Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

FACE OFF: Don’t miss the Fox News Simulcast of the CNN Presidential Debate on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET. Stay in the know for more updates here.

What’s happening…

-Calls for Biden to fire official for past anti-Israel tweets

-Trump urges drug test for Biden

-Whistleblower who exposed NPR bias finds new job

What can he say?

Judge Juan Merchan has partially lifted the gag order he imposed against former President Trump – weeks after the jury found him guilty on all counts.

Trump and his legal team have been fighting the gag order since it was imposed upon him at the start of the trial, but had ramped up their efforts when it concluded last month. The former president and presumptive Republican nominee’s legal team had argued the gag order should be lifted before the June 27 presidential debate.

Merchan’s gag order barred Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses with regard to their potential participation or about counsel in the case – other than Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – or about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff.

Merchan on Tuesday partially lifted the gag order because the trial has concluded.

Trump is now able to speak about protected witnesses and jurors.

Trump is still blocked from commenting about individual prosecutors, court staff and their family members. That portion of the gag order will remain in effect until Trump’s sentencing on July 11.

White House

‘JUST HORRIFYING’: Watchdog group calls for Biden to fire WH official for past anti-Israel tweets …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘OBSCENE’: House GOP lawmaker rips State Dept ahead of vote on U.S. dollars going to Taliban …Read more

U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks to the crowd while he campaigns in the Bronx borough of New York City, U.S., June 22, 2024. REUTERS/Joy Malone (REUTERS/Joy Malone)

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘THEATER OF CONFLICT’: Democrat challenger slams Bowman tirade, says profanity-laced rally jeopardizes party ‘unity’ …Read more

JUST SAY ‘NO’: Trump urges drug test for Biden, says he’ll do same screening …Read more

EPIC CLASH: How to watch the CNN Presidential Debate Simulcast on the Fox News Channel …Read more

‘SUGARCOATING’ CONTROVERSY: California city keeps charged ballot language for non-citizen voting measure …Read more

CALL TO THE BULLPEN: Obama again serving as Joe’s closer ahead of 2024 Trump rematch …Read more

Trials and Tribulations

DAY 3: US v Trump: The afternoon public hearing ended with no decision from Judge Cannon Read more

Across America

NO ABORTIONS FOR MINORS: Tennessee sued over law banning adults from helping minors get abortions without parental consent …Read more

MOVING ON: Whistleblower finds new gig after exposing alleged liberal bias at NPR …Read more

NEW YORK PAYS PRICE FOR NAIVETY: Cuomo scorches Dems for migrant crisis: ‘We’re finding out, 200,000 people later, you needed a plan’ …Read more

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: This blue city that ‘Defund Police’ supporters call home has over 1,000 unsolved homicides …Read more

KENYAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE: Kenyan police depart for Haiti to tackle rampant gang violence …Read more

ALL MUST SERVE: Israel’s Supreme Court rules ultra-Orthodox men must serve in military in unanimous decision …Read more

HUGE POPULATION: Houston area, an immigration hot spot, reeling from murder of Jocelyn Nungaray …Read more

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Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Gov. Gavin Newsom took on “delusional California bashers” and lauded the state’s economic prowess and inclusive values in an unorthodox State of the State speech that he shared in a video Tuesday on social media.

Repeating familiar tropes of past political speeches, Newsom cast the state as a force of light against dark conservative forces. He boasted about California’s work to protect civil rights and attacked Republicans in other states for “telling a woman she’s not in charge of her own body.”

“Our values and our way of life are the antidote to the poisonous populism of the right, and to the fear and anxiety that so many people are feeling today,” Newsom said. “People across the globe, they look to California and see what’s possible, and how we can live together and advance together and prosper together across every conceivable and imaginable difference.”

The prerecorded address marks the fourth year in a row that Newsom has broken the California tradition of the governor delivering the annual address to lawmakers at the state Capitol.

His GOP foes said the decision to reject the conventional setting again is an example of Newsom’s lack of commitment to the job as he expands his national profile.

“The governor has no respect for this institution,” said Assemblymember James Gallagher (R-Yuba City). “This governor acts like he’s too busy to do things that he’s supposed to do. He’s obviously able to do it in person.”

Newsom’s aides defended the governor, pointing out that the California Constitution only requires him to submit a written letter to the Legislature. Newsom invited lawmakers to a private reception at the governor’s mansion in Sacramento on Monday evening.

Prior governors have used the speech, which has been historically delivered in January, to outline their policy agenda for the year to lawmakers from both houses and political parties in the Assembly chamber. The typical address offers an opportunity to show deference to lawmakers, by appearing in person on their floor, and to gather their support for the work ahead.

But critics of the address call it a tired ritual in an era of one-party rule and say the value of the speech has been usurped by the budget, which has become the governor’s main avenue to drive policy change.

Newsom, who dislikes reading off teleprompters because of his dyslexia, has not delivered the State of the State in the Capitol since 2020. Newsom’s address was streamed the following year from an empty Dodger Stadium, a mass COVID-19 vaccination site where the number of seats offered a symbolic representation of the California lives lost in the pandemic at the time.

The governor in 2022 spoke from the headquarters of the California Natural Resources Agency in Sacramento, a 21-story environmentally friendly glass tower blocks from the Capitol, and promised gas rebates to taxpayers. Newsom declined to give a speech last year and instead opted for a statewide press tour, where he sprinkled policy announcements at stops from Sacramento to San Diego.

The governor’s office said Newsom wanted to deliver the speech in the chamber this year and struggled to find a date that worked with the Legislature.

The speech was initially slated for March 13. The address was rescheduled after Newsom’s bond measure to fund mental health services, Proposition 1, remained too close to call for two weeks after the March 5 primary election. His speech was rewritten with a plan to deliver it on March 18 and then delayed again.

Debates over how to solve California’s $46.8-billion budget deficit heated up the following month and continued until last week. Now lawmakers and the governor are staring down an impending deadline to qualify measures on the November ballot and negotiating with interest groups to rescind the initiatives they oppose.

Democratic Sen. Steve Glazer of Orinda was unfazed by Newsom’s nontraditional approach to the speech, saying simply that “we are in changing times,” and he respects the governor’s choice in how he delivers his message.

For one member of an earlier generation of lawmakers, though, Newsom’s video message came off like a snub.

“I hope it’s the last time it ever happens,” said Rusty Areias, who was a Democratic assemblyman in the 1980s and ’90s.

“It’s one of the things that members always look forward to. I understand the governor is very busy. I understand that there are national and international issues that are probably more important, but it is a tradition that in my mind is worth maintaining.”

In his address, Newsom touted his administration’s work to lessen homelessness and crime, two policy areas in which he’s most politically vulnerable.

“When it comes to America’s homeless problem, California’s detractors have similarly offered nothing but rhetoric, moaning and casting blame,” Newsom said. “No state, by the way, has done moreas California in addressing this pernicious problem of homelessness plaguing cities and towns.”

He pushed back on a narrative that California is “defunding the police,” saying the state is recruiting 1,000 California Highway Patrol officers and passing retail theft reforms this year.

In a lighter moment, he described the state as a “weird, wild, free-spirited” creative haven, home to the heavy metal band Metallica and rapper Kendrick Lamar and a place that invented “the popsicle, blue jeans and Barbie.”

Newsom’s speech alluded to the November presidential election, which he referred to as “another extraordinary moment in history — for California, for the country, and for the world.” He compared the moment to an “anxious” time in 1939, when then-California Gov. Culbert Olson in his inaugural address warned about the “the destruction of democracy” as fascism spread throughout Europe.

“We are presented with a choice between a society that embraces our values and a world darkened by division and discrimination,” Newsom said. “The economic prosperity, health, safety and freedom that we enjoy are under assault. Forces are threatening the very foundation of California’s success — our pluralism, our innovative spirit, and our diversity.”

Newsom is expected to travel to Atlanta this week to attend the presidential debate on Thursday as a surrogate for President Biden. The governor, who has built a reputation as a Democrat unafraid of taking the fight to Republicans, was invited by the Biden campaign to participate in media interviews before and after the debate to support the president and the party.

The governor used the speech to attack conservatives nationally over reproductive rights, an issue Democrats have tried to capitalize on in the election.

“When it comes to reproductive rights, their lies are designed to control,” Newsom said. “Their draconian policies are driving women to flee across state lines, as fugitives from laws written by men more than a hundred years ago. Some even go so far as to force victims of assault to give birth to their rapist’s babies.”

Sacramento Bureau Chief Laurel Rosenhall and staff writer Anabel Sosa contributed to this report.

Former President Obama is again stepping in to help lock up votes and dollars during the home stretch of President Biden’s quest for the White House, apparently having ditched the concerns that reportedly made Obama wary of Biden’s candidacy in 2020.

Biden’s rematch with former President Trump features a second encore from Obama, whose celebrity and status with Democrat donors has been a financial and public relations boon to Biden at a time when the president is facing increasing questions about his record, plans and cognitive abilities.

“I take great pride in what the Biden administration has accomplished,” Obama said during a recent event with Biden and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “And it’s a reminder that we don’t have to just vote against something in this election. We have somebody to worry about. And there’s a whole agenda that we should be concerned about.”

He continued, “But we can take pride in affirming the extraordinary work that Joe has done. And we want to make sure that we build on that and then pass it on to the next president rather than have a president who wants to reverse the progress that has been made.”

CELEBS SHOWER BIDEN WITH CAMPAIGN CASH, BUT COULD UNDERCUT ‘SCRANTON JOE’ IMAGE

Obama’s comments were part of a ritzy fundraising event at which the Biden campaign pulled in a whopping $30 million as Hollywood stars such as George Clooney and Julia Roberts took the stage in support of the 46th president. The dollar total shattered previous Democrat fundraising records.

Biden is gearing up for a difficult rematch against Trump this year, with polling showing Biden with a two-point advantage over Trump, which is well within the margin of error.

BIDEN LOOKS TO CAPITALIZE ON STAR-STUDDED HOLLYWOOD FUNDRAISER AFTER TRUMP’S MASSIVE CASH HAUL IN BLUE STATE

Biden said in April last year that he’d “finish the job” and run for re-election, and the announcement was soon followed by a series of high-profile fundraising events with Hollywood stars, elites at the highest echelons of American society and industry, and notably Obama. 

President Biden and former President Obama. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Obama’s appearance in Los Angeles this month was not the first time his attendance helped bring in millions for Biden. 

The 44th president, as well as former President Bill Clinton, joined Biden at Radio City Music Hall in New York in March for another star-studded fundraiser, this time hosted by actress Mindy Kaling. During the event, late-night host Stephen Colbert moderated a conversation with Biden, Obama and Clinton, while special guests such as Queen Latifah, Lizzo and Ben Platt also appeared.

TRUMP CATCHES UP TO BIDEN IN CASH DASH, BUT CAN HE SPEND THE MONEY IN TIME?

That event pulled in more than $26 million, according to the campaign at the time. 

Obama has also recorded campaign videos with Biden this election cycle and held conversations with Biden regarding the structure of the campaign heading into 2024, according to various media reports.

Former Presidents Clinton and Obama are shown with President Biden. (Getty Images)

Obama’s 2024 fundraising efforts mirror his actions when he stepped in to help boost Biden in 2020, including an $11 million fundraiser that marked the duo’s first such event together since the Obama administration. Obama went on to hit the campaign trail in support of Biden in the leadup to Election Day, which included issuing a scathing assessment of Trump.

BIDEN HAS A MASSIVE MAY FUNDRAISING HAUL, BUT COMES UP FAR SHORT OF TRUMP

“Trump cares about feeding his ego. Joe cares about keeping you and your family safe,” Obama said in Flint, Michigan, just days before the 2020 election.

Obama added, “He’s still worried about his inauguration crowd being smaller than mine. It really bugs him. He’s still talking about that. Does he have nothing better to worry about? Did no one come to his birthday party as a kid? Was he traumatized?”

President-elect Trump greets outgoing first lady Michelle Obama on Jan. 20, 2017. (Reuters)

But long before joining Biden on the campaign trail – or even endorsing his former running mate – Obama cautioned Biden against seeking the White House, citing fears that the campaign could “damage his legacy,” according to a 2019 New York Times report.

LATE-NIGHT DNCTV? COLBERT, KIMMEL FUNDRAISE FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN

“You don’t have to do this, Joe, you really don’t,” Obama reportedly told Biden.

“Win or lose, they needed to make sure Mr. Biden did not ‘embarrass himself’ or ‘damage his legacy’ during the campaign,” the New York Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the conversation.

Former President Obama (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Obama remained coy for a long while about who he would endorse, saying he would not back anyone during the primary. As Democrat contenders such as Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the primary race and cleared a path for Biden, however, Obama finally endorsed his former veep in August 2020.

Obama said in a video at the time that “Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now,” noting that choosing him as his running mate in both the 2008 and 2012 elections was “one of the best decisions I ever made.”

OBAMA PLEADS WITH DIGITAL INFLUENCERS TO BACK BIDEN: ‘YOU MAY NOT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING HE DOES’

But even the process by which Obama landed on Biden as his vice presidential pick got off to a rocky start.

President Obama takes President Biden by the wrist at a fundraising event. (Christopher Gardner via Storyful)

Biden made a series of gaffes before becoming Obama’s running mate, including in 2007 when Biden was about to declare his own run for the White House. On the eve of his announcement, Biden described Obama to a reporter as “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

Despite Biden’s comment, he and Obama soon developed and strengthened their professional relationship, culminating in Biden being selected as Obama’s VP.

Obama could continue bolstering Biden’s campaign this election cycle as recent donation data shows Trump closing his campaign’s fundraising gap with Biden’s campaign. 

Biden previously had a massive fundraising advantage over Trump in the 2024 race for the White House, but recent windfalls following Trump’s conviction in his New York criminal trial have essentially erased Biden’s lead, Fox News Digital reported this weekend. 

Trump and the Republican National Committee in May notched their second consecutive month outraising Biden and the DNC, all while not yet launching a general election ad buy. Biden’s campaign, conversely, has spent at least $65 million on ad purchases.

“The campaign appreciates President Obama’s help and support,” a Biden campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment.