Democratic Gov. Dan McKee of Rhode Island is fighting for his political life in the smallest U.S. state’s primary elections on Wednesday as he faces potential downfall stemming from the nearly three-year partial closure of a crucial bridge.

McKee first assumed office in March 2021 when then-Gov. Gina Raimondo stepped down to become U.S. Commerce secretary. He was then elected four years ago for a full term. Now, McKee is trying to avoid becoming the nation’s first elected governor in a dozen years to lose renomination.

The governor is facing off in a primary rematch with Helena Buonanno Foulkes, a former longtime executive with CVS, which is based in Rhode Island.

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McKee narrowly edged Foulkes, who is the niece of former Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of neighboring Connecticut, in a multi-candidate field in the 2022 Democratic primary before winning the general election in the solidly blue state.

As he fights for renomination, the governor has been outspent by a nearly two-to-one margin by Foulkes, according to Rhode Island campaign finance records.

Also working against McKee is his handling of the reconstruction of the Washington Bridge, which was shut in December 2023 after officials spotted critical structural flaws.

The bridge connects Providence to East Providence and before its westbound span was shut, it carried roughly 100,000 vehicles per day. Westbound and eastbound traffic share the reconfigured eastbound span with reduced lanes.

State officials originally estimated the bridge would reopen this year, but the completion date was later pushed back to November 2028.

The bridge has become a top issue in the gubernatorial primary, with McKee and Foulkes battling over the bidding process for reconstruction and the pace of rebuilding.

While pushing back on criticism over his handling of the bridge, McKee has slammed Foulkes as an out-of-touch corporate executive trying to buy herself an election win.

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But also working against the governor in an anti-incumbent year are the high electricity rates Rhode Islanders pay and the state’s severe shortage of affordable housing.

The winner of the Democratic primary will be considered the clear favorite in the general election against either Aaron Guckian, a state trade association executive and the 2022 GOP lieutenant governor nominee, or former actress and first-time candidate Elaine Pelino, who are both vying for the Republican nomination. The state GOP has endorsed Guckian.

In the race for the Senate, Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, who has served for three decades, faces two long-shot challengers in their party’s primary.

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Raymond McKay, a former president of the Rhode Island Republican Assembly and a former leading state GOP official, is the presumptive Republican Senate nominee.

Democratic Rep. Gabe Amo faces no opposition for renomination in the state’s 1st Congressional District, while entrepreneur Kellie Keenan is the presumptive GOP nominee.

Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner is the presumptive nominee in Rhode Island’s 2nd Congressional District.

Businessman Victory Mellor and physician Stephen Skoly are facing off in the Republican primary.

A far-left podcaster known for her vile, often curse-laden rants against the political right took aim at first lady Melania Trump in a recent episode of her show.

“I don’t like anything for Melania,” Jennifer Welch said in a clip making its rounds on social media.

“And I wish I could be the bigger person and say that I do, but I don’t,” she continued. “I don’t like anything possible for her. She is, I think, just an absolutely horrific person.”

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Other recent clips attacking homeschool parents and late South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham have earned Welch a description as a member of the “dirtbag left.”

She describes herself as an “atheist from the Bible Belt” and often levies attacks against Christianity.

Welch, after calling the first lady “horrific” in her recent podcast episode, launched into a rant about a controversy involving a model and former diplomat, who was a friend of Melania’s, threatening in April to expose unspecified information about the first lady and President Donald Trump.

Then, the left-wing podcaster turned to taking a dig at the first couple’s sex lives.

“She cared enough in the bogus $40 million payoff she got to make sure that everybody — not only in the United States, but in the world — knows she does not screw her husband,” Welch said, referring to Amazon’s $40 million purchase of the rights to the “Melania” documentary.

There are no details about intimacy between the pair in the movie, according to a transcript of the film.

Still, Welch persisted.

KIMMEL CALLS MELANIA TRUMP AN ‘EXPECTANT WIDOW’ BEFORE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING

“They could have cut that part out, but she made sure the world knows, ‘I do not screw my husband.’ So I’m not buying into this that Melania all of the sudden is liberated and doesn’t give a s— about stuff anymore, because I think that’s the thing that eats the Trumps up all the time.

“They care what everybody thinks about them, and they want to change everybody’s opinion on them.”

The first lady’s office did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the podcaster’s remarks.

Welsh also attacked the rest of the Trumps in the episode, saying that even if they received the highest praise, the family members would still be “broken.”

“We are elevating the bad guy right here,” Welsh said. “We are elevating the most dysfunctional family in the United States, and wrapping it up in traditional Christian values. It’s just such bulls—.”

Welch makes a habit on her podcast of discussing the private lives of Republicans. When Sen. Graham died, she graphically discussed long-circulated rumors that he was gay.

An emergency slide deployment on the Qatari-gifted Air Force One raised questions at Joint Base Andrews (JBA) on Wednesday before President Donald Trump revealed it was all part of a safety check.

“They were checking it before, and they just wanted to make sure,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac after exiting Marine One. “So they’ve, I guess, already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”

A person briefed on the situation told Fox News that military personnel had accidentally triggered the slide.

White House communications director Steven Cheung confirmed the plane was cleared for the president’s trip.

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“As the President has said, the slide was checked out to make sure everything works perfectly,” Cheung told Fox News. “Air Force One is on its way to Dallas so he can deliver his much-anticipated speech to a raucous and sold-out crowd.”

The unusual scene unfolded after Marine One rolled to a stop near the presidential aircraft, with Trump remaining aboard the helicopter, and the slide could be seen extending from the plane.

The White House print pool reported spotting what appeared to be an inflatable emergency slide deployed from the right side front door of the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747.

The door is opposite the entrance Trump typically uses to board the plane.

At the same time, the older white-and-blue Air Force One was seen moving out of its hangar and into position a few hundred yards behind the newer aircraft. The older jet then deployed its front and rear stairs.

TRUMP EXPLAINS WHY HE’S FLYING OLD AIR FORCE ONE BACK TO DC

The door of Marine One remained closed as of 2:19 p.m., according to the pool, fueling questions about whether the unexpected slide deployment had disrupted the president’s travel plans.

Trump later emerged from the helicopter and said the equipment had been tested to ensure it was working properly, indicating there had not been an emergency aboard the aircraft.

Asked whether he was confident the plane was safe to fly, Trump responded, “I am. I am. Or I wouldn’t be on it.”

It was not immediately clear whether the safety check would affect which plane Trump would use for his next flight.

Fox News’ Nick Rojas contributed to this report.

This post appeared first on https://www.foxnews.com

FIRST ON FOX: A Virginia county is under fire for a new policy providing taxpayer funds in the form of grants to families of illegal immigrants whose breadwinner was detained or deported by ICE.

Arlington County, which sits just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is not new to policies critics say interfere with DHS operations, as it previously caused outrage when the chair of the Arlington County board publicly suggested residents call police to report ICE sightings in January.

“If you look at the alien harboring statute – do you do anything to encourage or induce people to either come illegally or that are illegally here to stay, that could be arguably a violation of the alien harboring statute?” former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview.

DOJ THREATENS TO CUT BILLIONS IN WELFARE FUNDING FROM STATES FOR FAILING TO REPORT ILLEGAL MIGRANTS

“By giving money to people… the reasonable inference is that these people are also illegal, the money enables them to stay in the country illegally, because they lost their breadwinner,” Fahey said.

He said Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz’s comments to ARLNow that many of the affected families are “unbanked” – or lack access to financial institutions which statutorily require identification to open deposit accounts – is itself a tell.

TAXPAYER-FUNDED HOUSING FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN GOP’S CROSSHAIRS: ‘IT’S GOT TO STOP’

“That shows the county knows the money is going to be going to people that are illegally here and it will help them stay. So that’s where I think the alien harboring statute comes into play,” he said, adding the county shows “reckless disregard” for the fact their policies accommodate people in the country illegally.

Arlington will start by setting aside $50,000 to be distributed through “social safety-net” ministry ArlingtonThrive in increments of up to $2,000 per affected family to cover basic needs and utilities, according to reports.

The plan – which passed 4-0 with one board member absent – reportedly formed after a major ICE operation in Maryland and Virginia netted 1,328 illegal immigrant arrests, including the case of a man who ran from agents when confronted near the U.S. Air Force Memorial.

Five regional federal Democrats sounded off afterward, endorsing an ensuing Arlington County Police investigation into the encounter between ICE and Jose Mejia Hernandez, who was reportedly tased and suffered a brain bleed.

Fox News Digital reached out to Arlington County officials, including Chairman Matt de Ferranti, a Democrat from Rock Spring.

“We are valuing the families of those that have been displaced and removed,” he told local press.

In January, de Ferranti warned Arlingtonians that county law prohibits its “public safety professionals” from “interfering with enforcement of federal immigration law,” but that his suggestion to call 911 to report ICE sightings helps officials know agents are present and pivot to “pursu[ing] Arlington County’s law enforcement mission: preventing violence in our community.”

DOJ ACCUSES MARYLAND OF ‘ACTIVE AND DELIBERATE EFFORT’ TO PREVENT DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: LAWSUIT

Reckless disregard and inducement are both subsections of the law Fahey referenced – 8 U.S.C. 1324.

Leadership at the Department of Homeland Security was similarly critical of Arlington’s move.

“You can’t make this up,” an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“Sanctuary politicians are taking Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars to reward illegal aliens who break the law. This insanity shows once again who they put first.”

Fahey said counties cannot make their own immigration laws, and with Arlington in particular, their alleged “inducement” doesn’t just affect their county, as creating safe harbor for illegal immigrants can have ripple effects in adjacent areas like the District of Columbia, cities of Falls Church and Alexandria and Fairfax County.

“A person could go on and commit another crime somewhere outside of Arlington… you can’t have localities and states carving out their own immigration laws or saying immigration laws can’t be enforced [here].”

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Arguments against mass deportation on the grounds of family separation are similarly flawed, the former director said, pointing to the fact that when an American citizen is arrested or jailed, they are also physically “separated” from their family.

“Latest dispatch from the People’s Republic of Arlington,” read a critical posting on X.