The White House News

President Biden and other administration officials said Tuesday that they welcomed the temporary cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that includes the release of hostages.

Qatari negotiators helped broker the deal, which included Israel’s military agreeing to temporarily stop its airstrikes and ground invasion of Gaza for humanitarian purposes. Additionally, Hamas has agreed to release dozens of hostages in tandem and Israel has agreed to release Palestinian prisoners on a 3-to-1 ratio. Hamas leaders will release one hostage for every three Palestinians that Israel releases from its prisons.

Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken all released statements supporting the agreement between Israeli officials and Hamas terrorists amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The president said he welcomes the deal to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its “brutal assault” against Israel on Oct. 7 and that he is “extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls, who have endured weeks of captivity and an unspeakable ordeal, will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented.”

ISRAEL. HAMAS AGREE TO TEMPORARY CEASE-FIRE, HOSTAGE RELEASE DEAL INCLUDING FREEING 3 AMERICANS

“I thank Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar and President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt for their critical leadership and partnership in reaching this deal,” Biden wrote. “And I appreciate the commitment that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government have made in supporting an extended pause to ensure this deal can be fully carried out and to ensure the provision of additional humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinian families in Gaza. I look forward to speaking with each of these leaders and staying in close contact as we work to ensure this deal is carried through in its entirety. It is important that all aspects of this deal be fully implemented.”
 
Biden continued his statement by saying he has “no higher priority” than ensuring American hostages around the world are safely released.

“That’s why – from the earliest moments of Hamas’s brutal assault – my national security team and I have worked closely with regional partners to do everything possible to secure the release of our fellow citizens,” Biden wrote. “We saw the first results of that effort in late October, when two Americans were reunited with their loved ones. Today’s deal should bring home additional American hostages, and I will not stop until they are all released. Today’s deal is a testament to the tireless diplomacy and determination of many dedicated individuals across the United States Government to bring Americans home.”

OPINION: 2 HAMAS HOSTAGES RELEASED ISN’T ENOUGH! WE NEED TO BRING THEM ALL BACK

Harris said in her statement that she welcomes “the commitment that Israel has made to support an extended pause to ensure this deal can be fully carried out and to ensure additional humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in Gaza” and that “the flow of aid must substantially increase and civilians must be protected.” She also called on Hamas to “release all the remaining hostages.”
 
“President Biden and I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans, and we welcome that today’s agreement means some Americans should be coming home,” Harris wrote. “As I have told families of Americans held hostage: as they advocate for the release of their loved ones, they are not alone. We will not waver in our commitment to these Americans.”

The office of Israel’s prime minister confirmed that at least 50 women and children taken hostage by Hamas will be released during a four-day pause in the fighting.

In a statement Tuesday night, Blinken wrote that he cannot imagine what the hostages have endured the past few weeks and that he is thankful they will soon be reunited with their loved ones.

“Today’s outcome is the result of tireless diplomacy and relentless effort across the Department and broader United States government,” Blinken said. “I appreciate the leadership and ongoing partnership of Egypt and Qatar in this work. I also thank the government of Israel for supporting a humanitarian pause that will facilitate the transfer of hostages to safety and allow additional humanitarian assistance to reach Palestinian civilians in Gaza. While this deal marks significant progress, we will not rest as long as Hamas continues to hold hostages in Gaza. My highest priority is the safety and security of Americans overseas, and we will continue our efforts to secure the release of every hostage and their swift reunification with their families.”

STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS ‘TRANSITION PERIOD’ MUST FOLLOW ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

Approximately 14,000 people have been killed in Gaza and Israel since Hamas launched its largest attack against Israel in decades on Oct. 7, leading to a military response from Israeli forces. Thousands more have been wounded, and many others have been taken hostage by Hamas and raped, tortured and murdered. About 10 Americans in the region remain unaccounted for.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also released a statement about the agreement with Hamas, saying “[the] reservations are understandable, painful, and difficult, but given the circumstances I back and support the decision of the Prime Minister and the Government to move forward with the deal to release hostages.”

“This is a moral and ethical duty that correctly expresses the Jewish and Israeli value of securing the freedom of those held captive, with the hope that it will be the first step in returning all the hostages home,” Herzog wrote. “The State of Israel, the IDF, and all the security forces will continue to act in every way possible to achieve this goal, alongside the restoration of the absolute security of the citizens of Israel.”

FIRST ON FOX: A legal group called on the Michigan bar to investigate and sanction “Squad” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., over her antisemitic rhetoric.

The nonpartisan Coolidge Reagan Foundation is calling on the State Bar of Michigan to probe Tlaib, who is an active attorney in Michigan, over her comments.

Dan Backer, the foundation’s counsel, told Fox News Digital that he believes people who spread “vile, antisemitic lies to foster hatred towards a people” should be held accountable.

TLAIB REFUSES TO ANSWER REPORTER’S QUESTIONS ON CONTROVERSIAL PHRASE DEFINED AS ‘CODE FOR ERADICATING’ ISRAEL

Backer said Tlaib “clearly violated” the Michigan bar’s ethics code with her rhetoric and that he was initially looking into “some of those snot-nosed kids” out of Harvard and Columbia law schools.

“I was reading … what she was saying, and I was like, ‘You know, this is really outrageous. How is this OK?’” Backer said. “And then I remember, ‘Well, she’s in Michigan, I wonder if she’s a lawyer.'”

“And I looked it up, and she was,” Backer continued. “And so we talked about it internally. We realized that people need to be held accountable.”

Backer said the “fundamental problem” that America is seeing right now is that “people do horrible s— and they’re never held accountable for it.”

He also said that “the sooner you start putting cameras on people’s faces, they stop.”

Backer noted the number of calls to the nonprofit Accuracy in Media — of which Backer is on the board — from Harvard students asking to have their name taken down from the organization’s “so-called doxxing truck” for signing a letter in support of Hamas.

“When people see accountability for their bad actions, you get less bad actors,” Backer said. “I think that’s really essential, and probably this generation of whiny, little s—s has not really experienced yet.”

According to the complaint, the Coolidge Reagan Foundation’s “request arises from Attorney Tlaib’s false, discriminatory, and anti-Semitic comments regarding the horrific massacre and other crimes the international terrorist group Hamas ruthlessly unleashed against innocent Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, including kidnapping, rape, beheading children, burning people alive, and murdering a baby by placing him in an oven.”

“In response to these atrocities, Attorney Tlaib made several public statements evincing deeply discriminatory, antisemitic views that call into question her character and fitness to practice law,” the complaint reads.

The complaint references Tlaib’s censure by the House of Representatives this month “for her repeated reprehensible statements” and that Tlaib’s “irresponsible anti-Semitic lies and discriminatory statements — which include embracing a call for the violent destruction of Israel and concomitant genocide of Israelis, as well as reckless false accusations of genocide against President Joe Biden and the government of Israel — violate the Michigan Court Rules and Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct.”

“The State Bar of Michigan should initiate an investigation and impose appropriate sanctions against an attorney who spreads anti-Semitic propaganda and lies in support of an officially designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” it continues.

Tlaib’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Tlaib has faced intense criticism over her anti-Israel and antisemitic remarks, including her promotion of the genocidal call against Jews “from the river to the sea.”

Tlaib posted to social media about the phrase, saying it was about “peaceful coexistence.”

“From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity,” she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

However, even the Biden White House says the phrase could be considered “antisemitic.”

Fox Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn quizzed the Palestinian-American lawmaker, asking her if she regrets using the phrase. 

“Congresswoman, do you regret using the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’? It’s used by terrorists to call for the genocide of the Jewish people. Do you regret using it?” Vaughn said.

Tlaib did not respond.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Hillary Vaughn contributed reporting.

The Biden administration is quietly discussing a potentially far-reaching settlement with environmental groups that advocate for tearing down four hydroelectric dams in Washington to protect salmon.

Federal attorneys representing the government said it had “developed a package of actions and commitments” and agreed to pause litigation with environmental activist plaintiffs in the case, according to court documents filed late last month. In the filings, jointly submitted by the federal government and eco groups, the parties said they could request a multiyear pause on the litigation to allow for the implementation of the package as soon as Dec. 15, 2023.

However, the filing failed to detail exactly what conditions were included in the secretive package developed. The groups involved in the case have vehemently argued in favor of breaching the four federally managed dams amid declining salmon populations in the lower Snake River, which winds through Idaho and southwestern Washington before feeding into the Columbia River and then into the Pacific Ocean.

“We find it necessary to remind you Congress alone has the authority not only to order the breach of the Lower Snake River Dams, but also exclusive authority to direct the study of breaching or to authorize replacement resources,” four House Republicans from the Pacific Northwest led by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., wrote to the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Monday.

MAJOR US POWER SOURCE FACING EXTINCTION THANKS TO RED TAPE, SPARKING CALLS FOR REFORM

“This is statutory fact, and we warn the Administration not to attempt to circumvent that fact through clever wordsmithing,” the lawmakers continued, noting they have received a “plethora” of complaints from stakeholders and constituents about the federal government’s secretive negotiations on the matter.

The CEQ and Department of the Interior have for months engaged with the plaintiff groups but have stopped short of endorsing tearing the dams down. President Biden, though, said in March he would work with proponents of breaching — Indigenous tribes and Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho — to “bring healthy and abundant salmon runs back” to the Columbia River system.

WHITE HOUSE PROHIBITING OFFICIAL TRAVEL TO FOSSIL FUEL CONFERENCES, INTERNAL MEMO SHOWS

However, he didn’t pledge to work with Newhouse, the other lawmakers who signed his letter Monday or industry groups like the Public Power Council (PPC), all of which have opposed breaching the dams. The PPC represents consumer-owned utilities in the Pacific Northwest on key issues, such as preserving the Federal Columbia River Power System, and is an intervenor-defendant in the ongoing litigation.

“The people of the Pacific Northwest have really been let down by this so-called process being run by the Council on Environmental Quality,” said PPC CEO and Executive Director Scott Simms in a press statement. “Our non-profit, community-owned member utilities and their customers were never given a real chance from the get-go, as we just recently learned a few parties in the litigation were working secretly with the federal government for more than six months on a ‘package of actions and commitments.’”

“We can’t wait for the day when the current confidentiality gag order is lifted on those proposed actions and commitments and everyone gets to see for themselves the level of uncertainty and prospective new costs that are being proposed for Northwest citizens as a result of these secret dealings,” he continued.

In recent years, multiple government and private reports have determined that breaching the dams would have a dramatic negative impact on energy production, climate goals and transportation in Washington.

The dams were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers primarily to ensure the Snake River was passable for barge transportation. However, since then, the main benefit has been their reliable clean energy output. They still provide about 8% of the state’s electricity, enough to serve millions of residents, and have a large total capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

BIDEN ADMIN PLAN TO RELEASE PREDATOR NEAR RURAL COMMUNITIES FACES WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION: ‘A HUGE THREAT’

Removing the dams would also likely chip away at U.S. climate goals since their energy production would likely need to be replaced by fossil fuel alternatives. According to federal data, replacing the hydropower with natural gas generation would increase carbon emissions by up to 2.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of 421,000 passenger cars.

“Despite our organization’s extensive efforts to contribute as industry and subject matter experts, our input was overlooked for months while the plaintiffs engaged in secretive negotiations with the Council on Environmental Quality,” added Neil Maunu, the executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, in the press statement.

“This failure to consider the expertise and perspective of our members who rely on the critical navigation services provided by the system has left us with grave concerns about the credibility and fairness of the resulting package of actions and commitments,” Maunu continued. “We urge transparency and fairness in this process and call on this administration to do so.”

In addition to the impacts on energy and climate ambitions, industry groups have argued that removing the four Snake River dams would disrupt the economy and harm agriculture exports. 

The river system notably feeds the largest U.S. wheat export gateway. Aided by the dams, barges traveling along the Columbia River system carry about 60% of Washington’s annual wheat exports. A staggering 40% of the nation’s total wheat production, valued at billions of dollars, travels through the river system.

LOCAL RESIDENTS EXPLODE AT BIDEN OFFICIALS OVER PLAN TO RELEASE GRIZZLY BEARS NEAR THEIR COMMUNITIES

“We have said all along that healthy salmon and dams can coexist, but this can only happen through cooperative work and the ability for all stakeholders to come together in a productive way,” Michelle Hennings, the executive director of the Washington Wheat Association, said in a statement. “Lack of clear direction and transparency from the Federal government only hinders the ability of that progress.”

In a statement, a White House CEQ spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the administration is committed to balancing the wildlife, agriculture and clean energy needs of the Pacific Northwest. However, they declined to share the details of the agreement with environmental groups, citing a confidentiality agreement.

“At President Biden’s direction, the Biden-Harris Administration has made a historic commitment to prioritize the restoration of healthy and abundant wild salmon, steelhead, and other native fish to the Columbia River Basin while delivering affordable and reliable clean energy, supporting the local agriculture economy, and meeting the many resilience needs of the region,” the spokesperson said.

“Consistent with this direction, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to honoring the United States’ obligations to Tribal Nations and, at the same time, recognizing the important benefits that the Columbia River provides to communities and businesses,” the spokesperson continued.

“As part of the court-approved confidential mediation with Tribes, States, and other parties to develop a long-term, durable path forward, the U.S. Government has developed a package of actions and commitments that we are discussing with all parties involved in the mediation. Details on the new actions and commitments will be public once the agreement is finalized.”

And Earthjustice, one of the activist groups that entered into the agreement with the federal government, told Fox News Digital that the “package of actions and commitments remains confidential at this point, and we cannot provide any detail beyond what is in the filings with the court.”

An internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) memo obtained by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project and shared with Fox News Digital prohibits agents from using “he, him, she, her” pronouns when initially interacting with members of the public.

“DO NOT use ‘he, him, she, her’ pronouns until you have more information about, or provided by, the individual,” reads the memo obtained by Heritage via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Oversight Project Director Mike Howell told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday that the “members of the public” who border patrol agents most often interact with are illegal migrants.

“Border Patrol deals with more illegal aliens than any entity in the federal government. This forced language guidance is designed to coddle illegal aliens,” Howell said.

THOUSANDS OF CHINESE NATIONALS, GOTAWAYS AT SOUTHERN BORDER SINCE OCT 1: SOURCES

“I guess it wasn’t enough for the Biden administration to betray the Border Patrol by purposefully unleashing chaos on the southern border,” Howell said. “Now, the radical political leadership is enrolling agents in a forced-speech program to call illegal aliens by their preferred pronouns.”

CBP did not respond to Fox News Digital’s multiple requests for comment.

The memo encourages agents to use “a universal greeting, such as ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Evening’ in the initial greeting.”

“If an incorrect pronoun is used and corrected by the individual, acknowledge the oversight and use the correct pronoun,” the memo reads.

It also lists “key terms” with definitions next to each: bisexual, gay, gender expression, gender identity, gender non-conforming, intersex, lesbian, non-binary, queer, questioning, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, transgender, transgender woman, transgender man and transitioning are all listed.

NEW ‘ORWELLIAN’ HHS PRONOUN MANDATE FORCES EMPLOYEES TO ‘DENY REALITY,’ VIOLATE LAW: LEGAL EXPERT

“This job aid provides guidance to all CBP employees who interact with members of the public to help facilitate effective communication with the diverse public we serve, including individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, non-binary, and gender nonconforming (LGBTQI+),” the memo’s introduction reads, adding that the guidance “should be used by all CBP employees.”

It also notes that the terms and definitions “are not universal” and that some LGBTQ individuals “may define these terms differently and the meanings of the terms may change over time.”

DEMI LOVATO REVEALS WHY USING THEY/THEM PRONOUNS WAS ‘ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTING’

Howell said CBP “should be allowed to do their job and prevent all illegal immigration, not used as pawns in some sick social experiment.”

The memo follows an earlier report by Heritage’s Oversight Project that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rolled out a similar gender pronoun guideline.

“All employees should be addressed [by] the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves,” the reported email to HHS employees stated as part of its push for “Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination Guidance,” which it says protects “employee rights and protections related to gender identity.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

A new voting rights case bubbling up to the Supreme Court has the potential to transform how voting rights are litigated in the courts.

On Monday, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act – which prohibits the “denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race or color through voting qualifications or prerequisites” – does not explicitly grant a private right of action.

In other words, the Eighth Circuit decided that individuals or advocacy groups who believe a state is violating a voter’s rights can’t bring a lawsuit – only the federal government can do so. In the case in question, the court said a local NAACP group in Arkansas, which is suing the state over redistricting maps that the group says discriminated against Black voters, needs to convince the Justice Department to take up their case.

“Did Congress give private plaintiffs the ability to sue under [Section 2] of the Voting Rights Act? Text and structure reveal that the answer is no, so we affirm the district court’s decision to dismiss,” the ruling states.

Legal experts told Fox News Digital that the case is likely to make its way up to the highest court in the land, giving the nine justices the opportunity to examine the Voting Rights Act in a presidential election year.

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF BLACK VOTERS IN ALABAMA RACIAL GERRYMANDERING CASE

“Justice [Neil] Gorsuch had indicated that this is a significant issue, and the Eighth Circuit just agreed that there isn’t a private right of action. Resolution of this question is clearly headed to the Supreme Court for resolution,” Jason Torchinsky, a partner at Holzman Vogel and an expert in election law, told Fox News Digital.

Monday’s ruling applies only to federal courts covered by the Eighth Circuit, which includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

But there are several pending lawsuits by private groups that are challenging political maps drawn by legislators across the country.

In 2021, Gorsuch, who lawyers refer to as a “textualist,” indicated that at some point the Supreme Court needs to decide if Congress assumed a private right to action in the Voting Rights Act or not.

SUPREME COURT APPEARS TO LEAN IN FAVOR OF UPHOLDING GOP-DRAWN SOUTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL MAP

“I join the court’s opinion in full, but flag one thing it does not decide,” Gorsuch wrote at the time, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas. “Our cases have assumed — without deciding — that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 furnishes an implied cause of action under section 2.”

Mike Dimino, law professor at Widener University Commonwealth Law School in Pennsylvania, said the difficulty with the Eighth Circuit’s argument is that “the Supreme Court’s attitude in the mid-’60s was much more open to the creation of a private right of action where a statute was ambiguous.”

“If you’re in Congress, and you’re writing a statute in the mid-’60s, you look at the Supreme Court’s precedent at the time, and you say, ‘All right, well, this is what the Supreme Court does,'” Dimino said. 

“But the statute has gone on now for more than 55 years, and the Supreme Court hasn’t decided squarely whether these suits are available or not,” he said.

Dimino says he believes it is unlikely that the Supreme Court would affirm the Eighth Circuit’s decision should it decide to take up the case.

HIGH-PROFILE SUPREME COURT CASES TO WATCH IN 2023-2024

The Legal Defense Fund, a civil rights group, criticized the Eighth Circuit’s decision by saying that it means “[i]ndividuals who experience voting discrimination on account of their race will be prevented from suing under the Voting Rights Act (VRA)’s critical Section 2 provisions to vindicate them and must instead rely on the discretion and limited resources of the U.S. Attorney General.”

The group also called the ruling “a stark departure from six decades of decisions in hundreds of Section 2 cases,” pointing to the recent Supreme Court case Allen v. Milligan.

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In that case, which was decided this year, a 5-4 majority affirmed a lower court decision that ruled in favor of Black voters in Alabama who challenged the state’s GOP-friendly map, concluding the state likely violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.

Should the Eighth Circuit case be petitioned to the Supreme Court, it could set up a timeline for the case to be decided during a presidential election year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As he aims to be the last challenger standing against former President Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, Chris Christie’s turning up the volume on two other rivals.

Christie’s amplifying criticism of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is for not vigorously targeting Trump, who remains the faraway front-runner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

“Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley have not made the case against him. They refuse to make the case against him. They’re scared to make the case against him,” Christie charged in a Fox News Digital interview on the campaign trail in New Hampshire.

And Christie, a very vocal Republican critic of Trump, touted that “the one thing people say about me is I’m not.”

POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR IN A CRUCIAL PRIMARY STATE TEAMS UP WITH CHRISTIE, HALEY AND DESANTIS

DeSantis and Haley are currently battling for second place in the latest national surveys in the 2024 Republican race and in the most recent surveys in Iowa, whose caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar. 

As Christie runs a second time for the White House, he’s once again concentrating most of his time and resources on New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in the Republican schedule and votes second after Iowa. Christie is currently in third place in New Hampshire polls, far behind Trump and slightly trailing Haley.

Christie placed all his chips in his campaign for president eight years ago in the Granite State. However, his campaign crashed and burned after a disappointing and distant sixth-place finish in New Hampshire, far behind Trump, who crushed the competition in the primary, boosting him toward the nomination and eventually the White House. 

CHRISTIE VOWS TO ‘CONFRONT’ TRUMP IF FORMER PRESIDENT DOESN’T DEBATE

Christie became the first among the other GOP 2016 contenders to endorse Trump and for years was a top outside adviser to the then-president and chaired Trump’s high-profile commission on opioids. However, the two had a falling out after Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden. In the past three years, Christie has become one of the harshest Trump critics in the Republican Party.

Christie, who for months has pledged to seek out and confront Trump on the campaign trail, said “I think the one person Donald Trump doesn’t want to have a one-on-one with is me.”

“He’s not afraid of Nikki Haley,” Christie argued. “And he certainly made his feelings about Ron DeSantis known. He doesn’t look like he’s very intimidated by him. But the fact is, you don’t hear him saying that stuff about me. He doesn’t want to be on that stage with me.”

DESANTIS LANDS THE ENDORSEMENT OF A TOP EVANGELICAL LEADER IN IOWA 

Christie teamed up Monday night at a town hall in Nashua, New Hampshire, with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who also joined Haley and DeSantis on the campaign trail in the Granite State this week. 

Sununu, a popular governor who’s also an outspoken Trump critic, has said he’ll make an endorsement in the GOP nomination race sometime after Thanksgiving, and that it’s down to Haley, DeSantis or Christie.

Asked about the case he’s making to Sununu, Christie told Fox News: “who does he want standing across from Donald Trump when this gets down to a one-on-one? Who does he think can take him on in a direct way? Who’s been saying the same things as Chris Sununu has been saying for the last couple of years about Donald Trump, trying to move the party in a new direction? And I think I’m the person who has the clearest, strongest voice on that.”

Christie said that he needs to do “well” in New Hampshire’s primary to be successful in his long-shot bid for the 2024 nomination. Asked to define what “well” means, Christie answered, “No. I can’t define it. I’ll know it when I see it and we’ll see what it looks like.”

“If I don’t think I’ve done well enough, I’d get out,” Christie emphasized. “I’m not somebody who’s going to linger here. This is hard work, and you’ve got to get up out of bed every morning and feel like you have a chance to win. And if that moment comes where I don’t feel like I have a chance to win, I’m not going to elongate a campaign just for the sake of doing it.”

But he added: “I’m convinced that I’m going to do very well here. And I’m going to be the last one standing against Donald Trump and I’m going to take this right to the convention because he’s going to be convicted of federal crimes of interference of our election process this spring.”

CHRISTIE JEERED AS HE TELLS TRUMP SUPPORTERS THEY ‘FEAR THE TRUTH’ AT FLORIDA REPUBLICAN GATHERING

Trump has made history as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments – including in federal court in Washington, D.C. and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss – have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

Christie’s a longtime friend of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, dating back to their days as fellow governors. Manchin, a moderate Democrat in a heavily red state, announced earlier this month that he wouldn’t seek re-election to the Senate next year and instead is mulling a potential third-party run for the White House.

“Joe and I had dinner together about ten days ago in D.C. It was great to see him,” Christie shared. “We had a great dinner together on his boat in the Potomac. He’s been a great friend for 14 years now, and I suspect that whatever happens in the upcoming year, we’re going to continue to be great friends.”

But Christie ruled out teaming up with Manchin in any possible third-party presidential bid.

“I’m committed to winning the Republican nomination for president. I have no interest in being a third-party candidate,” Christie told Fox News. “Joe can do whatever it is he wants to do. Everyone’s got to make their own decision. My decision is the only interest I have is being the Republican nominee for president because I think that’s the best chance I have to win.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, announced Tuesday that he is retiring from Congress to accept an offer to become president of Youngstown State University.

Johnson, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 2010, will continue in his role as a lawmaker for several more months before starting as president of Youngstown State University in March.

“After much thought and prayerful deliberation, I have accepted the offer to lead Youngstown State University and will not be seeking an 8th term in Congress,” Johnson wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “As I’ve stated previously, I wasn’t looking for another job, because I love the one I have serving the people of Eastern Ohio in the U.S. House. This was an extremely difficult decision.”

“This is not a goodbye, however. I will continue serving in the House for several more months, and you will see no let up,” the outgoing congressman continued. “My offices are open and my staff remains ready to serve you.”

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY INCREASES TUITION, MEANING IT COSTS LESS TO ATTEND HARVARD

The Youngstown State University Board of Trustees voted 8-1 on Tuesday to offer Johnson his new job as president of the institution.

Johnson, 69, will succeed former Ohio State University football head coach Jim Tressel, who left as Youngstown president in February. Helen K. Lafferty is currently serving as the university’s interim president.

“There is still much left on my agenda to do before I depart Congress, including doing all I can to help pass tax exemption legislation to benefit the people of East Palestine as well as a broader rail safety bill, streamline America’s LNG export process, and advance a responsible budget and spending package for the remainder of this fiscal year. It’s business as usual,” Johnson wrote in his statement on X.

OHIO DEMOCRAT UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF ‘ERRATIC AND ABUSIVE’ BEHAVIOR

The Ohio lawmaker represents the state’s sixth congressional district, which covers the East Palestine area where a Norfolk Southern train derailed in February, resulting in black smoke blanketing the village and hazardous chemicals spilling into the community’s soil and water.

The filing deadline for congressional candidates to submit signed petitions to run in party primaries for the two-year term that starts January 2025 is Dec. 20, and the primary election will be held in Ohio on March 19. 

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine will decide if and when to schedule a special election to select someone to replace Johnson in Congress for the rest of 2024.