As scrutiny of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner mounts ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Republican senators are openly denouncing his candidacy while many Democrats are declining to weigh in.

The reluctance by many Senate Democrats to publicly defend Platner comes as the Maine candidate faces mounting scrutiny days before Tuesday’s primary, with new allegations and controversies emerging.

“I think it is really sad when you have someone who’s a self-described communist, who put a Nazi tattoo on himself, to see so many Senate Democrats supporting him,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “That should be beyond the pale.”

When Fox News Digital asked Democratic senators whether they still supported Platner, some were reluctant to weigh in, while others said the decision belongs to Maine voters.

When asked if he would continue to back Platner, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., responded, “Who told you I was supporting him?” When asked if he does support him, he replied, “I don’t vote in that state.”

SEE IT: DEM SENATORS DODGE ON BACKING PLATNER AS MAINE CANDIDATE’S SCANDAL CLOUDS FINAL DAYS BEFORE PRIMARY

“The people of Maine are going to have to make up their minds,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said.

Other Democrats refused to comment on the situation altogether, claiming to not have given the Maine election much thought. 

“I’m gonna take a look at the race,” Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said. “I hadn’t paid any attention. We’ve been busy on other fronts so, but I will look at it now.”

“I don’t know,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said when asked his thoughts on the race in Maine. “I have a few other things on my mind.”

PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION

These responses come after a string of allegations and revelations about Platner were made public, and continue to emerge: sexting scandals while married, openly mocking a wounded American soldier in a Taliban attack and crude sexual Reddit posts. Most recently, allegations have also come forward of disturbing behaviors in his past relationships.

A recent report from the New York Times features explosive excerpts from Platner’s ex-girlfriends, who alleged that he hates women, detailed fantasies about both rape and killing, and was aware that his chest tattoo resembled the Totenkopf, a symbol used by Nazi death camp guards, despite having previously denied knowing about the association.

‘HE HATED WOMEN’: EXPLOSIVE ABUSE, NEW NAZI TATTOO ALLEGATIONS FROM EXES ROCK PLATNER’S CAMPAIGN

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., shared his hope that Maine voters will take action at the voting booths on Tuesday to not allow Platner to be elected as Maine’s Senate Democrat nominee.

“I think it’s going to be interesting to see if the voters of Maine are able to see through the lies that Graham Platner is planting,” Hagerty said. “He’s trying to excuse himself for behavior that is totally unconscionable.”

“You got to really feel sorry for the true Democrats in this country,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said. “They have no representation. Now they’re taking these people who absolutely have no business representing anybody.”

Despite the plethora of scandals and allegations coming out nearly daily on Platner, he still remains the frontrunner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. 

Many Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., continue backing Platner as Democrats view Maine’s Republican-held Senate seat as one of their top pickup opportunities in the midterms.

If elected, Platner and the incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will face off in November’s midterms.

“I can’t imagine that Mainers want to be represented by somebody like that,” Hagerty said. “When they have an option to continue working with Susan Collins, who is working her heart out to represent Maine every day.

“This Platner guy can’t beat Susan Collins, number one,” Tuberville said. “But to even have him in the race is embarrassing — to me — for Maine and for our country.”

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California’s still-unsettled election results are the consequence of the state’s vote-by-mail system, according to election law expert Hans von Spakovsky, who said the process can keep ballots moving through verification and counting for days and even weeks after Election Day.

The Golden State is continuing to count ballots cast in its June 2 primary elections, a process that has extended beyond Election Day due to the state’s election laws, administrative procedures, and vote-counting policies, said von Spakovsky. The delay is not the result of an isolated incident or unexpected complication but stems from the structure of its electoral system before final results can be certified. 

“There are four reasons why California takes so long,” von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital on Friday. “First of all, it’s almost entirely a mail election now.”

The Los Angeles mayoral race has captured the nation’s attention as Republican-aligned candidate Spencer Pratt awaits a tally determining if he or Democrat-aligned Nithya Raman will advance to the runoff election in November against incumbent Democrat Karen Bass. While former Health and Human Services secretary under the Biden administration, Xavier Becerra, Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Tom Steyer are still duking it out for the top two spots in the state’s jungle primary process ahead of the general election in November. 

LA TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER DEFENDS CALIFORNIA’S SLOW VOTING PROCESS AS ‘ELECTION INTEGRITY’ IN ACTION

Von Spakovsky identified what he said are the four causes for the delay in final tallies: mass mail voting, a seven-day post-Election Day ballot receipt window, a 22-day cure period for signature issues, and high volumes of provisional ballots that must be individually investigated.

Of the four causes of the delay, von Spakovsky said California’s mail-ballot rules cause the greatest concern because it dramatically slows the counting process. With the vast majority of ballots cast by mail, election officials must spend additional time verifying and processing those ballots before they can be counted, extending the timeline for final results.

“You can go vote in person, but like in the 2024 election, out of 16 million votes that were cast in the presidential election, 13 million were by mail. It takes much longer to process a mail-in ballot than a ballot that’s cast at a polling place,” he said.

Mail-in ballots allow voters to cast their ballots from home, avoid long lines and grew in popularity during the pandemic.

Ballot drops are still rolling in and once they do, counties then have additional time to process, verify and tabulate those ballots, with counting expected to continue through June 15.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS LAUNCH VOTER ID BALLOT PUSH, NEED 875K SIGNATURES BY DEADLINE

Von Spakovsky pointed to postmarks on ballots as a key vulnerability in counting ballots.

“California law says, ‘We’ll count absentee ballots or mail-in ballots received up to seven days after Election Day if they’re postmarked by Election Day. But if the postmark’s missing, or it’s blurry, and we can’t read it, we will just go by whatever date the voter wrote inside the envelope,’” he said.

He said the state’s election rules are too permissive, pointing to policies such as not requiring voter ID, automatic voter registration, and lengthy post-election ballot processing periods, which he argued invite fraud or irregularities.

California is one of eight states, along with Washington, D.C., that automatically sends mail ballots in to all active registered voters in their universal vote-by-mail policy. 

President Donald Trump singled out the state’s election process this week, announcing that U.S. attorneys are looking into Los Angeles as the mayoral race remains pending.

“Without commenting on any specific investigation, my office has multiple election fraud investigations underway in coordination with @FBILosAngeles,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli wrote on X Thursday.  “We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and prosecute any violations of federal election law to the fullest extent.”

“The state has stonewalled every effort to verify that only eligible U.S. citizens are registered to vote. This case is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal. My office will not look the other way. We will investigate and prosecute. Every legal vote deserves to be counted. Every illegal vote cancels one out,” he added.

Democrats have played down concern over the process to count the ballots, including Becerra saying those who bemoan the amount of time it takes are working “to undermine confidence in our elections.”

“We count every ballot. Thank you for your patience as we give democracy time to work,” Steyer wrote on X, citing Trump’s recent comments on the election. 

HILTON SAYS SPENCER PRATT CAMPAIGN REFLECTS GROWING REVOLT AGAINST CALIFORNIA’S ‘ONE-PARTY RULE’

Viral rumors have spread across social media since June 2, including claims that Pratt did not receive a single vote out of about 24,000 Los Angeles ballots that rolled in. 

“That’s a lie,” the California Attorney General’s Office told Fox News Digital, pointing to an X statement from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press office debunking the claims as “disinformation” and a “lie.” 

The California governor sent a letter to state election officials in May calling on them to swiftly tabulate the upcoming elections, while focusing the letter on building and maintaining confidence in voting. 

“We must continue building confidence in our elections and ensure not only that every vote is counted, but that every vote is trusted. We must acknowledge that the longer the voting count takes, the more mis- and disinformation spreads. That means we must do all that we can to tabulate votes quickly and accurately. Time is of the essence in preventing election lies from taking hold,” he wrote. 

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

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., refused to rule out a 2028 presidential run, but said expanding healthcare remains more important than pursuing higher office.

“Could I be president?” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Could I not be president? Maybe, maybe not.”

She repeatedly steered the conversation away from her own political future and back toward policy outcomes, arguing that the value of holding office depends on what can be accomplished with it. She suggested that achieving universal healthcare would be a greater measure of success than securing any particular title, including the presidency.

“What matters more is that we guarantee healthcare in this country,” she told Fox News Digital.

AOC DODGES QUESTIONS ON ABUSE ALLEGATIONS, NAZI TATTOO CLAIMS ROCKING PLATNER’S CAMPAIGN

Speculation about Ocasio-Cortez’s political future has grown as some Democrats view her as a potential contender in the 2028 presidential race. While she has never formally announced a 2028 campaign, she has also declined to rule one out.

“I mean the answer is the answer,” she said when asked whether she was considering a run.

Ocasio-Cortez framed her response around expanding healthcare access, suggesting policy outcomes matter more than holding office and questioning whether the presidency would be the best path to achieving universal healthcare.

“There’s a world where in order to do that, I shouldn’t have that job,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “There’s a world where, maybe. But the most important thing is getting everyone healthcare in this country.”

WHAT THE FOUNDING FATHERS WOULD TELL AOC ABOUT THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

This is not the first time Ocasio-Cortez has addressed questions about a potential White House bid. During a conversation with Democratic strategist David Axelrod at an event in Chicago last month, she said her ambitions extend beyond holding a particular office, arguing that her “ambition is to change this country.”

“Presidents come and go; Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go, but single-payer healthcare is forever,” she said to Axelrod. “A living wage is forever. Workers’ rights are forever. Women’s rights, all of that.”

Speculation about a potential 2028 bid intensified after she reposted a Verasight poll on X in December that showed her narrowly ahead of Vice President J.D. Vance — 51% to 49%.

AOC PREDICTS TRIUMPH OVER JD VANCE IN HYPOTHETICAL 2028 MATCHUP: ‘LET THE RECORD SHOW: I WOULD STOMP HIM’

Her initial comment in the repost was “Bloop!” She later made a second comment on the poll, stating she would “stomp him” if the two went head-to-head in an election.

Ocasio-Cortez is among a growing list of Democrats whose names have surfaced in early discussions about the party’s 2028 presidential field, alongside figures such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

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Former Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed that Todd Blanche, who at the time was second in command at the Justice Department, was put in charge of the release of the millions of documents from the Epstein files during her closed-door hearing before Congress late last month. 

“As the head of a large department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort nor conduct that document review myself,” Bondi said during the hearing. “I delegated that oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.” 

The House Oversight Committee released its transcript from Bondi’s May 29 hearing just a day after President Donald Trump announced he intended to nominate Blanche as his permanent attorney general nominee, potentially complicating Blanche’s confirmation as senators on both sides of the political aisle have heavily criticized the files’ rollout.

Blanche has been serving as Acting Attorney General since April 2, when Trump announced Bondi’s dismissal.

LAPSED EPSTEIN DEADLINE UNDERSCORES CHALLENGE OF REVIEWING TROVES OF FILES IN 30 DAYS

The release of the transcript, which placed responsibility for the Epstein files rollout squarely on Blanche’s shoulders, comes just days after Blanche announced during a hearing that the Justice Department will be eliminating its controversial Anti-Weaponization Fund, which was created to compensate alleged victims of politicized prosecution and labeled a “slush fund” for Trump and his supporters by critics. The Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files and the Anti-Weaponization Fund, both overseen by Blanche, has drawn concern from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Bondi’s testimony revealed that Blanche had been her point man on the Epstein files and was tasked with briefing her on the release of the Epstein files.

The former attorney general found herself in hot water last July following a joint release by the Justice Department and FBI finding that there was no evidence that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is alleged to have hundreds of underage victims, had kept a client list.

BONDI SAYS EPSTEIN CLIENT LIST ‘SITTING ON MY DESK RIGHT NOW’, AND IS REVIEWING JFK, MLK FILES

The joint statement, which Bondi said during May’s hearing was penned by Blanche and not her, comes after months of the Trump administration teasing the release of the Epstein files. In February 2025, Fox News’ John Roberts asked Bondi about the release of Epstein’s “client list,” which Bondi responded by saying that it was “sitting on her desk.” Bondi and the White House clarified after the fact that she was referring to the files as a whole and not Epstein’s “client list.”

Members of Congress asked Bondi why Blanche interviewed Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was in prison, weeks after the joint memo release. Bondi replied by saying Blanche “was leading the Epstein matter and the release of everything from the beginning.”

Once Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025, Bondi stated Blanche oversaw the release of millions of documents, which entailed overseeing the redaction process, including its protocols and guidelines, determining which documents were privileged and making corrections to redactions.

DOJ’S EPSTEIN DISCLOSURE DRAWS FIRE FOR WEBSITE GLITCHES, MISSING DOCUMENTS, REDACTIONS

“He was in charge of the process and the entire release of the Epstein files,” Bondi said.

But the Justice Department faced scrutiny over failures to redact all identifiable information from some of Epstein’s victims, allegations that some redactions were heavy-handed and that some documents were completely missing, prompting a bipartisan group of senators to send a letter in March requesting that the Government Accountability Office lead an investigation into the Justice Department’s redaction process.

“Not only has DOJ withheld files, but those records that were disclosed are largely information that was already public,” the letter stated. “Even those records are so heavily redacted that there are serious questions as to whether the Department is properly applying the limited exceptions for redaction that are permitted under the Act. Moreover, several records appear to have been removed, without explanation, from the files the Department did release.”

SENATE REPUBLICAN DEMANDS STATE, FEDERAL COURTS ‘IMMEDIATELY UNSEAL ALL’ EPSTEIN DOCS

However, Bondi said during the hearing that she was not blaming Blanche and that the error rate for the redaction was 1%, which was what Blanche had told her.

“He managed this investigation — and it was a Herculean task — with very little error,” Bondi said during the hearing. “And Todd did an excellent job, in my opinion, and is doing an excellent job as our Attorney General.”

Following her closed-door testimony, Bondi pushed back on allegations from Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., that she is pushing the blame of the Epstein Files rollouts on Blanche.

“NOT TRUE,” Bondi posted on X. “I praised Acting AG Blanche’s management of this Herculean task. I said his ethics are beyond reproach and that he is an incredible Attorney General.”

A White House spokesperson said that Blanche was doing an “excellent job” and will continue to perform well.

“Todd Blanche is an American patriot who fearlessly fought on behalf of President Trump against the Democrats’ illegal and unprecedented lawfare campaign,” said Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman. “The President’s entire team at the Department of Justice is doing a great job advocating for sanity, law and order, and policies that keep Americans safe.”

Blanche’s nomination is also expected to face scrutiny from Democrats who have questioned whether the former Trump defense attorney can serve as an independent attorney general. Last month, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., launched a Senate Judiciary Committee inquiry based on allegations that Blanche disregarded ethics guidance advising him to recuse himself from matters at the Justice Department involving Trump, who he previously served as a personal lawyer to.

Fox News Digital reached out to Senate Judiciary Committee leadership and the Justice Department for comment.

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A war of words has erupted between U.S. and British officials after a young Briton with a bright future bled out in handcuffs as police took him into custody on suspicion of making racial remarks, only to learn later that his killer fabricated the allegation. 

The State Department issued a harsh rebuke Thursday night amid online outrage stemming from the stabbing of Henry Nowak, and Vice President JD Vance was quick to pile-on, claiming the incident proves that western civilization is at risk.

“Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline,” the State Department wrote Thursday in a viral post on X. “They must be rejected across the West. The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.”

It was the first time the Trump administration commented publicly on the horrific stabbing.

In December 2025, Nowak was returning home from a night playing soccer with friends in the southern England city of Southampton when he encountered 23-year-old Vickrum Digwa, a British Sikh man of Indian heritage wearing a turban and carrying a long ceremonial knife.

Nowak was later handcuffed by police after Digwa claimed the student was racist against him, and police refused to believe him when he said he was stabbed. He died while in police custody.

“Henry Nowak died the same way a civilization dies: abandoned, handcuffed by authorities who neither trusted nor cared for him, and accused of hate crimes he did not commit,” Vance wrote on X in a lengthy post addressing the overseas crime.

“His murder is as tragic as it is enraging,” the vice president continued. “He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”

He reiterated how a top priority of the Trump administration is working to preserve western civilization by stopping mass migration.

ENGLISH COPS CUFFED TEEN STABBING VICTIM AFTER ATTACKER CLAIMED RACIAL ASSAULT

Vance’s post drew an immediate response from across the pond. 

“In recent days we have seen people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. 

“The Nowak family are grieving after Henry’s horrific murder. They have said they do not want his death to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We should be respecting their wishes,” the statement continued. “Our politics should bring people together even in the most terrible of circumstances. That is who we are as a country.”

Nowak filmed the initial encounter before his death, where he called Digwa a “bad man.”

“I am a bad man,” Digwa replied, taking offense to the comment. He then stabbed the student five times, including a fatal wound to his chest. What came next sparked worldwide outrage while Digwa, now convicted of murder, was on trial in May.

Body cameras worn by officers show Digwa alleging racial abuse and claiming Nowak removed his turban. The police took Digwa’s word, and handcuffed Nowak when they located him. Footage shows Nowak lying on the ground, repeatedly telling officers he couldn’t breathe.

When Nowak told officers he had been stabbed, one is heard dismissing him with: “Don’t think you have, mate.”

The young student bled to death in police custody.

DAN GAINOR: THE ENGLAND WE LOVE IS LOST. IF WE DON’T CHANGE, AMERICA WILL BE, TOO

It was later revealed that Digwa called his mother, Kiran Kaur, who arrived at the crime scene before the police so she could take the murder weapon to their family home and hide it. She was recently found guilty of assisting an offender and will be sentenced July 17.

Digwa was sentenced on June 1 to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.

UK ACTOR IDRIS ELBA SUGGESTS KITCHEN KNIVES BE BLUNTED, OTHERS BANNED TO PREVENT STABBINGS

Carrying knives in Britain is a heavily regulated practice, and certain types of knives are banned entirely. Digwa’s knife was considered an exception due to his religious beliefs, which also fanned the flames of the controversy surrounding the murder.

British law has a provision allowing Sikhs to carry kirpans, which are ceremonial religious knives. In Digwa’s case, he was carrying an eight-inch blade.

The country’s tightening speech laws have also come to the forefront, with critics arguing that police in Nowak’s case were too blinded by the report of racism to notice he had been mortally wounded. Since the Online Safety Act of 2023 took effect, swaths of Britons have been jailed for internet posts deemed racist by authorities.

AMERICA STILL CAN’T PUT DOWN THE RACE CARD. AND IT’S THE SHAME OF OUR NATION

Police eventually apologized for the way the stabbing was handled.

“I want to say that I am sorry that Henry couldn’t be saved that night. I’m sorry that he was handcuffed and arrested in the moments before he lost consciousness,” Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Robert France of the Hampshire Constabulary said, according to Sky News.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Miss., also responded amid the controversy.

“Britain has a regime willing to jail people for tweets, but unwilling to protect its own citizens from bleeding out in the street,” he said in response to the State Department’s post. “Henry Nowak deserved better. That is what civilizational decline looks like. This is the future the Left is trying to import. We have to stop it.”

So did SpaceX founder and former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk, who posted multiple times about the case.

“Send the video to everyone you know showing how heinously Nowak was treated by the police in his dying moments and how the police cravenly kowtowed to his murderer,” he said in one post that was viewed 28 million times. “Legacy mainstream media, same ones who wrote about George Floyd millions of times, are dead silent about Nowak.”

“The West has created an utterly evil state religion where an accusation of ‘racism’ is the gravest offense that can be committed, even worse than rape or murder!” he said in another, “So if police show up at a crime scene and a British boy is bleeding out and an immigrant says the British boy is racist the cops will cuff the dying British boy.”

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Customs and Border Protection stopped two separate vehicles and confiscated over $300,000 worth of narcotics over the span of a day.

The apprehensions continue to demonstrate the high volume of narcotics that smugglers are attempting to bring across the southern U.S. border, even as immigration numbers have plummeted in recent months.

On Sunday, May 17, agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry referred a 2013 Honda Civic for secondary inspection. After an imaging system detected anomalies in the car’s firewall, they discovered six packages of white fentanyl powder worth roughly $113,600 along with 8.4 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $161,600.

CBP OFFICERS SEIZE OVER $14M OF ALLEGED METHAMPHETAMINE AT SOUTHERN BORDER

That same day at the Calexico East Port of Entry, about 100 miles away, a 2011 Nissan Cube was also sent for secondary inspection. Agents there discovered 63 packets of methamphetamine after a scan of that vehicle detected anomalies in its flooring.

Officials praised both detections.

“Sunday may be a day of rest for many, but criminals don’t take days off, and neither do our CBP officers,” San Diego Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki said.

“Our officers remain vigilant around the clock, and these significant seizures are a direct result of their commitment to keeping dangerous drugs like these from entering our country.”

SOUTHERN BORDER APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE MORE THAN 90% FROM YEAR AGO IN APRIL, CBP SAYS

The agency believes its operations are a continuation of efforts laid out by President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, even as immigration border crossings have come down.

Since the end of 2024, border crossings have plummeted, going from over 144,000 encounters in December 2024 to just 10,000 in April.

Even so, CBP has reported several high-profile smuggling attempts that have sought to bring weapons, narcotics and humans across the U.S. border.

ARREST OF GANG MEMBER CONVICTED OF MURDER PUTS DEM STATE’S SANCTUARY POLICIES ON BLAST

Recently, CBP has released reports on how it had prevented a car carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher from crossing the border, detected dozens of immigrants crammed into a semi-truck and even detained a boat off the coast of the Dominican Republic with the help of a Black Hawk helicopter.

“CBP officers along the southwest border stop illegal activity, including the smuggling of drugs and humans, and facilitate lawful entry for millions of legitimate travelers into the United States,” CBP said in a statement.

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Senate Republicans managed to stitch together a unified front to advance President Donald Trump’s roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement package, but divisions over the president’s agenda were laid bare after a marathon day of votes. 

Passage of the budget reconciliation package geared toward funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years closes a long, drawn out chapter in the Senate that began during the longest shutdown in history. 

It’s a point that Senate Republicans tried to return to throughout the day, reiterating that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats had forced their hands after refusing to fund immigration operations without a plethora of reforms. 

DOZEN GOP REBELS FAIL TO PERMANENTLY KILL TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND

“Democrats would not agree to anything, and eventually they walked away altogether, presumably because they thought that it would serve them better to have an issue for November,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.

But the day, and preceding weeks, were dominated by a growing rift between Senate Republicans and the Trump administration that threatened to blow up the process altogether. 

First, it was the inclusion of $1 billion in funding for security upgrades to Trump’s ballroom, which was later stripped out. 

Then, it was the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) announcement that a nearly $2 billion “anti-weaponization” fund was being launched to allow people who felt targeted by the government to make a claim from the pot of taxpayer money.

GOP ADVANCES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER FORCING TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND INTO RETREAT

Several Senate Republicans worried that the money could be accessed by Jan. 6, 2021, rioters who were convicted of assaulting police.

Schumer and Democrats leaned into that open wound and spent much of the marathon, “vote-a-rama” vote series trying to spell a permanent end to the fund, despite acting Attorney General Todd Blanche vowing that the administration would no longer pursue it. 

“Do we believe that Donald Trump, who has lied to us day in and day out, do we believe that he will be able to resist getting his sticky fingers in the slush fund when it would benefit himself and his family? No way, no way,” Schumer said.

GOP LEVERAGES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE TO MAKE TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND ‘NEVER EXIST’ 

Many of the amendments pushed by Democrats placed Republicans in tough bids for reelection, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Jon Husted, R-Ohio, and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, into politically challenging positions. 

Republicans tried to kill it, too, causing tensions on the Senate floor to rise. 

“It’s not that tense,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “I mean, I’ve seen worse. Nobody’s stabbed anybody yet.”

Still, the process nearly came to a grinding halt because of the fund at the start of the marathon vote series when Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and others wanted to ensure that GOP attempts to end the fund would get a vote, too. 

“I just wanted to optimize the chances of success,” Cassidy said of the delay. 

Ultimately, despite a dozen Republicans voting for Sen. Thom Tillis’, R-N.C., amendment, and several voting for Cassidy’s, all attempts to thwart future bids to revive the fund failed. 

The ballroom also came back into the picture when six Republicans joined Senate Democrats to prevent construction on the colossal structure from going forward without congressional approval.

Then there was an attempt by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to attach the SAVE America Act to the reconciliation package, which met Republican resistance and ultimately failed, too. 

The package now heads to the House, where Republicans are expected to pass it by next week.

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The Senate failed to move one step closer to extending the nation’s spy powers amid brewing consternation against President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies. 

Nearly every Senate Democrat and six Senate Republicans banded together to block a procedural hurdle to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in the wee hours of Friday morning. The stumble comes as the deadline to make a move on the spy powers next week rapidly approaches. 

What would have likely been a bipartisan vote was marred by Trump’s pick to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies as Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Bill Pulte. 

CONGRESS EXTENDS CONTROVERSIAL SPY LAW FOR 45 DAYS AFTER SENATE REJECTS HOUSE BILL

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that Congress couldn’t “afford to go dark” by not reauthorizing FISA, and hoped that Senate Democrats could have a change of heart on the matter next week when the upper chamber returns. 

Complicating matters for Thune is that, given Republicans who outright dislike the program, he will need Democrats to reauthorize FISA. 

“We need some help from Democrats, obviously, and I think it’s a terrible irresponsible position that they’ve taken,” Thune said. “But we’ll find out if that changes.”

Pulte currently serves as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and was tapped by Trump earlier this week to fill in for ex-DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who exited the position last month.

HOUSE PASSES FISA RENEWAL IN BIPARTISAN VOTE, PUTTING PRESSURE ON SENATE BEFORE LOOMING DEADLINE

The choice left Republicans scratching their heads, and elicited fury among Democrats. 

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned that Democrats wouldn’t support reauthorizing FISA if Pulte were in charge. 

“I don’t see how you get the necessary Democrat votes… that would get them to 60,” Warner said.

Lawmakers are concerned because Pulte has no experience in the intelligence field, and in the role of DNI, would be charged with overseeing the country’s 18 intelligence agencies. 

HOUSE PUNTS TRUMP SPY POWERS EXTENSION AFTER CONSERVATIVES BLOCK DEAL, FORCING END-OF-MONTH SHOWDOWN

“I know what he’s been doing in the housing sector,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said. “I’m not so familiar with why the president would have selected him.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged that Trump’s move to pick Pulte “appears to have been a hastily considered backroom deal based on loyalty to Trump, not the security of our nation.”

“The timing of this announcement could not be worse, with just over a week until FISA 702 authorities expire,” Schumer said. “This announcement and its timing clearly make passing an extension of FISA much harder.” 

Meanwhile, Senate Republican leadership hopes to have their bipartisan bill completed and shipped to the House before the June 12 deadline. 

Pulte’s appointment further complicates a fight over FISA that has, so far, led to Congress punting twice on the issue, particularly over disagreements with the controversial Section 702.

The spy law fight is one of the few horseshoe issues in Congress that blends Democrats and conservatives in a push for stronger privacy protections. Section 702 allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad. 

However, nothing in the law prevents it from collecting data on Americans if they happen to be involved in those communications.

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