Staff vacancies hit Texas weather offices as they brace for a busy hurricane season
Houston’s National Weather Service office has lost its head meteorologist amid a federal requirement to cut 10% of NOAA’s staff.
‘State of rebellion’: Expert weighs in on Newsom challenge to Trump deploying National Guard
President Donald Trump’s decision to activate the National Guard to quell protests and riots in California over the weekend was met with objections from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the move illegal and vowed to sue the president over it. Trump said in a proclamation that mobilizing the National Guard troops was necessary to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, who he said were being hindered from arresting illegal immigrants. Attorney Brad Moss, who specializes in national security, told Fox News Digital the law Trump relied on to deploy the National Guard, found under Title 10, is designed to address rebellions. “The President invoked 10 U.S.C. 12406, which affords him the authority to federalize the National Guard in response to a state of rebellion within the United States,” Moss said. NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYS TO LOS ANGELES AS VIOLENT ANTI-ICE RIOTS ROCK THE CITY The National Guard is a military force based in each state and under the dual control of governors and presidents. Governors typically have authority over their respective National Guard units, but presidents can call them into federal service in certain situations. Moss noted that Trump left his National Guard proclamation “sufficiently vague and nondescript,” including by not mentioning California or Los Angeles County in it. Trump said he was moving 2,000 National Guard soldiers under his purview and delegating the remaining logistics to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. From there, U.S. Northern Command issued a statement saying 300 soldiers from the California Army National Guard were deployed to parts of Los Angeles County “to support the protection of federal personnel and federal property.” While presidents have looked to the National Guard as a reinforcement to protect federal personnel and property before, Trump’s move was unusual because it lacked the support of the governor. POSSE COMITATUS ACT AT CENTER OF TRUMP-NEWSOM NATIONAL GUARD DISPUTE IN LA Moss said presidents can “technically” tap the National Guard without the governor’s consent but that there are limitations on what the National Guard can be used for. “It is unclear how the court would resolve legal challenges here,” he said. All Democratic governors opposed Trump’s move, calling it an “alarming abuse of power” in a joint statement. Newsom took matters a step further, blaming Trump for exacerbating riots. The Democratic governor said local and state police had conditions under control but that they worsened because Trump called in the military. “He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing,” Newsom wrote on social media. Over the weekend, Los Angeles police reported incidents of unlawful assembly outside an immigrant detention center and incidents of protesters throwing concrete bottles and other objects. Later, rioters set fire to and vandalized several self-driving cars and video showed shops being looted.
Musk does immediate 180 on Trump as soon as LA riots rage
The hostile public feud between SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump may be losing steam. While Musk and Trump traded harsh barbs Thursday just after Musk’s departure serving as a special government employee spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the tech mogul appeared to extend an olive branch to the Trump administration amid immigration raid protests in Los Angeles over the weekend. Tensions boiled over between Musk and Trump originally due to differences related to Trump’s massive tax and spending package referred to as the “big, beautiful, bill.” But after claiming that Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election if it weren’t for the tech mogul’s support, Musk shared a Truth Social post from Trump Sunday regarding the riots that broke out Friday — signaling some endorsement of the administration’s handling of the situation. TRUMP NOT INTERESTED IN TALKING TO MUSK: ‘ELON’S TOTALLY LOST IT’ “Governor Gavin Newscum and ‘Mayor’ Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they’ve done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots,” Trump said late Sunday in the post Musk shared. “These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists.” Additionally, Musk also re-posted one of Vice President JD Vance’s posts on X about the riots. “This moment calls for decisive leadership,” Vance said, sharing a screenshot of a post from Trump about how his administration would address the riots. “The president will not tolerate rioting and violence.” Specifically, Trump said that members of his Cabinet, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi, would “take all such action necessary” to stop the riots and a “Migrant Invasion.” “Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,” Trump said in the Sunday post. MUSK CONFIDENT DOGE WILL SAVE $1 TRILLION AS GOVERNMENT COST CUTTING CONTINUES Musk’s apparent endorsement of the Trump administration’s handling of the riots comes after Trump told Fox News Friday that “Elon’s totally lost it.” The president also said he was not interested in speaking over the phone with Musk, countering media reports suggesting that the two would talk following their public spat. Tension between Musk and Trump started to become visible to the public after Musk started to criticize the “big, beautiful, bill” amid reports that it would increase the federal deficit. Specifically, Musk called it a “disgusting abomination.” On Thursday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Musk opposed the bill because it eliminates an electric vehicle tax credit that benefits companies like Tesla. But Trump said that provision has always been part of the measure. “I’m very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people,” Trump said in the Oval Office in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we’re going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that’s billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair.” DOGE STAFFING SHAKEUP AS ELON MUSK HANGS UP HIS HAT, WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS Musk jumped onto X to respond to Trump’s statements, pushing to remove the “disgusting pork” included in the measure and claiming it was untrue he had been shown the measure “even once.” The two continued to publicly take aim at each other, with Musk claiming that Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election without his backing. In turn, Trump accused Musk of going “CRAZY” over cuts to the electric vehicle credits, and said that Musk had been “wearing thin.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on whether the two had smoothed things over. Musk also did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Trump has taken action to respond to the riots in Los Angeles, which broke out Friday in response to immigration arrests to deport illegal immigrants, and announced he would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” the White House said in a statement. At least 300 troops arrived Sunday. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump’s use of National Guard troops has prompted backlash from figures including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said the deployment violated California’s state sovereignty. Typically, state governors oversee National Guard troops, but Trump has invoked a law to place the troops under federal command so he could bypass Newsom. “I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom wrote on X Sunday. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What is the national guard at the heart of Trump’s Los Angeles standoff?
As United States President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on immigrants and protesters in Los Angeles, it has deployed 2,000 members of the national guard to aid its efforts. Trump authorised the deployment after the protests began on Friday following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of 44 people in the city for violating immigration laws. California Governor Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, former Vice President Kamala Harris and many other senior leaders of the Democratic Party have criticised Trump’s deployment. They’ve described the national guard’s use against protesters as a provocation aimed at further inflaming tensions already roiling the country’s second largest city. But what is the national guard, and why is its deployment such a political flashpoint? What is the national guard? The national guard is a branch of the US military that can perform state and federal functions. This means the guard is largely used to respond to state-level emergencies but can also be federalised. The president can also deploy national guard soldiers to overseas missions. Advertisement The guard’s origins trace back to 1636 when it started as citizen-soldier militias in Massachusetts, which is now a US state but was then a British colony. The national guard became an organised force after the passage of the Militia Act of 1903. The two world wars solidified its status as an organised branch of the US military. An air national guard was established in 1947 to complement a territorial force. How many soldiers are in the national guard? The national guard had 431,291 members as of 2023, the latest data released by the US Department of Defense. That included the army national guard, which consists of 326,317 soldiers, and the air national guard, which has 104,974 members. Many members of the guard serve part time while working civilian jobs or attending college. All members recruited into the guard have to undergo basic training. After this, they attend drills at regular intervals. Typically, drills take place one weekend each month. Every year, members attend a two-week training. (Al Jazeera) How is the national guard deployed? Typically, if a US state is experiencing an emergency that requires a national guard deployment as a response, the state’s governor may deploy its forces stationed in the state. However, presidents can also federalise the national guard from a state, but typically, this requires a governor’s approval to do so. When is the national guard deployed? The guard is deployed in cases of natural disasters or severe weather, civil unrest, war or when election assistance is needed. Advertisement In 2005, for instance, about 50,000 national guard soldiers were deployed after Hurricane Katrina hit multiple southern US states. In January, Newsom deployed the national guard as wildfires ravaged several areas of Los Angeles. In recent years, plainclothes national guard soldiers have staffed polling places during elections. During the current protests, however, Trump deployed the guard in Los Angeles without Newsom’s approval. Robert Cohen, professor of history and social studies at New York University, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s decision to deploy the national guard without getting Newsom on board was “wrong, but typical of the way Trump’s partisanship pollutes almost all of his major decisions”. When have presidents federalised the national guard in the past? In 1957, President Dwight D Eisenhower federalised the Arkansas national guard to desegregate public schools after the US Supreme Court’s Brown v Board of Education ruling, which established that racial segregation in public schools is illegal. In 1992, California Governor Pete Wilson and President George HW Bush, both Republicans, deployed the national guard to quell riots in Los Angeles. Protests, looting, assaults and arson broke out after four police officers who were filmed beating Rodney King, an African American man, for 15 minutes were acquitted of charges of excessive force. What is the debate around the national guard’s deployment? An act called the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 generally prevents the national guard and other branches of the US military from being used in civilian law enforcement. Presidents may circumvent this by invoking the 1807 Insurrection Act, which gives the US president the power to deploy the military to suppress an insurrection. Advertisement In 1965, President Lyndon B Johnson invoked the act and deployed the guard to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama. He did this without taking Alabama Governor George Wallace, a known segregationist, on board. Before Saturday, this was the last time a US president had deployed the national guard without the approval of the state’s governor. On Saturday, instead of using the Insurrection Act, Trump invoked a similar federal law, called the Title 10 authority, to deploy the California national guard without Newsom’s approval. Adblock test (Why?)
What is happening in Los Angeles is not law enforcement, it’s occupation
The scenes unfolding in Los Angeles should alarm every American who values constitutional governance. Federal troops have been deployed to a major American city not in response to an insurrection or natural disaster, but to suppress protests against immigration enforcement operations. The whole of downtown Los Angeles has been declared an “unlawful assembly area”. This represents a dangerous escalation that threatens the very foundations of the US democratic system. What began as routine raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 6 quickly spiralled into something far more ominous. Federal agents swept through Los Angeles, detaining 121 individuals from restaurants, stores and apartment buildings. The raids were conducted in broad daylight, with a calculated boldness that seemed designed to provoke. The community’s response was swift. By the afternoon, protesters had gathered downtown, not as rioters but as a grieving community, holding signs and chanting “Set them free!”. Advertisement This was grief made public, anger given voice. But in today’s America, even peaceful displays of grief and anger are not allowed when they go against the narrative set by those in power. The police responded with force. Tear gas canisters flew. Flash-bang grenades exploded. A peaceful demonstration transformed into a battlefield — not because protesters chose violence, but because the government did. US President Donald Trump decided to escalate further. He signed a memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth threatening to mobilise active-duty Marines if protests continued. The legality of these actions is questionable at best. Under the Insurrection Act, federal troops can only be deployed after a public proclamation calls for citizens to disperse. Such a proclamation has not been made, and Trump has not invoked the act. Governor Gavin Newsom, who has the power to decide on matters of security in the state of California, was not consulted; he was simply informed. There is no widespread rebellion threatening the authority of the United States. There are no enemy combatants in Los Angeles, just angry, grieving people demanding dignity for their communities. What we’re witnessing is not the lawful execution of federal authority but improvisation masquerading as application of law, the slow erosion of constitutional order, replaced by declaration, spectacle, and muscle. If challenged in court, this deployment would likely be deemed illegal. But that may not matter – and that is the most chilling aspect of this crisis. We are fast moving towards a place where illegality no longer matters, where muscle has arrived with or without paperwork, and law is merely a facade. Advertisement This moment cannot be understood in isolation. As scholar Aime Cesaire observed in his analysis of colonialism, violence in the periphery inevitably returns to the metropole. The tools of oppression developed abroad always find their way home. In the US, this has been a decades-long process. In 1996, a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act allowed the Pentagon to transfer surplus military-grade weaponry to local police departments. In the following three decades, the same weapons that were used for imperialist violence abroad were transferred to police departments to deploy in poor and marginalised communities. Then with the start of the “war on terror”, tactics to target and subjugate foreign populations were transferred at home to use against vulnerable communities. Congress passed sweeping laws like the USA PATRIOT Act and amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, enabling mass surveillance and intelligence gathering on US soil. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists allowed for indefinite military detention of US citizens, while a Supreme Court ruling in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project expanded the “material support” doctrine to criminalise even peaceful engagement with blacklisted groups. Programmes like Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) turned schools and mosques into surveillance hubs, targeting Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities. While outside the US government was pursuing a campaign of renditions, torture and illegal detention at Guantanamo Bay, at home, it was deploying lawfare against “suspect” communities. Advertisement The 2008 Holy Land Foundation trial introduced “secret evidence” in a US criminal court for the first time, with an anonymous Israeli intelligence officer claiming he could “smell Hamas” on defendants. Georgia’s prosecution of Cop City protesters under “terrorism” charges directly borrowed from this playbook, as did Tennessee’s Bill HB 2348, which extends policing powers to suppress peaceful protests. After October 2023, the US government violated its own laws in order to participate directly in the genocide in Gaza, providing Israel with weapons and intelligence. The mass repression and erasure that Palestinians had suffered at the hands of their US-backed colonisers were transferred on American soil. The government launched an unprecedented attack on free speech and academic freedom, cracking down on students protesting the genocide and encouraging retribution against pro-Palestinian voices. We’ve seen tenure revoked, protesters surveilled, and dissent criminalised. Palestinians and their allies have endured a fourfold increase in harassment, doxing, and employment loss; they have also faced violent attacks and murder. All this started not under Trump, but under his “Democratic” predecessor, former US President Joe Biden, who also increased the budget of police departments by $13bn and expanded ICE’s powers. The pattern is clear: repressive measures developed to target foreign populations have become tools to suppress all dissent at home. What is happening in Los Angeles and other cities isn’t about law enforcement; it’s about power projection, about demonstrating that defiance will be met with overwhelming force and quashed. Advertisement The legal framework matters less than the spectacle. When federal agents fire flash-bang grenades at protesters outside Home Depot stores, when ICE directors accuse mayors of siding with “chaos and lawlessness”, when FBI officials tweet about hunting down rock throwers, we’re watching the construction of a narrative that justifies state violence. This is how soft coups unfold: not with tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, but through executive memos, press briefings, and military logistics disguised as public safety. The Insurrection Act becomes a dead letter not through repeal but through irrelevance. If this precedent stands,
Canada to meet NATO spending threshold before schedule, Carney says
Prime Minister Mark Carney pledges to shift defence spending away from the US and towards the EU. Canada will meet NATO’s defence spending threshold of 2 percent this year as it shifts spending away from the United States and strengthens its relationship with the European Union, according to Prime Minister Mark Carney. Carney made the announcement on Monday, warning that in a “darker” world, Canada must reduce its security dependence on the US. In a speech at the University of Toronto, he said the country would hit the target five years earlier than anticipated. Canada has been realigning its defence partnerships to better align with the EU, which marks a significant break from Ottawa’s longstanding reliance on the US. The country plans to buy more defence equipment, including fighter planes, from Europe. His government is also reviewing the planned purchases of F-35 jets from the US to assess alternative options. “Our military infrastructure and equipment have aged, hindering our military preparedness,” Carney said. “Only one of our four submarines is seaworthy. Less than half of our maritime fleet and land vehicles are operational. More broadly, we are too reliant on the United States.” Advertisement “The threats that Canada faces are multiplying,” he added. Carney’s pledge follows similar commitments by other NATO members and comes after sustained pressure from US President Donald Trump for allies to increase defence spending. Increasingly, hostile language, including Trump’s jabs at turning Canada into the 51st US state, has increased tensions with Ottawa. Canada spent 1.33 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2023, according to NATO data. Since taking office in mid-March, Carney has issued a series of stark warnings about what he describes as a shift in US global leadership under Trump. “The United States is beginning to monetise its hegemony: charging for access to its markets and reducing its [relative] contributions to our collective security,” Carney said, criticising Trump’s trade policies. “We should no longer send three-quarters of our defence capital spending to America,” the prime minister added. He also warned that Canada has “been jolted awake by new threats to our security and sovereignty,” citing Russia and China as key concerns. Carney framed the increase in defence spending as a strategic necessity “to protect Canadians, not to satisfy NATO accountants”. In April, NATO announced that 22 of its 32 members had reached the 2 percent spending target. European countries, in particular, have ramped up military budgets in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and NATO now considers the 2 percent threshold a minimum requirement. Adblock test (Why?)
Harris ripped for ‘appalling’ LA ICE raids statement placing blame on Trump: ‘The country dodged a bullet’
Former Vice President Kamala Harris was slammed by conservatives on social media after she issued a statement on the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, blaming the Trump administration and calling the unrest “overwhelmingly peaceful.” “Los Angeles is my home,” Harris posted Sunday as riots had broken out across the city for several days, led by protesters upset with federal agents arresting illegal immigrants in the city, prompting the Trump administration to send in the National Guard. “And like so many Americans, I am appalled at what we are witnessing on the streets of our city,” she said. “Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos. In addition to the recent ICE raids in Southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump Administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.” Harris added that the Trump administration is not concerned about “public safety” but rather “stoking fear.” ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS IN LOS ANGELES SPIT ON AND BURN AMERICAN FLAG “Protest is a powerful tool — essential in the fight for justice. And as the LAPD, Mayor, and Governor have noted, demonstrations in defense of our immigrant neighbors have been overwhelmingly peaceful,” Harris said. “I continue to support the millions of Americans who are standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms.” Harris’ comments were immediately criticized by conservatives online and by Trump officials. “The country really dodged a bullet in November,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. In another post, Benson added, “Their official position is that they’re appalled by what’s happening in Los Angeles…because of Trump and ICE, not the violent rioters. In its current form, this party cannot be salvaged.” FBI SEARCHING FOR SUSPECT WHO ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTED FEDERAL OFFICER DURING ANTI-ICE RIOTS IN LOS ANGELES “Thank you, America, for employing brain cells and rejecting this woman’s quest to become president of the United States,” Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich posted on X. Others, including the conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok, took issue with Harris calling the unrest “mostly peaceful” by responding with pictures of rioters burning cars and attacking law enforcement. “No surprise[sic] that the most incompetent Vice President in history stands with the illegal alien rioters,” GOP Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X. White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields responded on X by saying, “America’s statement” along with a photo showing the gains President Donald Trump made across the country in the November 2024 election. “No one is interested in your opinion,” Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell posted on X. “President Trump didn’t start these riots,” California GOP gubernatorial candidate and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco posted on X. “He’s not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways. This statement is an embarrassment and does nothing to diffuse the violent riots taking place across the city.” “The Democrats and their ‘leaders’ own this.” TRUMP’S ICE LAUNCHES BOLD COURTHOUSE MIGRANT ARREST STRATEGY TO FAST-TRACK DEPORTATIONS BIDEN AVOIDED Steve Hilton, a Fox News contributor also running for California governor as a Republican, posted on X, “In this appalling statement you are siding with violent criminals over California communities; rioters over law enforcement; illegal immigrants over legal immigrants and American citizens.” “You are a pandering machine politician who should never hold public office again.” White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson posted on X, “We all know you support lawless, violent, illegal alien rioters. That’s why you lost so badly in November. Back to irrelevancy you go!” Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ office for comment but did not receive a reply. Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to the city in an effort to quell some of the unrest, much to the dismay of Democratic officials. The violent protests erupted as ICE officials carried out plans to remove individuals illegally residing in the left-wing city, which dubbed itself a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants in November 2024 before Trump was sworn back into the Oval Office in January. ICE raids began Friday, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issuing a statement supporting illegal immigrants in the city and bucking the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom similarly criticized ICE efforts, branding the immigration raids “chaotic and reckless.” “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel,” a statement from the governor read. “Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.” During the riots, ICE officers were targeted with violence that included throwing rocks and other projectiles along with vandalism in the form of graffiti calling for violence against ICE officers. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks shared a photo of one Border Patrol agent’s bloody hand, which was injured by a rock flying through the windshield. Federal sources said agents could have been killed by the flying debris and several officers have been reported as injured during the rioting. ICE agents captured the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants during Friday operations, including murderers, sex offenders and other violent criminals, the agency said Sunday. About 45 people were arrested across several locations, including two Home Depot stores, a store in the fashion district and a doughnut shop. “Why do Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass care more about violent murderers and sex offenders than they do about protecting their own citizens?” asked Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers, and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets,” she said. “Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer.” Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley, Emma Colton, Greg Wehner and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
DNC chair ripped David Hogg over party infighting in leaked meeting audio: ‘Really frustrating’
Several Democratic National Committee officers are accusing DNC vice chair David Hogg of leaking an audio recording exposing infighting, as the 25-year-old progressive reformer faces possible ouster. Politico first obtained about two minutes of audio from a May 15 Zoom call in which Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin is heard accusing Hogg of impacting his ability to lead. Hogg, 25, was elected vice chair in February but is currently at risk of losing that role after stirring tensions with party leadership. A survivor of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, Hogg has been vocal about how his group, Leaders We Deserve, is planning to spend $20 million to support progressive – and primarily younger – candidates challenging incumbent Democrats in safe districts during the next election. “It has plenty of warts, and we’re all trying to change those, for sure, but the longer we continue this fight, the harder it is for us to actually do what we all want to do, which is make a difference in this country again,” Martin said in the recording, as the party is trying to regroup following Democrats’ 2024 election defeat. DAVID HOGG CLASHES WITH AN IRATE JAMES CARVILLE OVER DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY PLAN, CALLS ON HIM TO ‘WIN ELECTIONS’ About 10 people were on the call, including Hogg, other DNC officers and staff, according to Politico. “I deeply respect you, David. I, too, was looking forward to working with you, but this has created a situation, and I’ll be very honest with you, for the first time in my 100 days on this job,” Martin continued, “The other night I said to myself for the first time, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this anymore.’ And partly, not because of the stress and all the naysayers, right? I’m used to that. I spent 14 years as a chair. I’m used to getting beat up on.” “But you know, this is, this is really, everything you know from this election, this credentials report, how Malcom’s been treated in this to you know, the fact the election itself, how Shasti and Jeanna were treated in this,” Martin said. “I’m just quite frustrated to be in this position because what you’ve done, whether you like it or not, or know it or not, David, I’m trying to – no one knows who the hell I am, right? I’m trying to get my sea legs underneath of me and actually develop any amount of credibility, so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win.” “And again, I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to,” Martin said. “So, it’s really frustrating.” Several party officers alleged in statements to Fox News Digital that Hogg was behind the audio leak. “Breaking news: a human being had a frustrating day at work. That’s all Ken expressed on that call – I was there,” DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta said. “For weeks, I’ve pointed out David’s causal relationship with the truth. He proves he has no relationship with integrity if he’s willing to record and leak private conversations.” DEMOCRATS’ VICE CHAIR GETS ULTIMATUM: STAY NEUTRAL IN PRIMARIES OR STEP DOWN FROM PARTY LEADERSHIP “The Democratic Party is not the past. The Democratic Party is what we do next. The endless, self-serving narratives – and the deliberate leaking of private conversations – by David Hogg and his allies must stop,” Jane Kleeb, president of the Association of State Democratic Committees, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Instead of helping to rebuild the party he’s supposed to serve, he’s attacking it for personal gain,” Kleeb continued. “That might boost his PAC’s fundraising, but it erodes trust in the very institution we’re trying to reform and strengthen. I’m proud of Chair Martin and the reforms we’re advancing, which includes keeping the DNC out of primaries so voters decide on Democratic nominees. Just this past month, we made historic gains in traditional red states like Nebraska and Mississippi. People’s lives will be better. That’s the work that matters.” The Democratic National Committee is holding an electronic vote beginning Monday on whether to nullify the February elections of Hogg and Kenyatta as vice chairs. Oklahoma DNC member Kalyn Free filed a formal complaint with the DNC alleging that the February election of the two male vice chairs violated the DNC’s gender-balanced rules, yet Hogg has claimed the DNC is using the vote to push for his ouster as he tries to reform the party. Hogg responded to the leaked audio in a statement to X. “There’s a lot going on right now. Here’s what matters: Trump just nationalized California’s national guard in his latest step on his authoritarian march to stomp out dissent against mass deportations,” Hogg said, referring to the anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots in Los Angeles. “Republicans want us turning on each other so they can continue getting away with this. While Chair Martin and I have had our disagreements we are both in this to build the strongest party possible.” “Our nation is in a moment of crisis and the people are looking for us to lead,” Hogg said. “This is a distraction that prevents us from doing that. Do not help the GOP.” Hogg also said that “a lot of people are accusing me of leaking this recording,” sharing messages from the Politico reporter seeking comment on the story. He did not affirm or deny whether he was behind the leak. “BS. It was you. Everyone knows it,” New York Democratic state Sen. James Skoufis responded on X. “Leaking audio of a private call with party leadership is a disgrace and shows how deeply unserious and uncommitted you are to building a better, stronger, more inclusive Democratic Party.” Martin, meanwhile, said in a statement that he’s “not going anywhere,” and he
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Maxine Waters taunts armed agents after feds slam door on her during LA riots: ‘You better shoot straight’
Rep. Maxine Waters had a federal building door slammed in her face during the L.A. migrant riots – and was caught on video taunting armed agents, asking if they planned to shoot her. Video shows Waters hurrying past graffiti-covered walls of a government building and up the steps to a plywood-shielded doorway where a small crowd had gathered. “Hello, hello, hello,” Waters, D-Calif., called out as she saw the California National Guard approaching the door, to enter. “I just came to use my congressional authority to check on David Huerta,” she said, referring to the SEIU union leader who was arrested during the weekend’s protests. MCCARTHY: MAXINE WATERS FINDS ‘VALUE IN VIOLENCE’ The last agent to enter turned to her and said, “Ma’am, our lobby is secure right now to all visitors.” But that did not deter the 86-year-old 18-term Democrat. “Excuse me, I need to get in,” she said, as the agent told her to “contact our public affairs office,” as he closed the door in her face. “I just want to see David Huerta!” she called out. Asked by nearby onlookers about the situation, Waters said she said Huerta was “targeted” but did not know why. “I don’t know whether they are going to deport him? I want to report back to my caucus what is happening,” she said. MAXINE WATERS, HOUSE DEMS RIPPED FOR ‘UNHINGED’ CLASH WITH SECURITY GUARD AT EDUCATION DEPT In a statement on the incident, Waters said she went to the Metropolitan Detention Center to visit Huerta – whom the SEIU said was “caught” in one of a series of ICE raids in Los Angeles County the union described as “a violent sweep.” Waters also alluded to another viral clip she produced, which showed her taunting armed agents standing in formation in another part of the city. “I pled [sic] with the National Guard, which was heavily armed, not to use their weapons against peaceful demonstrators who were simply exercising their rights to freedom of speech and protest,” Waters said in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter. “All people deserve to be treated with dignity and due process under the law: Peaceful, nonviolent demonstrations are critical to protecting our constitutional rights.” “The President of the United States is a cruel, dishonorable human being,” she said, adding that he and others would “just as soon” like to see agents “shoot somebody down.” “But I don’t want that to happen. I want the elected officials to do everything that we can to dissuade them,” Waters later told reporters. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In the latter case, Waters was seen hollering at the agents, insisting they were letting themselves become unwitting pawns of President Donald Trump: “This is Trump and his outrageous attempt to not only target our sanctuary city, but to frighten us and intimidate us. This is wrong, and I hope that none of you will use those guns to shoot anybody… and allow them to make your service a service when you’re killing people,” she called out to the troops. Addressing assembled reporters at another opportunity, Waters claimed Trump wants to have an excuse to enact martial law and “goad us into a fight.” “This is about how they’re going to treat people of color in America… They have all the guns – we know they have all the guns.” In another clip, she is seen addressing more troops: “What are you going to do? You’re going to shoot some kid?” “You’re gonna shoot an elected official? If you shoot me, you better shoot straight.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.