Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin criticized what he sees as his former party's embrace of the progressive left, warning that Democratic socialists are gaining ground while longtime Democrats largely remain silent.
Manchin left the Democratic Party after frequently breaking with fellow Democrats while serving in Congress. The longtime moderate registered as an independent in May 2024.
In a statement announcing his departure, Manchin criticized extremism on both the left and right, saying he had "seen both the Democrat and Republican parties leave West Virginia and our country behind for partisan extremism while jeopardizing our democracy."
Manchin also argued that neither party was willing to "find common ground" or "put country before party."
During his conversation with Hannity, Manchin expressed disbelief that many Democrats appear unwilling to challenge the Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA) growing influence within the party.
"That's beyond me," he said, suggesting that some longtime Democrats may be afraid to challenge the party's more progressive wing.
"The bottom line is ... let's look at the elections coming up. If the House changes ... if it flips over to Democrat control, a lot of the flipping is going to happen in kind of a purple area, not a hard blue area. [A] hard blue area is where they're going to maybe flip to DSA."
On Thursday’s edition of CBS’s “The Takeout,” host and CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett stated that he doesn’t hear a lot about what Democrats’ actual agenda is. While speaking with Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Garrett asked, “Is this
With Republicans likely headed for a good ol' fashioned ass kicking in next week's midterm election, it doesn't seem too premature to ask the next big question: What are the Democrats going to do once they have a congressional majority?
The New York Timesreports that Democrats will move quickly on four items that are "consensus items among their members that are basic enough to bypass time-consuming committee consideration and go straight to the floor."
Two of those items are really good ideas: ending President Donald Trump's tariffs and ending the war in Iran (or ordering Trump to "seek authorization from Congress to continue it"). Both would restore proper congressional authority in areas where Trump has expanded executive power, with terrible results.
The other priorities, however, include reversing Medicaid spending cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and extending some Affordable Care Act health care subsidies that expired last year. Both would require higher spending at a time when the federal government is already running $2 trillion annual deficits and the national debt is at a record high.
But that's probably a pretty good summary of what Democratic control of Congress for the next few years will look like: a mix of critically important reforms to combat Trump's big-government agenda and, well, the Democrats' own big-government agenda.
Over at National Review, John Puri has an extensive list of "truly frightening" policies Democrats could pursue after the midterms, including stuff like bypassing the filibuster to borrow more heavily, arbitrarily restricting commerce, handing out taxpayer money to political allies, and promising "free" money for everyone. Gosh, I sure hope none of that happens (again).
More seriously, there are also likely to be some major investigations into corruption and other executive branch misdeeds. Trump's family and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are likely to be among the main targets. Hegseth could "face impeachment—which would make him just the third Cabinet secretary in history to face such a sanction," The Atlanticreports.
Of course, there are plenty of caveats to this. Most importantly, Trump will still be the president—and will be able to veto anything the Democrats pass through Congress. There's also the Senate's filibuster rules. Even the biggest of blue waves is highly unlikely to deliver a 60-seat majority.
Though they may dream big, Democrats will face some serious constraints on their policymaking agenda. They will face fewer obstacles in blocking, unwinding, and investigating Trump's unlawful and corrupt actions—and that's where I, for one, hope they will spend their efforts.
Scenes from Washington, D.C.: "On Sept. 16, Leo J. Terrell threatened to choke a Justice Department intern with a computer charger."
So begins The Harvard Crimson's scathing and deeply reported takedown of Terrell, the former talk radio host and Fox News contributor who is now the senior Justice Department official running the Trump administration's crackdown on elite universities (which is ostensibly an effort to police antisemitism but seems more like an excuse to use federal taxpayer dollars to fight a culture war).
The computer cord incident "was one of a series of episodes described by Billa and three other interns, all Jewish," the Crimsonreports. "Terrell isolated them from the rest of the Justice Department, berated them over minor mistakes, and repeatedly threatened their jobs or careers."
When he's not harassing his staffers, Terrell seems to be overcome with delusions of grandeur. A planned 15-city media tour in advance of the midterms "was supposed to be the centerpiece of Terrell's work" and would have put him on stage with singers, comedians, and professional athletes. One event has been held so far: "an Oct. 14 gathering at a synagogue in Southfield, Mich. with Terrell as the keynote speaker."
ProPublicahas "tallied and cataloged every case we can find of an immigration agent reportedly detaining a citizen during the current administration—more than 500 cases from Inauguration Day through Oct. 21, 2026."
Federal debt held by the public has surpassed the size of the U.S. economy for the first time since World War II. Unlike back then, however, the debt is being driven by entitlement spending, which means it is going to keep spiraling higher.
Relatedly, five states are carrying more than $30,000 in debt per capita, according to a new report from the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes Reason: New York ($37,006 per capita), New Jersey ($35,100), Connecticut ($33,189), Illinois ($31,582) and Hawaii ($30,759). All told, America's state and local governments are more than $6 trillion in debt.
Patrick Stewart, the legendary actor whose range included everything from Shakespeare to starships, died at age 86.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Fund https://t.co/luC5CdcWDy Alzheimer's Foundation of America Caregiver Resources https://t.co/zvNptfyuNd
Young men swung to Donald Trump in 2024. Polling shows they are now moving away — but to what? Sabrina Tavernise, a reporter for The New York Times, went to Michigan to find out.
President Trump at a campaign event on Tuesday in Lubbock, Texas, where he talked about the political forces that had propelled his return to office, including high prices.
Polls show the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham in a virtual tie with her Democratic opponent, Dr. Annie Andrews. An upset was unthinkable just a few months ago.
What lit a fire under billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk this midterm cycle?
He’s given more than $445 million to Republican candidates and causes this year, making him the single biggest disclosed donor in the 2026 midterms — and the biggest single donor in a midterm cycle ever.
All this makes the $288 million Musk gave to help elect President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2024 look miserly.
Why so much more? Because Musk realizes that keeping the Republican majority in Congress has become crucial to America’s secure and prosperous future.
On his social media platform, Musk shared a post last week agreeing that Democrats "must lose" the midterms. Critics claim he’s doing this because he fears investigations by a Democrat-controlled Congress. The truth is, he understands what it takes to build a strong America and what threatens to tear it down.
He’s not alone. He’s been joined by other tech and financial billionaires who are spending tens of millions to protect America’s future from the Democrats.
Tech entrepreneurs and venture capital giants Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz are major contributors to Trump’s MAGA, Inc.
Citadel’s Ken Griffin has spent at least $40 million to support Republican candidates.
Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and his wife Christine have put up almost $32 million to Republican-affiliated political organizations and super PACs this election cycle.
It’s not just tech billionaires who’ve opened their wallets to the GOP. Uline founders Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein have reportedly put up $124 million for their own Restoration of America PAC, and roofing company ABC Supply Chairman Diane Hendricks has given $25 million to MAGA, Inc.
In 2025, we saw the denizens of America’s high-tech sector — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook and key Google executives — paying out millions for Trump’s inauguration festivities. Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg and OpenAI’s Sam Altman even attended the inauguration in person — as did Elon Musk.
What did they understand about Trump and the GOP that the media didn’t?
This midterm cycle, according to The Washington Post, total Republican-leaning mega-donors have contributed $1.7 billion this cycle with Musk leading the way, compared to $832 million from Democratic-leaning givers.
Critics dismiss these donors as superrich oligarchs and robber barons trying to protect their ill-gotten money. Critics are wrong, tragically wrong. The truth is, the key stewards of our private sector economy are taking bold action to protect America’s future.
That’s because they see two possible paths to the future, and only two. One makes America strong, prosperous and secure, with tax cuts, investment, energy dominance and a strong, unequaled military.
One deals finally with the Iran that has destabilized the Middle East and killed thousands around the world, including American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, for four decades.
One sees the need to cut what the GAO says could be as much as $500 billion of fraud from the federal budget — the cause that rallied Elon Musk to the DOGE agenda in the first place.
The choice is clear to Elon Musk, and our private sector’s best and brightest founders and entrepreneurs. Those 77 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 now face the same choice. It is either to return to the voting booth in order to protect America’s safe and prosperous future or hand Congress over to those who want to bring back a bankrupt and discredited past.
The Cyprus Animal Party has urged the education ministry to promote healthier food in schools and reconsider events such as Tsiknopempti, which are associated with meat consumption.
In a statement marking World Vegan Day on November 1, the party said schools should practise the healthy eating habits they teach pupils, rather than promote excessive meat consumption.
It cited findings presented to parliament on October 29 concerning meals provided to National Guard soldiers.
Meat is served seven times a week in military kitchens, eight times in frozen meals and nine times through catering, it said.
The party said it was not seeking to abolish traditions or impose vegan diets, but wanted more plant-based options, highlighting Cyprus’ locally available legumes and other plant foods.
It also called for greater emphasis on health, animal welfare and the environment.
Republican Iowa congressional candidate Joe Mitchell vowed to investigate former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci if elected to Congress, expressing his desire to serve on an oversight committee while recounting his grandmother's death following a COVID-19 vaccination during a Make Iowa Healthy Again rally Wednesday.
Results released by election officials on Thursday showed Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats in the 120-member assembly, well below the 68 seats it had controlled at its peak in the previous parliament.
With both blocs short of a 61-seat majority, their leaders and respective allies must decide which divisive issues are worth prioritizing, and which promises are worth reneging on
The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party would abstain from votes rather than join the coalition, according to Channel 12; military draft remains major obstacle to agreement
During a rally Wednesday, Alaska Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola dismissed a New York Times report alleging her campaign took part in an effort to peel votes away from incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan to a same-named rival, calling the story a "distraction" used to sell papers.
"This is just another distraction," Peltola said in a video shared on X by local Alaskan writer Matt Tunseth. "It's another diversion. Every day, it’s some new, you know, ‘Look over here moment.’ Not Dan Sullivan, registered Republican, incumbent, voted for this war in Iran 14 times. Lisa Murkowski quit voting for that war in Iran six months ago, and he’s doubling and tripling down."
The New York Times published an investigation Wednesday that described a covert operation, internally dubbed the "ballot composition project," to recruit spoiler candidates with the same name as Sullivan.
According to the report, a Peltola staffer was directed since 2025 to comb through state voter rolls to compile a list of Alaskans named Dan Sullivan.
The operation allegedly involved aides from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), top campaign advisors, party lawyers and an operative who traveled across the state under assumed names.
"The plan worked. This spring, a retired teacher from a tiny fishing village along the Alaska Panhandle, reachable only by air and sea, announced his candidacy for Senate. His name was Dan J. Sullivan," the Times reported.
At the rally, however, Peltola dismissed the report, claiming that it was made to "get subscriptions."
"And this is not somebody who’s working in our best interest. And anybody who’s working in our best interest isn’t going to talk about the nonsense. This is all stuff to sell newspapers. This is all stuff to get subscriptions. Nobody at The New York Times cares about affordability in Alaska," Peltola said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Peltola campaign and The New York Times for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Sen. Sullivan campaign spokesperson Nate Adams told Fox News Digital, "Instead of admitting she has been caught red-handed in a scheme to manipulate and deceive Alaska voters, Mary Peltola's response is to attack the media outlets she has been lying to for months."
Elisa Rios, Peltola’s former campaign manager who was fired in August, told the Times that while Peltola was not directly involved in orchestrating the project, she was "definitely aware."
In a previous statement to Fox News, the DSCC said it was not involved with the other Sullivan campaign.
"Republicans have a long history of recruiting and propping up candidates in an attempt to boost their own campaigns, including recruiting a prisoner with a New York address to run against Mary Peltola and spending nearly half a million dollars to secure a spot on the ballot in Alaska for an Arizona resident in the Senate race this cycle," a DSCC spokesperson said.
In a statement to The New York Times, Peltola’s campaign said, "The Alaskans for Mary campaign has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign and did not recruit any candidates into the race."
Jason Turkish, fiancé of Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in primary, says voting for Republican Mike Rogers is 'very simple' choice
Shin Bet, whose chief had praised vote on election day, stresses suspicions remain unproven and do not implicate Arab voters as a whole; police say no basis for Likud's claims of stolen election
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