Karine Jean-Pierre peppered with questions about Hunter Biden in first televised press briefing since pardon
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was bombarded with questions from reporters in the first televised press briefing since President Biden pardoned son Hunter Biden. She also spoke to reporters earlier this week from Air Force One. “The statement that he put out on Sunday when he made this decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, it’s in his own voice,” Jean-Pierre said after she was asked about Hunter Biden’s pardon by an Associated Press reporter. “I think it takes you through his thinking. And he did. He wrestled with this. He wrestled with this, and again, he said in his statement, in his own voice, that he made that decision this past weekend.” TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6’ HOSTAGES IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’ The president and Jean-Pierre said unequivocally when asked over the summer that the president would not pardon his son. Jean-Pierre insisted “circumstances have changed.” “Republicans said they weren’t going to let up, weren’t going to stop,” she said. “Recently announced Trump appointees for law enforcement have said on the campaign that they were out for retribution, and I think we should believe their words, right? We should believe what they say.” She added that the president said in his statement that Hunter and the Biden family had been through “enough.” “And he wrestled with these circumstances, the change in circumstances, ultimately, and the combination of that … certainly led to the president changing his mind and issuing this pardon,” she explained. But reporters continued to press her on the issue, asking whether the American people were owed an apology. Jean-Pierre appeared to evade the question, instead urging people to read the president’s statement. HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, SAYS HE WON’T TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED “He wrestled with it,” she reiterated. “He wrestled with it and made this decision. That’s what I can tell the American people. “I think the American people understand, and I think they understand how difficult this decision would be. And I would actually add, and I think it’s important to note here, as you’re asking me these questions — important questions to ask — that there was a poll, a U.S. Gov poll that came out that, some of you all reported on it. “And it said 64% of the American people agree with the pardon — 64% of the American people. So, we get a sense of where the American people are on this. Obviously, it’s one poll, but it gives you a little bit of insight. Sixty-four percent is nothing to sneeze at.” She noted that some legal experts have said “no one would be criminally prosecuted with felony offenses with these facts,” claiming Hunter Biden was politically targeted. Hunter Biden was convicted on three felony charges related to illegally owning a gun while being a drug user. He also pleaded guilty in a federal tax case. She was also asked if the president has concerns about his credibility regarding the pardon and about allegations he “misled the public.” “Virtually no one would be criminally prosecuted with family offenses, with these facts. Whether it’s absent aggravated factors, similar charges are rarely brought,” she said, again pointing to Biden’s statement. One reporter also noted that Biden has received “swift criticism” from members of his own party who call it a “setback,” worrying that President-elect Trump and Republicans could use the pardon against them in the future. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “He’s going to focus on the American people,” Jean-Pierre responded when asked if he felt the need to respond to Democratic criticism.
Blue state county tees up vote on ‘knee-jerk’ resolution to protect illegal immigrants from deportations
San Diego County will soon vote on a resolution to block all county cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including letting them know about the release of criminal illegal immigrants — coming just weeks before the Trump administration is expected to launch a historic deportation campaign. The resolution would go further than the state’s sanctuary law, which generally limits law enforcement’s cooperation with ICE, and represents a hardline stance against all cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The new resolution, which will see a vote on December 10 as part of the county’s “commitment to social justice and inclusion,” will say that the county will not provide assistance or cooperation to ICE “including by giving ICE agents access to individuals or allowing them to use County facilities for investigative interviews or other purposes, expending County time or resources responding to ICE inquiries or communicating with ICE regarding individuals’ incarceration status or release dates, or otherwise participating in any civil immigration enforcement activities.” ANOTHER MAJOR BLUE CITY DOUBLES DOWN ON VOW TO OBSTRUCT TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PLAN “When federal immigration authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Border Patrol, coerce local law enforcement to carry out deportations, family members are separated and community trust in law enforcement and local government is destroyed,” an overview of the resolution claims. “Witnesses and victims who are undocumented or who have loved ones who are undocumented are afraid to come to the County for help, which includes calling local law enforcement. This puts the public safety of all San Diegans at risk.” San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas said that California’s current sanctuary laws restricting ICE deportations don’t go far enough. “While the California Values Act significantly expanded protection from deportation to California residents, it fell short of protecting all residents, because it allowed agencies to still notify ICE of release dates and transfers individuals to ICE without a warrant in some circumstances,” she said. TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP REVEALS ROADMAP TO REBUILD NEW US IMMIGRATION SYSTEM ‘FROM THE ASHES’ She argues that the “loophole” has resulted in some illegal immigrants being transferred to ICE custody or ICE being notified of their release. The resolution is similar to a 2019 policy adopted in Santa Clara County. “By avoiding active cooperation with ICE, including through specific notification to ICE of the release dates of immigrants, the County avoids treating a group of individuals differently solely on the basis of their immigration status,” she says. Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who opposes the resolution, says he believes the resolution will pass, given the Democratic makeup of the board of supervisors. He said he believed the move was in line with a broader effort by the state to “Trump-proof” the state, and called it a “knee-jerk” reaction. “This is going to really impede different agencies and working together to make sure that everyone’s safe, even the immigrants that are here now that have come across the border. This is going to hurt their communities even worse,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview. “I think this is going to allow more criminals who are here illegally to stay in San Diego County, and to get away with these kinds of crimes to where law enforcement can’t work with immigration or with ICE on a much broader group of crimes. So, it’s going to allow more rampant crime here and make our cities and our communities less safe.” FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR ON IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY IN 2025 Multiple officials at state and local level across the U.S. have said they will not cooperate with the upcoming deportation campaign by the new Trump administration. In Boston this week, the city council unanimously voted for a resolution to protect illegal immigrants from “unjust enforcement actions” and restricting Boston police from cooperating with ICE. However, some Republican states have said they will help the administration in its plans, with Texas going a step further and offering land on which to stage the deportation operation.
Top Midwestern university becomes latest college to roll back DEI initiatives as trend goes national
The University of Michigan is the latest public university to dismantle its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) as part of its faculty requirements, making it one of several universities this year to roll back DEI initiatives. “The University of Michigan will no longer solicit diversity statements as part of faculty hiring, promotion and tenure,” the school said in a news release Thursday. University of Michigan Provost Laurie McCauley announced the decision to stop using the diversity statements following an Oct. 31 recommendation from a faculty working group, the university said. The group reportedly criticized the statements “for their potential to limit freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus.” DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER RANTS ABOUT ‘THE WHITE MAN’ DURING HEARING ON THE DISMANTLE DEI ACT “As we pursue this challenging and complex work, we will continuously refine our approach,” McCauley said. The university chose not to implement two other recommendations from the working group: integrating DEI content into teaching, research and service statements, and enhancing training on how to write and assess them. Several other public universities this year have also rolled back their DEI initiatives and requirements. CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OFFICIAL COMPARED ‘SAVE GIRLS SPORTS’ SHIRT TO SWASTIKA, REBUKED GIRLS WEARING IT: LAWSUIT Following Senate Bill 17 being signed into law this year, Texas public universities eliminated DEI offices, DEI-related positions and mandatory DEI training. This included layoffs and restructuring at institutions like the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. The University of North Carolina system redirected millions from DEI initiatives to public safety and discontinued DEI programs on campuses in May. The state also prohibited mandatory diversity statements for job applications in academia. SOTOMAYOR COMPARES TRANS MEDICAL ‘TREATMENTS’ TO ASPIRIN IN QUESTION ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS DURING ORAL ARGUMENTS Iowa’s three public universities — the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa — began eliminating DEI offices and reallocating funds after a state law was passed earlier this year. Last year, Florida’s restrictions on DEI in public universities were part of a broader set of education reforms implemented under Gov. Ron DeSantis, following the passage of legislation targeting DEI programs. Universities aren’t the only institutions rolling back DEI initiatives, and during his campaign, President-elect Trump vowed to eliminate DEI programs in federal agencies. In 2020, then-President Trump issued an executive order to ban “divisive” training for federal contractors. And the House Oversight Committee held a hearing last month about dismantling DEI policies. “It is a multibillion-dollar industry that pushes a left-wing, far-left ideological orthodoxy in essentially every area of American life, which is why I’ve begun to call it the ‘DEI enterprise,’ instead of just DEI, so that people have a sense of what I’m talking about,” Devon Westhill, a constitutional and civil rights attorney, told Fox News Digital in an interview. Over the last four years, the Biden-Harris administration has encouraged DEI initiatives across several sectors of the federal government. In 2021, President Biden widened an executive order directing agencies to assess and “remove barriers” to equal opportunity through DEI policies. Another executive order signed that year was a government-wide initiative to embed DEI principles in federal hiring.
Russian attacks across Ukraine kill at least 11 people
Governor says strike on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region sets a service station on fire, killing at least nine people. At least nine people have been killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, its governor says. Ivan Fedorov said the strike on Friday set a car garage and service station on fire. “Nine dead and six wounded,” Fedorov said in a post on Telegram alongside images of a fire blazing with debris strewn across a street. He added that two children, aged four and 11, were among those hurt. The attack comes after weeks of escalation in the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up its strikes at the start of winter. The Russian military also struck the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday, the local governor said, killing at least two people. The state emergency services agency said at least 16 others were wounded, including a child, while rescuers were searching for one missing person. “A three-storey building was destroyed, residential buildings and cars were damaged,” the agency said on Telegram. Kryvyi Rih, located about 80km (50 miles) from the front lines in southern Ukraine, has been targeted frequently by Russian aerial strikes since the country’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour. Advertisement Friday’s attacks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, in Belarus’s capital of Minsk, where the two leaders signed a mutual defence pact. Speaking alongside Lukashenko, Putin emphasised the new agreement includes the potential use of Russian tactical nuclear weapons deployed to Belarus in response to an aggression. Russia also could deploy its newly developed hypersonic Oreshnik missiles in Belarus in 2025 as it begins to ramp up production, the Russian president said. Moscow unveiled the nuclear-capable weapon last month in a strike on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, sharply escalating tensions. “As for the possibility of deploying, to put it bluntly, such formidable weapons as Oreshnik on Belarusian territory, … it will become possible, I think, in the second half of next year,” Putin said on Friday. Russia had already deployed tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in 2023. Putin and other Russian officials have repeatedly said such weapons deployed to Belarus remain under Moscow’s control, but the secretary of Belarus’s Security Council, Alexander Volfovich, said on Friday that their use would require Lukashenko’s approval. On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the recent use of the Oreshnik medium-range missile in Ukraine sought to make the West understand that Moscow was ready to use “any means” to stave off defeat. The Oreshnik launch on November 21 came after Ukraine carried out strikes against Russian military facilities in the Bryansk and Kursk regions with Western-supplied weapons. Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called Russia’s use of Oreshnik “the latest bout of Russian madness” and appealed to allies for updated air defence systems to meet the new threat. Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept. Adblock test (Why?)
Why is the opposition capture of Hama in Syria so important?
Opposition fighters in Syria captured the strategic city of Hama on Thursday in a matter of hours. Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which means the Committee for the Liberation of the Levant, led the offensive as they stormed the city. Government forces quickly retreated. Inhabitants appeared to welcome what many described as the liberation of their city from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s clutches. One HTS fighter, who did not want to give his name, told Al Jazeera after entering Hama: “Thank God we liberated the city of Hama and now we are securing [it]. With God’s blessing, we will enter the city of Homs next.” Analysts and observers believe antigovernment fighters could capture most of the country, but say Hama has a particular value for the Syrian opposition. This is what we know about the strategic and symbolic significance of the city. Why is Hama so significant in Syria? The city witnessed one of the most brutal acts of repression in Syrian history, analysts and observers say. Advertisement In 1982, al-Assad’s father, Hafez, who was then president, ordered the killing of members of the Muslim Brotherhood who were occupying the city. The targeted people were part of a movement trying to remove the al-Assads from power and had taken over the city after ambushing army troops. They killed senior officers and leaders within the government and looted their homes, according to a report by the European Council for Foreign Relations, a think tank based in the United Kingdom. The group’s operations attracted widespread support and triggered an uprising against the government in the city. The government responded by bombing Hama for several days while Syrian troops moved in to crush the uprising. Syrian opposition fighters standing on a mat bearing drawings of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father Hafez [AFP] In the following weeks, Syrian forces laid siege to the city, going door to door to kill, torture and arrest any young men they believed to be with the opposition, according to Amnesty International. It is estimated that between 10,000 and 40,000 people were killed in Hama – the precise figure is still unknown. “It was the awareness of the mass arrests and executions that terrified people,” said Robin Yassin-Kassab, an expert on Syria and the co-author of, Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War. “[The episode] made Syria a kingdom of silence,” he told Al Jazeera. The 2011 Syrian uprising momentarily shattered that barrier of fear. As protests swept the country, inhabitants of Hama gathered and sang “Yalla erhal ya Bashar,” which translates to “Come on and leave, Bashar!” Advertisement Protesters in Hama carried olive branches and crowds reached more than 500,000 people, activists told Al Jazeera in 2011. What did the Syrian regime do to Hama in 2011? All across Syria, government forces violently repressed demonstrations in 2011, including in Hama. For more than a decade, the regime barrel-bombed cities and arrested and tortured activists and perceived opponents. The government often relied on Alawi, as well as Shia, armed groups, both from Syria and across the region, to crack down on protesters. The Alawi sect in Syria is an offshoot of Shia Islam to which al-Assad and his family belong. Yassin-Kassab said many believe the barrier of fear has been shattered for a second time after rebel groups captured Aleppo and now Hama within days. In Hama, scenes of prisoners of conscience being liberated from the central prison prompted celebrations by Syrians. In the city, inhabitants tore down a statue of Hafez al-Assad. “I presumed Hama is where [the government and its loyalists] would put up a serious fight … but they weren’t capable,” said Yassin-Kassab. “After Hama [was liberated], I thought to myself: ‘The Syrian revolution is back.’” An abandoned Syrian army armoured vehicle sits on a field controlled by Syrian opposition fighters in the outskirts of Hama, on December 3, 2024 [Ghaith Alsayed/AP] Is Hama strategically important? Very much so. The capture of Hama allows rebel groups to keep moving down the Aleppo-Damascus M5 highway towards Homs, which if captured, could split apart the regime’s strongholds. Advertisement Opposition fighters appear to have reached the outskirts of the city, according to reports, while thousands of people have fled. Homs has a larger population of Alawis than Hama, but HTS has reportedly offered assurances that minorities in Syria will not be harmed. The city is effectively a gateway to Syria’s capital, Damascus, as well as to the coastal provinces of Tartous and Latakia, which are Alawi heartlands and where Russian naval and air bases are located. If Homs falls to the opposition, then opposition fighters are likely to push on to try to take Damascus, said Yassin-Kassab. “I do think if Homs falls, then that will be the beginning of the end for the [Assad regime],” he told Al Jazeera. Adblock test (Why?)
Food crisis as 1.5 million Syrians could be displaced, says WFP
NewsFeed The ongoing fighting in Syria is expected to displace around 1.5 million people, says the UN World Food Programme. This is a breaking point for a food crisis in the country where 12.9 million people are already considered food insecure. Published On 6 Dec 20246 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Texas’ maternal mortality committee faces backlash for not reviewing deaths from first two years post-Dobbs
Committee members said it was necessary to skip the two years after Texas passed its restrictive abortion laws to offer more timely recommendations.
GOP senator announces ‘DOGE Acts’ to back Musk, Ramaswamy government cost-cutting objectives
Sen. Marsha Blackburn will roll out a package of legislation backing up Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) objectives, as Republican lawmakers launch legislative efforts to rally behind the cost-cutting efforts. The Tennessee Republican announced her plans to unveil the “DOGE Acts” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. They would seek to move federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., freeze federal hiring and salaries for one year, and get federal workers back in the office. The GOP senator will reportedly unveil a series of measures that will mirror more of the framework being pushed by the new agency to cut government spending, according to the senators’ spokesperson. “I will be introducing legislation that coincides with @DOGE’s plan to make the federal government more efficient,” Blackburn said in a post on X. ‘WE’RE GOING TO GUT THE FISH’: REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY “My DOGE Act will freeze federal hiring, begin the process to relocate agencies out of the D.C. swamp, and establish a merit-based salary system for the federal workforce,” Blackburn said. A spokesperson for the senator later revealed that she plans to announce several of these bills. REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS “Senator Blackburn is planning to introduce a package of bills – known as the DOGE Acts – aimed at holding the federal government more accountable for managing taxpayer dollars next week,” Blackburn’s spokesperson said in a statement, the Hill reported. “The DOGE Acts coincides with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s plan to make the federal government more efficient.” Musk responded to the senator’s tweet, writing “thank you” in a post. The announcement came after Musk and Ramaswamy, the pair appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the efforts, spent the day meeting with lawmakers to discuss cost-cutting opportunities and objectives. Lawmakers told Fox News Digital that they were “very impressed” with the DOGE framework following their meetings with the duo. Along with Blackburn’s legislative plans, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate’s DOGE Caucus, unveiled a 60-page cost-cutting proposal during a meeting with GOP senators and Ramaswamy on Thursday. The DOGE efforts have already gained bipartisan support from Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., joining the House’s GOP-led congressional caucus. Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked whether he wanted Democratic members to be part of DOGE conversations, to which he was heard answering, “Yes.”
Dozens of prominent veterans sign onto letter supporting ‘outstanding’ Hegseth nomination amid controversies
EXCLUSIVE: A growing number of prominent veterans are signing onto an open letter endorsing Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth as he battles back allegations that may stymie his confirmation. The Heritage Foundation began collecting the signatures on Thursday and garnered more than 74 in that short time, a foundation official told Fox News Digital. “As military veterans and patriotic Americans, we are pleased to see an outstanding veteran nominated to lead the Department of Defense,” the letter begins. “Hegseth is a decorated combat veteran who served as an Infantry Officer in the Army National Guard, deploying overseas to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge.” HEGSETH SAYS HE’LL BE ‘STANDING RIGHT HERE IN THIS FIGHT’ The veterans state that Hegseth has “worked tirelessly” to support U.S. troops and that his experience and drive will lead him in rebuilding the military back to a “fighting force . . . capable of defending the national security interests of the American people.” They cite Hegseth’s long-held stance on “depoliticizing” the military and his rebuttals of “DEI”-type policies and other “toxic ideologies” they claim have been foisted upon troops in recent years. “Ending wokeness is just the start. The Pentagon is also bloated with bureaucracy and waste. The defense industrial base is failing to deliver,” the veterans wrote. “Cost overruns and delays have become the norm. The Department of Defense needs a Secretary of Defense willing to confront both the entrenched bureaucracy and the defense industry and force them to deliver the ships, planes, and munitions our troops need to confront America’s adversaries.” TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS Dan Caldwell is a veteran of the Marine Corps and Camp David security force who, along with his fellow adviser at the Center for Renewing America, three-time-deployed Marine Joseph Wade Miller, signed onto the letter. They join at least 40 other prominent veterans in supporting Hegseth’s nomination, as the former “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host faces allegations surrounding alcohol abuse and mistreatment of women. Eddie Gallagher, of the Pipe Hitters Foundation, also signed the letter. Gallagher launched the veteran defense-focused nonprofit after being found not guilty in a war crimes trial. James Jay Carafano, Rob Greenway, Wilson Beaver, Steve Bucci and Jeremy Hayes, all decorated military veterans who are advisers to, or fellows at, the Heritage Foundation, signed onto the missive. The letter also calls out the previous administration’s inability to secure the southern border and restore peace in Eurasia. “Pete Hegseth shares these priorities and is ready to execute the Commander in Chief’s agenda on day one. As proud American veterans, we stand with him and the President in this historic endeavor,” they write. Kevin Roberts, the president of Heritage, called Hegseth the “right kind of fighter for America” and a person who is ready to “clean up” the Pentagon. “At a time when bloat and woke initiatives detract from the core warfighting mission of our armed forces, we need a secretary like Pete who has both served in combat and advocated for veterans on Capitol Hill,” Roberts said separately from the letter. Victoria Coates, a former adviser on national security to both Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Hegseth would be “a literal breath of fresh air in the musty halls of the Pentagon.” On Thursday, Hegseth said he refused to back down from a fight as his nomination remains in limbo amid drinking and sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied any wrongdoing. “We’ve had great conversations, about who I am and what I believe,” Hegseth said of his meetings with senators. “And, frankly, the man I am today, because of my faith in my lord and savior Jesus Christ and my wife, Jenny, right here, I’m a different man than I was years ago.” That exchange followed the leak of a critical letter that Hegseth’s mother, Penelope, wrote to him years ago about his relationships with women. However, Penelope Hegseth told Fox News on Wednesday that she had written the email in an impassioned moment and later apologized for it. Multiple sources reported to Fox News that Trump is considering his former primary opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis – a retired Navy lieutenant commander – for the top Pentagon spot in case Hegseth falters. Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
Conservatives worry Congress won’t have ‘spine’ for spending overhaul after DOGE meetings
Republicans have big plans for spending cuts next year, but some GOP lawmakers are doubting Congress can muster the momentum for significant changes. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom President-elect Trump tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory panel on cutting spending and the national debt, were on Capitol Hill Thursday for a series of meetings with lawmakers on how Congress and the White House can work together to achieve that goal. And while that advisory panel is chiefly aimed at what executive actions Trump could take, lawmakers are conceding that significant, lasting change must be achieved through legislation. And some Republicans are skeptical they can get there. “The problem’s in that room,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., referring to other GOP lawmakers who met with Musk and Ramaswamy. GOP SENATORS ‘VERY IMPRESSED’ WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY DOGE FRAMEWORK AMID MEETINGS ON CAPITOL HILL “These guys, you know, they talk real tough,” but they did not vote in ways he believed showed they were serious about cutting spending. “You don’t see a lot of that. Now, when is that going to start? Is it going to start just because Elon and Vivek [address us]?” Burchett asked. “I just worry about us losing steam. … We’ve got to get some guts, and people have got to hold us accountable.” REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ FIRST DEMOCRAT TO JOIN CONGRESSIONAL DOGE CAUCUS Retiring Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., told Fox News “a lot of members” stood up to suggest ways to “save money” during Thursday afternoon’s brainstorming session with Republicans and the DOGE duo. “One would think more of them would have been willing to vote, cast votes on the floor of the House in order to do those things early,” Bishop added. The DOGE discussions have opened up longstanding wounds within the House GOP, whose members spent a significant amount of the 118th Congress battling among themselves over how to navigate government funding and other fiscal issues. The national debt recently surpassed $36 trillion. A senior House GOP aide expressed optimism about the new goal but added that Musk and Ramaswamy were “swinging for the fences.” “The hard part is once they find the stuff to cut, I think it’s Congress who has to do the actual cutting, right?” the aide said. Another senior GOP aide said, “The mission of DOGE is worthy and absolutely necessary, but nothing is going to change. We aren’t going to cut spending like we [have to] to get our fiscal house in order, and we aren’t going to slash waste at any significant level.” US NATIONAL DEBT HITS A NEW RECORD: $36 TRILLION Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, also skeptical, told Republicans at Thursday’s meeting they needed to “grow a spine” to actually move meaningful spending cuts. “I’ve said to my colleagues, ‘If you can’t print money, if, literally, it was banned today, what would you do?’ You would do what you do for your home budget. You would say, ‘Well, we can’t take a vacation here. I can’t get a fancy new car because I need to get braces for my child,’” Roy told WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor. “We don’t ever do that, and, until we do, all of the DOGE waste-cutting in the world won’t help. We’ve got to do both. We need the waste-cutting, but we need Congress to grow a spine.” MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT Some Republicans are skeptical of having Musk and Ramaswamy lead the charge. “They had no game plan — a wish list that they’re giving to Santa and the American people that will never be even remotely accomplished,” one GOP lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital of Thursday’s meeting. The GOP lawmaker called DOGE a “magical department that has been erected out of thin air,” and pointed out its logo was heavily inspired by a cryptocurrency known as “dogecoin” that Musk has backed. “They’re going to run into a brick wall called ‘members of Congress who know how to do our job,’” the lawmaker said.