RFK Jr. ‘wrong’ about vaccinations, GOP senator says
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said during an interview on “Fox News Sunday” that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is “wrong” on the issue of vaccinations. President-elect Donald Trump tapped Kennedy to serve as Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary. Cassidy, a gastroenterologist who is currently serving Louisianans in the Senate, is the incoming chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. TOP GOP SENATORS CALL FOR REFORM, ‘CONSEQUENCES’ IN WAKE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT ‘LEADERSHIP FAILURE’ The senator, who noted that he is looking forward to meeting with Kennedy in the coming week, said that he agrees with Kennedy on some issues but disagrees with him on others. While Cassidy described ultra-processed food as a problem, he said Kennedy is “wrong” about vaccinations. Fox News Digital inquired about whether Cassidy plans to vote against confirming Kennedy to HHS due to the disagreement on vaccines. “Cassidy does not discuss his votes prior to meetings with the nominees and the Senate process playing itself out,” a Cassidy spokesman said in a statement. “Cassidy explained these are topics he wants to discuss with RFK Jr in his meeting with him this week and he looks forward to having a good dialogue with him.” DIET AND NUTRITION EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON HOW RFK JR’S NOMINATION COULD IMPACT HOW WE EAT Reached by Fox News Digital on Monday, Kennedy declined to comment on Cassidy’s assertion that he is “wrong” on the vaccine issue. But Kennedy has previously said that he does not want to block people from getting vaccines. ELON MUSK ADMITS TO TAKING CONTROVERSIAL WEIGHT LOSS DRUG PREVIOUSLY OPPOSED BY RFK JR. “Bottom line: I’m not going to take anyone’s vaccines away from them. I just want to be sure every American knows the safety profile, the risk profile, and the efficacy of each vaccine. That’s it,” he declared in a tweet last year.
ICE nabs illegal immigrant charged with sex crimes in blue city, after release from jail
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a Dominican illegal immigrant charged with sex crimes and kidnapping in Boston, after he was released from local custody despite a request by the agency to hand him over. In a statement, ICE said it had arrested Emilio Jose Pena-Casilla, a 46-year-old, who is charged with assault to rape, kidnapping, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, and intimidation of an official, witness, or juror, was arrested Dec. 17 in Boston. Pena-Casilla entered the U.S. illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas, in January 2023, and was enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program. Under that program, migrants are monitored by a GPS tracking device or check in via an app. He was removed from the program a month later. ‘SHEER INSANITY’: CONSERVATIVE WATCHDOG PUTS ‘SANCTUARY’ OFFICIALS ON NOTICE AHEAD OF TRUMP DEPORTATION PUSH In July this year, he was arraigned in Massachusetts. ICE says its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Boston issued a detainer, but it was ignored by the district court and he was released on GPS on bail. ICE would eventually track him down in December. “Emilio Jose Pena-Casilla stands accused of some very serious offenses against a Massachusetts resident,” acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde of ERO Boston said in a statement. “We hold a sacred duty to protect the residents of our communities, and we will continue to do so by apprehending and removing egregious noncitizen offenders from our neighborhoods. Today, another victim in Massachusetts no longer needs to fear their predator.” Boston is one of a number of “sanctuary” cities that limit or forbid cooperation by local law enforcement with ICE. Supporters of sanctuary policies say they allow illegal immigrants to cooperate with local law enforcement, but opponents say they result in the release of criminal illegal immigrants back onto the streets. Boston City Council recently doubled down on its sanctuary policies, voting in favor of a resolution to limit ICE cooperation and to ban police from keeping migrants in custody for possible deportation unless there is a criminal warrant. The resolution adopted by the council states that “proposals for mass deportations represent a direct attack on Boston’s immigrant families, and threaten to tear communities apart.” TRUMP’S INCOMING BORDER CZAR HAILS MEETING WITH MAYOR ERIC ADAMS: ‘NYC IS ABOUT TO GET A LOT SAFER’ Sanctuary policies have been back in the spotlight with the approaching Trump administration, which has promised to ramp up deportations and launch a historic operation to potentially remove millions of illegal immigrants. A number of Democratic officials in states, including Massachusetts, have said they will not cooperate in the deportation push. President-elect Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has hinted there could be legal consequences for those who get in the way of the operation. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Recently, America First Legal notified nearly 250 officials in jurisdictions that limit or forbid local law enforcement cooperation with ICE that there could be legal consequences for interfering with the feds or for concealing illegal immigrants. “We have identified your jurisdiction as a sanctuary jurisdiction that is violating federal law. Such lawlessness subjects you and your subordinates to significant risk of criminal and civil liability. Accordingly, we are sending this letter to put you on notice of this risk and insist that you comply with our nation’s laws,” the letter says.
Kamala Harris makes Trump’s 2024 presidential win official during joint session of Congress
Congress officially certified President-elect Trump’s 2024 election victory on Monday, taking him one step closer to assuming the Oval Office at the end of this month. Tellers for the Senate’s vote counting were Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and those on the House side were Reps. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., and Joe Morelle, D-N.Y. The 312 electoral college votes for Trump were counted and presented by the tellers, in addition to the 226 votes for Vice President Kamala Harris. A USER’S MANUAL TO CERTIFYING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION It was the final step before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. Ahead of the certification process, both Harris and Vice President-elect JD Vance received bipartisan handshakes from House members as they entered the chamber. Senators also shook hands with both Republicans and Democrats as they entered the joint session of Congress. The orderly process is a stark contrast to the scene in the House chamber four years ago when rioters protesting the results of the 2020 election halted proceedings and forced lawmakers into hiding for several hours. Harris presided over the certification of Trump’s win, after having lost to him in a November election that saw Republicans sweep the presidency and both houses of Congress. Harris recorded a video message that was released prior to the certification, telling viewers, “The peaceful transfer of power is one of the most fundamental principles of American democracy. As much as any other principle, it is what distinguishes our system of government from monarchy or tyranny.” HARRIS TO OVERSEE CERTIFICATION OF HER DEFEAT TO TRUMP IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: ‘SACRED OBLIGATION’ Democrats and Republicans had starkly different reactions heading into Monday, with lawmakers on the right celebrating a new era in Washington, while those on the left glumly remarked on the violent scenes of Jan. 6, 2021. “Today, I will vote to certify the election of President Donald J. Trump. It’s time to save America!” Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., wrote on X. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, wrote on the site, “Four years ago today, Trump incited a deadly insurrection after he lost a free and fair election. Today, only snow is on the Capitol steps, not an angry mob bashing their way in to desecrate and injure.” JOHNSON REVEALS TRUMP’S WISHES ON DELIVERING HUGE POLICY OVERHAUL IN CLOSED-DOOR MEETING Trump said on Truth Social ahead of the certification, “CONGRESS CERTIFIES OUR GREAT ELECTION VICTORY TODAY — A BIG MOMENT IN HISTORY. MAGA!” Lawmakers gathered on Capitol Hill to certify the election, despite a heavy snowstorm that forced many federal offices and public schools in the Washington, D.C., area to shutter for the day. Congressional GOP leaders had urged lawmakers to stay in the national capital through the weekend to avoid potential travel issues. When Ohio’s electoral votes were announced, Republicans in the chamber loudly applauded as some gave a standing ovation for Vance, who hails from the state.
As bitter cold sweeps through Texas, ERCOT says the power grid is stable
The state’s electric grid operator issued a weather watch until Friday but says it doesn’t expect power disruptions as demand rises.
New Senator Bernie Moreno wants a border bill on Trump’s desk on Day 1, putting Dems on record
Newly sworn-in Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, wants to get legislation tackling the crisis on the southern border to President-elect Trump’s desk immediately, and he thinks it could get enough votes on the floor. “We have to make certain that we actually do the things that we campaigned on,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview, referencing the border’s prevalence on the campaign trail. Noting that voters were frequently concerned about “open borders and high prices,” the Ohio Republican, who unseated incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown, said the issues need to be taken on right away. PRO-ISRAEL DEM COULD TIP SCALES IN KEY SENATE COMMITTEE AS MIDDLE EAST WAR CONTINUES “We’re going to make it so that there’s no illegal immigration, that we seal our border, we secure our border, and we deport anybody who’s in this country illegally,” Moreno explained. The hypothetical legislation would include “funding deportations, making certain that we have the funding to secure the border to make certain that we have a safe and secure border, that we finish the wall, that we put in place the technology, that we put in place the money so that these deportation efforts can happen at scale,” he said. “We can get it done soon, I’m confident,” the senator claimed. “We can even get a bill in front of President Trump right when he gets sworn in.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS REJOICE OVER QUICK SPEAKER VOTE WITH ONLY ONE DEFECTOR In order for a measure to pass the Senate outside the budget reconciliation process, it must receive at least 60 votes in a procedural step, overriding the legislative filibuster. The Republicans will have only a 53-vote majority in the 119th Congress, and to beat the filibuster would need Democratic votes to move a bill forward. “Look, there should be 100 votes for that because that’s not a Republican issue,” Moreno said. “That’s an American issue. I would like to see the Democrats take public positions against securing our border, because that’s insane.” ‘LIVES DEPEND ON IT’: REPUBLICANS PUSH FOR PROMPT TRUMP CONFIRMATIONS IN WAKE OF NEW ORLEANS ATTACK Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., could bring such border measures to the floor for votes and put Democratic senators on record when it comes to key GOP-led border bills. This was a tactic frequently used by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who scheduled several votes on abortion, contraception and in vitro fertilization (IVF). While Moreno wants to see some border-related bills voted on immediately, a portion of legislation on illegal immigration is expected to be included in a reconciliation bill this year, which is also set to address tax cuts, energy and defense. MIKE JOHNSON GETS PUBLIC GOP SENATE SUPPORT AHEAD OF TIGHT HOUSE SPEAKER VOTE “Members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “We must Secure our Border, Unleash American Energy, and Renew the Trump Tax Cuts, which were the largest in History, but we will make it even better – NO TAX ON TIPS. IT WILL ALL BE MADE UP WITH TARIFFS, AND MUCH MORE, FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE U.S. FOR YEARS.” “Republicans must unite, and quickly deliver these Historic Victories for the American People. Get smart, tough, and send the Bill to my desk to sign as soon as possible. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Biden to dedicate two new national monuments on 850K acres of tribal land in California
President Biden is expected to designate two new national monuments in California this week, which will bar roughly 850,000 acres of tribal lands from future development. After signing the new orders, Biden will have shut down development on more public lands than any other president in history besides former President Jimmy Carter, according to the Washington Post. The move would establish a 644,000-acre Chuckwalla National Monument located in the southern part of the state near Joshua Tree National Park, sources familiar with the matter said. While no public plans about the new monument have been announced, sources have leaked details to the media and the president’s public schedule shows he will be traveling Tuesday to Southern California’s east Coachella Valley, site of the designated tribal land. BIDEN ISSUES SWEEPING OFFSHORE OIL, GAS DRILLING BAN IN 625M ACRES OF FEDERAL WATERS AHEAD OF TRUMP TRANSITION In addition to Biden’s plans to designate a large swath of the Colorado Desert located in Southern California as a national monument, the president also plans to designate roughly 200,000-acres of land in Northern California, near the Oregon border, as a national monument. The move would establish the Sáttítla National Monument and would also bar any future energy development in that area. While environmentalists, tribal groups and Democrat lawmakers have urged Biden to designate these two new national monuments, Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., has argued that designating the roughly 200,000-acres of land in Northern California is unnecessary because it is already protected from development, according to local California news outlet, the Redding Record Searchlight. Additionally, he added, getting permits approved on forest service lands is already difficult and prohibiting them further could make it more difficult to fight wildfires in the area due to a scarcity of roads. The new monuments will be designated by Biden via his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906, which allows presidents to bypass Congress when seeking to protect lands and water for the benefit of the nation. Since the start of his presidency, Biden has already used his executive authority under the act to establish eight new national monuments, while expanding four others, the Washington Post reported. BIDEN MOVING TO BAN OIL AND GAS LEASES FOR 20 YEARS IN NEVADA REGION, JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURATION President-elect Trump has vowed to unleash U.S. domestic energy dominance during his upcoming term. Meanwhile, in the final weeks and months ahead of Biden’s departure from the White House, his administration has made efforts to bolster its green energy priorities against any potential blowback from Trump. Last month, the Biden administration unveiled a report detailing the negative public impact on increasing liquefied natural gas exports, a move that experts said could provide fodder for environmentalists seeking to challenge Trump’s efforts to increase U.S. energy production. BIDEN ADMIN REPORT COULD SLOW TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO UNLEASH DOMESTIC NATURAL GAS, EXPERTS SAY Steve Milloy, a fellow at the Energy and Environmental Legal Institute, said Biden’s latest national monuments designation could serve the same purpose. “While Trump can undo whatever Biden does, Biden is trying to create litigation traps for Trump that will discourage investors from projects on public lands,” he said. On Monday, Biden also used his executive authority to ban new oil and gas drilling off nearly all U.S. coasts. “The decision to unilaterally block areas from future offshore oil and gas development is a strategic error, driven not by science or voter mandate, but by political motives,” the National Ocean Industries Association said. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.
‘No time to play’: Senate must quickly confirm Noem as DHS chief in wake of terror attack, says Louisiana gov
Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry is calling on Senate lawmakers, most notably Democrats, to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, in the wake of a terrorist attack that shook New Orleans. “This is no time to play around. Which is why I am also calling on Senate Democrats on the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee to allow Kristi Noem to get to work on Day 1 as our Secretary of Homeland Security. There should be no gap in leadership. In the wake of the Bourbon Street and Las Vegas attacks, our nation’s security depends on her quick confirmation,” Landry said in a statement Monday. Early on New Year’s Day, chaos broke out on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as revelers partied on the streets in celebration of the holiday. The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is accused of ramming a truck into the crowd on the beloved and famed party street, killing at least 14 and injuring dozens of others. Jabbar, who was armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle, was killed after opening fire on police. Landry’s office said the Republican governor is expected to meet with President Biden on Monday, when he will press the commander in chief to issue a Presidential Disaster Declaration following the attack. NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST CHOSE BOURBON STREET FOR MAXIMUM CARNAGE: TIMELINE “I look forward to speaking with President Biden today on quickly approving my request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration,” he continued. Landry previously sent a letter to Biden detailing the need for the declaration as the city prepares to manage other massive public events this year, including the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras, following the terrorist attack. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK “This terrorist attack has caused significant harm to our visitors and residents, disrupted essential services, and overwhelmed local and state resources during a time when the city is host to several large-scale events, including the Sugar Bowl and related activities, as well as the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras in coming weeks. The Super Bowl and Mardi Gras will bring in tourists from around the world and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has designated Super Bowl LIX as a Special Event Planning Assessment (“SEAR”) Level 1,” Landry wrote in his letter to Biden on Jan. 2. Trump announced South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as his pick to lead the DHS, which oversees key national security and law enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, last year after his win over Vice President Kamala Harris. BOMBMAKING MATERIALS FOUND AT NEW ORLEANS AIRBNB POTENTIALLY TIED TO BOURBON STREET TERRORIST: REPORT Landry urging Senate lawmakers to support Noem as DHS chief in the wake of the terrorist attack follows law enforcement groups and leaders from across the nation also throwing their support behind the Trump candidate, urging lawmakers to quickly confirm her to the role. NOEM BOASTS OUTPOURING OF POLICE, BORDER UNION SUPPORT FOR DHS CHIEF: CURRENT LEADERS ‘BETRAYED US’ At least eight police groups or unions have issued letters to Sen. Rand Paul, who sits on the committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, urging the Senate to confirm Noem in order to bolster national security, including to combat the immigration crisis along the southern border, as well as stem the flow of deadly narcotics coming across the border.
In one of last speeches in office, Biden attempts to rehabilitate image of late segregationist Strom Thurmond
President Biden appeared to attempt to rehabilitate the image of notorious late pro-segregation Sen. Strom Thurmond on Monday during one of the final speeches of his presidency. Biden made the comments while speaking at a White House reception for new Democratic members of Congress. The president offered up several redeeming details about Thurmond, though he said he wasn’t defending the man. “In my career I have been asked to do the eulogy of the most incredibly different people. Strom Thurmond, 100 years old. On his deathbed, I get a phone call from the hospital. From the hospital, from out of Walter Reed and his wife, Nancy said. Joe, I’m here with the doctors at the nurses station. Strom asked me to ask you whether or not you’d do his eulogy,” Biden said, adding that he accepted the offer. “Strom Thurmond decided that separate but equal was not right, not that Blacks and Whites should be together. But if you do separate equal, you had to spend as much money on Black schools as White schools. By the time Strom Thurmond left the United States Senate, he had. And I’m making the case for him,” Biden continued. TRUMP PLANNING TO LIFT BIDEN’S LNG PAUSE, INCREASE OIL DRILLING DURING 1ST DAYS IN OFFICE: REPORT “But he had more African-Americans in his staff than any United States senator had, more. Strom Thurmond had an illegitimate child with a Black woman [and he] never denied it. Never stopped paying for his upbringing. There’s a lot of strange people, a lot of different people. And I mean, well, I bet I can look at you and I can find some strange things too,” Biden added. BIDEN MOVING TO BAN OIL AND GAS LEASES FOR 20 YEARS IN NEVADA REGION, JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURATION Biden has repeatedly mentioned his relationship with Thurmond at various times during his presidency. He claimed in August 2023 that he had “literally” convinced Thurmond to vote for the Voting Rights Act before his death in 2003, when he was just 21 years old. “I was able to — literally, not figuratively — talk Strom Thurmond into voting for the Civil Rights Act before he died,” Biden said at the time. “And I thought, ‘well, maybe there’s real progress,’” he added. “But hate never dies, it just hides. It hides under the rocks.” Biden was born on Nov. 20, 1942. The Civil Rights Act passed the Senate on June 19, 1964. While Thurmond and Biden were contemporaries in the Senate, the president would have been 21 at the time of the landmark legislation’s passing — and nowhere near the Senate seat he won at 29 years old. Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.
Trump plans to ‘immediately’ reverse Biden’s ‘ridiculous’ ban on new oil and gas drilling along US coast
President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to immediately reverse President Biden’s new ban on offshore drilling along most of the U.S. coastline, but he faces major roadblocks under a 70-year, irrevocable law. Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump vowed that, if elected, he would expand oil and gas drilling in an effort to bolster American-made energy. However, Biden issued an 11th-hour executive order Monday morning to forestall such actions exactly two weeks before his term ends, announcing a permanent stop to most new oil and gas drilling across U.S. coastal and offshore waters in an area that spans about 625 million acres. “It’s ridiculous. I’ll unban it immediately,” Trump said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on Monday. “What’s he doing?” BIDEN MOVING TO BAN OIL AND GAS LEASES FOR 20 YEARS IN NEVADA REGION, JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURATION “We can’t let that happen to our country,” Trump added. “It’s really our greatest economic asset.” The executive order, issued under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), seeks to block future oil and natural gas leasing along the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea. Trump said that he “has the right” to reverse such an action, but given that Biden issued the order under a 1953 law that allows the president to enact bans on oil and gas development, he would not be able to simply reverse it. TRUMP TELLS EU TO BUY MORE AMERICAN-MADE OIL AND GAS OR FACE ‘TARIFFS ALL THE WAY’ In 2019, during Trump’s first term, a federal judge ruled that OCSLA does not permit presidents to overturn bans established by previous administrations. This means Trump would need congressional approval to reverse Biden’s decision. Biden said that his decision stemmed from his efforts to curb climate change – one of dozens of moves from the Democratic president’s green energy agenda. “My decision reflects what coastal communities, businesses, and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said in a statement. “It is not worth the risks. As the climate crisis continues to threaten communities across the country and we are transitioning to a clean energy economy, now is the time to protect these coasts for our children and grandchildren.” Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, also issued a statement criticizing Biden’s order. “This is a disgraceful decision designed to exact political revenge on the American people who gave President Trump a mandate to increase drilling and lower gas prices. Rest assured, Joe Biden will fail, and we will drill, baby, drill,” Leavitt said.
Tidal wave of border security bills hit House as Republicans move fast on DC takeover
The legislative gears are already turning in Congress as Republicans prepare a slew of border security and other conservative policy bills for President-elect Donald Trump two weeks ahead of his inauguration. Friday marked the first day of the 119th Congress, meaning any bills not signed into law by President Biden must already be introduced and passed again, even if they passed one or both chambers in the previous term. Republicans appeared to waste no time in doing that. The most recent Congressional record shows lawmakers re-introduced several bills that Democrats and even some GOP lawmakers dismissed as “messaging” efforts as recently as last year. Among them is the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, which would require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON TRUMP’S RETURN TO THE WHITE HOUSE Another bill re-introduced on Friday was the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., which would mandate deportation of migrants found to have committed sex crimes. “Let’s get it passed through both chambers of Congress this go around,” Mace wrote on social media over the weekend. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced that the House would vote this week on the Laken Riley Act, named after an Augusta University nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant early last year. The legislation would require federal immigration authorities to issue detainers and take custody of illegal immigrants who commit theft-related crimes. It passed the House with some Democratic support but was not taken up in the Senate, which was led by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. CHECK OUT WHO TRUMP’S PICKED TO HELP STEER HIS SECOND PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION Now, however, Republicans are poised to control all the levers of power in Washington after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. “If the Senate will do its job, President Trump will make it law,” Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who introduced the bill, said in a statement. A fourth bill, among others, was re-introduced by Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., and aimed at defunding sanctuary cities. Other Republican priorities introduced last year but which never received Biden’s signature were also reintroduced, like Roy’s bill alongside new House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., to levy sanctions on the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel. It is a glimpse into the specifics of how Republicans intend to carry out their promise of securing the border. GOP lawmakers appear to be moving fast to deliver on Trump’s wish for a highly active first 100 days of Congress. Over the weekend, GOP lawmakers began crafting plans for a massive conservative policy overhaul bill, aimed at including elements of border security, energy policy, tax cuts and defense measures.