White House national security spokesman John Kirby deemed the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, ‘the major obstacle’ to achieving a cease-fire deal in recent weeks. 

During an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday,’ Kirby responded to The Wall Street Journal’s reporting that senior U.S. officials who hoped for months for a cease-fire and hostage release deal now do not expect Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement before the end of President Biden’s term. The report cited administration officials as saying Hamas makes demands and ‘then refuses to say ‘yes’ after the U.S. and Israel accept them.’ 

‘It’s certainly apparent to us that Mr. Sinwar remains the big obstacle here to getting a deal. And it certainly is the case that he has done nothing in the recent weeks to prove that he’s willing to move this forward in a good faith way. He is the major obstacle, no question about it,’ Kirby said Sunday. ‘It’s tough to get them to say yes to things that he’s already said that he wanted. So it’s very, very difficult.’ 

‘But as the president said the other day, everything’s unrealistic until all of a sudden it’s not anymore. And we’re gonna keep trying at this,’ Kirby added. ‘And this idea that we’re just throwing up our hands and ‘well, it’s not gonna happen before the end of the term,’ I can tell ya that’s not where the president is. It’s not where Jake Sullivan or Tony Blinken are. We still believe that there’s a possibility of moving this forward, and we’re gonna keep trying. Those hostages need an effort to get them home. We’re not going to give up on that.’  

Kirby reiterated the administration’s position that Israel has a right to defend itself, but acknowledged that some of the criticism of how Israel is handling the conflict has come from the Biden administration as well. 

‘They absolutely have a right to defend themselves. And we are still providing them the tools and capabilities to do that. But how they do it matters,’ Kirby said.  ‘President Biden has said that, Vice President Harris has said that to our Israeli counterparts. They need to be doing it in as precise and as discriminant a way to avoid damage to civilian infrastructure and more critically, to civilian life. So it does matter a lot to us.’ 

‘Fox News Sunday’ host Shannon Bream also asked Kirby to respond to the death of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday. 

Bream pointed to criticism from Trump administration Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who suggested Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in expressing fear of escalation to Israeli officials after the strike, was not grateful enough to Israel for taking out a man responsible for the death of hundreds of Americans during the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. 

‘Nobody, including Secretary Austin, is shedding a tear over the death of Mr. Akil, who does have American blood on his hands. I think the world’s better for not having him walking around on the planet anymore. But that doesn’t mean we want to see a full out war. We don’t believe, again, that that’s in the best interest of the Israeli people,’ Kirby said. 

Akil was one of the Lebanon-based terrorist group’s top military officials, in charge of its elite forces, and had been on Washington’s wanted list for years.

The strike Friday came as the group was still reeling from an attack targeting Hezbollah communications earlier last week when thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously. The attack killed 12 people, mostly Hezbollah members, and injured thousands, according to Hezbollah officials. Israel is suspected of being behind that attack but has not claimed responsibility. 

As Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel since October 2023, Kirby said the U.S. has been working at ‘intense diplomacy here now for months to try to prevent an escalation in the conflict up at the blue line with Lebanon.’  

‘We still believe that there should be a strong effort to work on that diplomacy and to try to get that – that escalation to stop, to get the situation to stabilize, ‘ Kirby said. 

Kirby also defended the Biden administration’s handling of Iran, despite criticism from Republicans. 

‘Iran is one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world,’ Kirby said. ‘And that’s in part, actually large part, to what President Biden has done. Six hundred sanctions alone just in this administration, 60 sanction regimes. So I don’t buy the argument that we somehow turned a blind eye and just given them cash.’ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is unveiling a new plan for avoiding a partial government shutdown on Sunday after a House GOP rebellion derailed a more conservative measure last week.

House leaders are aiming for a vote this week on a short-term extension of the current year’s government funding levels, called a continuing resolution (CR), to give congressional negotiators more time to hash out federal spending priorities for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The new measure, closer in line with what Senate Democrats and the White House had called for than his first plan, is likely to spark fury among the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and its allies. But most Republicans are wary of the backlash of a potential government shutdown just weeks before Election Day.

Johnson took a swipe at the upper chamber for failing to pass a single one of their 12 appropriations bills, writing to House GOP colleagues on Sunday that because ‘Senate Democrats failed to pass a single appropriations bill or negotiate with the House on an acceptable topline number for FY 2025, a continuing resolution is the only option that remains.’

The plan would keep the government out of a partial shutdown through Dec. 20. House GOP leadership staff told reporters on Sunday that Democratic requests for additional dollars were rebuffed, and extra disaster relief funds that were in Johnson’s initial plan have been removed.

But it would include roughly an additional $230 million for the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), coupled with certain oversight measures, after a bipartisan push for more security following two foiled attempts on former President Trump’s life.

Perhaps the most significant change is the removal of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill requiring proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

That legislation, backed by Trump, passed the House earlier this year with all Republicans and five Democrats in favor. Johnson hoped that attaching it to a CR would force the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House – both of which have called it a nonstarter – to consider it, or at least that it would serve as a potent opening salvo in negotiations.

But 14 Republicans – most opposed to a CR on principle – tanked the bill last week.

Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the vote, ‘If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form.’

‘Our legislation will be a very narrow, bare-bones CR including only the extensions that are absolutely necessary,’ Johnson pledged to colleagues Sunday.

‘While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent path forward under the present circumstances. As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice.’

Government funding has been one of the most volatile fights in the 118th Congress, pitting even the most conservative House allies against each other.

Johnson’s new plan is not likely to abate those tensions. Critics of a CR through December have argued it would leave them with no choice but to group their 12 annual appropriations bills into a massive ‘omnibus’ spending bill, something nearly all Republican lawmakers oppose.

But House GOP leadership staff suggested it was more likely Congress would pass another CR into the new year rather than set new levels for fiscal year 2025 – lining up with Johnson’s original plan.

The speaker’s previous proposal would have funded the government through March, something Democrats and some national security hawks opposed. 

Trump allies, however, wanted to see the government funding fight kicked into the new year in hopes that he would win the White House and usher in a fully Republican Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not weigh in directly on the plan but took a swipe at Johnson for trying to pass his conservative CR last week. 

‘While I am pleased bipartisan negotiations quickly led to a government funding agreement free of cuts and poison pills, this same agreement could have been done two weeks ago. Instead, Speaker Johnson chose to follow the MAGA way and wasted precious time,’ Schumer said in a statement.

‘If both sides continue to work in good faith, I am hopeful that we can wrap up work on the CR this week, well before the September 30 deadline. The key to finishing our work this week will be bipartisan cooperation, in both chambers.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Trump indicated during an interview Sunday that he would not make a run for the Oval Office in 2028 if his current bid falls short in November.

Trump was a guest on Sinclair Broadcast Group’s ‘Full Measure,’ hosted by Sharyl Attkisson, which aired Sunday morning.

At the end of the interview, Attkisson asked Trump if he was not successful in his bid for president in November, could he see himself running again in four years?

‘No, I don’t. No, I don’t. I think that that will be, that will be it. I don’t see that at all,’ the former president answered. ‘I think that hopefully we’re gonna be successful.’

Trump, 78, is on his third run for president, having beaten Hillary Clinton for the Commander in Chief seat in 2016, and losing to President Biden in 2020. He now faces Vice President Kamala Harris for a second, four-year term in office.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for clarification on the former president’s comments. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Trump’s statements.

With over six weeks to go until Election Day on Nov. 5, and early voting and absentee balloting underway in a growing number of states, a number of public opinion polls agree that the race in key battleground states that will decide the 2024 Presidential election is within the margin-of-error.

The polls also show Harris has a healthy advantage among voters when it comes to the issue of abortion, while Trump has an equally large margin in dealing with the border and immigration.

When it comes to the economy, the polls show the issue remains the top issue on the minds of American voters as they prepare to cast their ballot in November.

A Fox News national poll also in the field entirely post-debate spotlighted that 39% of voters surveyed said the economy was their most pressing issue, far ahead of immigration (16%) and abortion (15%). All other issues tested were in single digits. 

Trump spoke with Attkisson about several issues, including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said he did ‘an amazing job’ handling.

‘I never got the credit for it. Remember that more people died under Biden-Harris than died under Trump,’ he said. ‘And they had a much easier time because when it came in here, nobody knew what it was. It came from the Wuhan labs, which I always said. But nobody really knew what it was, where it came from…nothing. They knew nothing, and we got hit.’

Trump also said he got credit with the military and knocking out ISIS, saying, ‘we rebuilt the military.’

After speaking about his accomplishments, Attkisson asked him what he does to stay healthy.

‘I used to play golf a little bit…but it seems to be quite a dangerous sport, in retrospect,’ Trump said, referring to a recent incident in which a man hid in the bushes with a gun before being shot at by Secret Service and fleeing. The man was later arrested, and the matter is being handled as an assassination attempt on Trump.

‘I try and eat properly,’ Trump told Attkisson, getting back to her question.

The host told Trump she though he ate hamburgers and drank soda, which the former president acknowledged he did.

‘But proper hamburgers,’ he said. ‘But I like, perhaps, all the wrong food. But then I say, ‘does anybody know what the right food is?’

He continued, saying people lectured him for years on what to eat, and they’re gone because they passed away.

‘And here I am,’ Trump said. ‘So, I’m not sure I wanna make too many changes.’

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Oil and gas industry leaders are skeptical of Vice President Kamala Harris’ stance on critical state issues and are calling for clarity on her positions before Election Day.

Harris said there is ‘no question’ she would be in favor of banning fracking, during her 2020 presidential campaign, but after becoming the 2024 Democratic nominee, the vice president said that she will not ban hydraulic fracturing if elected.

‘As a native Pennsylvanian, who understands the importance of oil and gas to local communities and consumers nationwide, I have to be skeptical of the vice president’s pivot on fracking. And we still haven’t seen an energy policy plan,’ Jeff Eshelman, Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) President & CEO, told Fox News Digital.

Eshelman added that her shift signals that fracking is a winning issue.

If the VP is now endorsing a pro-fracking plan, we are the experts and would encourage a meeting with oil and gas producers. However, Harris’ endorsement of hydraulic fracturing shows how important energy issues are to voters who understand increased oil and natural gas development is key to bringing down gas prices and decreasing reliance on foreign oil,’ Eshelman said. ‘Her shift makes it clear that unleashing abundant and affordable American energy resources through safe and responsible fracking technology is a winning issue.’

The issue remains of top concern to swing state voters in Pennsylvania, as well as on a national level, after a New York Times/Siena College poll released in September found that 43% of voters somewhat or strongly oppose a ban on fracking.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) echoed the questions surrounding her position. 

‘I think the Vice President should be held to account for what exactly she means. And she has been successful to this point in not having to say a lot. And I would posit the reason why she is all of a sudden talking about fracking is because the path to the presidency runs through Pennsylvania, and they know full well how important the oil and gas sector is to the nearly half a billion people in the state of Pennsylvania that are employed in and around the industry,’ said Amanda Eversole, Executive Vice President of API.

API also suggested that swing state voters could be a driving force behind her decision to change face on the issue.

‘President Trump – we know where he stands on energy. But voters deserve to know what the vice president’s philosophy is, and just articulating support of hydraulic fracturing is not enough. There are a lot of questions that voters deserve to have answers to.’

A spokesperson for the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital that the vice president has been clear on where she stands on the issue.

‘Vice President Harris was proud to cast the tie-breaking vote on the largest ever investment to address the climate crisis and under the Biden-Harris administration, America is more energy secure than ever before with the highest domestic energy production on record. The Biden-Harris administration ignited an American manufacturing boom and created 300,000 energy jobs, while Trump lost nearly a million, and his Project 2025 would undo the enormous progress we’ve made the past four years. 

‘Vice President Harris is focused on a future where all Americans have clean air, clean water and affordable, reliable energy, while Trump’s lies are an obvious attempt to distract from his own plans to enrich oil and gas executives at the expense of the middle class,’ the campaign told Fox.