Author:

Fox News Politics: Alito Lit Up

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.  The top Democrat in the House believes Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is “insurrectionist sympathizer” due to the flag that flew in front of his property in 2021. “It appears that Justice Alito is an insurrectionist-sympathizer, joined by his right-wing buddy Clarence Thomas,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a press conference Friday. Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann, continue to come under fire for previously flying the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which features a pine tree on a white background. The flag was common in the Revolutionary War, but lately has become associated with extremism because it was flown by rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. When asked about criticisms of Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas, Jeffries told Fox News’ Chad Pergram that “the American people almost uniformly agree that the right-wing justices on the Supreme Court are completely and totally out of control.” Jeffries also commented that the high bench cannot police itself when it comes to ethics and that there have been significantly more “aggressively partisan, right wing, extreme decisions” since Trump nominated a trio of justices. UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD? DOJ maintains high success rate amid calls for ‘overcharging’ to be addressed …Read more ‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Federal judge issues fiery broadside against Title IX ‘gender identity’ rules …Read more ‘THE COURT HAS SPOKEN’: Trump campaign says SCOTUS decision striking down his ATF bump stock rule should be ‘respected’ …Read more ‘GONNA F—IN’ LOSE ‘EM’: Democratic strategist sounds alarm over party’s key voting bloc …Read more ‘IMPOSTER’: Pelosi calls on Trump’s family, Republican Party to stage an ‘intervention’ for Trump …Read more BREAKING THE BLUE: Top Dem Senate candidate diverted millions from police during crime surge for mental health funding …Read more IN THE RED: Experts predict inflation election trouble for Biden: ‘Too late’ to fix …Read more $895 BILLION: House passes $895 billion defense policy bill: Here’s what’s in it …Read more AUTO-ENROLLMENT: House passes bill automatically registering men 18-26 for draft …Read more ‘CAN’T REWARD LAWFARE’: Sen. Vance says he’s blocking Biden appointees as payback for Trump verdict …Read more UNDER PRESS-URE: Biden snaps at reporter for refusing to ‘play by the rules’ by asking off-topic question …Read more LEAD FOOT FETTERMAN: Senator’s driving record under scrutiny after ‘at fault’ accident …Read more NO GO: AG Garland won’t be prosecuted for contempt over Biden, special counsel interview …Read more COMMANDER IN TEETH: Biden reportedly witnessed dog Commander biting Secret Service agents: report …Read more ‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Federal judge issues fiery broadside against Title IX ‘gender identity’ rules …Read more NO SCRUBS: Iowa Dem deleted anti-Trump posts on X to appear more moderate, critics say …Read more CALIFORNIA DREAMING: Gov. Newsom takes heat for false claim about National Guard at border …Read more ‘FRIGHTENING TO PEOPLE’: Hochul says NYC mask ban on the table to deter antisemitic hate crimes …Read more Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Hochul’s revival of mask mandate to curb hate crimes won’t work, has ‘laundry list’ of exceptions: residents

Some residents in New York City believe New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will face an uphill battle — one that’s essentially of her own making — after she suggested she’s willing to start “discussions” about a partial mask ban for Big Apple subways and protests amid the spread of antisemitism. Highlighting an event that took place on a subway earlier this week in New York City, where a group of people “donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews,” Hochul said Thursday during a public safety announcement that her administration “will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior.” “My team is working on a solution, but on a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes,” she said. Hochul, who took office in 2021 and was responsible for implementing mask mandates amid the spread of coronavirus, realizes the issue is “complex” and that there are “legitimate reasons” why some choose to wear face coverings, mask coverings and head coverings. NY GOV. HOCHUL SAYS SHE’S CONSIDERING A MASK BAN TO REDUCE HATE CRIMES, TRIGGERS COVID FEARFUL X USERS Hochul mentioned several reasons people might wear face coverings, like religious practices, protection from COVID or the flu, delivery drivers battling the elements, cultural events and Halloween. Emily Alexander, a full-time nanny who works in New York City and frequents the subway system nearly every day, expressed concern to Fox News Digital over how such a ban could be implemented amid Hochul’s “laundry list” of exceptions. “It’s frightening what I see sometimes during my commute, and there is a reason this is being talked about right now,” said Alexander. “I would certainly support a no-mask law, but how is it going to be possible when the governor and nearly every other lawmaker in the state will provide those health and religious exemptions?” “People won’t be surprised when everyone starts changing their religion or claiming health-related statuses just so they can bully, threaten or belittle others,” she added. “That’ll be the new norm that’ll then have to be worked out. It’s all likely to fail.” Another resident in the city who uses the city’s subway system from Wednesday to Saturday each week told Fox News Digital that he’s not too thrilled about the idea because he doesn’t believe “anything will come of it.” “I really don’t think anything will come of it,” said the 47-year-old Brooklyn resident, who wished to speak anonymously. “I really don’t think there’s anything that could really stop these people. They are a different kind of evil. They’ll just say they need masks to prevent themselves from getting Covid, which we know is an excuse. How does anyone tell them they can’t wear them?” NYC SEES RISE IN HATE CRIMES, LED BY SURGING ANTISEMITISM, POLICE DATA SHOWS “You certainly have to say, ‘There are major exemptions,’” Hochul said Thursday while fielding questions about the potential mask ban. Hochul’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for information on how the governor plans to navigate who uses masks with good intentions from those who are using them to “evade” punishment for criminal wrongdoing. Nonetheless, Hochul said Thursday that it’s time for a “reset” and noted that a previous law that outlawed masks in certain places “didn’t anticipate this back in 1845.” An effort to push through a ban on masks or face coverings in subways or other areas in the state for those who do not have legitimate reason to wear one would require legislative action. New York’s legislative session ended last week, though Hochul could call state lawmakers back to Albany to further discuss the issue. “There’s no reason why those conversations can’t start now,” she said. “We’ll have a strategy and then determine the right time to address it.” Following the Monday incident that was highlighted by Hochul in which Jewish Americans were targeted on a New York City subway, the governor has faced calls to reinstate an anti-mask law that was once used to prevent Ku Klux Klan members from donning hoods. “A mask law will make a difference,” Scott Richman, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, told The New York Post this week. “It effectively tanked the Ku Klux Klan. Nobody wanted their face to be seen,” Richman added of the previous anti-mask law, which was on the books for nearly 200 years before being repealed in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Hochul said she wants to work with “legislative leaders and find out how we can address this in a way that’s thoughtful,” and she appears to have the support of New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “I’ve spoken to Mayor Adams, who’s been outspoken on this issue with the [Metropolitan Transportation Authority], with local law enforcement. And beginning conversations with the Legislature since this takes legislative action, which we’re considering. There’s obviously a problem here. This will be dealt with,” Hochul said. Adams, a Democrat, has also been vocal about his support for reviving a ban on masks at protests, saying during a Thursday interview on 77 WABC’s “Cats & Cosby” that “cowards hide their faces.” “Dr. [Martin Luther] King did not hide his face,” he said. “I agree with those who are calling for removal of the ban, not only for the protesters who are using vile language, but also for criminal behavior.” “Now is the time to go back to the way we were pre-COVID, where you should not be able to wear masks at protests,” the mayor added.

Trump reveals two Dem senators he is targeting during closed-door meeting

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump revealed that he is targeting two red state Democrat senators in 2024, a source tells Fox News Digital. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Trump to share with lawmakers the importance of taking back the Senate in 2024 during a meeting Thursday on Capitol Hill, according to a person in the room. Graham mentioned that there are several vulnerable Democrats in the Senate with records very similar to President Biden’s. Trump said Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., are top of the list of Democrats he is seeking to oust in 2024 — two vulnerable Democrats who are facing tough re-election bids in red states won by Trump in 2020. “They opposed everything I did while I was president, and now they are talking like Republicans,” Trump said, according to the source. ‘HUGE PROBLEM’: VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR RIPPED AFTER INTERVIEW RESURFACES TOUTING SIMILARITY WITH BIDEN Brown and Tester have both appeared to be distancing themselves from President Biden as polls continue to show the president falling behind in several key swing states. Tester released a memo in May that touted his “standing up to President Biden and his Administration” on several issues, including the border and COVID mandates. However, Tester’s GOP opponent Tim Sheehy previously told Fox News Digital that the Democratic senator has a habit of changing his tune to appear more moderate in election years. When asked about Trump focusing on Tester’s seat in 2024, a spokesperson for Tester said the former president “signed more than 20 of Jon Tester’s bills into law.” “Jon Tester does what’s right for Montana. That’s why when President Trump was in office, he signed more than 20 of Jon Tester’s bills into law to help veterans, crack down on government waste and abuse, and support our first responders,” Monica Robinson, spokesperson for Montanans for Tester, told Fox News Digital in a statement. VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR HIT WITH BLISTERING AD AS RECORD ON KEY ISSUE FACES SCRUTINY: ‘F- RATING’ “You know this is what he does. Five years out of every six he’s a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, firm progressive. Votes lockstep with [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer, Biden and every other progressive in the country,” Sheehy told Fox in November. “And then, for his election year, he tries to shift back to the center and act like he’s a moderate.”  Brown has also been hit by his GOP opponent for his record of voting with President Biden nearly 100% of the time. When asked about Trump’s comment, the senator’s campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “worked with President Trump” during his administration. “Sherrod will work with anyone when it’s right for Ohio and worked with President Trump to renegotiate NAFTA and pass legislation to lower the cost of prescription drugs and make sure law enforcement officers have the resources they need to keep themselves safe and keep fentanyl out of Ohio communities,” a campaign spokesperson for Brown told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Sherrod Brown parades around Ohio telling voters that he is a moderate, while he votes with Joe Biden 99% of the time and consistently sells out Ohio workers,” Reagan McCarthy, communications director for the Bernie Moreno campaign, told Fox News Digital.  “Brown has supported every single reckless spending package that has resulted in rampant inflation, voted for Biden’s attacks on American energy in favor of green energy schemes, and enabled Biden’s open-border invasion. We look forward to exposing his left-wing record and sending him packing in November.” Brown told Politico earlier this year that he is going to “run my own race” and “my own brand,” while at the same time saying he is “not going to run away from Biden.” The Cook Political Report ranks both the Ohio and Montana Senate races, states where Trump won comfortably in 2020, as toss ups, and many experts believe Republican chances to retake control of the Senate hinge on those races.

House passes defense bill automatically registering men 18-26 for draft

The House of Representatives passed a measure on Friday automatically registering men aged 18 to 26 for selective service. It was part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets out the U.S. government’s military and national security priorities over the next fiscal year.  This year’s NDAA authorizes $895.2 billion in military spending, a $9 billion increase from fiscal 2024. HOUTHIS CLAIM ‘AMERICAN-ISRAELI SPY NETWORK’ MEMBERS ARRESTED While it hasn’t been invoked in over half a century, it’s mandatory for all male U.S. citizens to register for the selective service, also known as the military draft, when they turn 18. Failure to register is classified as a felony and comes with a host of legal challenges. Supporters of the amendment argue that it would cut down on bureaucratic red tape and help U.S. citizens avoid unnecessary legal issues, as well as cutting down on the taxpayer dollars going toward prosecuting those cases. It was led by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and passed in the House Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA in May. The NDAA advanced through the committee in an overwhelming 57 to 1 vote. CONGRESS FEELING HEAT FROM GROUPS DEMANDING BAN ON CONTRACTS WITH CHINESE FIRM TAKING AMERICANS’ DNA “By using available federal databases, the [Selective Service] agency will be able to register all of the individuals required and thus help ensure that any future military draft is fair and equitable,” Houlahan said during debate last month, according to Defense News. “This will also allow us to rededicate resources — basically that means money — towards reading readiness and towards mobilization … rather than towards education and advertising campaigns driven to register people.” The NDAA also included the largest-ever military pay raise in history, with a 19.5% increase for junior enlisted troops and a 4.5% increase for others. It also included funding for two new Virginia-class submarines and the establishment of a drone force within the U.S. Army, among other provisions. MARATHON IN EVERY STATE: NAVY VET AND FORMER NYPD OFFICER RUNS ACROSS US TO HELP DESERVING NONPROFIT The NDAA passed the House in a 217 to 199 vote, but it’s unlikely to be taken up by the Senate.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted the bill on Friday afternoon over the inclusion of amendments curbing funding for abortion, transgender medical care, and diversity efforts. “Unsurprisingly, the legislation coming out of the House today is loaded with anti-LGBTQ, anti-choice, anti-environment, and other divisive amendments guaranteed not to pass the Senate,” Schumer said. “As we move forward with this year’s NDAA process, both sides will have to work together to pass bipartisan legislation that honors and respects all who serve in defense of our nation.”

Biden DOJ’s ‘overcharging,’ partisan targeting shows ‘we have just lost our damn minds’: critics

FIRST ON FOX: With a staggering 99.6% success rate in court, some federal investigations under the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) are drawing scrutiny for alleged partisan bias and the little-known problem of overcharging — fueling calls for urgent reform among experts. “We have just lost our damn minds when it comes to criminal prosecution,” healthcare defense attorney Ron Chapman told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Ninety-five percent of cases do not go to trial, because prosecutors can find fuzzy statutes to get such high maximums or even mandatory minimums at play, which force innocent people to plead guilty. And that’s what we’re dealing with — we’re dealing with tons of innocent people who may not be innocent of all the crimes, but they’re innocent of the ones that were overcharged against them.” Prosecutors commonly charge additional felonies to pressure guilty pleas, Chapman said, which is denounced by the American Bar Association for violating defendants’ fair trial rights. Federal prosecutors have a 99.6% conviction rate, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center study. As such, federal investigations result in more pleas and avoid trials altogether.  This week, a Texas doctor was charged by the DOJ with four felonies after exposing the hospital he worked in for allegedly secretly conducting transgender surgical procedures on children. Chapman, a former federal prosecutor for the U.S. Marines Corps, said, “This is a Merrick Garland allegation, guaranteed.” 5 FBI CONTROVERSIES OF 2023 THAT SHOOK FAITH IN AGENCY “This would have had to come from the top,” Chapman said. “They’re almost asking for a lawsuit for this to go up to the Supreme Court.” Last month, two pro-life activists were sentenced to several years in prison for staging a protest inside a D.C.-based abortion clinic in 2020. Federal prosecutors argued the pro-life activists violated the 1994 FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits physical force, threats of force or intentionally damaging property to prevent someone from obtaining or providing abortion services. But the targeted investigations didn’t start under the Biden administration, Chapman said. Each administration “has their own agenda,” and will fulfill it accordingly. There are stark differences in the types of investigations the DOJ will pursue. Justin Paperny, a federal prison consultant for white collar criminals, told Fox News Digital he’s seen an uptick in this administration going after more white collar crimes, compared to the former Trump administration, which was “more pro-business.” Professionals in the healthcare sector are also being investigated more thoroughly for fraud schemes.  “We’ve had fewer drug cases than we had in the prior administration, and probably because it’s becoming more normal in this country,” Paperny said. “People try to draw this equivalence between Hunter Biden and Trump, but you have to actually question one prosecution versus the other. Everyone has an agenda, and these are things that people are paying more attention to because of this climate.” FBI DIRECTOR PLEADS FOR CONGRESS TO KEEP PROGRAM ACCUSED OF SPYING ON AMERICANS TEXAS HOSPITAL WHISTLEBLOWER SAYS DOJ INDICTMENT MEANT TO INTIMIDATE HIM AFTER HE EXPOSED GENDER CLINIC Paperny, who previously went to prison in 2007 for financial crimes, said the government will also “pile on more charges” if a defendant pleads not guilty against the government.  “Overcharging, threats of 20 to 30 years in federal prison, could compel someone who truly believes they’re innocent, to plead guilty,” he said. “So, many of these cases should be handled civilly at worst, not criminal. Yet, we continue to see prosecutions and people going to prison for very long periods of time, especially those who have exercised their right to go to trial.” “These people who are going to trial and fighting it against the odds, it’s very inspiring,” he said.  Dr. Eithan Haim — who accused the Texas Children’s Hospital of secretly performing transgender surgical procedures on minors despite previously claiming they planned to shut down the program after state Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion saying the procedures could be considered child abuse under state law — is one of those people who will fight against the DOJ’s charges. “I refuse to back down or to be silenced,” Haim said in a post on X. In December, the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee published a report detailing “the Extent of the FBI’s Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Traditional Catholics,” which former FBI agent, Kyle Seraphin, blew the whistle on.  The report said the committee studied the FBI’s categorization of traditional Catholic Americans “as potential domestic terrorists” after the FBI’s Richmond memorandum painted “radical-traditionalist Catholics” as violent extremists and proposed opportunities for the FBI to infiltrate Catholic churches as a form of “threat mitigation.” “I think it’s a bigger problem than people think,” Seraphin told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And so my solution is broader than most people are comfortable with, but we spend roughly $11 billion a year on the investigative agency of the FBI, and people need to ask if the $11 billion spent is solving the problems the FBI was created to solve, and it’s my argument that that problem doesn’t even exist anymore.”   “Most Americans don’t realize that there could be an active national security investigation on anyone,” he said. “That’s the thing that should scare the bejesus out of Americans.” On Friday, the DOJ announced that it won’t prosecute Obama-appointed Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over his refusal to turn over audio recordings of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with President Biden. The House voted on Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt, after months of digging by House Republicans to try to bring into public view as much material from the special counsel interview as possible.  The DOJ did not respond to a request to comment by press deadline. Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China’s growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus. The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military’s propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines – China’s Sinovac inoculation. FAUCI DENIES SEEKING TO SUPPRESS COVID-19 LAB LEAK ORIGIN THEORY Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus – Tagalog for China is the virus. “COVID came from China and the VACCINE also came from China, don’t trust China!” one typical tweet from July 2020 read in Tagalog. The words were next to a photo of a syringe beside a Chinese flag and a soaring chart of infections. Another post read: “From China – PPE, Face Mask, Vaccine: FAKE. But the Coronavirus is real.” After Reuters asked X about the accounts, the social media company removed the profiles, determining they were part of a coordinated bot campaign based on activity patterns and internal data. The U.S. military’s anti-vax effort began in the spring of 2020 and expanded beyond Southeast Asia before it was terminated in mid-2021, Reuters determined. Tailoring the propaganda campaign to local audiences across Central Asia and the Middle East, the Pentagon used a combination of fake social media accounts on multiple platforms to spread fear of China’s vaccines among Muslims at a time when the virus was killing tens of thousands of people each day. A key part of the strategy: amplify the disputed contention that, because vaccines sometimes contain pork gelatin, China’s shots could be considered forbidden under Islamic law. The military program started under former President Donald Trump and continued months into Joe Biden’s presidency, Reuters found – even after alarmed social media executives warned the new administration that the Pentagon had been trafficking in COVID misinformation. The Biden White House issued an edict in spring 2021 banning the anti-vax effort, which also disparaged vaccines produced by other rivals, and the Pentagon initiated an internal review, Reuters found. The U.S. military is prohibited from targeting Americans with propaganda, and Reuters found no evidence the Pentagon’s influence operation did so. Spokespeople for Trump and Biden did not respond to requests for comment about the clandestine program. A senior Defense Department official acknowledged the U.S. military engaged in secret propaganda to disparage China’s vaccine in the developing world, but the official declined to provide details. A Pentagon spokeswoman said the U.S. military “uses a variety of platforms, including social media, to counter those malign influence attacks aimed at the U.S., allies, and partners.” She also noted that China had started a “disinformation campaign to falsely blame the United States for the spread of COVID-19.” In an email, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it has long maintained the U.S. government manipulates social media and spreads misinformation. Manila’s embassy in Washington did not respond to Reuters inquiries, including whether it had been aware of the Pentagon operation. A spokesperson for the Philippines Department of Health, however, said the “findings by Reuters deserve to be investigated and heard by the appropriate authorities of the involved countries.” Some aide workers in the Philippines, when told of the U.S. military propaganda effort by Reuters, expressed outrage. Briefed on the Pentagon’s secret anti-vax campaign by Reuters, some American public health experts also condemned the program, saying it put civilians in jeopardy for potential geopolitical gain. An operation meant to win hearts and minds endangered lives, they said. “I don’t think it’s defensible,” said Daniel Lucey, an infectious disease specialist at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. “I’m extremely dismayed, disappointed and disillusioned to hear that the U.S. government would do that,” said Lucey, a former military physician who assisted in the response to the 2001 anthrax attacks. The effort to stoke fear about Chinese inoculations risked undermining overall public trust in government health initiatives, including U.S.-made vaccines that became available later, Lucey and others said. Although the Chinese vaccines were found to be less effective than the American-led shots by Pfizer and Moderna, all were approved by the World Health Organization. Sinovac did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Academic research published recently has shown that, when individuals develop skepticism toward a single vaccine, those doubts often lead to uncertainty about other inoculations. Lucey and other health experts say they saw such a scenario play out in Pakistan, where the Central Intelligence Agency used a fake hepatitis vaccination program in Abbottabad as cover to hunt for Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind behind the attacks of September 11, 2001. Discovery of the ruse led to a backlash against an unrelated polio vaccination campaign, including attacks on healthcare workers, contributing to the reemergence of the deadly disease in the country. “It should have been in our interest to get as much vaccine in people’s arms as possible,” said Greg Treverton, former chairman of the U.S. National Intelligence Council, which coordinates the analysis and strategy of Washington’s many spy agencies. What the Pentagon did, Treverton said, “crosses a line.” ‘WE WERE DESPERATE’ Together, the phony accounts used by the military had tens of thousands of followers during the program. Reuters could not determine how widely the anti-vax material and other Pentagon-planted disinformation was viewed, or to what extent the posts may have caused COVID deaths by dissuading people from getting vaccinated. In the wake of the U.S. propaganda efforts, however, then-Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte had grown so

Junior US troops are paid worse than McDonald’s workers, says House GOP military veteran

The GOP lawmaker who spearheaded a House effort to pass the largest military pay raise in history is tearing into the Biden administration for opposing it. Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a retired Navy pilot, pushed for a 19.5% pay raise to be included in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an annual bill laying out policies for the U.S. military and national security. It’s accompanied by a 4.5% pay raise for service members across the board. HOUTHIS CLAIM ‘AMERICAN-ISRAELI SPY NETWORK’ MEMBERS ARRESTED “It’s wildly offensive. It’s like a police chief basically saying he doesn’t want to pay his cops that work for the city more than $12 an hour, which is what a starting salary [for a junior recruit is],” Garcia told Fox News Digital. “In my state, minimum wage is 20, $22 for a McDonald’s worker.” “We’re not asking for $80 to $100 an hour, we’re asking for $12 to $15 an hour, just to get them off of food stamps.” Roughly one in eight military families with at least one child relies on food banks, according to a University of Georgia study from last year. The NDAA passed the House on Friday morning in a 217-to-199 vote, authorizing roughly $895 billion in military spending. The Senate must now take it up or pass its own version, which will then lead to a bicameral conference to work out a compromise. IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS LAUNCH MORE MISSILES INTO RED SEA AFTER GREECE SAID ATTACKS HAVE DECLINED But it’s not immediately clear whether it will include the 19.5% pay bump – the Biden administration released a statement earlier this month opposing parts of the House’s NDAA, including the raise. “The Administration is strongly committed to taking care of our Servicemembers and their families, and appreciates the Committee’s concern for the needs of the most junior enlisted members, but strongly opposes making a significant, permanent change to the basic pay schedule before the completion of the Fourteenth Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation (QRMC),” the White House said in a statement. “If the President’s FY 2025 request is enacted, Servicemembers will have received a 15 percent basic pay increase in just three years. The House proposed changes would lead to pay compression in some parts of the enlisted military basic pay table.” But Garcia argued that junior troops in particular have been underpaid for years, recalling soldiers struggling during his days in the Navy. SHIP HIT TWICE IN APPARENT HOUTHI CRUISE MISSILE ATTACK OFF YEMENI COAST “I was in charge of about 30 sailors in my division – in my squadron. And literally 12 of them qualified for food stamps,” Garcia said. “We were having to help kids file for bankruptcy.” He continued, “It’s no coincidence when you go to a military installation … the highest concentration of payday loans are there, pawnshops are there, because these kids are just trying to figure out like literally how to get from one paycheck … it’s only gotten worse since then.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment for purposes of this story but did not hear back by press time. 

Rule of law on ballot in NYC suburbs as cop, veteran trade barbs over border crisis, policing

Former NYPD Inspector Alison Esposito slammed her congressional opponent at an event for GOP women candidates, claiming his move from the military to Congress led to a change in his tact toward public service. In response, Rep. Patrick Ryan, D-N.Y., an Iraq War veteran, highlighted a recent trip to the southern border and bipartisan support from Hudson Valley law enforcement officials. Esposito, a 2024 recruit by Rep. Elise Stefanik’s Republican women’s candidate group, E-PAC, said she is a cop, not a politician. “That is what I am. That is what I always will be,” she said, adding she was in the thick of the George Floyd riots and recounting being hit in the head by a cabinet tossed out a window by protesters. She compared it to a scene in “Braveheart.” ROCKLAND COUNTY EXECUTIVE TORCHES NYC MAYOR OVER MIGRANT BUSING DEAL She claimed Ryan portrays himself as a moderate on such rule-of-law issues, while acting otherwise. Ryan later pushed back. “He wants to play the moderate game, but then, at the same time, it’s important to remember when he was the Ulster County executive, he made Ulster a sanctuary county,” Esposito said. “Now, I thank him very much for the service, and I respect it immensely. But I would submit that the second he took off that uniform, he stopped serving the American people.” In 2019, Ryan enacted an order adjusting procedures involving cooperation with immigration authorities, and he noted Thursday that Ulster strenuously avoided “sanctuary city” terminology. Ryan said he was one of 15 Democrats to demand President Biden seal the border by executive order, adding, “The No. 1 thing I learned as an Army officer: When in charge, take charge. We are in a crisis; the president is in charge.” Esposito highlighted how her area had seen migrants being sent upriver to be housed as New York City became overrun.  Migrants had been sent to suburbs like Orangeburg, Middletown and Newburgh, and Esposito said New York Democrats who supported sanctuary state policies finally realized what they had agreed to. “It was only a matter of time. … They were fine with the influx at the southern border as long as [migrants] stayed in the south. When the [border-state] governors were dealing with thousands a day, they would send a couple hundred up. And now you have the same sanctuary politicians screaming, ‘Oh no, wait, this is unsustainable’,” she said. Both candidates said rule of law and border security are top election issues, and Esposito illustrated her own recent visit to Orange County, where the issues remain front and center. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “You had an individual that was on the deportation list that was awaiting trial who [allegedly] killed two people,” she said. “You come out of ShopRite in Middletown, and you have the migrants and the illegal immigrants holding their babies, selling water, selling roses,” Esposito said. Stefanik said Esposito and five other endorsed women she introduced at her E-PAC event could be the difference in November. “With the help of these rising stars, House Republicans are going to … help save our country from the disastrous policies of far-left Democrats.”

DOJ won’t prosecute AG Garland for contempt for refusal to turn over audio from Biden, Hur interview

The Justice Department will not prosecute U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland over contempt, according to a letter sent from the agency to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday.  The House voted Wednesday to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over audio of President Biden‘s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The vote came after months of digging by House Republicans to try to bring into public view as much material from the special counsel interview as possible. The story is breaking. Please check back for updates.

Texas students’ STAAR scores decline in math and science

The latest results in the two key subjects are a setback after two years of modest progress toward recovering from the pandemic.