The New York Times is facing ridicule on Twitter after an article Sunday painted President Biden’s old age in a positive light, describing the 80-year-old president as ‘sharp,’ ‘fit’ and having ‘striking stamina.’

The Times article by White House reporters Peter Baker, Michael Shear, Katie Rogers and Zolan Kanno-Youngs, titled, ‘Inside the Complicated Reality of Being America’s Oldest President,’ claimed Biden’s aides have been purposely limiting his exposure to the media to avoid any potential gaffes.

‘The two Joe Bidens coexist in the same octogenarian president: Sharp and wise at critical moments, the product of decades of seasoning, able to rise to the occasion even in the dead of night to confront a dangerous world,’ the article said. ‘Yet a little slower, a little softer, a little harder of hearing, a little more tentative in his walk, a little more prone to occasional lapses of memory in ways that feel familiar to anyone who has reached their ninth decade or has a parent who has.’

‘Like many his age, Mr. Biden repeats phrases and retells the same story, often fact-challenged stories again and again,’ the article continued. ‘He can be quirky; when children visit, he may randomly pull a book of William Butler Yeats off his desk and start reading Irish poetry to them.’

‘At the same time, he is trim and fit, exercises five days a week and does not drink,’ it added. ‘He has at times exhibited striking stamina, such as when he flew to Poland then boarded a nine-hour train ride to make a secret visit to Kyiv, spent hours on the ground, then endured another nine-hour train ride and a flight to Warsaw. A study of his schedule by Mr. Biden’s aides shows that he has traveled slightly more in the first few months of his third year in office than Mr. Obama did in his.’

Steve Guest, a special adviser for communications for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the article ’embarrassing.’

News Cycle Media President Jon Nicosia called the article ‘slobbering.’

Former Obama speechwriter Jonathan Favreau, who now co-hosts ‘Pod Save America,’ said the article was ‘pretty positive.’

National Review contributor Pradheep Shanker said the article was ‘not totally objective’ but at least opened the door for questioning the president’s capabilities.

‘Good for the Times to actually write this… It’s still not totally objective, but it’s a solid effort at least,’ Shanker wrote. ‘I mean those is a positive spin at best. What’s more likely is that many, many of the presidential level decisions are not being made by Biden at all.’

Biden tripped and fell during a U.S. Air Force Academy commencement ceremony Thursday, prompting three Secret Service agents to rush to help the president up.

The White House said Thursday that Biden tripped over a sandbag and was not injured by the fall. 

The fall reignited concerns about Biden’s age, prompting a number of media outlets to pounce and seize on Republicans voicing concerns about Biden’s physical health.

Video footage showing a South Carolina-based children’s choir being stopped by a Capitol Police officer from singing the national anthem in the U.S. Capitol has gone viral with millions of views.

Capitol Police said singers with the Rushingbrook Children’s Choir from Greenville were stopped because of a ‘miscommunication,’ which occurred May 26.

Capitol Police initially issued a statement that said they were under the impression the group didn’t have permission to perform in the building but clarified later that they ‘were not aware that the Speaker’s Office had approved this performance.’

Choir director David Rasbach and another choir leader said the visit was approved by the office of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., which the speaker’s office confirmed.

‘I was shocked, I was dismayed, I was stunned,’ Rasbach, who said he secured permission from three congressional offices to perform at the U.S. Capitol, told the Daily Signal. ‘I couldn’t believe that was happening, that they would stop the national anthem, of all songs.’

Video of the event showed the children singing as a Capitol Police officer spoke with two other men. One of the men, who appears to be a congressional staffer, then approached Rasbach. A few seconds later, Rasbach motioned to the choir and cut them off to stop singing.

Some Republicans accused Capitol Police of taking action against the kids due to political bias, but the force said that is untrue and accused the congressional staffer of lying ‘to the officers multiple times about having permission from various offices’ in one emailed statement to the Daily Signal.

‘Recently somebody posted a video of a children’s choir singing the Star-Spangled Banner in the U.S. Capitol Building and wrongfully claimed we stopped the performance because it ‘might offend someone,’’ the Capitol Police said. ‘Here is the truth. Demonstrations and musical performances are not allowed in the U.S. Capitol.’

‘Of course, because the singers in this situation were children, our officers were reasonable and allowed the children to finish their beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner,’ the statement added. ‘The Congressional staff member who was accompanying the group knew the rules, yet lied to the officers multiple times about having permission from various offices. The staffer put both the choir and our officers, who were simply doing their jobs, in an awkward and embarrassing position.’

McCarthy and three Republican members of Congress involved in inviting the group to the Capitol issued a joint statement, saying they were ‘very disappointed’ that the performance was cut short.

‘We recently learned that schoolchildren from South Carolina were interrupted while singing our National Anthem at the Capitol. These children were welcomed by the Speaker’s Office to joyfully express their love of this nation while visiting the Capitol, and we are all very disappointed to learn their celebration was cut short,’ McCarthy and three House Republicans said. ‘We are delighted that the People’s House has been reopened particularly for our children and we look forward to welcoming more Americans back to the halls of Congress.’

Capitol Police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

California Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Saturday an investigation into the arrival of migrants at a church in Sacramento to determine if kidnapping or other crimes were committed.

In a statement, Newsom said more than a dozen migrants were transported from Texas to New Mexico before being flown to Sacramento and left on the doorstep of a local church ‘without any advance warning.’

‘We are working closely with the Mayor’s office, along with local and nonprofit partners to ensure the people who have arrived are treated with respect and dignity, and get to their intended destination as they pursue their immigration cases,’ Newsom said.

The governor said the migrant arrivals would be investigated to find out who is responsible for their transportation and to determine any criminal wrongdoing.

‘My Administration is also working with the California Department of Justice to investigate the circumstances around who paid for the group’s travel and whether the individuals orchestrating this trip misled anyone with false promises or have violated any criminal laws, including kidnapping,’ he said.

Bonta issued a separate statement in which he said the migrants possessed documentation allegedly showing they are from Florida.

‘We are investigating the circumstances by which these individuals were brought to California,’ he said. ‘We are also evaluating potential criminal or civil action against those who transported or arranged for the transport of these vulnerable immigrants. While this is still under investigation, we can confirm these individuals were in possession of documentation purporting to be from the government of the State of Florida.’

‘While we continue to collect evidence, I want to say this very clearly: State-sanctioned kidnapping is not a public policy choice, it is immoral and disgusting,’ Bonta said. ‘We are a nation built by immigrants and we must condemn the cruelty and hateful rhetoric of those, whether they are state leaders or private parties, who refuse to recognize humanity and who turn their backs on extending dignity and care to fellow human beings.’

It is unclear at this time who is responsible for the migrants’ move to California, but multiple states have relocated migrants to sanctuary cities like New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., amid an influx of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will not stop sending buses of migrants to these cities until the federal government fixes the problem at the border. The migrant relocations from Texas began last summer.

The immigration crisis at the southern border has also spilled into states that do not border Mexico. Florida Republican Gov. and presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis flew migrants from the Sunshine State to Martha’s Vineyard last fall and Colorado Democrat Gov. Jared Polis sent migrants to sanctuary cities earlier this year.

‘California and the Sacramento community will welcome these individuals with open arms and provide them with the respect, compassion, and care they will need after such a harrowing experience,’ Bonta said in his statement.

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An expert and entrepreneur in the field of artificial intelligence warned that while the new technology has the potential for massive benefits, it could also prove ‘too powerful and too disruptive’ for humanity, expressing doubt about the federal government’s ability to address such a challenge.

Kevin Baragona worked as a software engineer but recognized the potential impact of AI, which led him to start DeepAI in 2016 to help bring the new technology to fruition. The free online service is growing rapidly, with users increasing tenfold over the past year.

DeepAI was the first company to offer an online AI text-to-image generator, which allows users to enter a description of the image they would like to create, select a theme and receive a custom image for download.

The platform also provides several other services, such as an AI chatbot, image editor, and other AI-generated content. Baragona has said his goal is to simplify access to AI technology for the broader population and make AI accessible even to those who don’t have computers. DeepAI hosts an extensive collection of research papers and an AI Glossary meant to explain AI to users of all levels of experience.

‘DeepAI enhances people’s creativity,’ Baragona told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. ‘AI gives humans a creativity boost. Beyond that, we can use it to create joy in people’s minds, such as with our image generator.’

Baragona described a vision of AI enhancing human activity rather than overtaking it, with advanced technology serving as a boost or supplement. Such a role, he explained, would be the ideal scenario for AI’s future. However, Baragona was quick to add that people are right to be concerned.

‘On one hand, AI is amazing technology like the smartphone or the internet that can make us richer, more creative, more powerful,’ said Baragona. ‘On the other hand, AI may be too powerful and too disruptive. Now we’re at a point where AI is as good as humans in a whole bunch of areas, or at least rapidly approaching it.’

Baragona explained that virtually every area of work — from journalism, to the law, to fine art — is being affected by the rise of AI, all at the exact same time, outlining three major risks that could have profound implications on society: massive societal disruption, potential large-scale job losses, and the prospect of creating computers smarter than humans. 

A specific example he cited is being unable to trust what one sees online due to AI, which could be weaponized to manipulate information and advance a particular ideology.

‘Typically AI reflects the values of those who created it,’ said Baragona. ‘ChatGPT is famously quite left-leaning.’

‘I describe myself as a little bit conflicted,’ he added. ‘I love AI as technology, what it can do for people. But we can’t ignore the possible downsides. In many ways, it seems like Pandora’s Box has been opened.’

Baragona said regulation could play a part in mitigating risk but didn’t express optimism in the ability of policymakers to meet the challenge. When asked whether he had confidence in Washington addressing the issues raised by AI, he responded, ‘Well, they put Kamala Harris in charge, so not really.’

The White House early last month named Vice President Harris as ‘AI czar’ to lead the Biden administration’s new initiative ‘to promote responsible AI innovation that protects Americans’ rights and safety.’

Harris’ appointment has been met by widespread skepticism, with numerous voices questioning her ability to handle the role of AI czar. Twitter owner Elon Musk recently mocked the appointment, tweeting: ‘Maybe someone who can fix their own WiFi router wouldn’t be too much to ask.’

Harris has been similarly criticized for her role as ‘border czar’ in the administration due to the ongoing crisis of mass illegal crossings at the southern border from Mexico into the U.S.

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment for this story.

Despite his skepticism about Harris, however, Baragona argued that no one — including AI experts — has really any idea what’s coming.

‘It’s a tidal wave even for insiders,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t say that insiders are any better prepared. We’re all in the same boat together.’

DeepAi is continuing to build its service, working on ‘better and better’ versions of what it already has and also developing video games that utilize AI technology, according to Baragona.

Ultimately, he argued, people need to take responsibility to educate themselves about AI to be prepared for the future. 

‘The message I want people to hear is they need to educate themselves about what AI can do already and what AI can do in the future so that we can have a hope of adapting to this technology successfully,’ said Baragona. ‘We can be rapidly entering a sci-fi future, more sci-fi than we might have expected, and need to be ready.’

Paperwork.

We hear about ‘paperwork’ when trying to deal with government bureaucracies and getting things done in Washington.

And, it is in fact ‘paperwork’ which delayed President Biden from signing the bill to avert a debt ceiling crisis.

It was ‘paperwork’ of the highest Congressional order. Not just a stack of forms buried in a federal file cabinet somewhere which dates back to the Eisenhower administration.

The Senate synced up with the House on the debt ceiling bill just before 11 pm ET Thursday night, approving the measure 63-36. Considering the Congressional brinksmanship over the debt ceiling, one might think they would immediately race the bill the 1.6 miles from the Capitol to the White House for the President to sign the legislation into law that night.

Not so fast.

For starters, the District of Columbia recently reduced the speed limit on many streets from 30 mph to 25 mph. So, don’t get a speeding ticket hauling tail down Pennsylvania Avenue.

But the biggest inhibition from racing the bill over to the White House hinges on an important, almost ancient process on Capitol Hill. In fact, the debt ceiling bill remained at the Capitol for hours after the Senate okayed the measure.

Nothing nefarious. No incompetence. This ‘paperwork’ exercise is an arcane, but important process which dates back to colonial America.

First of all, the House of Representatives crafted the debt ceiling bill. So, the measure is a ‘House product.’ That means that the Senate had to return the bill – without changes – to the House since it was the body of origination. This involves a little more than just stuffing the bill into a manila folder and asking an intern to walk it back across the Capitol Rotunda to the House. The Senate had to first execute some administrative tasks regarding the bill.

This is what begins the ‘enrollment and engrossment’ process. 

The term ‘engrossment’ means to ‘write in a large, clear hand.’

Think of John Hancock’s iconic, colossal signature on the Declaration of Independence. The National Archives houses the ‘official’ version of the Declaration of Independence with the signatures of 56 men. In fact, the National Archives document is known as the ‘engrossed copy.’ 

Enrollment and engrossment of a bill for the President to sign involves a lot of signatures and ‘paperwork.’

Once the Senate approved the debt limit bill, the Secretary of the Senate had to study the printed copy to assure accuracy. In other words, the version which the Senate approved didn’t involve any amendments. The Senate then prints the bill onto white paper and notes any alterations. In this case, the Senate simply voted on and approved the House version of the legislation. So no updates.

Then it’s ready to head back to the House. 

The House and Senate employ what are called ‘enrollment clerks.’ Those clerks sometimes take hours if not days to properly arrange the legislation from bill form into something which the President may sign into law. It depends on how long the legislation is and if there are complications – such as amendments. Some bills are parliamentary monstrosities. Thousands of pages. But this measure was rather straightforward. In fact, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., touted the relative brevity of the legislation: a svelte 99 pages.

Once all the checks and parliamentary mechanics are complete, the bill is copied onto parchment paper.

Yes. Parchment paper.

This is a custom which is old as the republic. 

In July 1776, the 13 colonies signaled their approval of the Declaration of Independence. According to the National Archives, the Continental Congress ‘ordered’ that the document be ‘fairly engrossed on parchment.’ Timothy Matlack was known in colonial America as a prominent ‘penman.’ It’s believed that Matlack actually copied the Declaration onto parchment. That’s the version preserved today at the National Archives.

On August 2, 1776, the journal of proceedings for the Continental Congress showed that ‘the declaration of independence being engrossed and compared at the table was signed.’ The aforementioned John Hancock was the first signatory.

The modern-day Congress follows this same process for every piece of legislation lawmakers approve.

Right down to the parchment paper.

After all, this is legislation which is about to become a law and permanently archived. You just don’t print it up on a ream of paper bought at Staples.

It consumes time to line up the legislative text onto the parchment paper. Again, not a complex bill. But there is a method and precision to this process. Once the bill is ready, the Speaker of the House or his designee must sign the bill. The presiding officer of the Senate – in this case, Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., – or her designee, must sign, too. The bicameral signatures by those Congressional officers certifies that the House and Senate have in fact taken action on a bill, are in agreement and the measure is ready to head to the White House for the President’s signature.

When Fox asked Friday how long all of this would take with the debt ceiling bill, one senior source replied ‘I have no idea.’

Of course, the deadline for the debt ceiling is Monday. That’s when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen forecast that the government could run out of cash and be unable to pay its bills. So, there is a bit of a race here. But frankly, no one was too worried since Mr. Biden planned to sign the document after Congress moved – regardless of when the document made it to his desk.

This is all about ‘paperwork’ of the highest order. That’s to say nothing of adhering to a time-honored tradition which has served the nation for more than two centuries. It also underscores the gravity and value of legislation. There is almost a reverential process for a final legislative product which becomes law. That’s augmented by the meticulousness the use of parchment paper for the final version.

As the Biden administration is touting a short-term drop of more than 70% in encounters at the southern border in the wake of the expiration of the Title 42 public health order, it is facing mounting legal battles that could — and already have — torpedoed some key policies it has put in place.

‘We have seen … a significant decrease in encounters at the border, more than 70% reduction since the lifting of Title 42 on May 11th,’ DHS official Blas Nunez-Neto told reporters at the border this week.

Nunez-Neto also outlined how the administration has expanded what it calls lawful pathways into the U.S., including by allowing more than 1,000 migrants a day into the U.S. who have made an application on the CBP One app.

‘We’ve also seen how the consequences we are delivering as part of our comprehensive effort to manage flows at the border are working,’ he said.

Staring down a third year of a historic crisis at the southern border, which critics have tied to the administration’s ‘catch-and-release’ policies and reduced interior enforcement, the administration put a number of additional border policies in place to prevent an additional surge once the Title 42 public health order ended on May 11.

At the center of that strategy is an asylum the ‘Circumvention of Lawful Pathways’ rule, implemented on May 11, which presumes migrants to be ineligible for asylum if they have entered the U.S. illegally and have failed to claim asylum in a country through which they have already traveled. 

While that does not necessarily mean they won’t be released into the U.S., in theory it would block most migrants from a valid asylum claim unless they take advantage of pathways the administration has set up. The most prominent of those pathways is the use of the CBP One app to book an appointment at a port of entry with a CBP official.

Meanwhile, the ‘presumption of ineligibility’ (the administration has denied claims by left-wing activists that it amounts to a ‘ban’) can be rebutted if a migrant can show that the app was not working or that they are in acute danger. It does not apply to unaccompanied migrant children.

Left-wing activists led by the American Civil Liberties Union immediately sued, arguing that it is an illegal block on foreign nationals’ right to claim asylum in the U.S.

But in recent days, the rule has also seen challenges from GOP-led states. The first came from Texas, which said that neither the CBP One app nor officials ask whether the migrants they are letting in are claiming asylum. Texas’ complaint claims that the administration is encouraging migrants to cross the border ‘without establishing that they meet some exception from removal or have a legal basis to remain in the country.’

This week, a new 18-state lawsuit challenged the rule more broadly, calling it a ‘smoke screen’ that essentially recategorizes otherwise illegal crossings as lawful.

‘The Defendants claim that the Circumvention Rule will deter illegal border crossings, decrease the number of new unlawful aliens in the United States, and reduce reliance on human smuggling networks. The truth, however, is that the Circumvention Rule is some combination of a half measure and a smoke screen,’ the states, led by Indiana, argue. ‘It is riddled with exceptions, and it is part of the Biden Administration’s broader effort to obfuscate the true situation at the Southwest Border.’

Should any of the three lawsuits, filed in different courts across the county, be successful, it could dramatically change how the Biden administration exercises its powers at the border.

Separately, the administration has already had a migrant release policy frozen that it put in place the day before Title 42 ended. That policy, called ‘parole with conditions,’ saw migrants being released into the interior without court dates due to overcrowding. Nearly 9,000 migrants were released while the policy was in place.

A federal judge shut the policy down with just hours before Title 42 ended. He agreed with arguments from Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody that the policy was ‘materially identical’ to one he had blocked in March. 

The administration decried the block as ‘sabotage’ and warned that it could lead to severe overcrowding at CBP stations. That has not yet happened, due to the drop in migrant encounters at the border that followed.

However, this week Florida expanded its challenge, arguing that a ‘streamlined’ policy of releasing migrants with court dates (Notices to appear) and on their own recognizance (OR) should also be blocked.

‘Biden’s will to violate public-safety immigration laws and release massive amounts of illegal immigrants into the country knows no bounds,’ Moody said Friday in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

‘After we beat Biden in federal court multiple times, his administration admitted to a new policy to skirt the law and release immigrants into the country. We are fighting back against this outrageous and unlawful Biden policy designed to further weaken our border security — making American’s less safe.’

If the NTA/OR policy is blocked, it could result in a situation where no migrants who entered illegally are allowed into the U.S. or an alternative policy being attempted by the administration.

Meanwhile, the situation at the border remains precarious. While numbers are low, officials have warned against concluding that it will stay that way — especially as summer months are typically some of the busiest at the border.

In his remarks to the press, Nunez-Neto said that DHS was remaining vigilant.

‘The conditions that are driving migration in the hemisphere are real and continue. We are watching what’s happening in Mexico and other countries very closely,’ he said. ‘We know that the smugglers will spread misinformation to put migrants’ lives in peril for profit. And so we are continuing to work closely with our foreign partners to make sure that they are continuing their enforcement efforts. And we are obviously continuing ours.’

President Biden has signed a debt ceiling increase, raising the government’s borrowing limit and averting a potential default on the national debt. 

The White House announced the bill signing in an emailed statement in which Biden thanked congressional leaders for their efforts. The Treasury Department had warned that failing to increase the government’s borrowing limit would leave the country without cash to pay its bills and more than likely cause an economic catastrophe. 

‘I just signed into law a bipartisan budget agreement that prevents a first-ever default while reducing the deficit, safeguarding Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and fulfilling our scared obligation to our veterans,’ Biden tweeted Saturday. ‘Now, we continue the work of building the strongest economy in the world.’

Republicans had passed legislation in April to raise the debt limit which also curtailed government spending, but Biden and Democratic lawmakers rejected their bill. The two sides went into a standoff that lasted for weeks as Biden refused to negotiate, demanding a clean debt limit increase before any discussion on spending. 

However, as the deadline to raise the borrowing limit or start missing debt payments approached, both sides entered into tense negotiations to work out a compromise. 

The final deal Biden struck with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., — called the Fiscal Responsibility Act — suspends the public debt limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and cuts non-defense spending to near fiscal 2022 levels, capping growth at 1% for the next two years and proposing non-mandatory caps for the four years after. It also claws back some money aimed at the Internal Revenue Service and some unspent COVID-19 pandemic funds. The law increases defense spending by 3% for the first year, below the level of inflation. 

The bill passed with bipartisan support in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, though more Democrats voted for it than Republicans. Lawmakers on the right and left kicked and screamed the whole way and called it a betrayal of their respective values.

Texas Republican Chip Roy, a deficit hawk, referred to the deal as a ‘turd sandwich.’ 

‘Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,’ Biden said from the Oval Office on Friday evening. ‘Nothing would have been more catastrophic,’ he said, than defaulting on the country’s debt.

‘No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed,’ Biden said, highlighting the ‘compromise and consensus’ in the deal. ‘We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.’

Lawmakers have said the debt deal includes an automatic 1% cut to discretionary spending if Congress fails to pass each of 12 appropriations bills Congress traditionally is supposed to enact into law by Jan. 1. 

‘Leaders Schumer & McConnell committed to pass all 12 appropriations bills on time this year—for the 1st time since 2005—under pressure of an auto spending cut I included in the debt limit agreement,’ McCarthy tweeted Thursday. ‘Ending the era of the omnibus & getting Washington back to work!’ 

However, former Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., has called attention to legislative text that says the 1% cuts will happen if ‘there is in effect an Act making continuing appropriations for part of fiscal year 2024 for any discretionary budget account.’ 

‘To put this in more ordinary language, it’s saying that if a continuing resolution (CR) is in place, then there will be 1% cuts (i.e., sequester). A CR is when Congress can’t agree on new appropriations, so they simply extend old appropriations,’ Amash tweeted Thursday, criticizing the bill.

‘This is different from an omnibus. In other words, Congress can avoid the cuts simply by passing (and having the president sign) an omnibus before January 1. That means the 12 appropriations bills don’t have to be separate; they can be combined into one giant bill, along with (absolutely) anything else they want to include.’ 

The national debt stands at $31.4 trillion and growing. 

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Utah’s largest police union has tossed its support behind one Republican candidate seeking to replace GOP Sen. Mitt Romney in the 2024 Senate election.

‘The Utah Fraternal Order of Police unanimously endorses Trent Staggs for United States Senate,’ a press provided to Fox News Digital stated. ‘Mayor Staggs has been a longtime supporter of law enforcement and specifically the FOP. He continually shows through words and actions what it means to support law enforcement and he received the unanimous endorsement of our executive board and trustees.’

‘He understands the need to protect our safety as well as our working conditions, and we wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy,’ the union added.

The union’s endorsement of Staggs, who has served as the mayor of Riverton since 2018, marks the group’s first Senate primary endorsement. In prior elections, the Utah FOP backed now-Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, as well as former Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah.

Brent Jex, president of the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, told Fox News Digital that Staggs ‘has stood up for the blue even during recent times when it was politically expedient to keep law enforcement at arms length.’

‘He’s had our back, and now we have his,’ Jex added.

Responding to the endorsement, Staggs told Fox News Digital that he is ‘honored’ to have the union’s support and vowed to continue his support for them.

‘In light of the attacks on law enforcement in recent years, the very first endorsement I sought out was the Fraternal Order of Police,’ Staggs said. ‘I wanted our local officers to know they’d always have my support, and I’m honored to have theirs. They deserve a senator who is willing to stand beside them rather than march against them.’

Staggs — who gained notoriety in 2020 for his opposition to mask mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic — announced last month that he was running for the Senate seat currently held by Romney, who has yet to declare whether he will seek re-election.

In a possible first step toward running for re-election, Romney filed FEC paperwork in April. But his chief of staff told local media that he has not made a final decision.

‘I love my children, and I’m worried about the country they will inherit if I sit on the sidelines,’ Staggs told Fox News Digital in May. ‘For too long, we’ve allowed government bureaucrats to spend away the next generation’s future, and we need more voices willing to push back.’

When asked why he believes Romney may not be an effective leader for the state, Staggs said: ‘Unfortunately, Mitt Romney has let personal beefs get in the way of good governance. From not standing with Mike Lee against raising the debt ceiling to voting for the $1.7 trillion omnibus, he has helped drive us deeper in debt.’

‘He votes to impeach President Trump but then has the nerve to confirm a radical justice like Ketanji Brown Jackson and incompetent cabinet members like open border [DHS Sec. Alejandro] Mayorkas,’ he added.

In announcing his candidacy in the race, Staggs became the first person to publicly pose a challenge to Romney, who has angered many voters within his own party for his reasoning and support for certain policies and bills.

‘Mitt Romney fits in the Senate much better than I do. We’ve elected far too many people who ‘fit in’ in Washington. I’m not going to Washington to make friends, I’m going to make change,’ Staggs declared.

Romney has gone on the record saying that if he were to run, he has no doubt he would be successfully re-elected. He defeated Democrat Jenny Wilson with more than 62% of the vote in 2018.

‘I’m convinced that if I run, I win. But that’s a decision I’ll make,’ Romney said of a potential re-election bid.

Romney was the GOP nominee in the 2012 presidential election but was defeated by former President Obama.

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