Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., will retire at the end of his current term and is backing San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond to succeed him, he confirmed to Fox News Friday.

Issa’s seat is in California’s newly redrawn 48th District, which has been reshaped to favor Democrats under the state’s Prop 50.

“Today I’m announcing my enthusiastic endorsement of Supervisor Jim Desmond for Congress to represent California’s new 48th district,” Issa told Fox News. 

“Jim is not only a personal friend, he’s a true patriot, a Navy veteran, a successful businessman and has a 20-year record of public service. He understands this community, was born and raised here and will make a terrific Congressman.”

GOP LAWMAKER ACCUSES JACK SMITH OF ‘SPYING’ ON CONGRESS AT TENSE HOUSE HEARING OVER TRUMP PROBE

Issa said stepping down after 25 years in Congress — and another 25 in business — was not an easy decision.

“First, we built the right campaign infrastructure. Support has been overwhelming — including from President Trump — and our polling was unmistakable: We would win this race,” he said. “But after a quarter-century in Congress — and before that, a quarter-century in business — it’s the right time for a new chapter and new challenges.”

Among his recent efforts, Issa pointed to securing the Congressional Medal of Honor for retired Navy Capt. Royce Williams, crediting President Trump with making the award possible.

“For a decade, my team and I waged a nonstop fight for Royce, and we were turned down on his behalf more times than I can remember,” he said. “But that all changed this year. 

“President Trump made Royce’s award possible, and when I witnessed the first lady place the Medal of Honor on my hero, it was more than just a job done. It felt like a career accomplishment.”

CALIFORNIA GOP REP MAKES RE-ELECTION DECISION AFTER CONSIDERING RUNNING IN TEXAS: SOURCE

Issa said he will remain focused on serving through 2026.

“There is still work to be done throughout 2026 both in Washington and my beloved current 48th District. And as many days that remain, I’ll dedicate each one of them to the people I serve and the indispensable nation I have sworn to protect as a soldier in the Army and as a proud and grateful Member of the People’s House of Representatives,” he said.

In a phone interview with Fox News, Issa also argued Congress has “diminished itself,” citing stagnant pay and the growing influence of outside money in elections.

“They have really, unfortunately, allowed outside money to exceed inside money in elections,” he said. “And more people live and die with social media rather than substance, so, I’m hoping that there’s a pendulum there. You know, some of only Congress can change.”

HOT MIC REVEALS ISSA PLOTTING GOP STRATEGY AFTER CALIFORNIA REDRAWS HOUSE MAP

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) praised Issa’s tenure.

“We are grateful for Congressman Darrell Issa’s decades of dedicated service to the people of California and our nation,” NRCC Spokesman Christian Martinez told Fox News. “Throughout his career, he has embodied the spirit of public service, championed our military and fought tirelessly for a stronger America.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“We are optimistic that this district will continue to be represented by a Republican who will stand for common sense and reject the radical agenda and chaos that progressive Marni von Wilpert and socialist Ammar Campa-Najjar would bring.” 

SAN FRANCISCO — There’s a new kind of magic happening in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood; the kind that arrives quietly, in nine courses, with a glass of rare Kentucky bourbon in hand.

Wolfsbane, named for the ancient plant of folklore said to keep werewolves at bay, opened its doors last Fall as a collaboration between Tommy Halvorson, a Kentucky-born chef and catering veteran, and the husband-and-wife duo behind the beloved Michelin-starred Lord Stanley, chef Rupert Blease and general manager Carrie Blease. Together, the three have transformed the former space of Serpentine, Halvorson’s previous restaurant, into one of the city’s most anticipated fine dining destinations.

The idea, Halvorson says, had been brewing for years. “I always kind of had in the back of my mind, I was like, we should have Rupert and Carrie,” he recalls. The opportunity came last year as both camps closed up their respective restaurants. “I texted Rupert and I was like, dude, it’s time. We need to open a restaurant.” Once the decision was made, there was no looking back. “We pretty much stepped on the gas and started rolling.”

The Bleases are no strangers to commitment. Carrie first met Rupert while interning at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in England, a storied Michelin two-starred property helmed by Raymond Blanc. “We worked at a lot of places together, probably more so than apart,” Carrie says. After years in London, New York, and the English countryside, San Francisco became home and eventually their life’s work. Lord Stanley ran for a decade before the couple channeled everything into this new chapter.

The nine-course tasting menu is rooted in Northern California’s rich bounty. “We go to the farmer’s markets several times a week,” says Rupert. “We buy directly from farms. We use all of the local produce that we can possibly find when it’s in season.” Standouts include an edible sunflower fashioned from artichoke heart with toasted seed butter and poppy seeds, and the return of favorites from Lord Stanley, including its buttermilk cabbage dish and delicate onion petal appetizer.

But for all its refinement, Wolfsbane is deliberately unpretentious. “We don’t want to create a space where people feel uncomfortable because they think they’re going to be looked down upon because they don’t know which fork to use,” Halvorson says. The bar program reflects his personal obsession; rare bourbons sourced over years, including a barrel named after his family’s Kentucky farm. “When you get into really well-made bourbon, really high-proof, and it doesn’t feel like they are, that’s when you know you’ve got something special there.” What Halvorson says about bourbon also sums up Wolfsbane-high-concept dining that doesn’t feel like it, making for a special and unforgettable experience.

For more information, visit https://wolfsbanesf.com/

Two hours after the deadline swept past the Broncos’ building in Dove Valley, their then-22-year-old receiver at the center of the fanbase’s buzz sat at his locker, coolly pulling on his gear. Nobody was coming for Troy Franklin’s job, it turned out. Nobody was coming for his targets.

Sean Payton had told the locker room as much, as Denver sat on its laurels despite being connected to several receivers in potential trades.

“I just go off of Sean’s word,” Franklin told The Post then in November, at his locker. “He told us we got everything we need in this building, and pretty much all that, ‘the Broncos need other receivers,’ (is) outside speculation. So, it’s really not coming from the building.”

Payton’s word, indeed, has held for three years in Denver, when it comes to his wideouts. In public. In private. The largest in-season trade or free-agent signing the Broncos have made at receiver since February 2023 is … Josh Reynolds, who Denver signed to a two-year deal in the offseason of 2024 and then cut after he played a total of five games. The Broncos have held onto Courtland Sutton as their WR1, invested heavily in youth at the position, and tacked on supplemental rotational names each season. The approach has never changed.

It certainly hasn’t changed, either, two days into 2026’s free agency. Payton said multiple times around the season’s end that Denver had too many drops in the passing game, but the Broncos haven’t shelled out in an inflated receiver market to fix that. They had some interest in former Giants star Wan’Dale Robinson, as a source said last week; Robinson agreed to terms with the Titans on Monday for four years and $78 million. Denver reached out this week, too, on steady former Green Bay target Romeo Doubs; they never made him an offer, though, as Doubs agreed to terms with the Patriots Tuesday for four years and $70 million.

Denver had some interest, too, in former Vikings wideout Jalen Nailor, but he signed for nearly $12 million a year with the Raiders. As of Tuesday, the Broncos hadn’t reached out to veteran free agents Keenan Allen, Sterling Shepard or Marques Valdez-Scantling, sources told The Post. Every puzzle piece across the past couple of days — and the whole last year, really — has pointed to the same reality: Payton likes the Broncos’ current receiver room as-is.

“The thing with the draft, we’ve invested,” Payton said at his end-of-year presser in late January. “We’ve got different — we’ve got speed, we’ve got size, we’ve got all the things I’m used to that you’d want to have in a good offense.”

In that moment, he launched into a strangely detailed explanation of how to catch a football.

“Most of the times, it’s with your thumbs together, not the other way around,” Payton said then. “The other way around – I’m serious – only exists when the ball’s below your belly button. Even the deep balls should be caught with your thumbs together. So we gotta be better at that.”

Those single few sentences spelled out the end of receivers coach Keary Colbert’s three-year tenure in Denver, and Colbert’s firing was announced mere hours later. The Broncos replaced him with Ronald Curry, a longtime Payton coaching ally who interviewed for the Broncos’ offensive-coordinator job. That single change, it turns out, may be the most impactful move the Broncos make at receiver this offseason.

Denver wouldn’t shell out for a big-money wideout like Alec Pierce, who re-signed with the Colts on a four-year deal worth over $28 million annually, while it’s already paying Sutton $23 million a year on a back-loaded contract. Rising third-year receiver Franklin produced virtually the same numbers in 2025 as Doubs while being at least $15 million a year cheaper. Rising second-year receiver Pat Bryant, when healthy, produced like a bona fide WR3 down the stretch last season.

And Payton, too, continues to pound the drum for more touches for Marvin Mims Jr. (despite being the one who’s ultimately responsible for curtailing his touches).