Texas Weekly Online

‘America first’ vs. ‘America last’: What does Trump’s return mean for US foreign policy?

‘America first’ vs. ‘America last’: What does Trump’s return mean for US foreign policy?

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House next month, what sort of foreign policy can Americans expect during his second stint in the Oval Office? Trump will pursue an “America first foreign policy,” J. Michael Waller, senior analyst for strategy at the Center for Security Policy, suggested during an interview with Fox News Digital, describing Biden’s approach as “America last.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is advocating for the soon-to-be commander in chief to significantly increase military spending in a bid to build up the nation’s “hard power.” The long-serving lawmaker is also warning against an isolationist approach to foreign policy, asserting in a piece on Foreign Affairs that “the response to four years of weakness must not be four years of isolation.” MCCONNELL WARNS RFK JR. TO STEER CLEAR OF THE POLIO VACCINE “Trump would be wise to build his foreign policy on the enduring cornerstone of U.S. leadership: hard power. To reverse the neglect of military strength, his administration must commit to a significant and sustained increase in defense spending, generational investments in the defense industrial base, and urgent reforms to speed the United States’ development of new capabilities and to expand allies’ and partners’ access to them,” McConnell contended. “To pretend that the United States can focus on just one threat at a time, that its credibility is divisible, or that it can afford to shrug off faraway chaos as irrelevant is to ignore its global interests and its adversaries’ global designs,” he argued. Waller, who authored the book “Big Intel,” explained that America-first foreign policy does not mean isolationism.  “It means for the United States to define its national interests very strictly,” without suggesting that every crisis around the globe is “of vital, existential interest to our country,” he noted. Waller opined in Foreign Affairs that McConnell was seeking to “maintain the uniparty consensus for the United States’ present global commitments that are stretching us beyond our means … without even stepping back to reassess what is really in our national interests and how can we best marshal our resources to ensure them.” Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to request comment from McConnell, but did not receive a response. US ‘CLOSER THAN EVER’ TO REACHING HOSTAGE DEAL BECAUSE OF TRUMP, GOP REP SAYS Trump has tapped Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., for secretary of state, a choice Waller graded as a “really good pick.”  Regarding the ongoing Ukraine–Russia conflict, Rubio has said that the U.S. is funding a “stalemate war.” Trump has called for a ceasefire. “There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse,” he declared in a post on Truth Social. FETTERMAN MEETS WITH TRUMP NOMINEES, PLEDGES ‘OPEN-MIND AND AN INFORMED OPINION’ FOR CONFIRMATION VOTES Trump has also called for the release of hostages in the Middle East, warning in a post on Truth Social that if they are not released by when he assumes office, “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America,” he declared.

Here’s what happens during a partial government shutdown

Here’s what happens during a partial government shutdown

When the federal government shuts its doors, Americans get a glimpse at a long-debated question in Washington: How much government is too much? Here’s what happens during a partial government shutdown, which typically happens when Congress has failed to pass new bills authorizing spending. Federal agencies and services deemed “nonessential” can expect to halt their operations, while “essential” services continue to function. Examples of “essential” agencies include national security, Border Patrol, law enforcement, disaster response and more.  What’s more, funding for certain programs, like Social Security, and some agencies such as the Postal Service, operate separately from the yearly appropriations process. HOUSE GOP LEADERS SCRAMBLE FOR PLAN B AFTER TRUMP, MUSK LEAD CONSERVATIVE FURY AGAINST SPENDING BILL A shutdown lasting less than two weeks would likely have minimal impact, as federal employees would still receive their paychecks on schedule. Longer shutdowns, meanwhile, are usually accompanied by retroactive pay for government workers and congressional staff. As a result, the actual effects of a shutdown tend to be far less severe than how it’s typically described. Partial government shutdowns can also be seen as an opportunity by some lawmakers to address unsustainable federal spending. The U.S. national debt exceeds $35 trillion, and many argue that allowing the government to function indefinitely without addressing wasteful spending is irresponsible. Shutdowns can thus force Congress to make decisions about funding priorities and eliminate bloated programs. MATT GAETZ REPORT BY HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE TO BE RELEASED The federal government’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, requiring Congress to pass a set of appropriations bills by the end of September to fund operations. If Congress fails to act, legal safeguards prevent executive agencies from spending money without legislative approval, effectively limiting government functions. The annual congressional budget process begins in early February, when the president submits a budget proposal to Congress, offering recommendations for federal spending across all areas of government.  By mid-April, Congress is expected to adopt a budget resolution that establishes overall spending limits and guidelines. Throughout late spring and summer, House and Senate Appropriations Committees work on drafting 12 bills to allocate funding for specific federal agencies and programs. These bills must be passed by Congress by Sept. 30 to prevent a partial government shutdown. The deadline to pass a continuing resolution (CR), which is a temporary funding patch, is 11:59:59 pm ET on Friday. Without one, the federal government enters a partial shutdown on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Where’s Biden? Lame-duck president slammed for ‘quiet quitting’ amid major government funding battle

Where’s Biden? Lame-duck president slammed for ‘quiet quitting’ amid major government funding battle

President Biden was blasted for “quiet quitting” and failing to lead his fellow Democrats amid the ongoing fiscal battle in Congress that could lead to a government shutdown just days before Christmas. Text of the 1,500-page funding bill needed to keep the government operating as usual was released Tuesday evening, just three days before the current funding cycle ends. However, President-elect Trump threw a wrench in lawmakers’ plans after he demanded Republicans renegotiate the bill to include an increase in the debt ceiling and a reduction in certain Democratic spending initiatives, which Trump described as “Democrat giveaways.” Biden was home in Wilmington, Delaware, attending a memorial service for his late ex-wife and baby daughter, when news of Trump’s demands came down. He will return to the nation’s capital later this afternoon.  FORMER OBAMA AIDES MOCK BIDEN ‘DISAPPEARING’ IN FINAL MONTHS OF PRESIDENCY: ‘TRUMP ISN’T PRESIDENT YET’ Thus far, the lame-duck president has not commented on the ongoing spending battle in Congress, but on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a statement deriding Trump for “playing politics.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House to inquire whether Biden expects to speak about the legislative battle, but did not receive a response. “Presidents are elected to four-year terms, but Joe Biden long ago ceded the mantle of leadership and the responsibilities of governing. While the rest of the country is busy at work in the last week before Christmas, the president is on vacation in Delaware and the country he ostensibly still oversees is careening toward a fiscal cliff,” GOP strategist Colin Reed said. Reed added that it was “not surprising” to him that Biden’s administration “is seemingly content to slink away before their term even ends.” Reed said it wasn’t surprising either that Americans “voted for a new direction last month.” Meanwhile, in addition to Republicans, former aides for former President Barack Obama, a cohort known as the “Obama bros” who run a popular liberal-leaning podcast, also slammed Biden for his absence, telling listeners of their podcast this week that it is becoming “easier and easier to forget” that Trump isn’t in the White House yet. A recent report from The New York Times also noted that Biden has been “a little older and a little slower” in the final days of his presidency.    “I can’t quite figure it out. He seems to be doing some sort of ‘quiet quitting,’” GOP campaign expert David Kochel said. BIDEN ‘A LITTLE OLDER AND A LITTLE SLOWER’ IN THE FINAL DAYS OF HIS PRESIDENCY: NEW YORK TIMES REPORT Kochel pointed out that in addition to being absent amid the government spending fight, Biden was also absent at the reopening ceremony for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which dozens of heads of state attended. “For the country’s second Catholic president to skip the reopening of Notre Dame, while Trump and Jill Biden attended, one has to wonder if he’s just basically given up,” Kochel questioned. “That said, does he even possess the leadership skills and acuity at this point to have any real impact on the government funding issue? I doubt it.” Biden’s Cabinet officials seemingly feel different, however. Several of them reiterated their faith in Biden’s ability to fulfill his duties for the remainder of his lame-duck presidency this week, despite concerns over his old age and apparent diminished cognitive functioning.   “Maybe it’s for the best he just fades into the woodwork. It is truly bizarre, though, how much he has disappeared. I think even Democrats are scratching their heads,” Kochel said. Michael Chamberlain, director of ethics watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust, said a lack of leadership from Biden “has essentially been the Biden-Harris administration’s MO from nearly the beginning.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This vacuum has been evident on ethics and transparency, as well as scientific integrity, and other areas. The administration that was supposed to be a ‘return to normalcy,’ promising to be the most ethical and transparent in history, has proven to be anything but,” Chamberlain said. “Sadly, the abdication of leadership in these spaces seems to have expanded to encompass every aspect of the presidency.” Earlier this month, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients sent a memo to staff outlining the final priorities for the Biden administration during its last days before Trump takes over. “Let’s finish strong,” he said. 

Texas AG’s lawsuit sets up a red versus blue state abortion battle

Texas AG’s lawsuit sets up a red versus blue state abortion battle

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing a New York-based abortionist for violating Texas law by shipping abortion drugs into the state. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, however, is pushing back, saying a recently passed “shield law” protects abortion providers from prosecution by other states, setting the stage for what some call an abortion “civil war” scenario. Paxton released a statement saying the out-of-state doctor “caused serious harm” to the Texas woman and explained he was launching the suit because, “in Texas, we treasure the health and lives of mothers and babies, and this is why out-of-state doctors may not illegally and dangerously prescribe abortion-inducing drugs to Texas residents.” The lawsuit, filed in the federal District Court for Collin County, posits that New York abortionist Dr. Margaret Carpenter violated Texas law and endangered a 20-year-old Texas woman by illegally shipping drugs into the state without first conducting an in-person examination of the woman to determine the gestational age of her baby.  PRO-LIFE GROUPS SOUND OFF AFTER TRUMP SAYS HE WILL NOT RESTRICT ABORTION PILLS: ‘SERIOUS AND GROWING THREAT’ Chemical abortions, which now account for more than 60% of all U.S. abortions, are known to present a risk of severe complications and infection in some cases. Despite this, the Biden administration further rolled back restrictions on chemical abortion, permanently allowing the drugs to be prescribed via telemedicine, shipped through mail and obtained at retail pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens. Some states, however, including Texas, continue to restrict chemical abortion from being distributed through the mail or without a doctor’s consultation. The 20-year-old Texas woman who obtained the abortion pills from Carpenter ended up being admitted to a local hospital because of a hemorrhage or severe bleeding as a result of the drugs, according to the Paxton lawsuit. “Carpenter provided abortion-inducing drugs to the pregnant Collin County woman, which caused an adverse event or abortion complication and resulted in a medical abortion,” the suit claims. “Carpenter’s knowing and continuing violations of Texas law places women and unborn children in Texas at risk.” HOSPITAL THAT DELAYED EMERGENCY ABORTION BEARS BLAME FOR GEORGIA WOMAN’S DEATH, FAMILY’S LAWYER CLAIMS The suit requests civil penalties and a permanent block on Carpenter from sending more abortion drugs to Texas women. However, New York state has a so-called “shield” law that explicitly protects abortion providers from prosecution for prescribing abortion pills to patients in states where it is illegal. This is the first legal challenge to be launched by a state pitting one set of abortion laws against that of another. Hochul responded to the Texas lawsuit by saying, “I will do everything in my power to enforce the laws of New York State.” “No doctor should be punished for providing necessary care to their patients,” she said, adding, “As Texas attempts to limit women’s rights, I’m committed to maintaining New York’s status as a safe harbor for all who seek abortion care, and protecting the reproductive freedom of all New Yorkers.” JUDGE BLOCKS NY AG LETITIA JAMES FROM TRYING TO SILENCE PREGNANCY CENTERS THAT PROMOTE ABORTION PILL REVERSAL Experts believe the Texas challenge could eventually be bound for the Supreme Court. Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy for the pro-life group Students for Life Action, told Fox News Digital that she is hopeful the Texas lawsuit makes its way to the Supreme Court so that it could re-examine the question of national safeguards on abortion pills. Hamrick said that though the Supreme Court ruled against re-implementing abortion pill restrictions in a case called AHM v. FDA earlier this year, the court made it clear they were not shutting the door on restoring the safeguards through another case. “The Supreme Court did not say that everything with the pills was great, they could be sold as they were [and] there were no problems with the pills,” she explained. “What the Supreme Court said is you need to go back and start again, you’ve come to us with the wrong victims, they didn’t have what the court called ‘standing.’”  BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PRESSURING AFRICAN COUNTRY TO ADOPT LAX ABORTION LAWS IN EXCHANGE FOR FOREIGN AID: REPORT “So, the three states have already joined in saying we have standing, we are a victim because we are paying higher emergency room bills because of these pills,” she went on. “The state has a right to defend its laws. So, the state, on the face of it, has a right to defend itself and its laws and the laws of its citizens and its duly elected representatives. So, yeah, they have standing.” Students for Life Action recently launched its own challenge against abortion pills in the form of what is called a “citizen petition.” The petition demands the FDA delay its plans to broaden the use of abortion drugs once again, this time to treat miscarriages, until the agency re-examines how the pills are contaminating the nation’s water supply. “The Biden-Harris administration during COVID essentially created a de facto right to pollute and that pathological medical waste [from abortion pills] is going into the water supply across America, no one is checking on that,” she said. “Abortion and miscarriage are not the same. But if you’re going to conflate that and then hand out even more of these drugs without any environmental assessment, without any sense of the health and safety risks, that is reckless and dangerous and that is federal.”

Biden admin officials noticed stamina issues in president’s first few months in office: report

Biden admin officials noticed stamina issues in president’s first few months in office: report

Members of President Biden’s staff noticed his fading stamina and increasing confusion within the first few months of him entering office, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal. The Journal based its report on interviews with nearly 50 people, including current and former White House staffers who interacted directly with the president, as well as lawmakers. One former aide recalled a national security official explaining why a meeting in the spring of 2021 was canceled altogether. “He has good days and bad days, and today was a bad day so we’re going to address this tomorrow,” he recalled the official saying. Democratic lawmakers in Congress reported that Biden was less available than past presidents. He had few meetings with members of Congress, and those meetings were often brief, they said. BIDEN IS SAYING ‘SCREW YOU’ TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, BEN FERGUSON ARGUES “The Biden White House was more insulated than most,” Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., told the Journal. “I spoke with Barack Obama on a number of occasions when he was president and I wasn’t even chairman of the committee.” “I really had no personal contact with this president. I had more personal contact with Obama, which is sort of strange because I was a lot more junior,” Rep Jim Himes, D-Conn., echoed. BIDEN’S PRESIDENCY WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE ‘MAN THAT WAS TOO OLD,’ SAYS BYRON YORK Even members of Biden’s own Cabinet soon stopped requesting calls with the president, perceiving from interactions with staff that calls were unwelcome, WSJ reported. A source familiar with the Journal’s reporting said the outlet had on-record interviews with a number of Cabinet members who rejected claims that Biden lacks mental acuity. Those Cabinet members included Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and EPA Administrator Michael Regan and others, the source said. The Journal did not include their comments in its report. Biden held fewer than half as many full Cabinet meetings as his most recent predecessors. President-elect Trump held 25 such meetings and former President Obama held 19 in their first terms, but Biden had just eight. The White House pushed back on the substance of the Journal’s report in a statement provided to Fox News Digital, saying Biden’s policy accomplishments provide “indisputable proof” of his qualifications and leadership. “President Biden speaks with members of his Cabinet daily, and with most members multiple times a week, staying in close touch with them about implementation of key laws and strengthening our national security. During every presidency, there are inevitably some in Washington who do not receive as much time with whomever the president is as they would prefer; but that never means that the president isn’t engaging thoroughly with others, as this president does,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates. “Cabinet meetings are an important tradition, but the contemporary work environment means they can be fewer and far between. As academics who study the presidency have emphasized, every member of the Cabinet – to say nothing of the President – are busy principals and more can be accomplished on behalf of the American people speaking with the President one-on-one or in smaller settings with officials who have related portfolios,” he added. Fox News Digital reached out to Cabinet officials and their departments, asking them if they believed Biden was fit to serve this week, and if they stood by past statements of confidence in his ability to continue. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, in a statement in September, said that he has “full confidence in President Biden’s ability to carry out his job.  BIDEN’S AGE MUCH MORE OF A LIABILITY THAN TRUMP’S, POLL FINDS AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE “As I’ve said before, I come fully prepared for my meetings with President Biden, knowing his questions will be detail-oriented, probing, and exacting. In our exchanges, the President always draws upon our prior conversations and past events in analyzing the issues and reaching his conclusions,” he said. On Monday, DHS said that the secretary stands by those comments. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has called Biden “one of the most accomplished presidents in American history and continues to effectively lead our country with a steady hand.” “As someone who is actually in the room when the President meets with the Cabinet and foreign leaders, I can tell you he is an incisive and extraordinary leader,” Raimondo said. A spokesperson said this week that Raimondo stands by those comments. Sabrina Singh, deputy Pentagon press secretary, told Fox in September: “As Secretary Austin has said before, he has watched President Biden make tough national security decisions and seen his commitment to keeping our troops safe – he has nothing but total confidence in our Commander-in-Chief.” This week, Singh said those comments still stand.

Some House Republicans privately furious at Musk, Ramaswamy after government shutdown talks implode

Some House Republicans privately furious at Musk, Ramaswamy after government shutdown talks implode

Some House Republicans are privately fuming after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy got involved in congressional talks on government funding, leading the charge to tank a bipartisan deal. Several GOP lawmakers granted anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive situation were either frustrated about the pair getting involved or believe they exacerbated long-standing weaknesses within the House Republican Conference. “Musk and Vivek should not have jumped in at the 11th hour and should have handled it directly with the speaker. Folks on the same side shouldn’t act like these two,” one House Republican said. “They’re more about the clicks and bright lights than getting the job done. I’ll have nothing to do with them after watching them publicly trash the speaker.” A second GOP lawmaker said, “If Elon and Vivek are freelancing and shooting off the hip without coordination with [President-elect Trump], they are getting dangerously close to undermining the actual 47th President of the United States.” CAPITOL HILL BRACES FOR HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN OVER $36T US DEBT CRISIS A third lawmaker accused Ramaswamy of distorting facts. “He didn’t read the entire [continuing resolution] and the vast majority of what he was talking about is misinformation,” they said. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was gearing up to hold a vote on a bipartisan, 1,547-page deal to extend current government funding levels through March 14 – known as a continuing resolution (CR). The goal was to give congressional negotiators more time to cobble together an agreement on how to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2025, while also kicking the fight into a term where Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INTERIM SPENDING BILL But GOP hardliners were furious about what they saw as unrelated measures and policy riders being added to the bill at the last minute. In addition to averting a partial government shutdown through March 14, the bill also includes provisions on health care and ethanol fuel, plus more than $100 billion in disaster aid funding, measures to fund the rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge and the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009. Musk and Ramaswamy soon joined the opposition, with Musk even threatening to back primary challengers to Republicans who supported the CR. Less than 24 hours after the legislation was released, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters the bill was dead. House GOP leaders have been working toward a plan B, but it’s unclear they’ll get much, if any, Democratic support.  A fourth House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital said of Musk’s involvement, “I think he influenced weak members who didn’t have direction until he tweeted.” “He’s just highlighting bad governance and indirectly a weak legislative branch,” they said. JOHNSON HIT WITH POSSIBLE SPEAKERSHIP RIVALS AS CONSERVATIVES REBEL OVER GOVERNMENT FUNDING PLAN Trump, meanwhile, threatened to primary Republicans who supported a “clean” CR without an increase of the debt limit – which expires January 2025. The issue threw a wrench into negotiations on Wednesday night, given the months-long and politically brutal talks that normally accompany a debt limit increase or suspension. One Republican bristled at his threat: “Trump threatening to ‘primary’ us also reduces his standing with many of us. I don’t want anything to do with him.”