Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries ripped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a Fox News Digital interview on Thursday, calling him a «lame duck» after the governor offered to pay for his trip to Florida amid a redistricting push.

Jeffries warned DeSantis he could put Republican seats at risk as the Sunshine State remains in the spotlight of a nationwide gerrymandering battle, with parties reshuffling congressional districts for partisan advantages.

«Ron DeSantis is putting his own congressional delegation in jeopardy, which probably shouldn’t be surprising because all of them, as I understand it, can’t stand the charismatically challenged lame duck governor of Florida,» Jeffries said.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SUE TO STOP NEWSOM, DEMOCRATS FROM PUSHING REDISTRICTING PLAN

DeSantis extended the invitation to Jeffries at a press conference in Kissimmee, Florida, on Wednesday following Jeffries’ «F around and find out» warning on redistricting.

«Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign,» DeSantis told the crowd. «I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing. We’ll do all this stuff. There’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries, Hakeem Jeffries, everywhere around this state.»

Jeffries warned DeSantis earlier this week not to follow Texas’s lead, where Republicans pushed a redistricting map to flip up to five Democratic-held seats.

«Our message to Florida Republicans is F around and find out,» Jeffries said. «If they go down the road of a DeSantis dummymander, the Florida Republicans are gonna find themselves in the same situation as Texas Republicans, who are on the run right now. Under no circumstances are Texas Republicans picking up five seats. They’ll be fortunate if they get two or three. While in California, we are going to get all five.»

BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE RUNS THROUGH VIRGINIA AS COURT OKS HIGH-STAKES REDISTRICTING VOTE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his State of the State address during the first day of the legislative session at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee on Jan. 13, 2026. (Matias J. Ocner/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service)

Multiple states have moved forward with similar redistricting efforts following a push initiated by President Donald Trump.

Jeffries added that the redistricting war is not over yet.

«The Republicans are dummymandering their way into the minority before a single voter casts a ballot because they started this war and we’re going to finish it.»

With the 2026 midterms approaching, both parties hope to win the House by leveraging gerrymandering.

President Trump urged Virginia voters this week to reject the «blatant partisan power grab» in Virginia before voters headed to the polls to vote on the congressional redistricting referendum, led by Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

The referendum was passed on Tuesday night, securing Virginia Democrats a major win and increasing the party’s chances in the midterms.

FIRST ELECTION TEST FOR TRUMP’S TERM SURPRISINGLY CLOSE IN FL, GOP LOOKS TO INCREASE RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY

The U.S. Capitol building is seen at sunrise in Washington, D.C., on Mon. March 9, 2026. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

DeSantis called a special session this week to focus on congressional maps that he says will «accurately reflect the population of our state.» Florida’s state constitution bans favoring parties in redistricting.

Eight Democratic-held districts are up for redrawing. Currently, Republicans hold 20 of Florida’s seats, while Democrats hold eight.

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A redistricting plan has not been revealed.

Fox News Digital’s Leo Briceno contributed to this report.

Tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz April 22 after Iran’s IRGC seized two vessels in what analysts describe as «tit-for-tat» retaliation against the U.S. And one ship is linked to a billionaire shipping family tied to Presidents Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron.

Video aired on Iranian state TV purportedly shows IRGC soldiers seizing the container ships in the Strait, Reuters said Thursday.

One vessel, the MSC Francesca, is owned by MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, which was founded by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte and is now controlled by his two children, Fox News Digital has learned.

«Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship. Sailors are under Iranian control, their movements on the ship are limited but the Iranians are treating them well,» a relative of one of the MSC Francesca seafarers told Reuters.

TRUMP’S SPECIAL ENVOY WITKOFF AND KUSHNER VISIT US AIRCRAFT CARRIER AMID IRAN TENSIONS, TALKS

«The ship is anchored 9 nautical miles from the Iranian coast. Negotiations between MSC and Iran are ongoing, our sailors are fine,» Montenegro’s minister of maritime affairs, Filip Radulovic, told state broadcaster RTCG.

Maritime intelligence firm Windward AI pointed to IRGC «tit-for-tat» tactics given the recent MSC vessel seizure.

This followed a U.S. naval blockade imposed on April 13, with Tehran warning of retaliation after U.S. forces also seized an Iranian vessel.

«The IRGC attacked three ships. It also captured and took in two of them — the MSC Francesca and the Epaminondas — while the Euphoria managed to get away,» Windward AI co-founder Ami Daniel told Fox News Digital.

IRAN FIRES LIVE MISSILES INTO STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS TRUMP ENVOYS ARRIVE FOR NUCLEAR TALKS

Soldiers take part in the operation seizing the container ships MSC Francesca and Epaminondas in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state TV April 22, 2026. (IRIB/Handout/Reuters)

«This is a ‘tit-for-tat’ exercise by the IRGC, which, along with the Houthis, has long claimed MSC is connected to Israel.

«Aponte, owner and chairman, has a Jewish wife, and MSC calls in Israel; however, so do all major liners.»

Diego Aponte, Gianluigi’s son, had been making «inroads with Trump’s circle,» Bloomberg reported April 13.

He also helped arrange a November 2025 White House meeting with Swiss business leaders that led to a preliminary deal to reduce the 39% tariffs imposed on Switzerland over the summer.

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The MSC executive chairman has been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Reuters/Stephane Mahe)

Over the last year, MSC’s relationship with the White House also positioned father Gianluigi Aponte as a key player in a $19 billion deal with Li Ka-shing, as MSC and BlackRock moved to acquire two Panama Canal ports under pressure from Trump to place them in «friendly» hands, according to the outlet.

With a net worth of at least $37 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, it is Gianluigi Aponte and his wife, Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, who appear to mingle with world leaders.

The MSC executive chairman and Rafaela have been photographed with French President Emmanuel Macron.

GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN; US QUIETLY PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘HEIGHTENED RISK’

The Panama-flagged MSC Francesca vessel docked in Long Beach, Calif., April 16, 2025. (Efrain Morales/Reuters)

Rafaela is also reportedly related to Alexis Kohler (his mother is said to be her cousin), who served as Macron’s secretary-general from May 2017 to April 14, 2025, and was described as «Macron’s second brain.»

The Aponte family’s vessel, carrying about 40 crew members, was taken toward Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas by the Iranian navy, sources told Reuters Thursday.

Four crew members, including the captain, are from Montenegro, officials said, while Croatia’s foreign ministry confirmed two Croatian nationals are also aboard.

MSC declined to comment, Reuters confirmed.

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The IRGC Navy claimed both vessels captured «were operating without the necessary permits.»

According to Lloyd’s List, the 2008-built MSC Francesca «normally operates in service between the U.S. West Coast, Asia and the Middle East Gulf.»

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative policy group is launching an investigation into Virginia’s redistricting amendment vote after a court blocked certification of the results, raising new questions from critics about how the referendum was conducted and whether election procedures were properly followed.

The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is initiating a multi-part probe focused on mail-in ballot handling and alleged classroom political influence, Fox News Digital has learned.

The move comes as the legal fight over the amendment intensifies, with multiple lawsuits pending and the Virginia Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments Monday.

AFPI’s legal team said the first phase of its investigation will involve records requests to several Virginia counties seeking communications and documentation related to how mail-in and absentee ballots were handled during the election. The requests target how applications were processed, how ballots were distributed and accepted, how they were stored and what guidance election officials were operating under.

VOTER-ROLL SCRUTINY ESCALATES IN MINNESOTA AS BIGGEST COUNTIES FACE SWEEPING RECORDS DEMANDS

The group argues those materials are public records required under Virginia law and should clarify whether proper procedures were followed.

«The questions we’re asking aren’t complicated,» said Leigh Ann O’Neil, AFPI’s chief legal affairs officer. «Was the election conducted according to state and federal law? Did teachers improperly turn students into a private grassroots army? And, if so, what will the school district do about it? These are basic questions that demand answers no matter how you voted on Tuesday.»

A second component of the investigation focuses on Fairfax County Public Schools, where AFPI is seeking records related to civics class materials and instruction.

CARVILLE AND CO-HOST LAMENT THAT TRUMP SPARKED A REDISTRICTING WAR, MAKING BOTH PARTIES LOOK CYNICAL

Signs urge early voters to vote yes or no on the Virginia redistricting referendum at the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Early voting continues across the state for Virginia’s redistricting ballot referendum. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

According to the group, some parents have alleged that teachers commented on parents’ political beliefs and encouraged students to persuade their parents how to vote on the referendum. AFPI argues that, if confirmed, such conduct could violate state law, federal law and school district policy governing political activity in publicly-funded classrooms.

The group said it is also sending a letter to the Fairfax County superintendent urging an internal investigation into what it described as «highly concerning reports of partisan voter influence.»

The investigation lands amid a growing legal fight over the amendment. A Virginia court has already moved to block certification of the vote, and the dispute is now moving toward the state’s highest court.

VIRGINIA JUDGE VOIDS REDISTRICTING PUSH, RULES LAWMAKERS OVERSTEPPED AUTHORITY

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks during a Virginians For Fair Elections canvassing event in Woodbridge, Va., on April 18, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

There are currently three legal challenges pending in Virginia courts, including an original lawsuit brought by state Republicans, which the Virginia Supreme Court is set to hear Monday. There is also a separate case filed in Richmond by GOP Reps. John McGuire and Rob Wittman and a challenge in Tazewell County, where Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley ruled the referendum unconstitutional. An appeal from Virginia Democrat Attorney General Jay Jones is expected.

A ruling in the primary case could come within weeks, with courts under pressure to act before Virginia’s August primary and late-July deadlines for voter registration and mail-in ballots.

AFPI said its investigation is intended to ensure transparency as the legal process unfolds, arguing that if election procedures were properly followed, the records will confirm it — and if not, Virginia voters deserve answers.

The Virginia Supreme Court hearing will be livestreamed, allowing the public to follow arguments as the case moves forward. Meanwhile, AFPI said its probe will continue in phases, with additional findings and requests expected in the coming weeks.

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The Virginia Department of Elections and Fairfax County Public Schools did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Bill Mears and Mark Meredith contributed to this reporting.