The early departures of several key Republicans have reignited tensions within the House GOP, as the lawmakers grapple with the prospect of a historically slim one-vote majority.

‘There’s no excuse for this,’ Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. ‘The country’s at stake. To put the Democrats in control of what might happen is inexcusable.’

Meanwhile, another GOP lawmaker said they understood people leaving, lamenting the state of ‘civic discourse’ and suggesting more Republicans could soon be out the door.

What’s in jeopardy is the thin line between Republicans losing the majority — whether by intentional exits or unintended incidents — to Democrats.

Back in January, Republicans had started the 118th Congress with just a single-digit majority. Multiple early departures since then, along with the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has slimmed that down dramatically.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., shocked colleagues on Friday when he announced he’s stepping down on April 19, weeks after Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., also revealed he’d be stepping down early. Both announced earlier that they would not be seeking re-election.

Gallagher and Buck were hammered by their conservative colleagues, with Gallagher in particular getting attacked because his planned departure date would come after Wisconsin’s deadline to hold a special election — meaning the seat would be vacant through 2024.

‘If he’s going to resign, then do it. Let the people of Wisconsin pick a replacement. That would be the right thing to do, to me,’ Norman said, questioning whether the decision was ‘a little strategic.’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., went even further, telling ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., should expel Gallagher earlier so that a special election could take place. 

‘Any strong Republican speaker of the House would expel a member for leaving our razor-thin majority in such a delicate, delicate state,’ Greene said on Fox News Channel.

His departure will likely leave a one-vote majority until June, when a special election for ex-Rep. Bill Johnson’s safe red Ohio seat will likely expand the GOP majority. Johnson left earlier this year to take over as president of Youngstown State University.

Norman pointed out the precarious position the House GOP now finds itself in: ‘What if somebody has a heart attack? Or what if a tragedy strikes any number of us?’

But a GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak more freely suggested it was those same hardline conservatives who have been fueling dysfunction within the House — such as holding up House floor votes and deposing ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who also left Congress early afterward — that are partly responsible for pushing people out the door.

‘There aren’t that many blaming [lawmakers leaving early], because I think everybody understands it. I’ve heard dozens of members talk about leaving, walking away from it all,’ the source said.

‘I think it should be a cautionary tale for all of us about our political environment. This is not just the House — we have millions of Americans who are disgusted by the toxicity and dysfunction in the system, and they’re checking out, too. And if we don’t fix the underlying problem with our civic discourse, we’re just going to get more of them — members of Congress through the citizenry, checking out,’ they added.

The GOP lawmaker called Buck and Gallagher ‘hard-working’ and ‘principled.’

Another conservative, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., predicted further ‘gridlock’ in the wake of Gallagher and Buck’s departures in a weekend interview with Fox News Live.

‘When you are seeing people intentionally leave in order to prevent primaries from happening so those seats can be filled, I just think that they’re doing the American people disservice,’ Luna said. ‘You are really only screwing over the Republican Party — the American people.’

JERUSALEM — The Biden administration’s failure on Monday to veto a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza is putting further strain on the administration’s relationship with America’s closest ally in the region, Israel.

‘The U.S. action at the U.N. has driven U.S.-Israel relations to a low point in their history and left America’s reputation as a credible ally in ruins,’ Caroline Glick, one of Israel’s leading experts on American-Israeli relations, told Fox News Digital. She continued, ‘Israel is engaged in a multi-front war against Iran and its proxies for its survival. In Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Jordan, Israel’s enemies saw on Monday that the U.S. has abandoned Israel at the height of the war, effectively adopting Hamas’ positions as its own.’

When approached about the U.N. vote and the state of U.S.-Israel relations, a State Department spokesperson referred Fox News Digital to spokesperson Matthew Miller’s remarks during Monday’s press briefing. 

‘The U.N. Security Council resolution that passed today from which the United States abstained, there were … issues with which we had concerns related to that resolution, the fact that it did not condemn Hamas’s terrorist attacks of October 7th; that’s why we didn’t vote for it,’ Miller said. ‘But the reason we didn’t veto it is because there were also things in that resolution that were consistent with our long-term position; most importantly, that there should be a cease-fire, and that there should be a release of hostages.’

The U.S.’ move to not veto the resolution prompted Israel to cancel a high-level delegation to Washington, D.C., to discuss American concerns about Israel’s slated offensive to seize the remaining Hamas-controlled city of Rafah in Gaza. President Biden had requested the meeting.

Miller termed the cancelation ‘surprising and unfortunate.’ The State Department spokesperson added, ‘We believe this type of full-scale invasion would be a mistake. It would be a mistake not just because of the extraordinary impact it would have on the somewhere around 1.4 million civilians who are in Rafah now, but it would also be a mistake because it would harm Israel’s overall security.’ 

‘This withdrawal damages both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages because it gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to accept a cease-fire without the release of our hostages,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement after the U.S. enabled the alleged anti-Israel vote at the Security Council,

Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman told Fox News Digital, ‘I think by falsely criticizing Israel and agreeing to a U.N. resolution that does not condemn Hamas nor condition a cease-fire on the hostages being released, Biden has given Hamas a huge diplomatic victory.’

Friedman, one of the key architects in the Trump administration of the diplomatic normalization agreements (Abraham Accords) between Israel and Sunni Gulf countries, added, ‘This is why [senior Hamas leader] Ismail Haniyeh is in Tehran today celebrating. All of this emboldens Hamas and makes a deal for the hostages far more difficult.’

Friedman continued, ‘I think the last time America betrayed Israel like this was at the end of the Obama administration with UNSCR 2334.’ Obama’s then-Ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, abstained in a vote that enabled the UNSC to censure Israel for its construction of residences in the disputed territory of Judea and Samaria. The region is also known as the West Bank. Power is now the administrator for the United States Agency for International Development.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Monday, ‘We get to decide what our policy is. It seems like the Prime Minister’s office is choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don’t need to do that.’

Israel’s government and the public are determined to root out Hamas terrorists and its infrastructure in Rafah and secure the release of the over 100 hostages held by the Jihadi organization. Netanyahu has the backing of Israel’s population, who desperately want to prevent a reprise of Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 people on Oct. 7 in southern Israel. The bloodbath included sustained rapes of women and the seizure of more than 200 hostages. Israeli officials say that an invasion of Rafah is not contingent on a green light from the Biden administration.

The clash between Biden and Netanyahu is increasing at a fast pace. Domestic elections are fueling the Biden administration’s anxiety about an Israeli operation to defeat Hamas. According to critics, Biden seeks to woo Arab American votes in Michigan — a key swing state in this year’s presidential election — by pushing Israel to accept deep concessions.

Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, told Fox News Digital that ‘Biden is becoming the worst president for Israel ever.’ He added that the ‘refusal to veto the resolution is intended to defend Hamas and strengthen Hamas. This is sinister. They are protecting the evil regime of Hamas and the evil regime of Iran.’ Klein claimed Biden is determined to ‘harm Israel.’

Glick, a former adviser to Netanyahu, noted, ‘The administration’s actions at the U.N. Security Council were a betrayal of Israel and of the hostages. By allowing resolution 2728 to pass, the U.S. blocked all paths to a diplomatic deal to secure the release of any hostages. By decoupling what Hamas wants — a cease-fire that will allow it to rebuild its terror army and its control over Gaza and so win the war — from the release of the hostages, Resolution 2728 seals the hostages’ fate.’ 

America’s top U.N. diplomat issued caveats at the Security Council meeting on Tuesday. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told the council that ‘we did not agree with everything’ in the resolution.

The dire plight of the hostages has become a kind of political football, and the grueling conditions in Rafah, where Israeli intelligence officials believe the hostages are being held, will only get progressively worse as time unfolds.

‘The only way to free them now is by rescuing them through direct military action. Hamas made this clear when they changed their position from accepting a swap of 40 hostages for 700 terrorists, (including 100 murderers) to demanding a full cessation of the war and a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza,’ said Glick.

Amos Harel, a senior military correspondent for the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz, who has deep sourcing within Israel’s intelligence and defense establishment, wrote on Tuesday, ‘Senior defense officials are very worried about the worsening relations with America and the deterioration in Israel’s international standing. Their fear, which is shared by every key officeholder, is that this is the start of a process that will go on for years and be very difficult to stop.’

‘Netanyahu has repeatedly infuriated the United States and other friendly Western governments in the 15 months since his far-right government was sworn in. The West’s grievances intensified as the war in Gaza bogged down, and especially as Netanyahu refused to discuss postwar political arrangements for Gaza,’ he added.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer appears to be pouring cold water on the prospects of impeaching President Biden in a new fundraising email sent to voters on Monday evening.

Comer said ‘criminal referrals’ would be the ‘culmination’ of his ongoing impeachment inquiry.

In the message sent to supporters, the Kentucky Republican blamed Democrats and cited the left’s uniform opposition to impeaching Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

‘I’ve presented mountains of evidence confirming Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s influence peddling scheme, and I just had a group of the Biden family’s business confidants publicly testify about the first family’s criminal activity,’ Comer’s email read. ‘At any other time in history, that would have been the final nail in the coffin of the Biden Crime Family’s reign of corruption.’

‘But we are not in a normal time in history… As it stands right now, the deranged Democrats are refusing to take up the Impeachment Trial of Alejandro Mayorkas and threatening to dismiss it within minutes when it finally is brought up. Even ‘centrist’ Democrats called the Mayorkas Impeachment Trial ‘ridiculous’ just days after a criminal illegal brutally murdered Laken Riley in cold blood.’

House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas over the border crisis last month, but the impeachment articles have not yet been sent over to the Senate. Once they are, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., must act on them swiftly – though the Democratic majority is likely to scuttle them as soon as possible.

Comer’s email then asked, ‘What do you think they would do if we Impeached Biden?’

‘It’s clear that Democrats will choose their party over their country and the truth at every turn. They should be ashamed of themselves. That’s why I am preparing criminal referrals as the culmination of my investigation,’ he wrote.

‘When President Trump returns to the White House, it’s critical the new leadership at the DOJ have everything they need to prosecute the Biden Crime Family and deliver swift justice.’

Comer said criminal referrals are ‘the best way’ to hold the Bidens accountable, ‘as it’s now clear the Democrats will do anything to hold onto power.’

He made similar comments during a Newsmax interview last week after the House held its second impeachment inquiry hearing. Hunter Biden, whose foreign business dealings are a central focus of investigators looking into whether then-Vice President Biden used his position to enrich his family, turned down an invitation to appear at that event.

Earlier this month, Fox News Digital heard from several GOP lawmakers who, while maintaining they believe the president is guilty of at least acting improperly, admitted current conditions in the House make it unlikely the chamber will actually impeach him. 

Those prospects will get trickier after April 19 when Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., leaves early, leaving House Republicans with just a one-vote majority. 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., a member of the Oversight Committee, told Fox News Digital last week that it’s ‘very possible’ there will be a full House vote, but said impeaching Biden ‘has never been the purpose’ of the inquiry.

‘The purpose is doing these investigations. We have a formalized impeachment inquiry because some of the initial information we’ve uncovered has led us to the current information now,’ Donalds said.

When asked whether he meant the impeachment inquiry’s goal was not an impeachment vote, Donalds challenged, ‘That’s not what I’m saying.’

‘It was about doing our investigation into the allegations of public corruption by the Biden family. We have now proven that yes, there was public corruption going on… The question now becomes, does all the evidence we have take us to high crimes and misdemeanors? But you have to have an impeachment inquiry in order to assess and gain all that information,’ he said. ‘Unlike the Democrats, we didn’t walk in just promising impeachment on day one.’

New York Attorney General Letitia James spearheading the civil fraud case against former president Donald Trump, took a trip to Washington, D.C., Tuesday to address a crowd of protesters outside the Supreme Court and encourage them to ‘march to the polls and vote.’ 

James spoke to a crowd gathered outside the high court as justices inside were hearing debates challenging the federal regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone. 

‘[Get] your hands off our body. Because it’s our body, our choice. We will fight. We will win. And we will protect abortion rights now and forever,’ James shouted from the podium.

‘Let’s go, women. And let’s march to the polls and vote!’ she exclaimed. 

It’s unclear exactly what election in which she was encouraging women to vote, and she didn’t explicitly name a candidate. 

The presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential race for the Republican Party — whose platform generally reflects limiting abortion access — is Donald Trump, whom James is suing.

On Monday, a New York appeals court ruled dealt a significant blow to James’ case by slashing Trump’s $454 million bond by 60% — allowing him to appeal the case further. 

James sued Trump under a New York State Executive law that gives broad investigative authority and that was designed to protect against consumer fraud.

She accused him and his company of inflating the values of properties in order to secure better rates on loans from banks. In this unusual case, the state couldn’t prove obvious victims Trump had harmed that incurred major losses. 

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Engoron in February sided against Trump, and imposed what’s known as a ‘disgorgement’ — a legal remedy that requires someone who profited illegally to give back any profits made while engaging in the illegal activity.  

But the appeals court slashed his judgment by more than half — ordering Trump to pay $175 million in 10 days, which he said he would do. 

‘I DID NOTHING WRONG, AND NEW YORK SHOULD NEVER BE PUT IN A POSITION LIKE THIS AGAIN. BUSINESSES ARE FLEEING, VIOLENT CRIME IS FLOURISHING, AND IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THIS BE RESOLVED IN ITS TOTALITY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU!’ Trump posted to his Truth Social account in all capital letters. 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for James on Monday said Trump ‘is still facing accountability for his staggering fraud.’ 

‘The court has already found that he engaged in years of fraud to falsely inflate his net worth and unjustly enrich himself, his family, and his organization,’ James’ spokesperson said. ‘The $464 million judgment — plus interest — against Donald Trump and the other defendants still stands.’

Trump has vowed to fight the case ‘all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.’

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Pro-life leaders are accusing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of operating with a ‘reckless disregard for women’s health and safety’ over the agency’s handling of a controversial abortion pill that’s now at the center of a high-stakes high court case.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case that could curb nationwide access to abortion pills such as mifepristone — the drug that’s drawn the ire of the pro-life community, including March for Life President Jeanne Mancini. 

‘The FDA’s removal of nearly all safeguards around the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone has needlessly put women and girls at risk for suffering severe — even life-threatening — complications without the ongoing care of a medical provider,’ Mancini said. ‘We hope the FDA will be held accountable for failing to meet its own standards when it comes to abortion drugs. Such reckless disregard for women’s health and safety is unacceptable from an agency tasked with protecting it.’

The case, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, centers around mifepristone. Approved by the FDA in 2000, the medication is used alongside another drug to end a pregnancy as early as 10 weeks gestation.

The FDA took strides in 2021 — the year before the Supreme Court’s June 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — to make mifepristone more accessible, including by removing the requirement for patients to see a doctor in person to get a prescription. 

But months after the Supreme Court’s landmark summer decision, a federal appeals court in Texas ruled the FDA’s policy change was illegal, as was an earlier update that extended the pill’s recommended usage by several weeks. The high court is now reviewing that decision.

‘Bowing to pressure from the abortion industry, the FDA loosened the safety requirements of mifepristone which still has a black box warning,’ National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said. ‘Drugs that come with black box warnings have the most dangerous side effects and safety concerns, yet the FDA is okay with mifepristone being prescribed and even mailed to women without an in-person exam.’

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser told Fox News Digital that she ‘was proud to stand with women harmed by abortion drugs courageously sharing their stories, and with the doctors caring for them, in contrast to the abortion industry that leaves women to suffer alone.’

‘Today we are standing up to say women’s health matters and the FDA must do its job. We urge the Supreme Court to uphold safeguards for women and girls,’ she said.

Erik Baptist, senior counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, said that pro-life groups are ‘simply asking the Court to reinstate the original standards that were in effect for over 15 years.’

Meanwhile, pro-choice groups are maintaining that mifepristone is a safe and critical drug in the post-Roe landscape of reproductive health.

‘Decades of research and clinical experience have demonstrated that mifepristone is extraordinarily safe and effective, including when dispensed by pharmacies or through the mail,’ Rabia Muqaddam, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Fox News Digital. ‘There is no legitimate science disputing this research. Instead, the plaintiffs in the case rely on widely discredited and even retracted research articles and the say-so of anti-abortion zealots.’

Muqaddam added: ‘If the Supreme Court sides with the plaintiffs and their junk science over the FDA and decades of high-quality research, countless people will suffer as will the ability of Americans to access important drug innovations.’

Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson cast the case as a ‘threat’ to women’s rights — and more.

‘Beyond the threat to our fundamental rights, the very existence of this case puts every other FDA-approved medication at risk of being taken off the market or restricted for political reasons,’ Johnson said. ‘That is reason enough to be clear about how serious this case is for the future of sexual and reproductive health care and everything beyond.’