Biden’s last-minute constitutional change slammed by legal experts: ‘Cynical and irrelevant’
Legal experts slammed President Biden’s announcement declaring the 28th Amendment law as “cynical and irrelevant.” Biden on Friday released a statement saying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be considered ratified and a new addition to the U.S. Constitution. “It is long past time to recognize the will of the American people. In keeping with my oath and duty to the Constitution and country, I affirm what I believe and what three-fourths of the states have ratified: the 28th Amendment is the law of the land, guaranteeing all Americans equal rights and protections under the law regardless of their sex,” he said. BIDEN’S OFFICIAL X ACCOUNT DRAWS MOCKERY WITH REFERENCE TO CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT DOESN’T EXIST “Biden’s announcement is both cynical and irrelevant,” said former Assistant U.S. attorney and Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy. “If he believed what he is saying, he would’ve said it when his administration started, not when he is on his way out the door as a failed, one-term president. “More importantly, the president has no constitutional role in the amendment process, so his view carries no weight.” “President Biden seems intent on moving his administration from the odious to the absurd,” Jonathan Turley, Fox News contributor and the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital. “This was an embarrassingly pandering moment to the most extreme elements in his party. It is a position based on a long-rejected and frankly ridiculous foundation.” When asked about the timing of the announcement by reporters, Biden said Friday, “Because I had to get all of the facts and I contacted every constitutional scholar in the world to make sure it was the right decision.” The ERA would prohibit discrimination based on gender. It was sent to the states for ratification in 1972, with Congress setting a 1979 deadline for three-quarters of state legislatures to ratify the amendment. The deadline was later extended to 1982. DANA PERINO KNOCKS BIDEN’S CONTROVERSIAL FAREWELL ADDRESS Virginia became the last state to pass the amendment in 2020, pushing the final number of states who had passed the amendment to a total of 38. McCarthy noted that the ERA “was not ratified by the states within the statutorily allotted timeframe.” “The only way to get it into the Constitution would be to start all over again,” McCarthy said. “Everybody knows this, including Biden. That is why the national archivist has not published it, nor has Biden had the temerity to try to order that that be done.” Turley also said: “Biden notably stopped short of giving the left what it wanted most: an actual executive order on the ratification. He simply made a declaration and presumably left the matter up to the archivist.” ERA: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT The national archivist is responsible for making constitutional amendments official. The archivist had previously declined to certify the amendment, citing a 2020 opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel of the DOJ (OLC) that “affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable.” “The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid,” the National Archives said in a statement in December. “Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate.” “This is just pandering,” McCarthy said. “It will have no lasting significance.”
DOJ ‘politicized’ under Biden, Ted Cruz confident Pam Bondi will reverse it
As Senate confirmation hearings for several of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks get underway, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is particularly eager to see former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement official. “Pam Bondi did a terrific job at her confirmation hearing,” Cruz told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. “She’s going to be confirmed. She will be the next attorney general. And I believe, actually, every one of the Trump cabinet nominees is going to be confirmed.” Cruz said that Bondi, who also was a personal lawyer to Trump, “may be the single most important cabinet nominee President Trump has made.” BONDI SPARS WITH SCHIFF AT TESTY CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘YOU WERE CENSURED’ “And the reason for that is under Joe Biden, tragically, we have seen the Department of Justice politicized and weaponized in a way that there is no precedent in our nation’s history for how they turned the Department of Justice and the FBI into an arsenal to go after the president’s political enemies,” Cruz said. During Bondi’s hearing on Wednesday Cruz qasked her whether she would investigate the thousands of unaccounted-for migrant children who have entered the United States. Bondi responded, “Yes, Senator.” When asked whether he was confident that she would follow through on that if confirmed, Cruz said, “I am.” “These were unaccompanied minors, little girls, little boys that came into this country that were in the custody of the federal government, and the federal government handed them over to adults,” Cruz said. “Many of the adults were not relatives, and they have now lost them. They don’t know where they are.” ‘MASTERCLASS’: BONDI FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM SENATOR AFTER SUGGESTING SHE WILL WEAPONIZE DOJ Republican lawmakers have been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of the illegal migrant crisis over the past four years. Shortly after Trump’s electoral victory in November, House Republicans grilled Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra over the administration’s process used to vet sponsors. Speaking before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement, Becerra testified about his department’s Refugee Resettlement Office, which is charged with caring for, and placement of, unaccompanied migrant children. Republican subcommittee members accused the Biden administration of rushing migrant children out of HHS custody and into the hands of unvetted sponsors, who sometimes exploited and abused them. Cruz said that he also asked Trump’s pick for HHS secretary, RFK Jr., to conduct an investigation of lost migrant children, “because we have an obligation,” he said. “Those were children in the custody of the government,” Cruz said. “We have an obligation to go and protect those kids.” TRUMP AG PICK PAM BONDI WOULD ‘MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN’ WITH ‘BACK TO BASICS’ DOJ APPROACH: FORMER COLLEAGUE Bondi has secured the support of current and former state attorneys general across the country, as well as more than 100 former top Department of Justice officials. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on her nomination in the coming days. If the committee approves the nomination, the full Senate will then schedule a vote to confirm her appointment. Although an exact date for the final confirmation vote has not been announced, it is anticipated to be within the next two weeks. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Treasury Department recoups $31 million in improper government payments to dead people
The Treasury Department announced this week that it had recouped more than $31 million in fraud and improper payments to dead people during just five short months of having access to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) federal death database. The Treasury Department issues billions of payments every year, including benefit payments, federally funded state-administered payments and other miscellaneous payments. Sending those funds and others by accident to people who are dead has been a long-standing problem within the federal government, according to fiscal watchdog group OpenTheBooks. In 2020, the Government Accountability Office estimated that during the first round of COVID-19 stimulus checks, $1.4 billion was sent to dead people. Across all three rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic, nearly $3.6 billion went to dead people, according to OpenTheBooks. GAO CHIEF SAYS IRS KNEW IT WAS SENDING STIMULUS PAYMENTS TO DEAD PEOPLE The SSA is the only government agency with a database that records the deaths of U.S. citizens. In 2023, as part of an omnibus appropriations bill, Congress granted access for the Treasury Department, on a temporary basis, to have access to the database to help prevent improper payments to dead people. The temporary basis is set to expire in 2026. “While this should have been a no-brainer for a long time, it’s promising to see some taxpayer funds being recouped with basic communication among executive agencies,” said John Hart, executive director of OpenTheBooks. “Too often the left hand just doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and it’s resulted in trillions of dollars in improper payments.” COMER REPORT REVEALS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN’S ‘RAMPANT WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE’ Hart blamed the nearly $4 billion in COVID-19 stimulus payments sent to dead people on the Internal Revenue Service’s failure to check the SSA’s death database. He also pointed out how, in addition to improper payments through the stimulus check program, the Small Business Administration also sent more than $3 billion more to dead people in the form of forgivable loans “to entities on the Treasury Department’s ‘Do Not Pay’ list.” “Today’s news is a step in the right direction, but there are miles to go before we break even,” Hart said. After news of the recovered payments was announced, Fiscal Assistant Secretary David Lebryk noted that the results were “just the tip of the iceberg.” “Congress granting permanent access to the Full Death Master File will significantly reduce fraud, improve program integrity, and better safeguard taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Qatari PM details Gaza ceasefire implementation, monitoring
NewsFeed In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Qatar’s prime minister detailed monitoring mechanisms for the Gaza ceasefire. He also defended his country’s role in negotiating the agreement despite “false accusations” from foreign politicians. Published On 17 Jan 202517 Jan 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
Former CIA employee pleads guilty to leaking files on Israel’s Iran strikes
Asif William Rahman has pled guilty to transmitting classified national defence information, the US Justice Department says. A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee has pleaded guilty to leaking secret documents about Israel’s plans to strike Iran last year during a period of escalating regional tensions linked to Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon. In a statement on Friday, the United States Department of Justice said Asif William Rahman, 34, pleaded guilty to two counts of “willful retention and transmission of classified information” related to national defence. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for both counts, according to a plea agreement. “Mr. Rahman betrayed the trust of the American people by unlawfully sharing classified national defense information he swore an oath to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew G Olsen said in the statement. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Justice Department will spare no effort to swiftly find and aggressively prosecute those who harm the United States by illegally disclosing our national security secrets.” Advertisement The FBI arrested Rahman — whom the US government said was an employee of the CIA since 2016 and had a Top-Secret security clearance — in Cambodia in November. US media outlets reported at the time that American officials accused him of leaking documents prepared by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which analyses images and information collected by US spy satellites. The NGA also conducts work in support of secret US military operations. The documents, which appeared in October on a channel of the Telegram messaging app, had noted that Israel was moving military assets in place to conduct a military strike in response to a ballistic missile attack by Iran on October 1. Iran said those launches were carried out in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital, Tehran, as well as the killing of a senior Iranian military official. Israel carried out its own attack on multiple sites in Iran in late October. Citing court documents, the Justice Department said on Friday that Rahman had accessed and printed two documents marked “Top Secret” that contained national defence information “regarding a US foreign ally and its planned actions against a foreign adversary”. “Rahman removed the documents, photographed them, and transmitted them to individuals he knew were not entitled to receive them,” the department said. Adblock test (Why?)
More than 230,000 displaced in DRC since start of the year, UN says
The UN says the forced displacement is one of ‘the most alarming’ humanitarian crises in the world. More than 230,000 people have been displaced since the beginning of the year amid escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations. The UN refugee agency UNHCR on Friday described the displacement as “the most alarming” humanitarian crisis in the world. The resource-rich eastern provinces of North and South Kivu – which are home to more than 4.6 million displaced people according to the agency – have been mired in conflict for three decades, with the M23 rebel group becoming one of the most powerful armed groups in recent years. Designated a “terrorist movement” by the DRC government, M23 has seized large areas of eastern DRC since 2021, and earlier this month, took control of the town of Masisi in North Kivu. Earlier this month, Bertrand Bisimwa, the head of the political wing of M23, told Al Jazeera that the group is fighting a “defensive” war. “Escalating clashes between non-state armed groups and the Congolese army in North and South Kivu provinces are intensifying one of the world’s most alarming yet under-reported humanitarian crises,” said Eujin Byun, spokesperson for UNHCR speaking to reporters in Geneva. Advertisement The conflict, Byun warned, is “marked by widespread human rights violations and massive forced displacement”. Byun noted that intense fighting in the Masisi and Lubero territories forced approximately 150,000 people to flee their homes between January 1 and 6 alone. Many returned briefly during a lull in fighting on January 4, but were forced to flee once more as new fighting erupted, according to the UN. In South Kivu’s Fizi territory, the local government has requested international assistance, noting that 84,000 people have sought refuge there. Byun cautioned that civilians are enduring “indiscriminate bombings and sexual violence,” with children also being targeted. “Already, dire humanitarian conditions are worsening rapidly, and access to these vulnerable populations is severely restricted by insecurity, roadblocks and the presence of violent armed actors,” Byun added. UNHCR has stated it is ready to provide assistance as soon as access is restored, but emphasised that more funding is urgently needed. Adblock test (Why?)
Dem senator quizzes Noem on how she will work with Homan: ‘Who is in charge?’
Kristi Noem, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was questioned Friday about how she would work with “border czar” Tom Homan and who is in charge of securing the U.S. border. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., asked Noem at her Senate confirmation hearing who is “going to be in charge of the border,” saying he was uncertain about how her role relates to Homan’s. “Well, the president will be in charge of the border. It’s a national security issue. And the president is in charge of this country and has made a promise to the American people, and we will fulfill his agenda,” Noem replied. TRUMP DHS PICK NOEM PLEDGES TO END CONTROVERSIAL APP USED BY MIGRANTS ON ‘DAY ONE’ Kim said it was a “good answer” but sought clarification, asking what the division is between her and Homan. “I’m trying to get a better sense of who is in charge,” he said. Noem called Homan “an incredible human being.” NOEM BOASTS OUTPOURING OF POLICE, BORDER UNION SUPPORT FOR DHS CHIEF “He is an adviser to the president, the border czar. I obviously will be, if nominated and confirmed, and put into the position of being the Department of Homeland Security secretary and responsible for the authorities that we have in the actions that we take,” she said. Kim pushed back by quoting remarks by Homan saying he would be making decisions on border security and deportations. “So, I just raise that as a concern of mine, because not only is that about the function of our executive branch, but also the capabilities of this committee to be able to properly do our constitutional duties for oversight, the ability for us to be able to have that conversation, we can talk to you, engage with you,” he said. “If he is going to be making decisions, then he should come before this committee as well.” Noem responded by saying that she and Homan “work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we’ll be working together on a daily basis when we’re in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there’s no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I’m in the role.”
Noem optimistic Laken Riley would still be alive if she were DHS secretary, as freshman senator rips Mayorkas
Freshman GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno ripped the Biden administration’s immigration policy in his first hearing in the Senate as President-elect Trump’s DHS secretary nominee Kristi Noem sat in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “Just to be clear, Laken Riley would be alive today if you had been the secretary of Homeland Security?” Moreno asked Noem during her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Friday. “Senator, my hope is that that would be true, yes,” Noem responded, as the Laken Riley Act is being debated in the Senate with the aim of preventing crimes like the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last year by an illegal immigrant, who was sentenced to life without parole. During his line of questioning, Moreno implemented a theme of asking Noem about the Mayorkas immigration record and whether the illegal immigration statistics would continue under her watch. ‘DEEPLY DISGUSTED’: GOP SENATOR SHREDS BIDEN ADMIN IN SCATHING LETTER ON NEW IMMIGRANT DEPORTATION SHIELD “So, I think sometimes, in D.C., we tend to complicate things,” Moreno told Noem. “There is a current secretary of Homeland Security, so why don’t we take this opportunity to do a little job review and compare and contrast him to you? So just if you don’t mind, I’ll ask you some questions, and you can give me an answer. Secretary Mayorkas allowed about 400 people on a terror watch list to come into this country illegally. If you were confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security, how many people on the terror watch list would you allow into this country?” Noem responded that she would “work every single day” to make sure the number is “zero.” “When you look at the 382 that Joe Biden has let in, and the policies continue, is shocking and needs to be changed immediately,” Noem said. “Mayorokas let in about 12,000 murderers. How many would you target to let into this country?” Moreno asked. TRUMP, CHINA’S XI SPEAK ON PHONE AHEAD OF INAUGURATION “My goal every day would be to have no murderers allowed into this country,” Noem said. “Mayorkas let in 16,000 rapists. How many would you target to let in?” Moreno continued. “I would work to make sure there was none let into this country,” Noem answered. Moreno continued by asking Noem about the 600,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions let in by Mayorkas, and she responded by saying that any migrants with criminal convictions would be “immediately removed.” Noem also told Moreno that the practice of flying hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States on jets would halt under her tenure. “And how many illegals will you plan to house in luxury hotel rooms in Manhattan, at a cost of $6,000 per month?” Moreno asked. “Clearly, senator, during this election, the American people said they did not support that and that that would not be a part of this new administration,” Noem said. “I’m going to end my time with a startling statistic and actually a challenge to the Democrat Party,” Moreno said after asking Noem to confirm other aspects of the Biden administration immigration policy that she would halt. “When Mayorkas was confirmed, every single Democrat voted to confirm him, and six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in that confirmation. If we get to the vote, hopefully, chairman, we could do that Monday, because we cannot wait one single day without you being in charge of that department. We should have 100 percent, 100 senators vote for your confirmation. This will be the litmus test in my mind as to whether we have a Democrat Party that’s actually serious about doing bipartisan things like securing this country and protecting our citizens.”
Trump likely to avoid inaugural crowd size controversy with swearing-in moved indoors
Debates over President-elect Trump’s inaugural crowd size notably generated controversy back in 2017, with the White House insisting the media underreported Trump’s numbers. With his swearing-in now being moved indoors because of harsh winter weather, Trump is likely to avoid any questions about attendance this time around. Fox News on Friday learned that Trump’s inauguration would be moved indoors because of icy temperatures forecast for Washington, D.C. on Monday. Trump announced that he had ordered his inaugural address and other ceremonial prayers and speeches be held in the United States Capitol Rotunda to protect people from harm. “The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows,” Trump posted on Truth Social. TRUMP TO BE INAUGURATED INSIDE: LAST CEREMONY HELD INDOORS WAS REAGAN’S IN 1985 “There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” he continued. Trump also said the Capital One Arena will be open Monday for live viewing of his inauguration “and to host the Presidential Parade.” “I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing in,” Trump wrote. RNC CHAIR WHATLEY VOWS TO BE ‘TIP OF THE SPEAR’ TO PROTECT TRUMP AFTER COASTING TO RE-ELECTION VICTORY The Inaugural Committee confirmed Trump’s statements, saying the ceremony would be moved inside the U.S. Capitol to the Rotunda, a committee spokesperson said. With attendees no longer being able to gather outside in the cold, any photo op for Trump and a record crowd is likely out of the picture, and so is any chance for people to dispute Trump’s claimed crowd size like in 2017. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer lambasted the press shortly after Trump’s first inauguration, accusing media outlets of inaccurate reporting on the crowd size. The day after the inauguration, Spicer said “photographs of the inaugural proceedings were intentionally framed in a way, in one particular tweet, to minimize the enormous support that had gathered on the National Mall.” ELON MUSK SLATED TO SPEAK AT TRUMP PRE-INAUGURATION RALLY: REPORT He also said at the time that “Inaccurate numbers involving crowd size were also tweeted. No one had numbers, because the National Park Service, which controls the National Mall, does not put any out.” “These attempts to lessen the enthusiasm of the inauguration are shameful and wrong,” Spicer said. The Washington Post reported at the time that Trump had called the acting director of the National Park Service on his first day in office to dispute the photos circulating online of his inaugural crowd size. President Biden also faced crowd-size barriers during his inauguration in 2021 due to coronavirus restrictions in place. His ceremony was sparsely attended and included former presidents and first ladies. Attendees wore face masks and many failed to abide by social distancing guidelines, with several seen high-fiving and hugging. The last inauguration ceremony to be moved indoors was President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in January 1985. Reagan took the oath of office at the White House the day before the ceremony, while public events the following day were held inside due to temperatures hitting 7 degrees with a windchill of -40. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Peter Doocy, Chad Pergram and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
Gov. Greg Abbott wants to extend Texas’ DEI ban to K-12 schools
In 2023, Texas passed a DEI ban at the state’s public universities. Now Abbott wants the state to stop funding diversity programs in K-12 schools.