A top Republican senator and Trump-endorser is among those criticizing the former president over his Monday announcement on abortion, in which he claimed restrictions on the procedure should be decided by individual states. 

‘I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement on Monday morning. 

Trump made his much-anticipated announcement in a video the same day, stating his belief that the states should legislate their own limitations on abortion rather than the federal government. 

‘The states will determine by vote, or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land – in this case, the law of the state,’ he said in a video on Truth Social. ‘Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks…at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people.’

This was shot down by Graham, who claimed, ‘The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision.’

‘The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain.’

Trump responded to Graham’s statement on Truth Social, claiming the senator ‘is doing a great disservice to the Republican Party, and to our Country.’

The former president said Graham may not understand that ‘the Radical Left Democrats, who are destroying our Country, will never approve anything that he or the Republicans want.’

‘Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency…,’ Trump continued. 

Other GOP lawmakers responded differently than Graham. Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, told Fox News Digital in a statement, ‘Regarding a national ban on abortion, I agree with President Trump.’

‘As a pro-life conservative, I do not support abortion but I believe the Supreme Court made it clear that the Constitution protects the right of states to determine their own policies,’ he said. 

Similarly, former House Freedom Caucus Chair and Trump ally Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital, ‘The U.S. Supreme Court ensured that states can now make decisions regarding abortion and I support the court’s decision. The radical Left demands absolutely no limit on how or when pre-born babies can be aborted and who pays for it.’

A spokesperson for Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said, ‘We support President Trump’s statement today. We believe wholeheartedly in protecting IVF, protecting exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother, and today abortion is left to the states. That is the law of the land.’

Republican responses to Trump’s announcement were limited, continuing a pattern of apprehension when it comes to commenting on abortion, an issue that’s been a political lightening rod since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

In an effort to harness frustration over the matter, President Biden’s campaign and Democrats across the country have argued that Republicans would usher in a national ban on abortion if they re-gain power. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement, ‘Let’s wait a few weeks and see what his new position will be,’ referencing Trump’s previous back-and-forth over the issue and his stance on federal policy to address it. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who faces a competitive election this year in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin, slammed Trump following his video. ‘Millions of women across Wisconsin have lost the freedom to control their own bodies because of Donald Trump and Eric Hovde,’ she said in a statement released by her campaign.

‘Today, we heard it loud and clear: if Donald Trump is President and Eric Hovde is elected to the U.S. Senate, they will ensure abortion is illegal for women across our state. While they run to restrict our rights, I will never stop fighting to restore and protect our freedoms,’ she said. 

While Trump said he did not support a federal restriction on abortion, Baldwin’s campaign pointed out that the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which Trump took credit for, allowed a restriction on the procedure in Wisconsin from 1849 to go into effect. 

‘Montanans of all stripes don’t want the federal government telling them what to do, and they don’t want politicians or judges stripping away their personal freedoms,’ said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in a statement to Fox News Digital. Tester similarly faces a competitive re-election race come November. 

‘While politicians in Montana are actively working to ban abortion in our state, I will always fight to protect Montana women’s freedom to make their own health care decisions,’ he said.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the No. 3 House Democrat, told Fox News Digital, ‘Here’s the truth: Donald Trump masterminded the end of Roe v. Wade. He’s the reason millions of women are suffering under cruel abortion bans, and he’s the reason American women now have less freedom than their grandmothers.’

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., suggested in a post on X that Trump’s words were not trustworthy, reacting to the video. 

‘An old saying goes: ‘watch what they do, not what they say,” he wrote. 

‘He’d sign a national abortion ban into law—no matter how much he tries to deny it,’ Kaine added. 

‘Donald Trump has signaled that by leaving abortion up to the states, he endorses draconian laws like Florida’s recent 6 week abortion ban, or Alabama’s Supreme Court’s decision that would outlaw IVF,’ Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., author of Women’s Health Protection Act, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

In a recent March Fox News Poll, 65% of all voters said they supported legalizing abortion nationwide, including 42% of Republicans and 65% of independents. 

House Republicans are gearing up to rebuke President Biden’s harsher stance on Israel this week after the Democratic commander-in-chief signaled he could condition the Middle Eastern ally’s aid on how it treats civilians in Gaza.

The House will vote this week on a resolution titled, ‘Opposing efforts to place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza,’ according to the House Minority Whip’s Office.

The GOP-led bill specifically targets President Biden’s recent conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the White House said Biden called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, citing humanitarian concerns.

It also criticizes the Biden administration for the U.S. failing to veto a recent United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a pause in the fighting.

The legislative text asserts that Israel ‘has a right to self-defense’ after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in which more than 1,000 Israelis – mainly civilians – were brutally killed.

The resolution says the U.S. House ‘stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.’

It is not immediately clear when this week the resolution, led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., will get a vote. She told Fox News Digital, ‘I reject President Biden pressuring Israel to a one-sided ceasefire as Israel nears victory over Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The quickest way to improve conditions and provide effective humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip is a total Israeli victory over Hamas to pave the way for a return to peace.’

However, it draws a stark contrast between how Republicans and Democrats are approaching the increasingly fraught conflict.

Some Democrats are likely to support the measure, but the issue of Israel has continued to drive a wedge through the party. Members on the left, including Biden allies, have grown steadily more critical of Israel’s response to the invasion.

The country’s ground invasion and bombardment of Gaza has resulted in more than 30,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. 

Outrage from the left reached a fever pitch last week when seven humanitarian aid workers linked to World Central Kitchen were killed in an airstrike by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) after delivering food in central Gaza.

The IDF fired two officers after investigating the incident, which Netanyahu said was ‘unintentional.’

Still, it was followed by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leading more than 30 Democrats in a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on them to ‘reconsider’ a recent arms sale to Israel ‘in light of this incident.’

‘We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitrarily denies or restricts – the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,’ the letter said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the resolution.

Former President Trump announced on Monday his position on whether abortion should be banned, following months of not taking a stance on the combustible and crucial issue in his 2024 rematch with President Biden.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee took to his social media platform on Sunday night to say that he would issue a statement on ‘abortion and abortion rights.’ In video posted hours later on early Monday morning, Trump explicitly affirmed his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and he emphasized his support for states determining their own laws for abortion so long as there are exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

‘The states will determine by vote, or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land – in this case, the law of the state,’ Trump said. Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks…at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people.’

The former president told reporters last week at a campaign stop in Michigan that he would make a statement in the coming week, after he was asked about his home state of Florida’s controversial six-week abortion ban, which will soon be going into effect.

Trump in his video reiterated that he was proud of the role he played in overturning Roe v. Wade, saying legal scholars on ‘both sides’ had been in favor of the move.

‘The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies. IVF is an important part of that,’ Trump said.

A leading anti-abortion group wasn’t pleased with Trump’s announcement.

Majorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life, said she was ‘deeply disappointed’ by Trump’s announcement on Monday, arguing his statement was a victory for Democrats.

‘Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy,’ Dannenfelser emphasized. ‘If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.’

Also taking aim at Trump was his two-time running mate, former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, charged that ‘Trump’s retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020.’ 

The blockbuster move nearly two years ago by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which had allowed for legalized abortions nationwide, moved the divisive issue back to the states.

And it’s forced Republicans to play plenty of defense in elections across the country, as a party that’s nearly entirely ‘pro-life’ has had to deal with an electorate where a majority of Americans support at least some form of abortion access.

In the wake of the Supreme Court move, Republican-dominated states have implemented a new wave of restrictions on abortion, including Florida’s six-week ban.

As Democrats target Trump and other Republicans over the divisive issue, the former president has tried to thread the needle on abortion.

As he did on Monday, Trump regularly takes credit on the campaign trail for appointing the Supreme Court associate who overturned Roe v. Wade and touts that he’s the ‘most pro-life president in American history.’

But he has also repeatedly criticized fellow Republicans for taking a hard-line stance on the issue, blaming candidates who did not allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the pregnant person is at risk, for the GOP’s setbacks in the 2022 midterm elections.

‘A lot of politicians who are pro-life do not know how to discuss this topic and they lose their election. We had a lot of election losses because of this, because they didn’t know to discuss it. They had no idea,’ he said last year at a leadership summit of the Concerned Women of America.

Until his announcement, Trump had for over a year declined to spell out when in a pregnancy he would push to ban abortions. 

Trump recently suggested in a WABC radio interview that he was considering a 15-wee ban, saying ‘the number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that.’

‘It’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at,’ he emphasized.

But he also said multiple times that rather than implementing a federal ban, the issue should stay in the states.

‘Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,’ Trump said.

And Trump has also said that if elected he would ‘come together with all groups’ to negotiate something that would ‘make both sides happy.’

But anything less than a total ban would likely anger anti-abortion hardliners in his own party. And any type of ban would also infuriate many in the abortion rights movement.

Polling has consistently shown that most Americans believe abortion should be legal through the initial stages of pregnancy.

And a recent Fox News poll indicated that nearly two-thirds of voters support a nationwide law guaranteeing access to legal abortion. According to the survey, most Democrats (89%) and two-thirds (65%) of independents favor a national law, while just over half of Republicans are against it (53%). 

That same poll found that in just the past year, support for a 15-week ban dropped by 12 points, with 54 percent of voters now opposed.

President Biden, in a statement, argued that ‘Donald Trump made it clear once again today that he is – more than anyone in America – the person responsible for ending Roe v. Wade.

And the president reiterated his ballot box warning that ‘Trump and all those responsible for overturning Roe don’t have a clue about the power of women in America. But they are about to find out.’

Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s recent running mate announcement sparked an onslaught of attacks and a reported internal ‘freak out’ from the once-friendly Democratic Party against what experts tell Fox News Digital is the party’s ‘worst nightmare.’

‘Only in the new Socialist Democratic Party, they should change their name to reflect who they really are now, would the son of Robert F Kennedy and nephew of Democrat icon JFK be forced from the party that has used their name for decades, all because he had the gall to point out the obvious, Joe Biden is not prepared to lead this country for four more years,’ Republican strategist and The Vogel Group principal Matt Keelen told Fox News Digital. 

‘Anyone with eyes knows that as a fact.’

Kennedy, from one of the most recognizable and beloved Democrat families in American history, has found himself one of the most popular targets of the left after announcing his candidacy for president. Less than two weeks ago, Kennedy announced that tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan would be his running mate, sparking a call hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that many saw as an indicator the party was in panic mode.

‘We are doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris re-elected. It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal. And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F. Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler,’ Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said on the call. 

Shortly after that, NBC News reported that Democrats are internally ‘freaked out’ over Kennedy’s candidacy as he continues to build momentum and qualify to appear on more state ballots. 

On St. Patrick’s Day, several members of the Kennedy family posted a photo with President Biden at the White House, which many viewed as a move to troll Kennedy Jr. and several Democratic strategists have been active on social media in recent weeks attacking the independent candidate and attempting to tie him to Donald Trump.

Democrat strategist Lis Smith, who helped lead Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign and is consulting for the DNC on the project, set off a storm of X posts and reposts following Kennedy’s Tuesday speech, referring to the candidate as a ‘spoiler,’ and sharing a video where she accused Shanahan of buying her inclusion on the ticket by donating millions to boost Kennedy before she was named his running mate.

Recent polls have shown Kennedy, Stein and independent candidate Dr. Cornel West would pull significant support from both Biden and Trump, but with Biden appearing to be at risk of losing the most potential votes.

Keelen pointed to the Biden administration’s denial to providing RFK Jr. with Secret Service protection as another example of how far out of favor Kennedy has fallen with the Democratic Party. 

‘RFK jr was run out of the party by the DNC that rigged yet another primary election – see 2016 – for Hillary, 2020 for Joe, 2024 for Joe again,’ Keelen said. ‘President Biden and his team have also acted shamefully in not granting Secret Service protection to Kennedy despite growing threats and the fact that both of his relatives were gun downed by mad men. Absolutely unbelievable.’

Experts told Fox News Digital the effort to keep Kennedy, who is now running as an independent, out of the Democratic primary and off the ballot as a third party candidate is at odds with their stated goal of protecting democracy. 

‘So much for the party that says it is defending democracy,’ Marc Lotter, former special assistant to the president and former director of strategic communications for Trump’s 2020 campaign, told Fox News Digital. ‘What Democrats are doing to RFK is no different than what they are doing through the courts and radical election officials to target Donald Trump.’

‘Since Democrats can’t win on Joe Biden’s policy, and they can’t win on Joe Biden’s record, they have to stack the deck by giving Americans fewer choices at the ballot box,’ Lotter added. ‘There is simply no depth that Democrats won’t sink to in their quest to keep power.’

David Avella, GOP strategist and GOPAC chairman, told Fox News Digital part of the reason Democrats are worried about Kennedy is that demographics inside the Democratic Party that have been turning away from Biden are gravitating toward Kennedy’s positions.

‘The ghosts of Ralph Nader and Jill Stein’s past presidential candidacies have Democrats convinced they must prevent third-party candidates from being on general election ballot,’ Avella said. 

‘President Biden and Democrats have taken for granted young voters, self-described moderates and minorities to the point that they are at the center of Kennedy’s base of support. Thus, Kennedy being on the ballot in MI, WI, PA, GA and AZ is the Democrats’ worst nightmare and why they are attempting to undercut democracy and select who is on general election ballot.’

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday evening announced the severing of diplomatic relations with Ecuador following the arrest of former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas.

Ecuadorian police late Friday broke through the external doors of the Mexican embassy in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito, to arrest Glas, who had been residing there since December. 

Glas sought political asylum at the embassy after being indicted on corruption charges.

‘This is not possible. It cannot be. This is crazy,’ Roberto Canseco, head of the Mexican consular section in Quito, told local press while standing outside the embassy right after the raid, according to The Associated Press. ‘I am very worried because they could kill him. There is no basis to do this. This is totally outside the norm.’

Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations, on Friday posted on the social media platform X that a number of diplomats suffered injuries during the break-in.

Bárcena said Mexico would take the case to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ‘to denounce Ecuador’s responsibility for violations of international law.’ She also recalled Mexican diplomats.

Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld on Saturday told reporters that the decision to enter the embassy was made by President Daniel Noboa after considering Glas’ ‘imminent flight risk’ and exhausting all possibilities for diplomatic dialogue with Mexico. Mexico granted Glas asylum hours before the raid. Sommerfeld said that ‘it is not legal to grant asylum to people convicted of common crimes and by competent courts.’

Authorities are investigating Glas over alleged irregularities during his management of reconstruction efforts following a powerful earthquake in 2016 that killed hundreds of people. 

He was convicted of bribery and corruption charges in other cases.

The Organization of American States reminded its members, which include Ecuador and Mexico, of their obligation not to ‘invoke norms of domestic law to justify non-compliance with their international obligations.’

The Spanish foreign ministry, in a statement Sunday, said, ‘The entry by force into the Embassy of Mexico in Quito constitutes a violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. We call for respect for international law and harmony between Mexico and Ecuador, brotherly countries to Spain and members of the Ibero-American community.’

U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, ‘The United States condemns any violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and takes very seriously the obligation of host countries under international law to respect the inviolability of diplomatic missions.’ He called on both countries to resolve their differences.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro, writing on X, characterized the raid as ‘an intolerable act for the international community’ and a ‘violation of the sovereignty of the Mexican State and international law’ because ‘it ignores the historical and fundamental right to asylum.’

On Saturday, Glas was taken from the attorney general’s office in Quito to the port city of Guayaquil, where he will remain in custody at a maximum-security prison. People who had gathered outside the prosecutor’s office yelled ‘strength’ as he left with a convoy of police and military vehicles.

Glas’ attorney, Sonia Vera, told the AP that officers broke into his room and he resisted when they attempted to put his hands behind his back. She said the officers then ‘knocked him to the floor, kicked him in the head, in the spine, in the legs, the hands,’ and when he ‘couldn’t walk, they dragged him out.’ 

Vera said the defense team was not allowed to speak with Glas while he was at the prosecutor’s office, and it is now working to file a habeas corpus petition.

Diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and ‘inviolable’ under the Vienna treaties and host country law enforcement agencies are not allowed to enter without the permission of the ambassador. 

People seeking asylum have lived anywhere from days to years at embassies around the world, including at Ecuador’s in London, which housed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for seven years because British police could not enter to arrest him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Six months ago, Israel suffered the largest slaughter of Jews in a single day since the Holocaust, with over 1,100 killed and 134 hostages, Americans among them, still languishing and tortured in the terror tunnels of Gaza.

Just days after the brutal coordinated attacks by Hamas, former president George W. Bush spoke these rather prescient words: ‘It’s not going to take long for people [to say]: ‘It’s gone on too long. Surely, there’s a way to settle this through negotiations. Both sides are guilty.’ My view is: One side is guilty. And it’s not Israel.’ 

Bush was right, it didn’t take long, it took six months, and now the clock is clearly ticking on Israel’s military efforts. The key question is whether the clock is also ticking on Hamas. 

In Jerusalem, member of the War Cabinet Benny Gantz has called for elections in September, in part an effort to quell domestic political strife over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the hostages, but also perhaps a signal that major military operations must wrap up by then. 

Across the ocean in Washington, both President Joe Biden and his rival, former President Donald Trump are urging Israel to act quickly, but in two very different and telling ways. 

A feckless Biden, bowing to the far left of his party, is pressuring Netanyahu to end the conflict, with or without, it seems, the release of all the hostages or the total defeat of Hamas. Thankfully, some Democrats, such as New York Rep. Ritchie Torres and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, are resisting these cowardly calls. 

Meanwhile, Trump had a different message to Israel, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt this week, ‘They’re losing the PR war. They’re losing it big. But they’ve got to finish what they started, and they’ve got to finish it fast.’ 

In this case, finishing what they started can mean only one thing: finishing Hamas. 

21st Century warfare, from Iraq to Afghanistan, from Ukraine to Gaza, is haunted by one elusive question: what does it mean to win? 

Our wars rarely end in ticker tape parades down canyons of heroes. Instead, they wither into dicey détentes and shaky status quos, just enough security to live with. 

But the attack of October 7 is not something Israel can just live with. The threat of Hamas once again pouring over the border to burn children alive and rape women every now and then is not something they can accept as the price of temporary peace. 

Whether they are members of the war cabinet or taxi drivers, Israelis understand one thing, that however this fighting ends, it must not end with Hamas and its backers in Iran believing they have advanced the cause of destroying Israel. 

Because if that happens, if Hamas is allowed to survive its atrocities and live to fight another day, then they will do it again and again. In fact, after what the world witnessed on October 7, Hamas could be emboldened to do far worse. 

Does anyone doubt they would poison an Israeli water supply or attack a chemical plant to kill tens of thousands next time? Who would stop them? Iran? 

Based on its continued support of Hamas even after its barbarism, there is no reason to believe Iran would do anything but smile at the death of more innocent Jews.  

And what of the horrors and suffering in Gaza, the left demands? The heartbreaking death of aid workers? It is tragic, it is awful, it is also entirely the fault of Hamas and its supporters. 

Israel left Gaza nearly 20 years ago. The Palestinian government there, the people, the backers in the region could have used the almost limitless foreign aid rained upon it to make it a new and gleaming Dubai or United Arab Emirates. 

Instead, they chose to spend that money building endless miles of tunnels, buying rockets and plotting to kill Jews. 

Nobody imposed that choice upon them. 

After October 7, what winning the war against Hamas means became crystal clear. It could only be summed up by two words, emblazoned like a tattoo on the Jewish imagination, ‘Never Again.’ 

Whether they are members of the war cabinet or taxi drivers, Israelis understand one thing, that however this fighting ends, it must not end with Hamas and its backers in Iran believing they have advanced the cause of destroying Israel. 

A crescendo is coming for the terrible conflict in Gaza. The clock is running for Israel to act, which means its actions must be all the more decisive.  

The only way this conflict can truly ever end is by meting out a punishment to terrorists so severe that they dare not unleash the inhumanity of October 7 ever again.

The only way to accomplish this task is to finish Hamas. Six months later, the time has come. 

A top House Republican wants to raise the retirement age for social security benefits to save the program from a projected 2033 insolvency deadline.

Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., released a budget last month that included conservative proposals to cut federal spending and extend the life of social security. If nothing is done, the critical program will face a roughly 20% cut in 2034.

One option Hern argued for is raising the full retirement benefits eligibility age from 67 to 69 – a politically fraught idea that mainstream leaders in both parties have been hesitant to touch.

‘If you look at it, there’s only three options you can do to fix Social Security… one is you adjust the age, the second thing is you adjust what gets paid out of the program, and the third thing is… there’s more people working that pay into the program,’ Hern said.

On the subject of age specifically, Hern pointed out that the average life expectancy in the U.S. was in the early 60s when Social Security began. Today, the average life expectancy is in the late 70s.

‘So you’re living [more] years on a program that was never designed to… be that way,’ Hern said.

The RSC is a large bloc of conservative House Republicans, accounting for roughly 80% of the conference.

The White House seized on the group’s budget proposal as a political cudgel, accusing Republicans of wanting to gut Social Security.

‘This is just another failed attempt by Joe Biden to push aside an issue that’s very important to retirees out there,’ Hern told Fox News Digital of the backlash. ‘Our budget doesn’t touch anyone that’s in retirement, or near retirement.’

He added: ‘If I told you today, at your age, just as it affected me when I was 21 years old, you’re going to move my retirement age two years, I’d think – so what, it’s not going to be there anyway. All we can look at is the budget window up to 10 years. So our path forward is what’s going to make it solid for the next 10 years. Joe Biden has no plan.’

Biden’s own fiscal year 2025 budget proposal called for extending Social Security solvency by raising taxes on the highest-income earners. But Hern argued that the ‘best estimates are, that would extend it by one year.’

Publicly, the president has largely shied away from discussing solutions for how to prevent Social Security from reaching insolvency. Former President Trump, Biden’s likely GOP challenger in the 2024 presidential election, also has been unclear about his stance on the program.

Conversations around reforming retirement benefits are usually politically dangerous, particularly in an election year.

Hern insisted that any change would likely need to be bipartisan – and he said he’s been having discussions with Trump about what to do if he wins back the White House.

‘The reality is, is President Trump’s no different than us,’ Hern said. ‘We’ve talked about this, he and I and his team. We have no desire, no desire to cut back on any benefits [for anybody who is] in retirement or near retirement, but he understands, his team understands, that we have to make sure it’s solid.’

When asked for comment, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital: ‘As President Trump has repeatedly stated, he does not support cuts to Social Security nor does he support raising the retirement age. President Trump delivered on his promise to protect Social Security and Medicare in his first term, and President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term.’

JERUSALEM – The new Palestinian Authority (PA) government sworn into office this week by PA President Mahmoud Abbas – and warmly welcomed by the White House and the State Department – includes at least two ministers who hold extreme and racist views toward Israel and Jews, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), an Israeli organization that draws attention to Palestinian extremism, has revealed. 

Citing articles in the Palestinian media and video clips from recent public events, PMW revealed how the new minister of religious affairs, Muhammad Mustafa Najem, has openly incited violence against Israelis as a religious imperative, characterizing Jews as evil and treacherous, and quoted a verse from the Quran that refers to Jews as ‘apes and pigs.’ 

Another member of the new government, Minister of Women’s Affairs Muna Al-Khalili, is shown to have praised Palestinian terror and, as recently as last month at a conference in Egypt, claimed that the brutal Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7 – the worst atrocity committed against Jews since the Holocaust in World War II – was an act of legitimate resistance. 

Since Hamas’ attacks and the subsequent war with Israel that has ravaged much of the Gaza Strip, the U.S. administration has been urging Abbas to reform and revitalize his governing authority, which has long been accused of corruption and extremism, so that it might be part of a solution for governing Gaza – in addition to the West Bank – after the war. 

The changes made this week, which Abbas said would include plans for institutional reform, restructuring and unifying institutions, as well as fighting corruption, raising the level of services and a digital transformation, are being viewed by the U.S. as part of its desired reformation.

However, many Palestinians have said no real change can take place as long as Abbas remains at the helm; and Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remain steadfast in rejecting the idea that the authority will be part of any post-war solution for Gaza, pointing out that it is just as problematic as Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group. 

‘The assumption that a ‘revitalized’ Palestinian Authority will bring moderate and pragmatic figures, or soften the Palestinian position toward Israel, is totally false,’ Khaled Abu Toameh, a Palestinian affairs analyst based in Jerusalem, told Fox News Digital. 

He said it was totally unrealistic to expect the new cabinet ministers to ‘endorse a pragmatic approach toward Israel,’ especially with the war in Gaza raging, and pointed out that even ‘many Palestinians do not understand the difference between the new Palestinian government and the previous one.’

‘In his first speech at the cabinet meeting, the new prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, also employed hardline rhetoric against Israel because of the war in Gaza, while completely ignoring Hamas’ responsibility,’ Abu Toameh said, adding, ‘in this regard, he sounded exactly like his predecessor, Mohammed Shtayyeh.’

He said that Shtayyeh, who quit as prime minister in February, also spoke about refoming the authority but ‘not much happened.’

Change will not happen ‘as long as President Mahmoud Abbas and his inner circle are the real and sole decision-makers,’ Abu Toameh said. ‘At the end of the day, the cabinet reshuffle came to appease the U.S. administration, and not out of a sincere desire to introduce financial and administrative reforms or engage in a peace process with Israel.’

Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv who closely follows events in Palestinian society, also said the new Palestinian Authority leadership was unlikely to bring about any significant changes if Abbas was still in charge.

‘The appointment of Mohammed Mustafa is really just replacing one Mohammed with another Mohammed,’ he said. ‘He is part of the same production line.’ 

Michael said Mustafa, who previously served as the deputy prime minister and minister of the economy, was a close ally and adviser of Abbas and ‘he will do whatever Abbas tells him to do.’ 

‘He is there in order to preserve the interests of Abbas and the last interest of Abbas is reform,’ Michael said, calling the current Palestinian Authority ‘a lost cause.’

Responding to the announcement of the new Palestinian government, however, State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said in a statement that ‘the United States looks forward to working with the new cabinet to promote peace, security, and prosperity and will be engaging this new government to deliver on credible reforms.’ 

‘A revitalized PA is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability in the broader region,’ he said. 

Responding to a Fox News Digital request for a comment about the racist and inciting public statements attributed to newly appointed Palestinian ministers, a State Department Spokesman said ‘We are aware of reports that certain P.A. cabinet members have used unacceptable language. We have been absolutely clear on this score: Inflammatory, hateful, or dehumanizing speech by any party does not advance peace.’ 

A Palestinian Authority spokesman contacted by Fox News Digital did not comment on the claims by publication time.

Jonathan Schanzer, the senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, told Fox News Digital that the U.S. was ‘perpetuating the fiction of a reformed Palestinian government’ and was ignoring its problematic nature in order to achieve its own objectives. 

‘Mohammed Mustafa is not a reformer, he is a longtime crony of Mahmoud Abbas who has benefited from the corrupt system that Abbas has presided over now for nearly two decades,’ he said. ‘I think it’s important to note that if Abbas remains president of this government – and he is now 19 years into a four-year term – this is not reform.’ 

‘When we see the rhetoric of some of these individuals, we can see that not only are they not reformers, but they are also in fact radicals, and this should undermine the entire process that is underway,’ said Schanzer, adding that the administration was so focused on its objective of having the Palestinian Authority ‘inherit the Gaza Strip,’ that it was ‘willing to turn a blind eye to a wide range of problems in order to try to achieve this objective.’ 

‘I believe that ignoring these problems will ultimately lead us down the same path we have been on for years and years and years,’ he said. 

Some Republicans who said they would never support former President Donald Trump again appear poised to do just that come November, as they feel President Biden’s policies and leadership cannot be allowed a second term. 

‘It is not an enthusiastic vote,’ Eric Levine, a former Nikki Haley supporter, told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘I am left with no alternative.’ 

Levine, a prominent Republican fundraiser, penned an essay to his vast network of fellow GOP donors and activists last week, informing them that despite his initial resolve after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots to ‘never’ support Trump again, he would be doing just that. 

He led his memo by writing, ‘The adage of ‘never say never’ is a wise one.’

GOP strategist John Feehery said it will depend ‘how horrified they are by Biden’s policies’ whether ‘never-Trump’ Republicans return to him. 

This was the case for Levine. He described his decision-making process as such: ‘I think it was more that I’m so offended by Biden. What am I going to do?’ 

For Levine, it was never a choice between Biden and Trump. Rather, it was whether he would stay home on Election Day or return to Trump. 

‘Some will clearly go back to Trump,’ explained Republican strategist Doug Heye. He noted this happens after primaries and is ‘what campaigns call ‘coming home.’’ 

‘But no one knows what that number is,’ he added. With the likely Trump-Biden rematch shaping up to be competitive, that exact number could make the difference. 

Andrew Smith, Director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, said it was ‘too early’ to know, but noted that ‘voters have a great ability to rationalize why they are voting for their party’s candidate rather than vote for the candidate from the other party.’

‘I think as we get closer to the election, after Labor Day, I believe most anti-Trump voters from the primaries will end up supporting Trump,’ he predicted. 

When Levine sent the memo to his Republican network, he was surprised by the volume of responses he received. ‘Shockingly, on the extreme of the [Never-Trumpers], it was a split,’ he said. 

‘There [were] a number of folks who said, ‘Yeah, I guess we have to’ [support Trump].’

Many Trump-averse Republicans had flocked to Haley leading up to the Republican primaries. 

According to various exit polls in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Haley pulled in significant percentages of independent voters as she appeared more moderate than her opponents on the campaign trail. Her coalition was unique, garnering support from disaffected Republicans who were likely exhausted by Trump. She even managed to draw some Democratic support in some states, where those voters could participate in Republican primaries. 

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, endorsed Haley ahead of the state’s primary, where she garnered 43% of the vote. But In March, he shocked some when he announced his plan to vote for Trump, despite his previous criticisms of the former president. ‘Post-primary, the vast majority of folks always come back,’ he said.

‘People will go to Trump because Biden has blown it that bad for himself and his party,’ he said. According to him, they recognize that it’s about ‘whether you support a Republican agenda — a Republican administration.’

Biden’s campaign has actively sought to win over Haley’s supporters. The president’s team even put out a 30-second ad in battleground states asking those voters to ‘save America’ and ‘join us.’ 

In contrast, Trump’s campaign hasn’t made any such specific effort to attract Haley’s coalition. 

‘Telling your own voters to pound sand isn’t smart,’ noted Heye. 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, ‘No amount of gaslighting from the Biden campaign can make voters forget Biden’s bloodbath he has brought all across America.’ 

‘Biden is hemorrhaging support from Black voters, Hispanic voters, and almost every other part of his base because of his disastrous policies and failed presidency. Meanwhile, President Trump’s support continues to grow,’ he added. 

Marlys Popma, a prominent Iowa Republican operative who endorsed Haley during the Iowa caucuses, said Trump’s lack of outreach may not put off Haley supporters because ‘when the hardcore reality sets in’ people will say, ”I’m going to vote for Trump because his policies are right.”

Levine said he couldn’t imagine Republicans who supported Haley choosing Biden in November. ‘I don’t see how any Nikki Haley voter can go from Nikki Haley to Joe Biden,’ he said. ‘Everything Nikki Haley stands for, Joe Biden is against.’

But Republican strategist David Kochel, a former adviser to Mitt Romney, offered another prediction: ‘I think a big number will either not vote in the presidential or will vote for Biden or a third party.’ 

Gunner Ramer, Republican Accountability PAC political director, called it ‘disappointing yet unsurprising’ to see a ‘member of the GOP elite’ cowering and supporting Trump, in reference to Levine. 

Ramer’s organization recently launched an anti-Trump series of ads in pivotal Midwest swing states as it looks to prevent him from winning a second term.