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Top GOP rebel angles for powerful House leadership-backed committee post

Top GOP rebel angles for powerful House leadership-backed committee post

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is putting himself forward as a contender to be the next chair of the House Rules Committee, an influential panel that acts as the last gatekeeper for most bills before they get a House-wide vote. “I will defer to the speaker on that,” Roy said when asked about the chairmanship on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast this week. “Obviously, I have put my name out there.” It would be an astonishing ascent for a lawmaker who has been a vocal critic of House leadership on certain issues, particularly on government spending. More recently, however, the GOP rebel – and current policy chair of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus – has gained a reputation for being a conduit between GOP leaders and the lawmakers usually known for bucking their directives. REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY Roy got a seat on the House Rules Committee as part of a deal with ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in January 2023 to expand conservative representation – a piece of a wider compromise for McCarthy to win his short-lived House speakership. The Texas Republican was not one of the eight Republicans who later voted to oust McCarthy despite his early criticism – and was even publicly skeptical of his colleagues’ decision to do so. The House Rules Committee is the final stop for bills before a House-wide vote. The committee and its chair are responsible for dictating the terms of debate on a bill and what, if any, amendments will also get a vote. After a bill passes the House Rules Committee, it is then subject to a House-wide “rule vote” to allow for debate on the legislation before a vote on final passage. In his two years on the committee, Roy has voted against several House rules, which could put his hopes for the role in jeopardy. DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER He’s scored support from multiple colleagues, however – Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital on Thursday, “He’d be great. I support him 100%.” Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, wrote on X that Roy “will build the conservative coalition in the House needed to support President Trump’s priorities as Rule Committee chairman.” But unlike other committees, whose chairpersons are selected by a wider group of lawmakers, only the House speaker gets a say for the House Rules panel. “I think it’s important to have a rules chairman, whoever that may be, that will support leadership,” one GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak freely said about Roy’s bid.  “The speaker is going to get his agenda passed one way or the other, and so whoever he appoints to that – that’s going to be the deal. Because he can remove them and then replace them.” MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN Another GOP lawmaker said, “He’s one of the brightest and knows procedure, but most won’t trust him in that role.” Rumors are swirling that current House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., is also in contention for the role. Current House Rules Committee Chairman Michael Burgess, R-Texas, is retiring at the end of this year. 

Tren de Aragua are ideological terrorists disguised as a street gang warns former military officer

Tren de Aragua are ideological terrorists disguised as a street gang warns former military officer

A former high-ranking Venezuelan military officer is sounding the alarm about the migrant gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) being used as a tool of the Venezuelan government to sow violence and discord throughout the United States. Tren de Aragua, which means “Train from Aragua,” is a massive criminal and terrorist organization that originated a decade ago in a Venezuelan prison and is already present in more than 30 major U.S. cities. José Gustavo Arocha, a former lieutenant colonel in the Venezuelan army, told Fox News Digital that socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro is behind much of TdA’s growth and rapid expansion, first in Latin America and now in the U.S. VIOLENT VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA SPREADS TO ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST REMOTE STATES Arocha fled Venezuela to the United States in 2015 after being imprisoned by the Maduro regime for eight months. Since then, he said the situation has only worsened with Maduro asserting ever more control over the region. This year, Maduro retained control of the country by prevailing in a hotly contested election that was widely believed to be fraudulent.  “We have to understand also something of the Tren de Aragua, the TdA. It’s a state-sponsored Maduro regime organization,” he said. “The real boss of the Tren de Aragua is in Caracas, Venezuela. It is the Maduro regime, because they created TdA, and they use the TdA as a blackmail [tool] for any situation.” Arocha said the Maduro dictatorship’s counterintelligence agency – the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence, also known as “DGCIM” – has been using TdA as an asymmetrical warfare tool, giving itself “plausible deniability.” EX-ICE OFFICIAL WARNS TREN DE ARAGUA HAS GROWN FASTER INSIDE US THAN MURDEROUS RIVAL GANG: ‘PUT THEM OUT NOW’ Tren de Aragua first burst onto the scene in the U.S. when several members of the gang violently took control of an apartment building in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado. Since then, the gang has been responsible for a steady stream of violent attacks and gang-related crimes, including the high-profile murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia. While some media reports have portrayed TdA as a simple gang, Arocha said the group has been trained and enabled by the Venezuelan government and DGCIM to advance a specific agenda and criminal ideology. Even the name “train from Aragua,” he said, evidences the group’s intent to transport its ideology throughout the Western Hemisphere. Arocha said the Venezuelan government has already used TdA to inflict crippling crime waves in surrounding countries, helping to usher in a slate of socialist-friendly governments in Colombia, Peru and Chile.   “They want to create all sorts of chaos in countries in order to shape the contours of the borders and also to create a sensation of instability [and] criminality,” he said. “This kind of culture they are exporting outside from Venezuela, first of all [to] Latin America, and right now the U.S.” VENEZUELAN NATIONAL AND TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBER ARRESTED IN TRUMP’S BACKYARD According to Arocha, the Venezuelan government has seized on the historic migrant crisis under the Biden administration as a “big opportunity” to “create roots” in the U.S. The administration further worsened the situation by temporarily lifting key oil sanctions previously in place against Maduro. “Just imagine, there are more or less 8 million Venezuelan migrants. It’s a huge number,” he said. “If you look at that, it’s like a wall where it’s spreading all over the states. And when you take into consideration the bussing of the migrants from Texas to other states, they are spreading like a disease, like a virus, all over the country.” With President-elect Donald Trump soon to replace Biden, Arocha said Trump must put the destruction of Tren de Aragua at the “top” of the list of day-one priorities. While acknowledging that it’s crucial to close the southern border, Arocha said Tren de Aragua will simply return if the U.S. does not “contain” Maduro. “Just imagine that, OK, you take all of Tren de Aragua and send [them] to Venezuela or whatever country. It’s going to come back. That’s not going to finish the disease,” he said. “You have to combat the cause of TdA. The cause of the TdA is the behavior of the Maduro regime that is trying to hurt the American people by using this asymmetrical tool.” “The rule is to not give Maduro the ability to continue in Venezuela,” Arocha said. “What I mean is that if you let Maduro to have oil revenues, have the access to resources, you have to have TdA here in the United States.”

‘Politically motivated’ FBI treated conservatives like domestic terrorists on Wray’s watch: whistleblower

‘Politically motivated’ FBI treated conservatives like domestic terrorists on Wray’s watch: whistleblower

As FBI Director Christopher Wray is slated to resign after seven years of service in his 10-year tenure, questions about the bureau’s “political weaponization” have been reignited, with critics like President-elect Trump citing bias in domestic terrorism and civil rights probes. While Wray, who was appointed by Trump in his first term, has faced scrutiny from conservatives for a kind of political bias in the bureau, FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin said the FBI’s shift toward politicized agendas within its field offices began in the post-9/11 era when sweeping reforms and surveillance powers were granted the agency. “What people are seeing is the natural outgrowth of letting FBI agents, or FBI senior management, forecast what they think the crime is going to be in the country, being incentivized to be correct, because they’re going to be paid a monetary bonus at the end of it if they’re right, and then they go out and find that crime,” Seraphin told Fox News Digital. FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION “And so it looks very politicized,” he added. “But I think that’s actually just a mistake of the correlation. In reality, what’s going on is the FBI is serving the interests of the senior management, which is that they want to get paid, and the easiest way to get paid is to go round up MAGA people, which they fall under this category of … anti-government, anti-authority, violent extremists.” Over the last four years, the FBI has intensified its focus on domestic terrorists and targeting white supremacist activities. Between spring 2020 and September 2021, the FBI’s domestic terrorism caseload more than doubled, rising from approximately 1,000 to around 2,700 investigations, according to the Government Accountability Office. Wray testified in September 2020 that white supremacy is the largest category within domestic terrorism.  Over the last four years, the FBI has increased its focus on domestic terrorism, particularly targeting white supremacist activities. The agency’s caseload more than doubled from about 1,000 to 2,700 investigations between spring 2020 and September 2021, according to the Government Accountability Office. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified in September 2020 that white supremacy constitutes the largest domestic terrorism category. Critics, however, have questioned the FBI’s definition of domestic terrorism. Seraphin said a New Mexico field office prioritized “anti-abortion extremists” as the state’s third-highest national security threat. Separately over the summer, a Texas doctor was charged with four felonies for exposing alleged transgender surgeries on children at a hospital. “Everybody assumes that it’s about politics because the FBI has some really politically motivated leads,” Seraphin said. “The current deputy director, Paul Abbate, is very politically motivated, and he’s very hard leading to the left.” Seraphin blamed the FBI’s seemingly political bias on an integrated program management, a McKinsey & Company-designed system rewarding executives with large bonuses for meeting self-set metrics, including domestic extremism and terrorism. In December 2023, the House Judiciary Committee released a report titled “The FBI’s Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans.” The report followed Seraphin’s disclosure of an FBI memo labeling certain Catholic Americans as potential violent extremists. GRASSLEY RIPS WRAY’S ‘FAILED’ LEADERSHIP AT FBI WITH 11 PAGES OF EXAMPLES IN BLISTERING ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ LETTER “They use national security words to go after domestic individuals, and they have national security tools to look through your email to grab access to your comms, your phone calls, your text messages, your emails and so on,” Seraphin said. “They have the ability to look into your bank account and check out your financial records. And should they find evidence of a crime that is not related to what they’re searching for, the threat that they’re actually looking for?” “Do we want people to get away with crime? No, but we want the government to be accountable to the freaking Bill of Rights,” Seraphin said. In a December interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump said, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with him,” when asked if he would fire Wray upon entering his second non-consecutive presidential term.  “He invaded my home,” Trump said, referencing the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Trump announced at the end of November his nomination of Kash Patel – a Trump ally and previous chief of staff to the secretary of defense – as the next FBI director. Patel has been critical of the FBI’s handling of investigations relating to Trump. Seraphin, who said he has spoken to Patel about the bureau, said he may be “the most qualified” nominee for the role. “He understands what the FBI does to directors in order to maintain their status quo,” Seraphin said. “That makes him a very potentially disruptive force to the status quo. But I actually think he’ll be if he’s able to achieve the things that he said, which is going out there and rooting out the corruption, taking away the political things, making sure that the FBI is subservient to the Constitution.” WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’ Wray made his resignation announcement during an FBI virtual town hall from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, during which thousands of FBI employees across the country were expected to attend online. “After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration in January and then step down,” Wray said during the town hall. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission: the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” Wray also said his focus is and always has been on the FBI doing what is right. “When you look at where the threats are headed, it’s clear that the importance of our work

Legislators across political spectrum ‘equally angry’ over handling of drone sightings: New Jersey lawmaker

Legislators across political spectrum ‘equally angry’ over handling of drone sightings: New Jersey lawmaker

A New Jersey lawmaker says he “can’t believe” how the government is wording its investigation into recent drone sightings across northeast America. State Assemblyman Paul Kanitra joined “Fox News @ Night” on Thursday to discuss the bipartisan outrage at how the government is handling the drone sightings. “We’re a polarized society, but I can tell you when we were in ‘The Rock,’ our security building in New Jersey, and we had a hundred state legislators from across the political spectrum – upper house, lower house – everyone was equally angry at this situation,” Kanitra said. NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR RECEIVING BACKLASH FOR LACK OF CLARITY ON DRONE SIGHTINGS The first drone sighting took place in New Jersey on Nov. 18, the Federal Aviation Administration said earlier this month, prompting the agency to issue two temporary flight restrictions. Kanitra said he learned during an intelligence briefing for state legislators on Wednesday that there have been confirmed drone sightings “every night since then.” In a Facebook post, Kanitra said he implored the Department of Homeland Security during that briefing to “take swift and decisive action” against the drones, describing the situation as “infuriating.” NJ LAWMAKER FIRES BACK AFTER PENTAGON DISMISSES CLAIM DRONES MAY BE LINKED TO IRAN: ‘WEAKNESS AND STUPIDITY’ On Thursday, the White House said an investigation is in its beginning stages, but nothing, thus far, has revealed malicious or criminal intent, or a national security threat. “If these are foreign adversaries with these drones, and we’re a month into this already and we haven’t done nearly enough, I can’t believe that our government is wording this the way that they are,” he said on “Fox News @ Night.” Kanitra took a picture from a distance of apparent drones in the New Jersey sky on Thursday night. He said “these are not hobbyist drones” and the military should have the technology needed to get quality photos.

Sen. Blumenthal says mysterious drones spotted recently ‘should be shot down, if necessary’

Sen. Blumenthal says mysterious drones spotted recently ‘should be shot down, if necessary’

A U.S. Senator from Connecticut said the mysterious drones spotted recently flying over states in the mid-Atlantic region should be “shot down, if necessary.” In an interview on Capitol Hill Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said intelligence analysis is needed on the drones and the U.S. must act “more aggressively” against the sightings that have been reported. “We should be doing some very smart intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” the senator said. “They should be shot down, if necessary, because they’re flying over sensitive areas.” Blumenthal also said the lack of information on the drones, who they belong to and where they have come from is “absolutely unacceptable.” DRONES SPOTTED OVER CONNECTICUT SKY IN LATEST PHENOMENON His comments come as many large drones have been reported flying over New Jersey in the past few weeks. Drones were also allegedly spotted in Blumenthal’s state for the first time on Thursday. White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday that many of the alleged drones spotted recently are actually lawfully operated manned aircraft. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby told reporters at the daily White House press briefing. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the FBI are investigating these sightings, and they’re working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin.” Kirby also said, thus far, the investigation into the alleged drones has not revealed “any national security or malicious intent or criminal activity,” but admitted the government is in the beginning stages of the investigation.  MORE THAN 20 DAYS INTO PHENOMENON, PENTAGON STILL HAS NO ANSWERS ABOUT ORIGINS OF MYSTERIOUS NJ DRONES Blumenthal said his office is asking for a briefing on the drones, describing it as “absolutely necessary” for Congress and the American people as many appear to be concerned and afraid. “I’m hearing from constituents in the metropolitan area around New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, who are really terrified by these drones flying unidentified over airports and military bases,” he said. The senator added that the drones are causing a “level of fear, even terror” because people are worried about surveillance and airplanes flying in the same airspace. He also encouraged Americans wanting to use drones to buy ones manufactured in the USA and not China, warning that they could be “sources of surveillance data for other kinds of security threats.” “Chinese manufactured drones are real and present [a] threat to the security of this country,” Blumenthal said. “We have to stop using them.”