House Democrats largely voted in lockstep to continue the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown Thursday despite growing fallout over air travel nationwide. 

Democrats’ opposition to ending the funding lapse — the second-longest in history — comes as lawmakers could leave for recess before striking a deal.

The DHS funding measure still passed the House largely along party lines in a vote of 218-206. It was the third time House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has held a vote on the legislation since the funding lapse began Feb. 14.

The measure, sponsored by Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., would fund the department through the end of September. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Jared Golden, D-Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, D-Wash., and Don Davis, D-N.C., were the only Democrats to vote “yes” after previously supporting the DHS funding measure earlier in March.

SEE IT: TRAVELERS SOUND OFF AS ICE AGENTS DEPLOYED TO AIRPORTS AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS PAST 40 DAYS

Still, the measure is likely dead on arrival in the Senate, where both parties continue to negotiate an end to the stalemate.

Democrats have remained dug in against providing funding to DHS sub-agencies executing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Top Democratic leaders continue to demand sweeping reforms — including requiring the use of judicial warrants — that Republicans have charged could impede law enforcement efforts.

The funding standoff has caused major travel disruptions nationwide as a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents has resulted in hours-long wait times at security checkpoints. More than 50,000 TSA personnel are set to miss their second full paycheck on Friday, leading to nearly 500 agents quitting and a surge in callouts.

“They’re using TSA agents, Coast Guardsmen and other DHS employees as pawns in their political game,” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “They’re just demonstrating a real willingness to hold hostage the American public.”

Members of the conservative RSC held a news conference Tuesday at Washington’s Reagan National Airport to spotlight the financial difficulties TSA officers are facing. Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl said some personnel, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are sleeping in their cars and selling blood plasma to make ends meet.

“The Democrats know their plan is not working,” Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., told reporters. “They know Americans are hurting, and they are still doing it anyway.”

FLASHBACK: JEFFRIES CALLED FAILING TO FULLY FUND DHS AN ‘ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY’

House Democrats, however, have sought to blame Republicans for the funding stalemate and have signaled reluctance to walk away from their ICE reform demands. 

“We want ICE to be compelled to conduct itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters on Wednesday. “Immigration enforcement should be fair, just and humane—that’s not what’s happening right now. ICE is out of control, and taxpayer dollars are being used in unacceptable ways.”

Republicans have fired back that it is essential to fund ICE, invoking the murder of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, who was killed by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant in Chicago last week. The foreign national, Jose Medina-Medina, was taken into custody by federal law enforcement in May 2023 but released into the United States under the Biden administration.

“Democrats in the House are demanding a DHS bill that would eliminate funding for the exact agencies that are tasked with preventing a tragedy like this,” Speaker Johnson said Wednesday during a House GOP leadership press conference. “They tell you what they prioritize. And it is the welfare of criminal illegal aliens over American citizens. We ought to believe what they say, the words in action.”

When asked about Gorman’s murder by an illegal immigrant Wednesday, Jeffries told Fox News he would look into the case without commenting further. 

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., continued her relentless cross examinations of college administrators Thursday – this time pressing Michigan’s interim president Domenico Grasso on Chinese student spies at the university.

Stefanik wanted to know why Chinese nationals in Michigan were accused of spying on America and his university is not auditing potential national security vulnerabilities in research there.

“Last year, facing congressional pressure, Michigan ended its partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong University after five Chinese students were caught spying at night and taking illegal photos of U.S. military drills and equipment on the remote Michigan installation Camp Grayling,” Stefanik said. “These students lied and misled U.S. law enforcement about their motives and later conspired on the CCP-controlled messaging app WeChat to clear their phones and cameras of photos and evidence.”

“Has the university conducted a full audit to determine what intellectual property or federally funded research was compromised?” the congresswoman asked.

CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN STUDENTS CHARGED AFTER ALLEGEDLY SPYING ON MILITARY BASE

Without an audit, Grasso responded, “we are unaware of any research that was compromised by these individual students,” noting the alleged spying occurred “miles and miles away from campus.”

But Stefanik was nonplussed by the answer.

“I understand Camp Grayling is off campus, but was there an audit conducted?”

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON PLAN FOR 600,000 CHINESE STUDENT VISAS DESPITE MAGA BACKLASH

Grasso admitted Michigan did not.

“Well, they were not researchers,” he said, doubting “they did something nefarious.” “They were undergraduate students. So, we did not do an audit.”

And, adding, “they did not have any access to any of our research.”

FOREIGN-BACKED INFLUENCE IN SCHOOLS TO BE EXPOSED UNDER GOP ‘TRACE ACT’ GIVING PARENTS ACCESS TO CURRICULUM

But Stefanik noted they were accused of spying.

“Well, they did do something nefarious off campus,” she said. “I think it would be important for the university to ensure that there is a full audit conducted to make sure that no research, that they didn’t take any nefarious acts there.”

Grasso admitted he does “not know what all of our researchers are involved in,” but doubted the Department of War would clear them for access to U.S. secrets on campus.

“Congresswoman, we have improved, and we’re continuing to improve our background checks for all of our researchers and students that come into the country, but we also have to partner more closely with our federal intelligence community to make sure that these students are vetted before they’re allowed to get visas to enter our country as well,” he concluded.

President Donald Trump confirmed he voted by mail in Florida’s special election Tuesday, but he pivoted from the media attack point to note his mail-in ballot reform agenda provides for “exceptions” — and not only because he has the privilege of being president.

“Yeah, I did,” Trump shot back at a reporter Thursday at his second Cabinet meeting of 2026. “You know what? Because I’m president of the United States.”

“And because of the fact that I’m president of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for elections that took place in Florida because I felt I should be here instead of being in the beautiful sunshine.”

The reporter noted Trump was at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, before the Palm Beach County election held Tuesday for a state senator and a state representative.

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“That’s right, and I decided that I was going to vote by mail-in ballot because I couldn’t be there,” Trump said, adding, “I had a lot of different things” going on.

Trump was at Mar-a-Lago for the weekend, in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday for a forum on crime, and then back in Washington, D.C., for the rest of the week, including delivering a speech to the National Republican Congressional Committee on Wednesday night.

Still, Trump proudly reminded the reporter, he is not being hypocritical in rebuking mail-in ballot fraud while voting by mail.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON CALLS FOR GOP TO ‘NATIONALIZE’ VOTING AS CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS BALK

“You know, we have exceptions for mail-in ballots,” Trump said. “You do know that, right? So if you’re away, you have an exception. If you’re in the military, we have an exception. If you’re on a business trip, we have an exception. If you’re disabled, we have an exception. And if you’re ill, if you’re not feeling good.

“So I was away mostly in Washington, D.C., so I used a mail-in ballot.”

Trump rebuked voting by mail as “mail-in cheating” at his Memphis stop.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM ENFORCING MAIL-IN VOTING RULES IN EXECUTIVE ORDER

“I call it mail-in cheating, and we got to do something about it all,” Trump said. “And it’s part of Homeland Security.”

Trump said Sunday his fellow Republicans should not reach an agreement on funding the Department of ​Homeland Security until Democrats in Congress approve a bill – the SAVE America Act – that requires people registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship.

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN PARTS OF TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION

Trump also pushed for Democratic approval of other items he wants added to the bill, including banning transgender women from women’s sports, outlawing “transgender mutilation of our children” and restricting mail-in ballots except in cases of illness, disability, military service or travel.

“As President Trump has said, the SAVE America Act has commonsense exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots for illness, disability, military, or travel – but universal mail-in voting should not be allowed because it’s highly susceptible to fraud,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales wrote in an email earlier this week.

It was not the first time Trump has voted by mail. He voted by absentee ballot in the 2018 midterm elections, a White House spokesperson said at the time. Trump had requested an absentee ballot but decided to vote in person in 2020.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Nearly a month since the U.S. and Israel launched military attacks on Iran, a slew of new national polls indicate that most Americans give the military strikes a thumbs down.

But the surveys point to a continued broad partisan divide between Democrats and Republicans over the ongoing fighting in the volatile Middle East.

Forty-two percent of voters support the current U.S. military action against Iran, and 58% oppose it, including nearly 4 in 10 who are strongly opposed, according to a Fox News national poll conducted last Friday through Monday (March 20–23) and released on Wednesday.

That’s a switch from the previous Fox News poll, which was in the field Feb. 28 to March 2, when those questioned were evenly divided on support for the strikes.

WHAT AMERICANS SAY ABOUT THE WAR WITH IRAN – IN OUR LATEST FOX NEWS POLL

The Fox News poll is far from alone in pointing to underwater support for the fighting.

Fifty-four percent of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 19-23 said they opposed the military action, while 39% supported it.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON THE STRIKES AGAINST IRAN

Only 35% said they supported the strikes in a Reuters/Ipsos poll in the field March 20–22, with 61% saying they disapproved of the military action.

According to an AP/NORC poll that surveyed respondents from March 19–23, six in 10 said the military action against Iran had gone too far, with just over a quarter saying it’s been about right, and 13% saying it has not gone far enough.

And a Pew Research Center poll conducted March 16–22 indicated that 61% disapproved of President Donald Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran, with 37% approving.

The military attacks by the U.S. and Israel have resulted in the deaths of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, and the decimation of the country’s military.

But Iran has retaliated with attacks against Israel and many of its other neighbors in the region.

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And Iran has targeted energy facilities with missile and drone attacks in a number of Persian Gulf nations. It has also made the Strait of Hormuz nearly impassable to commercial shipping, bringing to a halt roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply and in turn sending fuel prices skyrocketing in the U.S. and across the globe.

Trump said on Thursday that Iran is “begging to make a deal” to end the fighting.

While many Democratic political leaders have criticized Trump’s handling of the conflict, most Republicans are standing with the president.

And that’s reflected in opinions among Democratic and Republican voters.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The partisan divide was stark in the Fox News poll.

More than three-quarters (77%) of Republicans supported the effort compared to 12% of Democrats and 28% of independents. Within the GOP, support ranged from 90% among MAGA supporters to 52% of non-MAGA Republicans.

The gap was just as wide in the other polls, including the Quinnipiac survey, where 86% of Republicans supported the military action, compared to 28% of independents and just 5% of Democrats.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is returning next month to New Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House.

But that doesn’t mean the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nominee is looking to make a comeback in 2028.

While a growing number of potential contenders for the next Democratic presidential nomination have made stops in New Hampshire, as well as in South Carolina and Nevada, two other key early primary states, Clinton said in an interview last month she would not run for president again and that the party had a “good bench.”

Instead, Clinton will headline the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s (NHDP) annual spring fundraising dinner. The state party announced the news Thursday and said the gala, the McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner, would be held April 25 in Nashua, New Hampshire.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING, ANALYSIS, AND OPINION ON HILLARY CLINTON

“Through decades of public service — as first lady, a U.S. senator, and secretary of state — Secretary Clinton has fought tirelessly for women’s rights and been a champion for economic security around the world,” longtime NHDP chair Ray Buckley said. “Her work to expand voting rights, strengthen child and family leave policies and combat global health crises has made a lasting impact both here and abroad.”

A spokesperson for Clinton told Fox News Digital the former secretary is excited about returning to New Hampshire.

But not everyone’s happy with Clinton’s return to the key New England swing state.

HILLARY CLINTON COMES OUT SWINGING FOLLOWING EPSTEIN DEPOSITION

Responding to the news, a longtime progressive leader in New Hampshire, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital, “Although this may be a good invite to raise money for the party, it is another example of how completely tone-deaf the party is to the need for real change.

“As exemplary as Hillary Clinton’s conduct was with respect to the Epstein congressional subpoena, she’s yesterday’s news, hasn’t offered a new idea in decades and doesn’t serve the needs of building a new Democratic majority in New Hampshire.”

Clinton won the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary in her marathon battle against former President Barack Obama for the party’s nomination.

Eight years later, in her second White House bid, she lost the New Hampshire primary in a landslide to progressive champion Bernie Sanders, the senator from neighboring Vermont.

Since her loss to President Donald Trump in the 2016 general election, Clinton has made two return trips to New Hampshire. She made a stop in Concord in December 2017 as part of her book tour. And she spoke at Dartmouth College in 2019.

While some on the left take issue with the optics of Clinton’s return to New Hampshire, both the former secretary of state and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have long been supporters of New Hampshire’s cherished position at the top of the primary calendar.

Lucas Meyer, a New Hampshire-based non-profit leader and former longtime president of the New Hampshire Young Democrats, noted that “a lot of New Hampshire Democrats have a lot of affection and love for Secretary Clinton and for her service to our country.”

And Meyer, a former campaign strategist, emphasized the state party’s fundraising dinner that Clinton is headlining “is about funding the apparatus to run campaigns over the next year. Secretary Clinton has a pretty broad appeal, and since she’s not running, there’s a little more flexibility for her to raise money for the party and to attract donors to cut checks for the state.”

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., pushed back against the prospect of imposing a moratorium on artificial intelligence data centers in the U.S., blasting the policy proposal as “China First.”

“The emerging chassis of AI must be built by America. We can put appropriate guardrails in place without handing the win on AI to China. A moratorium is China First,” Fetterman asserted in a post on X.

Fetterman included a screenshot of an Axios headline that read, “Sanders and AOC unveil data center moratorium bill.”

Citing concern over the impacts of AI and the infrastructure that powers it, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are pushing a bill to pause the construction and expansion of AI data centers around the U.S.

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“Our bills learn from our lack of regulation following the similar rise regarding the internet and demands a new approach to AI: One that protects the American people from Big Tech’s egregious overreach… one that centers prosperity for the many over exorbitant profits for the very few,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a press conference on Wednesday.

During the press conference, the two lawmakers received a question about the notion that an AI data center moratorium would allow China to gain an advantage.

“So I think in a sane world what happens is the leadership of the United States sits down with the leadership in China and leadership around the world to work together so that we don’t go over the edge and create a technology which could perhaps destroy humanity,” Sanders said.

JOHN FETTERMAN, UNDER FIRE FROM FELLOW DEMOCRATS, BREAKS WITH THE PARTY’S DICTATES AND OFTEN SIDES WITH TRUMP

“Once these companies can be on the up-and-up — providing their own energy, building out and investing in the infrastructure, refusing to free ride off of the American people — then we can continue to develop and explore this technology,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

According to a copy of the proposal posted online by Sanders’ office, the measure would block the construction or upgrade of AI data centers until one or more laws regulating the space have been instituted.

The regulatory law or laws would need to fulfill multiple conditions, including ensuring that “the Federal Government shall review and approve artificial intelligence products before those products are released, for the purpose of ensuring that those products are safe and effective and do not threaten the health and well-being of working families, privacy and civil rights, and the future of humanity.” 

The law or laws required to lift the moratorium would also have to ensure that “the economic gains of artificial intelligence and robotics will benefit workers, not just the wealthy owners of Big Tech companies,” the text of the measure indicates.

FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATIC ‘MESS’ AS TSA WORKERS MISS PAYCHECKS DURING DHS SHUTDOWN

Any future law that allows the lifting of the moratorium would also need to ensure that any data center constructed or upgraded after the end of the moratorium “does not increase utility or electricity bills of consumers” or “exacerbate the threat of climate change or harm the environment,” according to the proposal. It would also need to ensure that communities possess the authority to approve or reject AI data center projects that would impact them, ensure that “no government subsidy is provided for” operating, building, or upgrading an AI data center, and ensure that such a facility “creates union jobs with strong labor standards.”

Sanders’ and Ocasio-Cortez’s proposal would also prohibit exporting AI-related computer hardware to nations that do not have such regulations in place.

Senate Democrats blocked an amendment to Trump-backed voter ID legislation that would have done something they publicly support and require photo identification to vote in federal elections.

Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have shown interest in photo voter ID, which has grown in popularity among voters across the country.

“Democrats support voter ID,” Schumer said on a press call earlier this month. “In fact, we included it, and it is included, in our Freedom to Vote legislation several years ago.”

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Several others have also come out in support of a voter ID bill in recent weeks.

When asked by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins whether he would support a clean voter ID bill, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said, “Yes.”

“And New Jersey has voter ID laws,” Booker said. “I’ve got to show my driver’s license.”

Still, Democrats blocked an amendment to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act from Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, meant to put them on record for that position.

DEMS BLOCK GOP AMENDMENT TYING VOTER ID BILL TO TRANSGENDER SPORTS BAN

Schumer said ahead of the vote that “Republicans are once again wasting time on voter suppression.” 

“Let’s let’s be very clear what this amendment is,” Schumer said. “It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and it’s a giant cover-up to what their bill really does, which is dramatic voter suppression, kicking 20 million or more people off the rolls without their knowledge or consent.”

Senate Republicans argued that if Democrats truly support voter ID, they should back the amendment.

“That is one on which the Democrats have said — Sen. Schumer himself — that ‘we are not opposed to photo ID,’” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. “Well, let’s test that proposition. Let’s actually have a vote on it and see where the Democrats are.”

Republicans have been engaged in a floor push on the SAVE America Act for the past 10 days, debating the legislation in a bid to shift the narrative from the GOP being unable to advance the bill out of the Senate to Democrats being the ones blocking it.

Senate Democrats have argued that while they support identification to vote, the SAVE America Act goes far beyond that requirement. Schumer and others have likened the broader bill to Jim Crow-era segregationist laws in the Deep South, saying it would disenfranchise voters, particularly minority communities and low-income Americans.

GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS’ OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL

However, requiring identification is already the practice in 36 states. Of those, 23 require photo ID, while 13 accept another form of identification, such as a bank statement. Nine of those states have Democratic senators.

According to a widely cited Pew Research poll from last year, 71% of Democratic voters support showing government-issued photo ID to vote.

“I know there are a lot of issues in the SAVE America Act, but this particular one focused on photo ID as something that can be easily implemented, which is already being implemented around the country,” Husted said of his amendment.

Senate Democrats blocked the measure once before, when Husted tried to force a vote on a standalone photo voter ID bill last week. His amendment listed several acceptable forms of identification, including an unexpired driver’s license with a photo, an unexpired state-issued ID card with a photo, a valid passport, a valid military or veteran ID with a photo or an unexpired tribal ID with a photo.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who typically breaks with his party, stood alongside Schumer and his colleagues on Thursday. Like other Democrats, he has opposed the SAVE America Act because of its additional provisions, such as giving the Department of Homeland Security access to states’ voter rolls.

But he recently said, “If the GOP wants real reform over a show vote, put out a clean, standalone bill, and I’m AYE.”

President Donald Trump revealed Thursday what he previously described as a “present” from Iran as the passage of multiple oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, framing it as a sign of progress in ongoing negotiations.

Trump had hinted a day earlier that Iran had offered a significant gesture but declined to provide details at the time.

“They said to show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there — we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Thursday, adding that the number of tankers ultimately reached ten. “I said, well, I guess we’re dealing with the right people.”

TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ‘SICK’ IRANIAN LEADERS, CONFIRMS ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR ENDING WAR

Trump pointed to the tanker movement as evidence that U.S. negotiators are in contact with Iranian counterparts capable of delivering tangible results.

Mounting uncertainty has surrounded Iran’s leadership as joint U.S.–Israeli strikes have killed dozens of senior officials and the country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen publicly.

Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei who was killed on the first day of the strikes, has only issued written or indirect messages. U.S. and allied intelligence assessments suggest he likely is alive, but his condition after rumors of injury, location and level of control remain unclear. 

Analysts and officials say Iran’s decision-making may now be fragmented across competing power centers, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Amid that uncertainty, reporting has pointed to Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as a possible interlocutor in backchannel talks. Ghalibaf, a hardline figure with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is viewed by some U.S. officials as a potential partner capable of negotiating on behalf of the regime.

However, both Iranian officials and Ghalibaf himself have publicly denied that any talks with Washington are underway, and the White House has not confirmed who, if anyone, is serving as Tehran’s primary point of contact.

Iranian messaging has also been inconsistent. While U.S. officials and Trump have pointed to ongoing discussions, Iranian leaders have publicly denied that negotiations are taking place. At the same time, Iranian officials have acknowledged receiving U.S. messages through intermediaries, underscoring the gap between public statements and behind-the-scenes diplomacy.

The conflicting signals highlight the challenge facing U.S. negotiators as they attempt to identify interlocutors who can both represent Tehran and implement any potential agreement.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the choke point for 20% of the world’s oil, has slowed drastically since the start of the U.S. offensive on Feb. 28.

The U.S. is pursuing backchannel talks with Iran even as tensions remain high following recent military strikes and threats of further escalation tied to control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil choke point.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday Iran was reviewing a 15-point proposal sent over by the U.S. through Pakistan mediators, but was not negotiating with the U.S.

TRUMP TELLS ‘STRANGE’ IRANIAN NEGOTIATORS TO ‘GET SERIOUS SOON’ OR ‘IT WON’T BE PRETTY’

On Monday, Trump gave Iran a five-day deadline before the U.S. would pursue strikes on energy infrastructure if Iran did not show signs of “success” toward mediation. On Thursday, Trump declined to say whether he’d decided on moving forward with strikes.

White House envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday he had seen “positive signs” after he provided the Pakistani government with the 15-point plan.

“We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point, with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction,” Witkoff said during the Cabinet meeting.

“We have strong signs that this is a possibility, and if a deal happens, it will be great for the country of Iran.”

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Carbonara, a Republican running in the Sunshine State as a political disruptor to unseat longtime Democratic incumbent Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is pitching an idea to reduce the crippling student loan debt crisis facing the country without shifting the burden to taxpayers.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Carbonara lamented that as America marks its 250th anniversary, “the idea of the American dream has been slipping away” for many young Americans.

He criticized Democrats for promoting affordability while proposing solutions that amount to increased taxes.

“This is the first time where the next generation actually has less opportunity and less freedom than their parents in America’s 250-year history,” he said. “Rather than just tax and tax and tax, which people are tired of, I want to put more money back into the pocket of every American, so life is affordable.”

FOREIGNERS ARE SNAPPING UP US HOMES AND STEALING THE AMERICAN DREAM OUT FROM UNDER FAMILIES

Instead of shifting responsibility to taxpayers, Carbonara blames government subsidies as the “root cause” of rising college costs. A fintech mogul and business leader who also hosts a podcast, he said government subsidies allowed schools to raise prices, making college unaffordable.

“There’s no reason that students need to pay $50,000 a year for an education and wind up with a lifetime of debt that they have to chase every year to pay off,” he said, noting, “That’s not what we want. We want people to be able to go to school, get married, have a good-paying job so they can afford to have a family.”

Carbonara said this is one of the top issues voters voice to him on the campaign trail.

“I don’t just hear from young Americans, I hear from everyone,” he explained.

“The average age of first-time home ownership is now over 40 years old, when 20, 30 years ago, it was below 30 years old,” he went on. “Let’s face it, nobody wants to get married to have kids when you live in a 700-square-foot condo in South Florida.”

VANCE TOUTS TRUMP ECONOMY GAINS DURING NORTH CAROLINA TOUR, CITES RISING HOME PURCHASES

However, unlike former President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which would have put taxpayers on the hook, Carbonara said addressing government subsidies would place the responsibility on universities.

“The idea of forgiveness, we have to throw that idea out, there’s no forgiveness here,” he said. 

“It’s the university’s responsibility to step up to fix the dilemma. And we need to put together these programs for the universities to be able to fix it because again, they were the ones that received all the funding, all the tuition payments that were guaranteed by the government. So, since they benefited, it’s their responsibility to fix the issues.”

If elected, Carbonara believes he could work on both sides of the aisle to bring a bipartisan solution to the student loan crisis.

“People recognize this is a real crisis,” he said, adding, “This is going to take hard work, and it’s going to require responsibility from both students and, obviously, members of Congress.”

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Ultimately, Carbonara said that with the American dream spiraling out of reach for many, “we’ve come to a crossroads.”

“Do we go to the socialism route… or do we go the route of freedom where we can create opportunity and give people the tools to be self-determined and be able to be prosperous and make their own decisions in life?” he asked.

“That’s the path we need to go to. We need to return to our core values of America that made our country great and give the American freedom and the American dream opportunity back to everyone.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., decried Democratic sanctuary policies, saying they “worked exactly as the Democrats intended,” allowing the murder of Chicago college student Sheridan Gorman.

Speaking with reporters at the U.S. Capitol, Johnson lamented that “but for that crazy set of policies, this young lady would still be alive.”

Gorman, an 18-year-old student at Loyola University Chicago, was shot and killed on March 19, allegedly by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Medina-Medina. He had been previously apprehended and released by U.S. Border Patrol under the Biden administration in 2023 and was arrested again for shoplifting shortly after entering the country.

Johnson remarked that “the irony of all this is that the system did not fail Sheridan.”

GORMAN FAMILY CALLS OUT JOHNSON AND PRITZKER FOLLOWING COLLEGE STUDENT’S KILLING IN CHICAGO

“That worked exactly as the Democrats intended,” he said. “You had Democrats in charge of the White House, in charge in the city of Chicago, open borders policy, sanctuary city policies. They coddled the criminal illegal alien, they empowered, they allowed this to happen.”

Mass outrage has erupted across the country since Gorman’s killing, with some comparing it to the 2024 killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, which became a watershed case in the presidential election.

Among the critics of Chicago’s Democratic leaders is Gorman’s family, which is pushing back on comments that her death was a “senseless tragedy” and demanding accountability for what they call systemic failures. The Gorman family on Wednesday released a statement criticizing both Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, saying that her death “demands accountability.”

DEADLY SHOOTING REIGNITES SCRUTINY OF CHICAGO’S SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES

Johnson said the fact that open border and sanctuary policies worked as intended is “why we’re so angry about it.”

“He was in the custody of law enforcement twice, and there were two chances to stop Sheridan’s killer. But Democrats’ open borders guaranteed his release, and their soft-on-crime sanctuary policies ensured his impunity. And that’s why this happened. And Sheridan Gorman should still be with us and her entire life still ahead of her.”

ANGEL DAD CRITICIZES ILLINOIS LEADERSHIP ON SANCTUARY POLICIES

“How many more times did this story have to be repeated? Everybody needs to be asking that question,” he went on, adding, “Unfortunately, the Democrats’ agenda is going to continue to come at the expense of American citizens, innocent American people. As long as the Democrats insist on shielding dangerous criminals from our laws.”