Judge to weigh US deal to end Halkbank prosecution

2026-06-17T04:05:11.749Z / Reuters

People walk past by a branch of Halkbank in central Istanbul, Turkey, January 22, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary
• Companies

• Halkbank, a Turkish state lender, was charged in 2019
• Halkbank was accused of helping Iran evade US sanctions
• Justice Department and Halkbank announced deal in March

NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) – A federal judge is set to consider on ​Wednesday whether to approve an agreement reached by President Donald Trump’s administration and Halkbank to resolve the ‌Justice Department’s criminal prosecution of the Turkish state-run lender for allegedly helping Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions.

The agreement promises to relieve an irritant that has bothered relations between NATO allies Turkey and the United States since the United States first brought the charges ​in 2019. The announcement of the settlement in March sent Halkbank’s shares soaring on the Istanbul stock exchange.

Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign up here.

Manhattan-based U.S. ​District Judge Richard Berman then paused the case for 90 days to allow Halkbank to ⁠demonstrate compliance with the deal’s terms, which included barring it from entering transactions that benefit Iran and requiring ​a monitor to review the bank’s sanctions and anti-money laundering compliance.

When that period lapsed on June 10, prosecutors with ​the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office asked Berman to formally dismiss the case, writing that the monitor, Ernst & Young, had not found any instances of noncompliance by Halkbank.

Berman scheduled a hearing for Wednesday at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) to consider the request.

Legal experts have ​said that U.S. judges have little discretion to reject the terms of deferred prosecution agreements such as the one ​reached between the Justice Department and Halkbank.

No money changes hands in the agreement, and the bank did not admit criminal wrongdoing. ‌During ⁠a March 11 hearing, Berman referenced a letter he received from an advocacy group urging him to press for an explanation as to why there was no financial penalty, but did not inquire about the issue.

U.S. prosecutors had accused Halkbank of secretly transferring $20 billion of restricted funds, converting oil revenue into gold and cash to benefit Iranian interests and ​documenting fake food shipments ​to justify transfers of oil ⁠proceeds.

Halkbank pleaded not guilty. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan once called the case unlawful and “ugly.” But the countries now are experiencing their best ties in decades since Trump’s return ​to the presidency last year.

After Erdogan met with U.S. President Donald Trump last year, the ​Turkish president ⁠expressed hope for a resolution of the Halkbank matter. Erdogan said in October that Trump told him during a September meeting at the White House and in a subsequent phone call that “the Halkbank problem is finished for us.”

The settlement was ⁠announced after ​the Iran war began in February. The Justice Department has said ​dropping the prosecution would further the U.S. interest in curbing support for Iran.

Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

6月16日，美国特拉华州威尔明顿发生枪击事件。警方仍在搜捕枪手，但封锁措施已经解除。 （路透社）

美国特拉华州威尔明顿市一家医院星期二（6月16日）发生枪击事件，造成一人死亡，一人受伤。事件发生后，警方迅速在市中心部署大量警力，并一度实施封锁。

《纽约时报》报道，威尔明顿警察局局长坎波斯星期二晚上在新闻发布会上说，枪击事件发生在当地时间下午3时30分左右（新加坡时间17日凌晨3时30分）。

警方仍在搜捕枪手，但封锁已经解除。

当局说，他们暂不公布第二名受害者的伤情以及两名受害者的姓名。

发生枪击事件的威尔明顿医院是一家拥有321张床位的大型创伤中心。

市长卡尼在新闻发布会上说：“这对我们这座城市来说是可怕的一天。如果说有什么地方应该成为远离暴力的避难所，那就是这里（指威尔明顿医院）。”

特拉华州参议员库恩斯在社交媒体上说，他正在密切关注事态发展。

“我为所有人的安全祈祷，包括患者、医护人员、急救人员和执法人员。”

State of play: What to know about potential socialist showdown between Trump and DC mayor as votes pour in

June 17, 2026 12:11am EDT / Fox News

President Trump has threatened more federal intervention in Washington, D.C. if the socialist candidate is victorious

By Andrew Mark Miller

Video: Socialist DC mayoral candidate addresses supporters on election night

Janeese Lewis George held the lead in the Washington, D.C., mayoral race at midnight ET on Wednesday morning.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Socialist Washington, D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George holds a lead in her bid to replace outgoing mayor Muriel Bowser as midnight passes on the East Coast and the ballots continue to be counted throughout the night.

The Associated Press reports that as of 12 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, George is the leader with 52.6% of the vote after 66% of the votes had been counted. The next closest candidate, Kenyan R. McDuffie, sits at 36.8%.

The nation’s capital has been at the center of the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on crime during his second term and he sent the National Guard into the district last year, which proponents have argued directly correlates to plummeting violent crime numbers.

Trump has suggested that he’d order another federal takeover of Washington D.C. if the “crazy socialist” mayoral candidate was elected.

LUIGI MANGIONE SUPPORTER WORKING FOR FAR-LEFT DC MAYORAL CANDIDATE LIKENED TO MAMDANI

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George joined parents, educators, and organizers at a SPACEs In Action and Blandi’s Childcare Center rally to demand funding for the Pay Equity Fund and childcare subsidies at the Blandis Childcare Center in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 2026. (L) Donald Trump speaks to members of the media outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 13, 2026.(Paul Morigi/Getty Images for SPACEs in Action; Salwan Georges/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I wouldn’t like it — and maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,” Trump said when asked by reporters how he’d respond if a self-described Democratic socialist D.C. council member were to win her bid.

“We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses,” Trump said on Thursday during a press briefing from the White House.

George called Trump’s recent threat to enact a second takeover as an “attack on democracy itself.”

DC GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT STARES DOWN DEATH PENALTY IN FIRST COURT APPEARANCE

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis-George speaks during the “Rally for Childcare” event aimed at restoring funding for childcare at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., on May 12, 2025.(Paul Morigi/Getty Images for SPACEs in Action)

George, who has become the Democratic frontrunner, leads a race that will likely decide the winner of the general race in a city where roughly 75% of voters are registered Democrats.

Washington, D.C. is using ranked-choice voting for the first time, which could delay the certification of an official winner.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The skyline of Washington, D.C., is shown with various buildings under a clear sky.(Saul Loeb/Getty)

Voters in Washington, D.C. were also voting in the Democratic primary to determine their next non-voting U.S. Delegate following the retirement of Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Shortly after midnight, the Associated Press called the race for the winner, At-Large Council member Robert White.

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6398615719112

6月16日，美国特拉华州威尔明顿发生枪击事件。警方仍在搜捕枪手，但封锁措施已经解除。 （路透社）

美国特拉华州威尔明顿市一家医院星期二（6月16日）发生枪击事件，造成一人死亡，一人受伤。事件发生后，警方迅速在市中心部署大量警力，并一度实施封锁。

《纽约时报》报道，威尔明顿警察局局长坎波斯星期二晚上在新闻发布会上说，枪击事件发生在当地时间下午3时30分左右（新加坡时间17日凌晨3时30分）。

警方仍在搜捕枪手，但封锁已经解除。

当局说，他们暂不公布第二名受害者的伤情以及两名受害者的姓名。

发生枪击事件的威尔明顿医院是一家拥有321张床位的大型创伤中心。

市长卡尼在新闻发布会上说：“这对我们这座城市来说是可怕的一天。如果说有什么地方应该成为远离暴力的避难所，那就是这里（指威尔明顿医院）。”

特拉华州参议员库恩斯在社交媒体上说，他正在密切关注事态发展。

“我为所有人的安全祈祷，包括患者、医护人员、急救人员和执法人员。”

Detainees moved out of “Alligator Alcatraz” over hurricane concerns, ICE says

2026-06-16T23:18:00-0400 / CBS News

By

Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent
Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization’s social media accounts.

Read Full Bio

Updated on: June 16, 2026 / 11:23 PM EDT / CBS News

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has moved detainees out of a controversial detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” an ICE spokesperson told CBS News, citing safety concerns around hurricane season.

“For the safety of the illegal alien detainees, we transferred them to other facilities,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

CBS News Miami reported last month that companies hired by the state of Florida to operate Alligator Alcatraz were notified that the facility was being shut down, with roughly 1,400 remaining detainees expected to be removed.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin later told CBS News the agency didn’t have any near-term plans to close the facility. But he acknowledged it faces weather-related “vulnerabilities.”

“We have plans in case of a natural emergency such as a wildfire or hurricane, to have to be able to bring it down and pull the individuals out,” Mullin said.

Located on an unused airstrip in the middle of the Everglades, Alligator Alcatraz was opened last year, as the Trump administration sought to rapidly grow ICE’s detention capacity in order to surge arrests and deportations. Detainees at the makeshift facility were housed in large air conditioned tents, filled with rows of bunk beds and cells formed by chain-link fences.

The administration has cast Alligator Alcatraz as a cost-effective way of housing people accused of being in the U.S. illegally, and argued it could be a model for other immigration detention centers set up by states.

Some officials have also suggested Alligator Alcatraz austere setup and harsh surroundings could be a deterrent against illegal immigration. During a visit last summer, President Trump said, “We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”

And former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem delivered a warning that people in the U.S. illegally who do not “self-deport” from the country “may end up here.”

Alligator Alcatraz drew intense criticism and legal pushback from immigration advocates, environmental groups and a local Native American tribe. Critics alleged inhumane conditions, including poor food, nonfunctional toilets and a lack of access to attorneys. The Trump administration has denied that conditions at the detention center were inadequate.

Why Trump’s secret and vague MOU is stirring a political storm

2026-06-17T04:00:07.888Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/17/politics/trump-iran-deal-what-does-the-mou-say

• President Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran remains unpublished days after he announced it, fueling bipartisan criticism and confusion.
• US officials described the MOU text as vague and said it doesn’t reflect critical backchannel commitments Iran made.
• Key allies like Israel and Senate Republicans say they have not seen the text of the agreement.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

The text of President Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding with Iran — when it is finally published — may not dispel his critics’ fears of a bad deal.

There are increasing signs that it will confirm them.

The failure to make public the terms of the memo to end the war — greeted as an epochal breakthrough by Trump on Sunday — seeded a vacuum quickly filled by confusion, anxiety among Republican hawks and growing attacks by Democrats.

Leaks of the purported terms of the agreement in Middle East media outlets that suggest the MOU will lack firm commitments, benchmarks and concrete sequencing meanwhile made the White House’s stance increasingly dicey.

Controversy broke out over a reported $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran to be financed by regional powers and guaranteed by the US government, forcing officials to insist that no US cash was involved and that any such benefits depended on Iran submitting to Washington’s demands. But the issue opened the administration to claims of hypocrisy given Trump’s frequent, inflated claims about Iranian assets released to Tehran after the Obama administration’s 2015 nuclear deal.

Trump defended his agreement at the G7 summit on Tuesday in France and said he’d be willing to read it out loud. Vice President JD Vance, tasked with selling the MOU at home, attributed the delay to diplomatic technicalities in the Muslim and Arab world. He also insisted that any economic payoff for Iran would depend on living up to a promise in the document to never seek a nuclear bomb.

Vance’s comments hinted that an administration founded on the art of the deal envisages a tantalizing grand bargain for Iran that could end its status as a pariah state.

“We fundamentally have transformed the Middle East, whether they comply or not. This is just icing on the cake, assuming they do all the right things,” Vance said on Fox News.

But the sense of drift two full days after Trump claimed a huge win on his 80th birthday raised the possibility that an administration that botched its messaging on why it started the war risked doing the same while ending it.

Senior officials initially said that the agreement was signed digitally on Sunday but will be formally inked in a ceremony attended by Vance in Switzerland on Friday, at which point the full text and terms will be released.

As the political heat rose, US officials told CNN’s Alayna Treene and Kevin Liptak on Tuesday evening they hoped to publish the text as soon as possible. They described the language as extremely vague and said it didn’t reflect critical back-channel commitments Iran had made to the United States.

Diplomacy is an intricate art. With Iran, it is notoriously excruciating — one reason Trump’s remark Tuesday that the next stage of consultations, on Iran’s nuclear program, will be “easier” seemed unwise. The talks leading to the nuclear deal with Iran signed under the Obama administration took at least 18 months.

The US officials told Liptak and Treene that some of the text in the MOU is purposely vague to allow the Iranian side to sell their work in a treacherous domestic political environment. Generally, this is a plausible approach. Successful diplomatic talks involve sensitivity to the constraints faced by those on the other side of the table — particularly when those talks include representatives of a repressive government whose own safety may be at issue. And effective peacemaking often involves presidents creating an illusion of progress to stir momentum and buy time for hard negotiations to slog ahead.

So it would be premature to write off hopes that the memorandum of understanding can forge real progress and eventually yield a deal — especially since both Iran and the United States have strong incentives to stop the war.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a frequent Trump administration critic, told CNN ’s Kaitlan Collins in France at the G7 summit that he’d seen the text and thought it was a “game changer.” But Carney also framed the memorandum as more of an understanding on extending a ceasefire than a fully fleshed-out deal.

Yet the president is under pressure to justify the huge economic and international political disruption caused by the war; the deaths of 13 US service members and an unknown number of Iranian civilians; and tens of billions of dollars spilled on US operations and ordnance.

Trump’s critics accuse him of solving nothing but the problem he caused — Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil trafficking route — and of securing no concrete, verifiable commitments for Iran to foreswear nuclear development.

The administration’s best argument is that it severely damaged Iran’s nuclear program in air raids last year and buried its stocks of highly enriched uranium, making it impossible to build a nuclear device. But that point is of limited political utility, since it underscores the question of why Trump started this year’s war.

And a vague MOU would only lend credence to Trump skeptics who contend that he prioritizes branding and short-term wins over the details required to effect meaningful change.

The president also faces an unforgiving political audience — a circumstance not helped by his claims on social media that “the deal with the Islamic Republic is complete,” which may have sparked expectations that an anodyne diplomatic text cannot meet.

There’s particular concern among Senate Republicans — such as Trump’s friend South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham — who may be required to lift sanctions under any final deal with Iran.

Senate GOP leader John Thune on Tuesday said he was “hoping to get more information, more detail.”

It’s quite surprising that a top Republican in the president’s party should still be in the dark. It’s extraordinary that Israel, Trump’s partner in starting the war, appears to be in a similar position. This points toward a growing fracture between the allies.

Bipartisan politicians in Israel worry Trump agreed to an end to all fighting in the region — a condition they would regard as detrimental to their nation’s security, if it covers the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. An Israeli source told CNN’s Tal Shalev that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government asked to see the agreement but was rebuffed.

Israelis also hope Trump’s MOU focuses on Iran’s missile programs and proxy allies including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. No one in the White House is saying.

Democrats are seizing on the stasis to drive home their criticism of a president who returned to office vowing no more foreign wars.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that “the American people deserve details and full transparency.” The New York Democrat added: “And what have we actually gained here from Trump’s war?

Wendy Sherman, a former deputy secretary of state who helped negotiate the Obama administration’s Iran nuclear deal, told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that the administration’s reluctance to release the MOU told its own story.

“I think it tells us that they’re very nervous about what’s in it and how it will be seen,” Sherman said. “My own sense is the president wants this victory lap on Friday when they have an in-person signing with the vice president ostensibly.”

If the text, when it is finally released, reflects the depictions of the US officials who spoke to CNN, the administration is sure to be accused of a gullible approach to a repressive regime that survived the war, in a modified and perhaps even more extreme form.

The idea that Washington would make any concessions before nuclear talks with such a bitter adversary hints at naiveté. Any notion that Iran would welcome a financial windfall to exit international isolation also seems fanciful, nearly 50 years into an Islamic revolution that defines itself against Western values and subjugates its people with an austere clerical regime.

One of the officials who spoke to CNN said that “people shouldn’t read too much into the language of the MOU,” describing it as a “political document.”

That’s sure to be a vain hope given the over-torqued political atmosphere of Trump’s second term.

The most significant takeaway from the emerging details of Trump’s agreement is that while the fighting might mercifully be over — at least for now — the current crisis with Iran is nowhere close to a resolution.

韩国调整韩朝边境平民出入限制线

2026年6月17日 12:34 / 联合早报

朝鲜士兵在朝韩非军事区的哨所站岗。图片于2021年10月5日在韩国金浦市拍摄。 （路透社）

韩国国防部长安圭伯星期三（6月17日）说，韩国将调整一条与朝韩军事边界平行的界线，以缩小限制平民进入的区域，从而适应不断变化的安全形势，并方便当地居民。

路透社报道，这条“民间人出入统制线”（Civilian Control Line）目前位于朝鲜战争结束后划定的军事分界线以南10公里处。进入这片区域需要获得军方授权。

安圭伯说，政府决定将民众可进入区域的边界平均向军事分界线方向前移6公里。这项调整既是对当地居民多年呼吁的回应，也反映出韩国国防战备水平的提升。

据媒体报道，约有2万人居住在这个区域内，另有一些人通过申请审批程序来到这里务农或工作。

韩国国防部还宣布其他放宽边境地区管制的措施，包括简化农业用途无人机操作的申报规定。

自去年上任以来，韩国总统李在明领导的政府已采取一系列旨在缓和朝韩紧张关系的措施，但朝鲜方面仍对韩国维持强硬和敌对立场。

韩国调整韩朝边境平民出入限制线

2026年6月17日 12:34 / 联合早报

朝鲜士兵在朝韩非军事区的哨所站岗。图片于2021年10月5日在韩国金浦市拍摄。 （路透社）

韩国国防部长安圭伯星期三（6月17日）说，韩国将调整一条与朝韩军事边界平行的界线，以缩小限制平民进入的区域，从而适应不断变化的安全形势，并方便当地居民。

路透社报道，这条“民间人出入统制线”（Civilian Control Line）目前位于朝鲜战争结束后划定的军事分界线以南10公里处。进入这片区域需要获得军方授权。

安圭伯说，政府决定将民众可进入区域的边界平均向军事分界线方向前移6公里。这项调整既是对当地居民多年呼吁的回应，也反映出韩国国防战备水平的提升。

据媒体报道，约有2万人居住在这个区域内，另有一些人通过申请审批程序来到这里务农或工作。

韩国国防部还宣布其他放宽边境地区管制的措施，包括简化农业用途无人机操作的申报规定。

自去年上任以来，韩国总统李在明领导的政府已采取一系列旨在缓和朝韩紧张关系的措施，但朝鲜方面仍对韩国维持强硬和敌对立场。

韩国调整韩朝边境平民出入限制线

2026年6月17日 12:34 / 联合早报

朝鲜士兵在朝韩非军事区的哨所站岗。图片于2021年10月5日在韩国金浦市拍摄。 （路透社）

韩国国防部长安圭伯星期三（6月17日）说，韩国将调整一条与朝韩军事边界平行的界线，以缩小限制平民进入的区域，从而适应不断变化的安全形势，并方便当地居民。

路透社报道，这条“民间人出入统制线”（Civilian Control Line）目前位于朝鲜战争结束后划定的军事分界线以南10公里处。进入这片区域需要获得军方授权。

安圭伯说，政府决定将民众可进入区域的边界平均向军事分界线方向前移6公里。这项调整既是对当地居民多年呼吁的回应，也反映出韩国国防战备水平的提升。

据媒体报道，约有2万人居住在这个区域内，另有一些人通过申请审批程序来到这里务农或工作。

韩国国防部还宣布其他放宽边境地区管制的措施，包括简化农业用途无人机操作的申报规定。

自去年上任以来，韩国总统李在明领导的政府已采取一系列旨在缓和朝韩紧张关系的措施，但朝鲜方面仍对韩国维持强硬和敌对立场。

Trump’s endorsement fails to save MAGA candidate as billionaire advances in key governor race

June 16, 2026 9:48pm EDT / Fox News

Jackson, who grew up in foster care, will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the general election

By Paul Steinhauser

Billionaire businessman Rick Jackson declares victory in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial runoff election after defeating Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was backed by President Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

ATLANTA, Ga. — President Donald Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to boost Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to victory Tuesday night in the ballot-box showdown for the southeastern battleground state’s Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Jones was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the GOP runoff election for Georgia governor, the Associated Press reports, in the race to succeed term-limited conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

Jackson, who shelled out over $100 million of his own money on his bid, will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the Biden administration, in this autumn’s general election. Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning a majority of the vote as she topped six other candidates in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

“When I announced my campaign, I said the political class protects itself….it’s a cartel and I said I’m coming to break it up. Well, tonight, we shattered it,” said Jackson, who launched his campaign in February, in his victory speech.

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

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6398605116112

“I’m the only candidate who doesn’t owe a thing to the political establishment,” Jackson emphasized. “I can’t be bought, and I’m not going to back down…. Tonight we did more than win a runoff. Tonight we proved that the people of Georgia are in charge.”

Jackson was unknown to Georgia voters a few months ago, but thanks to an avalanche of ads, his story of building a business empire despite growing up in foster care and not being able to afford college became well known in the Peach State.

“I know what it’s like to feel like nobody sees you, especially the elite and the powerful,” Jackson said in his speech a hundreds of supporters. “When you grow up the way I did, you never forget where you came from. You never forget the families who are working harder than ever, but still falling behind.”

Jackson was also boosted in the final stretch ahead of the runoff election by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, right, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas speak with Fox News Digital, after Cruz headlined a Jackson campaign event in Alpharetta, Georgia, on June 15, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Throughout his campaign, Jackson has said that Trump inspired him to run.

“I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital last month.

And he repeatedly highlighted that, like Trump, he’s an outsider and businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing at the federal government,” he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.

And Jackson spotlighted his outsider credentials, saying that voters could “see somebody that’s actually like Trump, not just endorsed. And from that standpoint, I think having an outsider is what our people want.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6398485156112

Cruz joined Jackson on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.

“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he’s positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Asked if he’s trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, “No. Not remotely….The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful.”

Jones, on the eve of the Cruz visit, took aim at Jackson.

“He keeps on bringing in these out-of-state senators, and I would much rather have the president’s endorsement,” he said. “He’s having to go out of state to get his support. We’re keeping all our stuff in state.”

And Jones repeatedly questioned his rival’s support for the president, pointing to Jackson’s past donations to Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans as evidence that he was out of step with the MAGA wing of the party.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones highlighted support from President Donald Trump as he ran for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the key southeastern battleground state.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“He’s been dishonest about who he is. He’s been dishonest about who he’s supported in the background,” Jones charged. “He’s actually, you know, portraying himself as something that he’s not.”

Jackson pushed back, saying the attacks on him were “just lies.”

Jones and Jackson were the top two finishers in last month’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, which also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Because no candidate topped 50%, Jones and Jackson advanced to the runoff.

Jones, a former captain of the University of Georgia football team, an oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served as a state senator before winning election in 2022 as lieutenant governor. A major Trump supporter, he was endorsed by the president last August.

“He and I have a long-standing relationship — friendship — and I’ve always been a big supporter of his, and he’s a very big supporter of mine, as well,” Jones said last month in a Fox News Digital interview as he pointed to Trump.

And he repeatedly showcased the president’s endorsement during the primary and runoff campaigns.

GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL BLASTED BY CRITICS FOR ‘LYING’ ON STAGE ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIRES

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6398408507112

Kemp made a last-minute endorsement on Sunday, backing Jones. And at an event Monday morning, Kemp explained that his mission is “to make sure that we have the best folks at the top of the ticket that can win in November and you know, that’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.”

“When you think about the direction of the state, the great things that we’ve been able to do, I think he’s best suited to move the state forward,” Kemp said. And he warned of the “consequences of not winning, like we’ll be going the way of Virginia, New York, California, we just cannot afford to do that.”

Term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, right, endorses Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican gubernatorial runoff, in Atlanta, Georgia on June 15, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Jackson, looking to the general election battle with Bottoms, told Fox News Digital that when it comes to his spending, “I’ll put in whatever is necessary. We cannot have somebody that doesn’t know how to run the city that now wants to run the state. So, from that standpoint, I’ll do whatever is necessary to win in November.”

Bottoms, in a statement, took aim at Jackson.

“Rick Jackson is focused on enriching himself as Georgians are losing their health care coverage and are forced to pay soaring costs. Jackson has made more than a billion dollars off of a no-bid state contract for his health care company, but he opposes Medicaid expansion to lower the cost of health care,” Bottoms argued in a statement. “Georgians deserve a governor who is focused on ensuring they have every opportunity to thrive and who will fight for them when Donald Trump’s reckless policies hurt Georgia – that’s what I will do as governor.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, walks with her son Langston Bottoms, right, to vote early in the Georgia Primary Election, on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Atlanta(Brynn Anderson/AP Photo)

While he wasn’t on the ballot, Trump’s immense clout over the GOP was facing another key test in Georgia.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Zach Lahn raises his fist in celebration after defeating his primary opponent in Iowa’s GOP gubernatorial race on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.(Zach Lahn for Governor via Facebook)

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.