Democrats, already lagging behind Republicans in midterm campaign fundraising, relied heavily on a House Democratic-aligned dark-money group in an attempt to redraw Virginia’s congressional map in their favor, campaign finance records show.

Before voters cast their ballots in Virginia’s April redistricting referendum, the 10 wealthiest Republican-aligned political committees had close to twice as much cash on hand as their Democratic counterparts, according to Federal Election Commission records. 

Despite this, Democratic-aligned groups poured more than $64 million into their attempt to net four congressional seats by redrawing Virginia’s congressional map, a bet that ultimately failed to pay off after the Virginia Supreme Court invalidated the redistricting process due to a procedural constitutional violation. 

«House Democratic candidates are pulling in massive fundraising hauls, outraising their GOP opponents last quarter, and the DCCC just had its best quarter of fundraising for the cycle,» Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

DARK MONEY FLOODS VIRGINIA AHEAD OF REDISTRICTING VOTE THAT COULD HAND DEMOCRATS HOUSE EDGE 

«While Republicans brag about their billionaire backers, Democrats are focused on building support amongst the people – and by every measure, we are poised to take back the majority and make Hakeem Jeffries the next Speaker of the People’s House,» Shelton added.

Of the total Democratic spending on the Virginia redistricting election, roughly $40 million in contributions came from House Majority Forward, a Democratic-aligned 501(c)(4) nonprofit affiliated with House Majority PAC, the super PAC backing House Democrats.

Some Democratic strategists have argued the political environment remains favorable, but party insiders have warned that the GOP’s cash advantage could blunt those gains.

«I don’t think it has broken through, the level of money that Donald Trump and Republicans are sitting on as it compares to Democrats,» Mike Smith, who leads House Majority Forward and the affiliated House Majority PAC, told NOTUS in April. «I don’t think there’s a comprehensive understanding of both the level of disparity and what that could mean in terms of us being able to win the House.»

Smith did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

At the end of March, the 10 biggest Republican political committees had nearly $1 billion in cash on hand, compared to the approximately $550 million held by their 10 richest Democratic counterparts, per FEC data. The wealthiest GOP committees included President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. and the Senate Leadership Fund, which is affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Democrats, meanwhile, were led by the Soros family’s Democracy PACs and the Senate Majority PAC.

«So-called ‘Leader’ Hakeem Jeffries lit well north of $55 million on fire chasing illegal redistricting fantasies, only to fall flat on his face in spectacular fashion,» National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital. «National Democrats are already drowning in a massive cash deficit against Republicans while the NRCC and our battle-tested candidates continue shattering fundraising records and building momentum for 2026.»

The «well north of $55 million» Marinella referred to included the $17 million House Majority PAC spent on the successful redistricting effort in California. 

Aside from the financial role the Democrat-aligned committee played in Virginia’s redistricting effort, the House minority leader was a leading surrogate for the campaign. He delivered speeches in favor of redistricting, characterizing the effort as a response to GOP map changes and raising the stakes by declaring Virginia the «crown jewel» of a national battle over congressional maps.

REPUBLICAN FUNDRAISING OUTPACES DEMOCRATS BY NEARLY DOUBLE, JUNE NUMBERS SHOW

George Soros, billionaire and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, walks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«Jeffries is proving he’s no Nancy Pelosi, and Democrats are getting an expensive lesson in the difference between media hype and actual leadership,» Marinella continued. 

Pelosi was one of her party’s most prolific fundraisers, raising over $1 billion for the party between her appointment as House Minority Whip in 2002 and her resignation from Democratic leadership in 2022, according to CBS News. Sources have told the New York Post that Pelosi retains considerable influence over the operations of House Democrats, which has allegedly irritated Jeffries.

«Speaker Emerita Pelosi is exceptionally proud of Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his masterful strategy to fight fire with fire on the path to retaking the House in November,» a spokesman for the former speaker told Fox News Digital.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’, D-N.Y, office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

House Majority Forward has historically been one of the primary sources of funds for the House Majority PAC, a major Democratic committee affiliated with Democrat leaders, that itself is one of the top sources of cash for congressional Democrats, according to FEC filings. House Majority Forward and House Majority PAC are sister organizations.

«HMF’s support matched the $40 million Republicans invested in the recent redistricting election, and once again their pro-war, costs-raising, toxic agenda was soundly rejected by Virginians,» House Majority Forward communications director CJ Warnke told Fox News Digital. «No amount of GOP money will prevent Leader Hakeem Jeffries from becoming the next Speaker of the House.»

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, center, addresses reporters while flanked by Democrats. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

LEFT-WING BILLIONAIRES BANKROLL DEM SUPER PAC PLOTTING TO WIN BACK WORKING-CLASS VOTERS: ‘THIS IS A PRIORITY’

House Majority Forward is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that is not required to publicly disclose its donors. Its contributions allow money from undisclosed donors to move into the political process through publicly reported donations to House Majority PAC.

While Republicans are financially dominant across major committees, Democrats have built considerable leads at the campaign level in some key congressional races. 

Democratic candidates have raised more than their GOP opponents in closely watched Senate races in Georgia, Alaska, Ohio, Michigan and Maine, according to campaign finance data analyzed by NPR. Thirteen Republicans running in hotly contested House races have been out raised by Democratic challengers, compared to just four Democrats defending competitive seats who were out raised, Roll Call reported.

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Republican members of Congress in toss-up seats, however, raised more on average than Democrats defending similarly competitive seats during the first three months of 2026, according to campaign finance records. 

«Republicans are being rewarded with endless big, dark, special interest money from the billionaires they gave a tax break after cutting trillions from Americans’ health care in their Big, Ugly Bill,» the Pelosi spokesman continued. «Democrats may not have unlimited resources from billionaires, but we will have enough grassroots support to organize and win a resounding victory to elect Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House.»

Panamá enfrenta el desafío de garantizar agua potable para su población, con la administración actual desplegando acciones simultáneas en 21 plantas potabilizadoras y realizando más de 600 reparaciones en todo el país, a fin de atender un problema que se remonta a décadas.

Así lo explicó Juan Orillac, ministro de la Presidencia, durante un recorrido por la provincia de Colón, donde se reactivaron los trabajos en las plantas Sabanita I y II. Esta estrategia gubernamental busca soluciones definitivas tras años de interrupciones y deficiencias en el abastecimiento.

Orillac especificó que la planta Sabanita II, recientemente reactivada, podrá suministrar 30 millones de galones diarios y dará cobertura a más de 115,000 habitantes de la zona cuando las obras concluyan en enero.

El ministro precisó que la administración de José Raúl Mulino incorporó sistemas de telemetría y redundancia en los diques y motores de las plantas principales, con el objetivo de aumentar la capacidad de análisis y reacción ante eventualidades que requieran mantenimiento o intervención.

El ministro Orillac subrayó la dificultad para garantizar el acceso al agua en áreas surgidas por invasiones, donde la población se estableció sin planificación previa y los sistemas de servicios básicos se improvisaron.

“Muchas de esas áreas son invasiones, son poblaciones que se han creado sin ningún tipo de planificación y por supuesto, primero llega la gente y luego entonces se le rinde los sistemas”, indicó Orillac a medios nacionales.

Esta situación, extendida a nivel nacional, condiciona la eficacia de las mejoras que el gobierno pone en marcha.

La respuesta a la pregunta de por qué persisten deficiencias en el suministro de agua en Panamá se encuentra tanto en el rezago de la infraestructura como en la proliferación de asentamientos irregulares.

Según Orillac, aunque las intervenciones actuales son de una magnitud inédita, la distribución desigual sigue ligada a la ocupación informal de tierras, que dificulta la organización de redes de agua potable y pluviales.

La administración ha invertido en la modernización de tomas de agua, ampliando la capacidad con nuevos motores y mejorando la calidad de los diques. Orillac detalló que la implementación de telemetría permite un monitoreo más estricto, facilitando detectar cuando es necesario realizar reparaciones o tareas de mantenimiento.

Además, la gestión abarca la optimización de válvulas y la estabilización de la presión para evitar roturas, especialmente en sectores elevados que tradicionalmente presentan dificultades de acceso.

Parte de la estrategia incluye la perforación de pozos en regiones específicas que, históricamente, carecieron de acceso al suministro. Orillac destacó que en estas comunidades, la instalación de pozos permitió abrir por primera vez un grifo y resolver carencias que se arrastraban por décadas.

Durante la visita al Hospital Manuel Amador Guerrero, Orillac informó a medios nacionales que se están terminando adecuaciones en la cocina para que funcione bajo los estándares requeridos. Actualmente, la comida proviene del exterior, pero el objetivo es que la cocina equipada entre próximamente en operaciones.

Las obras de rehabilitación y ampliación de las plantas potabilizadoras, sumadas a la actualización tecnológica y la atención a la red de distribución, constituyen un esfuerzo gubernamental integral que prioriza el suministro de agua en Panamá. El ministro Orillac aseguró que el compromiso es mantener y extender estos trabajos hasta cubrir la mayor parte del territorio nacional.

Senators will now go without pay during future government shutdowns, but for many, they don’t need the paycheck. 

The Senate unanimously agreed to forgo their paychecks during future shutdowns, with the money being withheld until a deal is struck to reopen the government. But much of the upper chamber is populated with lawmakers who are already wealthy before their time in office. 

«There are some members who are very independently wealthy that their congressional paycheck is a rounding error to their investments,» Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. «Fine, I’m not pejorative of that at all. But we need to actually end government shutdowns.» 

SENATORS AGREE TO GO WITHOUT PAY DURING SHUTDOWNS AFTER HISTORIC CLOSURES LEFT WORKERS UNPAID

In the last year, Congress has been unable to keep the government open twice. The first time for 43 days, and the most recent for 76 days.

Republicans worry that before the midterm elections, and before the rule change becomes official, that Senate Democrats may again try to shutter the government to gain a political edge. They hope that the rule change, pushed by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., is at least enough to convince some lawmakers not to do it. 

However, nearly three-quarters of the Senate are millionaires, according to an analysis of financial disclosure data reviewed by Fox News Digital and first reported by NOTUS, meaning the fear of missing a paycheck may not be enough to quell the desire to score political points. 

SENATE WEIGHS NEW, PAINFUL LEVERAGE TACTIC AS FEARS OF ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GROW

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pushed the resolution to dock senators’ pay. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«It certainly doesn’t stop future shutdowns,» Lankford said. «It just says, ‘Hey, people are not being paid, we’re not being paid either.’»

Others were more optimistic that by installing the new guardrails on themselves, it could open the door to future legislation that may take shutdowns off the table entirely — like Lankford’s bill that would automatically extend government funding on a temporary, two-week basis if lawmakers miss the mark. 

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, who is one of the wealthier members of the Senate, believed that the success of Kennedy’s resolution could open the valve to his legislation that would dock members’ pay during shutdowns. 

«It’s about brick by brick, rebuilding confidence in the institution,» Moreno told Fox News Digital.

GOP CAN’T AGREE ON KEY PART OF TRUMP’S HOUSING AFFORDABILITY PUSH AS INFIGHTING CONTINUES

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., speaks to reporters as he arrives for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 23, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images)

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., another of the Senate’s wealthiest members, contended that lawmakers shouldn’t hold federal workers «hostage based on what we’re doing.» 

Over the past several months, hundreds of thousands of federal employees went without pay. And in the case of workers under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), they went without paychecks twice. 

«Hopefully it’ll get people to focus on getting [appropriations] done, because, you know, we don’t have a process to get this stuff done,» Scott told Fox News Digital. 

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Meanwhile, Kennedy, who successfully pushed Senate Republican leadership to put the bill on the floor, viewed its success as progress.

But it’s not as far as he wanted to go. 

«Look, if I were king for a day, I would pass a bill that doesn’t suspend member pay, it forfeits member pay during a shutdown,» Kennedy told Fox News Digital. «And I will also include in the bill a prohibition against members leaving Washington while we’re in a shutdown. But I don’t have the votes to do that. So I’m doing as much as I can.»