Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who faces the threat of expulsion amid misconduct allegations, has drawn a new primary challenger in the 2026 midterms. Ryan Elijah, a former FOX 35 Orlando news anchor, is launching a campaign for Mills’ seat in the August primary. “A story on our launch this morning. I believe I am the right voice to lead and bring Central Florida together,” Elijah said. A story on our launch this morning. I believe I am the right voice to lead and bring Central Florida together. https://t.co/hfUOCgIV5i — Ryan Elijah (@ryanelijah) April 28, 2026 Fox News has more: Elijah told Fox News Digital that Republican voters should have an alternative to Mills, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations, among other improprieties. “People in the Seventh District want another choice,” Elijah said in an interview. Elijah called the allegations against Mills “serious” and said the House Ethics Committee should continue its investigation into the incumbent’s alleged misconduct. The panel announced last week that its only active investigation related to “sexual misconduct and/or dating violence” is the Mills probe. The committee has not indicated when it plans to wrap up its investigation into Mills, which began in November. Mills allegedly threatened to release nude images and videos of an ex-girlfriend after their relationship ended, leading a judge to bar him from contacting that individual. He was also involved in an alleged domestic violence incident that drew a police response in Washington, D.C., last year. Elijah said the district “must have a Representative in Washington who puts your needs first. I have raised my family in the district for 14 years and will make hardworking families, small businesses, and safe communities my number one priority,” according to the Washington Examiner. A report published last week alleged that D.C. police attempted to arrest Mills after a woman accused him of assault. However, a lieutenant ordered police not to arrest the Florida Republican after the woman “changed her account after appearing to talk to the congressman.” Police reportedly tried to obtain an arrest warrant for Mills the next day from then-interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin. The request was reportedly denied. Report Claims Police Attempted To Arrest House Republican For Alleged Assault Before Accuser Changed Account The Washington Examiner noted: Mills is also facing an expulsion threat from Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who announced her motion to oust the Florida Republican last week, saying in a statement that “the swamp has protected Cory Mills for far too long and we are done letting it slide.”

The Supreme Court struck down a lower court ruling that had blocked Texas’s newly-drawn congressional map, ensuring it will be used for the 2026 midterm elections. The ruling ends the lengthy battle over the new congressional districts, which could potentially yield five additional Republican-held U.S. House seats. US Supreme Court lets Texas keep key GOP-boosting congressional map https://t.co/tP2wgOJdlo pic.twitter.com/NCZlcWlAqj — New York Post (@nypost) April 27, 2026 Fox News explained further: The court hung its order on reasoning from a previous ruling in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens but did not elaborate. The three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented. The decision comes after the Supreme Court temporarily greenlit the state’s map in December and California’s map in February. Both states spearheaded the mid-cycle redistricting fights that have now been cropping up across the country. The high court’s approval of both states’ maps, giving Republicans and Democrats five-seat advantages, respectively, served to cancel each other’s efforts out ahead of the 2026 midterms. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, had asked the Supreme Court last year to pause a three-judge panel’s ruling in the Western District of Texas that found 2-1 that race was too much of a factor in its redraw and that the state had improperly attempted to pack Latino and Black voters into new districts. The Department of Justice also chimed in, telling the high court to intervene and reverse the lower court decision, saying Texas’ choice to change its map was driven by purely “partisan objectives,” not racial objectives, which could violate the Voting Rights Act. The voting and immigrant rights groups who challenged Texas and Abbott claimed that the map was an illegal racial gerrymander. The high court granted a 6-3 temporary stay in December, finding in an unsigned order that the groups had committed “at least two serious errors,” including that they did not extend the Texas legislature the “presumption of legislative good faith.” Monday’s decision by the Supreme Court to summarily reverse the lower court decision keeps the new Texas map alive indefinitely. “Radical left-wing groups attempted to sabotage Texas’s lawful redistricting efforts, but the Supreme Court’s ruling is a clear rejection of these meritless attacks and a victory for the rule of law,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. “Texas’s congressional map is lawful, constitutional, and reflects the will of our citizens, and I will continue to aggressively defend its use ahead of the 2026 midterm elections,” he added. Radical left-wing groups attempted to sabotage Texas's lawful redistricting efforts, but the Supreme Court's ruling is a clear rejection of these meritless attacks and a victory for the rule of law. Texas's congressional map is lawful, constitutional, and reflects the will of… https://t.co/fM2eqFoULQ — Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) April 27, 2026 More from The Texas Tribune: The 2026 election season is well underway with the map drawn last year. But whether it will generate the results Republicans are looking for remains to be seen. Some of the new GOP stronghold districts were drawn based on Latino voters’ sharp swing to the right in 2024, but polling suggests that fragile alliance may be fraying over immigration policy and the economy. And both California and Virginia have approved maps aimed at generating more Democratic seats, potentially neutralizing any gains Texas has enacted. State Rep. Gene Wu, a Houston Democrat who chairs the Texas House Democratic Caucus, slammed the justices for protecting “Greg Abbott’s racist map” but added that his caucus had blunted its effect by helping spur blue states into action. “As much as this loss stings, Greg Abbott should not confuse this ruling for a victory,” Wu said in a statement. “When we broke quorum last year, Texas House Democrats forced his power grab into the open. Now, California and Virginia have answered and leveled the playing field, and Democrats across the country are still fighting back.” Some GOP lawmakers celebrated the ruling, including state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican who is running for attorney general. “The Big Beautiful Map stands!” Middleton posted on social media. “I’m proud to have fought to make this law and now let’s go elect those 5 additional Republican Congressional seats we drew!”

The Justice Department has indicted David M. Morens, a former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) employee and senior advisor to Anthony Fauci, for allegedly concealing records regarding the origin of COVID-19. The 78-year-old has been charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting. “Morens served as a senior advisor in NIAID’s Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022,” the Justice Department stated in a press release. “Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Top Advisor David Morens has just been INDICTED by the DOJ. This is GOOD NEWS,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said. “Dr. David Morens deliberately obstructed @COVIDSelect’s investigation into the origins of COVID. He even admitted to me under oath that he deleted ‘a lot’ of emails,” he added. Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Top Advisor David Morens has just been INDICTED by the DOJ. This is GOOD NEWS. Dr. David Morens deliberately obstructed @COVIDSelect’s investigation into the origins of COVID. He even admitted to me under oath that he deleted “a lot” of emails. WATCH https://t.co/zxyGt7IBcw — Rep. James Comer (@RepJamesComer) April 28, 2026 Fox News explained further: Prosecutors allege that Morens conspired with others during the pandemic to hide communications related to a controversial coronavirus research grant that involved collaboration with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. The grant was later terminated amid scrutiny over whether COVID-19 may have originated from a lab leak. The indictment alleges that Morens and his associates deliberately moved conversations off official government systems and onto private email accounts to keep them from public disclosure. The communications allegedly included internal discussions about COVID research, efforts to influence funding decisions, and exchanges related to messaging on the virus’s origins. The indictment also alleges that Morens played a behind-the-scenes role in relaying information to senior agency leadership, who in turn briefed the White House, Congress and the public during the pandemic. Federal prosecutors also claim that Morens received gifts from a collaborator — including wine and offers of high-end meals — and later took steps to justify those perks by contributing to a scientific publication supporting the theory that COVID-19 emerged naturally rather than from the Wuhan lab. “These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19. Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas,” he continued. “Circumventing records protocols with the intention of avoiding transparency is something that will not be tolerated by this FBI,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Not only did Morens allegedly engage in the illegal obfuscation of his communications, but he received kickbacks for doing so. If you have engaged in activity conspiring against the United States, we will not stop until you face justice,” he added. Anthony Fauci adviser indicted by Department of Justice David Morens, 78, has been charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and… — Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) April 28, 2026 More from the New York Post: “[T]here is no worry about FOIAs. I can either send stuff to Tony on his private gmail [sic], or hand it to him at work or at his house,” Morens wrote in one April 21, 2021, email. “He is too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.” Two months prior, Morens said in a Feb. 24 email: “[I] learned from our foia [sic] lady here how to make emails disappear after I am foia’d [sic] but before the search starts.” “Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail [sic],” he noted. On Sept. 9, 2021, Morens wrote that he would “always communicate on gmail [sic] because my NIH email is FOIA’d constantly” and “delete anything I don’t want to see in the New York Times.” Morens oversaw a now-infamous grant from NIH to the Manhattan-based nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance beginning in 2014 that ended up funneling US taxpayer dollars to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for bat coronavirus research.

Federal agents are now swarming the Minneapolis fraud story that exploded online after independent video showed the infamous “Quality Learing Center” and other taxpayer-funded sites under scrutiny. The headline number being reported on X is huge: more than 20 Minnesota locations tied to fraud probes, with FBI and HSI activity now in the spotlight.

Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. has been missing from Congress for over a month now due to an undisclosed health issue. Today, he finally addressed his absence for the first time. In a statement posted on social media, he said that he expects to recover and be back at Capitol Hill soon. Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ), who has been missing since March 5th, posted on his campaign social media page that he was dealing with a "personal medical issue" and expects to recover soon.https://t.co/ZNhON6rhRu — Katie Liane (@TheKaterPotater) April 28, 2026 Notably, Rep. Kean did not state what the medical issue is that he is recovering from. Read his full statement here: pic.twitter.com/4bnkizkBL5 — Tom Kean (@KeanForCongress) April 27, 2026 In case that print is hard to read, here’s the full text: “I want to thank my constituents and colleagues for their patience as I address a personal medical issue. My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon. I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent. I take my responsibilities seriously and have a strong record of showing up and delivering, which makes this absence all the more difficult. I am especially proud of my Congressional team, who have kept constituent services and legislative work moving forward without interruption, and my political team for ensuring the campaign continues to run strong. I also want to thank my friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their patience and understanding during this time. I appreciate your support and look forward to being back in the near future.” – Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. Of course, Rep. Kean’s absence comes at a pivotal point for the GOP, with several important bills coming up, including a budget resolution to fund the DHS. Since House Republicans have a slim majority, every single vote matters and could potentially sway a piece of legislation. Rep. Kean is also up for re-election this year in one of our nation’s most competitive districts. The New York Post reported further: Kean is running for reelection in one of the country’s most competitive districts. His fellow New Jersey GOPers have seemingly been kept in the dark until late last week about why he vanished from the Capitol. His office had also declined to publicly disclose the health issue he faced. Fears about his well-being grew last week as Congress has reckoned with multiple lawmakers falling ill or dying over the past year and a half — all while Republicans control the house with very small margins. Since the current session of Congress began in January of last year, five reps have died, the most recent of whom was Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) last week. Please pray that Rep. Kean makes a full recovery from whatever health issue he is battling very soon.