Senate panel OKs latest bill restricting use of government and school bathrooms by transgender people
Over 100 people provided at times emotional testimony Monday for and against Senate Bill 7, which would require people to use restrooms that match their birth gender.
The Texas redistricting fight spurring a legislative standoff: What you need to know
Texas Republicans are trying to redraw congressional districts to pick up five additional U.S. House seats. Democrats face financial and political risk in their bid to block the GOP plan.
‘All-out war’: Fleeing Texas Dems side with Newsom as redistricting standoff continues: ‘fire with fire’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he is ready to fight “fire with fire” as state Republican lawmakers try to enact redistricting in Texas, opposing the move though promising to pursue similar measures if needed. At a press conference on Monday, Newsom said he supports independent redistricting, as well as a national framework, and a proposal being advanced in the legislature reinforces what he supports. “The proposal that we’re advancing with the legislature has a trigger only if they move forward, to dismantling the protocols that are well-established,” the governor said. “Would the state of California move forward in kind? Fighting? Yes, fire with fire.” When asked about a meeting between California Democrats on Sunday night, during which time they drafted or were almost done with the draft of redistricting maps, and whether he had seen those maps, Newsom said he had not. AWOL TEXAS DEMS THREATENED WITH EXPULSION, FELONY CHARGES FOR ABSENCE AMID REDISTRICTING BATTLE But he said there has been an ongoing series of conversations into the evening last night, which continued on Monday morning and will continue until Democrats land on a process. “That process has to have the concurrence, the support of two-thirds of the legislature,” he said. “The maps, we believe, should be transparent. They should be provided in a transparent way to the public, and as a consequence, those maps are being processed and will be brought to light.” At the end of the day, though, Newsom said the people of California will have the ultimate say. “We will offer them the opportunity to make judgments for themselves, again, only if Texas moves forward,” Newsom said. “I’ll reinforce that we believe it should be a national model, independent national redistricting, and it would revert back to its original form, but it’s done in response to the existential realities that we’re now facing. Things have changed, facts have changed, so we must change.” HOCHUL VOWS TO ‘FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE’ ON REDISTRICTING WHILE HOSTING TEXAS DEMOCRATS WHO FLED STATE “They’ve triggered this response and we’re not going to roll over and we’re going to fight fire with fire, but we’re going to do so not just punching with the weight of the fourth largest economy, the most populous state in our union, the size of 21 state populations combined,” he continued. “We also will punch above our weight in terms of the impact of what we’re doing, and I think that should be absorbed by those in the Texas delegation. Whatever they are doing will be neutered here in the state of California, and they will pay that price.” California GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin told Fox News Digital that Newsom’s actions could threaten the constitutional rights of Californians while also setting a dangerous precedent. “While Governor Newsom frames this redistricting as a defensive move, it undermines California’s nationally respected, voter-approved Citizens Redistricting Commission, and if successful, sets a dangerous precedent that voters’ choices can be overruled whenever politicians find it politically convenient,” Rankin said. “Our primary concern is safeguarding Californians’ constitutional rights against partisan manipulation disguised as defending democracy; true democracy means empowering voters, not politicians, to decide representation.” Dozens of Texas Democrats fled their state and went to Chicago and New York on Sunday night in an effort to block a redistricting vote on Monday. TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has since threatened to arrest and expel the lawmakers if they do not return by Monday afternoon. Shortly after Abbott released his statement, the Texas House Democratic Caucus issued a simple response, writing: “Come and take it.” The statement also described Republicans’ proposed districts, which would potentially secure five new GOP U.S. House seats in next year’s midterm elections, as a “racist mid-decade redistricting scheme.” Abbott criticized the Democrats’ dramatic departure, saying that “real Texans don’t run from a fight.” On Monday evening, Illinois lawmakers hosted Texas Democrats for a press conference, during which time none of the lawmakers took a single question from the press. BETO O’ROURKE DROPS F-BOMB AS HE URGES DEMS TO ‘MEET FIRE WITH FIRE’ AGAINST GOP REDISTRICTING PLANS IN TEXAS Still, Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., welcomed her colleagues and said they could stay as long as they wanted because they believed in what they were doing. “What you’re doing and what…they’re trying to do in Texas affects you guys, but it affects the whole country,” she said. “When you want to remove five Democrats…that hurts us in the House.” She explained that when there are not enough Democrats, things like the Big Beautiful Bill, or as she referred to it as “the Big Ugly Bill,” and other Republican initiatives get through. “They are trying to destroy our democracy, destroy fairness in our country,” Kelly said. “And unfortunately, they’re starting with Texas. But we want you to know, we stand by your side.” Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., accused Abbott of not stepping up for the people affected by devastating floods in the Hill Country region of Texas. BETO O’ROURKE CALLS FOR DEMOCRATS TO BE ‘RUTHLESS’ IN PURSUIT OF POWER, BACKS NEWSOM’S GERRYMANDERING PROPOSAL Specifically, he accused Abbott of not having a special session to help families rebuild, but instead of doing “the bidding” of President Donald Trump to “banish Democrats” from the federal delegation. Krishnamoorthi then directed his comments to Abbott, saying, “don’t mess with Texas,” because the people standing with him represent Texas. “You can silence them. You can smear them. You can saddle them with debts and fins. But you cannot intimidate them,” Krishnamoorthi said. “You can gerrymander the hell out of that map. Guess what? Two can play that game. That’s right. Other states will do exactly the same thing and neutralize what you’re trying to do in Texas.” Other lawmakers standing side-by-side in Illinois chose to accuse Trump’s policies of being race-driven. Texas State Rep. Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos said Trump’s policies hurt working families. “That is nothing short of racism,” she said. “He is coming
WATCH: Ramaswamy takes on claim Black history swept ‘under the table’ at Cincinnati town hall
At a Cincinnati town hall Monday held in the wake of brutal beating of a White woman that went viral online, Vivek Ramaswamy was put on the spot by an audience member who claimed Black history has been swept “under the table” in America. Answering the man’s concerns, the Ohio Republican candidate for governor said, “We have to confront what is true. Not just what makes us comfortable.” But he also praised America as a country built on ideals and that strives to uphold them, however imperfectly. The questioner, identified by his first name Robert, told Ramaswamy that when it came to the debate over public safety in the U.S., he does not take a partisan side, but Robert complained that the history of Black people in America has not been adequately part of contemporary conversations around public safety. DEMOCRATIC POLICIES PAVED WAY FOR CINCINNATI BRAWL, SAY OHIO REPUBLICANS: ‘FEAR AND CHAOS’ “You have to understand how our people feel, because we were brought here in slave ships over 400 years ago, and we were treated like animals, like cattle hung on trees, families separated, our heritage taken from us so that we didn’t know who we were as a people. Now, I say, you act like this is a new thing. This balance that you see out here,” Robert posed to Ramaswamy. “Well, look over the 400 years of all the violence that was perpetrated on our people… You want to sweep our history under the table, but you don’t sweep the Ashkenazi Jews with the Hitler thing under the table. All the things that you did to the other races of people, you don’t sweep that under the table. But when it comes down to the black Negro, we can always sweep what happened to us under the table.” In response to the question, Ramswamy quipped about how the difficult question was proof that the night’s questions were not pre-screened by him or his team. Ramswamy candidly added that the question made him a bit “uncomfortable” but said leaders should be expected to answer such difficult questions. “Of course, we’re not perfect. In fact, we’re destined to never be perfect because we’re not a nation comprised of gods, we’re a nation comprised of human beings, and we’re a nation founded on a set of ideals. So, that means you will always be imperfect,” Ramaswamy said in response to the race-conscious question. Ramaswamy pointed to China and Iran to further explain his point. RAMASWAMY PLEDGES ‘RULE OF LAW’ REVIVAL AFTER VIRAL CINCINNATI MOB ATTACK “Nobody ever criticizes China, or Iran, or whatever for hypocrisy, because to be a hypocritical nation, you have to have ideals in the first place,” Ramaswamy said. “I’m not going to say America was perfect for every chapter of our national history. Of course not. We’re a nation founded on ideals. We’re nation founded on human beings, so we’ll always fall short of those ideals,” Ramaswamy continued. “But I would rather live in a country that has ideals and falls short of them. Than to live in a country with no ideals at all.” While Ramaswamy went on to say that no one’s ethnic history should be swept under the rug, he also posited that last week’s history, referring to a widely publicized public beating caught on camera in Cincinnati that went viral and caused an uproar of criticism over public safety and crime, should not be ignored either. “We have to confront what is true. Not just what makes us comfortable, but precisely when it does not,” Ramaswamy said. As Ramaswamy concluded his response to the question about race, the potential Ohio governor noted one part of the questioner’s ask, which “land[ed] with [him] a little bit differently.” “When you say our people, when I hear that, I’m thinking that ‘our people’ is everybody in this room. I see black, white, brown, man, woman. These are our people. America is our people. Ohio is our people. Cincinnati is our people. And I believe it is the God-given right of every person to be able to live a life free of violence,” Ramaswamy said before ending his response to the question. “And may I even say, if you’re a hard-working American, to go into your city whether you’re black or white without fear of actually being assaulted or battered, that ought to be the birthright of every American. That’s what I want for ‘our people.’”
Transportation Secretary Duffy to announce nuclear reactor development plan for the moon
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will reportedly announce plans this week to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, according to media reports. NASA has had discussions about the building of a reactor on the lunar surface, but Duffy’s directive gives a more definitive timeline and expedites the process. Duffy also serves as the interim administrator of the space agency. “Fission surface power (FSP) is both an essential and sustainable segment of the lunar and Mars power architectures for future human space exploration missions,” the directive states. “To properly advance this critical technology to be able to support a future lunar economy, high power energy generation on Mars, and to strengthen our national security in space, it is imperative the agency move quickly.” TRUMP TAPS SEAN DUFFY TO SERVE AS INTERIM NASA CHIEF China and Russia have announced on several occasions a joint effort to place a reactor on the moon by the mid-2030s, NASA said. If successful, that would potentially result in the declaration of a “keep-out zone,” which could inhibit the United States from establishing a presence there. “There are very specific areas of the moon that are critical that who gets there first gets to plant their flag,” Duffy recently said on “Hannity.” “We know the Chinese want to get there as well, so speed is of the essence.” The move means that NASA will continue to have input in nuclear development, despite the Pentagon’s recent cancellation of a joint program on nuclear-powered rocket engines. The agency will be required to solicit proposals for a 100 kilowatt nuclear reactor to launch by 2030, around the time China intends to put a man on the moon, within 60 days of the directive. Duffy spoke with Fox News about how NASA’s Artemis program aims to return Americans to the Moon. “We’re going to set up a base camp,” Duffy said. “And what we learn on the moon is going to take us to Mars.” Duffy also issued another directive to quickly replace the International Space Station, a priority for NASA. The agency plans to award at least two companies, preferably three of four, a contract within six months of the agency’s request for proposals. SNUB OF MUSK’S NASA NOMINEE ALLY PRECEDED SUDDEN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CRITICISM, TRUMP FEUD In April, China launched three astronauts into space to begin a six-month-long mission aboard the Tiangong space station, which translates to Heavenly Palace. China built its own space station after it was excluded from the International Space Station, amid U.S. concerns over the Chinese space programs’ ties with the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party. NASA has increasingly factored into the Trump administration’s national defense, innovation, and economic agenda. Trump announced Duffy to serve as interim administrator of NASA in July as withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman in May. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Isaacman, a billionaire private astronaut and longtime associate of Elon Musk, was nominated by Trump in December 2024 but faced mounting scrutiny over ties to Musk and SpaceX, which some officials viewed as a conflict of interest. The International Space Station was launched into orbit in 1998. At the time, the U.S. agreed to the peaceful use of the orbital laboratory with several other countries, including Russia, Japan, Canada and 11 European countries. China was left out of the plan.
House Dem declares she is a ‘proud Guatemalan’ before American at Progressive International conference
Several House Democrats, including members of the “Squad,” criticized the United States over the weekend at a conference in Mexico City that questioned U.S. influence and policies, with one lawmaker saying she was prouder to be Guatemalan than American. The second annual Panamerican Congress brought leftist officials from all over North and South America. Those in attendance included Democratic lawmakers: Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ayanna Presley of Massachusetts, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Jesús Gilberto García and Delia Ramirez of Illinois. All are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. ESTABLISHMENT-BACKED DEMOCRAT WINS HIGH-PROFILE CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARY IN ARIZONA During her remarks at the opening of the event, Ramirez spoke about the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown and her own ancestry. “I’m a proud Guatemalan before I’m an American,” she declared in Spanish. The congresswoman also accused the U.S. of prioritizing “imperialism, militarization, conquest, control, competition in its attempt at domination.” On her website, Ramirez, the child of immigrant parents, said her husband is in the country illegally and that she is the only congressional lawmaker “in a mixed-status marriage, and fights for the rights of DREAMers like her husband, Boris, and for comprehensive immigration reform.” The White House condemned the remarks made by Ramirez, as well as her fellow Democrats. “These Democrats’ comments are despicable and underscore their commitment to putting Americans last,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston told Fox News Digital. “In stark contrast, President Trump is working tirelessly to secure peace deals, deport illegal alien criminals, and advance America’s interests at home and abroad.” ‘WAR CRIMINAL NETANYAHU’: ‘SQUAD’ MEMBERS ERUPT OVER ISRAEL’S ‘RECKLESS’ STRIKE ON IRAN Fox News Digital has reached out to Ramirez’s office, as well as several lawmakers who attended the summit. In addition to immigration, speakers also voiced their views on the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, Colombia’s deputy minister of multilateral affairs, praised Tlaib during his speech, calling her a “symbol of resistance,” which prompted a standing ovation once he finished speaking. The summit was organized by the leader of Progressive International, a radical left-wing group that describes capitalism as a “virus” that must be “eradicated” — in partnership with Morena, Mexico’s ruling left-wing party, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported. WATCH: AOC OPENS UP ABOUT MEETING ZOHRAN MAMDANI, ICE ACTIVITY IN NYC Gerardo Fernández Noroña, president of the Mexican Senate and member of Morena, called out the “persecution” of migrants in the U.S. under the Trump administration. He called it “unjust, infamous, incorrect persecution where just for being a migrant and just for your skin color or your nationality, you are persecuted.” “They are not only imprisoned, but sent to a prison that has been banned since World War II, such as Alligator Alcatraz,” he said. “The United States government is grieving over drug use, but I haven’t seen a single raid like the one they carry out against migrants against people who sell drugs in the United States.” In a TV interview before the event, David Adler, the general coordinator for Progressive International and one of the summit’s main coordinators, said the intention of the summit was to confront authoritarian and fascist threats and shift authority from Washington, D.C. to developing countries, the DCNF reported, in the Global South, a term used to describe a loose division of nations across different continents that are generally poorer, have high levels of inequity and harsher living conditions. On its website, Progressive Internation described the U.S. as the “lynchpin of that imperial violence — a position it has carefully built over two centuries.” The group cited U.S. military installations overseas and the massive Pentagon budget. “US militarism sustains profound political tensions around the world. Its interventions have destroyed nation after nation, leaving a trail of violence and sorrow in their wake,” the website states. “Ending US militarism means saving lives.”
EXCLUSIVE: Ramaswamy decries ‘anti-law enforcement culture’ in wake of brutal Cincinnati beating
EXCLUSIVE: CINCINNATI, OHIO – A viral video showing several people being brutally beaten in downtown Cincinnati has Vivek Ramaswamy decrying a pervasive “anti-law enforcement culture” in American society. The former 2024 presidential hopeful and Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate spoke with Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview on Monday evening ahead of a Cincinnati town hall event addressing combating violence, saying that he believes the Cincinnati beating “catalyzed a conversation in our state and frankly across the country about this issue of violent crime in the cities of the United States of America.” He called the beating of Holly, a woman in the video who apparently was attempting to intervene to help another victim, “totally unconscionable.” In the video, a group of people can be seen pummeling two victims, one of whom, a woman later identified as Holly, ended up with “very bad brain trauma.” The incident occurred in the early morning hours of July 26 on the corner of Fourth and Elm streets, outside a popular nightclub. Ramaswamy shared that he has been in contact with Holly after first reaching out to her to check in on her well-being after the beating. He previously revealed Holly told him that no local elected officials reached out to her after the incident. RAMASWAMY PLEDGES ‘RULE OF LAW’ REVIVAL AFTER VIRAL CINCINNATI MOB ATTACK “One of the reasons I wanted to reach out was just to see if we could help… but also to hear her perspective on the front lines of what she wants to see come out of this,” he explained. “The fact of the matter is she, and victims like her, want to make sure that violent crime like this doesn’t spread, that we’re able to use what was a tragedy, and it was a travesty what happened in Cincinnati, to be able to adopt policies that actually stop this reckless crime in our cities, stop the wave of violent crime in cities.” Another angle of the fight shows a victim being beaten in the middle of the street and yelling racial slurs. Some claim the male victim slapped one of the perpetrators before the fight, sparking the beatdown. Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said in a press conference that there are a total of six victims. Six people have been charged with crimes, and four have been arrested. The city’s fugitive task force is searching for the two suspects who are still at large. Theetge said that out of the approximately 100 people who witnessed the incident or were involved in the brawl, only one individual called law enforcement. Jermaine Matthews, 39, Dominique Kittle, 37, Montianez Merriweather, 34, and Dekyra Vernon, 24, were arrested for their alleged involvement in the fight. SCOOP: RAMASWAMY PLEDGES TO SPEND AT LEAST $30M OF HIS MONEY IN OHIO’S RACE FOR GOVERNOR He said the U.S. should be a place “where Americans can actually feel just safe to go into their cities, have a good night without fear of getting beaten up or assaulted.” “I don’t think that’s too much to ask in the greatest nation known to the history of mankind. I don’t think it’s too much to ask in Cincinnati, Ohio,” he said. Regarding the vast majority of bystanders not intervening during the beating, Ramaswamy commented, “It is sad to see the anti-law enforcement culture, the anti-rule of law culture spread across our country.” WHY DIDN’T ANYONE BREAK UP CINCINNATI BEATING? BYSTANDER BEHAVIOR EXPERT EXPLAINS “I think there are deeper issues relating to just people being agnostic to the rule of the law, people being desensitized to this kind of violence,” he went on, adding, “At our best as human beings, that’s not who we are. We feel compassion when something like this happens. Ignoring it is not compassion. Ignoring is cruelty.” He called for more “open dialogue” rather than “sweeping these issues under the rug.” He said that some have criticized him for calling attention to the beating, saying “some of them make it seem like the bigger crime than the assault was actually noticing it.” “I don’t think that’s the case. I think that actually the way we’re going to bring people together is through what we’re doing tonight. Open dialogue, open discussion,” he explained.
Texas Dems also skipped town in 2021 to avoid a vote, and several caught COVID-19 in DC
Texas House Democrats departed the state Sunday in an attempt to halt a redistricting Monday vote, claiming that the legislation is “using an intentionally racist map” to undermine the voices of Black and Latino voters in the state of Texas. Democrats’ absence means that Republicans are unable to go ahead with a scheduled vote under House rules, blocking the potential passage of redistricting legislation that would establish a new congressional map that could lead to five new GOP U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. “This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” state Rep. Gene Wu, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said in a statement Sunday. TEXAS DEMOCRATS FLEE STATE TO BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING VOTE IN DRAMATIC LEGISLATIVE MOVE Most of the House Democrats fled to Chicago, while others headed to New York and Boston. The Texas House stipulates that at least 100 members of the 150-member chamber must be present to conduct business, and roughly 50 Democrats are absent — meaning the vote is stalled until they return. It’s unclear how Democrats plan to proceed, and Wu told reporters that precise plans were still up in the air. The redistricting legislation would shift Democrat voters from toss-up districts into ones that are more solidly Republican, and also move other Republican voters into districts that lean more toward Democrats — ultimately paving the way for more GOP seats. This isn’t the first time Democrats have fled the state in protest of legislation. In July 2021, more than 50 Democrats also left the state of Texas and headed to Washington, D.C., to tie up Texas legislation that would implement new voting restrictions in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s loss of the 2020 election, which some Republicans claimed was “stolen.” Specifically, the measure Democrats opposed included new voter ID restrictions for those voting by mail and prohibited drive-by voting and extended voting hours. Likewise, the measure included new limitations for those who work at the polls, and barred local election officials from distributing a mail-in ballot to anyone who hadn’t officially requested one. Democrats ultimately returned to Texas weeks later, after multiple members caught COVID-19 while in D.C., and House Republicans finally passed the measure in August 2021 before Texas’ Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law in September 2021. TRUMP, REPUBLICANS RACE TO REDRAW TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS DEMOCRATS THREATEN LEGAL WAR Meanwhile, Abbott threatened to arrest the Democrats who departed the state Sunday, should they not be back by 3 p.m. Monday when the Texas House reconvenes. Even so, there is no indication of when the Democrats plan to return to Texas. “Rather than doing their job and voting on urgent legislation affecting the lives of all Texans, they have fled Texas to deprive the House of the quorum necessary to meet and conduct business,” Abbot said in a statement late Sunday. The Texas Democrats have attracted support from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who labeled the Democrats’ decision to flee Texas a “righteous act of courage,” and accused Republicans of attempting to silence “millions of voices, especially Black and Latino voters.” “Texas Democrats were left with no choice but to leave their home state, block a vote from taking place and protect their constituents,” Pritzker said in a news conference Sunday. Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE: Biden failed to stop China’s toxic nicotine invasion — and your kids paid the price, expert warns
EXCLUSIVE: Chinese-made nicotine and electronic cigarette products illegally flooded U.S. markets under former President Joe Biden, endangering both adults and children and posing an “urgent threat to U.S. sovereignty, public health, and law enforcement capacity,” according to nicotine awareness activist and former GOP senator Richard Burr. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Burr, who is chair of the Coalition for Smarter Regulation of Nicotine, said that even as the Biden administration cracked down on “reputable” companies like Juul, it took no action to control the flow of off-brand competitor products, most of which were manufactured and exported to the U.S. by Chinese companies through the open borders. “There was not a policy in the Biden administration to enforce the law at the border. And that’s where the growth really came from,” he explained, adding, “They not only didn’t speak out against them, but they didn’t make any attempt, any attempt, at enforcement.” According to Burr, Biden’s director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), Brian King, bears special blame for overseeing an agency so crippled by inaction that, Burr said, “most of the products that are on the marketplace today not only are illegal, they have never even attempted to go through an application process at the FDA.” However, a spokesperson for King vehemently denied Burr’s assertions, telling Fox News Digital that “the claim that there was no attempt at enforcement is not consistent with the facts.” KAMALA HARRIS BACK IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT AS JAMES COMER FLOATS SUBPOENA IN BIDEN ‘COVER-UP’ PROBE Burr said that currently approximately 85% of vapor and e-cigarette products sold in the U.S. are either illicit or unauthorized due to the Biden FDA’s failure to enforce the law. Now, Burr is urging the Trump administration to be proactive in fixing the Chinese nicotine problem unleashed on Americans under Biden. Burr sent a letter to Trump’s FDA commissioner, Martin Makary, as well as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, urging them to take urgent action to “restore order” to the marketplace by reforming the government’s review process of nicotine and e-cigarette products and then fully enforcing against the entities responsible for growing the illicit market. In his letter, Burr describes the U.S. as being “in the midst of a crisis created by the free flow of illegal nicotine products into the U.S. marketplace, the majority of which are supplied by Chinese companies that are knowingly breaking U.S. laws.” ‘WAS THE PRESIDENT UP FOR THE JOB?’ STEVE RICCHETTI DEFENDS BIDEN’S FITNESS AS GOP SEEKS ANSWERS “During the Biden Administration, illicit Chinese vaping products, without any regulatory oversight or consumer protections, began flooding our market,” Burr wrote. “Produced overseas without meeting FDA safety standards or common tobacco product manufacturing practices, these illicit vapor products are deliberately avoiding compliance with the law, and many are intentionally marketed to underage users with youth-appealing features, for example, Gummy Bear flavors and gaming device screens.” Burr further said that manufacturers of illicit vaping products often use fraudulent shipping declarations and misclassified tariff codes to evade U.S. customs and trade laws. “President Trump has rightfully warned that counterfeit pharmaceutical products, often linked to the People’s Republic of China, threaten the security and safety of Americans,” he wrote. “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the opportunity to address a similar crisis in the nicotine market by advancing a modern and common-sense approach to regulating nicotine products and effectively enforcing the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) to restore order to the marketplace.” To this end, Burr urged the FDA to “advance a comprehensive, effective regulatory framework,” which he said consists of streamlining the FDA’s approval process for less harmful smoke-free nicotine products, providing clear regulations to the industry and enforcing the law against companies selling illicit products, providing adult smokers with accurate information on the benefits of switching from cigarettes to FDA-authorized, smoke-free products and using regulation and oversight to drive down underage use. INSIDE THE BIDEN COVER-UP PROBE: 8 AIDES QUESTIONED, MORE ON THE WAY Speaking with Fox News Digital, Burr said that both Kennedy and President Donald Trump “have embraced a healthier America that our kids should be eating healthier, should be actively involved, and we should make sure that anything that’s detrimental to their ability to grow and to grow up healthy should be constricted significantly.” “This is at the heart of that,” he said. In response, a spokesperson speaking on behalf of King told Fox News Digital that “the claim that there was no attempt at enforcement is not consistent with the facts.” They listed 30 different enforcement actions the agency took under King’s tenure in 2023 and 2024, ranging from sending warning letters to potential violators to denying marketing requests to manufacturers not in compliance. “Within the past few years, the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products took many first-time compliance and enforcement actions, including setting up a joint interagency task force and conducting multiple targeted enforcement operations against illegally imported e-cigarettes in coordination with US Customs and Border Protection. This was in addition to other first of their kind actions across the supply chain focused on unauthorized products from non-US manufacturers, including monthly retailer blitzes against Elf Bar and other unauthorized disposable e-cigarette brands used by youth,” they said. “The FDA and other agencies should build on these efforts and take comprehensive enforcement action against illegal e-cigarettes, particularly those popular among youth,” said the spokesperson.
US considers requiring visa bonds of up to $15,000 for certain applicants from high-risk countries
The U.S. State Department is proposing that applicants for tourist and business visas be required to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the country, which could make the process unaffordable for some. In a notice posted on the Federal Register’s website and scheduled to be published on Tuesday, the State Department said it would kick off a 12-month pilot program for people from countries with high overstay rates and deficient internal document security controls to be required to post bonds of $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, when applying for a visa. The proposal comes as President Donald Trump and his administration work to tighten requirements for visa applicants. The department announced last week that several applicants looking to renew their visas would have to submit to an additional in-person interview, which was never required in the past. TRUMP BANS TRAVEL TO US FROM SEVERAL COUNTRIES TO BLOCK ‘DANGEROUS FOREIGN ACTORS’ Additionally, the department proposed that applicants for the Visa Diversity Lottery have a valid passport from their country. The bond notice was previewed on the Federal Register website on Monday and said the pilot program will not take effect within 15 days of its publication. The notice also said the program is necessary to ensure the U.S. government is not financially liable if a visitor does not comply with the visitor’s visa terms. “Aliens applying for visas as temporary visitors for business or pleasure and who are nationals of countries identified by the department as having high visa overstay rates, where screening and vetting information is deemed deficient, or offering citizenship by investment, if the alien obtained citizenship with no residency requirement, may be subject to the pilot program,” the notice read. SENATE REPUBLICAN AIMS TO TREAT VISA OVERSTAYERS LIKE ILLEGAL ENTRANTS IN RESPONSE TO COLORADO TERROR ATTACK Once the program takes effect, the countries affected will be listed. The notice also notes that the bond could be waived based on individual circumstances. Citizens of countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which provides for business travel or tourism for up to 90 days, will not be required to pay the bond. TRUMP STATE DEPT ANNOUNCES NEW STUDENT-VISA VETTING WILL BE ONGOING PROCESS, NOT ONE-TIME CHECK There are 42 countries enrolled in the Visa Waiver Program, which includes countries from Europe and the Middle East. While visa bonds have been proposed in the past, they have never been implemented. Reasons the bonds have never been implemented include potential misperceptions by the public, and the argument that the process of posting and discharging the bond could become burdensome. A spokesperson for the State Department told Fox News Digital the Visa Bond Pilot is consistent with Executive Order 141598, which Trump signed to protect the American people from an invasion. The spokesperson noted that the pilot reinforces the administration’s commitment to enforcing immigration laws in the U.S. and safeguarding national security. As for the list of countries, it may be updated from time-to-time, the spokesperson added. The Associated Press contributed to this report.