Republican says Trump's top election priority 'dead' in Senate as GOP fractures ahead of midterms
Sen. Thom Tillis says the SAVE America Act lacks the funding and time to be implemented before midterm elections, calling the push "theater."

Socialist Melat Kiros soundly defeated 15-term incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) last night in the Democratic Socialists of America’s first test after its New York congressional sweep last month. The socialist insurgency proved its popularity beyond Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s five boroughs. “We will not wait to take the fight to Donald Trump and the oligarchy,” […]
Sen. Thom Tillis says the SAVE America Act lacks the funding and time to be implemented before midterm elections, calling the push "theater."
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language puts "room temperature" somewhere between 68°F and 72°F. Under socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New Yorkers are expected to adjust to a warmer norm.New York is facing a heatwave with temperatures expected to hover around 100°F on Thursday and Friday. This heat wave, which the National Weather System indicates will impact multiple states and could bring temperatures as high as 115 degrees, threatens the stability of the power grid — which in New York was deprived of 1,040 megawatts of additional nuclear generating capacity in April 2021 when the Indian Point nuclear plant was shut down.'Just say no.'"The power grid is working overtime to keep us cool," Mamdani told New Yorkers on Wednesday. "Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you're not using, and unplug what you can."The leftist mayor noted further that the city has adopted the "78 degrees rule" in its buildings and will dim or turn off lights during peak electricity demand as well as power down "non-essential equipment.""A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved," said Mamdani. "Let's ease demand — and get through the heat — together."Critics blasted Mamdani's 78-degree rule as yet another foretaste of the socialistic nightmare he and his ilk have in store for America.RELATED: Democrat who wants to 'seize the means of production' won't deny she's a commie CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images"This is what socialism looks like, folks," said Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. "The right answer isn't restrictions or mandates. It's drilling, fracking, coal, & nuclear. That's how we'll roll in Ohio."Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R) tweeted, "SoCIAlisM WoRKS thO," adding three woozy-face emojis."Turns out socialism actually isn't free," wrote Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R)."This is a retarded post, Malaise. Defeatist. Bad form. Delete," wrote Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet. "Enjoy capitalism while you have it."The Libertarian Party Mises Caucus quipped, "'The warmth of collectivism,' folks."Vickie Paladino, a Republican member of the New York City Council, had a different message than Mamdani's for her fellow New Yorkers."Actually, live your life normally, use your AC in whatever manner keeps you comfortable, and if the grid collapses make them explain why we don’t have power generation capacity sufficient to our needs as a city, and make them fix it by building more capacity," wrote Paladino."Do not acquiesce or normalize any of this," continued the Republican. "Nothing socialists say can be taken in good faith. They want to take away AC permanently (as they have in Europe) and they will do it first by getting you used to the idea that your AC must be turned down for ‘the greater good,’ then by making it more expensive to purchase and operate through higher energy costs (also already happening), and finally by regulating it out of existence. Just say no."Residents looking to beat the heat who are presently without air conditioning can consult New York's "Cool It!" map for directions to the various spray showers, outdoor pools, leafy areas, and drinking fountains available throughout the city.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The previously agreed upon officer increase for the New York Police Department has been scrapped by Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) in the city’s final budget proposal amid pressure from his socialist base.The $125.8 billion budget was originally slated to include $70 million to fund the addition of 580 NYPD officers, as outlined in Mamdani's executive budget proposal released in May.'We are calling on Mayor Mamdani to reverse this proposed expansion of the NYPD.'Mamdani has pivoted in the weeks since. “I've been talking to all agency heads about ways to find savings, and [Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch] and I were able to identify ways to keep the NYPD head count at the originally authorized 35,000 while also meeting all of our crime-fighting needs and implementing the new programs that were announced earlier this year," Mamdani said during a press conference Tuesday.The night before the final budget vote, City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D) said she received a call from the mayor informing her of his agreement with Tisch to cut the officer increase from the budget. “I disagree with that decision. ... I do believe we need those officers,” Menin said, citing concerns over increasing rape, felony assault, and subway crime numbers.“We are going to fight for it now,” she added.Menin did note that the NYPD budget increased by $300 million for the fiscal year.The NYC Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member and with whom he holds close political ties, has been avidly calling on the mayor to follow through on his campaign promise to keep the NYPD head count flat.“We are calling on Mayor Mamdani to reverse this proposed expansion of the NYPD and invest the money in community safety programs instead," NYC-DSA said on June 12.The proposed head count increase "runs counter to the values of the socialist and working-class movement that elected him,” the group continued, adding, “When police serve as default first responders, New Yorkers are placed in harm’s way.”RELATED: Mamdani vows to protect migrants in apparent DEFIANCE of Supreme Court ruling on TPS NYPD graduates salute family and friends at their Recruit Graduation Ceremony at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2026. Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesIn a statement to Fox News Digital, the NYPD said, “It is no secret that the city is facing serious financial challenges, and the mayor has asked every agency head to find efficiencies. ... For now, the department is able to police effectively with the budgeted head count we have, driving crime down month after month. That head count and our hiring plan gives us the flexibility we need to maintain that balance over the next fiscal year."NYPD funding had been at the forefront throughout last year’s mayoral election as Mamdani’s controversial X posts regarding police funding resurfaced, including one where he called the force “wicked” and “corrupt” and advocated for its defunding and dismantling. In another post, he said, “We don't need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. ... What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD."Council member Tiffany Cabán, a democratic socialist and chair of the council’s Progressive Caucus, backed the mayor’s decision.“I am proud to have worked closely with the mayor and public safety advocates to ensure there was no increase to the NYPD’s headcount in this budget. Every dollar we spend on policing and incarceration means money we can’t spend on housing, mental health care, substance use treatment, and economic stability.”The Fiscal Year 2027 budget was officially adopted by the City Council on Tuesday and signed into law the following day by Mamdani, making it the largest budget in city history.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Mayor Zohran Mamdani will deliver a presidential-style speech Friday for America's 250th birthday in what City Hall billed a "major address" hours before President Trump delivers his own remarks.
Tells residents to leave thermostats at 78 during scorching heat wave
With the 2026 midterms a little over four months away and President Donald Trump continuing to suffer from weak approval ratings in poll after poll, Democratic strategists are feeling cautiously optimistic about their ability to recapture the U.S. House of Representatives — and they believe the U.S. Senate is in play for them as well. But according to the New York Times, Trump has a variety of schemes designed to shield Republicans from major losses in November.Trump, journalists Karen Yourish, Nick Corasaniti and Charlie Smart report in the Times, "is trying to use the levers of the federal government, along with personal influence over state and local lawmakers, to reshape the rules governing the 2026 midterms and future elections in extraordinary ways.""Many of these efforts have been blocked by courts, stymied by the Constitution or stopped in Congress," the reporters explain. "But the relentless assault by the president on the electoral process — both administratively and rhetorically — is likely to sow doubt and lay groundwork for extensive challenges to election results. Agencies and officials across the federal government have, at the direction of Mr. Trump, undertaken dozens of actions grounded in novel strategies and aimed at insulating Republicans from potential losses in November. Those actions fall into six major categories, and some fall into more than one."Those six categories, according to Yourish, Corasaniti and Smart, are: (1) "taking steps to nationalize elections," (2) "trying to tighten voting restrictions," (3) "pushing for mid-decade redistricting," (4) "cutting election security," (5) "undermining faith in the electoral system by questioning previous results," and (6) "punishing those who have worked against election denialism." Trump, the Times reporters note, has "installed" a long list of "election deniers" in the federal government — including Jeanine Pirro, Harmeet K. Dhillon and FBI Director Kash Patel at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Patrick Weaver at the Defense Department, and Heather Honey and Secretary Markwayne Mullin at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)."While Mr. Trump's attempts to use executive orders to change elections have been largely blocked by courts," Yourish, Corasaniti and Smart explain, "the president and his allies have found other avenues to add new restrictions to voting that are designed to help them win at the ballot box. Soon after Mr. Trump took office, the Justice Department dropped or halted all of its open voting rights lawsuits that preceded Mr. Trump's inauguration, easing the path for partisan gerrymanders and voting laws to withstand legal scrutiny. That included dropping a lawsuit against a voting law in Georgia. The number of lawyers working in the voting-rights arm of the Justice Department, one of the government's critical bulwarks against civil rights abuses in voting and elections, has dwindled from about 30 at the end of the Biden administration to the single digits after resignations, cuts and reassignments."