025 approval of $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan and arguing that his record remains consistent with decades of U.S. policy.

The official also noted that Trump approved more Taiwan arms sales during his first term than any previous president, and said his first-year total in the second term exceeded the full amount approved during former President Biden’s four years in office.

TRUMP SPEAKS WITH CHINESE PRESIDENT XI, WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL CONFIRMS

The cases of jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai and detained house-church pastor Ezra Jin loomed over the summit, with Trump saying Xi is “giving very serious consideration” to releasing Pastor Jin, though Lai’s future may be less certain.

“That’s a tougher one. I did bring it up. It’s a tough one for him. It’s a tough one,” Trump said. “He said Jimmy Lai is a tough one for him to do. You know, he went through a lot — right and wrong, he went through a lot. So he told me that would be a tough one. He said he’s going to strongly consider the pastor.”

Jin, also known as Ezra Jin Mingri, is a Chinese house church pastor whose family and advocates have urged Washington to press Beijing for his release. Lai is a British citizen, Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist who has been jailed under Hong Kong’s national security law. 

The two are often linked in coverage focused on human rights, freedom of the press, and China’s crackdown on dissent.

Neither case appeared to produce a public release commitment before Trump departed Beijing.

Lai’s daughter, Claire, commended Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their “continuous commitment to freeing my father and securing his freedom” during an appearance on “The Brian Kilmeade Show” Friday.

“Of course, the dream was that he would fly back with my father this time, but I am still extremely confident that he is the president and this is the administration that will secure my father’s freedom,” Lai said.

China’s AI advances remain a major concern for U.S. policymakers and technology leaders as Washington weighs how to preserve its edge in advanced chips, computing power and export controls without accelerating Beijing’s push to build domestic alternatives.

DONALD TRUMP DETAILS ‘MOST EXCITING PART’ OF CHINA TRADE AGREEMENT

Trump said on Air Force One that discussions about chips did not come up. 

U.S. officials said China continues to weigh whether to buy advanced U.S. chips or accelerate domestic alternatives, while Trump said the two sides discussed the possibility of AI guardrails.

TRUMP REVERSES COURSE ON MIDDLE EAST TECH POLICY, BUT WILL IT BE ENOUGH TO COUNTER CHINA?

“As to whether the Chinese are going to buy [U.S. chips] or not, they’re making their own determinations,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Friday on Bloomberg TV. 

“They’re very committed to domestic production. They often see U.S. high tech as a threat to them. If we’re ahead of the game on AI chips, sometimes they feel that can stop their own growth,” he added.

Trump said China may “want to try and develop their own” chips.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES CHINA WILL RESTART RARE EARTH MINERAL SHIPMENTS TO US AFTER PRODUCTIVE CALL

At the final meeting between the two leaders, Trump touted what he called “fantastic trade deals” during the summit.

Trump said China agreed to purchase 200 Boeing planes and expressed interest in buying as many as 750 once the first deliveries are completed.

While few details have been released regarding the specific agreements reached, Trump also said agricultural deals were pledged while at the same time stating tariffs were not discussed.

“The farmers are going to be very happy. They’re going to be buying billions of dollars of soybeans,” Trump said.

The president added during a gaggle on Air Force One during his trip home that he and Xi did not discuss tariffs during the meetings, even though such duties have served as one of Trump’s central tools for pressuring Beijing on trade.

TRUMP PUSHES XI ON TRADE AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING DENTS KEY CHINA PRESSURE TOOL

“We didn’t discuss tariffs – I mean they’re paying tariffs. They’re paying substantial tariffs,” he said at one point.

The talks come as Trump’s tariff agenda faced a setback after a Supreme Court ruling limited his use of emergency powers to impose duties, which cut directly into one of his preferred tools for pressuring Beijing.

Trump also suggested an energy deal was close, saying China could begin buying oil from Texas, Louisiana and Alaska.

“They’re going to go to Texas. We’re going to start sending Chinese ships to Texas and to Louisiana and to Alaska. And I think that was another thing that was agreed to. That’s a big thing,” Trump said.

Iran was an area where Trump could point to a clearer diplomatic win, saying Xi told him China would not provide military equipment to Tehran and that both leaders agreed Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.

But broader concerns remain over Beijing’s economic support for Iran through oil purchases, dual-use exports and intermediary networks.

China remains a major buyer of Iranian crude despite U.S. sanctions.

Trump said that Xi and his wife will visit the U.S. in September.

Democrat Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow accrued nearly a year’s worth of unpaid utility charges on her million-dollar home while campaigning on affordability.

Until Friday, McMorrow and her husband, former Gawker executive Ray Wert, had not paid water or sewer charges on their home in Royal Oak, Mich., since June 2025, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital. The property had accrued $3,000.37 in unpaid bills and late fees. 

The debt was paid shortly after Fox News Digital reached out for comment. 

“The bills in question have been paid,” the spokesperson said. “We respect the commitment to covering anything other than the fact that every single American’s bills – from gas to groceries to electricity – are going way up because of Donald Trump and his enablers like Mike Rogers.”

DEM SENATE HOPEFUL RIPPED FOR TRASHING MIDDLE AMERICA IN UNEARTHED SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS: ‘TICKS ME OFF’

McMorrow, a state legislator vying for the Democratic nomination in one of the country’s top Senate races, has repeatedly fallen behind on payments in recent years. 

Records show the couple has been fined 10 times totaling more than $400 in late fees for nonpayment since late 2021, when they purchased a $1.28 million home in the Detroit suburb. A report in the Detroit Metro Times that year described the property — with a pool and outside courtyard — as a home “to marvel at.”

McMorrow and Wert also let overdue water bills pile up on the home in the latter half of 2024, when they went five months without making a payment. When the couple finally paid $917 in January 2025, records showed an unpaid balance of $45 in late fees.

Royal Oak Township sends water bills quarterly and assesses a 5% late fee on unpaid balances. If McMorrow had failed to pay the balance by June 1, another 5% penalty would have been added, according to a billing notice.

Under Royal Oak policy, unpaid water and sewer bills can eventually be added to the couple’s property tax bill and prolonged nonpayment can result in water shutoff.

The delinquent payments come as recent disclosures show McMorrow and her husband may be millionaires. 

She estimated her net worth between $588,041 and $1.87 million last year, Michigan Advance reported. Up to $1.15 million was reported under her name or as a joint asset with her husband, according to a financial disclosure filed last year.

McMorrow earned $101,554 from her state senator salary, according to the filing. She also reported just over $106,000 in royalties. 

BLUE STATE DEM CANDIDATE WHO MADE ‘AFFORDABILITY’ A KEY ISSUE IN CAMPAIGN RIPPED FOR CHARGING $13 FOR WATER

While McMorrow and her husband were falling behind on payments, she championed “affordability” legislation that would end water shutoffs for not paying city bills. 

McMorrow cosponsored a measure last year that would cap water bills for qualifying low-income residents and offer debt forgiveness for overdue balances. The program would be funded through a regular surcharge on most Michigan water customers.

She has also backed the Human Right to Water Act, which would recognize access to affordable drinking water as a right and direct the state government to develop “affordability criteria.”

In a March 2021 Facebook post, she advocated for legislation that would “end water shutoffs.”

“Let’s be clear, access to water is a human right, even when there’s not a pandemic,” she wrote.

The late utility payments come as McMorrow is running in a combative three-way Democratic primary to succeed Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who is retiring. 

The swing seat is a must-win race for Democrats hoping to retake Senate control, but Republicans also view the contest as a top flip opportunity. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., cleared the field last year with President Donald Trump’s backing while the Democratic candidates continue to duke it out ahead of the August primary.

McMorrow is campaigning on a progressive platform that includes calling on the wealthy to pay their “fair share” in taxes. Democrat Sen. Bernie Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed is running to her left, and Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., a candidate with support from the party’s establishment swing, has espoused more centrist views.

Progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., have endorsed McMorrow’s campaign.

She recently faced scrutiny for deleting thousands of old social media posts prior to her Senate campaign launch that denigrated “Middle America” and associated Trump and his base with Nazi Germany. CNN first reported on the trove of since-deleted posts. 

The Senate hopeful largely defended her posts in an interview with the network, arguing she “tweeted normal things like a normal person.”

A House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing devolved into chaos Thursday as a North Carolina lawmaker demanded Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephen Descano “be quiet” while the prosecutor was reamed out over cases including the alleged rape of a 4-year-old girl by an illegal Guatemalan national.

Descano and Sheriff Stacey Ann Kincaid, a fellow Democrat accused of lax enforcement involving illegal immigrant suspects, sparred with lawmakers during the hearing as many invoked the prosecutor’s written policy and campaign pledge to account for immigration-related “consequences” in prosecutorial discretion decisions.

Descano, however, objected to characterizations of the policy from Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and later Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who both lit into the Soros-backed attorney in charge of prosecuting crimes in Virginia’s largest municipality.

Knott asked Descano if he believes he prosecutes cases in a way that defends the people of Fairfax and erupted at the attorney when he answered in the affirmative.

HOUSE PANEL SUMMONS SOROS-BACKED FAIRFAX PROSECUTOR OVER RELEASES TIED TO VIOLENT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CASES

“When we prosecute… we are constrained by the evidence. We’re constrained by the law. And I will tell you, Congressman, you know, I think what is happening here with the number of cases that we’re talking about –,” Descano began before Knott became angry.

Knott recounted the case of Honduran national Hyrum Baquedano-Rodriguez – who was “caught-and-released” by an immigration judge in Eloy, Arizona, during the Biden administration – and who was later accused in a graphic case involving the 4-year-old Annandale girl.

Knott noted how the girl’s mother woke up to the child screaming and appearing bruised on her buttocks and torso as the suspect “dropped” the girl and fled in what the lawmaker characterized as a potential attempted abduction.

FAMILY DEMANDS FAR-LEFT PROSECUTOR BE OUSTED FROM OFFICE AFTER SISTER KILLED BY REPEAT OFFENDER

Knott said Fairfax County Police obtained a warrant based on evidence of attempted murder, rape, robbery or arson, which he said carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, while intent to defile a youth carried a maximum life sentence.

“Once it was handed over to your office, inexplicably so, you immediately reduced the burglary offense to a misdemeanor, which capped the sentence at 12 months. You then reduced the abduction charge to an offense that was a lower degree and capped the sentence at 10 years.”

“A disgusting, perverted individual preying on children that you dismissed the case — As the father of two young girls. One of them’s five. That is as shameful as anything I have seen,” Knott said as Descano became angry as well:

“Please don’t talk to me like I don’t care about people in my community,” he said, before Knott responded, calling him a “coward.”

Knott, himself a former Raleigh-area prosecutor, lit into Descano over the added fact that a “liberal” judge appointed by then-Gov. Mark Warner — now a top Democratic senator — rejected Descano’s plea deal.

“This was not a right-wing judge,” Knott fumed as Descano attempted multiple times to interject while tensions rose.

“Overwhelming evidence,” Knott said — “Can we talk about the evidence — I know it and you don’t,” Descano cut in.

“Quit talking!” Knott hollered. “He yanked a four-year-old girl out of her bed with the intent to harm her. And you wanted to give her a cap of two years?”

“Sir,” Descano attempted.

GUATEMALAN MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORN POSSESSION RELEASED BY FAIRFAX COUNTY DESPITE ICE DETAINER, DHS SAYS

“[Let] me ask Mr. Miyares about this,” Knott said as he turned to the former Virginia Republican attorney general seated to Descano’s right, while Descano continued trying to plead his case to the Carolinian.

“Be quiet!” Knott said as he asked Miyares what happens to a suspect after a case dismissal. “He walks free,” Miyares said.

Things did not improve for the Fairfax Democrat when Chairman Thomas McClintock, R-Calif., gave Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, the floor next – as Gill lit into Descano over a written policy that “prosecutors shall consider the collateral immigration consequences of the specific crimes the defendant is charged with and the detrimental impact the deportation removal has on the families and communities.”

Originally, Descano defended against critiques by saying an earlier reference to the policy was part of a campaign pledge, while Gill pressed him further on the issue.

Gill asked about the case of Guatemalan national Jose Cortez-Mendez, accused of “carnal knowledge” of a teenager, which Descano said essentially meant sexual contact under Virginia terminology.

“[A]n illegal alien who raped an underage American: Your office reduced those charges to a misdemeanor charge of consensual sex with a child 15 years and older. You offered him a 90-day suspended jail sentence, is that correct?”

“How did you weigh the defendant’s immigration status,” Gill added, with Descano replying that he was not the lead prosecutor in that case – which the lawmaker noted meant his office still was involved.

In the case of Baquedano-Rodriguez, ICE Washington Field Office Removal Operations Director Russell Hott said his agency was eventually able to arrest the suspect after Descano’s failed case resulted in his release.

“Every one of his convictions represents another one of our neighbors that Baquedano-Rodriguez has victimized. ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities,” Hott said in a statement.

The Senate was two votes away from taking a step toward handcuffing President Donald Trump’s war authorities in Iran this week. 

It’s the closest Senate Democrats have come to trying to reassert Congress’ authority on the matter, and was nearly successful thanks to one Senate Republican known for an independent streak: Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. 

That vote, in particular, came after Congress had sprinted past the 60-day deadline to either authorize or halt Trump’s war. Murkowski argued that she hoped the administration would give more clarity on next steps, but so far hadn’t received such information. 

SENATE DEMOCRATS FINALLY CRACK GOP UNITY ON TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS MURKOWSKI FLIPS

“So I felt that it was now time to advance a discharge so that we can discuss our responsibilities through the War Powers Act,” Murkowski said. “So it’s — we’re in a different place than we were last time we voted on this.”

Many of her votes for or against any given piece of legislation are determined by a simple principle: how will this vote affect Alaska? 

“Senator Murkowski approaches every decision thoughtfully, always asking what is best for Alaska,” Joseph Plesha, a spokesperson for Murkowski, told Fox News Digital. “When she believes a policy advances those priorities, she supports it, regardless of party or politics.” 

That style of decision-making was on full display last year, when Murkowski cast the deciding vote for the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” his most significant legislative accomplishment of his second term to date.

But at the time, Murkowski described the decision as “agonizing,” and one that she came to only after securing a spate of wins for Alaska.

“I had to look on balance, because the people in my state are the ones that I put first,” Murkowski said. “We do not have a perfect bill by any stretch of the imagination. My hope is that the House is going to look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.”

Murkowski had hoped that the Senate and House would go into conference to iron out a better product, but that never came. After the upper chamber advanced the package, the House passed it several hours later to adhere to Trump’s July 4 deadline.

SENATE PASSES TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ AFTER MARATHON VOTE-A-RAMA

Just a few weeks later, she bucked Trump and Republicans on a package designed to claw back billions in funding to public broadcasting and “woke” international aid programs. 

Murkowski, an appropriator, argued that instead of legislating, “what we’re getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority we want you to execute on it. We’ll be back with you with another round.’” 

“I don’t accept that,” she said at the time.

She also went against Trump’s actions in Venezuela earlier this year, joining Democrats on a successful procedural vote that was ultimately later struck down after a heavy lobbying campaign from the White House and top Trump officials flipped key votes against the war powers resolution. 

Similar to her reasoning on the Iran war powers vote, Murkowski contended that while the administration argued that the Venezuelan government was complying after the capture of Nicolás Maduro, there had been “no meaningful end state” given by Trump officials. 

REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE

And on the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, Murkowski once again went against the president.

She teed up her resistance to the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation early, weeks before Republicans launched a campaign on the Senate floor to debate the doomed bill. 

Murkowski noted that when congressional Democrats “attempted to advance sweeping election reform legislation in 2021, Republicans were unanimous in opposition because it would have federalized elections, something we have long opposed.”

“Not only does the U.S. Constitution clearly provide states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of holding federal elections, but one-size-fits-all mandates from Washington, D.C., seldom work in places like Alaska,” she said. 

Perhaps Murkowski’s biggest break from Trump came as he was exiting office shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill.

Murkowski was one of a handful of Republicans who voted to convict Trump. 

“If months of lies, organizing a rally of supporters in an effort to thwart the work of Congress, encouraging a crowd to march on the Capitol, and then taking no meaningful action to stop the violence once it began is not worthy of impeachment, conviction, and disqualification from holding office in the United States, I cannot imagine what is,” Murkowski said in a statement at the time.

EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Robert Barron slammed “borderline communists” in the Democratic Party, explaining in an interview with Fox News Digital why he believes the “extreme leftward shift” in politics poses a serious danger to the American way of life.

Barron, who leads the Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and is the founder of the massively successful Word On Fire Ministries, is set to give an address at President Donald Trump’s “Rededicate 250” prayer event on the National Mall this weekend. Besides being a high-ranking leader in the Catholic Church hierarchy, he is perhaps best known for his unapologetic social media defenses of Christianity and Western civilization.

This January, Barron slammed socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for using his inaugural speech to praise the “warmth of collectivism,” writing on X “for God’s sake, spare me.”

Speaking with Fox News Digital this month, Barron shared that hearing Mamdani’s collectivist line “just triggered something in me.” He said that he has heard many, even in the Catholic Church, referring to capitalism as the “economy that kills.”

“Capitalism, like all economic systems, is going to be flawed because it’s made up of flawed human beings, but the economy that kills? Socialism is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of millions of people,” he said, adding that “collectivism has been such a disastrous concept.”

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON SLAMS ZOHRAN MAMDANI ‘WARMTH OF COLLECTIVISM’ LINE: ‘FOR GOD’S SAKE’

Barron explained that he is “against socialism precisely as a Catholic,” emphasizing that the church’s social teaching unequivocally condemns the theory.

He admitted he has been surprised by the “extreme leftward drift of the Democratic Party” in recent years, which he said is evidenced by the broader acceptance of socialist candidates like Mamdani.

“We have a two-party system. If one of our two parties has gone that far to the left where explicit socialists, even, I would say, borderline communists, are being proposed as serious candidates, I think we’ve got a problem in our body politic.”

As a bishop, Barron said he has looked on with concern as figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, have gone from isolated lone wolves to the norm among new members of the party.

“When Bernie Sanders first emerged … I thought, ‘Well, he’ll never go anywhere.’ But of course, he was quite successful,” he noted. “But to go from let’s say Bill Clinton style Democratic Party to Bernie Sanders, that’s a pretty big shift in a relatively short time.”

FAITH RETURNS TO THE PUBLIC SQUARE DURING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM, CHRISTIAN LEADER SAYS

Yet rather than standing by silently, Barron called on Christians to not “retreat into privacy” but rather “stand to thwart socialism.”

“There are forces that want us to withdraw into privacy, to be on the margins of society. [But] it’s especially now that the religious, I think, have to assert themselves in the public square.”

To Barron, this means “talking about the faith publicly and with confidence and with panache.”

“It means entering into dialogue and debate. It means living out your faith in a public manner. It means getting into university culture and getting into the institutions of our country in a way that’s not aggressive, but at the same time not apologetic,” he explained.

DNC CHAIR DOWNPLAYS SOCIALIST–MODERATE RIFT AS MAMDANI’S RISE HAS SOME DEMS RATTLED

He noted that this taking of the faith into the public sphere is an “unrealized dream” of the Catholic Church’s Vatican II Council.

“What we have to fight for is a democratic civilization predicated upon objective moral value and finally upon God who presides over the very freedom that we exercise,” he said. “Fight for that culture in entertainment and in politics and in communication and in every aspect of life. That is a cultural war worth fighting.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders and Mamdani for comment.

Progressive journalist Austin Ahlman announced he is running for Congress in Nebraska’s first congressional district as a nonpartisan independent on Thursday, challenging incumbent Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Democratic nominee Chris Backemeyer.

Ahlman, a journalist for the progressive left-wing outlet The Intercept, entered the fray Thursday, two days after his opponents advanced in their respective primaries.

Flood has held his seat since winning a special election in 2022. Democratic challenger Backemeyer is a former State Department employee who worked in President Barack Obama’s administration and also served as a Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris on national security and policy issues.

Ahlman criticized Backemeyer as a “creature of the establishment in D.C.” and said he didn’t see much of a difference between the Democrat and Flood.

FROM NEBRASKA TO WEST VIRGINIA TO NEW JERSEY: PRIMARY CLASHES SET STAGE FOR FIERCE MIDTERM FIGHT

“I have taken on the corporations that are actually hollowing out our state. I have uncovered the corruption among the politicians that are crushing us and selling us out. And I don’t think that either one of the two can say that,” Ahlman told the Lincoln Journal Star.

“I think that they have just been a part of the system. They are the establishment, and I am not that. I’m actually from the working class,” he said.

After winning his 2022 special election by a five-point margin, Flood won both of his general elections by a comfortable margin. He won by 15 points in the 2022 general election and by more than 20 point in 2024. Nebraska’s first district is also a solid Republican stronghold, according to the Cook Political Report.

Cook posits it would take both an “anemic” Republican turnout and a strong Democrat one to turn the tables for Democrats in Nebraska’s first district. The prospect is now made more complicated with Ahlman, as some of Nebraska’s political leader point out to local press that the progressive candidate could split the vote.

KEY HOUSE PROJECTION SPELLS TROUBLE FOR TWO REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS

“Mike Flood has failed this district, and splitting the vote with a fringe third candidate won’t fix that,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in a Thursday statement provided to the Nebraska Examiner. “Nebraska doesn’t need noise from either extreme. We need a steady, experienced leader who will fight for fairness and protect our democracy. That’s Chris Backemeyer.”

Backemeyer’s campaign told the Examiner, “After winning almost every county by a large margin in the primary, Chris is focused on defeating congressman Flood in order to stop Trump’s tariffs, devastating healthcare cuts and illegal war that are hurting Nebraskans.”

Meanwhile, Flood’s team pointed to the independent challenge as a weakness in the Democratic Party, claiming Ahlman is “trying to sabotage the campaign of a Kamala Harris adviser because the Democratic Party is in shambles.”

“While Backemeyer and Ahlman fight over which D.C. transplant finishes second, Congressman Flood will keep getting things done for Nebraskans,” Flood spokesperson Daniel Bass told the Examiner.

Fox News Digital contacted the Ahlman, Backemeyer and Flood campaigns for additional comment.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced on Friday that he signed a document requesting not to be included on the ballot in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District.

The congressman described the district determined by “new lines” as “nothing like the 9th district that I’ve represented.”

The Democratic primary in the district is scheduled to take place in August.

Speaking after his announcement, Cohen described President Donald Trump as “the greatest threat to democracy, and to …  decorum … and grace, that we’ve ever seen.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.

Cohen is ending his re-election bid after more than 19 years in Congress — he took office in early 2007.

“Candidates who previously qualified for 2026 congressional elections may run in the new district that has the same district number. Candidates who wish to change districts or withdraw may do so by filing a notarized statement with the State Division of Elections, attention Coordinator of Elections,” according to a press release posted on the Tennessee secretary of state’s website.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated

FIRST ON FOX — A Democrat running for Congress in Iowa admitted to feeling “uncomfortable” by the whiteness of her hometown in Minnesota after returning from a stay in New Mexico years ago.

Sarah Trone Garriott, 47, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, is coming under fire for her comments as she seeks to unseat incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa.

“Yeah, I remember the first time I came back to northern Minnesota to visit, and I was kind of shocked at how many white people there were,” Trone Garriott recalled of the area of the U.S. where she grew up in a resurfaced podcast episode released nearly a decade ago.

“The feeling was very different. I was like ‘whoa,’ and again I was uncomfortable in a different way,” she added.

IOWA DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR CONGRESS WROTE THAT 9/11 MADE HER MORE ‘AWARE’ OF ‘ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY’

About 78% of Iowa’s third congressional district that Trone Garriott wants to represent in Congress is white, according to a breakdown by DataUSA.

Republicans argue the candidate’s past and recent comments are out of step with the district’s demographics.

“Every time Sarah Trone Garriott’s handlers let her loose, the wicked witch of woke finds a new way to insult Iowans,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said.

“We haven’t even reached the general election yet, and she has already managed to call nearly every person in the state racist, sexist, and bigoted,” he added.

Trone Garriott’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on previous remarks. Nunn’s campaign also did not respond when reached about his competitor’s comments. 

According to the Cook Political Report, Iowa’s 3rd congressional district is among the 16 “toss-up” races in the 2026 midterms, with a slight R+2 lean.

IMMIGRANTS NEEDED FOR ‘REDISTRICTING PURPOSES,’ HOUSE DEM ADMITS IN VIRAL CLIP: ‘QUIET PART OUT LOUD’

Nine years after Trone Garriott recorded the podcast interview, her comments highlight a wariness of homogeneity and underscore the candidate’s belief that representation should be tied to demographics.

In a separate interview with the University of Iowa in 2022, Trone Garriott hinted at support for demographic mandates and quotas for positions within the government, like those she learned about after meeting with legislators from Kosovo.

“They actually have quotas, and I know that’s a dirty word for some people, but they have requirements of how many people from different ethnic backgrounds, religious minorities — and gender balance is part of their structure,” Trone Garriott said of the Balkan nation.

“And so, there’s kind of a preference for those folks that are underrepresented to be in government. Which I think is really important to bring those voices out,” she added.

IOWA POLL SHOWS DEMOCRATS IN POSITION TO FLIP 2 GOP HOUSE SEATS

Trone Garriott was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After earning her undergraduate degree in Duluth, Minnesota, she went on to obtain a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

She worked as a volunteer with the anti-poverty program under AmeriCorps VISTA in New Mexico — where she was apparently awoken to the ‘whiteness’ of her Minnesotan hometown.

Trone Garriott began her career as an ordained minister for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spending time in ministry in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Virginia and finally Iowa.

From there, Trone Garriott embarked on a political career in the Iowa State Senate, where she has served since 2021. She announced a bid last year to unseat Rep. Nunn in the state’s third congressional district.