EXCLUSIVE: The top Republican member of the New York state Senate blasted Democratic lawmakers for pushing a gas stove ban, saying it would drive prices higher and hurt consumers.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt criticized the policy which he said was part of a broader energy policy that drives employers and residents alike to depart the state. He also said federal Democratic lawmakers from New York — such as Sen. Chuck Schumer and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — are largely driving state policy.

"I think it's ridiculous and I think the danger is that it almost seems comedic and so people can take it, you know, maybe not as seriously as they should," Ortt told Fox News Digital. "It is going to increase people's utility rates in the state of New York, it is going to decrease energy reliability in the state of New York and it will do nothing to fight climate change." 

"If we think that gas stoves are the reason for climate change — that's just that's ridiculous," he added. "We're not going to stop the polar ice caps from melting because my mom has to use an electric stove."

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Ortt's comments come as New York lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul continue negotiations on a fiscal year 2024 budget package that is due March 31. The package is reportedly slated to include a bill banning gas stoves and other natural gas-powered appliances from being installed in new buildings and new residential construction.

While the exact language of the bill is unknown, New York Democrats have endorsed prohibitions on water heaters, furnaces, clothes dryers and stoves that are powered by natural gas. And Hochul called for all new construction to be zero-emission beginning in 2025 during her State of the State Address in January.

"I’m proposing a plan to end the sale of any new fossil-fuel-powered heating equipment by 2030," she remarked. "We are taking these actions because climate change remains the greatest threat to our planet, and to our children and grandchildren."

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In 2021, about 60% of all New York households relied on natural gas for heating while another 20% used heating oil, according to the Energy Information Administration. Additionally, just 14% of households in the state were heated with electricity, the vast majority of which was generated by natural gas power plants. 

Ortt noted that state Democrats have pursued a broader climate agenda that extends beyond gas stoves.

"It is much bigger than just gas stoves," Ortt continued. "This is an attack on energy diversification, it's an attack on working people who pay utility rates. It's going to increase their rates, it's going to drive out employers, it's going to drive people out of the state. And we're going to have nothing environmentally to show for it."

"All we're going to have is less people living here, higher taxes, less energy reliability," he said. "Our policy here in New York for a long time has been to export jobs and import energy. That is the New York energy policy. And, obviously, it's been a bad one."

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If the state passes the gas stove ban legislation, it would be the first state to take such a drastic measure. Several Democratic-led cities including New York City have implemented gas appliance restrictions while some states like California have tackled the issue through modified building codes.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is currently accepting public feedback on the health impacts of gas stoves, but has denied that it intends to ban the appliance. A member of the commission said in January that he wouldn't rule out a federal ban, sparking outcry from Republicans and ultimately forcing the White House to say it wouldn't support such an action.

"There are climate alarmists out there — certainly here in New York and in Albany, and in Washington, D.C.," Ortt told Fox News Digital. "I think we have to be able to push back as Republicans and people across the country to say we can have a responsible energy policy and one that's environmentally responsible and one that is responsible from a state management standpoint."

"When you're in an emergency, there's no such thing as bad energy that you don't want to have. Whether it's nuclear, natural gas, wind, solar, electric, you want as diversified an approach as possible. That's going to keep costs down and that's what's going to keep reliability up and it's what's going to keep people safe and keep people here in New York and keep companies investing in New York."

Ortt added that New York residents can expect a late budget based on the status of negotiations. He said energy policy is a factor in the delay, but that the main holdup is criminal justice and public safety issues. 

FIRST ON FOX: Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley will visit the southern border in Texas next week, Fox News Digital has learned -- as the former governor is unveiling her plan to handle the ongoing migrant crisis now into its third year.

Haley will become the first presidential candidate to visit the border when she travels to Texas on April 3. She will be accompanied by Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, and will make several stops between San Antonio and Eagle Pass. The area has seen some of the heaviest migrant traffic along the border in recent years as authorities have been besieged by the historic crisis.

There were over 1.7 million encounters at the southern border in FY 2021, and more than 2.3 million in FY 2022. FY 2023 has been on pace to eclipse those numbers, although numbers have dipped in January and February.

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Republicans have attributed the crisis to the policies of the Biden administration -- specifically the rolling back of Trump-era border protections, and an increase in "catch-and-release" of migrants into the U.S. The White House has attributed the crisis to a hemisphere-wide challenge and has called on Republicans to provide additional funding.

Haley, who is a daughter of legal immigrants, has been rolling out her plan to secure the border and tackle illegal immigration. That plan would see the recent funding for up to 87,000 IRS staff scrapped in favor of 25,000 new Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

The plan would also mandate that businesses use E-Verify -- which verifies a worker’s citizenship and immigration status -- in their hiring processes. As governor of South Carolina, Haley had signed a bill requiring all businesses in the state to use the tool.

Additionally, a Haley administration would cut funding to states that have been used to give money to illegal immigrants -- such as the billions used by New York to cut checks to illegal immigrant workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

Her plan would also restore the Trump-era "Remain-in-Mexico" policy -- which kept migrants in Mexico while their immigration hearings proceeded, instead of releasing them into the U.S. Republicans have credited that policy with reducing the pull factors which drew migrants north. Haley is also promising to end the "catch-and-release" practices of the Biden administration.

"We fix [the border crisis] by going back to Remain-in-Mexico, we fix it by stopping catch and release, we fix it by putting up an actual wall and closing our border," she said earlier this month on "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade." 

"But we do it by doing what I did in South Carolina as governor," she said. "We did a mandatory E-Verify program that said none of our businesses could hire anyone that was in this country illegally. That is what got them out of South Carolina because there were no jobs for them to come to, that's what will get them out of this country, we've got to make sure none of our businesses hire anyone that is here in the country illegally, and we've got to start taking this seriously. Every state is a border state."

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In addition to mandating E-Verify, the legislation she signed as governor also required police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop who they suspected may be in the U.S. illegally -- following similar legislation in states like Arizona.

That bill also created an illegal immigration enforcement unit, made it illegal to transport or harbor illegal immigrants, made it a felony to sell fake IDs to illegal immigrants and barred illegal immigrants from state or local benefits. The bill faced significant pushback from immigration activists.

"Illegal immigration is not welcome in South Carolina," Haley said in 2011 when she signed the bill.

As governor, she also declined to accept Syrian refugees over concerns about vetting, and in 2014 said that South Carolina would not be accepting illegal immigrant minors in order to focus on children already in the state. When she served as U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, the U.S. withdrew from the global compact on migration in part due to concerns that it would have restricted U.S. policy and impinged on U.S. sovereignty.

Illegal immigration and border security are likely to remain top topics in both the Republican primary season and the 2024 general election.

Former President Trump, who has announced his own 2024 bid, made tackling illegal immigration a key part of his administration. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis -- who has not announced a bid but is widely expected to run -- sparked outrage from Democrats last year when he flew illegal immigrants into Martha’s Vineyard. 

FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is introducing a war powers resolution that calls for the removal of United States armed forces from Somalia, excluding those assigned to protect the U.S. Embassy.

"The American people have extremely low confidence in our military leaders and their ability to assess their own efficacy. How do they expect Americans to believe their justification of occupying Somalia when they can’t even determine who in their own training programs will lead a violent coup afterwards?" Gaetz said in a statement.

"While the Congressional War Machine has decided to rage on in Syria, they must explain how continuing the occupation of Somalia best serves the interests of the American people at home. If they cannot, it is incumbent upon the Congress to bring our troops home from Somalia," the congressman said.

The war powers resolution would force a vote in the House of Representatives within 18 days of the resolution's introduction. It would also mandate the removal of U.S. armed forces from Somalia no later than 365 days after the resolution's adoption.

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"When the House debated my resolution to withdraw troops from Syria, both Republicans and Democrats argued the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Afghanistan serves as a global permission slip for every neocon fantasy. They will argue the same for Somalia," Gaetz said.

House GOP and Democrat members teamed up last week to kill a similar resolution from Gaetz that would require the U.S. to remove roughly 900 service members stationed in Syria, who some argue are beating back terrorists who could threaten the U.S. homeland if left unchecked.

The resolution ultimately failed in a 321-103 vote that split both parties; Republicans opposed it in a 171-47 vote, and Democrats rejected it 150-56.

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Those against placing a small force in Syria argue that force is there without any authorization from Congress. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) is used as justification for such a move, with the argument that the resolution authorizes action against those who perpetrated the 9/11 attacks.

Gaetz and others members argue that Congress needs a more current authority to send troops abroad than one that was passed more than 20 years ago. Proponents for removing the service members also said the U.S. needs to stop acting as a "global police force" and should remove itself from Syria despite warnings that the country could play a determining role in the strength of ISIS and other terrorist groups.

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"I do not believe that what stands between a caliphate and not a caliphate are the 900 Americans who have been sent to this hellscape with no definition of victory, with no clear objective and purely existing as a vestige to the regime change failed foreign policies of multiple former presidents," Gaetz said.

Gaetz, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, filed that resolution in late February following a Feb. 17 report from U.S. Central Command that four U.S. service members were wounded during a U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria that killed a senior ISIS leader.

Fox News' Peter Kasperowicz contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, took to Twitter on Monday to criticize Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis amid ongoing tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine.

The Democrat said DeSantis and other members of the "Hard Right" were to blame for being "more comfortable excusing Putin rather than condemning him."

"This isn’t hard: Putin is a threat to American national security and democracy," Schumer wrote in a tweet that quoted DeSantis as previously referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict as a "territorial dispute."

Schumer’s tweet came after Putin announced he would be moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus by the summer as the war in Ukraine, which crossed the one-year milestone last month, continues. 

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DeSantis previously described ongoing fighting in the eastern Donbas region as a regional conflict and seemingly downplayed its significance to U.S. national security.

The Republican's remark was made in a written response to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sent questions to declared and potential GOP presidential candidates.

​"While the U.S. has many vital national interests — securing our borders, addressing the crisis of readiness within our military, achieving energy security and independence, and checking the economic, cultural, and military power of the Chinese Communist Party — becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them," DeSantis wrote in his answer.

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The governor has since walked back the comment, following criticism by fellow Republicans and supporters, clarifying during an interview with Piers Morgan on Fox Nation that Russia did not have a right to Ukraine and that he should have been "more clear" in his initial answer.

"What I’m referring to is where the fighting is going on now, which is that eastern border region Donbas, and then Crimea, and you have a situation where Russia has had that. I don’t think legitimately, but they had," DeSantis said during an interview that aired Thursday. "There’s a lot of ethnic Russians there. So, that’s some difficult fighting, and that’s what I was referring to, and so it wasn’t that I thought Russia had a right to that, and so if I should have made that more clear, I could have done it."

Schumer’s tweet failed to point out that DeSantis walked back the comment.

His tweet also did not point out the criticism he received from Republicans, who principally disagreed.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio suggested DeSantis was inexperienced with international relations, saying he "doesn’t deal with foreign policy every day as governor." 

"Foreign policy is all about nuance," he added.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina told Fox News that DeSantis "is basically taking the Chinese position when it comes to Russia’s invasion."

Schumer’s tweet also does not mention that Democrats are actually in control of the White House and the U.S. Senate — and can impact foreign policy while DeSantis cannot. 

Democrats were also in control of the White House and the U.S. Senate when Putin annexed Crimea in 2014. 

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When Republicans gained control of the White House, under former President Donald Trump between 2016 and 2020, Putin did not invade Ukrainian territory. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is leading an effort to amend the controversial Respect for Marriage Act, a law aimed at protecting same-sex marriages that was passed with bipartisan support last summer, in order to include new protections for religious observers that weren't included.

In a Tuesday letter reviewed exclusively by Fox News Digital, Roy and 23 other House Republicans asked the House Appropriations Committee leadership to include these new protections in a spending bill for the next fiscal year.

The Respect for Marriage Act requires the federal government and states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in states where they are legal. The law includes language that was aimed at ensuring people and organizations who don't support same-sex marriage aren't subject to retaliation, but Roy says those protections are not enough, and that these groups could still be at risk of losing them unless the law is strengthened.

Specifically, Roy wants to add language that prohibits the federal government from taking "any discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially, on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one man and one woman."

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The House Republicans want to define "discriminatory action" to include altering any federal tax treatment, withholding federal government benefit or access to federal property or educational institution otherwise publicly available, among other things.

"Without this language, we fear that the federal government will begin to systematically discriminate against religious schools, faith-based organizations, and other non-profits by barring their participation in federal programs, and removing their tax-exempt status, for their views on marriage," the letter said.

"The First Amendment is sacred. It secures the right to write, pray, think, speak, and associate as one pleases. These fundamental rights are uncontroversial and must be protected," it said.

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The law was passed after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which returned the question of abortion rights back to the states. Democrats then worried that another case that created a federal right to same-sex marriage might be overturned, which prompted passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

When the law was being considered in the Senate, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., wrote an amendment aimed at adding religious liberty protections that the Senate approved. But some Republicans and conservative groups said at the time that this amendment didn't go far enough to protect people who fear litigation or government retaliation for their belief in traditional marriage.

Roy says his amendment "ensures that the free exercise rights of millions of Americans and nonprofit organizations will not face punishment and discrimination from the federal government for their beliefs."

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"Such organizations care for the poor, mentor at-risk-youth, feed the hungry, rebuild homes after natural disasters, minister to soldiers and first responders, visit those in prison, educate children and manufacture millions of good, civic-minded citizens each year," Roy said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"To weaponize the power of the federal government against them is un-American and would do a tremendous disservice to not just these organizations but to this Republic and the fundamental rights which it protects," he said.

The letter earned praise from religious and conservative special interest groups like Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and Catholic Vote.

"We applaud Rep. Roy for responding quickly to the despicable 2022 law that allows the federal government to target those who believe in marriage," Catholic Vote President Brian Burch told Fox News Digital.

"In every civilization, marriage has always been privileged because it binds a father and mother together to raise the next generation of citizens on behalf of the nation. No government should allow activist legislation to target citizens who honor that definition," the group added.

Other signatories to the letter include Reps., Kat Cammack, R-Fla., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-S.C. and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.