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Rogers opens door to Democratic voters after El-Sayed’s primary victory: ‘There is still hope’

2026-08-07T13:26:05-04:00 / Fox News

The Republican nominee pitched his campaign as a home for voters who feel El-Sayed’s views do not represent them

By Kiera McDonald, Andrew Mark Miller Fox News

Published August 7, 2026 1:26pm EDT | Updated August 7, 2026 1:27pm EDT

Mike Rogers speaks directly to Michigan Democrats after El-Sayed primary win

Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers told Democratic voters ‘there is still hope’ and said they have a ‘home’ with his campaign in a video posted to X Friday. (Credit: X/@MikeRogersForMI -Aug. 7)

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Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers opened the door to Michigan Democrats on Friday after far-left progressive Abdul El-Sayed’s primary victory, assuring them “there is still hope,” adding they have a “home” with his campaign.

“If you’re among the majority of Democratic voters that woke up on Wednesday feeling, well, hopeless, because the person who won does not represent your values, well, just know, there is still hope,” Rogers said in a video posted on X Friday.

“Michigan deserves a senator who is ready to sit with you, hear from you and represent you.”

El-Sayed narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in one of the nation’s most closely watched Democratic primaries, setting up a November showdown with Rogers, who ran uncontested.

2026 MIDTERMS STATE OF PLAY: KEY RACES UNFOLD AS STEVENS, EL-SAYED BATTLE IN MICHIGAN

Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers is making a direct pitch to Michigan Democrats following Abdul El-Sayed’s primary victory.(Sarah Rice/Getty Images ; Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Rogers addressed Democratic voters directly, casting his campaign as a home for those who feel their values are not reflected in El-Sayed’s candidacy as he tries to court the hundreds of thousands of Democrats who voted for Stevens but may not feel comfortable voting for El-Sayed.

“The parents across Michigan who want an education system that sets up their kids for success, you have a home with us,” he said. “To grandparents across Michigan who are heartbroken from watching their kids and grandkids leave the state, you have a home with us.

“To young people who are looking for real solutions to solve our housing affordability crisis, you have a home with us. To working families who don’t want higher taxes and lower paychecks, well, you have a home with us.”

Rogers also accused El-Sayed’s campaign of promoting “anger, divisiveness, calls for violence” and views he said are out of step with Michigan voters.

“And to the vast majority of people across Michigan who do not want to throw their support behind a campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence and the views that are out of touch with your values, well, you have a home with us,” he said.

EL-SAYED’S THREAT AGAINST GOP RIVAL BACKFIRES AS CONSERVATIVES BRING RECEIPTS: ‘IS DUBAI IN FLORIDA?’

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an election night rally at the Majestic Theatre Aug. 4, 2026, in Detroit.(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

If Rogers wins in November, Republicans would flip the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and help protect their control of the Senate.

“Over the next 90 days, I’m going to work hard to earn your trust, to earn your support and earn your vote,” Rogers said. “We have a state to save, Michigan. Let’s get to work.”

Rogers’ outreach to Democrats was praised by some conservatives and pundits on social media.

In a post on X, former DSA member Jake Altman wrote, “I voted for Biden. I voted for Harris. I will vote for Mike Rogers. I just donated to the campaign. This is not a time to sit on your hands. Stand up for the man who fights terrorists, not the one who sympathizes with them.”

“Mike Rogers directly asks for Democrats to support him in Michigan. The majority of Michigan Democrats voted against Abdul El-Sayed. This is well done,” OutKick founder Clay Travis posted on X.

In another post on X, Democrats for Mike Rogers wrote, “Mike Rogers is meeting the moment. We’re putting country over party and voting for Mike Rogers in November. It’s never been more important. We must unite and defeat the extremism of Abdul El-Sayed and his allies.”

El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and former Wayne County health director who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018, has campaigned on Medicare-for-all and abolishing Immigration and customs enforcement. He has also been a vocal critic of Israel during its war with Hamas and has called Israel’s actions in Gaza “genocide.”

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: THE REPUBLICAN-LED VOTE THAT REVEALED DEMOCRATS’ NEW DIVIDE ON ISRAEL

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers waits to go onstage at his election watch party with the Michigan GOP Nov. 5, 2024, in Novi, Michigan. Rogers and Democrat Elissa Slotkin are competing for the seat vacated by the retiring Debbie Stabenow.(Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

He would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected.

As some Democrats grapple with the direction of their party following El-Sayed’s nomination, Rogers said the “fight is far greater than just left versus right.”

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“The fight is for the very soul of our nation,” he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to El Sayed’s campaign for comment.

Kiera McDonald is a Production Assistant for Fox News Digital.

Veteran economist, insider Matsumoto wins Senate approval as BLS commissioner

2026-08-07T18:18:46.556Z / Reuters

WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Friday approved career economist Brett Matsumoto as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, potentially easing trust concerns after President Donald Trump fired the previous ​head a year ago over weak employment numbers.

Matsumoto was confirmed by 51-47 in an “en-bloc” confirmation vote alongside dozens of other nominees to sub-cabinet level positions. He holds a Ph.D. in ‌economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An inflation expert, Matsumoto joined the BLS in 2015, and was on leave to work at the White House Council of Economic Advisers when Trump tapped him to replace Erika McEntarfer, whom he dismissed last August.

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Trump accused McEntarfer, without evidence, of manipulating July 2025’s employment report, which showed unexpectedly slow employment growth and massive downward revisions to the nonfarm payrolls counts for the prior two months.

Trump initially picked conservative economist E.J. ​Antoni, a critic of the BLS, to head the agency but withdrew the nomination amid

opposition from, opens new tab
some Republicans. Private economists had expressed worries over the trustworthiness of BLS-produced data following ​the firing of McEntarfer.

Her dismissal followed the disbanding by the Trump administration of BLS and Commerce Department advisory boards that had given the agencies advice ⁠on economic data collection and analysis. William Wiatrowski, a longtime deputy commissioner, has been leading the BLS in an acting capacity.

There has been no evidence of data manipulation, with the BLS even reporting job ​losses in some months in 2025 and this year, and most recently a jump in inflation related to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Indeed, an employment report for July released on Friday just hours before ​Matsumoto’s confirmation included big downward revisions to previously reported job gains for May and June – the largest revisions since those that cost his predecessor her job.

Matsumoto told lawmakers at his confirmation hearing in June he was committed to maintaining the integrity and independence of the BLS.

“I believe strongly in the mission of the BLS to produce objective quality measures,” Matsumoto said. “It is important for the public to be confident that decisions at the BLS are being driven by science rather ​than politics.”

Matsumoto also pointed out that he would be the only political appointee at the BLS.

“Any changes to data or methods will be approved by career staff at the agency and communicated ​to the public ahead of time, along with research supporting the change,” he said.

NO HISTORY OF POLITICAL PUBLICATIONS

Matsumoto’s nomination was welcomed by private economists and a former BLS commissioner.

“Trust is mission critical for a statistical agency,” said Erica ‌Groshen, who ⁠served as BLS commissioner from 2013 to 2017. “Brett Matsumoto comes from inside the BLS, is steeped in the culture of the agency, and doesn’t have a history of publications that are political. He is the kind of commissioner we’ve had in the past, and that makes me much less worried than I was about the first nominee.”

But many challenges await Matsumoto. The BLS, which has suffered from years of inadequate funding under both Democratic and Republican administrations, lost many experienced economists, researchers and statisticians during last year’s mass layoffs and resignations of federal workers.

More than a third of senior-level positions at the agency were ​estimated to be vacant at the beginning of 2026.

Though ​the BLS is currently filling some of ⁠the positions, it is unclear how many vacancies will be filled and the institutional knowledge has been lost for good. Most of the advertised jobs have been entry-level positions.

Resource constraints forced the BLS last year to reduce the Consumer Price Index collection sample across the country and end the calculation and publication ​of about 350 indexes in the producer price report. A 43-day government shutdown last year prevented the collection of data and publishing of the ​unemployment rate for October and ⁠other metrics from the household survey for the first time in the agency’s history.

Monthly inflation rates for October and November, as well as import price data, also could not be published. The BLS in May held open forums with private economists, researchers and statisticians to discuss options to address the data gaps.

While Matsumoto’s appointment will go a long way to assuage trust concerns, threats remain.

The Trump administration is pushing to strip tens ⁠of thousands of government ​employees of job protections, which unions have argued would make them easier to fire and replace with political loyalists. An ​estimated 50,000 federal employees, mostly career employees who work on policy matters, will be reclassified under the new “Schedule Policy/Career.”

“The statistical agency people produce numbers that affect policy, but the people who produce those numbers do not have a policy-influencing job,” said Groshen. “That ​distinction, I’m not sure is going to be recognized, and I fear that Schedule Policy/Career will be applied within the statistical agencies. That, I think, would undermine trust.”

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci

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

Trump’s middle finger to the GOP’s midterm worries

2026-08-07T17:07:17.909Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/07/politics/trump-midterms-gop-unpopular

President Donald Trump just made some of his most flippant comments to date about his party holding onto power in November.

In an interview released Friday, Trump denied not caring about the GOP’s fortunes in the midterms. But he didn’t actually dispel the idea that he’s not terribly interested in being a team player and doing the things his party needs.

In the interview with Punchbowl News, taped on Thursday, Jake Sherman asked Trump about the narrative that he doesn’t really care about Congress and holding the GOP’s majorities in 2026.

“It’s not right,” Trump said, adding: “We’re gonna fight hard,” and, “it’s very important to the country that we win.”

But then he said a bunch of other stuff.

The president suggested that he’s doing Republicans a favor both by potentially spending some of his war chest on them — “I could spend it on pretty much anything I want,” Trump said — and by taking time out to occasionally take his message on the road.

“I didn’t have to be away in Nevada yesterday, I didn’t have to be in Los Angeles yesterday making speeches,” Trump said. “I didn’t have to be supporting all the people. I have a busy schedule.”

Trump added that he recently told someone that he had already won his own campaign, so “I’m not campaigning.”

Then came the comment that should really make Republicans pull their hair out: that their problems are of their own making, not his.

“The question is, will people vote? Because a lot of them are very angry at Republicans, to be honest with you,” Trump said, adding: “They’re angry at Republicans, but they’re not angry at me.”

This is, to put it lightly, not accurate.

Trump is historically unpopular, with as many as two-thirds of Americans disapproving of him. Those are numbers we’ve really only seen around this point of a presidency from Richard Nixon and George W. Bush.

Recent polling makes clear that disillusionment with Trump looms large over the midterms. Perhaps the most telling recent data point: A Pew Research Center poll showed 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said their midterm vote would be a vote against Trump, but just 44% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents said theirs would be a vote for Trump.

And even if the president only meant that his base voters are angry with Republicans rather than him, that’s still not accurate. Recent polling, including from CNN, shows widespread dissatisfaction among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents with many of the things Trump has done — often 30%, 40%, 50% or more.

And that’s the other key point here. Even as things like tariffs, the Iran war and Trump’s efforts to slap his name on things and renovate Washington, DC, poll very poorly, he has shown no appetite for backing off to help his party politically.

In fact, Trump has recently decided to pile on some issues that are hugely divisive for his own party — like insisting on getting rid of the filibuster and pushing through the “SAVE America Act,” which doesn’t appear to stand any chance of passage.

And all the while, he keeps saying glib things that suggest he cares little about the 2026 campaign.

Back in May, when asked whether Americans’ economic concerns were motivating his push for a peace deal with Iran, he said, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

A week later, he added: “I’m in no hurry. You never think, ‘Oh, the midterms. I’m in a hurry.’ I’m in no hurry.”

Then, another week later: “I don’t care about the midterms.”

Trump in an interview with Fox News earlier this week also suggested his goal was actually to try to win the Iran war rather than just end it — despite victory seeming an extremely distant possibility at this point.

When host Trace Gallagher asked Trump when he might decide to cut bait and stop trying to negotiate (given how unreliable the Iranians have been on that front), the president suggested that point wasn’t necessarily any time soon.

“I have plenty of time,” Trump said. “You know, people talk about the midterms. For the midterms, they want to see winning.”

But the GOP doesn’t have plenty of time, politically. High gas prices from the prolonged war are proving to be the moldy cherry on top of a very unpalatable sundae for voters.

These kinds of comments from Trump make some strategic sense. If you want Iran to make concessions, you don’t telegraph that you’re in a hurry to get out because of the midterms. That hurts your leverage.

But Republicans might want to start asking themselves whether Trump, in his heart of hearts, means it — and that he doesn’t care what the Iran war might cost his party come November.

And Republicans have got to be furious that he’s suggesting it’s them — rather than the war and all the other unpopular things he’s done — that’s jeopardizing their majorities.

US Senate confirms Trump nominees for labor board, cementing Republican control

2026-08-07T18:31:48.843Z / Reuters

The American flag waves from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 1, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

• Summary

• Republicans get key third vote to undo existing precedent
• Trump appointees are expected to target union-friendly rulings
• Board paralyzed last year by Trump’s unprecedented firing of member

Aug 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Friday confirmed President Donald Trump’s nominees for two ​spots on the agency that enforces federal labor law, giving Republicans enough votes to undo a series ‌of key decisions that were widely seen as a boost to union organizing.

The Republican-led Senate voted 51-47 to approve

a bloc
of more than 70 nominees for various roles across the federal government, including James Macy and David Prouty to serve on the National Labor Relations Board.

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Macy, a ​Republican, has held multiple roles at the U.S. Department of Labor since last year after a four-decade career representing ​employers in labor cases. Prouty, a former union lawyer who joined the NLRB in 2021 and ⁠is its only Democratic member, will serve a second term.

The five-member labor board already had a 2-1 Republican majority before ​the Senate vote. By tradition, the board has two Democrats, two Republicans and a chair from the president’s party.

Macy and Prouty ​could not immediately be reached for comment.

THIRD VOTE IS KEY

The NLRB oversees union elections and vets complaints by private-sector workers and unions alleging illegal interference with union organizing and other unlawful labor practices.

The general counsel’s office can file formal complaints that are first heard by administrative ​judges and then the board, whose decisions can be appealed to federal appeals courts. That in-house process is being challenged in ​a series of pending lawsuits by companies including Amazon.com and SpaceX that say it violates the U.S. Constitution.

By tradition, the board requires three ‌members ⁠to vote in favor of overruling existing precedent, and Trump’s other appointees, Scott Mayer and James Murphy, said during confirmation proceedings last year that they would not break with that practice.

Trump’s appointees are expected to target a series of labor board policies favored by unions that have helped fuel a spike in union organizing in recent years.

Murphy, whom Trump appointed chair, and Mayer have ​already revived a rule adopted ​by the board during ⁠Trump’s first term that makes it more difficult to hold companies liable as the “joint employers” of contract and franchise workers and relinquished jurisdiction over a case involving SpaceX to a different federal ​labor agency.

TRUMP FIRING

The labor board lost a three-member quorum and could not decide cases last ​year when ⁠Trump took the unprecedented step of firing Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving hundreds of cases undecided for nearly a year.

Wilcox sued and was briefly reinstated by a judge, but a federal appeals court paused and then reversed that ruling.

The U.S. Supreme Court in June upheld ⁠Trump’s removal ​of a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, finding that a ​law shielding FTC commissioners from being removed without cause was invalid.

Wilcox’s case turns on a nearly identical law applying to NLRB members. Her petition for Supreme ​Court review of that decision is pending.

Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Lisa Shumaker

US Army offering defense firms ‘concierge access’ to test weapons at military ranges

August 7, 2026 2:25pm EDT / Fox News

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll says companies can request access through a new online portal

By Liz Friden, Fox News

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The U.S. Army is opening up military test ranges to private defense companies and promising “concierge” access aimed at dramatically cutting the time it takes companies to test new weapons and technologies.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told reporters in a call on Friday that companies will be able to secure testing opportunities within 30 days of submitting a request, compared with a typical wait of roughly 18 months.

“We just had to get out of our own way,” Driscoll said. “And so the 30-day clock starts today. So if somebody goes to testrange.army.mil, submits it in the next hour, we will have you on a range within 30 days.”

‘A NEW KIND OF WAR’: INSIDE UKRAINE’S HIDDEN FACTORIES MASS-PRODUCING COMBAT DRONES

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll briefed reporters on Army modernization.(Cheriss May/Getty Images)

The move is part of a broader Army effort to speed up the development and delivery of technologies including drones, counter-drone systems, long-range fires and low-cost interceptors.

“If you look at what is occurring all over the world today, if you look what Ukraine has done so incredibly well, it’s this innovation through necessity and it’s innovation at the speed that is near or close to matching the commercial sector,” Driscoll said. “And so what we, the Army, are trying to do is break down every single barrier that we have put up over the last 20 and 30 years.”

The Army is opening four stateside locations to industry: Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, West Cibola Range at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center in Mississippi and Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center in Michigan.

PENTAGON PLOTS NEW NUCLEAR OPTIONS FOR TRUMP AS AMERICA’S BIGGEST ADVERSARIES RAISE STAKES: REPORT

Anti-drone laser system trialed on a Stryker combat military vehicle with a machine gun aimed at the sky in Ukraine during a counteroffensive.(Michelle Ursi/Getty Images)

The Army is also working with U.S. Africa Command and partners to provide industry access to the Multidomain Training Area in Morocco, according to an Army press release. Companies will be able to request test range time through a new online portal and will be assigned a dedicated “concierge” to help navigate the scheduling process. Companies do not need an existing federal contract or prior relationship with the U.S. government to apply.

“A company with a good idea shouldn’t need a team of lawyers and a program of record just to prove their equipment works,” Driscoll said.

ANTARES REACHES REACTOR CRITICALITY UNDER TRUMP PILOT PROGRAM, MARKING MAJOR NUCLEAR MILESTONE

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The ranges are intended to give companies access to realistic environments where they can rapidly test and refine emerging technologies, including under conditions resembling those encountered on modern battlefields.

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The Army cautioned that submitting a request does not guarantee a company its preferred location or testing date because of capacity constraints, but said its concierge team will work with applicants to identify available testing windows and locations.

Liz Friden is a Pentagon producer based in Washington, D.C.

A pardoned Capitol riot defendant wants her restitution money back. The Justice Department wants to keep it

2026-08-07T16:50:06.404Z / CNN

By Holmes Lybrand

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Aug 7, 2026, 12:50 PM ET

Congressional news January 6th Federal agencies Donald Trump

Prosecutors identified Felicia Konold in a video still from January 6, 2021. Also seen is who they said was her displaying a Proud Boys membership coin.

United States District Court for the District of Columbia

After the protracted demise of the $1.776 billion fund meant to pay perceived victims of government lawfare, prosecutors say they don’t have to give a now-pardoned January 6, 2021, defendant her restitution money back.

It’s all because she never appealed her conviction.

Prosecutors have taken a narrow approach to who is, and who is not, eligible for such a refund or waiver for the fines that were built into January 6 defendants’ sentences to help fund repairs to the Capitol building from damage done during the attack.

The Justice Department’s fight to keep the $2000 in fines paid by riot defendant Felicia Konold — an Arizona woman who pleaded guilty to obstructing law enforcement during the attack — stands in contrast to the administration’s controversial effort to give payouts to the same group of people who Trump has said were victims of DOJ weaponization.

CNN attempted to reach Konold for comment.

As part of a contorted settlement between the IRS and President Donald Trump over his leaked tax information in 2020, the Justice Department announced earlier this year it would establish the nearly $1.8 billion fund for those alleged victims of weaponized prosecutions in the past. The fund was quickly panned by Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and became a sticking point in the long battle over Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s effort to get confirmed by the Senate to formally take the top spot at DOJ.

Lawmakers focused on the notion that the fund could be used to give payments to those who attacked the Capitol and forced the entire Congress to evacuate for safety.

Blanche, who announced the fund would be nixed shortly after its formation, eventually ceded to demands by a small contingent of Republican senators to announce in a sworn declaration the fund was dead.

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing regarding $1.8 billion taxpayer fund in Washington, DC, on May 19, 2026.

Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Acting Attorney General has instead suggested that supposed victims could file civil lawsuits in order to receive payments for alleged past wrongs by the Justice Department — an approach that has proved successful for several Trump allies in recent months.

Who gets what, and why?

Beyond questions of future settlements for those convicted in the attack and now pardoned, some January 6 participants have tried to get back funds they paid as part of their sentencing to fund the multi-million dollar repairs to the Capitol.

Konold, who is one of them, joined a group of Proud Boys marching to the Capitol the day of the attack and was among the first to breach police barricades. She was sentenced to 45 days in prison and ordered to pay the restitution.

On Thursday, prosecutors wrote in a filing that Konold “cannot obtain the return of these funds because her conviction was final at the time of the pardon and has not been vacated.”

Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Other participants in the attack who appealed their conviction have been given the Justice Department’s blessing to dismiss the restitution payments. In court filings, prosecutors have taken the stance that if an appeal was pending at the time a rioter was pardoned by Trump, they no longer needed to pay up.

The Appeals Court in DC is weighing the issue after a handful of January 6 rioters whose convictions were not finalized before Trump’s blanket pardons have fought to have the restitution payments returned.

In August of last year, a federal judge made the first ruling that a January 6 defendant would get her restitution payments back.

In an opinion explaining his decision, Judge John D. Bates wrote that he had not determined the defendant, Yvonne St Cyr “innocent of the crimes for which she was convicted.”

“Sometimes a judge is called upon to do what the law requires, even if it may seem at odds with what justice or one’s initial instincts might warrant,” Bates wrote.

Sen. Cassidy announces he will support Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general

12:20 PM EDT, Fri August 7, 2026 / CNN Politics

Sen. Cassidy announces he will support Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy said Friday that he will support Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, clearing the way for his narrow confirmation to the high-profile role.

0:33 • Source: CNN

Maryland’s lone congressional Republican blasts Moore’s redistricting push as alleged 2028 White House play

August 7, 2026 12:46pm EDT / Fox News

U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital in an interview that Gov. Wes Moore is not “paying attention to Maryland issues” and is more concerned with the “national political scene.”

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U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the only Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, is accusing Gov. Wes Moore of backing an amendment to the state constitution that could eliminate his district through redistricting, arguing that the push is driven by the governor’s alleged presidential ambitions.

The amendment, if approved by voters in November, would give the Democratic-controlled General Assembly far greater latitude to redraw the state’s congressional districts ahead of the 2028 election.

“The governor certainly led the charge in trying to eliminate the only Republican in the Maryland delegation in furtherance of his presidential aspirations,” Harris told Fox News Digital in an interview. “It’s obvious that this is not being done for Maryland, it is being done for a national agenda.”

Moore has repeatedly said he is not running for president in 2028. but speculation around his potential White House bid remains.

TRUMP-BACKED INCUMBENT OUSTED IN HOUSE PRIMARY AS GOP REDISTRICTING PUSH SET TO RESHAPE TENNESSEE

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., arrives for a news conference following a Maryland delegation meeting at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2026.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Harris also called out Moore for engaging in a “photo-op” on Wednesday by publicly signing the bill that will put the amendment on the ballot this fall.

The bill passed Tuesday with three-fifths majorities in both chambers, which is the only requirement for an amendment to become a ballot question, according to Article XIV of the Maryland Constitution.

“Gov. Moore, never missing a photo op for his presidential aspirations, convened a signing ceremony, which is a little unusual considering there’s really nothing to sign for the governor,” Harris said. “But again, this is all for show. This is to make sure that he can look Gavin Newsom in the eye and say, ‘Yeah I did something too for mid-cycle redistricting.’”

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

Harris, who worked as an anesthesiologist before getting into politics, has represented Maryland’s first congressional district since 2011. The district contains the entire Eastern Shore, a relatively rural part of the state, as well as parts of Baltimore County.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore sits between Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk during a signing ceremony for HB2100 on August 5, 2026. The bill Moore signed puts a question on the November ballot to amend the state’s redistricting practices.(Maryland Governor’s Office)

VIRGINIA VOTERS CEMENT SWING DISTRICT REMATCH AFTER DEMS’ REDISTRICTING FAIL

The proposed amendment Harris is fighting against could allow state lawmakers to carve up his district and make it untenable for a Republican to win.

As it stands, the Maryland Constitution requires General Assembly districts and U.S. House districts to respect natural boundaries and existing county and municipal lines.

The amendment would remove those requirements for congressional districts while leaving them in place for state legislative districts.

“It absolutely sets up a double standard for redistricting in the state of Maryland. And again, the blatant attempt is to eliminate the Republican representation,” Harris said.

The Maryland State House, which houses the General Assembly, in Annapolis on April 22, 2025. If the amendment Moore supports is approved by voters, state legislators would be granted far greater leeway to redraw congressional maps.(Jonathan Newton/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

MARYLAND BALLOT BLUNDER SPARKS HOUSE GOP PROBE AHEAD OF PRIMARY

The amendment is already facing a court challenge from the Oversight Project, a conservative watchdog group that filed a complaint Thursday night in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court seeking to keep it off the November ballot.

The Oversight Project accused state legislators of bypassing the established July 1 deadline to introduce statewide ballot questions.

The ballot question for the amendment was introduced by Maryland House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk and Senate President Bill Ferguson on Aug. 3, more than a month after the deadline.

Fox News Digital reached out to Peña-Melnyk and Ferguson for comment.

The move by Peña-Melnyk and Ferguson at the tail end of the legislative session is a response to a 2022 court ruling that struck down Democratic lawmakers’ proposed congressional map at the time.

Judge Lynne Battaglia found that the map — which added more Democratic voters to Harris’ district — failed to give sufficient regard to the natural boundaries and political subdivisions throughout the state.

An aerial view of Chesapeake City, a city in Maryland’s mostly-rural Eastern Shore that has been represented by Harris in Congress since 2011.(Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

TWIN COURT RULINGS RESHAPE HOUSE BATTLEFIELD AS DEMOCRATS FIGHT UPHILL REDISTRICTING BATTLE

Amending the state constitution could be a way to get around this, but Harris said that even if voters approve the amendment, it would not guarantee that the courts would approve subsequently drawn maps that have “hyper-partisan gerrymandering.”

If the state legislature tried to eliminate or substantially dilute Republican voting power his district, Harris said he would sue based on the precedent set by Battaglia’s 2022 ruling.

Meanwhile, Moore has framed his support of the amendment as a necessary response to GOP redistricting around the country, which he called “political redlining.”

“For over a year, I have warned that Donald Trump and Republicans across the country are working to rig the system, weaken voting rights, and make this pain permanent. I am proud that today we united and took action,” Moore said. “I continue to believe that our country needs national redistricting reform. But until that happens, inaction is not an option.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks during a press conference at the Maryland State House on August 5, 2025 in Annapolis, Maryland.(Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

DEMOCRATS TARGETING 12 ADDITIONAL RED DISTRICTS IN MIDTERMS PUSH TO RETAKE HOUSE

Harris pushed back on Moore’s assertion that Republicans are responsible for the current redistricting battle playing out in dozens of states.

He pointed out that the redistricting organization founded by Eric Holder, who served as attorney general under President Obama from 2009 to 2015, aggressively pursued litigation to change legislative and congressional maps in North Carolina and Alabama.

However, a mid-decade congressional redraw was successfully enacted by Texas Republicans in 2003. The Supreme Court largely upheld the redraw in 2006 but said one district violated the Voting Rights Act because it diluted Latino voting strength.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder attends Lambda Legal Hosts 2024 National Liberty Awards at The Glasshouse on May 30, 2024 in New York City. Harris pointed out that Holder, a Democrat, has also pursued redistricting.(Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

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Although courts have upheld the legality of redrawing congressional maps between the decennial censuses, Harris said he would like to move away from the practice in the future.

“I don’t think it is good for anyone,” Harris said. “It’s not good for democracy. You get to know your constituents, your constituents get to know their representative. That’s important in a representative government like we have.”

James Cirrone is a writer on the Breaking/Trending News team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to james.cirrone@fox.com.

Trump administration to back three mineral projects with $58 million in financing

2026-08-07 19:02 UTC / Reuters

EXCLUSIVE

By Jarrett Renshaw and Ernest Scheyder

August 7, 2026 7:02 PM UTC Updated 40 mins ago

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on the day he announced the creation of a critical mineral reserve, in the Oval Office at the White House, February 2, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo

WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Export-Import Bank is lending $58 million to three critical-mineral companies as part of President Donald Trump’s push to ​wean the country off Chinese supplies and bolster American mining and ‌processing, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The funding is timed to coincide with Trump’s meeting in Washington on Friday with executives from some of the world’s largest mining companies to underscore ​the country’s need for better supplies of minerals used to build weapons ​and electronics.

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“Critical mineral security is national security,” said John Jovanovic, ExIm’s ⁠chairman, adding the funding aims to “fortify our supply chains, restore crucial industries that ​support well-paying American jobs and safeguard everyday Americans from supply shocks.”

Westwater Resources (WWR.A) will ​receive a $25 million loan for its Alabama graphite mine and processing facility, in what would be the country’s first source of so-called natural graphite. Graphite is the largest metal by volume used to ​build lithium-ion batteries.

The U.S. produces some so-called synthetic graphite from petroleum coke, a ​byproduct of oil refining. Battery manufacturers typically prefer one version or the other, depending on ‌a range ⁠of factors.

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ExIm is also lending $25 million to privately held Global Advanced Metals to expand processing of tantalum and niobium, neither of which the U.S. mines, making it reliant on foreign supply. The company mines the metals in Australia and processes ​them in Pennsylvania.

Tantalum is ​primarily used to ⁠make capacitors for smartphones, automobiles and other electronics, whereas niobium is used as an alloy to harden steel for pipelines ​and airplanes.

And 5E Advanced Materials (FEAM.O) will receive an $8 million loan ​to boost ⁠production of boron, which last year was added to a list of minerals considered critical by the U.S. government. The metal is used in the nuclear energy industry as ⁠well as ​in body armor and other defense-related products.

The U.S. ​imports most of its boron needs. 5E’s California boron project is slated to begin commercial production in 2028.

Reporting ​by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; Editing by Matthew Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Senate passes Russia sanctions bill named in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham

2026-08-07T17:23:11.887Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/07/politics/senate-russia-sanctions-bill

The Senate on Friday passed a major Russia sanctions bill, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who played a key role in the painstaking negotiations over the legislation that lasted over a year.

The bill ultimately sailed through the Senate on bipartisan vote, 86 to 11.It would next need a vote in the House, which is currently on recess until September.

The package would place mandatory sanctions on top figures in the Russian government, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Russian oligarchs, state-owned enterprises and foreign companies supporting Russia’s defense industrial base.

In addition, it would impose up to a 100% tariff on the top five countries, including China and India, that purchase Russian crude oil and natural gas, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer determining the final tariff level. It allows an exemption for countries that import less than 15% of Russia’s total natural gas exports and are working to significantly lower their use of Russian natural gas.

The day before he died, Graham announced – while standing in front of tanks in the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine – that the administration and the bill’s key Senate backers had finally reached a deal on the package. In the days after he passed, his colleagues rallied for passage of the bill, casting it as a “fitting legacy” for the senator-statesman.

“I’ve known this man for 32 years, and I’m willing to say this: this is Lindsey Graham’s greatest achievement,” declared Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker shortly after Graham’s death.

The Senate took its first procedural vote on the package in the hours after Graham’s DC funeral. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended the service, met with senators in the Capitol and watched the vote from the gallery above the chamber, alongside Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso and Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch.

Zelensky told reporters that night, “This bill is very important, and sanctions pressure on Russia is very important, and really gives – It’s not only about money, how Russia, how to stop to finance this war, but it’s also a big signal to Europe, big signal to Ukraine.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the lead Democratic co-sponsor of the bill, emphasized that while he had seen Graham at times frustrated with the president over the package, Graham never gave up on it.

“He was often as frustrated with the president as any of us, you know. But he accepted it with good humor — not necessarily — maybe accepted is the wrong word, but he never abandoned the cause of the Russia sanctions bill because he knew it was the right thing, and he was totally dedicated to getting it done,” Blumenthal told CNN last month.

“His understanding of the president, but also his seeming ability to influence him, again made him a unique figure here. The combination of his alacrity in reaching across to Democrats, but also his continuing ties to Trump were part of his unique role.”

The original text of the package, first released in April 2025, had minimum tariffs set to 500%, with fewer exceptions. However, over more than 15 months of negotiations, the administration and congressional negotiators had reached a lower tariff number, but also given the execution power to Greer, rather than the president directly.

But in the weeks leading up to this vote, some senators expressed concern over handing the administration any more tariff authority. Sen. Elizabeth Warren told CNN in July, “I’ve been saying for a year and a half we need tougher sanctions against Russia. That’s very, very important. But Donald Trump has shown what he will do with broad tariff authority. Heck, he’s shown what he’ll do even if he doesn’t have authority.”

Ultimately, the Senate voted on one amendment to change the tariff language in the package, which failed. Sen. Raphael Warnock had also pushed for an amendment stating that if any nation drops out of the top five importers of Russian oil, they will no longer be subject to the bill’s tariffs, but he withdrew the demand once Greer made that pledge in writing.

Blumenthal pushed back on his colleagues concerns, arguing the tariff authority in the package is “narrowly tailored and limited.”