Biden strongly supports swift passage of annual defense policy bill
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said on Tuesday it strongly supports swift passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon that this year covers a record $886 billion in spending.
Top US Senate Republican says Ukraine aid deal ‘practically impossible’ before Christmas
U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday it would be “practically impossible” for Congress to pass a supplemental funding package including aid for Ukraine before Christmas.
Mark Welsh III officially named president of Texas A&M University
Welsh served as interim president of the flagship university for a little over four months after the prior president resigned in the midst of a hiring scandal that drew national attention.
US committee offers 2024 legislative ‘blueprint’ for countering China
A U.S. congressional committee issued an extensive list of bipartisan recommendations on Tuesday to reset America’s economic ties with China, setting out legislative goals for 2024 that it said would prevent the U.S. from becoming the “economic vassal” of its chief geopolitical rival.
US budget deficit hits record high for November on interest costs
The U.S. federal budget deficit jumped 26% in November from a year earlier to $314 billion, a record for the month and the highest since March, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday, driven by sharply higher interest costs and other outlays.
Biden tells donors Israel is losing support globally
President Biden is warning that Israel is losing global support in its continued war against Hamas, according to the White House press pool. Biden made the comments Tuesday during his campaign reception at the Salamander hotel in Washington, D.C. “Bibi’s got a tough decision to make,” Biden told attendees, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. PRESIDENT BIDEN TELLS CROWD ‘I AM A ZIONIST’ AT HANUKKAH CEREMONY, CONDEMNS SILENCE ON ANTISEMITISM “This is the most conservative government in Israel’s history,” Biden said. He added that the current Israeli government “doesn’t want a two-state solution.” Biden claimed that in order to avoid a global turn of perception against Israel, Netanyahu “has to strengthen and change.” “There’s a lot to do and we’re going to have to be strong supporters of Israel,” Biden said. “The goal is Israel’s security.” HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER RESOLUTION TO FORMALIZE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY He added, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas began after the terrorist group launched an attack on Israeli civilians, infiltrating the country on Oct. 7 and killing more than 1,200 Israelis. Israel has come under fierce international condemnation for the high numbers of civilian casualties in its counterattacks following the massacre, although the Biden administration has firmly supported the state’s right to self-defense. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Biden hosted a Hanukkah celebration on Monday at the White House, where he condemned the rise of antisemitism during the Israel-Hamas war as “sickening.” In remarks in front of Jewish lawmakers and other attendees, Biden harshly criticized those who remain silent in the face of antisemitism and reiterated his long-standing support for Israel. “I got in trouble, got criticized very badly by the southern part of my state and some of the southern parts of the country, when 35 years ago I said, ‘You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist. And I am a Zionist,’” Biden said. Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Maryland taking applications to replace murdered circuit judge
Maryland’s state judiciary is accepting applications to replace a circuit court judge who was killed earlier this year by a man whose divorce case the judge was presiding over, authorities have said. Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot to death in his driveway Oct. 19, just hours after granting a divorce to Pedro Argote’s wife and awarding her full custody of their four children. Authorities quickly identified Argote as a suspect and launched a search. MARYLAND JUDGE KILLED IN ‘TARGETED ATTACK’ AFTER SUSPECT’S DIVORCE, CUSTODY HEARING: OFFICIALS Argote, 49, was found dead the following week in a heavily wooded area outside Hagerstown not far from where the shooting unfolded. An autopsy later confirmed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a spokesperson for Maryland’s chief medical examiner said Tuesday. Wilkinson, 52, was appointed to the bench nearly four years ago, fulfilling his longtime dream of becoming a judge after working as an assistant county attorney and later starting his own law office, according to loved ones. The Maryland Judiciary posted on its website last week about the vacancy created by Wilkinson’s death, saying applications will be accepted through Dec. 21. Gov. Wes Moore will ultimately choose from a list of candidates submitted to him by a judicial nominating commission. Hagerstown, a city of nearly 44,000 where Wilkinson spent most of his life, lies about 75 miles northwest of Baltimore in the panhandle of Maryland, near the state lines of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Legal online sports betting coming to Vermont next month, Gov. Scott announces
Vermont sports fans will be able to bet online starting early next year when mobile sports betting kicks off in the state on Jan. 11, Republican Gov. Phil Scott announced Tuesday. The state Department of Liquor and Lottery picked DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics Sportsbook to operate mobile sports wagering platforms in Vermont, he said. “I first proposed Vermont legalize sports wagering several years ago, and it’s good to see it come to fruition,” Scott said in a statement. “Vermonters and visitors alike will soon be able to access a regulated sports wagering marketplace, which will come with important consumer protections and generate revenue for the State.” VERMONT SHERIFF ACCUSED OF KICKING SHACKLED PRISONER PRESSURED TO RESIGN He signed a bill into law in June legalizing online sports betting in Vermont, joining nearly three dozen other states. Each year the Department of Liquor and Lottery, in consultation with the Department of Mental Health, will provide a report to the Legislature on the impact of sports betting on problem gambling in Vermont. Operators will also be required to annually provide the state with a responsible gaming plan that includes information about the posting of materials related to problem gambling; resources to be made available to bettors with concerns about problem gambling; house-imposed player limits; and self-exclusion programs. The sports betting operation is expected to bring in up to $7 million in revenue to Vermont during the first full year, Scott said. “We are excited to offer sports enthusiasts the ability to engage in sports wagering in Vermont with three of the industry’s top companies,” Department of Liquor and Lottery Commissioner Wendy Knight said in a statement. A pre-registration period starts Tuesday, allowing operators to do marketing and pre-register players before the January launch date.
Johnson digs heels in on border security after meeting with Zelenskyy about Ukraine aid
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., indicated he’s not budging from his position on pairing Ukraine aid and border security reforms even after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday. He also lambasted the White House, accusing the Biden administration of failing to provide a clear strategy on U.S. involvement with Ukraine. “I have asked the White House since the day that I was handed the gavel as speaker for clarity. We need a clear articulation of the strategy to allow Ukraine to win. And thus far their responses have been insufficient,” Johnson told reporters after the meeting. PROGRAMMING ALERT: TUNE IN TO FOX NEWS CHANNEL AT 6 PM ET TUESDAY TO SEE BRET BAIER’S INTERVIEW WITH ZELENSKYY ON ‘SPECIAL REPORT’! “What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight or clear strategy to win, and none of the answers that I think the American people are owed.” He added, “I have also been very clear from day one, that our first condition on any national security supplemental spending package is about our own national security first.” BORIS JOHNSON: THE WEST MUST GIVE UKRAINE ALL IT NEEDS Zelenskyy is in Washington, D.C., to persuade U.S. lawmakers to approve more aid for Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion, which has lasted nearly two years. President Biden has requested about $61 billion for Kyiv’s war effort, but getting it through Congress has proved an uphill battle with Republicans increasingly skeptical of the continued aid to Ukraine. SEAN PENN SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS TIME IN UKRAINE, MEETING ZELENSKYY Johnson and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have both made clear that Biden would have to compromise on border and asylum policies to get enough GOP support for his request to pass. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “In the last three months – October, November, December alone – we’ve had more illegal crossings at the border than in any entire year of the Obama administration. The American people see this. They feel it acutely,” Johnson said Tuesday. The White House has warned that Ukraine would soon lose the ability to fend off Russia on the battlefield if the U.S. did not replenish its flow of aid quickly.
Johnson defends vote to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry amid White House ‘impasse’: ‘We have no choice’
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday defended a vote scheduled this week to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, arguing that unlike what Democrats did with the “sham impeachment” of former President Trump, Republicans are committed to the “rule of law.” Fox News’ Chad Pergram pressed Johnson on an expectation from the GOP base to bring an impeachment vote sometime in the spring ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Johnson explained that House Republicans have “come to this impasse” in their investigations into President Biden’s alleged involvement in his son, Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and are “hitting a stone wall because the White House is impeding that investigation” and not allowing witnesses to come forward and thousands of pages of documents. The vote on a resolution to formalize the House impeachment inquiry, which is currently set for Wednesday, is not the same as a vote to impeach. “We have no choice to fulfill our constitutional responsibility. We have to take the next step. We’re not making a political decision. It’s not. It’s a legal decision,” Johnson said at the House Republican Conference press conference on Tuesday. “So people have feelings about it one way or the other. We can’t prejudge the outcome. The Constitution does not permit us to do so. We have to follow the truth where it takes us and that is exactly what we’re going to do.” HOUSE OVERSIGHT DEMOCRAT QUIETLY MEETING WITH GOP LAWMAKERS IN EFFORT TO QUASH IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY: SOURCES Noting some frustration about the time being invested in the impeachment probe, Johnson argued, “this is the way the founders anticipated that something like this would go.” “There shouldn’t be any such thing as a snap impeachment, a sham impeachment like the Democrats did against President Trump. This is the opposite of that,” Johnson said. “And that’s why people are getting restless, because they want things to happen quickly. If you follow the Constitution and you do the right thing, you cannot rush it. You have to follow the facts.” Piggybacking off Pergram’s question about pressure for Johnson to bring the impeachment vote while Republicans hold a slim majority, another reporter asked Johnson, “If you get into the spring and decide not to impeach the president based on the inquiry, you would be comfortable with that decision essentially absolving him months before a presidential election?” “We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of this,” Johnson responded. “We can’t because, again, it’s not a political calculation. We’re following the law, and we are the rule of law team. And I’m going to hold to that as my commitment.” CONGRESS AIMS TO HOLD VOTE TO INITIATE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY Wednesday’s vote will allow the House Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means committees to continue their investigations into the Biden family business dealings, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., explained, stating that the “Biden administration has been stonewalling our investigations.” The Justice Department has refused to allow two attorneys to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, Emmer said at the press conference. The White House sent House Oversight and Accountability Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a letter stating, “they have no intention of complying with our subpoenas and requests for interviews without a formal vote,” according to Emmer, who also stressed how the National Archives has “withheld thousands of pages of documents and emails.” “It’s clear the House will have to defend our lawful investigations in court, and passing this resolution will put us in the best position possible to enforce our subpoenas and set forth a clear process,” Emmer said. “As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment. We will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead. And if they uncovered evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then and only then will the next steps towards impeachment proceedings be considered. No one in this country is above the law, and that includes President Joe Biden.” Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.