Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is planning to devote much of his energy in the remaining months of his term as Republican leader, as well as the next few years of his term, to ensuring Ukraine is supported as its war with Russia rages on. 

‘It may not be fashionable now, but I’m a Ronald Reagan Republican: peace through strength,’ the longtime Senate GOP leader said during a speech in Shelbyville, Kentucky, per local outlet the Kentucky Lantern.

McConnell has been a proponent of continued support for Ukraine, even after members of his party began to push back. 

‘Mitch McConnell is a Reagan Republican through and through,’ said Republican strategist Doug Heye. Therefore, its unsurprising that he is ‘standing strong on those principles,’ he said.

But not everyone equates Ukraine support with republicanism in the image of former President Reagan. According to Republican strategist Matt Dole, ‘Reagan republicanism, or any label that is historical in nature, is not driven by one issue or one vote.’

He posited that such labels have been used by some ‘as a way to encourage people to their side.’

‘I don’t think a senator voting for or against aid to the Ukraine takes them closer or further away from the legacy of Ronald Reagan,’ he added. 

Speaking to a local radio station last week, McConnell said Ukraine and preventing Russia’s advances would be ‘the main part of my focus in the coming years.’ 

He said Ukraine’s war presents ‘a worldwide problem for democracies.’ 

‘McConnell understands the long game that Russia is playing,’ explained Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, former top spokesperson to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference. 

According to Grant Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, it’s likely that McConnell ‘really believes in the importance of standing up to Putin and preserving the integrity of Ukraine’s sovereignty, and wants to have that as his ‘last act.” 

At the same time, ‘it would be a moment of statesmanship that would also help frame the way he is remembered’ as McConnell and his generation pass the baton, Reeher said.

McConnell said during his radio interview that Ukraine’s fate is a global issue and that ‘they need our leadership, and we need their partnership.’

He also decried the growing wave of ‘isolationist’ sentiment among his Republican colleagues. He acknowledged his fellow Kentuckian, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., as one of those perpetuating the movement. 

Paul’s office was contacted by Fox News Digital but did not provide comment.

‘A growing number of his colleagues are now looking at Ukraine through a populist outlook of how sending foreign aid abroad helps their constituents back home,’ explained Bonjean. 

However, McConnell’s focus toward Ukraine may be rendered unsuccessful ‘unless there is a concerted effort to make the connection between sending foreign aid to Ukraine and protecting American interests,’ he said.

Without this, the leader’s anti-isolationism campaign may ‘be a losing fight over time.’

Dole also noted the leader’s ‘influence immediately waned upon his announcement that he intended to step down.’ This, in part, will make it hard to unify the conference on ‘an issue that they’ve always disagreed about.’

McConnell revealed his decision to step down from the role of party leader in November after his term in the position ends. His stepping aside presents an opportunity for the Senate GOP to select a new leader and potentially chart a far different path. 

The Kentucky Republican is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, having maintained the title since his election in 2007. 

Dole further disputed the idea that Republicans have shifted toward isolationism, instead suggesting that the divided stances on Ukraine aid represent ‘discernment.’

‘McConnell has earned the right to try to convince the caucus of his position,’ he said, but added, ‘His last battle will be uphill.’

John Mark Hansen, the Charles L. Hutchinson distinguished service professor and interim chair for the department of political science at the University of Chicago, echoed that ‘isolationism never really went away, particularly among the electorate.’

Instead, Hansen said, what has occurred is a Republican retreat from ‘support for NATO and defense against Russian expansionism.’ This is due to former President Trump’s influence, he said.

‘I don’t think it’s something the base feels strongly about,’ he said. Therefore, McConnell is in a better position ‘to make a stand.’

‘He’s not alone. Speaker [Mike] Johnson is clearly willing to take a risk in supporting aid for Ukraine,’ Hansen said. 

‘Isolationism may be en vogue right now, but peace through strength and not abandoning our allies are principles still shared among a lot of the Republican Party, including many of McConnell’s conference colleagues,’ Heye said. 

A $95 billion supplemental bill with aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed the upper chamber in February with 70 votes in support. However, nearly all the 29 votes against the measure were Republicans, highlighting the divided conference.

The Senate minority leader has called on the House to similarly pass the measure.

McConnell’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

By forming the Supreme Court majority that would finally reverse Roe v. Wade and restore the right of the people and their elected representatives to protect unborn children and their mothers in the law, President Trump can truly be called the most consequential pro-life president in history. The role of his leadership in creating the life-saving opportunity the pro-life movement spent 50 years working and praying for will never be forgotten.

Since the 2022 midterms, however, a narrative has taken hold that the life issue costs Republicans elections and is better left to the states, anyway – a narrative that threatens this great accomplishment. With policy platforms suddenly having very real consequences, many candidates became fearful, listened to consultants and opted for the ‘ostrich strategy’ of burying their heads in the sand. These candidates fared badly. The left also struck back and found success in spending massive sums of money to rewrite the constitutions in pro-life states, leaving pro-life advocates outgunned on resources.

Now, in the midst of the 2024 campaign, President Trump’s long-awaited announcement of his stance tragically pigeonholes abortion as a matter of states’ rights. It has met with disappointment from the pro-life community and the millions of Americans who are looking for a national leader who can build consensus and stand up to the pro-abortion extremism of Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.

It would be a disaster to cede a winnable fight to Biden and the radically pro-abortion Democrats, who unapologetically push their extreme agenda on every American. We can’t quit working to defeat them in the battleground states that will decide control of the White House and Congress, and the SBA Pro-Life America team remains focused on reaching 10 million voters – four million at their doors. As always, the key to changing hearts, minds and votes is contrast with the Democrat Party position of abortion any time for any reason.

The historic Dobbs decision laid the groundwork for protecting women and unborn children from abortion brutality in this country by allowing both states and Congress to act. In response, states across the country have enacted pro-life laws that recognize the dignity of human life in the womb while also guarding the health and safety of women.

At the same time, the national conversation must continue. The geography of where you live shouldn’t determine whether you live. Post-Dobbs, a majority of Americans (seven in ten) support significant limits on painful second and third trimester abortions.  This consensus view is consistent with that of most European nations, with 47 out of 50 limiting abortions by the point when babies can feel excruciating pain. President Trump and the GOP should embrace and fight for this consensus – not abandon the fight nationally. Embracing this position is both smart policy and smart politics.

Biden’s pro-abortion extremism will not stop at state lines. Biden and national Democrats have made it clear that they stand for abortion on demand any time and for any reason, including abortion drugs by mail without so much as a doctor visit. They are already spending millions to fearmonger and lie about the Republican position on abortion, while failing to define any abortion limits of their own.

If Biden and Democrats gain complete control of Washington this November and their extreme abortion policies are enacted in law, state-level protections for life supported by the majority of the people of those states will be wiped out. Moreover, most women who’ve had abortions wish they’d had more help to keep their babies, and many of them suffer in silence – but the Democrats refuse to acknowledge the number of abortions that result from pressure and coercion. If Biden’s abortion-on-demand agenda becomes the law of the land, an even more onerous burden will fall on them and their babies as the Democrats work to shut down pregnancy resource centers and funnel women toward the abortion industry, with its one ‘solution’ to unplanned pregnancy: ending the life of the child.

The lives of countless women and unborn children in this country are at stake, and they are worth fighting for. They deserve national protections and national pro-life leadership, not allowing pro-abortion extremists to determine the direction and future of our country.

The billionaire business mogul who provided former President Donald Trump with the massive bond required to appeal his case in New York says he might not have charged the former head-of-state a good price.

Don Hankey is the chairman of Knight Specialty Insurance, the company that supplied the $175 million bond required by Trump’s New York civil fraud trial.

Hankey told Reuters in an interview that he did not charge Trump a high fee for the financial service, saying he believed it was a small risk.

‘We thought it would be an easy procedure that wouldn’t involve other legal problems and it’s not turning out that way. We probably didn’t charge enough,’ Hankey told the outlet.

The billionaire — who supported Trump in 2016 and is backing his re-election — said he has faced intense scrutiny from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office and other officials.

Hankey told Reuters, ‘We have been getting a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls. Maybe that’s part of the reason he had trouble with other insurance companies.’

‘I’m surprised they’re coming down harder on our bond or looking for reasons to cause issues with our instrument,’ he added.

Trump’s bond was initially set at a staggering $454 million, a value so high he struggled to find firms willing to take on the risk.

Hankey — believed to be worth over $7 billion dollars — approached the Trump campaign about rendering financial services before the bond was reduced to $175 million.

The billionaire said Trump provided collateral for the bond in cash held by a brokerage firm.

‘I don’t know if it came from Donald Trump or from Donald Trump and supporters,’ Hankey said.

Jury selection for the civil fraud trial is expected to begin on April 15.

Independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr.’s recent running mate announcement sparked an onslaught of attacks and a reported internal ‘freak out’ from the once-friendly Democratic Party against what experts tell Fox News Digital is the party’s ‘worst nightmare.’

‘Only in the new Socialist Democratic Party, they should change their name to reflect who they really are now, would the son of Robert F Kennedy and nephew of Democrat icon JFK be forced from the party that has used their name for decades, all because he had the gall to point out the obvious, Joe Biden is not prepared to lead this country for four more years,’ Republican strategist and The Vogel Group principal Matt Keelen told Fox News Digital. 

‘Anyone with eyes knows that as a fact.’

Kennedy, from one of the most recognizable and beloved Democrat families in American history, has found himself one of the most popular targets of the left after announcing his candidacy for president. Less than two weeks ago, Kennedy announced that tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan would be his running mate, sparking a call hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) that many saw as an indicator the party was in panic mode.

‘We are doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris re-elected. It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal. And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F. Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler,’ Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis said on the call. 

Shortly after that, NBC News reported that Democrats are internally ‘freaked out’ over Kennedy’s candidacy as he continues to build momentum and qualify to appear on more state ballots. 

On St. Patrick’s Day, several members of the Kennedy family posted a photo with President Biden at the White House, which many viewed as a move to troll Kennedy Jr. and several Democratic strategists have been active on social media in recent weeks attacking the independent candidate and attempting to tie him to Donald Trump.

Democrat strategist Lis Smith, who helped lead Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign and is consulting for the DNC on the project, set off a storm of X posts and reposts following Kennedy’s Tuesday speech, referring to the candidate as a ‘spoiler,’ and sharing a video where she accused Shanahan of buying her inclusion on the ticket by donating millions to boost Kennedy before she was named his running mate.

Recent polls have shown Kennedy, Stein and independent candidate Dr. Cornel West would pull significant support from both Biden and Trump, but with Biden appearing to be at risk of losing the most potential votes.

Keelen pointed to the Biden administration’s denial to providing RFK Jr. with Secret Service protection as another example of how far out of favor Kennedy has fallen with the Democratic Party. 

‘RFK jr was run out of the party by the DNC that rigged yet another primary election – see 2016 – for Hillary, 2020 for Joe, 2024 for Joe again,’ Keelen said. ‘President Biden and his team have also acted shamefully in not granting Secret Service protection to Kennedy despite growing threats and the fact that both of his relatives were gun downed by mad men. Absolutely unbelievable.’

Experts told Fox News Digital the effort to keep Kennedy, who is now running as an independent, out of the Democratic primary and off the ballot as a third party candidate is at odds with their stated goal of protecting democracy. 

‘So much for the party that says it is defending democracy,’ Marc Lotter, former special assistant to the president and former director of strategic communications for Trump’s 2020 campaign, told Fox News Digital. ‘What Democrats are doing to RFK is no different than what they are doing through the courts and radical election officials to target Donald Trump.’

‘Since Democrats can’t win on Joe Biden’s policy, and they can’t win on Joe Biden’s record, they have to stack the deck by giving Americans fewer choices at the ballot box,’ Lotter added. ‘There is simply no depth that Democrats won’t sink to in their quest to keep power.’

David Avella, GOP strategist and GOPAC chairman, told Fox News Digital part of the reason Democrats are worried about Kennedy is that demographics inside the Democratic Party that have been turning away from Biden are gravitating toward Kennedy’s positions.

‘The ghosts of Ralph Nader and Jill Stein’s past presidential candidacies have Democrats convinced they must prevent third-party candidates from being on general election ballot,’ Avella said. 

‘President Biden and Democrats have taken for granted young voters, self-described moderates and minorities to the point that they are at the center of Kennedy’s base of support. Thus, Kennedy being on the ballot in MI, WI, PA, GA and AZ is the Democrats’ worst nightmare and why they are attempting to undercut democracy and select who is on general election ballot.’

Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report

Former President Trump announced on Monday his position on whether abortion should be banned, following months of not taking a stance on the combustible and crucial issue in his 2024 rematch with President Biden.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee took to his social media platform on Sunday night to say that he would issue a statement on ‘abortion and abortion rights.’ In video posted hours later on early Monday morning, Trump explicitly affirmed his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and he emphasized his support for states determining their own laws for abortion so long as there are exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

‘The states will determine by vote, or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land – in this case, the law of the state,’ Trump said. Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks…at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people.’

The former president told reporters last week at a campaign stop in Michigan that he would make a statement in the coming week, after he was asked about his home state of Florida’s controversial six-week abortion ban, which will soon be going into effect.

Trump in his video reiterated that he was proud of the role he played in overturning Roe v. Wade, saying legal scholars on ‘both sides’ had been in favor of the move.

‘The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies. IVF is an important part of that,’ Trump said.

A leading anti-abortion group wasn’t pleased with Trump’s announcement.

Majorie Dannenfelser, President of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life, said she was ‘deeply disappointed’ by Trump’s announcement on Monday, arguing his statement was a victory for Democrats.

‘Saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy,’ Dannenfelser emphasized. ‘If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.’

Also taking aim at Trump was his two-time running mate, former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, charged that ‘Trump’s retreat on the Right to Life is a slap in the face to the millions of pro-life Americans who voted for him in 2016 and 2020.’ 

The blockbuster move nearly two years ago by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which had allowed for legalized abortions nationwide, moved the divisive issue back to the states.

And it’s forced Republicans to play plenty of defense in elections across the country, as a party that’s nearly entirely ‘pro-life’ has had to deal with an electorate where a majority of Americans support at least some form of abortion access.

In the wake of the Supreme Court move, Republican-dominated states have implemented a new wave of restrictions on abortion, including Florida’s six-week ban.

As Democrats target Trump and other Republicans over the divisive issue, the former president has tried to thread the needle on abortion.

As he did on Monday, Trump regularly takes credit on the campaign trail for appointing the Supreme Court associate who overturned Roe v. Wade and touts that he’s the ‘most pro-life president in American history.’

But he has also repeatedly criticized fellow Republicans for taking a hard-line stance on the issue, blaming candidates who did not allow for exceptions in cases of rape, incest and when the life of the pregnant person is at risk, for the GOP’s setbacks in the 2022 midterm elections.

‘A lot of politicians who are pro-life do not know how to discuss this topic and they lose their election. We had a lot of election losses because of this, because they didn’t know to discuss it. They had no idea,’ he said last year at a leadership summit of the Concerned Women of America.

Until his announcement, Trump had for over a year declined to spell out when in a pregnancy he would push to ban abortions. 

Trump recently suggested in a WABC radio interview that he was considering a 15-wee ban, saying ‘the number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that.’

‘It’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hard-liners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at,’ he emphasized.

But he also said multiple times that rather than implementing a federal ban, the issue should stay in the states.

‘Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,’ Trump said.

And Trump has also said that if elected he would ‘come together with all groups’ to negotiate something that would ‘make both sides happy.’

But anything less than a total ban would likely anger anti-abortion hardliners in his own party. And any type of ban would also infuriate many in the abortion rights movement.

Polling has consistently shown that most Americans believe abortion should be legal through the initial stages of pregnancy.

And a recent Fox News poll indicated that nearly two-thirds of voters support a nationwide law guaranteeing access to legal abortion. According to the survey, most Democrats (89%) and two-thirds (65%) of independents favor a national law, while just over half of Republicans are against it (53%). 

That same poll found that in just the past year, support for a 15-week ban dropped by 12 points, with 54 percent of voters now opposed.

President Biden, in a statement, argued that ‘Donald Trump made it clear once again today that he is – more than anyone in America – the person responsible for ending Roe v. Wade.

And the president reiterated his ballot box warning that ‘Trump and all those responsible for overturning Roe don’t have a clue about the power of women in America. But they are about to find out.’

House Republicans are gearing up to rebuke President Biden’s harsher stance on Israel this week after the Democratic commander-in-chief signaled he could condition the Middle Eastern ally’s aid on how it treats civilians in Gaza.

The House will vote this week on a resolution titled, ‘Opposing efforts to place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza,’ according to the House Minority Whip’s Office.

The GOP-led bill specifically targets President Biden’s recent conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which the White House said Biden called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, citing humanitarian concerns.

It also criticizes the Biden administration for the U.S. failing to veto a recent United Nations Security Council resolution demanding a pause in the fighting.

The legislative text asserts that Israel ‘has a right to self-defense’ after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants in which more than 1,000 Israelis – mainly civilians – were brutally killed.

The resolution says the U.S. House ‘stands with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.’

It is not immediately clear when this week the resolution, led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., will get a vote. She told Fox News Digital, ‘I reject President Biden pressuring Israel to a one-sided ceasefire as Israel nears victory over Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The quickest way to improve conditions and provide effective humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip is a total Israeli victory over Hamas to pave the way for a return to peace.’

However, it draws a stark contrast between how Republicans and Democrats are approaching the increasingly fraught conflict.

Some Democrats are likely to support the measure, but the issue of Israel has continued to drive a wedge through the party. Members on the left, including Biden allies, have grown steadily more critical of Israel’s response to the invasion.

The country’s ground invasion and bombardment of Gaza has resulted in more than 30,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. 

Outrage from the left reached a fever pitch last week when seven humanitarian aid workers linked to World Central Kitchen were killed in an airstrike by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) after delivering food in central Gaza.

The IDF fired two officers after investigating the incident, which Netanyahu said was ‘unintentional.’

Still, it was followed by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leading more than 30 Democrats in a letter to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on them to ‘reconsider’ a recent arms sale to Israel ‘in light of this incident.’

‘We also urge you to withhold these transfers if Israel fails to sufficiently mitigate harm to innocent civilians in Gaza, including aid workers, and if it fails to facilitate – or arbitrarily denies or restricts – the transport and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza,’ the letter said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the resolution.

A top Republican senator and Trump-endorser is among those criticizing the former president over his Monday announcement on abortion, in which he claimed restrictions on the procedure should be decided by individual states. 

‘I respectfully disagree with President Trump’s statement that abortion is a states’ rights issue,’ Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in a statement on Monday morning. 

Trump made his much-anticipated announcement in a video the same day, stating his belief that the states should legislate their own limitations on abortion rather than the federal government. 

‘The states will determine by vote, or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land – in this case, the law of the state,’ he said in a video on Truth Social. ‘Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks…at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people.’

This was shot down by Graham, who claimed, ‘The states’ rights only rationale today runs contrary to an American consensus that would limit late-term abortions and will age about as well as the Dred Scott decision.’

‘The science is clear – a child at fifteen weeks is well-developed and is capable of feeling pain.’

Trump responded to Graham’s statement on Truth Social, claiming the senator ‘is doing a great disservice to the Republican Party, and to our Country.’

The former president said Graham may not understand that ‘the Radical Left Democrats, who are destroying our Country, will never approve anything that he or the Republicans want.’

‘Many Good Republicans lost Elections because of this Issue, and people like Lindsey Graham, that are unrelenting, are handing Democrats their dream of the House, Senate, and perhaps even the Presidency…,’ Trump continued. 

Other GOP lawmakers responded differently than Graham. Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus, told Fox News Digital in a statement, ‘Regarding a national ban on abortion, I agree with President Trump.’

‘As a pro-life conservative, I do not support abortion but I believe the Supreme Court made it clear that the Constitution protects the right of states to determine their own policies,’ he said. 

Similarly, former House Freedom Caucus Chair and Trump ally Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital, ‘The U.S. Supreme Court ensured that states can now make decisions regarding abortion and I support the court’s decision. The radical Left demands absolutely no limit on how or when pre-born babies can be aborted and who pays for it.’

A spokesperson for Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said, ‘We support President Trump’s statement today. We believe wholeheartedly in protecting IVF, protecting exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother, and today abortion is left to the states. That is the law of the land.’

Republican responses to Trump’s announcement were limited, continuing a pattern of apprehension when it comes to commenting on abortion, an issue that’s been a political lightening rod since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

In an effort to harness frustration over the matter, President Biden’s campaign and Democrats across the country have argued that Republicans would usher in a national ban on abortion if they re-gain power. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement, ‘Let’s wait a few weeks and see what his new position will be,’ referencing Trump’s previous back-and-forth over the issue and his stance on federal policy to address it. 

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who faces a competitive election this year in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin, slammed Trump following his video. ‘Millions of women across Wisconsin have lost the freedom to control their own bodies because of Donald Trump and Eric Hovde,’ she said in a statement released by her campaign.

‘Today, we heard it loud and clear: if Donald Trump is President and Eric Hovde is elected to the U.S. Senate, they will ensure abortion is illegal for women across our state. While they run to restrict our rights, I will never stop fighting to restore and protect our freedoms,’ she said. 

While Trump said he did not support a federal restriction on abortion, Baldwin’s campaign pointed out that the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which Trump took credit for, allowed a restriction on the procedure in Wisconsin from 1849 to go into effect. 

‘Montanans of all stripes don’t want the federal government telling them what to do, and they don’t want politicians or judges stripping away their personal freedoms,’ said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in a statement to Fox News Digital. Tester similarly faces a competitive re-election race come November. 

‘While politicians in Montana are actively working to ban abortion in our state, I will always fight to protect Montana women’s freedom to make their own health care decisions,’ he said.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the No. 3 House Democrat, told Fox News Digital, ‘Here’s the truth: Donald Trump masterminded the end of Roe v. Wade. He’s the reason millions of women are suffering under cruel abortion bans, and he’s the reason American women now have less freedom than their grandmothers.’

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., suggested in a post on X that Trump’s words were not trustworthy, reacting to the video. 

‘An old saying goes: ‘watch what they do, not what they say,” he wrote. 

‘He’d sign a national abortion ban into law—no matter how much he tries to deny it,’ Kaine added. 

‘Donald Trump has signaled that by leaving abortion up to the states, he endorses draconian laws like Florida’s recent 6 week abortion ban, or Alabama’s Supreme Court’s decision that would outlaw IVF,’ Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., author of Women’s Health Protection Act, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

In a recent March Fox News Poll, 65% of all voters said they supported legalizing abortion nationwide, including 42% of Republicans and 65% of independents. 

The Justice Department will not produce subpoenaed audio recordings of former Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden to House Republicans, putting Attorney General Merrick Garland at risk of being held in contempt of Congress. 

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have threatened to hold Garland in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department’s failure to produce the records. Last month, they set Monday, April 8, as the deadline for Garland to comply. 

The Justice Department did meet the GOP-imposed deadline to respond but notified lawmakers it would not turn over the audio files of Hur’s interview about Biden’s alleged improper retention of classified documents from his time as a senator and vice president.

‘The Department is concerned that the Committees’ particular focus on continuing to demand information that is cumulative of information we already gave you — what the President and Mr. Hur’s team said in the interview indicates that the Committees’ interests may not be in receiving information in service of legitimate oversight or investigatory functions, but to serve political purposes that should have no role in the treatment of law enforcement files,’ Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte wrote in a letter to Jordan and Comer Monday. 

The Justice Department did agree to turn over some other materials, such as a transcript of an interview with Mark Zwonitzer, Biden’s ghostwriter. 

But Comer and Jordan last month warned Garland that if he did not turn over the audio recordings, the ‘committees will consider taking further action, such as the invocation of contempt of Congress proceedings.’

Comer and Jordan subpoenaed the Justice Department for a transcript of Hur’s interview with Biden and audio recordings. 

Just hours before Hur was scheduled to testify publicly last month, the DOJ produced for the committees two redacted transcripts of Hur’s interviews with Biden. 

The Justice Department did not, however, produce the audio recordings of the interviews. Comer and Jordan said the committees ‘specifically prioritized’ the production of those audio recordings. 

‘The Biden Administration does not get to determine what Congress needs and does not need for its oversight of the executive branch. It’s curious the Biden Administration is refusing to release the audio of President Biden’s interview with the Special Counsel after releasing the transcript,’ Comer said in a statement Monday evening. ‘Why shouldn’t the American people be able to hear the actual audio of his answers? The American people demand transparency from their leaders, not obstruction.’ 

Comer said his committee will ‘continue to work with the Judiciary Committee to obtain the information needed for our investigation of President Biden’s willful retention of classified documents.’ 

‘We will respond to the Justice Department soon,’ he said. 

Meanwhile, Comer and Jordan subpoenaed Mark Zwonitzer last month. The subpoena compels Zwonitzer to turn over all documents and communications with Biden or his staff related to his ghostwriting work on Biden’s memoirs ‘Promise Me, Dad’ and ‘Promises to Keep,’ including emails, call logs and more. 

The subpoena also compels Zwonitzer to turn over all contracts and agreements related to his work, along with audio recordings of interviews and conversations with Biden and transcripts of those conversations and interviews. 

The president has said that he did not share classified information with Zwonitzer, but Hur’s report states that Biden would ‘read from his notebooks nearly verbatim, sometimes for an hour or more at a time,’ and ‘at least three times President Biden read classified notes from national security meetings’ to Zwonitzer ‘nearly verbatim.’ 

Hur testified last month that Zwonitzer ‘slid’ files of audio recordings and transcripts of conversations with Biden ‘into his recycle bin on his computer’ upon learning that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate the matter.

Jordan, during Hur’s public hearing, asked whether the ghostwriter tried to ‘destroy the evidence.’ 

‘Correct,’ Hur testified.

Hur, who released his report to the public in February after months of investigation, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents — and stated that he would not bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office. 

Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated ‘sensitive intelligence sources and methods.’ 

Hur, in his report, described Biden as a ‘sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory’ – a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.

Conservative groups backing former president Donald Trump in his re-election bid say they are ‘deeply disappointed’ with his official position on abortion unveiled Monday, but it won’t deter their support in November.

The former president and presumptive GOP nominee in a video posted on Truth Social Monday morning said he cemented his position on the controversial issue, saying that abortion access should be a states’ issue and didn’t endorse a national, federal limitation — like a 15-week ban. 

Pro-life interest groups who have endorsed Trump expressed disappointment at his announcement, but it appears unlikely to sway their support in consideration of Trump’s overall stance compared to Biden’s extreme abortion policy.  

‘The reality of a stark choice between President Biden who supports abortion: any number, any reason, up until birth, all paid for by the taxpayer and President Trump: who gave us three Constitutionalist justices, 220 lower court judges, appointees who support life and the overturn of Roe v. Wade has my endorsement and support in November for President,’ said Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America (CWA), who said she ‘favors federal limits on abortion.’ 

Trump explicitly affirmed his support for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and emphasized his support for states determining their own laws for abortion so long as there are exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

‘The Republican Party should always be on the side of the miracle of life and the side of mothers, fathers and their beautiful babies. IVF is an important part of that,’ Trump said.

‘The states will determine by vote, or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land — in this case, the law of the state,’ Trump said. Many states will be different. Many states will have a different number of weeks… at the end of the day it is all about the will of the people.’

Trump reiterated that he was proud of the role he played in overturning Roe v. Wade, saying legal scholars on ‘both sides’ had been in favor of the move.

Which is true— even late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said of the ruling that ‘doctrinal limbs too swiftly shaped, experience teaches, may prove unstable.’

Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said while they are ‘deeply disappointed’ in Trump’s position, the group will ‘work tirelessly to defeat President Biden and extreme congressional Democrats.’

‘Unborn children and their mothers deserve national protections and national advocacy from the brutality of the abortion industry,’ she said. ‘The Dobbs decision clearly allows both states and Congress to act.’

She added that ‘saying the issue is ‘back to the states’ cedes the national debate to the Democrats who are working relentlessly to enact legislation mandating abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. If successful, they will wipe out states’ rights.’

Since the Dobbs decision, factions in both parties in Congress have pushed legislation to address abortion. Some in the GOP camp seeking a 15-week limitation, and some Democrats on the other side of the aisle wishing to ‘codify’ Roe v. Wade with virtually limitless abortion access nationwide. 

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, said ‘there remains an urgent need to advocate for the unborn at the federal level.’ 

She noted that Democrats recently tried to enact federal legislation like ‘the deceptively titled Women’s Health Protection Act which would cancel every states’ ability to limit abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, and erases existing pro-life protections for vulnerable women and children nationwide.’ 

Trump’s position aligns with what more libertarian-leaning groups have endorsed in favor of federalism following the fall of Roe.

Jeffrey Miron, vice president of research at the Cato Institute, wrote in July of 2022 that ‘under the Libertarian Land approach, each state chooses its own policies, which allows for variety and experimentation; more importantly, it avoids the coercion implicit in a federal approach. Everyone can try to influence policy in their own state, or move.’

‘A key aspect of federalism is that its policy implications align imperfectly with both liberal and conservative views. Thus both perspectives will be unhappy, but with more freedom to choose their preferred combination of policies,’ Miron wrote.

‘That is the best way to accommodate the inevitable differences in views on these and other difficult issues,’ he said.

Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said that ‘while federal legislation on abortion policy is challenging at present, we are confident that a Trump administration will be staffed with pro-life personnel committed to pro-life policies, including conscience rights, limits on taxpayer funding of abortion, and protections for pro-life states.’

‘President Trump’s latest statement also reflects the electoral minefield created by Democrat abortion fanaticism. The fact remains that pro-life voters need to win elections to protect mothers and children,’ he said. 

‘Democrats are now preparing a billion-dollar election year barrage with radical abortion as its centerpiece. While Trump did not commit to any specific pro-life policies, he notably will not stand in the way of states that have acted to protect innocent children from the violent abortion industry,’ he added.

‘[N]o woman should face an unexpected pregnancy alone. We believe a new whole government approach encouraging and supporting pregnant women to keep their children can be advanced under a new Trump administration,’ he said.

‘The contrast between Joe Biden and the Democrats and President Trump is unmistakable. Pro-life voters have only one option in November.’