Former Vice President Mike Pence sent letters to pro-life Republican National Convention delegates who worked to amplify pro-life issues on the GOP’s 2024 platform that ultimately softened its language on abortion.

‘As you battled to restore the pro-life platform, you were an inspiration to millions of pro-life Americans, who remain profoundly disappointed by the Republican Party’s decision to water down the previously strong pro-life platform for political expediency,’ Pence wrote in the Tuesday letters. 

‘While we ultimately fell short in our noble effort to restore the historic pro-life principles included in the 2016 and 2020 platforms, we did so with moral clarity and compassion about advancing the cause of life,’ he continued in a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital. 

The GOP platform this election cycle notably only mentions abortion once, instead focusing on the preservation of life and returning power to the states when developing laws surrounding abortion. In 2016, when Pence ran as Trump’s running mate, the GOP platform used the word ‘abortion’ 35 times. 

The softening of language surrounding abortion this year sparked some condemnation from those in the pro-life movement, including Pence. 

‘Now is not the time to surrender any ground in the fight for the right to life. The 2024 platform removed historic pro-life principles that have long been the foundation of the platform. I urge delegates attending next week’s Republican Convention to restore language to our party’s platform recognizing the sanctity of human life and affirming that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed,’ Pence said earlier this month when the draft of the GOP platform first surfaced. 

Advancing American Freedom, a nonprofit founded by Pence that advocates for conservative values and policy proposals, had urged conservatives and delegates earlier this year to ‘remain vigilant in defense of a strong conservative platform,’ including on abortion. 

Fox News Digital spoke with Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, who chaired the Republican National Committee’s Platform Committee, earlier this month when the platform’s draft was first released. Blackburn said when crafting the platform, committee members had to take into account the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ended the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion, and ruled that individual states have the power to allow, limit or ban abortion procedures. 

‘And so, having as we do with all other issues, whether it’s defending religious liberty, or protecting free speech, or working to end the gender insanity – this left-wing gender insanity – and protecting our rights and freedoms. What the platform says is we proudly stand for families and for life.’

Trump has also repeatedly hammered that he believes abortion laws and issues should be left up to the states. The DNC has, meanwhile, attacked Trump and Republicans as working to ban abortion federally if the 45th president is re-elected. 

‘Donald Trump said himself there’s a ‘vital role for the federal government’ in banning abortion, and then proudly chose JD Vance as his running mate – a man who has repeatedly supported national abortion bans and even admitted he wants abortion to be ‘illegal nationally.’ If given the chance, Trump and Vance will enact their dangerous Project 2025 agenda to ban abortion nationwide with or without Congress, threaten access to IVF and contraception, and strip away our fundamental rights,’ DNC spokesperson Aida Ross said in a statement Monday. 

Pence continued in his letter to pro-life delegates that he is ‘proud to play an important role in the most pro-life administration in American history,’ touting that ‘we sent Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history and advanced the cause of life wherever and however we could.’

‘Today, we see an America led by the most extreme pro-abortion administration in American history. Yet Republicans seemingly insist that we retreat rather than courageously advance the cause of life,’ he continued. 

The GOP platform was officially adopted by the party last week during the RNC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and pledges to enact policies that would seal the border and end the ‘migrant invasion,’ end inflation, prevent ‘World War Three’ and unite the U.S. ‘by bringing it to new and record levels of success.’ 

‘The Republican Party must return to being the party of life. We must not rest or relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the center of American law in every state in our land. With pro-life voices like yours, I have no doubt that one day life will win again. Generations born and unborn deserve nothing less,’ Pence continued in his letter to pro-life delegates. 

‘The fight for life is not over. And we will win in this great campaign. So help us God.’

Former President Trump reacted to the news of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigning in the wake of the assassination attempt against him, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that ‘she never gave me proper protection.’ 

Cheatle resigned Tuesday morning amid pressure from Republican and Democrat lawmakers amid scrutiny over the massive security failure that led to the shooting at the Butler, Pa. Trump rally earlier this month. 

Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear.

The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others. 

‘She never gave me proper protection, so I ended up having to take a bullet for democracy,’ Trump told Fox News Digital Tuesday after she resigned. 

‘Many requests were made by on-site Secret Service for more people, always with a turn down or no response,’ Trump said. ‘I have the biggest crowds in history, and they should be treated accordingly.’

Trump told Fox News Digital, though, that ‘big improvements have been made over the last week.’

Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, just a day after she testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday and over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13. 

‘To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,’ Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. ‘On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.’ 

Cheatle said that the ‘scrutiny’ over the last week ‘has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.’ 

‘As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,’ she wrote. 

‘In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,’ Cheatle wrote. 

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security for the Trump rally on July 13. 

Former President Trump said he had ‘automatic chemistry’ with his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, in a Fox News interview on Monday.

Trump dismissed the pair’s past disagreements as a misunderstanding before they got to know each other, saying Vance is now among his strongest allies.

‘Originally, JD was probably not for me, but he didn’t know me,’ Trump said in the ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ interview. ‘And then when we got to know each other, he liked me maybe more than anybody liked me.’

The former president continued, ‘And he would stick up for me. And he’d fight for the worker as much as I fight for the worker. We just had an automatic chemistry.’

Vance was an early critic of Trump in 2016, when the former president was campaigning to eventually beat Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. 

At the time, Vance had dismissed Trump as ‘cultural heroin’ who was leading the disenfranchised working class into a ‘very dark place.’

Private text messages leaked by Vance’s former roommate show him calling Trump a ‘cynical’ leader and wondering if he would be ‘America’s Hitler.’

Vance’s stance began to shift while Trump was in office, which the Ohio senator said proved many of his assumptions wrong.

Vance told Fox in 2021 that he would never deny having been anti-Trump going into his first administration but that he was happy to have been proven wrong.

‘I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy,’ Vance said. ‘I think he was a good president, I think he made a lot of good decisions for people, and I think he took a lot of flak.’

Trump endorsed Vance for the Senate in his successful 2022 campaign, further solidifying their alliance.

‘I was wrong about him,’ Vance told CNN in May. ‘I didn’t think he was going to be a good president. And I was very, very proud to be proven wrong. It’s one of the reasons why I’m working so hard to get him elected.’

In the recent interview with Watters, Trump offered specific praise for Vance’s 2016 memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ which shed light on the struggles of the White underclass in the U.S. – the world in which Vance grew up.

‘It was all about the working men and women and how they aren’t being treated fairly. And he was right about that,’ Trump said. ‘And I understood that maybe better than anyone else. And we just have had a great relationship. And he had serious competition.’

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned Tuesday in the wake of mounting pressure following the assassination attempt on former President Trump, Fox News confirmed. 

Fox News reviewed the letter Cheatle sent to the U.S. Secret Service Tuesday morning, just a day after she testified before the House Oversight Committee Monday and over a week after a would-be assassin Thomas Crooks attempted to take the life of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pa. on July 13. 

‘To the Men and Women of the U.S. Secret Service, The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure,’ Cheatle wrote in a letter to the agency. ‘On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.’ 

Cheatle said that the ‘scrutiny’ over the last week ‘has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases.’ 

‘As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,’ she wrote. 

Cheatle said, though, that the ‘incident does not define us.’ 

‘We remain an organization based on integrity and staffed by individuals of exceptional dedication and talent,’ she wrote, adding that the agency ‘will move forward with our investigatory and protective mission in a steadfast manner.’ 

‘We do not retreat from challenge,’ she wrote. ‘However, I do not want my calls for resignation to be a distraction from the great work each and every one of you do towards our vital mission.’ 

Cheatle said that when she got the call asking whether she would return to the Secret Service after her brief retirement from the agency, she said she ‘did not hesitate.’ 

‘I love this agency, our mission, and the great men and woken who sacrifice so much every day,’ she wrote. ‘I have, and will always, put the needs of this agency first.’ 

‘In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,’ Cheatle wrote. 

Cheatle reflected on her career, reminding that she served as a special agent for 27 years, securing events for then-First Lady Hillary Clinton; worked as a supervisor on then-Vice President Dick Cheney’s detail; supervised then-Vice President Biden’s detail; lead RTC and more–including ‘overseeing the agency’s protective mission under the Trump Administration as AD-OPO.’ 

‘As I stated in the hearing yesterday, all of you are worthy of trust and confidence,’ Cheatle wrote. ‘You deserve the nation’s support in carrying out our critical mission.’

Cheatle said ‘one of my favorite things about this workforce is that the men and women are fiercely committed to our mission.’ 

‘Thank you for all that you do, and will continue to do, for our great nation,’ she wrote, signing the letter ‘kac.’ 

Trump, during his rally, ever-so-slightly turned his head—narrowly missing the bullet shot by 20-year-old suspect Crooks’ AR-15-style rifle by just a quarter of an inch. The bullet hit him, instead, in his upper right ear.

The bullet killed firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore as he protected his family from the shots, and severely injured two others. 

Cheatle admitted under oath that the Secret Service ‘on July 13th, we failed.’ 

‘As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse of our agency,’ she said. ‘We must learn what happened and I will move heaven and earth to ensure that an incident like July 13th does not happen again.’ 

Cheatle added: ‘Our agents, officers and support personnel understand that every day we are expected to sacrifice our lives to execute a no fail mission.’

House Republicans, including House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, had been calling on Cheatle to resign, calling her and the agency under her watch ‘the face of incompetence.’ 

‘It is my firm belief, Director Cheatle, that you should resign,’ Comer said during the hearing. ‘The safety of Secret Service protectees is not based on their political affiliation. And the bottom line is that under Director Cheatle’s leadership, we question whether anyone is safe.’ 

But Cheatle had defied those calls for days, maintaining she would not tender her resignation, and instead appeared before Congress to answer questions for the American people. 

Cheatle’s initial explanation of why there was such a significant security lapse that led to the near assassination of Trump included details about the roof Crooks was perched upon. 

‘That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,’ Cheatle said last week. ‘And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside.’ 

During the hearing, Cheatle said the Secret Service is ‘still looking into the advanced process and the decision made’ as to why an agent wasn’t positioned on top of the roof that Crooks used to fire at former President Trump.

‘The building was outside of the perimeter on the day of the visit. But again, that is one of the things that during the investigation, we want to take a look at and determine whether or not other decisions should have been made,’ she said. 

She added that ‘I’m not going to get into the specifics of the numbers of personnel that we had there, but we feel that there was a sufficient number of agents assigned’ to the event.

Trump’s security detail reportedly asked for additional security from the Secret Service, repeatedly, but those requests were not met. 

The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security for the Trump rally on July 13. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Vice President Kamala Harris declined to preside over a Wednesday joint address to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu because she will be in Indiana for an event that was previously scheduled, per an aide. 

Harris, who on Monday became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president following President Biden’s campaign suspension, will not be in attendance at the address and will not preside. 

With Harris’s absence, the task ordinarily would fall to Senate President pro tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., but Murray reportedly refused to do so – and will instead be boycotting the address.

Efforts made to reach Murray’s office for comment were unsuccessful.  

When Harris’s office was asked if she would have agreed to preside over Netanyahu’s address if she were going to be in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, an aide to the vice president said they would not answer hypothetical questions. 

Netanyahu will be speaking to members of Congress during a joint address on Wednesday after being invited by the bipartisan leaders of both chambers back in May. 

In the absence of both Harris and Murray, the session will instead be presided over by Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., who is retiring after this Congress. 

During the time of Netanyahu’s address, Harris will be attending the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule in Indianapolis, Ind., which is a biennial international conference, per a White House official. 

While she won’t be there, an aide emphasized that Harris’ absence and refusal to preside shouldn’t be considered a change to her stance on Israel.

An aide to the vice president told Fox News Digital that she would be meeting with Netanyahu at the White House this week while he is in Washington, D.C. They noted that the meeting is separate from Biden’s planned meeting with the prime minister. 

Harris is expected to reiterate her commitment to Israel’s ability to defend itself from Iran and militias that are backed by the country, such as terrorist groups Hizbullah and Hamas. According to the aide, Harris will once again condemn the Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israeli civilians by Hamas, as well as the sexual violence that took place. 

The vice president will also express her already stated concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where most of the war is taking place. Harris is expected to further convey that the war should end soon and in a way that allows for a secure Israel, the release of all hostages and the restoration of the rights of civilians in Gaza. She will specifically discuss with Netanyahu efforts to reach a deal for a ceasefire.