Comer calls out Biden’s ‘failure’ to get federal employees to return to the office, vows to get it done
Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., isn’t playing around when it comes to bringing federal employees back to the office. In the committee’s first hearing of the 119th Congress, Comer delivered remarks slamming the Biden administration’s “failure” to get federal employees back to the office. “When President Trump’s team enters federal agency headquarters in and around DC, they’ll find them to be mostly empty. That’s due to the Biden administration’s failure to end telework and to bring federal employees back to the office,” Comer said. While there are still a few days left in President Biden’s term, Washington is preparing itself for a shift ahead of President-elect Trump’s return to DC. According to the Oversight Committee’s report, which cites “the Biden-Harris Administration’s own data,” as of May 2024, 1,057,000 telework-eligible federal employees were in-office three times a week, and another 228,000 remote employees “never come to the office at all.” NEW POLLS SHOW BIDEN LEAVING OFFICE WITH APPROVAL RATINGS STILL BURIED DEEP IN NEGATIVE TERRITORY The report, titled “The lights are on, but everyone is at home: Why the new administration will enter largely vacant federal agency offices,” is 41 pages and was prepared by Republicans on the committee. In its report, the committee makes the case that telework policies have been “detrimental” to government agencies. In the hearing, Comer pointed the finger at Democrats, in particular, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-Ny. He slammed Schumer for allegedly letting the Show Up Act “collect dust.” The legislation would bring federal employees’ telework back to “pre-pandemic levels.” HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPORT SAYS TELEWORK IS ‘WASTING BILLIONS’ IN TAXPAYER CASH AHEAD OF 1ST HEARING “The Government Accountability Office found that 17 of the largest 24 federal agency headquarters in the DC area were less than 25% occupied, some much less than 25% occupied. A separate study by the Public Buildings Reform Board found that occupancy rates were just half that at 12%, 12% occupancy,” Comer said at the hearing. “Taxpayer money is being wasted to lease and maintain all that expensive, empty office space.” The committee writes in its report that Trump is inheriting “a largely absentee workforce,” blaming it on the telework policies “entrenched” by the Biden administration. Comer also noted that the telework policy for federal workers has resulted in a “lack of foot traffic” that is “economically devastating” for DC, something Mayor Muriel Bowser has also pointed out. Bowser has been “imploring the White House to change” the telework policy for nearly two years. In fact, the Democrat lawmaker met with President-elect Trump to discuss what could be done with the “underutilized federal buildings” around the city. Bowser expressed optimism after the Dec. 30 meeting, saying both she and Trump “want Washington, DC to be the best, most beautiful city in the world and we want the capital city to reflect the strength of our nation.” The committee’s report acknowledges that Trump “invoked massive telework and remote work” at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and adds that he “quickly sought to return federal employees to their offices to deliver for the American people when it became clear that widespread, indiscriminate lockdowns were not the right societal answer to the pandemic.” Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
The Role Of Growth Marketing In Scaling Modern Businesses
This blog explores the nuances of growth marketing, its applications across key business functions, and how businesses can leverage it to stay competitive.
Unlisted Shares in India: Risks, Rewards, and Investment Strategies for 2025
Investing in unlisted shares in India presents a complex landscape filled with both risks and rewards. Investors should carefully weigh the pros and cons before making investment decisions.
Top 10 Web Development Companies in India 2025
Web development helps businesses establish a dynamic online presence and showcase their offerings in a much more creative manner. For decades, web development companies in India have garnered global praise for their exceptional ability to produce scalable solutions & cost-effective packages.
House Freedom Caucus to draw battle lines on reconciliation fight after presenting plan to Trump
FIRST ON FOX: The conservative House Freedom Caucus is preparing to release a proposal for Republicans’ planned conservative policy overhaul that would raise the debt limit by two years or roughly $4 trillion, Fox News Digital is told. Congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters. However, there has been some disagreement over whether to pass all of their goals – touching on border security, defense, spending cuts, tax cuts, and energy – in one single bill to not risk any items falling behind, or split the priorities into two separate pieces of legislation to ensure early victory on at least some measures. President-elect Donald Trump has said he favors the one-bill approach, but would be open to two. He also tasked Republicans with raising or suspending the debt limit, with the U.S. Treasury projected to run out of funds to pay its debts by mid-June. Freedom Caucus members are among the Republicans calling for two separate bills. The plan being unveiled on Thursday would call for border security, defense, and steep spending cuts to be included in the first bill. Those cuts would then be used to offset tax breaks being extended in the second bill, Fox News Digital was told. The conservative lawmakers presented the plan to Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Friday, but it is unclear how he responded. REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previously backed a two-bill approach in public comments. Opponents of that plan, which include Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee, have warned that leaving Trump’s tax cuts for a second bill would all but guarantee that provisions he passed during his previous term would expire by the end of the year, raising taxes for millions of Americans. Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., previously pointed out to FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo that two reconciliation bills have not been passed in one term since the 1990s. However, GOP negotiators have not decided whether to include action on the debt limit in their reconciliation bill, with both measures known to require difficult political maneuvering. The Freedom Caucus’ expected plan is a way for fiscal hawks who have traditionally scorned action on the debt limit to agree to do so. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ That same group is also concerned that putting all the agenda items into a single bill will not result in sufficient cuts to offset the added spending. With two House Republicans departing for the Trump administration on Jan. 20, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have to navigate a razor-thin majority until special elections are expected in April. Until then, just one Republican “no” vote will be enough to derail any piece of legislation that does not get Democratic support. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team and the House Freedom Caucus for comment.
House Dems push Garland to drop charges, release second part of Jack Smith report
House Judiciary Democrats penned a letter Wednesday asking outgoing U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against President-elect Donald Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case. They want Trump’s valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to walk from the charges so that Garland can release the second volume, which is related to the classified documents case, of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report. Smith resigned from the Justice Department on Friday. Garland said he will not release the second volume because both men still face prosecution. The Democrats believe that Trump will pardon both men, so Garland should drop the charges now or the report will not come out. “While we understand your honorable and steadfast adherence to Mr. Nauta’s and Mr. De Oliveira’s due process rights as criminal defendants, the practical effect of this position is that Volume 2 will almost certainly remain concealed for at least four more years if you do not release it before President-elect Trump’s inauguration on January 20,” the letter obtained by Fox News says. FORMER TRUMP CO-DEFENDANTS WANT JUDGE TO BLOCK SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REPORT “The public interest, however, now demands that the President-elect must not escape accountability to the American people,” they added. “Accordingly, to the extent the tangential charges against Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira stand in the way of the overriding imperative of transparency and truth, the interests of justice demand that their cases be dismissed now so that the entirety of Special Counsel Smith’s report can be released to the American people.” The letter was signed by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin of Maryland, as well as Democratic committee members Reps. Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman of New York; Eric Swalwell, Ted Lieu, J. Luis Correa, Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Zoe Lofgren of California; Hank Johnson and Lucy McBath of Georgia; Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Pramila Jayapal of Washington; Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania; Joseph Neguse of Colorado; Deborah Ross of North Carolina; Becca Balint of Vermont; Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia of Illinois; and Jasmine Crockett of Missouri. “We obviously do not condone the sycophantic, delinquent, and criminal behavior that Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira are charged with,” the letter says. “However, Donald Trump was plainly the mastermind of this deception operation to conceal and abuse classified material, a fact made clear by his being charged with 32 counts of willfully retaining these classified documents, while his co-defendants were charged with lesser offenses related to obstructing the investigation, largely at Mr. Trump’s direction. By virtue of DOJ policy prohibiting the indictment or prosecution of a sitting president, Mr. Trump has dodged any criminal accountability for his own wrongdoing. Mr. Trump’s 2024 victory saved him from a public trial and robbed the American people of the opportunity to learn the meaning and details of his unpatriotic, reckless, and intentional abuse of national security information.” DOJ RELEASES FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S REPORT ON INVESTIGATION INTO TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Judge Aileen Cannon will hear arguments over Volume 2 in Fort Pierce, Florida, on Thursday. Garland released Volume 1, focused on the election interference case, earlier this week. Attorneys for Nauta and De Oliveira earlier this month asked Cannon to keep the special counsel report out of the public eye. Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira all pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Smith was tapped by Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence. It is customary for a special counsel to release a final report when his or her work is done, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached as a result of the probe. It’s up to Garland whether to release it publicly. In Smith’s case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump’s status as president-elect and longstanding Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. Garland is expected to give his farewell address to the Justice Department on Thursday afternoon.
‘Our agents are relentless’: Feds shut down cross-border tunnel used by Mexican cartels for smuggling into US
U.S. and Mexican law enforcement worked together to locate and shut down a man-made cross-border tunnel used by cartels to smuggle cargo into the U.S. across the southern border — complete with lighting and ventilation. Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, discovered the tunnel on Thursday. In a statement, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said they discovered a man-made tunnel that breaches into the public storm drain. The six-foot tall, four-foot wide tunnel was covered by a 36-by-36 inch entry hole. It was sophisticated and equipped with lighting, a ventilation system, and was supported by wooden beams throughout. GOP REVIVES ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT DETENTION BILL NAMED AFTER 12-YEAR-OLD MURDER VICTIM CBP said it worked with local and federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI, the El Paso Police Dept and the Texas Department of Public Safety. It also worked with the Mexican government to uncover the tunnel. “We are proud of the Agents who discovered this smuggling infrastructure used by transnational criminal organizations,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Scott Good said in a statement. “Our Agents are relentless in searching and surveying every square mile of the El Paso Sector. With our partners, we are committed to investigating these illicit activities and bringing all perpetrators to justice —those who endanger lives in these hazardous environments and circumvent the legal pathways to entering the United States.” BIDEN DHS EXEMPTED THOUSANDS OF IMMIGRANTS FROM TERROR-RELATED ENTRY BARS IN FY 2024 FBI Special Agent in Charge John Maroles said the discovery underscores the vital importance of coordination and collaboration among our law enforcement agencies. “This successful binational operation exemplifies the strong partnerships between agencies in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, working together to secure our shared border and protect our communities. These partnerships are critical in ensuring the safety and security of our communities and our nation as a whole,” he said. The Border Patrol has discovered a number of tunnels used by smugglers to bring in humans and drugs across the southern border over the years, including in 2020 when authorities thwarted a tunnel with a fully developed ventilation system in Arizona. The discovery comes days before the Trump administration takes office, with border security and a crackdown against illegal immigration at the top of the agenda. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The Biden administration was hit by a multiyear historic border crisis, although numbers subsided considerably in 2024. The administration touted a number of operations that it conducted in coordination with the Mexican government to stop smugglers crossing the border. On Wednesday, Pam Bondi — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice — said she would be in favor of designating Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.
‘Agar mujhe kuchh huaa…’: Girl declares love for boyfriend days before marriage, shot dead by father
In a purported case of honour killing, a 20-year-old girl was shot dead by her father in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior on Tuesday, i.e., January 14. x
Saif Ali Khan attacked: ‘Just based on one or two incidents, it won’t be right to say…’, says Maharashtra CM Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis on Thursday stated that the law and order of Mumbai cannot be judged based on a few incidents and asserted that the city is the safest place.
Race for DNC chair narrows after longshot candidate drops out, endorses Minnesota’s Ken Martin
The field of contenders to become the next Democratic National Committee chair has narrowed after a long-shot candidate dropped out and endorsed Ken Martin, Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party chair. Martin, a DNC vice chair who has led the association of state Democratic Party chairs, has been considered a frontrunner for the DNC job. Martin received a boost after New York state Sen. James Skoufis dropped out of the race and endorsed him, Politico reported Thursday morning. Skoufis told the outlet in a statement that Martin “will re-center what is most important for our party: expanding the map and rebuilding our once-big Democratic tent by taking power outside of the DC Beltway and kicking the out-of-touch consultant class to the curb.” DNC HIRES FORMER HARRIS STAFFERS BEHIND @KAMALAHQ FOR SOCIAL MEDIA RESPONSES TO TRUMP Democrats suffered major setbacks up and down the ballot in the 2024 elections as former President Trump recaptured the White House and the GOP flipped the Senate and held onto its fragile majority in the House. Martin told Fox News Digital last month that if he becomes chair, the first thing he would do is “figure out a plan to win.” “And we need to start writing that plan, making sure we’re looking underneath the hood,” he said. “How much money do we have at the party? What are the contracts? What contracts do we need to get rid of? And, frankly, bringing all of our stakeholder groups together, that’s the biggest thing.” DNC CHAIR HOPEFUL MARTIN O’MALLEY SAYS DEMS WILL CONTINUE TO LOSE IF PARTY DOESN’T CONNECT WITH WORKING CLASS Two other top contenders in the DNC race are Ben Wikler, who has steered the state Democratic Party in battleground Wisconsin since 2019, and Martin O’Malley, the former two-term Maryland governor and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate who served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration the past year. Current DNC chair Jaime Harrison is not seeking another four-year term steering the national party committee. The next chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee when they meet Feb. 1 at National Harbor in Maryland for the DNC’s winter meeting. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.