FIRST ON FOX: The top outside political group that supported President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign is jumping into a hotly contested special election for a Republican-controlled vacant House seat in a solidly red congressional district in Tennessee.

MAGA Inc. is launching ads to support Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Matt Van Epps in his showdown against Democratic nominee Aftyn Behn in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Mark Green, who resigned from office in June to take a private sector job. The spots were shared first with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

The ads, which MAGA Inc. says will run on broadcast TV and digital and are backed by a seven-figure buy that also includes investments in get-out-the-vote efforts, are the first by the group since last year’s presidential election.

Republican groups are pouring plenty of resources into the special election to avoid the possibility of a major upset and protect the GOP’s current razor-thin 219-214 majority in the House.

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Trump carried the district — which is located in central and western Tennessee, stretches from Kentucky to Alabama, and includes parts of Nashville — by 22 points in last year’s presidential election.

But Democrats, energized after their sweeping victories earlier this month in the 2025 elections, are optimistic about their chances in the Dec. 2 special election. Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin, who campaigned with Behn last weekend, argued that she has “an excellent shot to win.”

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The spots by MAGA Inc. target Behn, a state representative, former healthcare community organizer, and rising progressive star who some have dubbed the “AOC of Tennessee,” over her vote last year in the legislature against what Republicans tout as the state’s largest tax cut ever.

“Politician Aftyn Behn voted against the largest tax cut in state history,” the narrator in the spot said.

And the narrator claimed that “this year, Aftyn Behn backed more tax hikes that would cost Tennessee families thousands more,” which points to Behn’s opposition to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the Republican-controlled Congress along partisan lines and extended the Trump tax cuts from the president’s first term.

“We can’t afford radical liberal Aftyn Behn,” the narrator argued.

The ad also includes a clip, used twice, of Behn saying, “I’m a very radical person.”

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Trump’s endorsement of Van Epps helped boost the former commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services to primary victory last month in an 11-candidate race for the Republican congressional nomination.

Last week, Trump hosted a tele-rally for Van Epps in which he claimed Behn was a “Marxist” and linked her to Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor-elect of New York City, whom Republicans are aiming to make the new face of the Democratic Party.

The Van Epps campaign is asking the president to campaign in person in the district ahead of the special election.

On Tuesday, former Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Trump defeated in last year’s presidential election, campaigned with Behn.

“Kamala Harris’ visit to Tennessee says it all — Aftyn Behn is a typical radical liberal. Behn supports higher taxes and open borders. Tennessee is going to reject her agenda and elect Matt Van Epps to Congress,” MAGA Inc. spokesman Alex Pfeiffer told Fox News Digital.

MAGA Inc. was not a major player in the 2022 midterms, as the group saved much of its resources for Trump’s 2024 campaign to win back the White House. MAGA Inc. ended up spending $456-million to support Trump’s campaign, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks campaign finance data.

But with Trump aiming to help Republicans protect their House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections — “We must keep the Majority at all costs,” Trump wrote in a social media post on Monday — MAGA Inc. is expected to play a much larger role than they did during the 2022 cycle.

“This spend in an off-year special election shows how committed MAGA Inc will be to ensuring the House and Senate remain in Republican control,” a source familiar told Fox News Digital.

And MAGA Inc. has the war chest to deliver on that commitment. The group raised nearly $177 million through June, according to the most recent fundraising reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Other conservative groups that are pouring big bucks into the special election in Tennessee include the Club for Growth Action and Conservatives for American Excellence PAC, which have both launched six-figure ad buys.

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The DNC charged that “Republicans are panicking — and they should be.”

And DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman argued that “Van Epps is Trump’s hand-picked candidate in an overwhelmingly Republican district, and he’s still in the fight of his life.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing to send 250 border agents to New Orleans for a two-month immigration crackdown operation called “Swamp Sweep,” according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and three people familiar with the matter.

“Swamp Sweep,” which is expected to begin on Dec. 1, is reportedly aimed at arresting approximately 5,000 people across southeast Louisiana and into Mississippi. The reported operation marks the latest in a series of DHS illegal immigration crackdowns in cities across the country, including Chicago and Los Angeles.

In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations.”

DHS ‘BLITZES’ CHICAGOLAND, NETTING ‘MANY ARRESTS’ AS NOEM ONSITE FOR IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican who is closely aligned with President Donald Trump, recently discussed the possibility of federal agents working in his state during an appearance on “America Reports.” He noted that his state was “working closely with our federal partners” on immigration and crime crackdowns.

“We do know that New Orleans is a place under which we’ve had illegal criminal activity, alien activity, in and around that city. Chief Conley, who is the chief of police from Kenner, has consistently had problems with illegal aliens conducting very violent crime in and around the city, in his city, and has been consistently working with the feds to try to crack that down,” Landry told Fox News’ Sandra Smith on Monday.

“Look, people around Louisiana want their communities to be safe, irrespective of whether it’s criminal or illegal. Aliens conducting violence or American citizens or Louisiana citizens. If you go out there and break the law, we’re gonna put you in jail,” Landry later added.

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Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley, who Landry said is working closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Louisiana State Police, recently spoke about a community safety operation that federal agents were also involved in. According to Conley, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and ICE took “13 to 15 people into their custody.”

“You know, we’ve gotten complaints for the last three years on the lawlessness and the nuisance crimes that have been occurring at the lakefront. We’ve had a strong presence, we patrolled it, we’ve sighted people, but it just wasn’t enough. The conduct was escalating, citizens were getting harassed and bullied, strong-armed, and enough is enough,” Conley said in a video posted to the Kenner Police Department’s X page.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has overseen other immigration enforcement operations under Trump, has reportedly been tapped to lead operation Swamp Sweep. 

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Documents reviewed by the AP show that Border Patrol teams are set to go across neighborhoods in southeast Louisiana, stretching from New Orleans through Jefferson, St. Bernard and St. Tammany parishes and as far north as Baton Rouge. There are also plans for federal agents to go into southeastern Mississippi.

In preparation for the operation, federal agents have been securing several staging sites. The AP, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that part of the FBI’s New Orleans field office has been designated as a command post. Additionally, a naval base will reportedly be used to store vehicles, equipment and “less lethal” munitions, such as tear gas and pepper balls. The outlet said documents it reviewed showed that DHS asked to use the naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in New Orleans for up to 90 days beginning this weekend.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

North Carolina’s largest school district released a notice on Tuesday to help support student absences in light of recent immigration raids in the state.

Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Robert P. Taylor wrote a message titled, “Supporting staff and families amid recent federal immigration orders,” to address the “anxiety” felt by members of the community over federal immigration orders.

At the bottom of the message was a section on “supporting student absences” during the “challenging times.” North Carolina’s capital city of Raleigh is Wake’s county seat.

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“If a student needs to be absent, we encourage families to communicate directly with their child’s teacher and school,” the note read. “Sharing the reason for the absence – whether it’s illness, a family matter, or simply feeling worried – helps us understand how to best support your child.”

It continued, “Teachers are ready to work with families to make sure learning can continue. If your child is absent, their teacher can provide classwork or learning activities that can be completed from home. Staying in communication helps us ensure students don’t fall behind and continue to feel part of their classroom community.”

Taylor emphasized that while the district will comply with state and federal laws regarding federal enforcement actions, local school authorities are consulting with legal counsel if law enforcement approaches a school. He also said the district does not record information on students’ or their family’s immigration status.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Taylor and Wake County Public Schools for comment.

Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell said Monday that ICE and Customs and Border Protection officials were in the city, according to NBC News, although an administration official told NBC on Tuesday that CBP didn’t have plans for an operation there.

The superintendent’s note came days after the Trump administration launched “Operation Charlotte’s Web,” a federal immigration operation targeting criminal illegal immigrants in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), among those taken into custody within 48 hours of the operation were 44 criminal illegal aliens whose records include aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault on a police officer, battery, driving under the influence and hit-and-run.

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WBTV reported that approximately 20,935 students were absent from school across 185 schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district. The local outlet also reported that 31% of the student population are Hispanic.

Charlotte is the latest city targeted by the Trump administration to enforce immigration laws, in a nationwide effort that has included cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

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Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten and Adriana James-Rodil contributed to this report.