Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2025

Conservative ‘playbook’ to beat Democrats in court outlined in senator’s new book

Conservative ‘playbook’ to beat Democrats in court outlined in senator’s new book

FIRST ON FOX: One Senate Republican has crafted a blueprint for how conservatives can take on Democrats in the courts and win. Before he was in Washington D.C., Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. served as Missouri’s attorney general during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. And during that time, he filed lawsuit after lawsuit challenging the Biden administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci and even going so far as to sue China. And more often than not, be it through uncovering discrepancies during the discovery process or winning multibillion-dollar settlements, Schmitt was mostly successful in challenging Democratic “lawfare.” SENATE SIGNALS READINESS TO HIT RUSSIA WITH HARD SANCTIONS IF PEACE DEAL FAILS “The fact of the matter is, what our fights were, were about restoring individual liberty and pulling back the expanse of government,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital in an interview. “What the Left is trying to do now with their lawfare machine was, number one, they’re trying to put their opponents in jail, but then also to defend the expanse of government, to defend the administrative state. And I think if we have the right arguments, we can win.” Schmitt detailed how to secure those winning arguments through his own experiences in his latest book “The Last Line of Defense: How to Beat the Left in Court.” He described the book as “a field manual from the front lines of the battles that were fought against the left-wing law machine.” Indeed, Schmitt outlined a guide for attorneys general across the country to take on challenges at all levels, from local to federal. “Our playbook really is … really in response to what their playbook was, to create a manufactured emergency, a real or manufactured emergency, to aggregate power, to exercise it in ways that never were imagined to other folks who disagree and silence dissent,” Schmitt said. “That’s what they were really trying to do.” TEXAS DEMS END WEEKSLONG QUORUM STANDOFF IN REDISTRICTING FIGHT In some cases, he went beyond the country’s borders and sued a foreign country, as Schmitt did to China. He argued in the book that the Chinese Communist Party had withheld information on the COVID-19 virus, and was actively hoarding high-quality personal protective equipment (PPE) while producing and selling lower-quality PPE for the rest of the world. That case resulted in an eventual $24 billion judgment earlier this year. From there, Schmitt challenged former President Joe Biden’s student loan debt cancellation plan by focusing his case on a local student loan servicing company, a plan that was ultimately blocked by the Supreme Court just months into Schmitt’s first year as a lawmaker in 2023. Through it all, the pandemic was the “inflection point,” Schmitt said, and his biggest target became Fauci. He got an opportunity to depose Fauci, who served as the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and medical advisor to Biden, as part of his lawsuit taking on censorship and suppression by social media platforms like Facebook. BILL BARR, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY GENERAL, ARRIVES TO FACE HOUSE INVESTIGATORS IN EPSTEIN PROBE “He wanted to silence anybody who talked about it being a lab leak,” Schmitt said. “Which, of course, we know is that’s exactly what it was now. It wasn’t some bat mating with a penguin, you know, this was actually in the Wuhan Institute of Virology is where this thing came from.” Schmitt, who is a fan of both former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas — particularly Scalia’s usage of originalism, or interpreting the Constitution as it was written rather than as a living document — noted in the book that there has been a “complete shift” in the courts. In particular, conservative-leaning justices have the majority on the Supreme Court, and courts across the country are being filled, albeit slowly, with President Donald Trump’s picks. When asked if he was at all concerned about partisan politicking coming to the bench, Schmitt countered that courts are returning to a legal system that had been “disrupted by the progressive era, beginning with Woodrow Wilson and the rise of the administrative state, FDR, who threatened to pack the court.” “The Constitution means exactly what it says, nothing more, nothing less, just like our laws,” he said. “They mean what they say, nothing more, nothing less.”  “I don’t want a judge to necessarily agree with my politics,” he continued. “I just want a judge to adhere to the Constitution.”

MS-13 gang member arrested in DC as Bondi touts admin’s ‘extraordinary’ crime crackdown

MS-13 gang member arrested in DC as Bondi touts admin’s ‘extraordinary’ crime crackdown

An MS-13 gang member previously convicted of driving while intoxicated and drug possession was one of the 52 arrests in Washington, D.C., on Monday night as the Trump administration fires back at critics who have been downplaying their effectiveness. “At the direction of [President Donald Trump], our nation’s capital is a SAFER place—and we are just getting started. 52 arrests were made last night, including an MS-13 gang member, and 9 firearms were taken off the streets,” Bondi posted to X on Tuesday morning. “Since our mission began, there have been a total of 465 arrests, 68 guns seized, and charges for homicide, narcotics, and firearm offenses. Nearly half of these arrests occurred in the high-crime areas of DC. Residents and tourists alike appreciate this extraordinary effort by our DC and Federal law enforcement partners,” she continued. “Make DC Safe Again!” HUNDREDS ARRESTED AS TRUMP’S WASHINGTON, DC, CRIME CRACKDOWN HITS FULL STRIDE Other arrests included ones for assault with a deadly weapon, federal parole violation for robbery, murder, a warrant for attempted murder, assaulting a federal law enforcement official, felony assault, and carrying a pistol without a license, according to the White House. Four homeless encampments were also cleared out on Monday, bringing the total to 48. A White House official told Fox News on background that over 450 arrests have been made since Thursday, Aug. 7. Out of the 212 non-immigration arrests, 101 were in the high-crime Wards 7 and 8, Axios reported regarding a White House analysis of the data so far. The White House said the data counteracted a map “tracking troops” in the capital city from The Washington Post. “Facts are stubborn things,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson posted to X on Tuesday morning. On Friday, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is playing a critical role in the federal police takeover of the city. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS COULD DOMINATE DC ARRESTS UNDER FEDERALIZED POLICE FORCE, SAYS EXPERT “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, ICE law enforcement is being unleashed to keep America safe from dangerous criminals. As the secretary has announced, ICE and CBP have been deployed to help clean up the streets of our nation’s capital,” McLaughlin stated. “Our message is clear: Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States,” she continued. Amid Trump’s crime crackdown in D.C., the Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser has been critical of the federalization of the city’s police force. “This is a time where community needs to jump in. We all need to, to do what we can in our space, in our lane, to protect our city and to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule, and get to the other side of this guy, and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push,” Bowser said during town hall with community leaders, which was livestreamed on X, last week. She continued by calling Trump’s effort “an intrusion on our autonomy.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The National Guard has been deployed throughout the city, but the White House says that they are not currently the ones making arrests. Last week, Bondi issued an order superseding the capital city’s sanctuary policies to allow compliance between local police and federal immigration authorities. BONDI ANNOUNCES NEARLY 200 ARRESTS ‘AND COUNTING’ AS FEDERAL AGENTS SWARM NATION’S CAPITAL “At my direction, [the Metropolitan Police Department] will now fully cooperate with federal immigration authorities,” Bondi tweeted on Friday. “[President Donald Trump] remains in control under the law to determine what is necessary and appropriate.” The federal takeover has gotten significant pushback from Democrats, including local leaders who say it’s an act of overreach despite D.C.’s unique legal governing status. “Let us be clear: armed soldiers should not be policing American citizens on American soil. Instead of making DC more secure, it undermines public safety and endangers our democracy. It’s DC today, but the same dangerous strategy can be deployed to occupy any American community,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb tweeted on Tuesday morning. 

Trump admin slams ACLU for comparing ICE center to Japanese internment camp: ‘Deranged and lazy’

Trump admin slams ACLU for comparing ICE center to Japanese internment camp: ‘Deranged and lazy’

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) invoked President Franklin Roosevelt’s internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II as the Trump administration was set to open a massive detention center at Fort Bliss in Texas on Monday. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) torched the comparison, with a top official left wondering why an organization with such a name “care[s] more about illegal aliens than U.S. citizens,” in comments to Fox News Digital. “Comparisons of illegal alien detention centers to internment camps used during World War II are deranged and lazy. The ACLU’s smears against our brave ICE law enforcement are no doubt contributing to the more than 1,000% increase in assaults against them,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “[The ACLU] should change their name. The facts are ICE is targeting the worst of the worst—including murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, and rapists. 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted or have pending charges in the U.S. — that doesn’t even include known or suspected terrorists, foreign gang members, convictions for violent crimes in foreign countries, or INTERPOL notices.” BIDEN TEAM LEFT THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT KIDS WITH UNVETTED SPONSORS, RECORDS REVEAL On Sunday, before Fort Bliss’ “Camp East Montana” center was to open at the historically pivotal military base near the U.S.–Mexico and New Mexico borders, the ACLU’s regional affiliates released a joint statement calling the move “another shameful chapter” in the base’s history. “The renewed use of this base to detain immigrants and stage deportations comes as the Trump administration continues to misuse military resources to deport long-standing residents and other immigrants,” the release read, calling the president’s mass-deportation agenda “dystopian.” “President Trump’s use of Fort Bliss for the nation’s largest immigrant detention site is cruel and a reminder of a shameful detention legacy,” added Sarah Mehta, a top official in the ACLU’s Equality Division – who also called on Congress to stop DHS’ agenda. “Thousands of people, including our neighbors and loved ones, will be torn from their communities while this administration enlists the military to rubberstamp its abusive agenda.” Fort Bliss — named after the son-in-law of Mexican-American War hero and later President Zachary Taylor — also held a small number of German and Italian immigrants during World War II. UNION BOSS COMPARES ICE TO AL PACINO MOBSTER AS MORE DEMS PILE ON IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT In 1942, Roosevelt initiated an executive order targeting Americans descended from countries representing the Axis powers. The Democrat ushered in the incarceration of about 120,000 Japanese-Americans and smaller numbers of Italian and German descendants. While Fort Bliss was not a main “internment camp,” it did hold small numbers of interred U.S. citizens, including as many as 70 “Issei,” or first-generation Japanese-Americans living along the Pacific Coast. After the war, German scientist Wernher von Braun – a former Untersturmführer in the S.S. — and other former Axis power-players worked there with the Americans to develop what eventually became the U.S. Space Program, now run by NASA. Considered a 38,000-soldier “megabase,” it has also been a crucial staging ground for the War on Terror. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, toured Fort Bliss’ new detention facility last week and told El Paso’s NBC affiliate that the people who will be held there are already on their way out of the U.S. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “These are people under final orders of deportation … They have no legal right to be here,” Cornyn said. El Paso’s member of Congress, Democrat Veronica Escobar, disagreed. Escobar argued the $1 billion price tag would “enrich” private contractors and siphon funds from other needs in her district. As many as 5,000 detainees will be held at Fort Bliss, according to reports.

Here are the 5 GOP House seats that could be wiped out with Newsom’s California redistricting plan

Here are the 5 GOP House seats that could be wiped out with Newsom’s California redistricting plan

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his fellow state Democrats are threatening a redistricting plan that would eliminate more than half of the current GOP-held congressional districts amid a nationwide battle over gerrymandering. Republicans currently hold nine seats in California, compared to the Democrats’ 43. Under Newsom’s proposed plan, Democrats would pick up five more seats.  “We strongly believe that this map serves the best interest of California voters, while also attempting to push back against the corrupt scheme occurring in Texas and other Republican-majority states where Republicans – doing the bidding of their DC party bosses – are considering adopting a clearly racially gerrymandered, partisan map at the expense of their voters,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Commission (DCCC) said last week. Here are the Republicans whose districts would likely become unwinnable under the plan. DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST SAYS PARTY LACKS ‘MORAL AUTHORITY’ ON TEXAS REDISTRICTING FIGHT Rep. Doug Lamalfa’s northern congressional district is currently mostly rural, leading to a +17 Republican voter registration advantage. Under the proposed redistricting plan, however, that would swing to a +10 advantage for Democrats. This would be accomplished by reclassifying a vast section of the district’s northernmost territory. CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES REDISTRICTING FIGHT TO ‘NULLIFY’ TEXAS GOP PLAN, WITH DEMS POISED TO GAIN 5 SEATS Rep. Kevin Kiley’s third congressional district currently has a +6 Republican advantage by voter registration, but that would flip to a +8 Democrat advantage under the new plan. This is accomplished by stretching the district to include portions of the deep-blue suburbs around Sacramento. Rep. David Valadao is one of the few Republicans in California who was able to win a district that already has a slight Democratic advantage. Under the new plan, however, Democrats would tack a six-point advantage on top of the current voter registration match-up. Rep. Ken Calvert’s 41st congressional district would face a massive swing toward Democrats, with the GOP losing its voter registration advantage and Democrats picking up a +20 advantage. “64% of Californians oppose Gavin Newsom’s power grab. It’s clear there is bipartisan support for keeping the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission and not allowing politicians to draw their district maps behind closed doors to choose their voters,” Calvert wrote of the plan on X. Rep. Darrell Issa’s district would pick up a section of Calvert’s former district in Palm Springs, a deep blue voting area that promises to swing Issa’s district to a +4 Democrat advantage. Based on the 2024 presidential election, Issa’s district went +15 in favor of Trump, but under the new boundaries it would have gon +3 in favor of former Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the Cook Political Report. Of the five seats impacted, Valadao’s and Issa’s would be turned into lean-Democratic districts that may still be winnable by Republican candidates, but the others would be flipping firmly to the Democrats.

Conservative roadmap targets Medicaid, student loans for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ sequel

Conservative roadmap targets Medicaid, student loans for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ sequel

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative think tank that played a key role in shaping President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” is circulating a new roadmap of recommendations for Republicans’ second act. The Economic Policy Innovation Center, which styles itself as “EPIC For America,” has been circulating a new memo with key congressional GOP figures in recent days, a source familiar with the group’s plans told Fox News Digital. The memo, which was obtained by Fox News Digital, advises lawmakers to broadly push for further Medicaid and regulatory reforms, crack down on federal dollars for government pensions and student loans, and use fiscal policy to extend conservative goals on abortion and transgender treatment. Passing Trump’s massive agenda bill despite razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate was a major victory for Republican leaders. EPIC, which hails the bill as a success, argues that continued reforms are needed for meaningful fiscal reform. GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER STRATEGY TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS “Unfortunately, even with the victories for the American people in the OBBB, our work is far from done. We must rebuild an economy that truly works for every American, while protecting the nation’s financial foundation to ensure lasting resilience,” the memo said. “The federal government is rapidly running out of fiscal space. Maintaining sufficient fiscal space is critical in order to respond appropriately to a crisis. Without space between the fiscal limit and the current level of debt, elected officials will not have room to maneuver in the event of war, a natural disaster, or a recession.” On Medicaid, the memo advises further cuts to the cost-sharing burden on the federal government – known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) – for “large, wealthy states” as well as Washington, D.C. FMAP refers to the rate at which the federal government matches state Medicaid payments, which is currently 50%. The memo calls to “end the special Medicaid subsidy FMAP treatment” for D.C., whose minimum is 70%. Republicans’ first budget reconciliation bill reduced certain FMAP expansions permitted under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including for emergency care for states that provide Medicaid coverage to illegal immigrants. In turn, EPIC advises lawmakers to enhance personal and employer-based healthcare, like Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements (ICHRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Medicaid cuts were one of the largest sticking points during talks for the initial bill and will likely be just as politically fraught for Republicans in the second round. Meanwhile, Democrats have been using those reforms as a political cudgel, accusing the GOP of trying to take healthcare from millions of Americans.  But conservatives have viewed Medicaid as fraught with waste, fraud, and abuse – insisting their reforms better protect the program for vulnerable people who truly need it. The memo also advises congressional Republicans to use the budget reconciliation process to “reform federal bureaucrat compensation and retirement” and “eliminate public sector student loan forgiveness,” among other goals. On the social conservative policy front, EPIC appears to view an extension of the ban on taxpayer funds to abortion providers as critical to a second reconciliation bill. The first bill was viewed as a victory for pro-life advocates in its ban on Medicaid funds for large healthcare providers that perform abortions, which would affect Planned Parenthood and other similar organizations. But that ban is only effective for a year. THOM TILLIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM SENATE AFTER CLASH WITH TRUMP In a section titled “Protect Life and American Values,” EPIC urges lawmakers to “extend the prohibition of taxpayer funding for big abortion providers” as well as block Medicaid funds for gender transition care. It also calls on lawmakers to “invest in election security” and “impose an excise tax on higher education institutions that allow males to participate in women’s sports.” EPIC was founded by Paul Winfree, who served as director of budget policy during the first Trump administration. The group also has close ties to Capitol Hill, which it flexed during talks for Trump’s first agenda bill by both recommending policy initiatives and tailoring its advice through the various steps of the budget reconciliation process. 148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS Budget reconciliation, which can be used three times during a given congressional term, allows the party in power to enact broad fiscal policy changes while sidelining the opposition – in this case, Democrats – by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51. Brittany Madni, EPIC executive vice president and a former congressional aide, confirmed the memo’s veracity to Fox News Digital. She said the group would use the same “playbook” it did during the first reconciliation process. She said EPIC is looking to offer “an initial suggestion to lawmakers on what to target, and is readying to work with Republicans through the various steps of the process as details change and evolve.” “Mandatory spending reform is an essential target for actual fiscal change in order to stave off a debt spiral. This is why a second reconciliation bill building on the wins in the OBBB is important,” Madni said. Two sources told Fox News Digital that the group’s efforts so far have included a staff-level briefing with the Republican Study Committee (RSC), a 189-member-strong House GOP group that serves as its own de facto think tank for the Republican conference. Many of the aforementioned proposals were discussed at that meeting, Fox News Digital was told, with EPIC being invited to speak as part of the RSC’s new initiative to workshop a second reconciliation bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already publicly stated his goal of passing further reconciliation bills. But what a second bill would look like is still unclear.