Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, helms an organization fighting to help conservatives win and wield control of state governments across the nation.

‘There is a swamp in all 50 states. There are 50 swamps,’ Roth told Fox News Digital during a Tuesday interview, noting that ‘liberal Republicans’ join with Democrats to expand government.

This ‘uniparty’ phenomenon exists in the U.S. Congress and in every state, Roth indicated, asserting that in red states many Democrats cannot win elections unless they don the Republican label.

‘They say they’re good on guns, and babies, and a few other things, but then they get in there, and they vote like liberals, growing government[.] ‘ Roth noted. 

He said that while the goal of state freedom caucuses is to slash taxes and government, the first step is exposing ‘deceitful lawmakers for who they are. And then once you can do that, then you can hopefully start getting good people elected and then cut the budget, cut taxes, cut spending,’ he explained.

So far, the organization boasts freedom caucuses in 13 of the 50 states, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and Idaho – but deep red states like Texas and Florida are conspicuously absent from the list. 

Asked whether this is because there are not enough conservative legislators in those states to form a freedom caucus, Roth replied, ‘That’s absolutely correct,’ explaining, ‘In Texas I could probably say there’s only one or two House members, and in Florida I’m not even sure I can say two.’

There are ‘zero’ conservative state lawmakers in the Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi state legislatures, he said.

‘This is a big, big problem’ he noted, ‘and I don’t think enough people realize how bad it is.’

Roth indicated that the organization provides a state director in each freedom caucus state – those directors help read legislation, offer vote recommendations, work with other groups, and help with organizing and strategizing, he explained.

Roth noted that Louisiana state Sen. Blake Miguez, a Republican who belongs to that state’s freedom caucus, is challenging incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy. 

A judge on Thursday found that Alina Habba was unlawfully serving in the role of acting U.S. attorney of New Jersey after President Donald Trump sidestepped typical processes to keep her in charge.

Judge Matthew Brann said Habba has not been the rightful temporary U.S. attorney for New Jersey since July 1, a ruling that follows two criminal defendants in New Jersey challenging her appointment in court, alleging it was unconstitutional.

‘Faced with the question of whether Ms. Habba is lawfully performing the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, I conclude that she is not,’ Brann wrote in a 77-page order.

Habba, Trump’s former personal defense lawyer, had been serving as interim U.S. attorney, but when her term expired last month, Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi used loopholes in federal vacancy laws to install her as ‘acting’ rather than ‘interim’ U.S. attorney.

One of the defendants in the district, Julien Giraud, alleged that the moves violated his constitutional rights because of the string of unconventional actions it took to attempt to keep Habba in the role.

Brann, an Obama appointee serving in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, agreed and found Habba could not prosecute Giraud or another defendant who challenged Habba’s position.

Brann is presiding over the matter after the chief judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania, decided the case presented too much of a conflict for New Jersey’s federal judges.

The New Jersey judges made the rare decision to decline to extend Habba’s term and instead appointed career attorney Desiree Grace to the job. Trump and Bondi fired Grace, withdrew Habba’s nomination as permanent U.S. attorney and then reinstated Habba as acting U.S. attorney, which they said kept Habba in charge for at least another 210 days under federal statute.

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokeswoman for Habba for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

The latest addition to the pool of Democrats seeking to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is doubling down on Zohran Mamdani-style socialism, says the chief of Maine’s Republican Party.

Democrat Graham Platner launched his campaign highlighting his history as an Army and Marine veteran as well as an oyster farmer, but state GOP chief Jason Savage told Fox News Digital that rural accolades aren’t policy positions. He pointed to Platner’s hiring of a top Mamdani adviser, Morris Katz, to produce his campaign launch video.

In that video, Platner rails against the ‘oligarchy’ and endorses universal healthcare. His website features messaging that claims the U.S. has a ‘billionaire economy,’ and that – if elected – Platner would view it as a key part of his job ‘to dismantle’ it.

‘Graham Platner is Maine’s Mamdani,’ Savage told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘He brought in the Mamdani team to support his campaign. He’s out doing a lot of work with socialist groups.… He’s a Bernie bro.’

‘What we’re seeing here is the exporting of the Mamdani ideology to the state of Maine because they think that they can gain ground in a small state where things aren’t as expensive,’ he added.

‘You can look through Graham Platner’s donor history, and you can see that he donated to Harris for President, Bernie Sanders, Ilhan Omar,’ he continued, arguing that far-left candidates are a major threat to the Democratic Party.

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

‘If common-sense Democrats, and then the leadership like [Sen.] Chuck Schumer don’t do something and say that isn’t the future of our party, then they’re gonna run in a bunch of these races. and we’re gonna beat them,’ he said.

Savage argued that the Democratic Party’s embracing of the far-left is a ‘double-edged sword.’ He said Democratic candidates can’t succeed without the ‘extreme wing’ of the party, and now ‘they’ve created a monster that they don’t have the ability to control.’

‘In the long run, it’s going to be catastrophic for them. I mean, Graham Platner advocates for allowing men to be in girls’ and women’s sports,’ Savage said. ‘He advocates for all sorts of policies that are very, very unpopular, and the Democrats can’t say anything to stop that.’

The Democratic challenger list against Collins is growing, and reports say those already in office are trying to tap Janet Mills, the state’s 77-year-old Democratic governor, for the seat.

Republicans currently control the majority of the Senate by a 53-47 margin. Democrats would need to flip four seats in the 2026 midterm elections to take the majority. 

A spokesperson for Collins told Fox News Digital that Platner is ‘just another progressive entering the race.’

Fox News’ Pilar Arias contributed to this report 

The White House made headlines this week by finally joining TikTok. As someone who has been urging Republican leadership to modernize our outreach to young people for years, I believe this is a long-overdue step in the right direction. But joining TikTok isn’t enough on its own. To win over the next generation of voters, this White House must go further — and faster.

President Trump’s political comeback in 2024 wasn’t a fluke. It was built on connecting with youth voters in ways no Republican had ever tried before. When he tapped me to come on as chair of the RNC’s inaugural Youth Advisory Council in 2023, I told party leaders bluntly that the days of relying on a Sunday newspaper ad to deliver the GOP’s message were over. My generation doesn’t read the classifieds — we scroll feeds. We share memes. We stream podcasts. We are digital natives, and any party serious about winning our support has to meet us where we are.

That’s exactly what President Trump did. He embraced new platforms, leaned into long-form podcasts, and even launched a TikTok account that quickly became the fastest-growing account in the platform’s history. The results spoke for themselves. Nationally, 46% of Gen Z backed Trump in 2024, a 10-point surge from 2020. In Wisconsin, Republican support among 18-to-29-year-olds jumped from 36% in 2020 to 48% in 2024. That is a generational shift in motion.

But the work is far from over. The GOP holds the House at 218 seats — a razor-thin margin — and the results showed clear divides among young voters. Young men trended right while young women leaned left, especially on issues like abortion. The takeaway is obvious: Republicans can’t take their foot off the gas when it comes to modern youth outreach. 

And here’s the truth: if Republicans don’t stay in the game, others will. My peers are not only watching President Trump — they’re also listening to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. and even far-left figures like democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who could soon be mayor of New York City. 

Many in Gen Z are flirting with socialism because those voices are showing up online and on campus in ways conservatives too often don’t. If the White House and the GOP want to cement Gen Z gains, they need to get in the game now — not two years from now.

Here are three ways the White House can seize this moment:

1. Launch a White House Podcast — The Modern Fireside Chat

One of the biggest turning points in 2023 came when Trump started appearing on popular podcasts. These weren’t 7-minute cable news hits clipped for social media. They were long, unfiltered, authentic conversations lasting up to three hours. And they reached tens — sometimes hundreds — of millions of people, many of them first-time voters.

Young Americans are drowning in student debt, struggling to afford eggs, and working two jobs. They’re not paying for cable bundles. They’re streaming on YouTube and Spotify. That’s why podcasts were so effective — because they met people where they already were.

Now that he’s back in the Oval Office, President Trump should take it further by hosting a monthly White House podcast. Thirty minutes, once a month. It would be the modern equivalent of FDR’s fireside chats: a direct, unfiltered line from the president to the people. That kind of accessibility would deepen his connection with young voters and bypass the hostile filter of legacy media.

2. Take a Campus Speaking Tour

This May, just before he walked on stage to deliver the commencement address at the University of Alabama, I had the opportunity to meet with President Trump one-on-one. I told him directly: my peers don’t just want to see their president online — they want to see him on campus.

The impact of a campus speaking tour would be enormous. Universities are the beating heart of Gen Z political culture. Too often, conservatives have ceded that ground to the Left. But when Trump goes into these spaces — whether it’s a stadium filled with graduates in Alabama or a rally near a college town — students show up. And they listen.

The Kamala Harris campaign’s approach to keeping their monopoly on Gen Z last November was a political consultant’s fever dream: using trendy phrases like ‘joy’ in messaging, posting TikTok trends, and bringing our A-List celebrities. Up until that point, they executed the perfect made-in-a-lab playbook to win over my peers, but there was just one problem: she screamed at us instead of talking to us. 

There’s a difference between standing on stage next to Beyoncé and thinking that’s all you have to do to win over America’s youngest voters, and actually taking the time to fly to college campuses and throw out hot dogs in the student section like President Trump did in Tuscaloosa last October.

Remember when the world was shocked when Trump descended on the Bronx for a rally in a territory Republicans never talked about much less visited? That same feeling of excitement–of an unseen community being seen–could happen again if the president held a speech on Harvard’s campus. 

Imagine a presidential speaking tour that takes him to major universities across the country, not just red states but swing states where young voters could decide the balance of power in 2026. Hearing directly from the president of the United States, not filtered through CNN or MSNBC, would cut through the noise and give students a chance to engage with conservative ideas firsthand.

3. Keep the TikTok Account Active

Trump’s TikTok account broke records as the fastest-growing in the platform’s history. That momentum cannot go to waste now that the campaign is over. TikTok is where millions of young Americans spend their time, and the White House should treat it as a permanent tool for outreach, not just a campaign gimmick.

Behind-the-scenes videos, short policy explainers, and even lighter content showing the human side of the presidency would reach audiences that traditional news outlets will never touch. TikTok’s algorithm thrives on authenticity, and the White House has the chance to use it as a window into The People’s House — not just a political stage.

President Trump’s youth outreach strategy helped rewrite the rules of American politics. It showed Republicans that Gen Z isn’t a lost cause. In fact, we are trending conservative faster than any recent generation. But winning our support takes effort. It takes consistency. And it takes meeting us where we live — online and on campus.

Joining TikTok is a good move, but it must be the beginning, not the end. A monthly White House podcast, a presidential campus tour and a daily energetic presence on TikTok would send a clear message: this president isn’t just talking at young people — he’s talking with us. That’s how you prevent Gen Z from drifting toward AOC or Zohran Mamdani and instead lock in a generation for the conservative movement.

The Trump administration scored a major victory in the Supreme Court Thursday as the justices, in a 5-4 order, cleared his administration to slash more than $783 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants tied to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, LGBTQ issues and other hot-button topics.

The unsigned majority order said NIH ‘may proceed with terminating existing grants’ while leaving in place a partial block on issuing new directives. 

The move delivers a political win for Trump’s broader push to roll back DEI programs across the federal government.

The decision overturns rulings by lower courts that had blocked the cuts. In June, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley of Massachusetts called the administration’s actions ‘arbitrary and capricious’ and said NIH had ‘failed to provide a reasoned explanation’ for cutting grants midstream. The 1st Circuit upheld her injunction in July, setting up Trump’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Justice Department argued in its July 24 filing that leaving the injunction in place ‘forces NIH to continue funding projects inconsistent with agency priorities’ and warned the order ‘intrudes on NIH’s core discretion to decide how best to allocate limited research funds.’

Opponents framed the cuts as ideological. The American Public Health Association warned that ‘halting these grants would devastate biomedical research across the country, disrupting clinical trials and delaying urgently needed discoveries’ and said ‘the administration has offered no scientific basis for these cancellations — only ideology.’ 

A coalition of Democrat-led states led by Massachusetts argued that ‘patients should not be collateral damage in a political fight.’

News outlets stressed the stakes of Thursday’s decision. 

The Associated Press described the ruling as the court letting Trump cut $783 million in research funding ‘in an anti-DEI push.’ 

Reuters reported that ‘the Supreme Court in a 5–4 order cleared the way for the Trump administration to cut diversity-related NIH grants, though it left in place part of the ruling blocking new restrictions.’

Research groups warned of the cuts’ fallout. The Association of American Universities said the cuts ‘risk chilling scientific inquiry by discouraging researchers from pursuing politically sensitive topics.’ 

Scientists cautioned the decision could derail progress on diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s, even as the broader legal fight continues in the 1st Circuit and may return to the Supreme Court.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he wants a ‘strong reaction’ from the U.S. government if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not sit down with him for a bilateral meeting.

This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking to broker a peace agreement between the two countries that have been at war since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although Trump has conceded that Putin may not be prepared to make a deal.

Zelenskyy has said he has already agreed to a proposed meeting with Putin.

‘I responded immediately to the proposal for a bilateral meeting: we are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?’ Zelenskiy said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

‘If the Russians are not ready, we would like to see a strong reaction from the United States,’ he added.

Trump separately met with both leaders in the past week, with Zelenskyy visiting the White House along with other European leaders earlier this week and the U.S. president meeting Putin in Alaska last week.

The White House has said Putin was willing to meet with his Ukrainian foe after a phone call this week with Trump.

‘President Trump spoke with President Putin by phone, and he agreed to begin the next phase of the peace process, a meeting between President Putin and President Zelenskyy, which would be followed, if necessary, by a trilateral meeting between President Putin, President Zelensky and President Trump,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.

The path toward peace between the two sides remains uncertain despite U.S. efforts for diplomacy, as the U.S. government and its allies attempt to work out potential security guarantees for Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said it was unclear what concessions about territory Russia was willing to make to end the conflict. Trump has previously said Kyiv and Moscow would both need to cede territory.

‘To discuss what Ukraine is willing to do, let’s first hear what Russia is willing to do,’ Zelenskyy said. ‘We do not know that.’

Reuters contributed to this report.