A House Oversight Committee panel is probing accusations that the Biden administration pressured a global medical recommendations body to drop age limit guidelines for transgender care.

‘The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating allegations of political interference by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in third-party medical organization recommendations,’ a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra sent on Tuesday read.

‘We are concerned that HHS officials, acting in their official capacity, inappropriately applied pressure for changes to international pediatric medical standards.’

The letter was written by Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., chair of the subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services. She cited a June 2024 New York Times report that the administration pressed the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to remove its age limit recommendations for transgender youth surgeries because it ‘could fuel growing political opposition to such treatments.’

The pressure campaign was led by the staff of HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman, according to the report.

‘Officials applied this inappropriate pressure by urging for the removal of age limits that expands the pool of children and adolescents recommended for irreversible gender transition surgical procedures. The Committee requests documents and information from HHS to assist our investigation of this matter,’ McClain wrote.

‘The Biden Administration’s advocacy for expanding the pool of vulnerable children subjected to life-altering procedures they may later regret is reprehensible. Emails indicating that this advocacy was done for political advantage – possibly to satisfy extremist elements of its base – is even more outrageous.’

The topic of transgender medical care, particularly for minors, has been a political lightening rod in recent years.

Backlash over the Times report prompted the White House to say it did not support gender-affirming surgery for minors. 

However, the White House later altered its response after backlash from progressive groups, telling 19th News that such surgeries ‘should be limited to adults,’ but, ‘We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care, and respect the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions.’

The 2021 medical guidelines at the heart of McClain’s Tuesday letter initially recommended lowering the acceptable age for transgender hormone therapy to 14, the age for mastectomies to 15 and 17 years for genital or hysterectomy procedures.

However, those limits were dropped from the final version of those recommendations, according to the Times.

In the outlet’s story, WPATH President Dr. Marci Bowers rejected accusations that the change was politically motivated. Bowers said ‘the politics were already evident’ and said the body ‘doesn’t look at politics when making a decision.’

Nevertheless, the subcommittee demanded that HHS turn over all relevant documents and communications by Sept. 10, and warned the department not to obstruct the probe.

‘Under your purview, HHS has not cooperated in good faith with the Committee’s oversight of HHS and its subagencies, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,’ the letter to Becerra said. 

‘It is unacceptable for HHS to interfere with congressional investigations by refusing and delaying cooperation with the Committee’s oversight.’

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS and the White House for comment but did not receive a response by press time. 

More than 200 Republicans who previously worked for former President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., or Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, penned an open letter Monday endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

The cohort of Republican officials, which also includes a handful of aides to former President George H.W. Bush, previously sought to rally voters against former President Donald Trump in 2020. In their letter, the GOP officials singled out ‘moderate Republicans and conservative independents,’ calling on them to vote for Harris.

‘Four years ago, President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, and then-Gov. Mitt Romney alumni came together to warn fellow Republicans that re-electing President Trump would be a disaster for our nation. In those declarations we stated the plain truth, each predicting that another four years of a Trump presidency would irreparably damage our beloved democracy,’ stated the letter, published Monday by USA Today.

‘We reunite today, joined by new George H.W. Bush alumni, to reinforce our 2020 statements and, for the first time, jointly declare that we’re voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz this November,’ the letter continued. ‘Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.’

Monday’s big endorsement from GOP officials follows a separate endorsement released late last week from a dozen Republican White House lawyers who served under former President Ronald Reagan, as well as under both Bush administrations. Similar to the Monday endorsement, Republican officials argued that returning to a Trump administration ‘would threaten democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country.’

The Monday letter included nearly 240 signatures. It described Trump’s leadership as ‘chaotic’ and implied the former president wants to advance the goals of Project 2025 – a Republican blueprint for a potential GOP administration. Trump, however, has repeatedly sought to distance himself from the presidential transition blueprint, including during his recent visit to the southern border.

‘They’ve been told officially, legally, in every way, that we have nothing to do with Project 25,’ Trump said, according to NPR. ‘They know it, but they bring it up anyway. They bring up every single thing that you can bring up. Every one of them was false.’

Meanwhile, the Monday endorsement letter also charges Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, with ‘kowtow[ing]’ to dictators, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, while ‘turning their backs’ on U.S. allies. 

‘We can’t let that happen,’ the officials wrote. 

‘We know now, thanks to exit polling and voter data, that it was moderate Republicans and conservative independents in key swing states that ultimately delivered the presidency to Joe Biden,’ the open letter concluded. ‘We’re heartfully calling on these friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family members to take a brave stand once more, to vote for leaders that will strive for consensus, not chaos; that will work to unite, not divide; that will make our country and our children proud.’

In response to the letter, Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung said, ‘It’s hilarious because nobody knows who these people are. They would rather see the country burn down than to see President Trump successfully return to the White House to Make America Great Again.’

One more Israeli hostage has been rescued.

The Israel Defense Force and Israel Security Agency announced Tuesday that another hostage taken during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack has been rescued.

‘The IDF and ISA have rescued Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Gaza where he was held hostage, and brought him to his family in Israel. This operation was part of the IDF’s daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza strip,’ said Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

‘This operation joins a series of actions taken by the IDF that bring us closer to achieving the goals of this war,’ Gallant continued. ‘I would like to reiterate and emphasize: Israel is committed to taking advantage of every opportunity to return the hostages home to Israel.’

Qaid Farhan Alkadi from Rahat was reportedly rescued by a mixed company of Israeli combatants, including members of the 401st Brigade, 162nd Division, and Shayetet 13.

Members of the engineering combat spec-ops unit Yahalom and intelligence operatives from the Israel Security Agency also contributed to the rescue.

Alkadi, 52, has been held in the Gaza Strip for almost a year. No further details are being made available on the nature of the rescue operation, ‘due to considerations of the safety of our hostages, the security of our forces, and national security.’

He is currently being held in the hospital for medical care and is undergoing extensive health checks. He is in stable condition.

Alkadi’s family has been alerted to his recovery and are being accompanied by IDF personnel to meet with him.

Following the rescue of Alkadi, 108 Israeli hostages remain under terrorists’ control in the Gaza Strip. 36 are confirmed dead.

The vast majority were taken during the Oct. 7 attack last year and have been held for over 320 days.

Fox News Digital’s Yonat Friling contributed to this report.

There are 70 days until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

But if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Early voting starts as soon as Sept. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending out ballots to at least some voters the same month.

It makes the next few months less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of ‘election season.’

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between ‘early in-person’ and ‘mail’ or ‘absentee’ voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is , where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is , where the process and eligibility varies by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail voting, or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with seven more battleground states starting that month

This list of early voting dates is for guidance only. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

The first voters to be sent absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which begins mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6.

Seven more battleground states open up early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.

September deadlines

In-person early voting in bold.

Sept. 6

North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters

Sept. 16

Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters

Sept. 17

Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 19

Wisconsin – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 20

Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
Minnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting begins
Virginia – In-person early voting begins
Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 21

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
Indiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sent
Maryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 23

Mississippi – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
Oregon, Vermont – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 26

Illinois – In-person early voting begins 
Michigan – Absentee ballots sent
Florida, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent
North Dakota – Absentee & mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 30

Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 4

Connecticut – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 6

Michigan – In-person early voting begins 
Maine – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
California – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
Montana – In-person absentee voting begins
Nebraska – In-person early voting begins 
Georgia – Absentee ballots sent
Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 8

California – Ballot drop-offs open
New Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting begins
Indiana – In-person early voting begins
Wyoming – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent

Oct. 9

Arizona – In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 11

Colorado – Mail-in ballots sent
Arkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 15

Georgia – In-person early voting begins
Utah – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 16

Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting begins
Iowa – In-person absentee voting begins
Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 17

North Carolina – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 18

Washington, Louisiana – In-person early voting begins
Hawaii – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 19

Nevada, Massachusetts – In-person early voting begins 
Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins 
Colorado – Ballot drop-offs open

Oct. 22

Hawaii, Utah – In-person early voting begins 
Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 23

West Virginia – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 24

Maryland – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 25

Delaware – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 26

Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 30

Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 31

Kentucky – In-person absentee voting begins