Johnson unveils Trump-backed House GOP plan to avoid government shutdown, sets up battle with Schumer
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled a plan to avoid a partial government shutdown at the end of this month during a lawmaker-only phone call Wednesday morning. Johnson is aiming to hold a vote on the measure as soon as possible, likely next week, two sources familiar with the call told Fox News Digital. House GOP leaders hope to link a short-term extension of this fiscal year’s federal funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to a Republican-backed bill known as the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. That measure would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process in a bid to crack down on GOP concerns about noncitizens participating in U.S. elections. The bill would punt the federal funding fight to March, when a new administration and a new congressional term will dictate how the next shutdown showdown will play out. HARRIS WAS ‘OPEN’ TO PACKING SUPREME COURT DURING 2019 PRESIDENTIAL BID Five Democrats voted for the SAVE Act when it passed the House in July, but their leaders are largely opposed to the measure and have panned it as unnecessary since it is already illegal to vote in federal elections as a noncitizen. Meanwhile, senior Republican lawmakers had called for a short-term funding extension into December rather than risking a traffic jam of legislative deadlines in the new year. Johnson said on the call, however, that his plan has “a lot of merit” and reasoned a December CR would likely necessitate another one into the new year anyway, one source familiar with the call said. Other Republicans also raised concerns during the 30-minute call, multiple sources said. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., confirmed to Fox News Digital that she took issue with the lack of measures addressing the border crisis, and she told her colleagues so on the call Wednesday. She specifically called for a CR to include the Laken Riley Act, named after a college student allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant, which would detain and deport migrants who commit illegal acts. HARRIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER IGNORES PRESS CONFERENCE QUESTION AS VP HITS 33 DAYS WITHOUT ONE “We should offer a menu of options, but Democrats should do something to help stop the chaos,” she said, pointing to New York Post reports that suggest illegal immigrants are overwhelming New York City’s judicial system. When asked if she would support the plan Johnson offered without those measures, she said, “Let’s see.” Meanwhile, two sources said Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., questioned what Johnson’s answer would be if the Senate sent back a “clean” short-term spending patch with no attachments. He said a partial government shutdown would threaten the House’s 10 most vulnerable Republican incumbents, per the sources. One of the two sources said Johnson responded that their plan was worth having the fight and said the GOP could not blink. Another GOP lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital after the call said, “If we shut down, we lose.” The bill is expected to need a simple majority to pass, a tough task given Johnson’s razor-thin House majority. Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., who is retiring at the end of this year, said outright on Tuesday that he would oppose the plan. HARRIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER IGNORES PRESS CONFERENCE QUESTION AS VP HITS 33 DAYS WITHOUT ONE It does have a significant backer in former President Donald Trump, who urged House Republicans to leverage a shutdown to get a March CR plus SAVE Act passed during an appearance on Monica Crowley’s podcast earlier this week. If it passes the House, the plan is highly unlikely to be taken up by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, however. Schumer, D-N.Y., told Fox News Digital of the plan, “As we have said each time we’ve had a CR, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way and that is what has happened every time.” A spokesperson for Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who is spearheading the CR plus SAVE Act plan, responded, “The majority leader’s comment is encouraging, given that the SAVE Act passed with bipartisan support in the House.”
Haitian migrant accused of molesting child is in US via controversial Biden-Harris program
A Haitian migrant who entered the United States last year was arrested in Massachusetts after allegedly molesting a 10-year-old boy who lived next door to him. Akim Marc Desire, 18, was arrested by police last week in Mansfield, Massachusetts, about 45 minutes south of Boston, and is being charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14, law enforcement sources told Fox News. Desire, who is now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, flew to the U.S. in June of last year, arriving in Miami before eventually making his way up to the Boston area. ICE FINDS, ARRESTS HAITIAN MIGRANT WHO WAS RELEASED ON $500 BOND AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH RAPING CHILD IN MA “Akim Marc Desire allegedly victimized a minor member of our Massachusetts community,” Boston ICE Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons told Fox News. “We cannot tolerate such potentially dire threat to the welfare of children in our community. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our New England neighborhoods.” Desire lawfully entered the country but violated the terms of his entry and was unlawfully present in the U.S. at the time of the alleged crime, ICE said. He is the second Haitian migrant in recent months to be charged with a sex crime against a child in Massachusetts, coming less than a month after 26-year-old Haitian Migrant Cory Alvarez was accused in the march rape of a 15-year-old girl while staying in a migrant hotel in the state. BIDEN ADMIN RESTARTS CONTROVERSIAL MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM WITH ADDITIONAL VETTING AFTER FRAUD REVELATIONS Desire flew to the U.S. under the Biden administration’s controversial CHNB parole program, which allows migrants to apply for entry with a sponsor from four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The program was paused in July after an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review found evidence of mass fraud, including more than 100,000 applications being filled out by roughly 3,000 “serial sponsors.” DHS said last week that it is resuming the parole program after it “incorporated additional vetting of U.S.-based supporters to strengthen the integrity of the processes.” “With these updated procedures in place, DHS is resuming the issuance of new Advance Travel Authorizations and will closely monitor how this new process is operating moving forward,” a spokesperson for the agency told Fox News Digital. The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
PM Modi enjoys traditional Indian dishes at world’s largest residential palace in Brunei, check menu here
PM Modi’s historic visit to Brunei strengthens diplomatic ties, marked by bilateral talks and a special lunch hosted by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
Biden DOJ to accuse Russia of trying to influence 2024 presidential election: report
The Biden administration is expected to accuse Russia of orchestrating a sustained effort to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election by targeting American voters through state-run media and other online platforms. Fox News confirmed that Russia-linked entities will be targeted by the Justice Department. A CNN report stated that Kremlin-backed RT TV network is expected to be named by the Justice Department as one of the key players in the covert campaign. When asked by Fox News Digital for its reaction to the allegations, RT said, “We certainly have a reaction. Actually, we had several, but we couldn’t decide on one (we even thought of running an office poll), so here they are.” “2016 called and it wants its clichés back,” was among them, as were: “Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and RT’s interference in the U.S. elections,” “We gotta earn our Kremlin paycheck somehow,” and “Somewhere Secretary Clinton is sad that it’s not because of her.” The move comes after the Justice Department made RT register as a “foreign agent” in 2017. The agency said at the time that “T&R Productions, LLC (T&R), a Washington, D.C., corporation, registered… with the Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an agent for ANO TV-Novosti, the Russian government entity responsible for the worldwide broadcasts of the RT Network (RT). “Since August 2014, T&R has operated studios for RT, hired and paid all U.S.-based RT employees, and produced English-language programming for RT, which is both shown on cable networks across the United States and available on RT’s website,” it also said. Former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler previously told Fox News Digital that RT and other propaganda abroad were part of the permanent cyber warfare Russia wages on the West. “They don’t just wage propaganda in a time of war, during a conflict,” she said in 2022. “They wage it during peacetime. They constantly malign the United States and misrepresent foreign policy objectives … I’m just saying that tilts the level playing field towards Russia when we allow their propaganda channels to broadcast in an unfettered [way].” “RT is 100% a Russia government-controlled channel and its sole intent is to predispose the American population and wherever they are broadcasting towards the Russian point of view and to present the events on the ground as the Russians want the rest of the world to see them, so if the United States did not want that to happen then it would be appropriate to shut down the channel,” Koffler added.
Dems lose ground to GOP contenders in pivotal Senate races as voters lock in: poll
Republican Senate candidates are gaining on their Democratic counterparts in new polling of competitive races, closing the support gaps in top contests that will decide which party holds control of the Senate and by how large of a majority. Dave McCormick, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, tied longtime Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Penn., in top battleground state Pennsylvania, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. Casey’s advantages of being an incumbent and having a well known family with deep roots in Pennsylvania showed signs of faltering against McCormick’s campaign in the survey, with the two neck and neck at 46% each. BORDER SENATOR AND FORMER HARRIS VP SHORT-LISTER CLAIMS ‘NO EVIDENCE’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS VOTE Previous polling has shown McCormick trailing Casey to varying degrees, as analysts noted a name identification struggle for the former. However, with less than 10 weeks until the general election, it appears voters — especially those in top battleground state Pennsylvania — are tuning in, and those who lean Republican are getting behind McCormick’s bid. MCCORMICK SEIZES ON PENNSYLVANIA SENATE RACE GAP, LAYING BORDER BLAME ON CASEY Pennsylvania is not the only state where GOP contenders are getting closer to their opponents. In Arizona, former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake presented a challenge to Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., in the new poll, finishing only three percentage points behind him, 47% to 44%. GOP candidates Eric Hovde in Wisconsin and former Rep. Mike Rogers in Michigan each also held their Democratic opponents’ leads to single digits. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., beat Hovde in the survey, 51% to 45%, while Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., managed to defeat Rogers, 47% to 41%. BLUE-STATE REPUBLICAN TOUTS HIS ANTI-TRUMP CREDENTIALS IN BID TO FLIP SENATE SEAT RED In Nevada, Ret. Army Capt. Sam Brown registered 10 points behind Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who garnered 50% as she battles to hold onto her seat in the swing state. The tightening races across the board come as GOP strategists have predicted that average voters will begin paying attention and throwing their support behind GOP candidates with the election nearing. MICHIGAN BECOMES TOP GOP SENATE TARGET AS MIKE ROGERS TIES WITH DEM OPPONENT AMONG OLDER VOTERS The Senate contests in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada are still considered “Lean Democratic” by a top non-partisan political handicapper, the Cook Political Report. The handicapper rated Michigan’s race as a “Toss Up” with the best chance of going Republican come election day. The tied Senate match-up in Pennsylvania is particularly significant as strategists believe incumbent Casey will be tethered to Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris with the strongest intensity, meaning her performance in the battleground will weigh heavily to pull him up or drag him down. In the latest CNN poll, former President Donald Trump and Harris were also tied at 47% each. The poll surveyed 4,398 registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and queried them both online by telephone between August 23 and August 29. The margins of error were +/- 4.7% in Pennsylvania and Arizona, +/- 4.9% in Michigan and Nevada, and +/- 4.4% in Wisconsin. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘No pension for MLAs who…’: Himachal Government passes new bill, check what it is about
Speaking for the bill, the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the bill was required to make democracy more robust
Haryana Assembly elections: BJP releases first list of 67 candidates, CM Nayab Singh Saini to contest from…
CM Nayab Singh Saini will be contesting from the Ladwa Assembly constituency.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce backs Ted Cruz for Senate over Colin Allred
Allred, who had previously gotten the Chamber’s endorsement in his House races, had long used the endorsement as proof of his bipartisan credentials.
Numbers show Harris tax proposal would give to small business with one hand, take with the other
Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled new tax proposals for small businesses Tuesday, which she is expected to announce publicly during her stump speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday. The proposal seeks to increase the federal government’s small business tax deduction by tenfold, from $5,000 to $50,000, which the campaign indicated will help reduce the roughly $40,000 cost burden related to starting a new business. The proposal will also allow small businesses to wait to claim the deduction until they become profitable, meaning they could use it piecemeal in order to save more down the road when they are making more money. Harris is also slated on Tuesday to unveil a goal of increasing new small business applications. She wants to increase them from 19 million under the Biden administration to 25 million under a potential Harris-Walz administration. CNBC HOSTS CLASH WITH HARRIS CAMPAIGN ECONOMIC ADVISER OVER UNREALIZED GAINS TAX PROPOSAL: ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ Other components of the proposal include incentivizing state and local governments to minimize the red tape associated with their business regulations,and reducing barriers to obtaining occupational licenses. Harris, meanwhile, pledged to launch a small business expansion fund to help loan providers focused on low-income areas to cover interest costs for small businesses seeking to relocate, or create jobs, in particular regions that have historically received less investment. Conservative economists are balking at the new tax proposals from Harris, arguing that Harris wants to simultaneously give businesses larger tax deductions while also increasing their tax rates. “The left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing,” said Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni. “It’s simply incoherent.” CRITICS BLAST HARRIS’ GRASP OF INFLATION, ATTACK ON BUSINESS AHEAD OF POLICY SPEECH: ‘LUNATIC BEHAVIOR’ Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on the new tax proposal package, the specific details of which still remain unknown, and was directed to a statement from former 2020 Biden campaign adviser Rhett Buttle. “This is core to her belief,” Buttle said. “She thinks small businesses are part of what creates a strong middle class and helps people build wealth in this country.” Tobin Marcus, the head of U.S. policy and politics at Wolfe Research and a former economic advisor to then-Vice President Joe Biden, told the Washington Post that politically it makes sense for Harris to lean into plans to prop up small businesses and entrepreneurs. “But in practice, targeted federal policies to help small businesses tend to be fairly small-bore,” he said. A statement from the Trump campaign on Sunday, meanwhile, told voters that if they want more money in their pockets, “the only option is to vote for President Trump.”
Illegal immigrants make up 75% of arrests in midtown Manhattan, say police: report
Migrants are flooding the criminal justice system in New York City at higher rates than previously acknowledged, making up over half of arrests in multiple areas of the city. As many as 75% of people arrested in Midtown Manhattan in recent months for crimes such as assault, robbery and domestic violence have been migrants, police sources said in a report for the New York Post. According to the report, New York City courtrooms are packed with people who are in the city seeking asylum but have run afoul of the law, with police sources saying that lax bail guidelines mean migrants are quickly back on the streets of the city after being arrested. “I would say about 75% of the arrests in Midtown Manhattan are migrants, mostly for robberies, assaults, domestic incidents and selling counterfeit items,” a Midtown Manhattan police officer told the New York Post, noting that “you can’t be 100% sure [they’re migrants] unless you arrest them in a shelter or they’re dumb enough to give you a shelter address.” COLORADO MAYOR SPEAKS OUT AFTER VIDEO OF ARMED VENEZUELAN GANG IN APARTMENT GOES VIRAL: ‘FAILED POLICY’ The true scope of the problem is likely unknown, in large part because the police are not allowed to track the immigration status of people they detain. “Police officers are prohibited from asking about the immigration status of crime victims, witnesses, or suspects and therefore the NYPD doesn’t track data pertaining to immigration statuses.,” an NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital. The problem is not just limited to Manhattan, with police sources telling the New York Post that more than 60% of arrests in Queens have also been migrants. “There are days we have so many migrant cases, we have to call in for extra Spanish interpreters,” a law enforcement officer at the Queens Criminal Courthouse told the New York Post. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS In one case highlighted by the report, 31-year-old Ecuadorian migrant Jefferson Maldenado has been arrested in New York City five times since arriving in the U.S. earlier this year. His latest arrest was for stealing a pair of pants and a beer from a Target store, the report noted. “I wanted to change my clothes and think,” the migrant said when asked why he committed the crime, according to the report. “I wanted to sit down and think about my life, about what to do. Because this is not a normal world.” Police say the problem in the city has been made worse by New York City sanctuary city laws, which restrict police from working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on cases police believe involve a migrant who is in the country illegally. “New York City eliminated a tool to get rid of violent criminals. What a mess,” Jim Quinn, a former prosecutor at the Queens District Attorney’s Office, told the New York Post. “The sanctuary city law is pathetic. It’s disgusting. It’s crazy.” New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called on the City Council to change the city’s sanctuary laws, arguing last week that New York City’s law enforcement officers “don’t have the authorization to be able to go and coordinate with ICE. We have to follow the law.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Adams’ office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Meanwhile, some police officers in the city have become frustrated with the lack of progress, with one Queens officer arguing that New York City more resembles a “Third World Country.” “Roosevelt Avenue and 91st Street looks like a scene from ‘Casablanca’ with all the vendors. You can buy food, clothes, toys, electronics, tools and get your car washed,” the police source told the New York Post. “The area has become a Third World country, and it seems like City Hall doesn’t care about the taxpayers who live and work here.” Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.