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Year: 2024

House conservative who’s twice moved to impeach Vice President Harris faces competitive GOP primary

House conservative who’s twice moved to impeach Vice President Harris faces competitive GOP primary

A conservative congressman who has twice filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Kamala Harris is grabbing national attention as Tennessee holds primary elections on Thursday. Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and a vocal critic of President Biden’s administration, is facing a primary challenge from Nashville councilwoman Courtney Johnston as he seeks a second term representing Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District. After filing articles of impeachment against both the president and Harris last year, Ogles filed impeachment articles against the vice president a second time after she replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats’ national ticket. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2024 ELECTIONS Ogles faced several controversies two years ago, as he came out on top in a crowded nine-candidate Republican primary in the redrawn 5th District, which includes southern parts of Nashville and surrounding suburbs and rural areas. THIS REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN FILES IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS, AGAIN While they’re similar in supporting conservative policies, Johnston is taking aim at Ogles as a “do-nothing grandstander” who she argues is “mired in scandals.” But Ogles enjoys the support of former President Trump, the party’s 2024 Republican presidential nominee, as well as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Sen. Bill Hagerty. Johnston has the backing of many establishment Republicans, including former Sens. Bill Frist and Bob Corker, and former Gov. Bill Haslam. The winner of the GOP primary will face Democrat Maryam Abolfazli in November’s general election. Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a former House member who’s seeking a second six-year term in the Senate, is the clear favorite as she faces a GOP primary challenge from Tres Wittum, a former state Senate policy analyst who came in last in the 5th Congressional District primary two years ago that was won by Ogles. There’s a crowded primary field for the Democratic Senate nomination. There are also primaries for seats in the state Senate and House, where Republicans hold super majorities in the red-dominated state. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Unpacking the Supreme Court: Why it’s not just a MAGA stronghold, and how the justices really vote

Unpacking the Supreme Court: Why it’s not just a MAGA stronghold, and how the justices really vote

A closer look at the Supreme Court’s 2023 term, from October 2023 to July 2024, provides a more nuanced picture than critics would have Americans believe, according to numbers crunched by veteran court watchers Adam Feldman and Jake Truscott of SCOTUS Blog. Here’s a breakdown of how the justices — six conservatives and three liberals — have been voting during this time period. Decision breakdown In the 2023 term, the Supreme Court heard 62 cases, two of which were dismissed. Of the 60 cases decided, the court issued 27 unanimous decisions compared to 22 decisions with a 6-3 split. The recurring 6-3 split has often been viewed as a clear indicator of the court’s conservative leanings, but the reality is more complex, according to the SCOTUS Blog’s analysis findings. BIDEN, HARRIS CALL FOR SUPREME COURT TERM LIMITS, CODE OF CONDUCT, LIMITS ON PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY Half of the 6-3 decisions, 11 out of 22, broke down along the familiar conservative-liberal split. However, this term saw a notable increase in 6-3 decisions with mixed ideological coalitions. Unlike previous terms, where 6-3 splits often fell along predictable conservative-liberal lines, this term featured a more varied pattern. Carrie Severino, a lawyer and author of “Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court,” noted in a Fox News Digital interview that, during this SCOTUS term, “about 40% of the decisions were unanimous. “That’s not the type of pattern you’d expect if the court was some kind of hard right extremists,” she said. “First and foremost, looking at what the law in the Constitution requires and making decisions on that basis. And that sometimes means cases where the results, you could say, look conservative because maybe there’s conservative litigants on one side of the case or liberal litigants of the other, but that’s not what the court is or should be looking to. “Now, that hasn’t stopped an unrelenting campaign of negative ads against the court, which is very damaging to the institution and, I think, is cynical and short-sighted,” she added. “But the fact of the matter is this is a court that’s incredibly principled.” Since the conservative supermajority formed in 2020, this term had the most ideological splits compared to previous years, excluding landmark cases from 2021. This indicates that while the conservative bloc still wields significant influence, the ideological composition of 6-3 decisions has become less predictable. Justice voting frequencies Chief Justice John Roberts was most frequently in the majority this term at 96%, surpassing Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was second at approximately 95%. Justice Amy Coney Barrett remained the third most frequent at 92%. On the liberal side, justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson were less frequently in the majority this term, with Kagan and Sotomayor tied at the lowest frequency of 71%. TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION  Notable 6-3 decisions Several high-profile 6-3 decisions illustrate the ideological diversity of the SCOTUS: LEONARD LEO WARNS BIDEN-HARRIS EFFORTS TO RADICALLY OVERHAUL SUPREME COURT COULD ‘BACKFIRE’ Meanwhile, attacks on the Supreme Court persist. This week, President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are calling on Congress to impose term limits and a code of conduct on the Supreme Court while also drafting limits on presidential immunity. DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP HERE Biden wants to impose a term limit of 18 years for justices. Once fully adopted, it would allow presidents to appoint new justices once every two years. Biden argued the new Supreme Court code of conduct should require justices to “disclose gifts, refrain from public political activity, and recuse themselves from cases in which they or their spouses have financial or other conflicts of interest.” Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Trump vs. NABJ: Hostility and questions about journalism

Trump vs. NABJ: Hostility and questions about journalism

There was a fiery test yesterday, not just for Donald Trump but for the National Association of Black Journalists. The organization, which has “journalists” in its name, did not fare well in my view. Nor was it Trump’s finest hour. VANCE BRANDS HARRIS A ‘COWARD’; TRUMP DINGED FOR ‘ATTACKS AND INSULTS’ AS CAMPAIGNS WAR AFTER FIERY EVENT But I will say this: I don’t buy the post-game commentary that Trump went to the Chicago gathering to appeal to his MAGA base by picking a fight with Black folks. Keep in mind that when Joe Biden was still running, Trump drawing Black support in the polls at levels not seen for a Republican in decades. Obviously the passing of the torch to Kamala Harris scrambles that calculation. Trump’s view, as I see it, was that he was stepping into the lion’s den, knowing he’d get some negative questions but hoping he’d get some credit for showing up and highlighting such initiatives as helping finance historically Black colleges and universities. But on the NABJ side, there was something of a revolt at the opportunity to question a former president who heads the Republican ticket. The group’s co-chair resigned, in part because of the invitation. April Ryan, who constantly tangled with Trump and is now a White House reporter for The Grio, tweeted that the invite “is an affront to what this organization stands for and a slap in the face to the Black women journalists (NABJ journalists of the year) who had to protect themselves from the wrath of this Republican presidential nominee who is promoting an authoritarian agenda that plans to destroy this nation.” TRUMP CLASHES WITH ABC NEWS REPORTER OVER ‘NASTY QUESTION,’ BLASTS ‘FAKE NEWS NETWORK’ DURING HEATED Q&A No bias there, right? This is how the panel, which included Fox’s Harris Faulkner, began. ABC’s Rachel Scott didn’t so much ask a question as deliver an indictment. “You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals,” she said. “From Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told former congresswomen of color who were American citizens, to go back to where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe black district attorneys. You’ve attacked black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. You’ve had dinner with a white supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So my question sir, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you. Why should black voters trust you after you have used language like that?” Trump’s response: “Well first of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner. First question. You don’t even say ‘hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they’re a fake news network, a terrible network. And I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the black population of this country.” Trump also said he was invited under false pretenses because he was told he had to be there in person. But yesterday, after rejecting a virtual appearance by Harris, the group changed its mind and allowed it. WHITE HOUSE FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP ANSWERS QUESTION ABOUT HARRIS BEING CALLED A ‘DEI HIRE’ Trump’s biggest misstep came after another question by Rachel Scott. “Do you believe,” she asked, “that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a black woman?” Trump’s response: “She was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black. And now she wants to be known as black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she black?” Scott interjected: “She has always identified as Black. She went to a historically Black college.” “I respect either one,” Trump said, “but she obviously doesn’t because she was Indian all the way. And then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went. She became a Black person.” Questioning the racial identity of a Black woman who went to Howard University is not the way to win friends in that community.  KAMALA RIDES TSUNAMI OF POSITIVE PRESS, BUT SKEPTICS SEE A RISKY CHOICE But it was not a great day for NABJ either. Meanwhile, I was scrolling through X the other day – yes, it’s part of the job – and within a couple of minutes came across plenty of controversial past stances by Harris. “THE ROOT: ’Should black people get reparations?’   “KAMALA HARRIS: ‘There have to be some form of reparations.’” “Kamala Harris says mandatory gun confiscation is ‘a great idea’ — then says she’ll do it by executive action within her ‘first 100 days.’” “Kamala Harris Once Pledged To Keep Transgender Criminals Out Of Prison As President” “Here’s Kamala bragging about her work to ensure ‘every transgender inmate in the prison system’ has access to taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries.” These were originally posted by the RNC, the Trump campaign or conservative groups – but have drawn remarkably little media attention. Now this might surprise you – I don’t think most voters particularly care about flip-flops. After all, Donald Trump used to be a Democrat. He used to be pro-choice. He donated money to Harris when she was a California official. Most Americans want to know what you’re going to do tomorrow, not what you said four or five years ago. And while the mainstream media don’t much care, it helps to offer an explanation. When I interviewed Donald Trump, I asked why he had tried to ban TikTok as president and now supports it. He said it would unfairly help Facebook, which people can buy or not, but at least he had a rationale.  SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES Harris has made no attempt to do