Judge considers holding state in contempt a third time over foster care conditions
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack on Monday considers whether state’s foster care agency has made progress caring for most vulnerable children or should be held in contempt for the third time in an ongoing 2011 lawsuit.
December deadlines: Things are a little different around Capitol Hill before the Christmas cutoff
Every December seemingly has a deadline on Capitol Hill. To impeach the President. To fund the government. To avoid the fiscal cliff. To raise the debt ceiling. To approve a payroll tax cut. To pass tax reform. To allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To pass Obamacare. To undo Obamacare. But things are a little different around Capitol Hill this December. CONGRESS AIMS TO HOLD VOTE TO INITIATE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY There’s no single, sweeping issue that is consuming Congress. Sure, there are lots of things to do. In fact, big things — which we’ll outline shortly. But the feeling this Christmas at the Capitol is different. No government shutdown is looming (talk to us about that in January and February). And while Congress has faced concrete deadlines before, there is no absolute, drop-dead date to complete anything. Except there is a cutoff point. It’s the same as every other year: December 25th. Lawmakers have three weeks to handle lots of things. But it’s unclear if they’ll crank through them. And that’s why there’s the potential for Congress to linger in Washington and maybe — just maybe — still slam into the December 25th deadline. Let’s start with impeachment. No, the House is not going to impeach President Biden before Christmas. You might remember that December is kind of “impeachment month” on Capitol Hill. The House impeached President Clinton on Dec. 19, 1998, for obstructing justice and lying after his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The House impeached former President Trump — the first time — on Dec. 18, 2019, for abusing his power and obstructing justice as it pertained to Ukraine. Notice a pattern? While those votes were actual resolutions to impeach the President, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is just pushing a plan to formalize an impeachment inquiry. FOX is told the goal is to pass the impeachment probe resolution next week. HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO HOW THE SANTOS EXPULSION WILL AMPLIFY PRESSURE ON DEMOCRATS TO DEAL WITH MEN House Republicans have nibbled around the edges of impeachment for months. But the House never adopted a measure officially authorizing impeachment. “Now we’re being stonewalled by the White House because they’re preventing at least two to three DOJ witnesses from coming forward,” said Johnson on FOX. “So a formal impeachment inquiry vote on the floor will allow us to take it to the next necessary step. And I think it’s something we have to do at this juncture.” Plus, Johnson needs to notch a political and legislative win. Johnson hasn’t had much to crow about since he first clasped the Speaker’s gavel in October. He quickly passed a bill to boost Israel in its fight against Hamas. But since then, Johnson has presided over a House majority that encountered multiple stumbles in efforts to pass their own spending bills. The highlight of Johnson’s short tenure may have been the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. — which Johnson and other GOP leaders opposed. But impeachment could boost the GOP — especially as Congress stares at the possibility of dual government shutdowns over the winter. “If it goes to the floor, we’re going to pass it. There’s no question,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., about an impeachment inquiry vote. It’s about the math. Republicans can only lose three votes on their side and prevail and still open an impeachment investigation. For months, moderates resisted an impeachment vote. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., initiated an impeachment inquiry — without an official vote — because he never had the votes. Moreover, McCarthy needed to do something to move the needle on his side of the aisle when GOP spending bills began stalling on the floor and conservatives grew restless over his debt ceiling pact with President Biden. But votes to potentially launch an impeachment inquiry began to fall into place over the past few weeks. House Republicans believe things changed over Thanksgiving — after lawmakers were marooned in Washington for nearly 11 consecutive weeks since late summer. “They met people in Walmart and people on Main Street, and they’re like, ‘What in the world did the Bidens do to receive millions and millions of dollars from our enemies around the world? And did they not pay taxes on it?’ So they heard from their constituents,” said House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. Democrats accuse Republicans of a political diversion ahead of an election year. GOOD TIDINGS AND CHEER, UNLESS YOU’RE IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES “This is all part of a phony effort by extreme MAGA Republicans to distract the American people because they have no track record of accomplishment,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. But impeachment isn’t what is most vexing to many on Capitol Hill this December. Major issues loom over passing the annual defense policy bill. But it faces a dispute over declassifying some information related to Unidentified Aeriel Phenomena (UAPs). Renewing the foreign surveillance counter-terrorism program known as “FISA.” And then there is the big one: President Biden’s international aid package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. The status of that bill is much harder to read because there’s no hard deadline — except Christmas. And the end of the year. And then when the focus pivots in January to averting a government shutdown. To some, it would be hard to see Congress leaving town before the holiday without addressing Israel and Ukraine. Republicans insist that Democrats attach a robust border security plan to the package. However, Republicans aren’t even in agreement on what those border provisions might look like. But, if the plan blows up, Republicans hope to blame Democrats who are getting hammered politically for not tackling the border. White House Budget Director Shalanda Young sent an urgent letter to lawmakers Monday, saying Congress was about to “kneecap” Ukraine by not passing the aid. Talks over the border went sideways in recent days, perhaps scuttling the supplemental spending plan. And if Congress doesn’t pass the international aid bill? “You
Senate confirms Texas Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez to 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Ramirez is currently a U.S. magistrate judge for the Northern District of Texas, serving in that role for over two decades.
Appeals court halts ruling that Border Patrol can legally cut Texas’ border concertina wire
Less than a week after a Del Rio-based federal judge ruled against Texas in the ongoing fight over the state’s razor wire, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused that decision while it reviews the case.
GOP senator ‘beyond frustrated’ no major bills have come to floor yet as deadlines loom
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not put any major bills on the floor since the upper chamber returned from Thanksgiving recess, causing blowback from some Republicans. Instead, the majority leader prioritized President Biden’s judicial nominees during their first week back, and “we are nowhere closer to a deal today than we were when Hamas attacked Israel,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, told Fox News Digital. The Senate still has to work on the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental package, the Farm Bill and a budget due early next year to keep the federal government’s lights on. As lawmakers returned to the Hill last week, Schumer said in a “Dear Colleague” letter that there is much “that the Senate must get done before the end of the year.” “Just as we have done all year, it will take bipartisan cooperation to move these bills through the Senate. Senators should expect long days and nights, and potentially weekends in December,” he said. “One of the most important tasks we must finish is taking up and passing a funding bill to ensure we as well as our friends and partners in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region have the necessary military capabilities to confront and deter our adversaries and competitors.” But some GOP lawmakers are wondering why none of the major bills have made it to the floor as the end of the year quickly approaches and a long laundry list of to-do’s hasn’t been touched yet. GOP SENATORS, HOUSE CONSERVATIVES CALL FOR ‘FISCAL SANITY’ AND STRONGER BORDER SECURITY “Schumer has made hollow threats to force a vote on this $106 billion package while refusing to come to the table and negotiate,” Marshall told Fox News Digital on Monday. “He may be able to bully his caucus into voting for this bogus bill, but Senate Republicans are dug in. We will not budge until meaningful border security policies are secured,” he said. Marshall, who sits on the Senate Committee on the Budget and Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, said Republicans “will vote down cloture, and we will not move an inch until there’s a bill that puts our national security over foreign countries.” He added, “My priorities are straightforward: Border, border, border.“ Senate Republicans have been leading the charge for border security measures, such as stricter asylum standards for migrants and beefing up border patrol in Biden’s national supplemental request that Congress must pass by the end of the month. “I am beyond frustrated by this chamber’s uncanny ability to waste everyone’s time. When we have NDAA reauthorization, FAA reauthorization, Section 702 FISA reauthorization, a Farm Bill to pass, and a government to fund in a few short weeks, here we are barely taking a vote a day on nominations — give me a break,” Marshall said. GOP SENATORS INTRODUCE STAND-ALONE BILL TO AID ISRAEL WITHOUT MORE FUNDING TO UKRAINE BIDEN ADMIN URGES MAJOR FUNDING INCREASES FOR AID TO UKRAINE, ISRAEL AND GAZA CIVILIANS Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview last week that Schumer isn’t bringing up spending bills because “his goal is not to pass spending bills, but to have an omnibus.” “Why aren’t we doing spending bills? Why isn’t Schumer having real negotiations on the border?” Scott said. An all-senators briefing on Ukraine and Israel funding will be held Tuesday from 3 to 4 p.m. ET, sources familiar told Fox News Digital on Friday. The White House’s supplemental request, which was sent to Congress in October, includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border measures such as speeding up asylum processing, and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there’s $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Fox News Digital has reached out to Schumer’s office.
White House refuses to condemn progressive lawmaker over comments on Hamas’ use of rape
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused Monday to condemn comments from a top progressive lawmaker who called for “balance” when condemning Hamas’ use of sexual violence against Israeli women. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said “we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinian” when asked specifically about mass rape committed by Palestinian militants, during an interview Sunday with CNN. When asked about Jayapal’s comments, Jean-Pierre reiterated that using rape as a weapon of war was “reprehensible,” but stopped short of condemning the congresswoman. “I can only speak for the president — that’s who I can speak for,” Jean-Pierre told Fox News correspondent Jacqui Heinrich during the daily White House press briefing Monday. “We’ve been clear that what Hamas did is absolutely reprehensible, full stop. We’re going to continue to be clear about that.” “We think rape and the use of rape — being used as a weapon — that is also reprehensible and that’s full stop and I’ll just leave it there,” she continued. “That’s speaking for the president of the United States and I think I’ve been very clear on that.” JAYAPAL’S CONTROVERSIAL REMARKS ON HAMAS RAPE HIT BY FELLOW DEMOCRAT: ‘INDECENT TO DOWNPLAY’ ATROCITIES After Jean-Pierre was pressed about Jayapal’s comments in particular, she again declined to address the congresswoman’s remarks directly. PIERS MORGAN ROASTS ‘SQUAD’ DEM’S ‘SHAMEFUL’ CNN SIT-DOWN: ‘ONE OF THE MOST PAINFUL THINGS I’VE EVER WATCHED’ “I just commented on it. I just laid out what we believe is unacceptable,” she added. While the White House declined to condemn Jayapal, several Democrats blasted her on Monday. For example, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said it was “outrageous” for anyone to “both sides” of sexual violence and Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., added that it was “indecent” to downplay rape against Israeli women. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Hamas terrorists raped Israeli women and girls. The only ‘balanced’ approach is to condemn sexual violence loudly, forcefully and without exceptions. Outrageous for anyone to ‘both sides’ sexual violence,” said Wasserman Schultz.
Judge drops felony charges against Virginia elections official accused of 2020 misconduct
A Virginia judge has dismissed felony charges against a former county elections official accused of misconduct in the 2020 election, a decision made after state prosecutors said a key witness changed his story. At the prosecutors’ request, the judge on Friday dismissed a felony charge of corrupt conduct and one for making a false statement, both of which had been levied against former Prince William County Registrar Michele White. She still faces trial next month on a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty. Very little has been publicly revealed about exactly what prosecutors believe White did wrong. Court records merely indicate that the case revolves around 2020 election returns, including the presidential race. IOWA ELECTED OFFICIAL’S WIFE CONVICTED OF VOTER FRAUD IN BALLOT-STUFFING SCHEME Prince William election officials have previously said that White’s successor reported “discrepancies” in results to state officials, but that those discrepancies would not have affected the outcome of any race. The case was brought by Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares last year. Shortly after his office obtained the indictment against White, it launched an election integrity unit. The move prompted critics to accuse Miyares of pandering to supporters of former President Donald Trump, who falsely blamed his defeat on election fraud. In White’s case, Assistant Attorney General James Herring filed a motion ahead of Friday’s hearing in which he alleged that an elections worker “conveniently and quite surprisingly provided a different version of events” than the witness had previously recounted. JESSE WATTERS: LOCAL ELECTION SYSTEMS ACROSS AMERICA ARE WEAK AND VULNERABLE “As a consequence, the Commonwealth is confronted with significant inconsistent statements,” Herring wrote. White’s lawyer, Zachary Stafford, said he interviewed the same witness and found nothing inconsistent in his statements. The election worker, “rather filled in a hole that the initial investigation did not address” about who asked him to make changes in the state voter registration system, Stafford said in a statement. The system is being replaced after an audit questioned its reliability and functionality. Stafford said the witness has reported that White didn’t ask him to make the changes now under scrutiny and that it was “a poor choice of words” for prosecutors to refer to the witness’ updated testimony as “convenient.” Attorney General Miyares’ office declined to comment beyond the court filing, citing the ongoing misdemeanor case.
House could have articles of impeachment against Biden ready in first half of 2024
The House of Representatives could be faced with a decision on whether to impeach President Biden in the first half of next year, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, suggested on Monday. “We want to talk with those last several witnesses, but we want to make that happen as quickly as possible. We think we can do that relatively quick,” Jordan said when asked by Fox News Digital about a timeline for drafting articles of impeachment. “That’ll be a key focus when we come back. We hope to get a couple done here in December, and then a couple more in January and make a decision as a body if we move forward with actual articles.” It comes as House GOP leaders are strongly considering holding a vote to formalize the ongoing impeachment inquiry into the president. COMER DEFENDS PRIVATE DEPOSITION OF HUNTER BIDEN, VOWS TO RELEASE TRANSCRIPT AND HOLD PUBLIC HEARING Jordan, along with Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., is investigating whether Biden and his family profited off of his time as vice president. A cornerstone of Jordan’s probe is Biden’s push to firde a former Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma, an energy company for which his son Hunter Biden served on the board of. During a sit-down with reporters to discuss the investigation, Jordan would not directly answer whether he would seek comments from the president himself. HOUSE REPUBLICANS ANTICIPATE VOTE TO FORMALIZE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY ‘SOON’ “We want to talk to the people who were directly in business with Hunter Biden,” Jordan said, listing off various business associates of the president’s son like Tony Bobulinsky and Eric Schwerin, as well as the president’s brother James Biden and Kevin Morris, a Los Angeles lawyer who reportedly lent millions of dollars to Hunter. The Judiciary Committee is expected to hear from Lesley Wolf, a prosecutor who was involved in the Justice Department’s criminal probe of Hunter Biden, in a closed-door deposition later this month. Jordan did tell reporters that he expects a decision “one way or another” on whether to impeach Biden happening before mid-2024, an election year. HOUSE GOP DISCUSSING VOTE TO FORMALIZE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY “Oh yeah, I think there’ll be a decision one way or the other before that,” he said when asked by Fox News Digital about getting articles of impeachment together in the first six months of next year. “I think plenty of time before that.” Jordan then distanced himself from concerns over whether it would be perceived as a repeat of Democrats’ first impeachment of former President Donald Trump in early 2020. “I don’t think about the politics of it…I’ve said all along, we’re an impeachment inquiry. We will look at the facts, the evidence, follow the Constitution. And if articles are warranted, then we will take that step,” Jordan said. “It shouldn’t be driven by politics…we’re going to look at the facts, and I think the facts are pretty compelling.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Temporary migrant shelter funding package clears Massachusetts House
A spending bill that includes money for temporary shelter spaces for migrant homeless families cleared the Massachusetts House on Monday after more than 100 Democratic lawmakers showed up at an informal session of the chamber to overcome efforts by House Republicans to block the bill. Republicans had been repeatedly blocking efforts to pass the bill since last week, arguing the measure should be brought up in a formal legislative session to allow for debate and roll call votes. The move forced Democrats to bring in dozens of legislators to overcome the parliamentary hurdle. In an informal session, debate and roll call votes aren’t allowed and a single lawmaker can block a bill, giving Republicans, in the minority in both chambers, leverage to block efforts to pass legislation. MASSACHUSETTS WEIGHS TEMPORARY SHELTER FUNDING AMID HOMELESS, MIGRANT CRISES The bill now heads to the Massachusetts Senate. Democrats are pushing the $2.8 billion spending bill which sets aside $250 million to help provide shelter for vulnerable families, including up to $50 million for an overflow site for homeless families stuck on a state wait list. The state’s emergency shelters are buckling under a crush of migrant and homeless families. Minority Leader Bradley Jones defended the actions of Republicans saying they were trying to press Democrats to take debate the bill in an formal session. “This, I think, has highlighted the dysfunction on Beacon Hill, highlighted the shortcomings of a one-party monopoly,” Jones said. “It’s done a disservice to the taxpayers of the commonwealth.” MASSACHUSETTS INITIATES $5 MILLION GRANT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY HOUSING FOR HOMELESS FAMILIES Demand for shelter has increased as temperatures drop and the state struggles to find newly arriving migrants places to stay after hitting a state-imposed limit of 7,500 families in its emergency homeless shelter system last month. Over 100 families were waiting for emergency shelter spaces as of Friday. About 500 families have exited shelters since Sept. 1, making room for other families. To create more space in the shelter system, the state has worked with federal officials to help migrants get work authorizations needed to find a job. The surge in shelter demand is being driven in part by migrant families entering the state, officials said. The state launched a $5 million grant program last month to help local groups provide overflow shelter spaces for those on the wait list. The state is also letting up to 25 homeless families stay overnight in the state transportation building in Boston during the evening and overnight hours.
Sheryl Sandberg demands condemnation of sexual violence against Jewish women by Hamas
EXCLUSIVE: Sheryl Sandberg told Fox News Digital that “politics are blinding us to something that is completely obvious”—condemning Hamas for rape and other sexual violence committed against Jewish women on Oct. 7. Sandberg, the founder of “Lean In” and former chief operating officer of Facebook, spoke to Fox News Digital on the sidelines of an event hosted by Israel at the United Nations headquarters on Monday. UNITED NATIONS SLAMMED FOR SILENCE OVER HAMAS RAPES, MUTILATION AND MURDER OF ISRAELI WOMEN, CRITICS SAY The event, hosted by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan, featured an address from Sandberg, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a video address by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and testimonials from Israeli police officers, and others about the brutality of Hamas’ attacks and to “expose the horrors and shocking acts of sexual violence committed” against women on Oct. 7. “For a really long time, sexual violence was just a part of war, and we fought long and hard to get women listened to,” Sandberg told Fox News Digital, pointing to the “Me Too” movement and more. “And in this moment, politics are blinding us to something that is completely obvious—no matter what side of anything you are on,” Sandberg told Fox News Digital. “You need to be able to say that rape is unacceptable and sexual violence is unacceptable.” She added, “If we don’t stand against this, we lose our humanity.” Israeli officers on Monday shared their experiences in recovering women’s bodies after the massacre on Oct. 7, showing girls with broken pelvises; women and girls without clothing on covered in blood; women and girls’ bodies with shooting wounds targeted at sexual organs; breast amputations; naked women and girls’ in showers with their hands tied behind their backs; additional amputation of genitalia and more. Sandberg and activists at the event at the United Nations called out women’s organizations for being silent on the issue—with Sandberg saying, “Silence is complicity.” Gillibrand during the event said it makes her “sick” that women’s groups have been “silent.” “I think they’re not going to be quiet anymore,” Sandberg told Fox News Digital after the event. “I hope they’re not going to be quiet anymore. “I call on everyone to speak out,” Sandberg said, echoing her remarks during the event. “And if the world isn’t listening to us, we’re just gonna have to speak louder. “In wartime situations, you know, there is so much that is unclear,” she explained. “But it is very clear now what happened, and I think everyone can see the evidence and hear the evidence.” Sandberg told Fox News Digital she hopes that the event Monday “is a turning point for the United Nations and for women’s organizations to speak out.” “We have to be united against rape,” she said. WHOOPI GOLDBERG DEFENDS WOMEN’S GROUPS AFTER CO-HOST CALLS OUT THEIR SILENCE ON HAMAS BRUTALITY Sandberg told Fox News Digital that she “grew up like a lot of American Jews did with the stories of what it was for my great-grandparents in Europe before the Holocaust.” “You always thought it could never happen here,” she said. “I think this is intergenerational trauma for Jews—the trauma of believing that antisemitism is still out there is still rampant, and we need to be against it. We need to be against antisemitism. We need to be against Islamophobia. We need to be against racism,” she said. “We can’t allow hatred to stand against anyone.” JAYAPAL’S CONTROVERSIAL REMARKS ON HAMAS RAPE HIT BY FELLOW DEMOCRAT: ‘INDECENT TO DOWNPLAY’ ATROCITIES More than 700 ambassadors and diplomats, representatives of UN agencies, Jewish organizations, and civil society organizations attended the event Monday. Erdan told Fox News Digital that he “initiated the event because of the disgraceful silence of UN women.” “We saw how women organizations worldwide abandoned Israeli women who were raped, brutalized, and were mutilated,” Erdan said. “It’s something that is unthinkable, and we will fight and be their voices.” He added: “If women’s organizations are applying double standards and ignore the rape of Israeli women, then there are courageous leaders and women who will help us to make their voices heard.” Erdan said that the stories of Israeli women “will not be silenced.” “The truth will prevail and justice will be brought,” he said.