House Democrats and some Republicans joined together to block Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s bid to fine Attorney General Merrick Garland $10,000 per day until he released audio tapes of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.

Democrats failed to block the resolution from hitting the floor on Wednesday evening, setting up a vote on the measure for Thursday.

Luna has for weeks threatened to force a vote on holding Garland in ‘inherent contempt’ and appealed to both Republicans and Democrats to support the effort, citing concerns about Biden’s mental acuity spurred by his disastrous performance in the CNN Presidential Debate.

Her initial bill would have directed the House sergeant-at-arms to arrest Garland in order for the chamber to hold its own trial. It is a little-known procedure, not invoked since the 1930s, that has never been used on a Cabinet official.

Luna agreed to delay forcing the vote until this week after discussing the matter with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. 

She also modified her bill to fine Garland instead of arresting him.

A Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson said in response to the GOP effort, ‘This is unconstitutional. We are confident our arguments would prevail in court.’ 

Republicans have been seeking the audio tapes of Biden’s interview in Hur’s classified documents probe for months as part of their impeachment inquiry into the president. 

House GOP lawmakers, some of whom long held that Biden is not mentally fit for office, voted to hold Garland in contempt of Congress last month for his refusal to turn over audio tapes of Hur’s interview with Biden on his handling of classified documents. The DOJ has refused to prosecute, citing Biden’s decision to call for executive privilege over the tapes.

Democrats have also pointed out that the full transcript is already available and have bashed the effort as nakedly partisan.

However, Republicans argue that the tapes would provide necessary context about Biden’s mental acuity that could not be gleaned from the transcript.

Some GOP lawmakers reignited those calls in the wake of Biden’s debate performance late last month. 

The 81-year-old president spoke with a hoarse voice, reportedly due to a cold, and stumbled over his own answers several times during the primetime event. Viewers also observed him appearing tired and noticeably less sharp than he looked the last time he faced former President Trump in 2020.

The House GOP also sued Garland last week in order to obtain the tapes, with the lawsuit being led by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney of New York is reacting to the House passage of the SAVE Act that she co-sponsored, which aims to prevent illegal immigrants from voting in U.S. elections.

I think what it does is it just puts an exclamation point on the fact that the states are the ones that have been in power to control the laws and that the states need to ensure that we have citizens only voting in elections so that we’re we’re solidifying the concept of one citizen, one vote,’ Tenney told Fox News Digital after the House passed the SAVE Act by a final vote of 221-198.

Only five Democrats voted in favor of the measure, including Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas; Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine; Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C.; and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.

There’s nothing more sacred and more profound than the right to vote and especially to preserve our self-governing constitutional republic and to preserve our democracy. And the Democrats can keep talking about democracy, but nothing undermines the values of the right of each individual to have their vote cast and allowing non-citizens to vote,’ Tenney, the chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, told Fox News Digital.

Under the legislation, voters would be required to provide proof of citizenship via IDs and documentation such as a passport, a government-issued photo ID showing proof the individual was born in the U.S., military IDs, or a valid photo ID as well as documentation showing proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, the legislation states. 

‘This will be one of the most important votes that members of this chamber will ever take in their entire careers,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a press release before the vote. 

‘And it’s an issue we never thought we would have to actually address, but that moment has come to us now. Should Americans and Americans alone determine the outcome of American elections? Or should we allow foreigners and illegal aliens to decide who sits in the White House and in the People’s House and in the Senate?’

Democratic leadership urged its members to vote against the bill arguing that it would place ‘an extreme burden [on] countless Americans.’

It’s pretty incredible to me that this is what they [Democrats] continue to do is to really undermine our sacred right to vote, undermine the right of citizens and no one feels more aggrieved by this than people who are new citizens, people who are excited about their ability to vote in an election that’s private and free and that’s fair,’ Tenney told Fox News Digital. ‘And so I think that that really sends a terrible message, if that’s what the Democrats plan on running on, as they remain in disarray and chaos over their leading nominee right now for president.’

Tenney told Fox News Digital she does not know what the future holds for the legislation in the Senate but is fairly confident Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will ‘reject it.’

It really is a shame on Schumer and a real disgrace that Schumer as a lawyer and a person that takes an oath to uphold the Constitution of New York and the Constitution of the United States if he would blatantly just undermine our own constitutional principles and not bringing something like this to the floor and recognizing that only citizens should be voting in elections,’ Tenney said.

Schumer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The passage of the SAVE Act drew praise from conservatives across the nation including Heritage Action for America Executive Vice President Ryan Walker who told Fox News Digital in a statement that the vote is a ‘victory for the integrity of our elections and every single American.’ 

‘Heritage Action was proud to include today’s vote on our legislative scorecard because all voters deserve to see which lawmakers sat idly by and let Joe Biden’s illegal alien invasion dilute the power of our votes,’ Walker said. ‘Speaker Johnson was right to ask earlier today in a floor speech if Democrats will support any measure to prevent voter fraud. Unfortunately, the answer is no. The Left wants open borders and open ballot boxes for illegal aliens, while conservatives want security for our communities and elections.’

Fox News Digital’s Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Greg Wehner contributed to this report

The Trump presidential campaign is firing back at what appears to be coordinated attacks from the White House, the Biden campaign and Democrats relating to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 platform, calling it a ‘distraction’ following President Biden’s disastrous debate performance.

‘Agenda 47 and President Trump’s RNC Platform are the only policies endorsed by President Trump for a second term,’ Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez told Fox News Digital. 

‘Team Biden and the DNC are LYING and fear-mongering because they have NOTHING else to offer the American people. Remember this is the same group that lied to Americans and hid Joe Biden’s cognitive decline all these years.’ 

Portrayed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration to restructure many parts of the U.S. government, Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, launched in April 2023 and is not directly associated with Trump’s campaign.

‘The actions of liberal politicians in Washington have created a desperate need and unique opportunity for conservatives to start undoing the damage the Left has wrought and build a better country for all Americans in 2025,’ Project 2025’s website reads. ‘It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on day one of the next conservative administration.’

‘This is the goal of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project. The project will build on four pillars that will, collectively, pave the way for an effective conservative administration: a policy agenda, personnel, training, and a 180-day playbook.’

Project 2025 includes several former senior Trump administration officials, including Paul Dans, the director of the project who served as chief of staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under Trump; Russ Vought, who wrote one of the chapters and served as director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump; and John McEntee, a senior adviser for the project who previously served as director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump administration.

Democrats have relentlessly attacked Trump’s alleged connection to the project in the days following Biden’s disastrous debate, accusing it of attempting to make radical changes to government staffing, abortion, taxes, drug prices and other issues, despite Trump’s denial. The Biden campaign X account alone has posted about Project 2025 over 100 times, including clips of Democrats and media personalities attacking it, since June 27, the date of the debate.

President Biden’s personal X account has posted about it multiple times in the last week, including a Wednesday video post of Biden saying, ‘Project 2025 will destroy America’ and then instructing his social media followers to visit a section of his campaign website to read about Project 2025. Another post called the policies ‘extreme and dangerous.’

‘Trump doesn’t need a GOP platform when he has a 1,000-page extremist agenda detailed out in Project 2025,’ the Biden campaign posted two days after the debate.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said on Tuesday that Project 2025 is a ‘creepy document written by Trump’s closest confidants.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. took a shot at House Republicans and said they ‘are determined to hide their extreme agenda’ and ‘will eliminate reproductive freedom and jam Project 2025 down the throats of the American people.’

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Biden-Harris 2024 Rapid Response Director Ammar Moussa said, ‘Project 2025 was written for Donald Trump by the people who know him best. These are the same extremists who wrote the RNC’s policy platform, led Trump’s debate prep, and regularly tout their connections to Trump’s team. Oh, and Trump’s own SuperPAC has run ads promoting Project 2025.’

‘Trump’s Supreme Court and Project 2025 have designed the playbook for Trump to serve as a dictator on day one with unchecked power to rip away freedoms and raise costs for working families so billionaires get richer. This November, voters must stop Trump from turning the Oval Office into his throne room.’

The campaign also pointed to the Heritage Foundation previously stating in 2018 that the Trump administration ’embraced nearly two-thirds of the policy recommendations from The Heritage Foundation’s ‘Mandate for Leadership.”

Project 2025’s website says, ‘the Trump administration relied heavily on Heritage’s ‘Mandate’ for policy guidance, embracing nearly two-thirds of Heritage’s proposals within just one year in office.

Additionally, the Biden campaign points to internet analytics numbers showing interest in the project has spiked in recent weeks, even surging past Taylor Swift in search trends.

‘As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign,’ Project 2025 told Fox News Digital in a statement.  ‘We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president. But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.

‘Rather than obsessing over Project 2025, the Biden campaign should be addressing the 25th Amendment.’

In a lengthy X thread, Project 2025 outlined the various attacks on its agenda, giving the criticisms a ranking of ‘true’ or ‘false.’

Trump disavowed the effort in a post on Truth Social, saying he did not know who was behind the initiative that offers recommendations on how a future Republican president can begin to enact conservative changes upon entering office.

‘I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,’ Trump wrote. ‘I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.’

On the other hand, Fox News Digital previously reported that the Biden administration has worked behind the scenes with Governing for Impact, a shadowy group backed by millions of dollars from liberal billionaire George Soros, to shape administration policy. A Harvard advert said the group was established to prepare the Biden administration for a ‘transformative governance’ and that it had produced ‘more than 60 in-depth, shovel-ready regulatory recommendations’ for dozens of federal agencies. 

The Biden White House has also worked closely with The Center for American Progress (CAP), a leading progressive think tank, which has a strong influence on federal policymaking with many of its former employees flocking to high-level administration roles. Two of the most notable CAP hires are CAP founder John Podesta, who has received scrutiny for his ties to the CCP, and former CAP President Neera Tanden, whose nomination was derailed in 2021 after several controversial posts were unearthed and hundreds were deleted. She is currently President Biden’s domestic policy advisor.

Several individuals on the White House visitor logs have advocated for defunding the police; critical race theory; diversity, equity, and inclusion; praising antisemite Louis Farrakhan; eliminating cash bail; and packing the Supreme Court, among other radical positions, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

A recent report revealed that the president of the National Education Association, who vowed that she would ‘fight’ school vouchers and wants to transform public schools into a racially ‘equitable system,’ has visited the Biden White House 24 times.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris, Tom Catenacci and Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump seemed to indicate that Gov. Doug Burgum’s consistently pro-life record was a problem for his vice-presidential aspirations.

Asked on Wednesday about Burgum’s potential to serve as his running mate, Trump told Fox News Radio that the North Dakota governor’s strong pro-life policies were a problem.

‘It’s a little bit of an issue,’ Trump said. ‘It’s a pretty strong ban.’

He continued, ‘You know, I think Doug is great. But it is a strong — he’s taken a very strong stance. Or the state has, I don’t know if it’s Doug, but the state has, so it’s an issue.’

North Dakota instituted one of the strongest pro-life policies in the country following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, outlawing all abortions that do not provide serious health risks to the mother.

Additionally, abortion in cases of rape or incest are accepted up until six weeks.

As governor, Burgum signed the pro-life measures into law following its acceptance by the state legislature.

Another contender on Trump’s shortlist is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Trump mentioned Rubio in the interview, alluding to the fact that sharing the Sunshine State as their home ‘makes it more complicated’ to select him.

Either Trump or Marco would have to change their home state demarcation before the election. 

A Constitutional statute dictates that state electors cannot vote for both a president and vice-president from their own state, meaning Floridian electors would not be able to vote for a ticket with both Rubio and Trump living in Florida.

‘There are people that don’t have that complication,’ Trump said. ‘Now, it’s fairly easily fixed, but you have to do something with delegates, or there has to be a resignation, you know, et cetera, et cetera.’

Trump has said he intends to announce his selection for vice-president at the Republican National Convention next week or possibly just before the event begins.

Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, mocked actor George Clooney for waiting until three weeks after his star-studded fundraiser in which he raised millions of dollars for President Biden to acknowledge he’s ‘a vegetable.’

‘George Clooney, what a f—— hero this guy is, huh? Comes forward today — now, this guy threw a fundraiser, raised tens of millions, co-chair for Biden, three weeks ago. Today comes out, he’s like, ‘Guess what? The guy you saw in the debate, that vegetable, that’s f—— Biden, he’s a vegetable. He was a vegetable three weeks ago.’ Acting like he’s doing some heroic thing.’

Clooney called on Biden to leave the 2024 race in a New York Times guest essay on Wednesday, writing, ‘It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe ‘big F-ing deal’ Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate.’

He added that ‘party leaders need to stop telling us that 51 million people didn’t see what we just saw’ in the debate. ‘We’re all so terrified by the prospect of a second Trump term that we’ve opted to ignore every warning sign.’

The actor joined a growing list of Hollywood elites and megadonors who’ve turned on Biden following the debate, where his halting, frail and at-times confused performance alarmed supporters. Members of Biden’s party, political allies and liberal media figures have also pressured the president to drop out of the race, warning he cannot beat former President Trump.

‘So what, George? If [Biden] didn’t do the debate… and wasn’t a vegetable, you were just going to keep your mouth shut?’ Portnoy continued. ‘And by the way, if you just found out Biden was a vegetable, where have you been for two years? Everyone knows he’s a vegetable.’

Portnoy claimed Biden can’t ‘get on and off a stage without getting lost, he talks about dead people like he had lunch with them yesterday. He can’t f—— ride his bike without falling down. He can’t get up and down f—— Air Force One without taking a tumble. No s— he’s a vegetable. He’s been a vegetable for two f—— years. Democrats don’t care.’

He continued, ‘If I know he’s a vegetable, if Miss Peaches knows he’s a vegetable [referring to his dog] if Clooney knows he’s a vegetable, if the Obamas know he’s a vegetable, if everyone in the world knows Joe Biden is a f—— vegetable, why did he do that debate? Because Democrats wanted to show the world that they have no choice but to f—— whack him,’ claiming Democrats want to replace him with Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he referred to as the ‘good-looking guy from California.’

Newsom has said that he completely supports Biden and would not run against Vice President Kamala Harris if she replaced him at the top of the ticket. 

‘It’s all dirty politics,’ Portnoy said. 

He said Democrats ‘were fine’ for the last two years ‘putting a vegetable in our face. They’re fine with doing a fundraiser three weeks ago for a vegetable. So f— it, let’s just have Trump run versus a head of lettuce. Honestly? The votes will probably be the same.’

He said that people who voted for Biden didn’t actually like the president but rather hate Trump. 

‘So f— all these games and stuff. Everyone knows Biden’s a vegetable. So let’s just do the ballot,’ he joked. ‘Trump on one side, head of lettuce on the other.’

He added that he wanted to be spared Clooney’s op-ed ‘like ‘Oh my God, Biden’s a vegetable. We can’t.’ – you f—— Democrats have known for two years that this guy’s a vegetable, and you keep propping up the vegetable and putting the head of lettuce in our faces.’ 

He accused Democrats of wanting to choose their own candidate rather than having a ‘free f—— election of other candidates, so you had Biden go win it, and now the Democratic Party is trying to say who comes next. It’s a game.’

He concluded, ‘They knew he was a head of lettuce. Everybody with a brain knew that.’

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Portnoy and Clooney, but did not hear back.  

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he’s still backing Joe Biden after reportedly signaling to Democrat donors that he is open to replacing the president at the top of the 2024 ticket.

Axios, citing three sources, reported that since Biden’s debate performance late last month, Schumer has been listening to donors’ ideas and suggestions that the best way for the party to move forward and debate former President Trump is removing Biden. 

In a statement on Wednesday to Fox News after the Axios report, Schumer reaffirmed his commitment to Biden.

‘As I have made clear repeatedly publicly and privately, I support President Biden and remain committed to ensuring Donald Trump is defeated in November,’ he said.

The outlet revealed that both before and after Biden’s startling debate performance, Schumer’s iconic flip phone was lighted up with donors.

Despite Schumer’s 20 years of camaraderie with Biden, the top senator’s main concerns are about defeating former President Trump and retaining the Democrat majority in the Senate, the outlet said.

After the Senate Democrats’ regularly scheduled policy lunch on Tuesday, Schumer reportedly invited senior Biden campaign officials to brief members and directly address any concerns they might have.

Schumer’s hesitancy to support the Democrat presidential nominee comes after he has publicly voiced his support of Biden’s candidacy.

‘I’m with Joe Biden,’ he said at a New York press conference on July 2. ‘I’m for Joe,’ he reportedly reiterated while walking into the Senate on Monday. 

Schumer’s signal to donors comes as prominent Democrat leaders privately and publicly questioned Biden’s viability as the face of the party.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., insinuated that there is still a decision to be made about whether Biden will seek re-election despite the president already stating on several occasions that he is staying in the race.

‘It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We are all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short,’ Pelosi told MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ on Wednesday. ‘He’s beloved, he’s respected, and people want him to make that decision.’

Asked about Biden already making it clear that he intends to run, Pelosi again suggested that there is a still a decision to be made.

‘I want him to do whatever he decides to do, and that’s the way it is. Whatever he decides, we go with,’ Pelosi said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., echoed Pelosi’s comments.

‘I think he will continue to make his case to the American people, and he is the one who will decide. There are advisers and supporters who may give him the kind of guidance that he is looking for. But I think, ultimately, it’s his decision to make. I think that this kind of internal debate will end at some point. The question is when,’ Blumenthal told reporters Thursday. 

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., also released a statement, saying Biden needs to ‘seriously consider’ his political future despite the president’s public declarations that he will continue seeking re-election.

‘At this critical time for our country, President Biden must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future,’ Murray wrote in a statement Monday.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., also suggested that Biden still has a decision to make.

‘I think we’re having an important national conversation,’Hollensaid. ‘I’m confident that the president will make a decision that’s in the best interests of the country.’

Many other Democrats will not say whether they believe the president should remain the nominee, but they suggest – after Biden already said he is not dropping out – that there needs to be conversations about his continued candidacy.

Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said there are still conversations that need to be had surrounding Biden as the Democrat nominee, warning of a potential red wave in November.

‘Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election and maybe win it by a landslide and take with it the Senate and the House,’ Bennet told CNN on Tuesday. ‘We should be having a discussion about that. The White House, in the time since that disastrous debate, I think, has done nothing to really demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election.’

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., also encouraged conversations about Biden’s candidacy.

‘With so much at stake in the upcoming election, now is the time for conversations about the strongest path forward,’ the Democrat posted on X. ‘As these conversations continue, I believe it is incumbent upon the President to more aggressively make his case to the American people, and to hear directly from a broader group of voices about how to best prevent Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House.’

Biden addressed members of Congress and skeptics of his re-election bid in a letter on Monday, stating that he is ‘firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump.’

Despite Biden’s attempts to ease concerns within his party, eight House Democrats officially called on Biden to step down as the nominee.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.