Congressional Hispanic Caucus pushes Biden for meeting on border crisis talks with GOP
Hispanic and Latino House Democrats are calling for a meeting with the White House over their concerns about ongoing talks to pair border and asylum measures with President Biden’s request for supplemental foreign aid, an aide told Fox News. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) wants to meet with Biden after a request for a sit-down with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients never materialized into an actual meeting, a Democratic aide told Fox News. CHC members are worried the president would “cave” to GOP demands on border talks, the aide said. They cited Biden’s comments during an impassioned speech at the White House last week, “I am willing to make significant compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system, it is broken.” MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS HIT DAILY RECORD AT SOUTHERN BORDER, AS WASHINGTON STRUGGLES TO AGREE ON SOLUTIONS The aide said CHC Democrats are worried Biden gave away significant leverage during his address, particularly when it comes to including measures regarding DREAMers and work permits that are sought by the left. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back. CHC Chair Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., released a statement with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., on Monday morning rejecting the inclusion of “Trump-era immigration policies” from the ongoing supplemental talks. “We are deeply concerned that the President would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard against – and that he himself campaigned against – in exchange for aid to our allies that Republicans already support,” they said. “Caving to demands for these permanent damaging policy changes as a ‘price to be paid’ for an unrelated one-time spending package would send a dangerous precedent.” Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., CHC’s vice chair for policy, wrote on X on Sunday that the group “supports border funding, but not immigration policy, being included in the Supplemental.” ‘I LOVE YOU JOE BIDEN:’ MIGRANT THANKS POTUS AFTER CROSSING ILLEGALLY IN ARIZONA “If [President Biden and Senate Democrats] are going to go there, DREAMers should be included too. These young people have waited long enough,” Soto said. NBC News first reported that CHC lawmakers and their allies were seeking to broaden communication with Biden on the issue. It comes after House and Senate Republicans closed ranks last week around addressing the border crisis as part of any foreign aid deal. Senate Republicans tanked a procedural vote on a $110 billion supplemental aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, the U.S. border and humanitarian causes brought forward last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. TOP HOUSE GOP COMMITTEE RENEWS DEMAND FOR DOCS FROM DHS ON TEXAS BORDER WIRE CUTTING Democrats have expressed concerns that Republicans are pushing for measures that are too severe and would do little to stop the ongoing border crisis. But hardliners within the GOP, who have likened the thousands of people coming across the border with Mexico to an “invasion,” are calling for nothing short of House Republicans’ border bill known as H.R.2, which would build a border wall and significantly tighten asylum laws, among other provisions. Both Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have signaled that significant border security measures would be needed to entertain all or part of Biden’s supplemental request.
Rep. Jackson Lee files to run for re-election in Congress after landslide mayoral defeat: report
Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who recently lost a landslide runoff election for Houston mayor, has filed for re-election to serve a 16th term as a congresswoman. Jackson Lee filed paperwork Sunday evening to run again to represent Texas’s 18th congressional district, the Houston Chronicle reported, a seat that she has held since 1995. Jackson Lee lost her bid to become Houston’s mayor on Saturday by a margin of 65% to 34% to John Whitemire about a month after she was involved in a controversy where she was caught on audio tape berating her staff using profane language. Whitmire appeared to take a shot at Jackson Lee in his victory speech on Saturday night. HILLARY-ENDORSED CANDIDATE FOR HOUSTON MAYOR SHEILA JACKSON LEE BERATES STAFF IN PROFANITY-LACED TIRADE “People want to go to work for me because we respect people. We don’t bully people,” Whitmire said during his victory speech Saturday, according to a report from the Houston Chronicle. “My family taught me to treat people the way you want to be treated, and that works wherever you are, regardless of what community you’re visiting with. Treat these individuals like you want to be treated.” Jackson Lee, who was endorsed for mayor by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was also at the center of ridicule for a gaffe earlier this month in which she encouraged her supporters to vote on the wrong day, urging voters to cast their ballots by Dec. 7, two days before the actual date of the runoff election. ‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOSTS TEAR INTO SHEILA JACKSON LEE OVER REPORTED PROFANITY-LACED RANT DIRECTED AT STAFFERS Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson Lee’s office but did not immediately receive a response. Jackson Lee will face what is expected to be a hotly contested primary election against fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards who once served as an intern in Jackson Lee’s office. Edwards holds a 4-to-1 edge in fundraising over Jackson Lee, Houston Chronicle reported. The deadline to file for the Democratic primary is Monday at 6 p.m. “When we look at the critical need for economic opportunity, infrastructure, and the dysfunction in Congress, it’s no surprise that people are saying that it’s time for change,” Edwards recently said about her run to replace Jackson Lee. “It is time to do something different in this election so that we can obtain different results for the community.” Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report.
After state’s high court halts historic abortion ruling, Kate Cox leaves Texas to terminate her nonviable pregnancy
A judge ruled that Kate Cox was allowed to terminate her nonviable pregnancy, but on Friday night, the Texas Supreme Court put that ruling on hold.
Biden faces grim re-election odds as he trails leading GOP candidates in two key battleground states: poll
President Biden’s week is off to a rocky start as a new 2024 election poll released Monday found him trailing three of the leading Republican presidential candidates in two key battleground general election matchups. According to the CNN poll, former President Donald Trump, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would nearly all defeat Biden in both Georgia and Michigan — two key states won by the president in 2020 — if the election were held today. The survey found Trump leading Biden in Michigan by a whopping 10%, receiving 50% support over only 40% who said they would vote for Biden. About 64% of registered voters in the state said they do not approve of Biden’s handling of the presidency. TRUMP HOLDS MASSIVE LEAD IN IOWA 5 WEEKS FROM CAUCUSES THAT KICK OFF GOP RACE: POLL Biden trailed DeSantis by seven percentage points, but would lose to Haley by an even larger margin of 12% in the Great Lake State. In a hypothetical 2020 rematch in Georgia, 49% of registered voters said they would prefer Trump to Biden, who received only 44% support. Haley was also favored over Biden in the Peach State, 49% to 43%, but the latter edged DeSantis, 48% to 45%. POLL SHOWS BIDEN HITTING RECORD LOW APPROVALS, FALLING BEHIND AGAINST TRUMP IN 2024 MATCHUP The poll also found 61% of registered voters in the state said they disapproved of Biden’s job performance. Despite DeSantis and Haley besting Biden in the key matchups, with the exception of the former in Georgia, Trump ultimately leads the GOP primary field by nearly 40% in both states. Among young voters in Michigan, a key demographic to capture in 2024, 69% said that Biden does not have the stamina for another four years. Amid concerns over the president’s cognitive abilities, 66% of young voters in Georgia also reported feeling the Democrat president does not have the sharpness they are looking for in a candidate. KEY MCCONNELL ALLY MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CRUCIAL SWING STATE RACE THAT COULD FLIP SENATE RED The Michigan portion of the poll was conducted among registered voters from Nov. 29-Dec. 6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. The Georgia portion was conducted from Nov. 30-Dec. 7 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points. The results come just days after a Wall Street Journal poll revealed Trump would also be victorious over Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup nationally, locking in 47% support over the president’s 43%. Other polls have also shown Trump consistently tied or leading Biden nationally, and in a number of other battleground states, as voters overwhelmingly view Biden’s age as a concerning factor. The Biden campaign didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to New York law allowing abortion clinic buffer zones
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a New York law allowing abortion clinic buffer zones, essentially upholding 23-year federal precedent. Just days after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year – ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to an abortion and that the matter should be decided by the states – Westchester County, New York, passed a local law making it a misdemeanor to knowingly approach within eight feet of another person entering an abortion clinic for the purpose of protesting, counseling or handing any material to them. The law said penalties can include a fine or up to six months in prison, while repeated violations can result in up to a year behind bars. Debra Vitagliano, a Catholic “sidewalk counselor” who worked to present women with abortion alternatives outside Planned Parenthood clinics, sued Westchester County last November, arguing the law violated her First Amendment rights. Though the Second Circuit later ruled the Westchester County “bubble zone” law was a valid content-neutral, time, place and manner restriction on speech, Vitagliano had advanced the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking to have abortion clinic buffer zone precedent overturned. RED STATE AGS MOVE TO BLOCK ABORTION BALLOT LANGUAGE PRO-LIFE GROUP SAYS IS ‘DECEPTIVE,’ GOES FARTHER THAN ROE The Supreme Court issued a brief order Monday declining to hear the dispute, letting the Second Circuit decision stand under the 23-year precedent. No dissents were noted. “A pregnant woman in need deserves to know that she and her child will be loved, defended, and supported. Westchester County threatened to put me in jail for over a year, just for speaking a message of hope to women outside abortion clinics,” Vitagliano, a resident of Westchester County, said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, reacting to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case. “When I asked the Supreme Court to take my case, Westchester County repealed the law, admitting it had not been necessary to threaten women with jail time for peaceful conversations. No government official should try to outlaw compassionate conversations on a public sidewalk.” In 2000, the Supreme Court decided in Hill v. Colorado to uphold a 1993 state statute making it unlawful for any person within 100 feet of a health care facility’s entrance to “knowingly approach” within eight feet of another person, without that person’s consent, in order to pass “a leaflet or handbill to, display a sign to, or engage in oral protest, education, or counseling with [that] person.” The decision essentially declared it appropriate to regulate pro-life protesters’ free speech within 100 feet of abortion clinics. TOP ABORTION GROUP FACED WRATH OF AOC’S OFFICE FOR NEGLECTING KEY PRIORITY TO PROTECT DEM MAJORITY: BOOK In appealing the matter to the Supreme Court, lawyers for Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents Vitagliano, wrote, “If the First Amendment protects anything, it protects the right to engage in peaceful, face-to-face conversations about important matters on a public sidewalk,” according to The Hill. Students for Life of America, Christian Legal Society, Knights of Columbus, the group that organizes the annual March for Life, as well as 14 Republican attorneys general, backed Vitagliano’s appeal. “There is no abortion exception to the First Amendment,” the AGs wrote in court papers backing Vitagliano’s appeal. “Sidewalk counseling is not second-class speech, and government restrictions on it must meet the same standards as every other content-based restriction. Hill was wrong from the moment it was decided. And only this Court can fix it.” In the Dobbs decision last year, Justice Samuel Alito, joined by four fellow conservative justices, cited Hill v. Colorado in ruling that Roe v. Wade had “distorted First Amendment doctrines.” Before then, Alito had also argued that Hill v. Colorado was an “erroneous decision” now with “defunct status.”
White House warns of democracy threat after Trump repeats dictator remark
U.S. President Joe Biden has been working to guard against the “unprecedented threats” facing American democracy, a White House official said on Monday, responding to Donald Trump’s comments that he wanted to be a “dictator for one day” if elected to a second term.
Texas woman who sought emergency abortion from court will leave state for care
A woman who had asked a court for an order allowing her to get an abortion under the medical emergency exception to Texas’ near-total ban will leave the state to receive care while the state’s highest court considers her case, her lawyers said in a court filing on Monday.
US puts sanctions on two former Afghan officials for corruption
The United States said on Monday it put sanctions on two former Afghan officials and 44 related entities for a corruption scheme in which they allegedly siphoned off millions of dollars in U.S. government funds meant for Afghan security forces.
Sheila Jackson Lee files for reelection for U.S. House seat after losing in mayoral race
State Sen. John Whitmire, a fellow Houston Democrat, defeated Jackson Lee in a landslide Saturday.
WH spurns Biden family ‘conspiracy theories’ ahead of likely impeachment inquiry vote, Hunter Biden deposition
The White House refused to answer questions on Monday regarding what it claimed were “conspiracy theories” of corruption within the Biden family. The refusal came as deputy press secretary Andrew Bates spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of a likely House vote this week to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against President Biden and the possible appearance of his son, Hunter, for a deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees on Wednesday. “I am not going to weigh in on that process except to say that President Biden is laser focused on the issues that matter most to American families,” Bates said. “You see him today getting ready to deliver for firefighters in Philadelphia. Like I mentioned, we’re making an historic announcement in advanced manufacturing to keep bringing jobs back from overseas.” HOUSE OVERSIGHT DEMOCRAT QUIETLY MEETING WITH GOP LAWMAKERS IN EFFORT TO QUASH IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY: SOURCES “He’s focused on what matters to American families, not Marjorie Taylor Greene’s conspiracy theories about his own family,” he added, referencing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a supporter of impeaching Biden and member of the GOP often targeted by Democrats for political attacks. House Republicans hope to hold the formal vote on whether to officially launch the inquiry this week, but are facing opposition from Democrats and some members within their own party. However, GOP opposition to the inquiry has been shrinking as those members representing districts Biden won in 2020 have begun to back the move. This includes Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who told Politico he was switching from opposing the inquiry to supporting it because of the increased likelihood Biden would cooperate. DEAN PHILLIPS CALLS BIDEN POSSIBLY ‘UNELECTABLE’ IN 2024 AFTER GOP IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY “The president is saying he isn’t going to provide information until we get an inquiry, so I went from a no to a yes,” he told the outlet. Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has spearheaded the sprawling investigation into Biden, which has focused on Hunter, his various foreign business dealings, and the money he got from them. The committee hosted an impeachment inquiry hearing in September as part of that probe. The White House has repeatedly said that Biden did nothing wrong and had no knowledge of his son’s business dealings. KEY MCCONNELL ALLY MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CRUCIAL SWING STATE RACE THAT COULD FLIP SENATE RED Additionally, the Oversight and Judiciary Committees posted an official notice last week for Hunter’s closed-door deposition on Wednesday, despite the president’s son so far refusing to comply with the subpoena to testify behind closed doors. Hunter’s attorney notified Comer and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, last week that the president’s son would only appear for testimony before the committee in a public setting. Comer and Jordan subsequently threatened to hold him in contempt of Congress if he does not appear for his deposition. Fox News Thomas Catenacci, Brooke Singman and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.