Lina Hidalgo receives ethics fine after endorsing a primary candidate at a Harris County press conference
The $500 fine from the Texas Ethics Commission comes after the agency found the Harris County judge broke state campaign laws barring use of government resources for political purposes.
Supreme Court mistakenly posts draft opinion in key Idaho abortion case
The U.S. Supreme Court mistakenly posted a draft of an opinion on a key abortion case to its website Wednesday before quickly taking it down. The opinion relates to whether Idaho hospitals are required to perform abortions in emergency situations despite a state law banning the act. Bloomberg News reported that the opinion was briefly posted to the website Wednesday morning before being taken down. Court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe confirmed to Fox News Digital that the opinion has not formally been posted. “The opinion in Moyle v. United States, No. 23-726, and Idaho v. United States, No. 23-727, has not been released,” she said in a statement. “The Court’s Publications Unit inadvertently and briefly uploaded a document to the Court’s website. The Court’s opinion in Moyle v. United States and Idaho v. United States will be issued in due course.” FBI MET WEEKLY WITH BIG TECH AHEAD OF THE 2020 ELECTION, AGENT TESTIFIES Bloomberg reported that the version of the opinion posted on Wednesday suggested that the court is prepared to side in the federal government’s favor. If accurate, hospitals in states with abortion bans will be required to administer abortions in emergency situations while the case continues to be litigated. The version of the opinion that was posted said it was premature to decide the case on the merits since lower courts had yet to do so, and that the matter should go back to a federal court of appeals. BIDEN LIKELY VIOLATED FIRST AMENDMENT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC, FEDERAL JUDGE SAYS Based on oral arguments in April, it was unclear from the public session how the court might eventually decide. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett asked aggressive questions of both sides. Idaho officials argued hospitals cannot be forced by the Biden administration to perform abortions in potential emergency situations if the state has a near-total ban on the procedure – with an exception only to save the life of the mother. SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS IN KEY FIRST AMENDMENT CASE CHALLENGING BIDEN ADMIN TEAMWORK WITH BIG TECH Meanwhile, the Justice Department argued the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires health care providers to give “stabilizing treatment” – including abortions – for patients when needed to treat an emergency medical condition, even if doing so might conflict with a state’s abortion restrictions. The Supreme Court will go into recess in a matter of days, and the Idaho ruling could be formally released later this week.
Top economists claim Trump will be an economic disaster—They said the same thing in 2016
A group of top economists published a letter this week warning voters that former President Trump would be a disaster for the economy if he wins election, but many of them made the same warnings in 2016. Of the 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists who signed Tuesday’s letter, at least nine made similar warnings about the economic danger of electing Trump in 2016. Their letter this election cycle highlights their fears about inflation. “Many Americans are concerned about inflation, which has come down remarkably fast. There is rightly a worry that Donald Trump will reignite this inflation, with his fiscally irresponsible budgets,” the economists wrote, according to Axios. The group is led by Joseph Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 2001. The other co-signers include George Akerlof (2001), Sir Angus Deaton (2015), Claudia Goldin (2023), Sir Oliver Hart (2016), Eric Maskin (2007), Daniel McFadden (2000), Paul Milgrom (2020), Roger Myerson (2007), Edmund Phelps (2006), Paul Romer (2018), Alvin Roth (2012), William Sharpe (1990), Robert Shiller (2013), Christopher Sims (2011) and Robert Wilson (2020). BIDEN CLAIMS TO SEE THE ECONOMY THROUGH THE EYES OF SCRANTON, NOT WALL STREET Several of the laureates were among a group of 370 economists who urged voters not to support Trump just days before the 2016 election. Others derided Trump’s economic policies both before and during his term. BIDEN’S HOMETOWN SPEAKS OUT ON BIDENOMICS The 2016 letter argued Trump “promotes magical thinking and conspiracy theories over sober assessments of feasible economic policy options.” They also said Trump had “a deep ignorance of economics and an inability to listen to credible experts.” “If elected, he poses a unique danger to the functioning of democratic and economic institutions, and to the prosperity of the country. For these reasons, we strongly recommend that you do not vote for Donald Trump,” they wrote. That letter featured signatures from Deaton, Hart, Maskin, Myerson, Phelps, Romer, Roth and Shiller. BIDEN’S MOVE TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS ON NOTORIOUS DICTATORSHIP RECEIVES BACKLASH “Academic economists are ruled out” of working in Trump’s administration “unless they’re some kind of extremist,” Shiller said in an interview with the Lindau Nobel Laureates group in 2017. Siglitz made similar criticisms of Trump ahead of the economic conference in Davos in 2016. “Unfortunately for [Republicans], I believe he is going to fail,” Siglitz said of Trump. “What he is doing is trying to create a protectionist wall, not to manage the economy better.” Hart also went into greater detail about his misgivings on Trump in a 2016 interview with CNBC. “I’m very concerned about the possibility of a Trump presidency,” he said days before the election. “I think it would be disastrous for the economy as well as other things and I felt compelled to speak out.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite their predictions, the American economy thrived during Trump’s term prior to the coronavirus pandemic, with the poverty rate reaching an all-time low in 2019, wages steadily rising and the unemployment rate low.
Trump leads Biden in battleground state that hasn’t voted Republican since 2004: AARP poll
Former President Trump maintains his lead in a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election, according to a new poll. A survey published Tuesday by the AARP finds Trump with a 3-percentage point lead over President Biden in Nevada. Trump is favored by 48% of likely Silver State voters compared to 45% who said they would vote for Biden if the election were held today. That narrow lead extends to a more comfortable 7 points if independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is included. Kennedy has not yet qualified for the Nevada ballot and state Democrats have filed a lawsuit that challenges his eligibility. Trump’s lead is more pronounced among voters over 50, who said they prefer the presumptive Republican nominee to Biden, a Democrat, by double digits (53%-41%). The silver lining for Biden is that he maintains a lead among Hispanic voters in that age demographic, 51% to Trump’s 41%, according to the AARP poll. NEVADA DEMOCRATS SUE TO KEEP RFK JR., GREEN PARTY OFF NOVEMBER BALLOT “We have a huge Hispanic population, so that vote will matter,” said Maria Moore, AARP Nevada state director. Hispanics make up 22% of the eligible voter population in Nevada, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center analysis cited in the AARP’s news release. Nevada is one of several closely watched states that could very well determine who holds the White House next year. The battleground state has not gone for a Republican presidential candidate since 2004, when President George W. Bush ran for re-election. But Biden only won the state narrowly in 2020, with 50.06% of the vote to Trump’s 47.67% vote share. A Fox News poll released earlier this month found Biden trailed Trump by a 5-point margin. Republicans are optimistic they can flip the state after current GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo unseated Democratic incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak in the 2022 election. Lombardo recently argued that Nevada voters are dissatisfied with Biden’s handling of the economy in a New York Times guest essay. NEVADA GOVERNOR TELLS BIDEN HE’S IN DANGER OF LOSING CRITICAL STATE OVER HIGH PRICES: ‘JUST DOESN’T GET IT’ “If recent polling on Democratic candidates in Nevada is any indication, and I think it is, Mr. Biden has a big problem to overcome, because after three and a half years, Nevadans are losing confidence in him to do something meaningful about inflation and housing and are left with the feeling that he just doesn’t get it,” he wrote. The AARP survey found only 40% of voters age 50-plus mostly approve of Biden’s job performance, while 59% disapprove. Reflecting on Trump’s first term in office, 56% of voters over 50 approve of what he did as president, while 43% disapprove. The survey also asked about Nevada’s U.S. Senate race, in which Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., seeks re-election against Republican challenger Sam Brown, a wounded combat veteran. The poll found Rosen leading Brown among voters of all ages 47% to 42%, bolstered by Hispanic support for Rosen. “It’s the margin among Hispanic and Latino voters that’s putting Rosen in the lead,” pollster Bob Ward said. TRUMP RILES UP FIERY SWING STATE CROWD IN FIRST RALLY SINCE NEW YORK CONVICTION The top-ranking issues for Nevada voters were the economy, rising food prices, immigration and border security, according to the AARP survey. Impact Research pollster Jeff Liszt suggested split-ticket voters will be the deciding factor in the upcoming election. “When you look at the older voters, 43% are straight-ticket Republican and 35% are straight-ticket Democrat, but 23% are splitting their tickets,” Liszt told AARP. “[That’s] an indicator that there are more voters up for grabs right now than there may have been in recent elections.” Republican pollster Fabrizio Ward partnered with Democratic firm Impact Research to conduct the survey, which included 1,368 likely voters interviewed between June 12 and 18. The poll’s margin of error is 4%.
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls defends military record amid badge scandal
Nehls is underfire for wearing a combat service badge that the Army revoked and removed from his service record last year.
Tracking program used by Jocelyn Nungaray murder suspects has expanded under Biden
Both suspects in the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray in Texas were part of a program that has seen expanded use under President Biden. Venezuelan migrants Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, were part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency’s (ICE) Alternatives to Detention program, being outfitted with ankle bracelets that will monitor their movements before being released into the public. The program seeks to quickly process migrants seeking asylum without overburdening crowded detention facilities, releasing migrants into the public with tracking devices and strict rules such as curfews and check-ins. ‘EVIDENCE IS CLEAR THAT A SEXUAL ASSAULT LIKELY HAPPENED,’ PROSECUTOR SAYS According to the latest data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, ICE’s use of GPS watches and GPS ankle monitors as an alternative to detaining migrants has seen continued growth. The number of migrants using GPS watches – which were rolled out in 2023 – increased to 572 in April, while the number of migrants using GPS ankle bracelets more than tripled from 5,000 in June of last year to 18,518 in April. Martinez-Rangel and Ramos were both outfitted with GPS ankle monitors after entering the country illegally, though Martinez-Rangel was allowed to remove his device after complying with mandatory check-ins for two months. Ramos, meanwhile, was wearing his tracking bracelet at the time of the crime, only removing it himself a few days after his alleged involvement. When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a Houston Police Department spokesperson said the bracelet did not play a role in being able to track down the suspect’s location. Meanwhile, the Biden administration rolled out a new program last year that expanded the use of the devices with the Family Expedited Removal Management program last year, placing certain heads of household in migrant families with GPS tracking devices instead of making the controversial move to expand the use of detention centers. The administration has also touted the program as a more speedy way to process removals from the country. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT ACCUSED OF KILLING JOCELYN NUNGARAY WORE ICE ANKLE MONITOR “It’s definitely increased our family unit removals over the last nine months compared to before, so it’s been successful with that,” Thomas Giles, the ICE official running the program, told the New York Times in March. John Sandweg, who was the acting director of ICE during the Obama administration, has also praised the program, telling the New York Times it was “what we’ve needed to do for 10 years, but on a massive scale.” Nevertheless, it remains unclear if there are effective safeguards in place to prevent potentially dangerous migrants from entering the program and becoming a danger to public safety. The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to multiple Fox News Digital requests for comment on how well the agencies are able to check migrant backgrounds before releasing them with the devices. Martinez-Rangel and Ramos both made their initial appearances in court this week, with the judge in the case citing their flight risk in setting the bail at $10 million for both suspects. They accused of luring Nungaray under a bridge in Houston, where they tied her up and eventually killed her. Both suspects are accused of capital murder in the case. The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Blue state deploys officials to the border with surprising warning for migrants
A blue state has deployed officials to the southern border in Texas to warn migrants that their shelters are full, as it struggles to house the numbers of migrants it is seeing. Massachusetts’ Democratic Gov. Maura Healey announced on Tuesday that she had sent members of her administration to the border, citing “record” numbers of migrants coming to Boston. Officials will make connections with federal agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and migrant families “to educate them about the lack of shelter availability in Massachusetts.” They will visit airports, migrant shelters, ports of entry and migrant welcome centers in San Antonio, McAllen, Hidaglo and Brownsville. MIGRANTS CONTINUE TO STREAM INTO BOSTON AIRPORT AS MORE THAN 100 SLEEP ON THE FLOOR “This trip is an important opportunity to meet with families arriving in the U.S. and the organizations that work with them at the border to make sure they have accurate information about the lack of shelter space in Massachusetts,” Scott Rice, emergency assistance director general, said in a statement. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “It is essential that we get the word out that our shelters are full so that families can plan accordingly to make sure they have a safe place to go,” he said. Healey first declared a state of emergency in the state in early August, and later activated the National Guard to provide services. Recently, it implemented a limit on stays in emergency shelters to nine months. MASSACHUSETTS CLOSES COMMUNITY CENTER TO PUBLIC TO SHELTER MIGRANTS, PROMPTING BACKLASH But it is one of a number of areas across the U.S. that has struggled with a flood of migrants coming in via the southern border and being released. There were more than 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY23. Some migrants make their own way to destinations, while others are being bussed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – who began bussing migrants to sanctuary cities in 2022. Many Democratic-run states and cities have struggled to cope with the numbers of migrants they are seeing. Multiple mayors have urged the Biden administration to give them more federal funding, as well as expedited work permits to help migrants get jobs more quickly and be less reliant on social services. Healey has previously touted the more welcoming approach her state has taken, even though it has increased the pressure on her state. “Many of these families are migrants to Massachusetts, drawn here because we are and proudly have been a beacon to those in need,” Healey wrote in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last year. Recently, more than 100 migrants were seen sleeping on the floors of Boston’s Logan International Airport as it is used as a makeshift shelter due to shelters reaching their maximum capacity. In a statement, Healey’s office says it has prioritized work authorizations, job training, English classes and rehousing assistance. It says it has helped 3,785 migrants apply for work authorization, and enrolled more than 1,100 in English classes.
NTSB accuses Norfolk Southern of ‘unconscionable’ interference in East Palestine probe
Officials from the National Transportation Safety Board offered scathing testimony during a hearing Tuesday marking the conclusion of their investigation into the catastrophic February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy accused Norfolk Southern railroad of interfering in the federal probe on multiple occasions. She claimed a Norfolk Southern contractor lied when he said he did not keep written records on temperatures within the tanker cars – which were carrying the caustic vinyl chloride that was later burned off or had spilled into the local aquifer. Homendy claimed in her closing remarks that the NTSB later interviewed Norfolk Southern employees who revealed text messages were sent between the railroad and contractor. WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES MISTAKES IN INITIAL EAST PALESTINE DISASTER RESPONSE “It took about two months before our team received those communications – two months before those communications were provided to our team,” Homendy said via a transcript provided to Fox News Digital. “As stated in the report we just adopted, our Investigator-In-Charge told Norfolk Southern on February 3rd to preserve all evidence for the investigation.” Homendy also claimed Norfolk Southern wrongly hired a private company to test “commercially purchased” vinyl chloride versus the chemicals that had spilled into Ohio and Pennsylvania soil, and filed their results with the NTSB. “Not only did these actions violate our party agreement, but they violated the regulations governing our evidence collection,” Homendy said. “Our investigations are never conducted for the purpose of determining the rights or liabilities of a party – we collect the evidence, evaluate the facts, and develop lessons learned with one goal in mind: to prevent the next train derailment and hazardous materials release,” she said. POLITICIANS REACT TO BIDEN VISITING EAST PALESTINE AFTER 1 YEAR: ‘TOO LITTLE TOO LATE’ “[That] is why I’m so deeply troubled with how Norfolk Southern approached this investigation.” The chairwoman also said officials from the railroad visited each board member, as is custom, in the run-up to the NTSB’s final meeting on the matter, but had purportedly mentioned it was their hope that the agency would dispel the “rumor” Norfolk Southern made the call to “vent-and-burn” the vinyl chloride.” Homendy called the reported inquiry “unethical and inappropriate,” and went on to include a veiled “threat” when railroad officials told board members the Biden administration wanted to move on from the crisis. Homendy denied the administration ever made such overtures. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Norfolk Southern’s actions were unconscionable. I want everyone who works with the NTSB – on current and future investigations – to understand this: we are impervious to anything but the truth,” she said. Officials from Norfolk Southern, however, strenuously denied the allegations made by the NTSB. “At all times, Norfolk Southern cooperated fully and ethically with the investigation, with full transparency,” a spokesperson said. “Our communications with NTSB staff and board members were always motivated by a desire to ensure they had all the relevant information for their independent evaluation and by a shared commitment to advance rail safety.” Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, slammed the railroad, telling The Associated Press that Homendy’s findings “confirm[ed] my worst fears.” “The derailment and subsequent chemical explosion were preventable tragedies resulting from a series of errors made by Norfolk Southern and its contractors.”
Trump CIA chief knew about infamous letter dismissing Biden laptop as propaganda before publication: report
Active Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractors “colluded” with the Biden campaign when releasing a statement dismissing Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop as Russian disinformation ahead of the 2020 election, and the then-CIA chief was likely in the loop before the statement’s release, according to a joint report released by three House panels shows. “We knew that the rushed statement from the 51 former intelligence officials was a political maneuver between the Biden campaign and the intelligence community. Now with this interim report, we reveal how officials at the highest levels of the CIA were aware of the statement and CIA employees knew that several of the so-called former officials were on active contract with the CIA. The report underscores the risks posed by a weaponized federal government,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a press release Tuesday. The House Judiciary Committee, its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a report Tuesday titled, “The Intelligence Community 51: How CIA Contractors Colluded with The Biden Campaign to Mislead American Voters.” The report found that active CIA contractors “coordinated” with the Biden campaign just weeks ahead of the 2020 election “to discredit serious allegations about Biden family influence peddling” connected to Hunter’s laptop when 51 alleged former intelligence officials released a statement dismissing the laptop. The former intelligence officials released a statement on Oct. 19, 2020, discounting the laptop as having “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation,” in a bid to discredit the New York Post’s bombshell report on the laptop at the time. HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP RE-EMERGES AS MEDIA EMBARRASSMENT AS IT BECOMES KEY EVIDENCE AT GUN TRIAL FLASHBACK: MSNBC, CNN, CBS TOLD VIEWERS HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY WAS RUSSIAN DISINFORMATION “The report reveals new information detailing how the highest levels of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), up to and including then-CIA Director Gina Haspel, were made aware of the ‘Public Statement on the Hunter Biden Emails’ by 51 former intelligence officials prior to its approval and publication,” the press release says, outlining of Haspel’s likely knowledge of the letter. Haspel served as CIA director from 2018 to 2021 during the Trump administration. The CIA’s chief operating officer, Andrew Makridis, testified that he informed Haspel or Deputy Director Vaughn Frederick Bishop about the statement ahead of its release, and the report indicates that CIA chiefs had the opportunity to vet the validity of the statement discrediting the laptop of Russian disinformation. CNN BOSS, POLITICAL DIRECTOR SPIKED HUNTER BIDEN CONTROVERSY, AUDIOTAPES REVEAL: ‘WE’RE NOT GOING WITH’ STORY The report also included internal CIA emails where intelligence officers lamented the political nature of the statement. “This frustrates me. I don’t think it is helpful to the Agency in the long run. Sigh,” one unnamed CIA official said in an email on Oct. 20, 2020, a day after Politico published the statement discounting the laptop as disinformation. Another unnamed colleague responded to the email, noting that some of the signatories were current CIA contractors. VIDEO GOES VIRAL OF DEMOCRATS, MEDIA MEMBERS DOUBTING HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP “I also love that at least a few of the random signatures belong to individuals currently working here on contracts…,” the emailed response reads. The 2020 statement was signed by former CIA directors such as John Brennan and Leon Panetta, as well as former Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper, in addition to former CIA acting director Michael Morell and former CIA inspector general David Buckley. 5 TAKES ON THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP THAT HAVE AGED POORLY Morell – who helped draft the statement and said it would provide President Biden with a “talking point” in a 2020 presidential debate – was actually a contractor with the CIA when the letter was issued, according to the report. While Buckley was also a contractor at the time of the letter, according to the report, citing CIA documents. “It is extremely concerning that signatories of the Hunter Biden statement were on contract with the CIA at the time of the statement’s drafting, review, and publication. This revelation shows that Morell, Buckley, and likely other signatories were receiving U.S. taxpayer funds while engaged in a politicized project to mislead American voters on behalf of the Biden campaign. Such an overtly political action would be illegal under the Hatch Act for a permanent CIA employee. Congress ought to consider whether to extend this important prohibition to CIA contractors as well,” the report states. The Hatch Act is a federal law that forbids most civilian federal employees, including intelligence community operatives, from engaging in partisan political activities. Fox News Digital reached out to the CIA and White House Wednesday morning regarding the report’s findings, but did not immediately receive responses. SECRETARY BLINKEN SILENT ON PAST EFFORTS TO DISCREDIT HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP AFTER FEDS ENTER IT INTO EVIDENCE Biden did use the statement as a “talking point” during his final 2020 debate against President Trump, claiming that the dozens of signatories proved the laptop was Russian propaganda. “There are 50 former national intelligence folks who said that what he’s accusing me of is a Russian plant,” Biden said at the time of Trump. “Five former heads of the CIA, both parties, say what he’s saying is a bunch of garbage. Nobody believes it except his good friend Rudy Giuliani.” The New York Post’s 2020 bombshell report on the contents of Hunter’s laptop was overwhelmingly dismissed by the media in 2020 as “Russian disinformation.” But liberal media outlets changed their tune in 2022 after newspapers such as The Washington Post and The New York Times authenticated thousands of his emails. The laptop hit the public view after Hunter left it at a Delaware repair shop ahead of the 2020 presidential election. FBI STILL MUM ON LAPTOP AS IT GETS ENTERED INTO EVIDENCE IN HUNTER BIDEN TRIAL The laptop re-emerged earlier this month when the first son faced a criminal trial in Delaware over his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while he was reeling
Trump allies rush to target Jack Smith in House DOJ spending bill
EXCLUSIVE: House GOP negotiators stopped short of targeting funds for Special Counsel Jack Smith in next year’s Justice Department spending bill, but former President Trump’s allies are already making plans to force it into the final text. At least three House Republicans are aiming to introduce amendments to the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill that would target the prosecutions against Trump in some way, Fox News Digital has learned. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was disappointed that his policy targeting Trump’s prosecutions was not included in the base text but that he would be offering it as an amendment later in the legislative process. “When we have our full House Appropriations Committee markup for CJS next month, I will file my amendment to prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding the prosecution of a presidential candidate before the 2024 election. This measure would impact Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, and Jack Smith, as they all receive federal funds,” Clyde said. YOUNG TRUMP SUPERFAN BROUGHT TO TEARS WHILE MEETING FORMER PRESIDENT A source close to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., one of Trump’s most vocal House allies, told Fox News Digital she intends to file an amendment similar to a measure she previously introduced targeting the funding of special counsels. Greene said Tuesday evening that it was a “failure” for the House GOP to not defund Smith in the legislation’s base text. Trump ally Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., also plans to introduce an amendment stripping Smith’s funding, his office told Fox News Digital. The CJS appropriations bill released Tuesday cuts the Justice Department’s funding by nearly $1 billion. It also includes cuts to the FBI’s budget by roughly 3.5% and blocks the construction of a new bureau headquarters in Maryland. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, also signaled that he would push for cuts to the Trump investigations in Georgia and New York in the CJS bill. CELEBS SHOWER BIDEN WITH CAMPAIGN CASH BUT COULD UNDERCUT ‘SCRANTON JOE’ IMAGE Earlier this month, Jordan sent a letter to House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., recommending that the spending bill “include language to eliminate federal funding for state prosecutors or state attorneys general involved in lawfare and to zero out federal funding for federal prosecutors engaged in such abuse.” A spokeswoman for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital when asked about the amendment push, “The Committee is working to methodically mark up appropriations bills and work through its process. The Speaker looks forward to seeing what comes out of Committee and continuing to move bills through a full floor process.” Johnson said the House needed a more permanent solution for accountability when asked by CNN on Tuesday night about the lack of measures targeting Smith. “We’ve got to bring accountability because that’s the role of Congress under the Constitution. The question is, what’s the best and most effective way to do that? So there’s a lot of thoughtful discussion and debate. The underlying bill doesn’t have the provision in, but there may be amendments,” he said. “We have to look at what is actually a lawmaking exercise and not just a messaging exercise, because the times are too important.” He told Politico last month that the House would not seek to eliminate Smith’s job in this appropriations process. JOHNSON FLOATS DEFUNDING SPECIAL COUNSEL’S OFFICE AMID JACK SMITH’S TRUMP PROBE He said, “There is a necessity for a function like that, because sometimes the Department of Justice — which is an executive branch agency — can’t necessarily, without a conflict of interest, investigate or prosecute the president who’s their boss, or the president’s family.” But a week later, he told reporters that Congress could target special counsel funding. Outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump’s criminal proceeding was taking place, Johnson said, “How does Congress correct that error and ensure that a special counsel is not abusing their authority? You know, we have oversight, of course, we also have the power of the purse.” The CJS appropriations bill is being weighed by a panel on the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday and is expected to see a chamber-wide vote sometime next month. But even if the amendments targeting Trump’s prosecutions make it into the bill, it’s unlikely to be considered by the Democrat-controlled Senate, which is working on its own version of the fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills.