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El-Sayed accused Biden of exploiting 9/11 mastermind’s killing in resurfaced attack: ‘Troubling’

The Michigan Democratic Senate candidate argued the killing of the 9/11 architect was a ‘fig leaf’ before midterm elections

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Published October 28, 2026 1:17pm EDT

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When American forces killed one of the architects of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed criticized then-President Joe Biden, accusing him of using the operation to boost his political standing rather than focusing on the significance of the strike.

On Aug. 1, 2022, Biden announced that Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed in a U.S. drone strike.

“He was deeply involved in the planning of 9/11, one of the most responsible for the attacks that murdered 2,977 people on American soil,” the president told the nation following the strike. Intelligence officials have long held that al-Zawahiri was involved in the planning behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks as well as other deadly assaults on Americans overseas.

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CBS NEWS TAKES HEAT OVER REPORT ON DEM HOPEFUL ABDUL EL-SAYED’S NOW-DELETED 9/11 POSTS

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Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, speaks at the Michigan Democratic Nominating Convention in Lansing, Mich., on Aug. 29, 2026.(Anadolu via Getty Images)

El-Sayedcondemned al-Zawahiri as a terrorist in an essay, but criticized Biden for what he portrayed as an attempt to capitalize politically on the strike.

“President Biden is using the strike to bolster his approval here at home. It is troubling to watch yet another American president flog ‘War on Terror’ themes to resurrect a laggard term,” El-Sayed wrote in 2022 for The New Republic. “This strike, then, offers the Biden administration a fig leaf, demonstrating that even in Taliban hands, Afghanistan is not off-limits for direct action against terrorist targets.”

EL-SAYED’S SCATHING OBAMA CRITIQUE RESURFACES AHEAD OF JOINT CAMPAIGN RALLY

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Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, films a social media video at a pool party for content creators supporting his campaign, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

El-Sayed argued that Biden was using the killing of al-Zawahiri to bolster his political standing ahead of the looming midterm elections

He went on to argue that, if Biden was serious about “projecting strength in the Middle East,” he would challenge some of the autocratic leaders in the region with whom the United States had traditionally aligned.

While El-Sayed criticized Biden’s handling of the death of al-Zawahiri, he condemned the al-Qaeda leader in no uncertain terms, calling him a “craven terrorist” who “died with the blood of innocent civilians on his hands.”

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The Washington Free Beacon was the first to report on the newly unearthed essay.

ABDUL EL-SAYED PROTESTED AGAINST ‘EX-TERRORISTS’ WHO CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY, UNEARTHED REPORT REVEALS

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Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan, takes questions at a news conference on August 2, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

El-Sayed has previously criticized other high-profile U.S. military and counterterrorism operations.

Similarly, when President Donald Trump ordered the 2020 drone strike of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, El-Sayed warned that “one shouldn’t kick a rabid dog.” When President Barack Obama’s administration killed terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen living in Yemen, El-Sayed characterized it as an “extrajudicial assassination.”

El-Sayed has also compared Trump to Osama bin Laden, suggesting that both inspired people to engage in terrorism and that Trump should be held to account like bin Laden was. Bin Laden was killed by American operators in May 2011.

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El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Ted Cruz calls Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist leprechaun,” as GOP closing message leans into attacks

October 28, 2026 / 2:52 PM EDT / CBS News

Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan — At a campaign event outside of Detroit, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas attempted to tie Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood — a claim El-Sayed has repeatedly denied.

“My nickname for the guy is the jihadist leprechaun,” Cruz said about El-Sayed.

Cruz later said that El-Sayed would get top-level security clearance as a U.S. Senator if elected, claiming that El-Sayed could be put on the Senate Intelligence Committee, “and if I am correct that he is a passionate supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a very real risk that Americans will die as a result.”

The insinuation El-Sayed has ties with the Muslim Brotherhood has been a core part of the closing message for Republican nominee Mike Rogers in what is expected to be a razor-tight Senate race in Michigan. Some branches of the group were designated as a terrorist organization by the Trump administration in January.

El-Sayed said in a recent interview with Fox News: “I have never been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, I never will be a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

El-Sayed and his campaign have condemned the claims, describing them as “a bigoted anti-Muslim smear campaign” against El-Sayed and portraying them as an effort by Republicans to distract from voter frustration with the economy. At a town hall earlier this month, El-Sayed said he “absolutely” disavows the Muslim Brotherhood.

When told by CBS News about Cruz’s comments on Wednesday, El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Cole Wozniak said, “Ted Cruz is a deeply unpopular politician who has long supported policies that hurt Michigan families, including voting to cut healthcare for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders.”

“His dangerous comments are just the latest example of Mike Rogers and his MAGA allies attempting to distract voters from the fact that the price of gas, groceries, and everything else has skyrocketed due to the failed policies of the Trump administration,” Wozniak added.

The GOP claims mainly arose after posts from El-Sayed’s half-sister, Fatten Elkomy, in 2012 and 2013, where she said their birthmother had been active in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt during the early 1970s when she was in college. El-Sayed, who was born in the U.S., has said his parents divorced when he was 3 years old, and he was brought up by his stepmother. He has added that he has not talked to his birthmother about her past involvement with the group, decades before the U.S. added it to its list of proscribed terrorist organizations.

On Wednesday, Cruz also pointed to El-Sayed’s role as president with the Muslim Students’ Association chapter at the University of Michigan, and a 2011 op-ed he wrote supporting protests against Egyptian dictator Mubarak, who then-President Barack Obama called on to step down during the Arab Spring protests.

Cruz and Rogers also noted an open letter El-Sayed signed when he was a medical student in 2012 in support of then-Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected leader who represented the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, and Morsi’s “purge” of supporters of the Mubarak dictatorship within the media and police. The Obama administration had engaged with the Morsi government until the Egyptian military removed him from power in July 2013.

As a congressman in 2012, Rogers said “there are moderate Muslim Brotherhood members the U.S will have to talk to” but added “we are going to have to watch it carefully. While in Congress, Rogers voted for legislation that continued funding for Egypt while the country was led by Morsi.

Asked about it by NBC last Sunday, Rogers said he wanted to try and maintain U.S. relationships with intelligence services in Egypt “that the Muslim Brotherhood was trying to undo.”

The Muslim Brotherhood is currently banned in several Middle Eastern countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Asked Tuesday night by reporters if he has concerns about the Qatari-gifted Air Force One, given that Qatar provides financial and political support to the Muslim Brotherhood, Rogers deflected and voiced concern about Qatari funding in U.S. colleges.

Asked why his closing message has been focused on El-Sayed’s birthmother’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood in the 1970s, well before their designated terrorist group status, the Rogers campaign said the group “stands for ideologies directly in contrast with American ideologies.” The campaign also highlighted when El-Sayed told NBC News he has no ties to the group, before news of his birthmother’s past activism spread.

El-Sayed has argued Republicans are trying to suggest he’d have “dual loyalties” to the U.S. and another country if he’s elected.

“My mom and my sister are not running for office. I’m running for office. Judge me by my actions and my work, but please do not assume that because I might pray differently than anybody who’s ever held this office, that somehow I am not deeply committed to this Constitution,” El-Sayed said in Marquette, Michigan, on Oct. 16.

Asked after the event if he believes El-Sayed would have dual loyalties, Cruz demurred.

“I don’t know about dual loyalties. The demonstrated loyalties he has are to the Muslim Brotherhood,” Cruz told reporters. “He tries to say, ‘It doesn’t matter how I pray.’ I agree. It doesn’t matter how he prays. I’m not talking about how he prays. I’m talking about ideology and advocating for and supporting a terrorist organization.”

Republicans outside of Michigan have escalated anti-Muslim attacks against El-Sayed as Election Day draws closer, with President Trump over the weekend referring to the Democratic candidate as a “jihadist Muslim Brotherhood member.”

Cruz also claimed that if El-Sayed wins, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a top El-Sayed supporter, would be the Democratic nominee for president in 2028. “For those who think, ‘Well, good, if they nominate AOC, that means Republicans win in 28.’ I just want to warn you, we’re a divided country. How many people on September 11, 2001, could have possibly imagined that Zohran Mamdani would be the mayor of New York City?”

“Look, if AOC is the nominee, she could win,” Cruz said.

At the event, El-Sayed’s opponent, Mike Rogers, repeated his remarks from the previous night, calling the Michigan matchup the “most important race in the country.”

“The rest of the country is waiting on us to get this right,” he said. “Socialism married with that Muslim Brotherhood ideology… He wants to represent Palestine, I want to represent Michigan.”

Asked on Tuesday night why he’s making this a focus for his campaign in the closing week, Rogers claimed El-Sayed is a liar about having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

“When you can’t tell the truth about things that matter on life and death, I just don’t think you have any business being in the United States Senate, and people need to know that,” Rogers said.

The Michigan Senate race is one of the most-watched races in the country. The longtime Democratic stronghold voted for President Trump in 2016 and 2024, but elected Democrat Elissa Slotkin to the Senate in 2024. CBS News Battleground Tracker rates the race as a toss up.

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Trump attacks Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan campaign stop

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Is Ohio a swing state again? John King is there to find out

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By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:52 PM EDT, Wed October 28, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/28/politics/video/inside-politics-john-king-all-over-the-map-ohio-6-days-election-day

The Trump era has transformed Ohio from purple to red — but there are signs that’s changing in 2026. John King travelled to the Buckeye State and spoke to voters reconsidering voting for the GOP on Tuesday amid high prices and the war in Iran. But John says Democrats shouldn’t see a win this year as an endorsement of the party.

04:42 • Source: CNN

GOP senator takes aim at blue-city mayor for move promoting foreign workers in key industry: ‘Lit on fire’

The Ohio Republican says public funds should expand domestic nursing enrollment instead of recruiting foreign nurses

By Andrew Mark Miller | Fox News
Published October 28, 2026 12:00pm EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407183542112
DOJ cracks down on companies that favor foreign workers
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas discusses Instacart’s $5 million settlement with the Department of Justice and EEOC over allegations of favoring temporary visa holders over U.S. citizens. Lucas warns other employers about the legal consequences of prioritizing foreign workers over domestic applicants.

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FIRST ON FOX:Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is taking aim at the Democratic mayor of Columbus, Ohio, over a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed with the African nation of Ghana promoting a joint nursing program.

“Instead of investing in Ohio’s domestic workforce, you and the Columbus City Council chose to direct $225,000 in public dollars towards recruiting nurses from overseas,” Moreno wrote to Mayor Andrew Ginther on Wednesday morning, expressing “disappointment” over the MOU in Columbus, the state capital of Ohio.

“But this figure is only a fraction of the approximately $8.3 million in taxpayer dollars you have lit on fire to benefit noncitizens and foreign governments since you were elected as mayor.”

Moreno’s criticism comes after the city and Ghanaian officials signed a memorandum of understanding in September establishing the Ghana-Columbus Nursing Partnership Programme. The agreement is intended to strengthen nursing education, expand workforce development and create legal pathways for qualified Ghanaian nurses to enter Ohio’s healthcare workforce.

RED-STATE SENATOR DROPS HAMMER ON DEM MAYOR OVER NEW ‘WOKE’ DEI ORDINANCE WHILE VIOLENT CRIME SURGES

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Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno repeatedly pressed a former Biden adviser on whether illegal immigration is a crime in a heated hearing.(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Moreno argued that the agreement could result in American nurses being replaced by lower-cost foreign labor and said public funds should instead be used to expand enrollment and training capacity at Ohio colleges and universities.

“You were elected to serve the citizens of Columbus, not the citizens of Ghana,” Moreno wrote. “Increasing publicly subsidized foreign nursing recruitment programs will likely negatively impact American nurses’ wages. These funds should be invested directly in Ohio nursing students and utilized to expand Ohio’s universities and colleges nursing programs’ capacity. I recommend you implement policies that invest public funds in American nurses.”

AMERICA’S BROKEN LEGAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM IS REPLACING US WORKERS BY DESIGN

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Mayor of Columbus, Ohio Andrew J. Ginther delivers remarks during the NCAA Football Championship celebration at Ohio Stadium on January 26, 2025, in Columbus, Ohio.(Jason Mowry/Getty Images)

The partnership between Ghana and Columbus has been widely blasted by conservatives on social media in recent weeks, with many arguing that American citizens should fill those jobs.

“Why aren’t our tax dollars funding nursing scholarships and careers for Ohioans instead?” Attorney and GOP strategist Mehek Cooke posted on X in response to reporting from journalist Natalie Winters. “Stop sidelining Americans with OUR money.”

“It’s worth noting that earlier this year a homecare nurse from Ghana named Roberta Achampong fled the country back to Ghana after allegedly stealing millions from Medicaid and buying a swanky house and a Porsche,” policy analyst Parker Thayer posted on X. “And now the mayor of Columbus wants more nurses from Ghana.’

The $225,000 referenced in Moreno’s letter was approved by Columbus City Council as a 2026 general fund grant to Greater Columbus Sister Cities International. The ordinance says the money is intended to support business, government, cultural, educational and environmental exchanges among Columbus’ 10 sister cities, including Accra, Ghana, as well as the organization’s staffing and administrative costs.

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

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“Ghana has made significant investment in training nursing professionals who can migrate legally to enter a ready market in Columbus,” Ginther said during the signing ceremony, according to a press release from the government of Ghana.

The press release added that Ghanaian officials “emphasized that the agreement extends far beyond simple labor migration and stated that the MoU serves as a strategic platform for: mutual skills transfer between medical professionals, institutional strengthening for healthcare facilities, joint research collaborations and health innovations and global improvement of patient health outcomes.”

Moreno wrote that he hopes the mayor will “reallocate public dollars toward expanding enrollment and training capacity at area colleges and universities, which would generate additional high-earning job opportunities for younger generations in our community and improve patient care.”

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter from Pasadena, California, who has been with Fox News Digital since 2021. You can reach him at AndrewMark.Miller@fox.com.

Alvin Hellerstein, no-nonsense judge in Maduro and Trump cases, dies at 92

October 28, 2026 / 3:06 PM EDT / CBS News

Alvin Hellerstein, a federal judge who for decades oversaw some of the country’s most high-profile cases, counting among his defendants presidents and CEOs, has died, a spokesperson for the Southern District of New York confirmed Wednesday. He was 92.

At the time of his death, he was presiding over the criminal case of one former president, Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, while steadfastly refusing to allow another president — Donald Trump — to move his criminal case from state court to Hellerstein’s Southern District of New York federal courthouse. Hellerstein had faced some criticism for taking on the Maduro case in January, just days after turning 92, and months after reporters observed him appearing to briefly fall asleep during the high-profile trial of Charlie Javice, a 32-year-old CEO who was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan in the $175 million sale of her startup.

Barry Pollack, an attorney for Maduro, said in a text message to CBS News, “We were saddened to learn of Judge Hellerstein’s passing and offer our condolences to his family.”

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File photo: Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Oct. 29, 2019, in New York City. Owen Hoffmann/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

Hellerstein was 64 years old when former President Bill Clinton appointed him to the federal bench. In the three decades since, he presided over major lawsuits related to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a federal lawsuit against disgraced sexual abuser Harvey Weinstein, litigation related to evidence of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the trial of Ponzi schemer David Hu, and last year ruled against President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act in a case involving the deportation of Venezuelans.

During Hellerstein’s final years, he was a thorn in Mr. Trump’s side.

The no-nonsense judge repeatedly rejected efforts by Mr. Trump to remove his New York State criminal case to federal court. His opinions in the matter frequently scorned arguments made by Mr. Trump’s lawyers, who claimed that the facts at the heart of Mr. Trump’s “hush money” criminal case involved official acts under the color of his office. Mr. Trump was found guilty by a state jury in that case, which revolved around reimbursements made to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for a payment just before the 2016 presidential election to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels.

“Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty,” Hellerstein wrote. “Falsifying business records to hide such reimbursement, and to transform the reimbursement into a business expense for Trump and income to Cohen, likewise does not relate to a presidential duty.”

A 2024 ruling by the Supreme Court had forced Hellerstein to reconsider that determination. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ordered Hellerstein to reexamine arguments around presidential immunity, factoring the Supreme Court’s landmark decision thatupended multiple Trump cases. Hellerstein ruled against Mr. Trump in that matter one last time on Aug. 28, writing that “the trial evidence does not infringe on presidential immunity.”

Hellerstein presided over cases connected to the Maduro matter since 2014. But his death is unlikely to create significant delays in the case, according to lawyer and former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin.

“There’s no automatic pause, and there’s really no fixed period of delay. Obviously a new judge is going to need time to get familiar with the case, but they can keep all the existing dates on the calendar or adjust them as necessary,” Levin said. “One of the main qualifications of being a judge is that you can read a lot of paper. The fact that there’s extra paperwork falls into their skill set.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/key-takeaways-from-nicols-maduros-court-hearing/

James O’Keefe charged after Minnesota polling station stunt

2026-10-28T18:13:45.715Z / CNN

A Minnesota county attorney is charging right-wing influencers James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby with felony counts of unlawful voting and identity theft, alleging that the two claimed other voters’ identities while visiting polling places with concealed cameras during the state’s August primary.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said O’Keefe and Higby attempted to register to vote on the day of the primary by claiming the names of real voters — some alive and some deceased. They stopped when told they would have to sign oaths to vouch for someone else’s residence and did not actually cast votes.

The influencers had been attempting to test the state’s “vouching” process, which allows a registered voter in a precinct to vouch that another person lives where they say they live. Moriarty said the system is often used by senior citizens who haven’t updated their driver’s licenses after moving into nursing homes.

“You cannot give somebody else’s name and misrepresent yourself,” Moriarty said. “Whether or not they intended to vote is irrelevant.”

The charges against the influencers come days before the November 3 midterm elections in which Democrats are aiming to topple the GOP’s House and Senate majorities.

It also comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has sent multiple states lists of what it alleges are noncitizens on the voter rolls, intensifying its controversial efforts to stop those people from voting in the election. Trump has for years made false and disproven claims about widespread voting fraud.

The two influencers did not immediately respond to email messages seeking comment on the charges.

According to the criminal complaints, the two men disguised themselves in what O’Keefe described on X as “traditional Muslim attire.”

“We wanted to put the process to an extreme real-world test and document what election workers would tell us when confronted with the scenario firsthand,” the conservative provocateur said in a social media post in August.

O’Keefe, 42, was the founder of Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group that targeted journalists in sting videos that were often deceptively edited. He was fired by the Project Veritas board in 2023, and has since founded O’Keefe Media Group, where he has continued to produce videos that he claims take aim at corruption.

Moriarty added that the videos posted online of their efforts were deceptively edited.

She said election judges who were on hand raised concerns about what she described as their “strange behavior,” and flagged it to police. She said the living voters whose names O’Keefe and Higby attempted to use said they had no knowledge of their efforts.

“There’s no such thing as ‘undercover’ investigation in the polling place,” she said. “You have to identify yourself as a journalist in the polling place, which they did not.”

The two have not yet been arrested, but will be sent copies of the criminal complaint with the date of their first court appearances by the county clerk.

“This is not meant to send a message. It’s meant for these particular people to understand that what they did was unlawful,” Moriarty said.

“Minnesota’s enduring tradition of high voter turnout and excellence in elections administration is due in part to the work we all do to keep polling places as ‘islands of calm,’” Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said in a statement following Moriarty’s announcement.

“These locations — our communities’ schools, churches, and senior centers – are the heart of our democracy and as such should be places of safety and peace. Any attempt to disrupt or deceive our election workers will not be tolerated.”

Thune calls Ohio race ‘ground zero’ in ‘knife fight’ for Senate while rallying with Husted

A recent poll shows former Sen Sherrod Brown with a slight lead over Sen Jon Husted ahead of Tuesday’s vote

By Robert McGreevyFox News

Published October 28, 2026 9:52am EDT

Senate Majority Leader John Thune calls Ohio ‘ground zero’ for crucial midterm election

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., calls Ohio “ground zero” for crucial midterm election while campaigning with Republican Senate nominee Jon Husted on Tuesday, Oct. 27.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., called Ohio “ground zero” for Senate control during a campaign event with Republican nominee Sen. Jon Husted in Lima, Ohio, on Tuesday night.

Following remarks from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, Thune praised Oz’s work in rooting out waste, fraud and abuse while insisting that Republicans must hold a Senate majority to allow Oz to continue his work.

“That only happens if Jon Husted gets elected next Tuesday. This is ground zero. It seems like it is a lot of election years we come to Ohio, but this literally is ground zero. This is the firewall in the United States Senate. It’s the difference between the next two years, President Trump having to deal with Democrats in Congress, House and Senate, where all you’ll be doing is investigations,” Thune told the crowd.

SENATE CONTROL IS A COIN FLIP — AND DEMOCRATS’ PATH RUNS THROUGH TRUMP COUNTRY

Top Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., have already signaled an intention to use subpoena power to investigate President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet.

“When people ask what will we do, my answer is simple. We’ll use those tools. We’ll act like the Congress,” Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Associated Press in September.

HOUSE DEMS PLOT TRUMP INVESTIGATION BLITZ IF THEY SEIZE MAJORITY

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Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., address a press conference during a visit to Denmark, Copenhagen, on April 25, 2025.(Emil Nicolai Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

“I tell people that the first thing the House will do, Democrats, if the House flips, is they’ll impeach the president,” Thune continued Tuesday.

“Well, that will require a trial, some sort of a trial in the United States Senate. And the only difference between a 24-hour impeachment trial in the Senate and a 24-month impeachment trial is a Republican majority,” he said.

DEM MAKING SENATE COMEBACK BID SAYS HE WOULDN’T SUPPORT A TRUMP IMPEACHMENT PUSH

Thune then slammed Husted’s Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who served as a U.S. senator in Ohio from 2007 until 2025, when he ceded his seat to Republican Bernie Moreno after losing in the 2024 election.

“He proved that to us for 30 years when he was in the Senate, he was a rubber stamp for Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden. We got to keep Jon Husted in the United States Senate, folks. It is absolutely, absolutely critical,” Thune said.

SHERROD BROWN’S 1971 LETTER ARGUED AGAINST RELEASING VIETNAM WAR POWS, PODCAST HOSTS REVEAL

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks with Sens. Tim Scott and Jon Husted ahead of a press conference on Capitol Hill, March 21, 2026.(Reuters/Nathan Howard)

Thune continued to sing Husted’s praises.

“Jon Husted is as good as they come. He is just a solid, solid human being who is principled, hardworking, smart and solution-oriented. He’s getting up every day thinking of things he can do to make Ohio better. He did that when he was here in the state legislature and as lieutenant governor for the state of Ohio. He cut taxes here. Came to Washington, cut taxes there. Allowed you to keep more money in your pocket. Secured the border. We haven’t had a person released into the country illegally in 17 months. Think about that, folks,” Thune continued.

TRUMP ADMIN MARKS 15 STRAIGHT MONTHS WITH ZERO BORDER RELEASES AS APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE 94%

He closed his remarks by hammering home how crucial it is for Ohioans to get out and vote.

“This is a knife fight, folks. This is a bare knuckles brawl, and all you have to do is turn on your television and see that. But the stakes couldn’t be higher, consequences couldn’t be greater. It’s just so important that we get this done,” he concluded.

MAPPED: THE STATES TRUMP AND TOP DEMOCRATS ARE TARGETING BEFORE ELECTION DAY

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks at a campaign event for Sen. Jon Husted.(Fox News Channel)

Husted, for his part, reiterated the tight nature of his race, also challenging Republican voters to get to the polls.

“We got work to do because this is going to be a close race. This is going to be a close race,” Husted told the crowd. “This is like the fourth quarter of a football game. I can tell you that the other side wants to intimidate us. The other side wants to make you think that we’re not going to win. The other side is going to try to make you believe that what you do doesn’t matter. What you do does matter. You get into the fourth quarter of a football game, and this is what people try to do. They try to intimidate you the whole game. Everybody has a game plan, but they keep punching you. They keep knocking you down. They want to make you quit. Are they going to make you quit?”

FOX NEWS POLL: ECONOMIC ANXIETY AND CANDIDATE CONCERNS DEFINE OHIO SENATE RACE

A recent Fox News survey of likely Ohio voters showed Brown with a slight lead over Husted, with 52% of respondents saying they’d vote for Brown compared to 47% for Husted.

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Jeffries, Meeks, Thune, Husted and the Brown campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.

Mike Collins drops Election Day gas price prediction in heated Georgia Senate race

Georgia Republican discusses backstage exchange with Trump, $4.2 billion Audi investment one week before Election Day

https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/jasmine-baehr-2026-headshot-sized-scaled.jpg By Jasmine Baehr
Fox News

Published October 28, 2026 10:00am EDT

President-backed Georgia Senate hopeful Mike Collins reveals private Trump talks

Georgia Republican Mike Collins jokes about rival’s Hollywood makeup artist with Fox News Digital, details his role in $4.2B Audi investment and predicts fuel prices will fall after Election Day.

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EXCLUSIVE — Republican Rep. Mike Collins offered a behind-the-scenes look at his latest conversation with President Donald Trump and detailed his role in preparing Georgia’s infrastructure for a multibillion-dollar manufacturing investment during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday, exactly one week before voters decide one of the nation’s closely watched Senate contests.

Collins, a trucking company owner challenging Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff, said he spoke privately with Trump following Saturday’s rally in Perry, Georgia, where the president announced a $4.2 billion investment by German automaker Audi.

The Georgia congressman described a president eager to hear feedback from those around him and said he personally relayed what he had observed while meeting rallygoers.

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Rep. Mike Collins, the Georgia Republican Senate candidate, speaks alongside President Donald Trump during a midterm campaign rally at the Guardian Centers on Oct. 24, 2026, in Perry, Georgia.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“He always wants to know what you think. He wants to know what everybody thinks,” Collins told Fox News Digital. “And I think that’s just part of his personality.”

Collins said he made a point of asking attendees whether they had ever been to a Trump rally before.

“Well over half of the people that were at that event, it was their first time ever attending a Trump rally,” Collins said, describing his own conversations with supporters.

The Republican also revealed that Trump helped amplify a new digital advertisement from his Senate campaign focused on the Laken Riley Act, legislation Collins championed in Congress.

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE SURVIVES GRUELING RUNOFF, ADVANCES TO HIGH-STAKES SENATE RACE

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President Donald Trump speaks during a midterm campaign rally at the Guardian Centers on Oct. 24, 2026, in Perry, Georgia.(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“When he saw the ad, he retweeted it out there and of course, it has exploded with over 7 million views,” Collins said.

The president’s involvement comes as Collins seeks to unseat Ossoff in the final days before the Nov. 3 election.

Collins also elaborated on his involvement in improvements to the Port of Brunswick, which he credits with helping position Georgia to attract Audi’s newly announced manufacturing investment.

Trump announced Saturday that Audi would invest $4.2 billion in a new facility in the Macon area, with plans to manufacture approximately 200,000 vehicles annually.

Collins said that after becoming chairman of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee in 2025, he made the Port of Brunswick one of his first priorities.

“Got down there and, lo and behold, that thing has not been fully dredged in over 10 years,” Collins said. “Took me about three months, got the money, got it dredged. Now it is fully dredged.”

According to Collins, insufficient channel depth had limited what cargo vessels could transport through the port. He argued that improving the port’s capacity helped make Georgia more attractive to automakers looking to manufacture and export vehicles.

“One of the reasons that they picked Georgia was because that port is ready to go down there,” Collins said.

‘MISLEADING VOTERS’: OSSOFF WARNS DONORS HE’S FALLING BEHIND DESPITE LEADING SENATE FUNDRAISING

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Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., speaks to members of the media during the opening of the state Democratic Party’s South DeKalb field office in Decatur, Georgia, on May 23, 2026.(Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Audi announcement has become a point of contention in the Senate campaign. Ossoff has called for more details about the project, while Collins has pointed to his work on port infrastructure as evidence of his economic development record.

The interview also turned personal when Collins was asked about reports concerning Ossoff’s campaign spending on a Hollywood makeup artist.

The Washington Times reported Sept. 26 that Ossoff’s campaign had spent nearly $3,000 on hair and makeup during the election cycle, more than any other Senate candidate at the time. The outlet cited Federal Election Commission records showing payments to Georgia makeup artist Stephanie Ponder.

Asked whether he personally wears makeup on the campaign trail, Collins responded with a joke.

“The answer is no, I don’t use makeup,” Collins said. “Some people might want to suggest I put a bag over my head.”

Collins then said political advisors had deliberately changed how Ossoff looks and speaks.

“I can’t help it that they hired Pee-wee Herman’s makeup artist,” Collins said.

The comments followed Trump’s own references to the fictional character while criticizing Ossoff at Saturday’s rally.

Collins also claimed that Ossoff is positioning himself for a potential 2028 presidential campaign, an allegation he framed as his own interpretation of the senator’s voting record, endorsements and fundraising.

Ossoff has campaigned on his work in the Senate, including healthcare, affordability and economic issues, while criticizing Collins’ support for Trump’s policies.

When asked whether he disagrees with Trump on any issue, Collins pointed to the timing of a potential change involving off-road diesel fuel.

“Probably the only thing I would have, I would have jumped on the off-road diesel quicker to run in trucks,” Collins said.

The trucking company owner argued that allowing additional diesel supplies into the transportation market sooner could help reduce prices.

He also predicted that consumers would see lower fuel prices following the election.

“You’re gonna see prices come down. It’s amazing what Election Day is gonna do,” Collins said.

The prediction comes as rising energy costs remain a major issue in the Senate race.

Collins defended Trump’s broader economic agenda, arguing that lower taxes, deregulation and domestic manufacturing investment would help households struggling with everyday expenses.

Ossoff, meanwhile, has criticized Trump’s tariffs and the economic effects of the war with Iran, arguing that administration policies have contributed to higher costs for Georgia families.

Collins ended the exclusive interview with a confident declaration about the approaching election.

“I’m gonna win this race next week. I’m gonna be your next U.S. senator from Georgia,” Collins said.

He added that he would move his work from the House to the Senate while continuing to focus on affordability and economic development.

“We’re gonna just pick up that old desk, move it across the rotunda, and continue to deliver,” Collins said.

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The election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, with early voting in Georgia continuing through Friday, Oct. 30.

The Ossoff campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Jasmine Baehr is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, legal debates surrounding life and family policy, as well as faith and culture.

Long-running embassy fight comes back to haunt Trump as State Dept hit with $461M lawsuit

A builder says career officials reached a $370M deal before Trump’s political leadership intervened

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published October 28, 2026 11:01am EDT | Updated October 28, 2026 11:57am EDT

FIRST ON FOX — The latest lawsuit launched against the Trump administration seeks to recover more than $461 million after the State Department directed a longtime embassy builder to continue construction projects worldwide through the COVID-19 pandemic.

B.L. Harbert International, which has built dozens of U.S. embassies and consulates over more than two decades, reached a $370 million settlement with the State Department to handle resulting claims — but the compnay claims the deal was reversed after current political leadership intervened.

The builders are now seeking to recover lost funding through suing the Trump administration, and filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Fox News Digital first learned. The complaint covers 12 diplomatic construction projects across four continents, including facilities in Turkey, Iraq, Thailand, Morocco, Mexico and Central America.

The company alleges career State Department officials reached the $370 million agreement in September 2025, but the government paid just $501,636 before backing out. Harbert claims political leadership “inserted themselves into the process after a settlement was reached” and that the decision to abandon it “came from the top.”

“We did not want to take this step. The U.S. Government is an important partner, and we are proud of the work we do together to advance America’s interests and protect Americans serving overseas,” Charles Bohn, president of BL Harbert’s International Group, said in a statement.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNCOVERS $1.2B IN SUSPECTED COVID CONTRACT FRAUD TIED TO BIDEN-ERA SPENDING

“But we have a responsibility to our employees and to the future of that mission. We kept our commitment under extraordinarily difficult conditions. We are asking the government to keep its commitment to us.”

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Six U.S. diplomatic compounds built by B.L. Harbert International and included among the projects at issue in the company’s lawsuit against the federal government.(U.S. Court of Federal Claims/B.L. Harbert International)

Harbert is one of a small pool of U.S. contractors capable of building highly secure diplomatic facilities overseas — work that requires specialized security clearances, vetted workforces and the ability to manage complex construction and supply chains abroad. According to the company, some State Department embassy projects now draw just two or three qualified bidders.

The dispute stretches across three presidential administrations, beginning with State Department directives issued during Trump’s first term in 2020, continuing as Harbert pursued compensation during the Biden administration and culminating in the alleged settlement and its collapse during Trump’s second term.

At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Harbert was working on 17 embassy and consulate construction projects around the world, representing nearly two-thirds of State’s embassy construction program at the time, according to the lawsuit.

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As countries shut down and global supply chains seized up in early 2020, Harbert says it sought guidance from State on whether to pause construction. The company argues the pandemic constituted an “excusable delay” under its contracts that would have allowed it to send personnel home, secure construction sites and resume work once conditions stabilized.

Instead, Harbert alleges State decided to keep its overseas construction program moving.

The company says State directed it to remain ready to mobilize, continue procuring and shipping materials and work through the disruptions, while instructing Harbert to document the resulting costs and submit requests for reimbursement.

In one March 2020 communication cited in the complaint, Harbert warned State that it could not afford to continue paying workers to remain on standby without assurances of reimbursement. Labor costs on the new U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City alone were running roughly $1.3 million per month, according to the filing.

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Former military protest outside the US Embassy in Guatemala City on June 26, 2024.(JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Weeks later, State directed Harbert to “continue to procure and ship materials” so projects would not end up at the “back of the line” when global construction activity resumed, the complaint alleges. State recognized that doing so could generate additional storage, shipping and other costs and directed the company to submit requests for equitable adjustments as those costs arose, according to the filing.

The projects ultimately moved forward under pandemic restrictions that Harbert says increased costs and reduced productivity as the company dealt with workforce limitations, supply-chain disruptions and new operating requirements.

The government has since taken possession of all 12 diplomatic facilities at issue in the lawsuit and has been using some of them for more than three years, according to Harbert.

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Harbert ultimately submitted more than $500 million in requests for equitable adjustments and other claims stemming from the pandemic directives and separate project disputes, including alleged design changes and government-caused delays.

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Harbert alleges members of State Department political leadership “inserted themselves into the process after a settlement was reached” and that, “on information and belief,” the decision to abandon the agreement “came from the top.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.

With deadlines approaching to preserve its claims, Harbert says it formally certified them in March 2026. The complaint alleges State’s chief of staff encouraged the company to do so, representing that certification would make it easier for the government to implement the settlement.

Instead, State contracting officers began denying the claims in July. By Oct. 13, 2026, all 13 certified claims now at issue in the lawsuit had received final decisions.

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This picture taken on May 21,2026 shows a general view of the US embassy building in Ankara.(Getty Images)

Harbert is now seeking at least $461,097,380 in damages, along with interest and other relief.

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The lawsuit does not currently ask the court to enforce the alleged $370 million settlement itself. Harbert says its settlement-related claims remain in the administrative process and that it reserves the right to add them to the lawsuit later.

The dispute could carry consequences beyond the hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.

Harbert has been awarded roughly 60 U.S. embassy and consulate construction projects since 1999. The company says the number of American contractors willing and qualified to undertake such work has dwindled significantly, in some cases leaving just two or three qualified bidders for projects.

Embassy construction requires contractors to meet stringent security and workforce-vetting requirements while managing highly specialized construction, secure facilities and international logistics, creating significant barriers for companies seeking to enter the field.

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Harbert argues that if contractors lose confidence that State will honor its obligations, fewer could be willing to take on the work, further shrinking the government’s options for constructing secure diplomatic facilities overseas.

Trump revisits 10-year warning to Macron as protests sweep France: ‘You have to get them out’

The president repeated his decade-long warning on immigration after student demonstrations spiraled into nationwide unrest

By Ashley J. DiMella , Kiera McDonaldFox News

Published October 28, 2026 10:56am EDT

Trump warns Macron over immigration troubles amid France protests

President Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that France’s unrest is an “immigration problem,” warning the country must do something about it.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! https://www.foxnews.com/video/6407537535112 Listen to this article 3 min

President Donald Trump revisited his longstanding warning to French President Emmanuel Macron that France could “lose” its country if it doesn’t address immigration troubles.

“It’s not a school problem. It’s an immigration problem,” Trump told Fox News Digital Tuesday night after rallying in Texas in a final push for Republicans ahead of next week’s midterms.

“I’ve been saying that to President Macron for a long time, who I like a lot, by the way. But I said, ‘You’re going to end up losing your country if you don’t do something.’”

Trump’s call for France to close its borders follows student demonstrations that have devolved into widespread protests over local grievances, packing streets, sparking clashes and ricocheting across Europe.

TRUMP REVEALS DIRE WARNING TO MACRON AS VIOLENT UNREST SPREADS ACROSS EUROPE

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President Donald Trump (right) takes part in the Gaza summit chaired by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi alongside France’s President Emmanuel Macron in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on Oct. 14, 2025.(Michael Kappeler/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

During a conversation with U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner earlier this week, Trump told Fox News Digital they discussed France’s immigration problems, which he believes were behind the protests.

“You have people that hate France,” he said. “They hate the buildings, hate the art, they hate the people. And they’re in there, and you have to get them out.”

Trump called the situation in France and across Europe “very sad,” saying his warnings to Macron have spanned a decade.

“Something has to happen, and they better do something,” he said. “I’ve been saying it for 10 years, too.”

Trump has raised concerns about immigration in Europe for roughly a decade, dating back to his first presidential campaign in 2016. Macron became France’s president in 2017.

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Students clash with police during ongoing student protest action, in Lyon, central-eastern France, on Oct. 1, 2026.(Alex Martin AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has previously credited his own immigration policies with preventing similar unrest in the U.S.

Macron accused foreign leaders last week of making “unacceptable and even stupid” comments, calling them false claims for political gain. He did not mention Trump or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name — both the U.S. and Israel are in the midst of high-stakes election cycles.

In France, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said “nearly 1,000 people” were arrested Saturday as nationwide protests resumed. Macron said “ultra-left groups whose aim is to bring down the Republic” are leading the protests and that those organized by “individuals or groups with no legitimate authority” would be banned.

FRANCE’S MACRON BLAMES PROTESTS ON ‘ULTRA-LEFT GROUPS WHOSE AIM IS TO BRING DOWN THE REPUBLIC’

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A fire burns as police officers in riot gear stand guard during civil unrest in Paris, France, the day after a national day of demonstrations against the cost of living and rising fuel prices on Oct. 18, 2026.(Reuters)

Remaining on high alert, Macron said anyone who loots or damages property will be forced to pay, as tens of thousands of police were deployed. A Fox News Digital investigation identified 50 Antifa groups among nearly 300 groups mobilizing around the protests, as well as a sprawling network of communist, socialist, far-left and anti-Israel groups.

Protests also spiraled in other parts of Europe this month, with violence breaking out in Rome and Albania’s capital, Tirana, where demonstrators set government buildings on fire.

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

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.