国际特稿：中期选举或掀蓝色浪潮 共和党将步入“后特朗普时代”？

2026年11月1日 05:00 / 联合早报

再过两天就是美国中期选举投票日。民调显示，在美国选民对油价和生活费高涨日益不满的背景下，总统特朗普在第二次执政的“期中考”成绩堪忧，他领导的共和党可能会遭受重创。此次选举不仅关乎美国民主与共和两党的未来，也将牵动美国内政外交走向，并可能给动荡的全球局势增添更多变数。

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美国总统特朗普近日展开密集的拉票行程，希望打破总统所属政党几乎都会丢失议席的中期选举“魔咒”。 （法新社）

佐治亚州黑溪（Black Creek）居民塞布林曾是美国总统特朗普的“铁粉”，特朗普三次竞选总统，塞布林每次都把票投给他；但如今他已对特朗普失望透顶，决定在来临中期选举改投民主党候选人。

66岁的塞布林接受《华盛顿邮报》访问时自嘲，他常跟儿女开玩笑说，自己需要一顶写着“我上了三次当”的帽子。他认为，特朗普已经和以往不一样了，不再以普通美国人的利益为重，这让他感觉遭到背叛。

《华盛顿邮报》、美国广播公司新闻网（ABC News）与益普索（Ipsos）的联合民调显示，在2024年总统选举投选特朗普的选民中，如今约有五分之一不满意他的执政表现，占中期选举选民的8%左右。

Trump lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over Epstein birthday letter dismissed with prejudice

October 31, 2026 / 4:59 PM EDT / CBS News

A multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit by President Trump against The Wall Street Journal over a story reporting his ties to a birthday book for Jeffrey Epstein has been thrown out.

In a 20-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles in Miami dismissed the suit with prejudice on Saturday, ruling that Mr. Trump did not prove the defendants made defamatory statements with actual malice.

He said the lawsuit was “grasping at straws” as it attempted to “manufacture” flaws in the WSJ’s investigative reporting.

Actual malice requires that plaintiffs prove that statements made about a public figure were published with the knowledge that they were false, or with disregard for whether they are true or not.

When a case is thrown out “with prejudice,” it cannot be refiled again, and the dismissal is permanent and incontrovertible.

“President Trump will continue to press forward in his powerhouse lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and all of the other defendants,” a spokesperson for Mr. Trump’s legal team told CBS News in a statement. “The President will continue to hold those who mislead the American People with Fake News and smears accountable for their actions.”

A source familiar with Mr. Trump’s legal strategy said that the decision will likely be appealed.

The lawsuit was over a story the WSJ published last year describing a sexually suggestive letter that the paper said bore Mr. Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.

The president dismissed the story as “FAKE” and filed a $20 billion lawsuitagainst the paper, its parent company News Corp, the company’s CEO, the reporters who wrote the story and Rupert Murdoch, News Corp’s chairman emeritus.

House lawmakers later subpoenaed and obtaineda redacted version of the birthday book from Epstein’s estate, which included the letterat the center of Mr. Trump’s lawsuit. Then-White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “It’s very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.”

In April, Gayles dismissed the lawsuit, saying the president’s legal team failed to clear the legal bar needed to establish their claim. He ruled that the president came “nowhere close” to showing the paper acted with “actual malice” toward him, the standard for bringing a defamation suit as a public figure.

Mr. Trump’s legal team refiled the lawsuit.

Stefan Becket contributed to this report.

Why the Ilhan Omar saga isn’t going away

The Constitution grants only the House the power to judge qualifications and expel members, not the president

https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/Pergram.jpg By Chad PergramFox News

Published October 31, 2026 12:07pm EDT

Questions emerge over why feds dropped Obama-era investigation into Omar marriage

Reports indicate the Obama administration investigated allegations surrounding Rep. Ilhan Omar’s past marriage in 2016, including claims that she married her brother to help him obtain immigration benefits. The allegations have resurfaced amid renewed federal scrutiny and questions surrounding the handling of the investigation.

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President Donald Trump has his favorite riffs during campaign rallies.

He’s recently complimented the physique of Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio. He still calls out former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

But in recent weeks, the president spun Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., into heavy rotation on his playlist. The Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department are now probing Omar for alleged immigration fraud and financial disclosure reports.

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TRUMP SAYS ILHAN OMAR COULD GO TO JAIL OR BE DEPORTED, CALLS HER ‘A DISGRACE TO OUR COUNTRY’

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, in which she blamed President Donald Trump for death threats and attacks against her.(AP Photo/Adam Gray)

“What she did was use a fake name and other things that are fake,” the president groused about Omar. “She used the fake name to be sworn in. I assume she must immediately resign from Congress.”

Trump argued that Democrats “just conceded her seat.”

They didn’t.

And the president declared that “she will not be legally allowed to be a member of that august body of politicians.”

Not accurate.

The president doesn’t decide who gets to sit in Congress. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants that power to the House and Senate. It charges both bodies with authority to “be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.” The Constitution goes on to say that the House and Senate may “punish its Members for Disorderly Behavior; and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.”

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., attends a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building on Jan. 16, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn.(Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

We bring up those responsibilities because it’s possible that the House may need to tangle with the “qualifications” of Omar. Especially since the New York Times reported that the Minnesota Democrat faced scrutiny by the Obama-era Justice Department in 2016. Moreover, that inquiry says the feds found evidence that she may have entered into a fraudulent marriage.

If that’s the case, there could be questions about Omar’s citizenship. And thus, whether she’s even permitted to serve in Congress. Especially if it’s found she was naturalized as a citizen via bogus means.

Republicans have been after Omar for years. Across the aisle, Democrats are concerned this could be a distracting headache. Especially if they seize control of the House after the midterms next week.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHY REMOVING ILHAN OMAR FROM CONGRESS COULD BE HARDER THAN TRUMP EXPECTS

The inquiry into Omar began in 2016 when she ran for the state legislature. Former President Barack Obama was in office. The investigation continued into the Biden administration. The feds terminated the inquiry in 2021.

After the Trump administration raided Omar’s home in October — seizing electronics and documents — Obama defended the congresswoman.

“It is a basic principle of American democracy that the government can’t selectively target individuals simply because of their political beliefs or what they say,” the former president said. “But that’s exactly what the Trump administration is doing to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.”

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Obama said the current inquiry flipped her life “upside down” and characterized it as an effort to “intimidate someone.”

Controversial influencer and livestreamer Hasan Piker asked Omar about how her week was going amid the investigation.

“It tracks for me,” replied Omar. “That’s kind of what I’m used to.”

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., pictured walking and talking in the U.S. Capitol basement.(Fox News Digital)

A spokeswoman for Omar said that she “has repeatedly and unequivocally denied this baseless, disgusting conspiracy theory.”

But indications that Omar faced scrutiny ten years ago make it harder to characterize this as wild, right-wing conjecture emanating from the blogosphere.

“Who ordered [the investigation] closed?” asked Fox contributor Paul Mauro. “Reportedly, both administrations had opened cases into this. We now know how much smoke there is.”

Omar campaigned for the state legislature in 2016. Her campaign released a letter from the U.S. attorney saying it “wasn’t investigating” nor requesting an inquiry into Omar.

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So was she cleared? Or does word of the old probe pour petrol on the flames?

“Omar will talk about and say, ‘They’ve looked into this. Nothing came about it,’” said University of Minnesota political science professor Kathryn Pearson. “But I think it’s also a talking point that Republicans will use. So I think sort of both sides will try to use that to their advantage.”

John Nagel is Omar’s Republican opponent on the ballot next week. Nagel views the new investigation as a political wedge.

“With the raid on her home, people should keep this in mind. It’s a very serious accusation,” Nagel said. “As far as I’m concerned, Somalia comes first in her life. And we are nothing more than a piggy bank for her.”

TRUMP PUSH TO OUST OMAR FACES HISTORIC SUPREME COURT TEST, BUT LEGAL EXPERTS SEE ‘UNCHARTED’ TWIST

At least one Republican is ready to bounce Omar from the House.

“If the evidence shows that she is not an American, she has to be removed immediately and probably put in prison,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla. “I think the idea that a foreigner might be actually serving in Congress should be terrifying to Americans.”

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But another House Republican urges caution.

“We just need all the facts,” said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. “I hope that the investigation is thorough, fair, and absolutely aboveboard.”

And then there is the question of due process.

“The Ethics Committee should commence an investigation. It takes two-thirds of the House to expel a sitting Member. I would highly doubt the Democrats would agree. And certainly not without findings,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox. “I think at a minimum, the Ethics Committee should move forward with an investigation immediately upon our return.”

This could develop into a real hornet’s nest for the House when lawmakers descend on Washington after the midterms. That’s to say nothing of questions about seating Omar when the new Congress starts in January. If Democrats win the House, would House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. — perhaps as speaker — be forced to grapple with the question of seating Omar if Republicans move to exclude her?

In fact, such a motion to exclude comes right before the new speaker swears in the entire House on Jan. 3. The speaker would swear in 434 members. Then takes votes related to the potential member in question. If Democrats win the House, new, moderate House Democrats might take their first formal floor vote on whether to seat Omar.

Voting against Omar might be good for some of these new members, considering the political nature of their battleground districts. But would the Democratic brass pressure new members to vote with the caucus on such a nettlesome issue?

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Democrats who vote to seat Omar give Republicans an immediate opportunity to build a case against newly-christened members representing swing districts. A vote to exclude or expel Omar would go down as one of the most important roll calls of the entire two-year Congress.

We haven’t even explored how progressives and Democratic Socialists — new to the House — might rage at moderate Democrats for not supporting their colleague. That could produce a serious schism among Democrats.

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This isn’t going away. Omar is a lightning rod. The GOP believes it can continue to milk this. President Trump has his favorite riffs about Omar. And it’s possible that House Republicans may as well.

Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.

Politics

Major US children’s hospital opens historic detransition clinic after $10M legal showdown

The hospital must fully fund the clinic for five years and provide care at no cost to patients through age 21

By Ireland OwensFox News

Published October 31, 2026 2:00pm EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403004093112

Texas Children’s Hospital ordered to open detransition clinic

Kayleigh McEnany and the ‘Outnumbered’ panel discuss a landmark settlement requiring Texas Children’s Hospital to halt gender-transition services and open a first-of-its-kind detransition clinic for youth.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that the nation’s first-ever detransition clinic has opened at Texas Children’s Hospital following a $10 million settlement with the state.

The announcement comes after Paxton reached a settlement with TCH in May, finalized in August, requiring the hospital to pay $10 million to resolve government claims and separately establish and fund a detransition clinic. The new clinic provides “detransition-related medical care to patients through age 21, along with detransition-related obstetric and gynecologic care to patients older than 21,” according to Paxton’s office.

“In accordance with my settlement with Texas Children’s Hospital, the nation’s first-ever Detransition Clinic is now open,” Paxton said in a statement. “I will continue to ensure that this clinic provides the care and support that victims of the radical left’s gender ideology deserve.”

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A LANDMARK TEXAS RULING BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO ONE DETRANSITIONER’S QUEST FOR JUSTICE

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Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general and Republican US Senate candidate, during a “Come and Take It Tour” campaign event in San Antonio, Texas, US, on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026.(Christopher Lee/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

“Together, we will protect our children and defeat the dangerous ideology that has inflicted irreversible harm on innocent kids,” he continued.

Tuesday’s announcement comes as Paxton is running for election in Texas’ 2026 Senate race. President Donald Trump campaigned in two separate Texas cities, Corpus Christi and Lubbock, on Tuesday in an effort to boost Paxton’s Senate bid.

The Trump administration has been targeting initiatives related to transgender people in recent months. Trump announced in August that his administration will cease providing funding for gender transition surgeries using Medicaid for minors.

Paxton’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A TCH spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the hospital prioritizes providing patients “the highest standard of care,” including through the detransition clinic.

“First and foremost, patients and families are at the center of all we do and we will always provide the highest standard of care, including through this clinic, which formalizes the supportive, multidisciplinary services we have and will continue to deliver,” the TCH spokesperson said. “Given the multidisciplinary approach, care may be delivered in multiple locations, depending on individual patient needs.”

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“All services provided will be within our hospital’s existing licensure and scope,” the spokesperson added. “Services will include Endocrinology, Surgery, Primary Care, Fertility Counseling, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Work/Case Management and Speech Pathology. The clinic is operational and we are complying with all requirements in the settlement agreement.”

The TCH spokesperson also told Fox News Digital that the hospital is “actively triaging prospective patients” for the detransition clinic.

“Protecting the privacy of our patients and their families is a top priority, thus we are unable to share patient information,” the spokesperson stated. “We are actively triaging prospective patients through our established intake process.We can tell you that thus far, we have not yet had clinical appointments with patients.”

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President Donald Trump, left, listens as Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a campaign rally at Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio on Oct. 7, 2026.(Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)

INSURANCE COMPANIES PUT ON NOTICE FOR STRANDING TRANS PATIENTS WHO WANT TO REVERSE SURGERIES

TCH is required to fully fund services provided through the detransition clinic for its first five years, ensuring patients receive those services at no cost, and must also publicize the clinic on its website, per the settlement.

The May settlement also required TCH to pay $10 million to resolve claims brought under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act and the federal False Claims Act over allegations that the hospital improperly billed Texas Medicaid for gender-transition treatments, according to Paxton’s office.

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A demonstrator holds a transgender pride flag during a President’s Day protest near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025.(Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Do No Harm, a medical advocacy organization critical of gender-transition treatments for minors, estimates that 13,994 minors received gender-transition-related medical interventions between 2019 and 2023, based on its analysis of insurance claims data.

A Fox News poll published on Oct. 21 found that Democratic candidate James Talarico and Paxton were tied at 49% each among likely voters in the Lone Star State.

Who are Ilhan Omar’s lawyers? Meet the high-powered Dem attorneys the embattled rep hired

Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz of Hecker Fink LLP are representing Omar as she faces two federal probes

https://news-multimedia-1393112320.cos.ap-guangzhou.myqcloud.com/peter-dabrosca_profile_image.jpg By Peter D’AbroscaFox News

Published October 31, 2026 1:18pm EDT | Updated October 31, 2026 1:19pm EDT

[175 House Democrats demand administration stop Rep. Ilhan Omar probe]

Legal editor Kerri Urbahn analyzes a letter from 175 House Democrats, led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, demanding the administration stop its investigation into Rep. Ilhan Omar. Democrats warn that the ongoing probe could negatively impact her re-election campaign in Minnesota. The segment explores the allegations regarding Omar’s immigration history and citizenship status.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., has tapped two high-powered Washington, D.C.-based attorneys who have previously represented elected officials at the highest echelon of American politics.

Amid dueling federal investigations — one for immigration fraud and another for financial disclosure discrepancies — the embattled Somali-born lawmaker hired Amy Jeffress and Joshua Matz, according to a CBS report, both of whom are partners at Hecker Fink LLP.

The attorneys have in the past represented Democrat clients and taken on left-leaning cases — especially those taking aim at President Donald Trump, his administration and his supporters.

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ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS

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Homeland Security Investigations police search the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Oct. 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C. According to reports, the search is part of an ongoing criminal investigation.(Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)

Amy Jeffress

Jeffress is a former federal prosecutor whose biography says she tried more than 40 cases during a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia, where she was Chief of the National Security Section. She has also been a Department of Justice (DOJ) Attaché.

She served as former President Joe Biden’s attorney in his lawsuit against the DOJ earlier this year. In that case, Biden sought to halt the release of audio recordings between himself and his “Promise Me, Dad” book ghostwriter, Mark Zwonitzer. The audio was recorded in 2016 and 2017, and were subject to a FOIA request from the Heritage Foundation in 2024.

They were cited during special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into whether Biden illegally retained classified information from his term as vice president, and piqued the interest of conservatives demanding answers about Biden’s mental acuity.

The court declined to block the release of the recordings where Biden ad frequent memory lapses, and they were made public in July.

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ROCHESTER, MN. – MAY 2026: U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar speaks during Day 2 of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party Convention in the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn. on Saturday, May 30, 2026. (Photo by Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

FEDERAL AGENTS SEIZE PHONE OF REP ILHAN OMAR IN RAID TIED TO IMMIGRATION FRAUD PROBE

Before her time at Hecker Fink, Jeffress, a Yale Law graduate from 1992, served as counsel for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat-led House January 6 committee, which spent two years investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. She represented the committee when it was sued by a Trump campaign spokesperson, Taylor Budowich, after the committee subpoenaed his bank records.

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Jeffress also represented Trump foe and former FBI attorney Lisa Page — a key figure in the left’s Russiagate conspiracy theory — during congressional scrutiny into the FBI’s handling of the matter. Page later sued the DOJ for releasing her text messages with her then-FBI colleague and lover Peter Strzok.

In the messages, Strzok assuaged Page’s concerns that Trump would become president by vowing that the FBI would stop it, and referred to an “insurance policy” against his presidency. That case was settled in 2024.

ILHAN OMAR’S WEALTH SCANDAL TAKES A TURN JUST ONE DAY AFTER RAID OF HER DC HOME

Jeffress is married to U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Washington, D.C., who in May ruled that it was illegal for the the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center to add Trump’s name. Trump publicly criticized Cooper as “highly conflicted,” due to his relationship with Jeffress.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (C) and Karmel Mall of Somalia owner Basim Sabri inside the dining area in the mall.(Rashid Umar Abbasi/Fox News Digital)

Joshua Matz

Matz is also a partner at Hecker Fink. He graduated from Harvard Law, and clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

“Joshua’s practice has long included a focus on democracy and elections,” his biography page says.

He represented the state of Pennsylvania in defending the certification of its election results, including arguing before the Supreme Court.

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ILHAN OMAR’S EMBATTLED HUSBAND APPEARS AT SCENE OF HSI RAID IN MIDST OF CRIMINAL FRAUD INVESTIGATION

He was counsel to House Democrats during both failed impeachment attempts against Trump during his first term in office.

Matz also represented E. Jean Carroll in two separate civil cases against Trump related to his denial of her of sexual assault claims against him. He was never criminally charged. In 2022, Carroll accused Trump of defaming her in his denial of her account of an incident she claims happened in 1996. A New York jury found Trump liable for defamation and for sexual assault.

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Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided the Washington, D.C., home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., early Monday morning, a source familiar with the operation told Fox News Digital.(Andrew Murray/Fox News Digital)

Prior to that case, in 2019, a jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million for defamation stemming from other comments made by Trump.

Matz represented students, parents and teachers who opposed Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, which his biography describes as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which restricted teaching students about sexual orientation and gender identity.

He also successfully represented Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear when he was sued for COVID-19 lockdowns, including school closures, and victims of the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.

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Now, Matz and Jeffress are representing Omar as she seeks to battle two federal probes. In a video message posted to her social media earlier this month, the lawmaker pleaded with her supporters to keep sending money, noting that her fight against the investigations would be costly.

Omar’s attorneys did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Neither did the White House.

Peter D’Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.

The other Dan Sullivan: inside Alaska’s senate race controversy

By TARA COUGHLIN, CNN

Published 1:16 PM EDT, Sat October 31, 2026

blob:https://www.cnn.com/98c8f16c-9e19-41ed-90b0-b67253b691a6

The other Dan Sullivan: inside Alaska’s senate race controversy

A second candidate named Daniel Sullivan on Alaska’s Senate ballot has sparked allegations of a coordinated effort to confuse voters and draw support away from Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Former Florida state senator Jose Javier Rodriguez joins to discuss a similar spoiler candidate scheme that cost him reelection by just 32 votes.

08:08 • Source: CNN

MAHA helped power Trump’s 2024 victory — but now RFK Jr. is exposing a GOP midterm vulnerability

2026-10-31T16:00:15.155Z

Just two years after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” movement helped propel President Donald Trump into the White House, the now-Secretary of Health and Human Services is highlighting a political vulnerability in a bellwether state.

A measles outbreak in Pennsylvania has made public health a sharp issue of attack against the Trump administration, joining the cost of living and the war in Iran as a chief concern among voters that Democrats have seized upon.

And across the country — including in states that have seen hundreds of measles cases this year — Democratic candidates have sought to convert growing distrust for Republicans on public health into political advantage. The biggest outbreaks have centered in deeply red districts in places like Wisconsin, Utah and South Carolina – a state that could elect a Democratic senator who has said she ran in part to push back against Kennedy.

Some see an opportunity to highlight the chaos sown by federal changes to vaccine policy and Americans’ divided views on the health secretary, who espouses skepticism about vaccine safety and has denied that falling immunization rates have led to the rapid spread of infections.

More registered voters trust Democrats than Republicans – 41% compared to 25% — to handle vaccine policy, according to a May KFF poll. Sixty percent of voters said they disapproved of Kennedy’s performance as HHS secretary.

“What we’ve seen is that voters are really turned off by RFK Jr.’s unscientific approach to public health,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, a former Democratic Pennsylvania congressional candidate who founded 314 Action, a political strategy group that funds Democratic candidates with scientific backgrounds.

314 Action has run a six-figure ad campaign in at least five states — including Pennsylvania — expressly linking Republicans in competitive races with Kennedy Jr and unpopular federal policies.

The campaign started in April as measles began spreading in Pennsylvania, where the group is targeting Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, which Republicans narrowly flipped in 2024.

Even some Republicans see eroding trust for the party as it relates to science as a problem. “There’s certainly no shortage of tight election races. Anytime you have a tight race, who knows what’s going to trip the balance for a particular voter?” said Michael Burgess, a former Texas GOP congressman and doctor. “Why take a chance on alienating a potential supporter?” he asked, referring to the messaging on vaccines.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted in September that interviewed 896 registered voters nationwide showed that 62% were concerned about measles outbreaks and 55% said they disapproved of how Trump was handling the outbreaks in parts of the US.

For Democrats and their backers, RFK Jr. is seen as the central figure of blame.

“The more that people are reminded of what he’s actually said and done, and the fact that the Republicans have done nothing to try to hold him accountable, I think that does resonate with voters,” said Naughton.

HHS did not respond to a request for comment.

In Pennsylvania, which has seen more than 1,300 cases and five deaths from measles this year, the ongoing health crisis has threaded together Democratic governor Josh Shapiro’s public battles with the Trump administration and his bid to win reelection this November.

Shapiro has openly sparred with federal health officials after Kennedy, in an extraordinary move this summer, questioned whether people had died from the disease and suggested Shapiro’s staff was “fear-mongering” about the severity of its spread.

The feud has frustrated even some Kennedy supporters in the state. A midwife serving measles-stricken communities in the state told CNN that Kennedy “is denying the science” and “has misrepresented the numbers.”

“All that does is create more confusion,” said the midwife, who reported seeing measles cases every day in recent weeks. She asked not to be named, citing concerns about patient privacy.

The debate has forced Shapiro’s opponent, state treasurer Stacy Garrity, to reassure voters that she supports vaccines and distance herself from Kennedy,with whom she appeared at a “Make America Healthy Again” rally in Harrisburg — a fact moderators pointed out at a debate this month.

It was the only MAHA event Kennedy has done in Pennsylvania since measles began to spread.

“That was in support of basically healthy eating for our kids,” Garrity said. “But I’m fully vaccinated. I believe in vaccinations.”

Down ballot, 314 Action’s ads home in on a competitive Pennsylvanian district by claiming that the incumbent GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie “won’t stand up to Trump and RFK Jr.”

The Cook Political Report currently rates the district as a leaning Democrat.

A statewide poll from Franklin and Marshall College this month found that 70% of voters believe the state should be doing more to encourage vaccination. Most Democrats aligned with that belief, as did most independent voters and nearly half — 49% — of Republican voters.

“It’s not the pivotal issue for voters as they weigh rising cost of living and foreign wars, but it’s another on the list of unpopular policies that Republican candidate have to contend with,” said Berwood Yost, the director of the college’s Center for Opinion Research who led the poll.

Voters are “really thinking about Trump and the Trump administration,” he said. “Kennedy’s part of that; he’s part of those policy pronouncements that people might be judging.”

Anthony Kotsagrelos lives with his wife in the Pittsburgh area, where they got their one-year-old son vaccinated for measles last month.

Kotsagrelos, a pediatric medical assistant, told CNN he has seen a “dramatic increase” in vaccine skepticism firsthand since the 2024 election and RFK Jr.’s appointment as HHS Secretary.

“I have some doctors at my job who have been in practice in pediatrics going on 50 years, and they’ve said that this is the worst it’s ever been with vaccine hesitancy, with misinformation,” he said.

He has written letters to RFK Jr. explaining that his vaccine rhetoric has caused “unnecessary deaths” and “unnecessary stress” for parents.

That is translating into political change for people around him, Kotsagrelos said. People in his work and social circles who would have otherwise voted Republican are now leaning left, citing reasons like the return of measles as well as higher gas prices and economic downturn.

“They’ll kind of say like, ‘Well I’ll vote for whoever would keep my kids safe now,’ and that switched from people being against the Democratic Party,” he said.

Outbreaks and a Senate race

A measles outbreak in South Carolina this past year “was definitely one of the main talking points among several subgroups of Annie Andrews supporters” during the primaries, said Scott Huffmon, executive director of Winthrop University’s Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research.

Although it has since dropped off the list of top issues in the Senate race,Andrews, the Democratic nominee and a pediatrician, has said that she was motivated to run for office by Kennedy’s confirmation to lead HHS, arguing that his public messaging and anti-vaccine advocacy eroded public trust in health institutions.

In Spartanburg County last month, Andrews drew applause when she said she’d push to impeach Kennedy if elected. Kennedy has not made any trips to South Carolina since the start of the measles outbreak there last October.

A New York Times/Siena poll puts Andrews in a dead heat with Republican Sen. Darline Graham at 48% among likely voters, making for an unexpectedly competitive race in the deeply red state. Graham was recently appointed to her seat after the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham.

Kathryn Harvey, the Democratic Party chair for Spartanburg County, the epicenter of the state’s measles outbreak that saw 940 cases, said that while it still comes up during town halls and panels Andrews has participated in, other issues have pushed their way to the forefront for voters since the area’s outbreak was declared over in April.

“I think for Annie as a candidate, it’s still top of mind because the outbreak happened on the heels of RFK’s leadership, and we’re just seeing that trickle down happen in our community and it’s also very much a product of the passing of our statehouse laws that relaxed the immunization in our schools,” Harvey said. “It’s just a matter of, is it making the top three issues across the state? And I would say the answer is no, just by proxy of where we are with gas prices and kind of the overarching Republican corruption.”

Besides Andrews, an unprecedented number of doctors and scientists are running for office up and down the ballot this year, noted Naughton. Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed — both doctors — have pointed to Kennedy when attacking the administration and Republicans on health.

This month, Burgess and another former Republican congressmen and doctor, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, warn in Stat News, a medical news outlet, that “silence on vaccines is becoming a dealbreaker for voters who would otherwise vote Republican” and that “Democratic candidates have wasted no time in turning the issue to their advantage.”

Yet RFK Jr.’s vaccine skepticism rhetoric resonates in some conservative communities that prioritize medical freedom, especially for religious reasons. Those can be tricky waters for Democrats to navigate.

Though more than 700 measles cases have been recorded in Utah since June 2025, a vein of support for medical freedom makes blaming the outbreak on MAHA-fanned vaccine skepticism a harder sell.

“There is a ton of this kind of self-determination autonomy, like, ‘I will decide, the government won’t decide,’ in this state,” said Democratic state Sen. Jen Plumb, who also works as an emergency room pediatrician and is running for reelection.

“I know I will alienate those people if I fully share with them why I care so much about vaccines because I will make it seem, whether I want to or not, like they don’t care as much about their kids,” she said. “That’s not going to help their kids or help me help them.”

CNN’s Austin Culpepper and Caitlin McCormack contributed to this report.

Trump’s rally sprint had flavors of a farewell tour, MAGA crowds and an unexpected closing message

2026-10-31T16:00:15.770Z / CNN

Ballrooms. Cognitive tests. The male physique.

As President Donald Trump closes out the midterm election season with a sprint through ruby red America, his message to voters has veered into some unexpected places.

More than ever before, his stops have been remarkable because they’re about one thing: Trump himself. His message to voters is to pretend he’s on the ballot, no matter how unpopular he’s become. Concerns about the direction of the country, or the cost of living, are mostly shoved to the side.

Jetting on Air Force One to states not considered competitive even a few months ago, Trump has privately reflected that the rallies he’s holding now are likely the last where he’s the party’s standard-bearer.

That makes the 20-odd events he’s held this month perhaps the final iteration of the singular political function that is a Trump rally.

In some ways, that has given the onslaught the flavor of a farewell tour. The man who transformed the GOP and the nation’s politics, rally by raucous rally, is now dancing off the stage to the beat of “YMCA.”

CNN traveled across the country to cover the president’s rallies over the last two weeks, including to Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Texas and Ohio — observing the president in action and talking to those who came to see him.

Here’s what stood out to our reporters on the ground.

Betsy Klein in Wichita, Kansas

I’ve been to Trump campaign rallies in nine states this year — some of them multiple times — after covering his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020 (with a Biden-Harris detour in 2024). It’s been striking how the makeup of his crowd has changed in that time.

The day Trump first announced his candidacy in June 2015, I was at Hoyt Sherman Place in Des Moines for his first stop after coming down the Trump Tower escalator. That crowd was relatively bipartisan. A lot of people were curious. Many were undecided voters. Most just wanted to check it out. I talk to attendees everywhere I go, and this cycle, almost everyone I’ve met is voting straight-ticket Republican. These rally-goers are the most ardent supporters of Trump and his MAGA movement.

But there has been one exception: Kansas, a state that voted for Trump by a 16-point margin in 2024 and hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.

At Trump’s rally in the Wichita suburb of Park City on October 19, I talked to a young mom who was undecided in the Senate race between Republican Sen. Roger Marshall and the Democratic candidate, Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor. Her animating issue: the economy.

A small business owner told me he decided to vote for Hamilton after watching Trump’s rally.

“I truly believe Kansas has had enough, and there are plenty of us here to vote and make a difference,” he said.

Alayna Treene in Clemson, South Carolina

The livestock facility on the Clemson University campus was a familiar setting, both literally and figuratively, to one where you’d watch a rodeo.

At least a dozen times on October 21, I watched as unruly protesters were removed by security.

The heckling began within minutes of the president taking the podium.

“You’re a criminal!” I heard one person yell.

“F**k you!” a young man shouted, while flipping the president off with both hands.

“You’re a traitor!” another screamed.

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Trump — who has faced regular demonstrators during his recent midterm rallies, more than I recall from covering his campaign in 2024 — brushed the disruptions off with humor.

“I don’t mind when they do that, but it’s always right at my punchline,” he joked following a trio of interruptions. “I’ve had three punchlines, and they time them beautifully.”

“These people are serious losers,” he said.

Adam Cancryn in Fort Myers, Florida

Trump was in his element during his return to southwest Florida — a deep-red area of a state that’s voted reliably Republican for the last decade.

But the fact that the president even had to spend precious time here on October 23 was a stark sign of the wider troubles the GOP faces. He devoted long portions of his speech pleading with the capacity crowd to turn out for downballot candidates. And at times, he seemed in disbelief that key races in Florida were close enough to require his intervention.

“Angie Nixon — I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it,” Trump said of Democrats’ Senate candidate, a Democratic socialist making a strong push to unseat Republican Sen. Ashley Moody. “Why can’t I have a candidate like that to run against? Why can’t I, Ashley?”

Trump spent limited time discussing the Iran war and rising gas prices that have made Florida competitive. Instead, he framed the midterms as another loyalty test: If voters supported him, they needed to go to the polls one more time.

“In this election, I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot, if you don’t mind,” he said.

Rafael Romo in Perry, Georgia

The moment that stood out in Perry, Georgia, on October 24 was Trump’s assertion that the United States is “making hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars” in oil at a time when people are facing high prices at the pump.

Appearing to recognize the disconnect, the president acknowledged his aides had advised him not to mention gas prices and oil. “My people said, ‘please don’t mention that, sir!’” he said.

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Trump said the media would later report that “President Trump is talking about all the money we are making while people are suffering at the pump,” in a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

“I don’t give a damn! I’m going to say it. We’re making a freaking fortune!” he thundered.

The crowd erupted in cheers. But I also noticed that some people in the back, closer to where the media riser was, looked at each other in disbelief.

Arlette Saenz in Port Huron, Michigan

When Trump took the stage in Port Huron, Michigan, on October 25, he had another president on his mind.

“My competitor was here yesterday,” he said referring to former President Barack Obama. “He didn’t have a crowd like this.”

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Trump’s appearance in the Michigan city bordering Canada came within the same 24-hour span as Obama’s rally in Detroit. (I attended both, and each had sizable crowds, despite Trump’s claim Obama’s event was “sparse.”)

The weekend showcased a rare and remarkable split screen between two presidents offering their competing visions for the country.

With the election nine days away, Trump appeared hyper focused on two things — lobbing anti-Muslim attacks against Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and musing about people’s posteriors, including that of Ohio GOP Sen. Jon Husted.

“I looked at (Husted’s) ass, and I’ve never done that with a man before. Off the record: Women yes, men no,” Trump said.

He singled out one woman.

“By the way, I looked at one hell of a beautiful ass before, Nicki Minaj,” Trump said, asking the rapper, an ally of his, to stand up. “That’s hard to miss.”

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Trump was technically there to campaign for GOP Senate nominee Mike Rogers, but that type of commentary seemed more about entertaining his adoring crowd than trying to move the needle with voters in a state hit hard by high gas prices and his trade war with Canada.

Trump teased a compliment for Rogers too — if it would help him win.

“I’d say that about your ass, too, Mike, if it gets you a guaranteed victory. I’ll do anything because we got to get you in,” he said.

Kevin Liptak in Corinth, Mississippi

Extensive recounting of his renovation projects is not unusual for Trump during his rallies, even though many of his advisers would prefer he avoid the topic when speaking to audiences thousands of miles away from the White House who will never see or benefit from the work.

Trump has not taken that advice, and in Mississippi on October 26, he seemed particularly agitated that Obama had maligned his design taste as akin to “Saddam Hussein” opening “a Cheesecake Factory.”

Declaring the Cheesecake Factory a “very successful company,” Trump said Obama just didn’t understand the presidential imperative of building maintenance.

“The White House represents our country, and that has to be pristine,” he said. “And I would try and explain that to a guy like Obama, but he wouldn’t understand.”

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Trump insisted he was actually spending very little time on the projects, but went on to describe in detail his efforts to repair the North Portico’s plaster and install a new helipad on the South Lawn.

Inside the Crossroads Arena, those details were not met with particularly rapturous applause. At one point, a protester screamed, “Shove that ballroom up your fat ass,” in a voice that was extremely clear in the room and on-camera.

Trump jokes a hamburger and dessert cost $5K at Mar-a-Lago

Arlette Saenz in Lubbock, Texas, and Ed Lavendera in Corpus Christi, Texas

One week out from the election, Trump hit the campaign trail for a Texas two-step with rallies in Corpus Christi and Lubbock for GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton.

At both stops on October 27, Trump dangled $5,000 checks for Americans if Republicans win control of the House and Senate. In Corpus Christi, he invited voters to spend their cash payment at Mar-a-Lago — before quipping they wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“You could even come to Mar-a-Lago,” Trump said. “The problem is that for $5,000, the most you’ll be able to buy is a hamburger and maybe a small dessert. I’m not even sure you could buy that. No, don’t go there. That’s not a good place if you’re price conscious.”

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The joke is an example of Trump’s propensity for going off message to entertain his crowd — with results that sometimes make others in the GOP cringe, especially as affordability remains a top concern for voters.

Trump had been expected to campaign with three prominent football players with Texas roots; ultimately, only two showed up. Later in the day, Trump campaigned with Paxton in Lubbock, a northwestern Texas county he won by 40 points in the last election.

“It’s pretty fun to hang out with the president of the United States for a whole day,” Paxton said on stage. “As we were arriving in Lubbock, he said, ‘You know, I don’t usually do two rallies for anybody.’ He said, ‘I must really like you.’ Mr. President, I really like you too.”

Betsy Klein in Chillicothe, Ohio, and Kevin Liptak in Sioux City, Iowa

In multiple stops, Trump delivered a lengthy defense of what has become arguably the most polarizing ad of the 2026 campaign cycle: a spot featuring the estranged mother of Ohio’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Amy Acton.

The ad — which came from Ohio GOP gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign — has been widely condemned on both sides of the aisle, including by current Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.

Acton’s mother calls her daughter a “liar” in the ad. Acton has said she hasn’t seen her mother since she was 12, when her mother lost custody of her children as Acton’s stepfather was indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually abusing her.

In his first trip to the Buckeye State since the ad began to air, Trump told a crowd that included Ramaswamy that any pushback was “very unfair.”

“The mother said that Amy Acton, the daughter, is a liar. That she’s no good. That she lied about the opponent. How the hell is that his problem? Very unfair,” Trump said on October 28, prompting raucous applause from a gymnasium crowd.

Trump similarly embraced the ad in Sioux City, Iowa, the week before. What made that moment somewhat awkward was that the candidate he was ostensibly there to stump for — GOP Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running for Senate — had earlier in the day decried the ad as “ridiculous” and said it “needs to come down.”

Hinson was watching off-stage as Trump recounted a conversation he said he had earlier in the week with Ramaswamy. Trump said he urged Ramaswamy to buck Republican calls to take the ad down. Later, the president summoned Hinson on stage, and she didn’t mention it.

It was another example of Trump putting vulnerable Republicans in tough spots. And listening to his speech inside an airplane hangar, it was evident why so many Republicans wish he would stick to issues that are clearer drivers of turnout on their side.

Alayna Treene in Rock Hill, South Carolina

Trump was hyper-fixated on recent polling while in South Carolina on October 29 — insisting that surveys published by the media are “not real” and “totally phony.”

He took particular umbrage with polls testing his approval rating.

“They are so full of it. ‘Donald Trump is at 42%.’ 42%? You mean times two? And add 20. Boy, they are bad. They’re sick people. Fake polls,” he said.

It wasn’t clear which poll the president was referencing. CNN’s Poll of Polls average puts his approval rating at 34%.

After criticizing recent polls for several minutes, Trump took a poll of his own.

“Let me ask you a question: How many polls, how many people in this room were ever polled? Has anybody been polled? Seriously. Raise your hand,” he asked the crowd, which was filled with MAGA hats and sparkly Trump garb. “I’m curious. I’ve never known one person as a Republican anyway.”

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Very few attendees — I counted maybe a dozen in the room — raised their hands.

While the president and many GOP operatives have been quick to dismiss polls as often being wrong or undercounting Republican voters, it’s harder to discount the time and energy Trump has spent in reliably red states.

Julia Benbrook in Daytona Beach, Florida

“Is there anything better than a Trump rally?” the president asked soon after taking the stage on the Friday before Election Day.

For a moment earlier that day, it seemed like this rally could be the grand finale, with a restful weekend at Mar-a-Lago on the horizon. Within the previous 24 hours, his planned weekend rallies in Kansas and Iowa had been cancelled and then put back on his schedule.

“I thought this was going to be my last one,” Trump told the crowd in Florida. “I thought I could relax.”

His voice sounding hoarse, the president lamented the toll of the past month. “Twenty-eight days in a row of this crap is lot. It’s a lot. My voice is about operating at about 49.2%.”

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After his team decided he’d deliver his weekend closing arguments via telerally, the president grew irked at the media coverage of the cancelled events, CNN reported.

But in Trump’s telling in Forida, Republicans in those states asked him to come in person. “I said, ‘Does it matter?’ They said, ‘We just want to make sure that we win.”

Another 90-minute rally seemed to convince him that he had juice for more.

“And so on Sunday, while you’re all watching football, I’ll be traveling in a very beautiful airplane to Iowa, to Kansas.”

CNN’s Kit Maher, Izzy Lippolis and Logan Schiciano contributed to this report.

Virginia and D.C. sue over Trump’s arch, adding to mounting legal challenges

October 31, 2026 / 1:42 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The legal challenges to President Trump’s proposed memorial arch are mounting, with the District of Columbia and Virginia suing in federal court Saturday as the administration says construction could begin as early as next week.

There are now three lawsuits calling for a halt to potential work on a monument that would rise 250 feet on a patch of grass off the bridge that spans the Potomac River, connecting the city with Arlington National Cemetery. That would make the arch 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty from its base to the top of the torch.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is already considering issuing an order to halt the project until the original lawsuit against the Trump administration by three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian is resolved. She held a hearing Friday but did not immediately act, though she said she would move expeditiously.

In the latest lawsuit, two attorneys general, Brian Schwalb of Washington, D.C., and Jay Jones of Virginia, argue that “as soon as Defendants break ground on this project, they will inflict irreparable harm on both the District and Virginia.”

“The Arch site sits at the center of a major traffic artery between the District and Virginia, in the monumental core of the capital, on an island that straddles the Potomac River,” the lawsuit says. “During the three-year period of construction, the Arch project will inevitably snarl traffic between the jurisdictions, produce pollution and stormwater runoff in the Potomac, interfere with emergency services, and pose numerous other challenges.”

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A rendering of the triumphal arch shared by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Sept. 3, 2026. Doug Burgum

As the original plaintiffs have, the two states also are seeking a temporary restraining order that would slow the administration’s plans to move ahead imminently with construction.

“Thanks to the Builder-in-Chief, no other president has done more to beautify our Nation’s interior than President Trump,” said Davis Ingle, a White House spokesman, in a statement to CBS News. “From restoring our treasured landmarks after suffering years of abuse and vandalism, to cleaning our parks and the Reflecting Pool and equipping the White House with a much needed Helipad and the finest Ballroom anywhere in the world, President Trump’s bold vision is ensuring the People’s House and our Nation’s Capital will be properly glorified and remain in excellent condition for generations to come.”

The lawsuit raises concerns about how the traffic interruption would impact emergency responses in a region where joint operations are the norm, including the January 2025 midair collision between a military helicopter and airliner that killed 67.

The Republican administration, in a recent court filing, said it had plans to seek final approval of the project, a favorite of Mr. Trump, at Thursday’s meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission and possibly begin construction the same day, despite the active lawsuits pending.

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President Trump holds a model of an arch as he delivers remarks during a ballroom fundraising dinner in the East Room of the White House on Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

On Friday, the government submitted a 106-page plan for the arch that envisions a massive structure more than 12 stories high that includes a huge bronze statue of Lady Liberty with wings and carrying a torch with an eternal flame. The structure would include an observation deck with views to the east and west, an “occupied roof” and two mezzanines.

Inside the arch are rooms for program space, offices, a staff lounge, circular staircases, multiple elevators and a “fire command center.” The project proposes significant traffic changes in the area, including rerouting traffic on nearby roads. Administration officials have said the arch will also have a national security function.

“The Triumphal Arch in Memorial Circle is going to be one of the most iconic landmarks not only in Washington, D.C., but throughout the world. It will serve as a gateway to Arlington National Cemetery for veterans, the families of the fallen, and all Americans alike, serving as a visual reminder of the noble sacrifices borne by so many American heroes throughout our 250 year history so we can enjoy our freedoms today,” Ingle said. “President Trump will continue to honor our veterans and give the greatest Nation on earth — America — the glory it deserves.”

In:

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How Obama appointee and Trump nemesis Boasberg ended up overseeing Ilhan Omar warrant, other key cases

Lawmakers and Iowa’s solicitor general call for transparency in how D.C. federal court assigns high-profile cases

By Elaine Mallon | Fox News

Published October 31, 2026 10:53am EDT

Ex-DOJ prosecutor details significance of ‘probable cause’ in Omar home raid

Former DOJ prosecutor Jim Trusty joins ‘America’s Newsroom’ to analyze the federal raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar’s Washington, D.C., home. Trusty discusses the DOJ search warrant executed by Homeland Security Investigations and reviews potential immigration charges.

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Federal Judge James Boasberg, dubbed a “Radical left lunatic” by President Donald Trump, is presiding over several high-profile cases challenging actions made by the Trump administration, raising questions about how judges are assigned to cases.

The scrutiny comes as Boasberg, an Obama-appointed chief judge of the Washington, D.C. district court, oversees a challenge brought by several media outlets seeking to force the Justice Department to unseal the search warrant on the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stemming from two federal investigations.

“Judge James Boasberg is now involved with the Ilhan Omar case,” Steve Ferguson, a self-described business owner with more than 250,000 followers on X, wrote in a social media post. “Is everything rigged?”

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In the federal court of the District of Columbia, cases are assigned to judges randomly by an electronic system managed by the clerk’s office operating under the direction of the Calendar and Case Management Committee, according to the rules of the court. The committee consists of three to five judges appointed by the chief justice.

FEDERAL AGENTS RAID ILHAN OMAR’S DC HOME AMID IMMIGRATION FRAUD INVESTIGATION

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Judge Boasberg.(Getty)

There are exceptions to the random-assignment process. For example, criminal grand jury matters are assigned to and overseen by the chief judge, currently Boasberg. This means Boasberg’s assignment to oversee the fight over unsealing the search warrant for Omar was “not a surprise” to Eric Wessan, Iowa’s solicitor general.

“But there are a lot of cases that seem to be going to judges maybe based on those cases having similarities which is not what the local rules say,” Wessan told Fox News Digital.

When a case needs to be reassigned, the Calendar and Case Management Committee will determine how the reassignment is made.

Wessan suggested that concerns over how case assignments are made is valid, considering some of the high-profile cases against the Trump administration which have appeared in Boasberg’s docket.

“If one is just following anecdotally, there does seem to be a lot of high-profile cases in front of judges that seem to be expressing unusual amounts of frustration or disagreement with the administration,” Wessan said, urging greater transparency in how case assignments are made.

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TRUMP’S FIGHT OVER RARELY USED 18TH-CENTURY DEPORTATION LAW LIVES ON IN LATEST COURT CLASH

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The fight over unsealing the release of Omar’s search warrant is just one of several cases involving the Trump administration and now on Boasberg’s docket. Boasberg is also overseeing California’s lawsuit against the Trump administration over voter-roll disputes. On Friday, he ordered the administration to provide the state with the names and supporting information for roughly 20,000 people whom the DOJ claims are noncitizens on California’s voter rolls by the end of the day.

Boasberg has issued several consequential rulings against the Trump administration, including a high-profile March 2025 order directing the administration to turn around deportation flights carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The Trump administration fought against the order, pointing to the Alien Enemies Act as legal justification for the deportations. The dispute over the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act eventually reached the Supreme Court, which vacated Boasberg’s temporary restraining order blocking deportation flights, ruling that the case was brought in the wrong jurisdiction.

That same month, Boasberg was assigned a lawsuit seeking to preserve Signal messages after top Trump administration officials discussed plans for a Yemen strike in a group chat that accidentally included Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. He later ordered the administration to preserve the messages.

The string of cases prompted Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, to send a letter in May 2025 to the court clerk asking for greater clarity on how judicial assignments are made. The lawmakers questioned whether assignments were truly random, as the court’s rules state.

“The Committee cannot independently verify the randomness of case assignments because the composition of assignment decks is kept secrets,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We must understand the nature of the case assignment process in the District Court—which is considering a number of cases challenging the Trump Administration’s policy decisions—to consider and develop appropriate legislation,” the lawmakers wrote.

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Venezuelan migrants flown from Guantanamo Bay via Honduras walk up a ladder after arriving on a deportation flight at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, La Guaira State, Venezuela, February 20, 2025.(REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)

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FEDERAL JUDGE KICKED OFF ‘BOTCH JOB’ ANTI-DEI CASE AFTER STUNNING APPEALS COURT REBUKE

Meanwhile, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., introduced legislation in July that would require federal district courts to assign cases randomly, without exceptions, naming it the Boasberg Act. The bill is currently stalled in committee.

“Judge Boasberg is the poster child for a rogue judge and exposed serious loopholes in our judicial system. Randomly assigning cases among judges ensures the American people can have confidence in the impartiality of our courts,” Schmitt said in a statement.

Under the rules of D.C. Court, the chief justice does not have the power to reassign a case. The Calendar and Case Management Committee handles case reassignments. The court must notify the judges and attorneys involved, but it does not have to publicly explain why a case was reassigned. Wessan has called for greater transparency.

“The rules shouldn’t say one thing if it’s not true. But if it is true, they could just say so. I think the issue is with the exceptions—what happens in those exceptional cases and how often do they occur?” Wessan said.

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“Given the frequency of the concerning episodes in the district court, erring on the side of transparency is probably prudent to the extent that there are exceptions to the normal random-assignment system,” Wessan said.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.