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Neighbourhood invited for Modi 3.0 inauguration

Confirmations have been received from some countries in the region with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh officially confirming their participation in the inauguration.

House Republicans refer Hunter Biden, James Biden for criminal prosecution amid impeachment inquiry

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are sending criminal referrals to the Justice Department recommending Hunter Biden and James Biden be charged with making false statements to Congress about “key aspects” of the impeachment inquiry of President Biden, Fox News Digital has learned.  House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., who have been leading the inquiry, sent the criminal referrals to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Special Counsel David Weiss on Wednesday, saying the alleged false statements “implicate Joe Biden’s knowledge and role in his family’s influence peddling schemes and appear to be a calculated effort to shield Joe Biden from the impeachment inquiry.”  HOUSE GOP CLAIMS HUNTER BIDEN LIED UNDER OATH MULTIPLE TIMES DURING CONGRESSIONAL DEPOSITION Attached to the letter are 60 pages of records supporting their referral.  House Republicans allege Hunter Biden “falsely distanced himself from a corporate entity – Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC – and its bank account (Rosemont Seneca Bohai Bank Account) that was the recipient of millions of dollars from foreign individuals and foreign entities who met with then-Vice President Biden before and after transmitting money to the Rosemont Seneca Bohai Bank Account that then transferred funds to Hunter Biden.”  “Hunter Biden made additional false statements as to whether he held positions at Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC. After deposing Hunter Biden, the Committees obtained documents showing Hunter Biden represented that he was the corporate secretary,” they wrote. “Additionally, Hunter Biden during his testimony relayed an entirely fictitious account about threatening text messages he sent to his Chinese business partner while invoking his father’s presence with him as he wrote the messages. Hunter Biden told the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee he had transmitted this threat to an unrelated individual with the same surname. However, documents released by the Committee on Ways and Means demonstrate conclusively that Hunter Biden made this threat to the intended individual, and bank records prove Hunter Biden’s Chinese business partners wired millions of dollars to him after his threat.”  They added: “A portion of the proceeds has been traced to Joe Biden’s bank account.” As for James Biden, House Republicans said he “stated unequivocally during his transcribed interview that Joe Biden did not meet with Mr. Tony Bobulinski, a business associate of James and Hunter Biden, in 2017 while pursuing a deal with a Chinese entity, CEFC China Energy.”  “Specifically, James Biden stated he did not attend a meeting with Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and Tony Bobulinski on May 2, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. These statements were contradicted not only by Mr. Bobulinski, but Hunter Biden.” “Mr. Bobulinski also produced text messages that establish the events leading up to and immediately following his meeting with Joe Biden on May 2, 2017,” they wrote.  House Republicans said, “Hunter Biden and James Biden made materially false statements to the Oversight Committee and the Judiciary Committee, as demonstrated by the evidence presented in the attached referral.”  “The nature of these false statements is not lost on the Committees: every instance implicates Joe Biden’s knowledge of and role in his family’s influence peddling,” they wrote.  COMER INVITES BIDEN TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY AS PART OF HOUSE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY “Hunter Biden denying his affiliation with the Rosemont Seneca Bohai Bank Account obfuscates the account to which foreign individuals who met with Joe Biden transmitted funds. Similarly, Hunter Biden creating from whole cloth a fiction in which he transmitted a threat to the wrong individual appears to be an attempt to hide the fact that invoking Joe Biden succeeded in coercing his Chinese partners to send him money,” they wrote. “It also calls into doubt Hunter Biden’s other testimony about that event, such as his contention that his father was not, in fact, sitting next to him when he transmitted the message.”  They also said James Biden’s “denial that Joe Biden’s meeting with James Biden, Hunter Biden, and Hunter Biden’s business associate for a Chinese transaction, Tony Bobulinski, took place – despite evidence being placed in front of him and being given multiple opportunities to amend his response – appears to be a clumsy attempt to protect Joe Biden from the reality that Joe Biden has indeed met with his family’s business associates.”  In a statement to Fox News Digital, Comer said Republicans’ investigation “has revealed President Biden knew about, participated in, and benefitted from his family cashing in on the Biden name around the world.”  “Despite this record of evidence, President Biden continues to lie to the American people about his involvement in these influence-peddling schemes. It appears making false statements runs in the Biden family,” he said, adding that lawmakers have “caught President Biden’s son and brother making blatant lies to Congress in what appears to be a concerted effort to hide Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s schemes.”  “As part of our efforts to hold the Bidens accountable for profiting off public office, we are today referring Hunter and James Biden to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution for making false statements to Congress,” Comer said.  He added: “This is not the end of our efforts to hold the Bidens accountable; it’s only the beginning.”  “Lying to Congress is a serious crime with serious consequences. Both Hunter and James Biden did just that,” Jordan said. “They lied to coverup President Biden’s involvement in their family’s international influence peddling schemes that have generated millions of dollars.”  Jordan said the criminal referrals are “a reflection of criminal wrongdoing by the Biden family, and the Department of Justice must take steps to hold the Bidens accountable.”  Last month, Ways and Means Chairman Smith held a mark-up session to discuss documents protected under IRS code 6103 – a portion of the tax code that keeps certain information confidential. Discussing that material without it being properly released by the Ways and Means Committee is considered a felony.  HOUSE OVERSIGHT RELEASES JAMES BIDEN’S DEPOSITION TRANSCRIPT AS IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY MOVES INTO ‘NEXT

‘National security issue’: Ex-WH doctor raises alarms on Biden’s mental health after bombshell report

FIRST ON FOX: A former White House physician-turned-Republican lawmaker says President Biden’s mental fitness is a matter of “national security.”  “The article’s just documenting what I’ve been saying all along: he’s not fit to be the commander-in-chief,” Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “He’s got significant issues, he shouldn’t have the job. You know, it’s a national security issue for us.” It comes after a bombshell report in the Wall Street Journal that cited interviews with 45 people over the course of several months, claiming that congressional leaders and others who have met with Biden have noticed he “appears slower now” and is “someone who has both good moments and bad ones.”  Before being elected to Congress, Jackson served as the top White House physician to former Presidents Obama and Trump. He also served as chief medical adviser for the latter. BIDEN SAYS WORLD LEADERS ARE SCARED OF ANOTHER TRUMP PRESIDENCY, TELL HIM ‘YOU CAN’T LET’ TRUMP WIN The Journal’s report has prompted furious pushback from the White House and its allies, who have dismissed it as a GOP-led hit piece. However, Jackson pointed out that some of the commentary apparently came from Democrats. The report said, “Most of those who said Biden performed poorly were Republicans, but some Democrats said that he showed his age in several of the exchanges.” The Texas Republican speculated that it could be the beginnings of a political coup against the 81-year-old president. “I think that the fact that it came out like this, and is so well sourced, tells me that this might be the left’s first attempt to start laying the groundwork to get rid of him,” Jackson said. Jackson told Fox News Digital that he has sent five letters to the White House since Biden took office in January 2021, urging him to take a cognitive test and to make those results public. All five letters have gone unanswered, he said. BIDEN ORDER TO BLOCK MOST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHEN CROSSINGS SURGE, AS ELECTION NEARS “I don’t know if it does any good to send another letter at this point,” Jackson said. “They’ve ignored them all.” There have been several recent polls that show Biden’s age is a top concern for voters. A March New York Times/Siena College poll found that 61% of respondents who voted for Biden in 2020 agreed with the statement, “Joe Biden is just too old to be an effective president.”  White House spokesman Andrew Bates hit back at the Journal’s report, saying, “Congressional Republicans, foreign leaders and nonpartisan national-security experts have made clear in their own words that President Biden is a savvy and effective leader who has a deep record of legislative accomplishment.” “Now, in 2024, House Republicans are making false claims as a political tactic that flatly contradict previous statements made by themselves and their colleagues,” Bates said. BIDEN SAYS TRUMP ‘SHOULD’ HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAL CONVICTION, GRINS AND IGNORES QUESTIONS Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., posted on X, “Many of us spent time with [the Journal] to share on the record our first-hand experiences with [Biden], where we see his wisdom, experience, strength and strategic thinking. Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans and printed a hit piece.” “I made clear to the [Journal] regarding the January meeting on Ukraine that the President was absolutely engaged & ran that meeting in a way that brought everyone together. I’m not quoted — I wonder why,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., wrote on X. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment.

Darla Cameron is the Tribune’s new interim chief product officer

Laura McReavy Hearnsberger also joined the Tribune’s product team as our new data analyst.

Dems in hot seat for alleged ethics violations over Alito recusal demands

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., suggested Democratic lawmakers could have incurred ethical violations when they made recusal demands of the Supreme Court after news broke of flags that had flown at Justice Samuel Alito’s homes. Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., “potentially engaged in unethical professional conduct before the Court,” the Republican leader claimed in floor remarks on Wednesday. Both are members of the Senate judiciary committee.  “Three of our colleagues have taken it upon themselves to write to the Chief Justice and demand Justice Alito’s recusal in cases,” he explained. “One went so far as to tell the Chief that he should strip Justices Alito and [Clarence] Thomas of the ability to write majority opinions unless they recuse from the cases liberals don’t want them hearing.” “This goes beyond the standard disgraceful bullying my Democratic colleagues have perfected,” he said. BALANCE OF POWER: MESSY GOP PRIMARIES COULD BOOST DEMOCRATS IN SWING STATE RACES “These senators are telling the chief justice, privately, to change the course of pending litigation,” McConnell said, adding that this is “ex-parte communication.” He noted that such correspondence goes against the outlined American Bar Association code of conduct.  This, McConnell said, presents an ethical issue because both Blumenthal and Whitehouse appear to be members of the Supreme Court Bar. Admission to the bar is necessary for any lawyer to argue before the court. Both senators have previously argued cases in front of the Supreme Court prior to their elections to the Senate.  ROMNEY SCORCHES BRAGG’S ‘POLITICAL DECISION’ IN TRUMP CASE: ‘MALPRACTICE’ “They are officers of the court and bound by a different set of rules than a mere senator,” he explained.  According to McConnell, the ex-parte communications the senators have engaged in via letters could rise to the level of conduct that is considered “unbecoming” and perhaps subject to discipline.  “I might suggest to our colleagues that unethical ex-parte communications seeking to change the course of pending litigation is such conduct. And that the Court should take any remedial action it feels to be appropriate,” the minority leader said.  GOP’S MURKOWSKI LAMENTS TRUMP’S ‘BAGGAGE’ FOLLOWING GUILTY VERDICT He further pointed to the larger issue of politicization among attorneys, but reiterated that it is solely the jurisdiction of the court to ensure the ethics of those within it.  “We don’t need to appeal to heaven to fix this problem. Just to the Supreme Court’s power to police the ethical practice of law among the members of its Bar,” he said, referencing the phrase featured on a historical flag at Alito’s beach home, which read, “appeal to heaven.”  SOROS HEIR URGES DEMOCRATS TO HAMMER TRUMP AS ‘CONVICTED FELON AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY’ Following several reports on an upside-down flag briefly flown at Alito’s Virginia home and the other at his vacation home, Democratic lawmakers promptly called on the conservative justice to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election. This comes as the court has yet to rule on former President Trump’s claim of immunity in his federal election interference case, and Alito’s vote could potentially decide the case one way or another.  Among those who made such calls were Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., along with Blumenthal and Whitehouse. Durbin and Whitehouse asked for a meeting with Roberts, asking that he ensure Alito’s recusal, while Blumenthal asked Roberts in his own letter “not to assign opinions or circuit justiceships to Justices Sam Alito or Clarence Thomas if they decline to recuse themselves from cases relating to January 6th and the ‘Stop the Steal’ movement.” Neither Blumenthal’s nor Whitehouse’s office immediately provided comment to Fox News Digital. 

5 recent gaffes by President Biden

President Biden’s cognitive performance is once again being thrust into the spotlight following a new report from The Wall Street Journal that the 81-year-old is showing signs of slowing down during private meetings.  Many Republicans and even some Democrats said the president showed his age in those settings, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing conversations with 45 lawmakers and administration officials about the president’s mental performance.  White House officials are dismissing many of the accounts, but here are five of President Biden’s recent gaffes. President Biden said at a Rose Garden event celebrating Jewish American Heritage last month that American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg Polin, who is currently being held captive by Hamas, was in attendance.  “My administration is working around the clock to free the remaining hostages, just as we have freed hostages already. And here with us today is Hersh Goldberg Polin,” Biden said, before quickly correcting himself.  BIDEN MOCKED AFTER ‘I’M IN THE 20TH CENTURY’ GAFFE “And still he is not here with us, but he’s still being held by Hamas,” Biden then said, recognizing the 23-year-old’s parents, who were in attendance that day.  President Biden appeared to claim during a campaign event in Michigan that he was vice president during the coronavirus pandemic and that former President Barack Obama dispatched him to Detroit to help battle the disease.  “And when I was vice president, things were kind of bad during the pandemic,” Biden said. “And, what happened was Barack said to me: ‘Go to Detroit – and help fix it.’”  But the coronavirus pandemic, numbered COVID-19 due to global health officials having deemed it an outbreak in 2019, transpired in the latter years of former President Trump’s term, not when Obama was president. Biden was last vice president in January 2017.  President Biden, during a speech at a trade union conference in Washington, D.C., appeared to read teleprompter instructions out loud.  “I see an economy that grows from the middle out and bottom up, where the wealthy pay their fair share, so we can have childcare, paid leave and so much more and still reduce the federal deficit and increase economic growth. Folks, imagine what we can do next, four more years, pause,” Biden said.   BIDEN TAKES HEAT OVER GAFFE URGING AMERICANS TO ‘CHOOSE FREEDOM OVER DEMOCRACY’ The crowd then broke out in a chant of “Four more years!” while Biden did indeed pause.  Biden, speaking during a campaign rally in Tampa, Florida, said that “now, in America today, in 2024, women have fewer rights than their mothers and their grandmothers had because of Donald Trump.”  “Look, I don’t think we are going to let them get away with it, do you?” Biden asked the crowd, who shouted “No!” in response.  “And folks, in a sense, I don’t know why we are surprised by Trump – how many times does he have to prove we can’t be trusted?” Biden then asked the crowd.  Biden in 2021 claimed he spoke with the late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who died in 2017, while recalling past conversations during fundraising events.  Biden attended three campaign reception events in New York, according to his schedule. At his second and third events, he told donors about conversations surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, at his first Group of Seven (G7) meeting as president, which took place in England in June of that year.  The president said that the late German Chancellor Kohl asked him what he would say if he learned 1,000 people stormed the British Parliament in an attempt to deny the next prime minister from taking office.  The annual meeting was not attended by Kohl, as he had been dead for four years, but by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  Fox News’ Landon Mion, Charles Creitz and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report. 

Possible McConnell replacement takes Democrat IVF accusations head on with major announcement

FIRST ON FOX: A top Senate Republican is taking Democrats’ claims about the GOP’s approach to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) head on. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who is running to replace Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell as the leader of Senate Republicans, announced Wednesday his launch of a seven-figure ad buy to take the “real” GOP message about IVF to the people of his home state. “Politics today is just full of it. Attack ads say the same crazy stuff about every Republican. ‘They hate women, both control, even IVF.’ It’s ridiculous,” Scott says in the 30-second spot, titled “Every Republican.” TRUMP ENDORSEMENT TAKES CENTER STAGE IN BRUTAL SWING STATE PRIMARY AS ACCUSATIONS OF ‘DISLOYALTY’ FLY “Let’s get real. IVF — invitro fertilization — has brought beautiful babies to so many families. For me, it’s personal. My youngest daughter has been undergoing IVF treatments to grow her family. I’m Rick Scott, and this grandpa will always protect IVF. You can count on that,” he added. Scott’s campaign told Fox News Digital the ad will run in media markets statewide and will serve as a path forward for Senate Republicans and candidates to fight back against Democrats’ efforts to define the GOP as anti-women’s and reproductive rights. “I refuse to let any democrat try to lie about my stance on IVF and contraceptives in their desperate attempt to try to win an election,” Scott told Fox ahead of the ad’s launch.  HALEY, CHRISTIE STAY SILENT ON TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT AS GOP OUTRAGE GROWS OVER ‘UN-AMERICAN’ SILENCE “The Democrats can’t run on the economy because Biden killed it. They can’t run on safe communities because they have let hundreds of thousands of criminals cross the border illegally. They can’t run on strengthening our military because they are trying to make it woke and care more about supporting terrorist sympathizers on college campuses who hate Jewish people, so they have to resort to lying.”  “Let’s be clear: the Democrats are the radical ones on these issues. Our leadership in the Senate refuses to fight and allows Schumer, Biden and radical Democrats to define us and our positions time and time again. I’m done with that and that’s why I’m fighting back so we can win in Florida, win back the senate and get President Trump back in the White House,” he added. Democrats have sought to make abortion and reproductive rights a central issue in this year’s elections, including claims that Republicans want a national ban on abortion and want to restrict access to IVF treatments, as well as contraceptives. Scott is expected to face former Democrat Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the heavy favorite to win her party’s primary in August. He is also locked in a three-way battle to be the next Senate Republican leader, with South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Texas Sen. John Cornyn also vying for the role as well. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

‘It’s absurd’: Congress takes bipartisan action after Cuban officials’ tour secure parts of major airport

FIRST ON FOX: Florida lawmakers in both the House and the Senate are moving to ban officials from terror-sponsoring countries from viewing sensitive areas of airports, after outrage over a tour of Miami International Airport by officials of the communist Cuban regime. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., are introducing legislation in the House and Senate, first seen by Fox News Digital, that would prohibit countries designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism from touring sensitive parts of airports. It would block the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from permitting access to secure areas to officials of such governments. Co-sponsors of this bill are Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla. ‘INSULT TO INJURY’: FLORIDA LAWMAKERS ERUPT OVER CUBAN OFFICIALS TOURING SECURE PARTS OF TOP AIRPORT The Secure Airports From Enemies (SAFE) Act’s introduction comes after a tour last month by Cuban officials. CBS News Miami reported that officials said the five-hour tour involved a tour of sensitive areas of the airport, a security checkpoint and a baggage screen area.   The tour brought outrage from Republicans, as well as some Democrats in the state. “President Biden & Secretary Mayorkas granted agents of the Castro regime access to our sensitive TSA facilities at Miami International Airport. This pathetic and dangerous decision undermines our national security and puts passengers in serious risk,” Gimenez said in a statement.  “It’s absurd America has hosted officials from nations currently designated as State Sponsors of Terrorism. We must ensure this administration is not enabling foreign operatives to learn of our aviation security measures aimed at keeping Americans safe.” Rubio said. “As co-chair of the Cuba Democracy Caucus, I’m deeply concerned by the threat posed to Floridians and U.S. national security by Cuban officials touring secure areas at Miami International Airport,” Rep. Wasserman Schultz said. “I am proud to help lead this bill to protect Americans from transnational surveillance, repression, and terrorism, and safeguard our ongoing support for pro-democracy voices suffering under the cruelty of autocratic regimes like Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran.” A TSA spokesperson told Fox last month that it “routinely works with all countries with direct flights to the United States.”  CUBA PROTESTERS DEMAND FOOD, ELECTRICITY AS RUBIO SAYS NATION ON ‘VERGE OF COLLAPSE’ FROM MARXIST POLICIES “TSA hosts government officials and members of the aviation community at U.S. airports to foster a strong global aviation security posture. U.S. and Cuban authorities jointly manage the airspace between Cuba and the United States and ensure the safety and security of travelers using our airports,” the spokesperson said. “The Republic of Cuba has six last point of departure airports with direct flights to the United States, and accordingly TSA continually works to strengthen the security framework with Cuba and other Caribbean nations. The agency says that Cuban officials did not access sensitive technology or systems and instead received a general overview of security operations, including equipment that anyone screened can see, along with best practices so that Cuba can implement similar measures. It also said that Miami International Airport recently welcomed officials from Antigua, Barbados, Spain and Brazil for similar visits and that the last such Cuban delegation visit came in August 2018. PROTESTS ERUPT IN SANTIAGO OVER POWER OUTAGES, FOOD SHORTAGES AS CUBA FACES ECONOMIC CRISIS The State Department told Fox News Digital that it coordinates the visits with TSA consistent with applicable authorities and procedures. A spokesperson said that Cuba started sending officials to the U.S. in 2011, after the U.S. started assessments of Cuban airports in 2003, and those visits have continued to the current day.  “Aviation security is clearly in the national interest,” the spokesperson said. “Given Cuba’s proximity and the existence of direct flights to and from our countries, U.S. and Cuban authorities must collaborate while each working to ensure the safety and security of travelers at airports. As we have noted repeatedly, we will engage with the Cuban government when it is in the U.S. national interest to do so.”

WATCH: Lawmakers invoke Hunter Biden, Second Amendment in defending gun laws

As Hunter Biden’s criminal trial kicked off this week, a broad spectrum of House members sounded off on U.S. gun laws and how they are enforced. While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seemed to agree that gun laws should be enforced, they were divided on whether certain firearms restrictions or related policies should be codified into law in the first place. In an interview on Capitol Hill with Fox News Digital, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said that instead of drafting new restrictions, people would be better off if all the laws already in place were enforced. “[A] little birdie told me that there’s over 20,000 gun laws in America today. So here’s a novel idea: let’s just enforce those,” he said.  OBAMA JUDGE’S RULING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OWNING GUNS HELPS THE LEFT BLUR THE LINES OF CITIZENSHIP: RUBIO Bean also brought up that Biden, who is currently facing charges in Delaware in connection with allegations he lied on a federal firearms purchase form, in attesting that he was not partaking in controlled substances at the time. Biden’s gun was later reportedly tossed in a trash receptacle not far from Alexis I. du Pont High School in Greenville, Delaware. “If you lie on a gun form or you’re not allowed to have a gun. Those are the ones that need to be enforced,” Bean said. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., a gun owner himself, offered a similar defense of proverbial “common-sense” gun laws. He said that first-degree felonies that involve firearms are already outlawed, which is why there is no need for new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. The other issue leading to increases in gun crime may not have to do with the presence of gun laws, but instead in what Van Drew called “turnstile justice.” “[That’s] where somebody commits a crime, and they’re out very rapidly back into the area that they came from. That’s what’s wrong. They should get a sentence. If you hurt somebody with a gun – if you murder somebody – if you commit physical violence with a gun, then you should go to jail. And you should be there for a long time – not good, law-abiding people who own guns,” he said. HUNTER BIDEN ATTORNEYS TELL COURT THEY’RE ‘NOT READY’ FOR JUNE TRIAL DATE Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., said there is only one gun law that matters.  “I believe that the Second Amendment should be strictly enforced and adhered to,” she said.  Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, echoed that sentiment. “Obviously, any law ought to be enforced, but [gun laws] are a very controversial area – I’m a strong defender of the Second Amendment and, you know, generally think that’s an important thing to defend,” Cole said. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., offered a different view than some of his Republican colleagues, saying that assault weapons restrictions are extremely important when it comes to the overall discussion of gun control legislation. “Given the number of deaths… I think they should be severely enforced,” he said. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., of the Philadelphia area, added that there are too many weapons in the hands of people whom the public at-large agree should not have them. HOUSE GOP CHAIRMAN ACCUSES KEY GOVERNMENT AGENCY OF ACTING AS BIDEN CAMPAIGN ARM Scanlon called for federal universal background checks and for law enforcement to be better equipped to enforce such laws. Rep. James Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, echoed many of the other lawmakers, telling Fox News Digital that all gun laws ought to be enforced. “Because, you know, if gun laws aren’t enforced, more bad people have guns and do bad things with those guns.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said it is a simple fact that any law passed by Congress should rightly be enforced and is “good for the country.” “Now, we’ve got to make sure we don’t take the Second Amendment away from the people of this country,” he added, saying it is the Democratic Party that is trying to do just that. Williams said he has bills filed in the current Congress that push back against left-wing attempts to restrict the Second Amendment. Williams said laws are unfortunately broken all the time, and quipped that the Biden administration has been one entity “breaking laws everywhere,” while adding that the Second Amendment must be strongly protected no matter the party. “In many cases, it is the most important amendment we’ve got.”

NY’s Dem governor indefinitely halts congestion pricing plan, putting party over climate

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that she would stop the planned June 30 roll out of a congestion pricing plan, reportedly due to concerns about backlash at the voting booth.  The stated goal of congestion pricing in the Big Apple is to get greener by improving air quality and reducing traffic, but Hochul is reportedly more concerned that what’s billed as an environmental policy could hurt Democrats in this year’s tight races. “My commitment to a greener, more sustainable future is unwavering,” Hochul said at a press conference Wednesday, criticizing those “questioning my motives.” A source familiar with the matter earlier told Politico that Hochul is responding to concerns brought by House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is vying to flip the House back blue come November.  The GOP managed to reclaim a thin majority in the House two years ago largely due to several key Republican congressional victories in New York.  The first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan came when New York City transit ridership has taken a nosedive due to public safety concerns. It had received serious blowback from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, former President Donald Trump and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In a bid to seize power in the U.S. House once more, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity with Politico, said senior-level Hochul officials and staffers for Jeffries recently began floating the idea of delaying the congestion plan, which was projected to bring in $1 billion in revenue per year for the public transportation system.  The move preemptively drew criticism from activists. “Pumping the brakes on congestion pricing would be a massive betrayal of several million public transit riders,” Danny Pearlstein, the policy and communications director at Riders Alliance, which has spent years pushing for congestion pricing, told the New York Times. “It would also mean taking cues from the likes of Phil Murphy, Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump.” Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair and CEO Janno Lieber warned in an interview with WABC-TV last month that there was “no Plan B” to raise the billions of dollars in funds the transportation authority needs for construction priorities – including making subway stations more accessible and buying clean electric buses – if a judge rules against the congestion pricing in one of at least eight federal lawsuits challenging the proposed program.  To fill the gap from a potentially nixed congestion program, Hochul is considering a new tax on businesses in New York City, where taxpayers are already burdened by some of the highest in the country, the Times reported. The new business tax would need approval from the state legislature.  Under the transit authority’s plan, trucks would be subject to a charge of $24 or $36 per trip, depending on their size. Most drivers in private passenger cars, in contrast, should expect to pay about $15, with lower rates for motorcycles and late-night entries into the city, according to the proposal finalized in March.  The latest lawsuit brought by the Trucking Association of New York last week argues the higher fees unfairly and unconstitutionally target the trucking industry, which will be forced to shoulder the increased costs, as truck operators don’t have flexibility on their driving routes or schedules, resulting in price increases on countless goods.  Cuomo, who stepped down during a sexual harassment scandal, had urged a delay in the congestion pricing months ago.  In a March op-ed, he said “many things have changed since 2019 when we passed congestion pricing and while it is the right public policy, we must seriously consider if now is the right time to enact it.”  “New York City still hasn’t recovered from COVID; office occupancy is still at only 48.9%. For many, traveling to the city is no longer a necessity — and for some it is an unwelcome hardship,” Cuomo wrote for the New York Post. What impact will an additional $15 entry surcharge have on New York City’s recovery in this moment — when the migrant crisis, crime, homelessness, quality of life and taxes are all pressing problems? More important, the policy’s success hinges on people’s confidence that mass transit — which is still operating 29% below pre-pandemic ridership levels — is a safe alternative.”  Cuomo criticized progressives’ call to defund the police and its impact on public safety on the subways, also voicing the need to get “dangerous mentally ill homeless people out of the system.”  Former Cuomo deputy, Melissa DeRosa, slammed Hochul, writing in an X post that there had been a “legitimate policy reason” for months to delay congestion pricing, but the governor had “doubled down.” “This is exactly why @GovKathyHochul is so wildly unpopular,” DeRosa wrote Wednesday. “There is — and has been for months — a legitimate policy reason to delay CP out of genuine concern for the fragile recovery of NYC’s economy. It is the right policy at the wrong time.” “Instead, like an ostrich she & @MTA doubled down,” she added. “Now this will be seen for exactly what it (and she) is: transparently political.”  A Manhattan federal court judge in May heard arguments in lawsuits brought by unionized public school teachers, politicians and other New Yorkers. In New Jersey, a federal court judge has also heard arguments in legal challenges brought by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and others. Many of those lawsuits argue the tolling scheme was approved by federal transportation officials without proper scrutiny and the court should order transit officials to conduct a more comprehensive environmental study before rolling out the plan. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.