Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s trip to the U.S. this week may complicate his relationship with the U.S., particularly if Republicans take power in the November election.

He flew on an Air Force C-17 plane to visit an arms producer in Scranton, Pennsylvania – a swing state – signed bombs with the state’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and called former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, “too radical.” 

The Ukrainian president said he didn’t think Trump knew how to bring an end to the war and told the United Nations General Assembly the war with Russia “can’t be calmed by talks” and Russian President Vladimir Putin can “only be forced into peace.” That didn’t sit well with people in Trump’s orbit. 

“As someone who has been personally supportive of President Zelenskyy, I was deeply disappointed that he allowed himself to be used that way,” Trump’s former deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates told Fox News Digital. “It was pretty much political theater.” 

During a rally on Tuesday, the former president said Zelenskyy wanted Vice President Kamala Harris to win the election “so badly” and described him as “the greatest salesman in history.”

ZELENSKYY QUESTIONS CHINA’S ‘TRUE INTEREST’ BEHIND PLAN TO END UKRAINE WAR 

The stunts have left conservative Ukraine supporters concerned about the warring nation’s ability to come back to the U.S. next year and ask for more resources if Republicans are in power. 

“I don’t know what he could do [to repair the relationship],” Coates said. “It was a very strange performance, very counterproductive for him being able to come back in a year and argue for more funding.”

“He is too radical,” Zelenskyy this week told the New Yorker of Vance, who’s an outspoken opponent of aid to Ukraine. “[Vance’s] message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice. This brings us back to the question of the cost and who shoulders it. The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine’s expense is unacceptable.”

Zelenskyy went on: “My feeling is that Trump doesn’t really know how to stop the war, even if he might think he knows how.”

“It was a very poor move on [Zelenskyy’s] part,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a close Trump ally and key negotiator in moving the last $60 billion supplemental aid package for Ukraine over the finish line earlier this year. 

His suggestion for Zelenskyy: “Stay out of politics. And maybe come and talk to us about what just happened, because that was a bad move.” 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a staunch Ukraine supporter, didn’t think it was a bad move at all. 

“Zelenskyy was rightly reacting to some of what Sen. Vance has been saying about his position on these issues,” the Connecticut Democrat said. 

Vance this month pitched a peace plan that would see Ukraine give up much of the land Russia has captured since 2022 in exchange for a demilitarization zone along the front lines, fortifying Ukraine to deter another invasion and a guarantee that Kyiv would not be brought into NATO. 

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., a Trump surrogate, said Zelenskyy deserves any blowback he gets.

“Wherever you fall on the spectrum, the idea that a foreign leader is on US soil, being flown around on a C-17 at a campaign stop for Kamala Harris, criticizing President Trump, in any event, is unreal, and so I hope there’s backlash. It’s unacceptable.” 

ZELENSKYY WARNS VANCE’S PLAN TO GIVE RUSSIA SEIZED LAND WILL LEAD TO ‘GLOBAL SHOWDOWN’

“He made the decision to make those comments. They’re completely out of bounds, and he ought to be called out for it.”

Schmitt suggested the comments did not completely end any chances of further aid in the future, however. 

“I think we should take a clear-eyed view of things like what’s the plan, has Europe stepped up, all of that,” he told Fox News Digital. “But this doesn’t help.”

In his comments to the New Yorker, Zelenskyy suggested that Trump seemed more receptive to his cause than his running mate.  

“These are dangerous signals, coming as they do from a potential vice president. I should say that it hasn’t been like this with Trump,” he said.

“He and I talked on the phone, and his message was as positive as it could be, from my point of view. ‘I understand,’ ‘I will lend support,’ and so on.”

“I don’t take Vance’s words seriously,” he added. “Trump makes political statements in his election campaign. He says he wants the war to stop. Well, we do too,” Zelenskyy added. 

Ukraine is expected to receive the last $6 billion in aid from the supplemental over the coming months as the war with Russia presses on toward three years in February. 

Zelenskyy will meet with President Biden on Thursday and propose a new plan for victory. He’s expected to make another plea for the U.S. to allow him to use long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia. 

Last week Trump said he would “probably” meet with Zelenskyy during his U.S. swing, but no such meeting has been scheduled. 

And at United Nations this week, Zelenskyy suggested that a negotiated peace deal was off the table.

“We know some in the world want to talk to Putin,” Zelenskyy said to the General Assembly, “to possibly hear from him that he’s upset because we are exercising our right to defend our people.”

Donning his signature green fatigues, he called such views “insanity.” “Russia can only be forced into peace, and that is exactly what’s needed – forcing Russia into peace,” he said.

“Russia is committing an international crime. This war can’t simply fade away, this war can’t be calmed by talks. Actions are needed.”

Congress took a significant step toward averting an end-of-month partial government shutdown just weeks before Election Day.

In a victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., a majority of Republicans voted for the measure – it passed 341 to 82, with 132 House GOP lawmakers in favor. All the 82 “no” votes were Republicans.

Faced with an Oct. 1 deadline and little bipartisan progress on fiscal year 2025 spending priorities, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a short-term extension of the current fiscal year’s federal funding levels to keep the government open through Dec. 20.

The measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), gained wide bipartisan support – though more Democrats voted for it than Republicans, as expected.

JOHNSON’S PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS REPUBLICANS REBEL

A large contingent of Republicans, still angry with House GOP leaders for passing last year’s federal funding bills in two large segments rather than forcing the Democrat-held Senate to consider 12 appropriations bills individually, were always likely to vote against extending those measures.

The federal funding debate has been a lightening rod for political drama, particularly during the 118th Congress. Last year’s government funding stand-off precipitated the ouster of Johnson’s predecessor by a group of House Republicans.

Fiscal conservatives are frustrated about punting that fight into December, arguing it puts the House GOP majority in the position of being forced to reckon with a massive “omnibus” spending bill right before the end-of-year holidays rather than work through their 12 individual appropriations bills.

“I’ve said this in public forum – we are condemned to a Christmas lame-duck omnibus,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

SHUTDOWN FEARS MOVE HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PROTECT MILITARY PAYCHECKS

House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said, “I think that’s the preview of coming attractions, unfortunately.”

But Johnson swore both in public and private that the House would not take up an omnibus in December.

“There won’t be a Christmas omnibus. Somebody asked me in the hallway a little while ago, ‘Will there be mini-buses?’ We don’t want any buses. We’re not going to do any buses.”

Allies of former President Trump, meanwhile, have called for a CR into the new year in the hopes he will win the White House and carry Congress along with him.

House GOP leadership staff suggested to Fox News Digital over the weekend that it’s more likely Johnson will aim for a CR to do just that in December rather than consider an omnibus.

That would line up with his original plan for a more conservative CR – one that offered a six-month funding extension into March and was coupled with a measure to prevent noncitizens from registering to vote in U.S. elections.

MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT

The initial plan failed after a rebellion by 14 Republicans. Some defense hawks worried about the effect of a six-month CR on military readiness, while a group of fiscal conservatives balked at the principle of the CR itself.

The new plan is a more straightforward funding extension, though it adds $231 million for the U.S. Secret Service after two foiled assassination attempts against Trump.

And while the Democrat-led White House and Senate were both poised to reject Johnson’s initial CR, President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have signaled they’re supportive of the recent deal.

The bill is expected to be considered in the Senate on Thursday, after which it heads to the White House for Biden’s signature. 

Vice President Harris’ campaign has not given details on what type of gun she owns or when was the last time she went to a gun range, 15 days after the Democratic presidential nominee touted her gun ownership on the debate stage against former President Trump. 

Fox News Digital sent emails and made calls to the Harris campaign on Tuesday and Wednesday asking what type of gun Harris owns, in what state the vice president registered, and when was the last time she went to a gun range, but did not receive answers to those questions from campaign staffers. 

It has been more than two weeks since Harris first shocked social media users by claiming she owns a gun during the ABC News Presidential Debate in Philadelphia on Sept. 10. 

HARRIS SURPRISES SOCIAL MEDIA BY SAYING SHE’S A GUN OWNER

On Sept. 11, Fox News Digital first posed questions to the Harris campaign seeking more details on her gun ownership, but their response only referred to previous CNN reporting from five years ago. 

In 2019, a Harris campaign aide reportedly told CNN that Harris owned a handgun that was purchased “years ago,” which she keeps locked away as a responsible gun owner. 

On the Philadelphia debate stage, Trump attempted to highlight how Harris has distanced herself from previously held far-left stances since President Biden backed out of the race in July and she became the Democratic nominee. Specifically, Trump referred to Harris’ stance on fracking and defunding the police, as well as gun control. Trump claimed that Harris wanted to take people’s guns away, which Harris immediately disputed.

HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN: LEADING LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUP TAKES SIDES IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

“I’ve made very clear my position on fracking and then this business about taking everyone’s guns away,” Harris said in response,”Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We’re not taking anybody’s guns away. So stop with the continuous lying about this stuff.” 

Multiple video clips have resurfaced on social media in the wake of the debate showing Harris voicing support for a mandatory gun buyback program in the past. The National Rifle Association (NRA) has shared clips of Harris’ past remarks that the organization argues are an affront to the Second Amendment. 

While serving as the San Francisco district attorney, Harris told a crowd of legal gun owners that “just because you legally possess a gun in the sanctity of your locked home doesn’t mean we’re not gonna walk into that home and check to see if you’re being responsible and safe in the way you conduct your affairs.”

The Secret Service special agent in charge (SAIC) of the Pittsburgh field office was not informed of credible threats to former President Trump ahead of his July 13 outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and detailed in handwritten notes that they didn’t learn about the threats until after the assassination attempt when they saw it on television. 

In a preliminary report on the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump released on Wednesday by the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, top senators listed several key failures of the Secret Service.

“Why am I hearing that there were threats to the site on TV,” the SAIC of the Pittsburgh office wrote in a handwritten note after the attempt. 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: INEXPERIENCED SECRET SERVICE AGENT FLYING DRONE CALLED TOLL-FREE NUMBER FOR HELP

“How can the SAIC of our [field office] not know about any threats and why did they feel that only one part of [Special Operations Divisions] was sufficient to cover it instead of the entire package,” the note continued.

According to the report, Secret Service counter snipers had been approved and sent to the Butler event due to “credible intelligence” of a threat. However, many of the Secret Service personnel interviewed by the committee, which they said included the intelligence advance agent and the SAIC of the field office, said they were not made aware of the threat.

JOHN CORNYN FLEXES FUNDRAISING CHOPS AS BATTLE TO SUCCEED MITCH MCCONNELL RAMPS UP

In fact, “only two of the [Secret Service] personnel the Committee has interviewed were made aware that there was a credible threat related to former President Trump prior to July 13,” the report reads. Only one of those personnel members was then made privy to the underlying classified information about the threat.

ENIGMATIC VOTER GROUP COULD SPLIT TICKET FOR TRUMP, DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN ARIZONA

Per the committee, the lead advance agent was informed by the second supervisor of Trump’s detail that “credible intel” was the reason for the addition of counter snipers to the event’s security. The SAIC said the information was not relayed to them, despite the advance agent asking the second supervisor to call the SAIC about the “credible intel.” 

Even after learning of the counter sniper assignment and “credible intel,” the lead advance agent ultimately wrote in a preliminary survey document that “[a]t this time, no adverse intelligence has been developed concerning this visit. Any adverse intelligence that may arise will be passed on to all working supervisors.”

JOE MANCHIN SAYS HE WON’T ENDORSE HARRIS OVER SUPPORT FOR ELIMINATING FILIBUSTER

Secret Service agents told the committee that they “absolutely” should have been told about any intelligence or threats ahead of staffing the rally security.

“As a Site Agent or Lead [Advance] Agent assigned, you should have any intelligence or any information pertaining to an active threat to a particular protected,” the Site Agent told the committee, per the report. “It shocked me, like just being out there. They’re planning to have a protectee with 15-20,000 people in an outdoor event, when there’s an active threat for the drone attack. That was definitely one thing that obviously raised my concerns, and I know everyone’s concerns.” 

Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service chief of communications, said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “We have reviewed the interim report on the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. The weight of our mission is not lost on us and in this hyperdynamic threat environment, the U.S. Secret Service cannot fail. Many of the insights gained from the Senate report align with the findings from our mission assurance review and are essential to ensuring that what happened on July 13 never happens again.”

FIRST ON FOX: Republican senators introduced a series of measures on Wednesday aimed at taking a comprehensive approach to curbing the Chinese Communist Party’s influence in the west. 

Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., led the introduction of several pieces of legislation in the Senate, all focused on targeting different aspects of China’s involvement in America, including at universities and in the U.S. agricultural sector. 

“The CCP is the single greatest threat to America’s national security and financial independence,” Ricketts told Fox News Digital in a statement. “A CCP-led world would mean coercion instead of choice, tyranny instead of liberty, and dictatorship instead of democracy. The only way to combat this threat is with a strong, strategic, all-of-government approach. These bills move us closer to that.”

JOE MANCHIN SAYS HE WON’T ENDORSE HARRIS OVER SUPPORT FOR ELIMINATING FILIBUSTER

The Nebraska Republican introduced five bills: to protect domestic food supply chains; to disincentivize university endowments from investing in “adversarial entities”; to prevent tax breaks for investing in Chinese, Russian, Iranian, North Korean, or Belarussian companies; to stop U.S. market participation and ownership in businesses that are sanctioned for human rights violations; and to prohibit index funds from purchasing Chinese stocks. 

DEMS LOOK TO FORCE VOTES ON EMERGENCY ABORTION AS ABORTION PILL DEATHS MAKE HEADLINES

Schmitt also introduced a measure that would bar members of the CCP and their relatives from obtaining student visas to attend American universities. 

“The Chinese Communist Party remains our most significant adversary, both militarily and economically. It makes no sense for American universities to continue educating the children and other family members of CCP officials. These more than 100,000 admission slots should go to American students,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

JOHN CORNYN FLEXES FUNDRAISING CHOPS AS BATTLE TO SUCCEED MITCH MCCONNELL RAMPS UP

“If you are associated with a foreign organization that is actively working to undermine the United States, you should certainly not have the continued privilege of being educated on our college campuses. The Protecting Higher Education from the Chinese Communist Party Act fortunately puts an end to these special privileges.” 

ENIGMATIC VOTER GROUP COULD SPLIT TICKET FOR TRUMP, DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN ARIZONA

The senators’ legislation comes as Republicans continue to sound the alarm over CCP influence and current U.S. vulnerabilities. 

Americans increasingly agree with their warnings, with about half saying that limiting both China’s power and influence should be a top priority for the U.S. when it comes to foreign policy. Another 42% believe it should be given some priority, according to a Pew Research Center survey earlier this year. 

Former President Donald Trump addressed Iran’s plots to assassinate him during remarks in battleground-state North Carolina on Wednesday, saying it was “strange” how the Iranian president received such a large security detail when visiting the United Nations this week.

Trump was speaking about jobs in Mint Hill, just outside Charlotte, when he mentioned the potential Iranian plot to assassinate him.

“Meanwhile, we have the president of Iran in our country this week, we have large security forces guarding him, and yet they’re threatening our former president and the leading candidate to become the next president—certainly a strange set of circumstances,” Trump said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on Tuesday.

IRAN’S LEADER TO ADDRESS UN AMID THREATS OF ASSASSINATIONS AGAINST US POLITICIANS, ELECTION INTERFERENCE

Tehran’s potential assassination plot was detailed in FBI documents that Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, released earlier this month, showing other potential targets included President Biden, Nikki Haley, along with other “politicians, military people or bureaucrats.”

Trump said that if he were president, and a former president came under such a threat, he would tell the threatening country that if they did anything to harm the individual, “we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens.”

“But right now, we don’t have the leadership necessary to do that,” the former president said. “We have two people, not one, that only keep looking, and when you do that, trouble always ensues.”

Trump said that “we all need to pull together” to put an end to such threats and “bring back American Strength, Power, and Prestige,” which he suggested had diminished during the Biden presidency.

TRUMP BRIEFED ON ‘REAL AND SPECIFIC THREATS’ FROM IRAN TO ASSASSINATE HIM, CAMPAIGN SAYS

On Tuesday, the Trump campaign said the former president was briefed about “real and specific threats” from Iran to assassinate him.

Iran’s aim to assassinate Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, is part of the Islamic Republic’s efforts to “destabilize and sow chaos in the United States,” Trump Campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a press release.

In addition to the assassination plot, the FBI further confirmed last week that Iranian hackers attempted to supply the Democratic presidential campaign with stolen communication files from the Trump campaign. 

Fox News’ Bradford Betz and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Mike Johnson is calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to fire Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States after she allegedly organized a U.S. taxpayer-funded visit to a battleground state ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, organized a tour of an American manufacturing site for Zelenskyy over the weekend in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state ahead of November’s election. 

‘ABUSE OF POWER’: HOUSE GOP OPENS PROBE INTO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT’S TRIP TO BATTLEGROUND PENNSYLVANIA

Johnson, R-La., said that tour was led by a “top political surrogate” for the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and “purposely excluded” Republicans. Johnson called it clear “election interference.” 

“I demand that you immediately fire Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova,” Johnson wrote in a letter to Zelenskyy exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

“As you have said, Ukrainians have tried to avoid being ‘captured by American domestic politics,’ and ‘influencing the choices of the American people’ ahead of the November election,” Johnson wrote. “Clearly, that objective was abandoned this week when Ambassador Markarova organized an event in which you toured an American manufacturing site.

“The facility was in a politically contested battleground state, was led by a top political surrogate for Kamala Harris, and failed to include a single Republican because – on purpose – no Republicans were invited,” Johnson continued, adding the tour was “clearly a partisan campaign event designed to help Democrats and is clearly election interference.” 

Johnson said the “shortsighted and intentionally political move has caused Republicans to lose trust in Ambassador Markarova’s ability to fairly and effectively serve as a diplomat in this country.” 

“She should be removed from her post immediately,” he wrote.  

Johnson stressed that “all foreign nations should avoid opining on or interfering in American domestic politics.” 

“Support for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to be bipartisan, but our relationship is unnecessarily tested and needlessly tarnished when the candidates at the top of the Republican presidential ticket are targeted in the media by officials in your government,” Johnson wrote. 

“These incidents cannot be repeated.” 

Johnson thanked Zelenskyy for his “prompt attention to this matter.” 

ZELENSKYY WARNS VANCE’S PLAN TO GIVE RUSSIA SEIZED LAND WILL LEAD TO ‘GLOBAL SHOWDOWN’

“I trust you will take immediate action,” Johnson said. 

Zelenskyy over the weekend visited a Pennsylvania ammunition factory alongside two Pentagon leaders — the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology and the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer. 

Zelenskyy also met with Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was said to be on the short list to be considered as Harris’ running mate before she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Zelenskyy recently participated in interviews and was critical of former President Trump and his running mate JD Vance, calling the Ohio senator “too radical.”

The House Oversight Committee is now investigating the Biden-Harris administration’s alleged use of taxpayer-funded resources to fly Zelenskyy to Pennsylvania ahead of the November presidential election. 

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., announced the investigation Wednesday and is seeking records regarding the administration’s alleged “misuse of government resources” to allow Zelenskyy to “interfere in the 2024 presidential election.” 

“The Committee seeks to determine whether the Biden-Harris Administration attempted to use a foreign leader to benefit Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign and, if so, necessarily committed an abuse of power,” Comer wrote Wednesday in a letter to the White House, Justice Department and the Pentagon. 

Comer said his committee is investigating the circumstances that led to “justify” the administration’s transport of Zelenskyy on a Department of the Air Force aircraft to Pennsylvania. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Pentagon, Justice Department and Harris campaign for comment. 

China hawks are calling out Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for failing to impose a TikTok ban on government-issued devices in his state, particularly considering more than 75% of other states did so amid national security concerns. 

When asked in 2022 whether Walz planned to ban the Chinese-owned social media app on Minnesota-issued devices, the Democrat governor said his team was looking at the issue “holistically” and that he was deferring to tech experts in his administration for “recommendations.” Walz also drew an equivalency between TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, arguing the Elon Musk-owned platform “can be somewhat dangerous.”

“That equivalence goes to, I think, a broader confusion on the left that privacy is a protection from ourselves, from these big businesses. Not a protection from the government,” said Trent England, executive director of Save Our States, a conservative nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional power of states. “They’re more trusting toward state actors in general… Elon Musk, however powerful people think he is, he’s not the Chinese Communist Party.”

TIKTOK’S EFFORT TO RECRUIT AMERICAN KIDS AS ‘FOREIGN AGENTS’ FOR CHINA AGAINST BAN MAY BACKFIRE: ‘DISTURBING’

Walz’s decision not to implement a TikTok ban on Minnesota’s government-issued devices stands in contrast with the actions of numerous other states, and is also out of step with the Biden administration. 

In December 2022, President Biden signed a bill banning TikTok from all federally issued devices. This year, Biden went even further when he signed an additional bill in April to ban TikTok nationwide, unless its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, divests its entire stake in the social media company by next year.

TIKTOK BAN WOULD BE WASHINGTON’S MOST SIGNIFICANT NATIONAL SECURITY LEGISLATION: BRENDAN CARR

Meanwhile, at least 39 separate states implemented a TikTok ban on government-issued devices. Many of those bans were initiated by governors, while others were introduced by the state legislature and later approved by the governor.

The federal and state bans have also coincided with warnings from the nation’s top law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has said it has “a number” of “national security concerns” related to the U.S. operations of TikTok. “They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress in 2022.

EXPERTS WARN OF ‘CHILLING REALITY’ TIKTOK THREAT POSES: ‘CHINA’S GREATEST ASYMMETRIC ADVANTAGE’

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Republican, called the decision to ban TikTok from government devices “common sense.”

“In the digital age, defending our state’s technology and cybersecurity infrastructure and protecting digital privacy have to be a top priority for us as a state,” said Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, after signing an executive order banning TikTok on government devices.

Evers also pointed out how he, similar to Walz, consulted with cybersecurity and law enforcement experts.

“I trust the professionals who work in this field, and it was important for me to consult with and get advice from experts in law enforcement, cybersecurity and counterintelligence, including the information technology experts working within DOA-DET, to make the best decision to protect state technologies, and ultimately, the people of Wisconsin.”

England told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he thinks Walz’s actions are a “throwback” to an earlier era of U.S.-China relations when the prevailing attitude was not to view China as an adversary.

“Walz is still in this ’90s mindset that we’re going to fix China by engaging with them, which effectively means looking the other way when they’re stealing intellectual property, or engaging in what looks like espionage, or what obviously is espionage,” England said. “I think Walz is really a throwback to an earlier era of China relations that most people have determined was a failure.”

JAMES COMER: WALZ ‘HAS REALLY EMBRACED CHINA’S VIEW OF THE WORLD’

Earlier this month, TikTok argued in federal court that Biden’s proposed nationwide ban on TikTok if ByteDance does not divest itself is unconstitutional. “The law before this court is unprecedented and its effect would be staggering,” attorneys for TikTok said in court earlier this month, according to the Associated Press. 

Additionally, several pro-TikTok activists also rallied outside the courthouse in support of the social media platform. One content creator, Paul Tran, told The Associated Press that being able to make TikTok videos gave his company the lift it needed to stay competitive. “TikTok truly invigorated our company and saved it from collapse,” Tran told reporters.

Fox News Digital reached out to both Walz’s office and the Harris campaign for comment but did not hear back prior to publication time.   

American taxpayer dollars would no longer be able to fund aid to Afghanistan until “wrongfully detained” U.S. citizens are released under new legislation drafted in the House.

The No Funding Without Freedom Act would also require the State Department to offer regular updates regarding unlawfully detained American citizens there.

Rep. Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican whose constituent Ryan Corbett is among those detained in the Taliban-controlled country, said the bill will cut off the billions transferred to Kabul since the “disastrous” 2021 withdrawal.

Corbett, a native of Meuser’s district, worked with “Bloom Afghanistan,” a humanitarian organization. He was detained in August 2022 and is reportedly in declining health.

AMERICAN NEARING 600 DAYS IN TALIBAN CAPTIVITY AS WIFE PLEADS FOR BIDEN ADMIN HELP

Corbett has had limited familial contact and remains in a heavily sheltered environment.

A second detainee, George Glezmann of Atlanta, Georgia, was detained in 2022 during a five-day cultural trip to the country.

The father and husband remains in captivity, which has included solitary confinement, and is reportedly suffering from hemangioma — a blood vessel condition — malnutrition and hypertension.

The bill added that the secretary of state would make the ultimate determination whether an American detained in Afghanistan is in such a position wrongfully.

Meuser said the U.S. remains the largest humanitarian donor to Afghanistan, providing more than $2.6 billion since President Joe Biden withdrew the U.S. military from the country.

TALIBAN USING FINGERPRINTS, GUN RECORDS TO TRACK DOWN AFGHANS WHO ASSISTED US, INSPECTOR GENERAL FINDS

“Last month marked three years since the Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, which allowed the Taliban to seize control of the country. And despite the Taliban’s wrongful imprisonment of Americans like Ryan Corbett and George Glezmann, this administration has continued to provide billions of dollars in humanitarian aid to the terror group,” Meuser said.

“We must leverage all options, including withholding financial aid, to secure the release of Ryan and George.”

Meuser’s bill later gained a handful of sponsors, including Reps. Bill Posey, R-Fla., Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., French Hill, R-Ark., and Greg Lopez, R-Colo.

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Corbett was accused of “anti-state activities,” and there are no official charges against him, Corbett’s wife Anna told “Fox & Friends” in a January interview.

“I received a picture when the Qataris visited a second time. And he has lost so much weight. He has aged like 15 years. We received the picture, and it was so traumatic to see him.”

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., added at the time that the State Department has been “tremendously helpful” in working with Qatar to allow access to Ryan Corbett.

“[Anna] has only had 22 minutes’ time in this period of over 16 months to actually have communication with him. We are just asking, pleading everyone… to get him out, and back.”

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

Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., demanded an immediate investigation Tuesday after city of Madison officials said 2,215 duplicate ballots had been sent out across 10 wards in error. 

Madison officials said the duplicate ballots have identical bar codes and so can’t be counted twice. 

“The City of Madison clerk said the duplicate absentee ballots were sent to one ward yesterday,” Tiffany wrote on X. “Now, they say it’s 10. There needs to be an independent investigation now, not after the election.” 

President Biden won Wisconsin, a key battleground state, by fewer than 21,000 votes in 2020. 

Deputy Clerk of the City of Madison Jim Verbick cited how “there was a human error that occurred,” impacting voters who had the same style or listed the same offices on their ballots, WKOW reported. 

FAMILIES IN SWING STATE AFRAID TO LET KIDS PLAY OUTSIDE AFTER VENEZUELAN MIGRANT ATTACKS MOM, CHILD: LAWMAKER

In a letter addressed to the City of Madison Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl, Tiffany said he was “demanding answers and transparency” on what happened, citing what he categorized as “the history of controversial and legally dubious election practices carried out by Madison officials in the past.”

“Voters deserve clear answers regarding the full scope of this blunder, how the city plans to restore public confidence in its ability to accurately administer the election, and assurances that those responsible are held accountable,” Tiffany wrote, according to the Associated Press. 

Madison, the state capital, is considered a Democrat stronghold. 

“This was a mistake,” city spokesperson Dylan Brogan told the AP. “The clerk’s office moved to rectify it as quickly as possible.”

The clerk’s office described what happened as a “data processing error,” explaining that the duplicate ballots have identical bar codes, so even if a voter submitted two absentee ballots, only one could be counted because the voting system does not accept the same bar code twice.  

Also, once the ballot is scanned, the voter is marked in the poll book as having submitted an absentee ballot. That is another safeguard against the voter submitting a second ballot, the clerk’s office said.

Brogan said the mistake occurred when two identical files were merged, resulting in the creation of a list with double the names and double the addresses. Up to 2,000 duplicate ballots in one ward were mailed late last week before the mistake was caught and corrected. The clerk’s office has been contacting voters individually to notify them of the error and cautioning them to submit only one ballot, Brogan said. 

“Despite duplicate ballots being sent out, we will only accept one ballot from every voter, and when we get them back we will make sure that we only have one ballot,” Verbick said. 

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“About 3,000 voters all use the same ballot style, and we had to separate it into two different files to cover that range based on the limitation of the files that we can pull out of the registration system,” Verbick told WKOW. “We tried to combine the two, and instead, one of them got copied instead of combined.”

“I would just tell the voters that you can destroy one of the ballots,” Verbick said. “Please do not send in both ballots, only one vote, one ballot, and the other can be destroyed.”

When asked about Tiffany’s letter, Verbick told WKOW, “I would just say that [the clerk’s office] is very transparent about anything we do with elections, and I would just leave it at that.” 

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He added that no third party would be investigating the matter at this time.

Brogan told the AP that Witzel-Behl was in the process of responding to Tiffany’s letter and “thoroughly answering all of these questions.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Tom Tiffany, or who it is, we want everyone to know what happened,” Brogan said.

As of Monday, Madison had sent 27,421 absentee ballots and none had been returned, according to the state elections commission. Brogan said none of the duplicate ballots had been returned since then. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.