Page 1838 – Texas Weekly Online

GOP committee sounds alarm on document it says ‘confirms’ fears about Biden agency’s activities in key state

FIRST ON FOX: The House Committee on Small Business has released a “Memorandum of Understanding” between the Biden administration and the state of Michigan which it fears represents a potentially unconstitutional agreement that is aimed at registering voters in the key swing state with a political agenda in mind. Biden’s Small Business Administration announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March with the Michigan Department of State to “promote civic engagement and voter registration in Michigan” that it called the “first-of-its-kind collaboration” that immediately raised questions from the committee. The MOU, which has been uploaded to the Congressional Repository, outlines the coordination between Michigan and the Biden administration where the state will “provide the Agency access to training resources related to the online Michigan Voter Information Center (MVIC)” and “The Agency shall provide voter registration training to all personnel conducting activities under this MOA. “This training shall include information on who is eligible to register to vote, the interactions during which Agency staff must make voter registration services available, instructions to Agency staff on how to refer individuals to register to vote online using MVIC, and an overview of additional information that is available to voters in MVIC,” the MOU continued. HOUSE GOP CHAIRMAN ACCUSES KEY GOVERNMENT AGENCY OF ACTING AS BIDEN ‘CAMPAIGN ARM’ The MOU also discusses how the Michigan Department of State would “create a unique URL for the SBA to use to drive online visitors to register to vote,” and that the SBA’s Michigan field office would allow state government officials to facilitate in-person voter registration at the federal agency’s business outreach events. The committee told Fox News Digital that they released the documentation in the interest of “transparency” and after seeing the MOU, the committee’s previous concerns that the program is “unconstitutional” and an improper use of taxpayer funds were not assuaged. “Seeing the MOU with Michigan does nothing to ease our concerns about the SBA getting involved in federal elections,” Committee Chairman Roger Williams said. “In fact, this agreement confirms SBA employees are preparing to undergo trainings on how to best register voters rather than spend their time working to help struggling small businesses,” the chairman continued. “I encourage all Americans to look at this agreement and decide if this is how they want their tax dollars spent. The SBA must end all these electioneering activities on behalf of President Biden and get back to their sole mission of supporting the needs of Main Street.” The committee, who has referred to the Michigan agreement as the state essentially serving as a “campaign arm” for Biden’s reelection, also released maps that overlay former SBA events, census data, Michigan Department of State data, and publicly reported information of Democrat-targeted voter blocs which they say suggests possible areas that voter registration efforts will target when the effort is officially rolled out. WATCHDOG GROUP SUES BIDEN AGENCY FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS ITS VOTER WORK ‘A SLAP IN THE FACE’ An investigation by the House Small Business Committee found that 22 out of 25 of SBA outreach events from January 2024 to April 2024 have taken place in counties with the highest population of Democratic National Committee (DNC) target demographics. Meanwhile, 11 of 15 Michigan counties that showed the largest voter registration increases over the last year have ranked highest in population of young voters and Black voters, according to the committee – two of the left’s most-sought voting blocs. “SBA’s MOU with Michigan proves that the agency is more concerned with registering voters than performing its official duties,” GOP Sen. Joni Ernst, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, told Fox News Digital. “This outrageous misuse and abuse of Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars will not go unpunished under my watch. Chairman Williams and I will continue shining a light on the SBA and exposing Biden’s bad actors.” The data for the maps was compiled after the committee says it became aware of a video recording of an SBA adviser discussing SBA Administrator Guzman traveling to battleground states and “indirectly campaigning for Biden”, according to the committee, and inviting Democratic members of Congress on the trips at a higher rate than Republicans. “Today’s letter is a continuation of our Committee’s investigation into the SBA’s voter registration and electioneering efforts,” Chairman Williams said in a press release earlier this month. “The SBA has shown a serious lack of transparency regarding the travels of senior SBA officials, including Administrator Guzman. Main Street – and the American People – have a right to know what exactly is going on and how the SBA is spending their hard-earned tax dollars. I hope the SBA will be forthcoming with us and provide us with the requested documents as we continue our investigation into this matter.” TOP RED STATE OFFICIAL DEMANDS ANSWERS ON BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDER ‘ATTEMPTING TO REGISTER’ ILLEGALS TO VOTE The coordination between the SBA and Michigan was sparked by a 2021 executive order from Biden directing federal agencies to promote “access to voting,” which raised concerns from some that the administration is using the government agency to register votes in a swing state that many believe will be one of the states the November election hinges upon. The House committee earlier this month subpoenaed SBA Chief of Staff Arthur Plews and his special adviser, Tyler Robinson, after they are said to have been no-shows at scheduled transcribed interviews with the committee and failed to turn over documents and information related to the SBA program. Plews was scheduled to testify before the committee on Thursday but recently retained personal counsel and the committee says they are negotiating a new time for him to meet with the committee to provide information on the program. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to the SBA and White House but did not receive a comment. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Charles Creitz contributed to this report

Revelation of secret Obama-era program casts doubt on stated reason for Trump Mar-a-Lago raid

FIRST ON FOX: A purportedly never-before-seen Department of Defense memo from the Obama era appears to indicate the federal government already may have had original copies of the documents seized at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in 2022, raising serious questions about the pretext for the raid, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned. America First Legal, a conservative legal group, released Thursday what it says is a newly unearthed memo from the Obama administration Department of Defense “confirming the government may have already had originals of the alleged classified documents involved in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s sham prosecution against President Trump.” The document, titled Memorandum of Understanding Entered into by Presidential Information Technology Community Entities, is from 2015, and followed an October 2014 Russian breach of the Executive Office of the President’s network. Then-President Barack Obama took executive action to create the Presidential Information Technology Community (PITC) to better protect the executive branch from such attacks, according to AFL. The PITC, which includes representatives from federal agencies such as the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, effectively established that the president controls information he receives through the PITC network. NEW REVELATIONS IN FLORIDA DOCUMENTS TRIAL PUT TRUMP ON OFFENSE AGAINST ‘DERANGED’ SPECIAL COUNSEL The executive action was made public at the time, however, America First Legal said it obtained a never-before-seen memo confirming the Department of Defense has been “operating and maintaining the information resources and information systems provided to the President, Vice President, and Executive Office of the President.” JUDGE UNSEALS FBI FILES IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, INCLUDING DETAILED TIMELINE OF MAR-A-LAGO RAID The memo could mean that the federal government has stored and retained Executive Office of the President documents, including “a substantial amount, if not all, of President Trump’s classified documents,” AFL said in its press release. “What America First Legal has uncovered after months of investigative work paints an unfortunate picture of the rule of law in Washington. A former President of the United States – the most democratically accountable officer under our Constitution – was subject to a politicized referral concocted by the Biden White House that led to an armed FBI raid of his home – where his wife and youngest child live – and is now subject to prosecution,” America First Legal Vice President Dan Epstein said. GOP SLAMS ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF DOJ AFTER TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO RAIDED BY FBI; DEMS CALL IT ‘ACCOUNTABILITY’ “And to now realize that the Biden Administration could have avoided an illegal referral process to recover records the government already possessed, that it could have used normal means to ensure that records the former president believed should be housed in his presidential library (not yet built because of the hordes of investigations aimed at silencing him) were subject to a temporary hold for purposes of Archives’ review — yet didn’t — speaks loudly to America: the law protects only those who follow the norms of one party,” Epstein added. America First Legal obtained the documents through litigation against the Department of Defense, the press release said. TRUMP’S LAWYERS PUSH FOR DISMISSAL OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, ARGUING ‘PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY’ The FBI agents seized 33 boxes of documents in August 2022 from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, spurring another legal battle that Trump has called a “scam.” The investigation is overseen by special prosecutor Jack Smith, whom Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed to the job, and has charged Trump with 40 felony counts, including allegedly violating the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and slammed the case as an “Election Inference Scam” promoted by the Biden administration and “Deranged Jack Smith.” The case was slated to head to trial on May 20, but has since been put on ice until presiding Judge Aileen Cannon sets a new date. Cannon did hold hearings this week to address the defense team’s motion for dismissal. TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS’ Trump’s classified documents case also opened the doors to investigations regarding classified documents in the possession of President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence. Special Counsel Robert Hur announced in February that he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, citing that Biden is “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH HITS BACK AT JUDGE FOR ‘FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED LEGAL PREMISE’ IN TRUMP DOCUMENTS CASE FEDERAL JUDGE POSTPONES TRUMP’S CLASSIFIED RECORDS TRIAL WITH NO NEW DATE “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him – by then a former president well into his eighties – of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness,” Hur wrote in his report. The findings sparked widespread outrage that Biden was effectively deemed too cognitively impaired to be charged with a crime but could serve as president. Trump has meanwhile slammed the disparity in charges as a reflection of a “sick and corrupt, two-tiered system of justice in our country.” Earlier this month, the White House asserted executive privilege over audio and video recordings related to Hur’s interviews with Biden, sparking condemnation from Republicans. Biden met with Hur for about five hours last year, when he was grilled about his handling of the classified documents. Republican House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer responded to the executive privilege by arguing there’s “a five-alarm fire at the White House.” “Clearly President Biden and his advisors fear releasing the audio recordings of his interview because it will again reaffirm to the American people that President Biden’s mental state is in decline. The House Oversight Committee requires these recordings as part of our investigation of President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents,” Comer told Fox News Digital last week. “The White House is asserting executive privilege

Schumer-backed border bill fails a second time with even less Dem support

The Senate failed to advance a border bill backed by some Democrats and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday, seeing the measure garner less support than it did in February when it was first considered. By a vote of 43-50, senators chose not to advance the bill, which was negotiated in a bipartisan nature by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla. Both Lankford and Sinema sided against their own legislation, a departure from their previous votes. VISA BANS FOR ICC OFFICIALS URGED BY BIPARTISAN SENATORS AFTER ISRAEL ARREST WARRANT REQUESTS In a speech ahead of the vote, Sinema denounced political theater on both sides of the aisle, hitting Republicans for turning their back on the bill and Democrats for choosing to bring it up again without working to gain support. “Today, the Senate is proving what many Americans already think about Congress: that Senators come here for political games, not to deliver results,” Sinema said in a statement. Lankford also slammed Democrats on the floor for reviving the bill for what he said was a political purpose. BIDEN EPA GRANTED $50M TO ANTI-ISRAEL ‘CLIMATE JUSTICE’ GROUP “We all know the situation at the border is unacceptable and demands attention from Congress,” Schumer told his colleagues in his own remarks prior to the vote. “Democrats believe that, Republicans have been saying it, and that’s why three months ago we sat down with them to write a strong and necessary and bipartisan border security bill.” Several Republicans held a press conference on Wednesday, during which they shredded the forthcoming vote, even claiming the measure was “worse than doing nothing” because of certain immigration provisions. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., slammed the planned vote as an “election year political stunt” to protect several vulnerable incumbent Democrats in swing states. BIDEN OUTPACES TRUMP WITH 200 CONFIRMED JUDGES, CEMENTING IMPACT ON COURTS Prior to the vote, House leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Republican conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said the bill would not see the light of day in the lower chamber. According to them, it would be “dead on arrival.” Instead, the leaders of Republicans in the House pointed to the H.R. 2 border legislation that was previously sent to the Senate and includes many GOP priorities as it relates to the southern border. ‘WORSE THAN DOING NOTHING’: GOP RIPS INTO SCHUMER-BACKED BORDER BILL Schumer rejected calls to take up H.R. 2, on Thursday, claiming, “If anything is political theater, it’s H.R. 2. It’s not designed to solve the problem. It’s designed to make a political point.” The measure initially failed a procedural hurdle in February by a vote of 49-50, falling short of the necessary 60. Between then and now, the bill lost support from both Democrats and Republicans.

New Hampshire political consultant behind AI-powered Biden robocalls hit with 24 criminal charges, $6M fine

New Hampshire political consultant behind AI-powered Biden robocalls hit with 24 criminal charges, M fine

The New Hampshire political consultant behind robocalls mimicking President Biden is now facing 24 criminal charges, 13 of which are felony counts. Steve Kramer admitted to commissioning robocalls that used artificial intelligence to generate a voice similar to President Biden encouraging recipients not to participate in the primary. The Federal Communications Commission also announced $6 million in fines against Kramer. “It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” the illicit calls stated, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella. The calls added, “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.” NEW HAMPSHIRE INVESTIGATING FAKE BIDEN ROBOCALL TELLING VOTERS NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN TUESDAY’S PRIMARY “After we received multiple reports and complaints on the day these calls were made and the day after these calls were made, my office immediately opened an investigation,” Formella said. He described how his office’s Election Law Unit worked with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a bipartisan task force made up of 50 state attorneys general and the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau. Kramer previously told local outlet News 9 he produced the phone calls as a stunt to demonstrate the need to regulate AI technology. NEW HAMPSHIRE AG TRACES ROBOCALLS WITH ‘AI-GENERATED CLONE’ OF BIDEN’S VOICE BACK TO TEXAS-BASED COMPANIES “Maybe I’m a villain today, but I think, in the end, we get a better country and better democracy because of what I’ve done, deliberately,” Kramer previously said of the investigation. The New Hampshire robocalls sparked immediate action in outlawing deep fakes impersonating political candidates. The FCC ruled the practice illegal in February. With the unanimous adoption of a ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices as “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a 1991 law restricting junk calls that use artificial and prerecorded voice messages, the FCC said it was giving state attorneys general new tools to go after those responsible for voice-cloning scams. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? “Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities and misinform voters. We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “State Attorneys General will now have new tools to crack down on these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation.” Fox News’ Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

UN approves resolution to commemorate 1995 Srebrenica genocide

The United Nations General Assembly has voted to establish an annual day of remembrance for the 1995 Srebrenica genocide despite furious opposition from Bosnian Serbs and Serbia. The resolution, written by Germany and Rwanda, received 84 votes in favour and 19 against with 68 abstentions on Thursday. It makes July 11 the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide. Before the vote, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned the General Assembly the move “will just open old wounds, and that will create a complete political havoc”. But he added he did not deny the killings at Srebrenica, saying he bowed his “head to all the victims of the conflict in Bosnia”. “This resolution seeks to foster reconciliation in the present and for the future,” German Ambassador Antje Leendertse said. Church bells rang out across Serbia on Thursday in protest. The Serbian Orthodox Church said it hoped the gesture would unite Serbs in “prayers, serenity, mutual solidarity and firmness in doing good despite untrue and unjust accusations it faces at the UN”. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wears a Serbian flag as he attends the UN General Assembly session that passed a resolution to create an international day to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters] Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, meanwhile, denied a genocide had even taken place in the Bosnian city and said his administration would not recognize the UN resolution. “There was no genocide in Srebrenica,” Dodik told a news conference in Srebrenica. Bosnian Serb forces captured Srebrenica, a UN-protected enclave at the time, on July 11, 1995, a few months before the end of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s civil war. In the following days, Bosnian Serb forces killed about 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers – a crime described as a genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice. The incident is considered the worst single atrocity in Europe since World War II. In addition to establishing the memorial day, the resolution condemns “any denial” of the genocide and urges UN member countries to “preserve the established facts”. In a letter to other UN members, Germany and Rwanda described the vote as a “crucial opportunity to unite in honouring the victims and acknowledging the pivotal role played by international courts”. ‘Provocative’ There has been a furious response from Serbia and Bosnian Serb leaders. To try to defuse tensions, the authors of the resolution added – at Montenegro’s request – that culpability for the genocide is “individualised and cannot be attributed to any ethnic, religious or other group or community as a whole”. That has not been enough to appease Belgrade. In a letter sent Sunday to all UN delegations, Serbian charge d’affaires Sasa Mart warned that raising “historically sensitive topics serves only to deepen division and may bring additional instability to the Balkans”. Russia’s UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, called the resolution “provocative” and a “threat to peace and security”. Moscow previously vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning the “crime of genocide at Srebrenica”. Dodik – president of Republika Srpska, the Serb entity in Bosnia where thousands of people demonstrated in April against the resolution – said the Srebrenica genocide was a “sham”. The European Union has responded strongly, with foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano saying: “There cannot be any denial” and “anyone trying to put it in doubt has no place in Europe.” For relatives of the victims of the massacre, the UN debate is an important moment in their quest for peace. “Those who led their people into this position [of genocide denial] must accept the truth, so that we can all find peace and move on with our lives,” said Kada Hotic, 79-year-old co-director of an association of Srebrenica mothers. She lost her son, husband and two brothers in the genocide. The resolution is “of the highest importance for spreading the truth”, said Denis Becirovic, the Bosniak member of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency. Adblock test (Why?)

Germany’s AfD expelled from far-right EU parliament group

Weeks before elections, ID group says it does not want to be associated with incidents involving AfD’s Maximilian Krah. The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament says it has decided to expel the Alternative for Germany (AfD) delegation weeks before elections for the assembly. The decision follows comments that Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s lead candidate in the elections, made to an Italian newspaper at the weekend that the members of the Nazi paramilitary SS force were “not all criminals”. “The Bureau of the Identity and Democracy Group in the European Parliament has decided today to exclude the German delegation, AfD, with immediate effect,” ID said in a statement on Thursday. “The ID Group no longer wants to be associated with the incidents involving Maximilian Krah, head of the AfD list for the European elections,” the statement said. Krah, 47, whose aide has been charged with spying for China, has already had to resign from the AfD’s leadership board and promised not to make any further campaign appearances although he is still seeking re-election to the European Parliament. Far-right parties in the assembly are currently split between the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), whose de facto leader is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the ID group, spearheaded by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. It is the latest blow for the AfD in a chaotic few months. France’s Le Pen abandoned the party for being an unsuitable partner as it has faced adverse court rulings and concern about its links to China and Russia. ‘Clean break’ “It is time to make a clean break with this movement, which is not managed and which obviously is under the influence of radical groups within,” Le Pen said. National Rally lawmaker Jean-Paul Garraud, who sits in ID’s leadership bureau, confirmed his party was behind the initiative to expel its German partner. He told the Agence France-Presse news agency that Krah’s party as a whole carried responsibility for his “inadmissible” comments as lead candidate – “and, therefore, we decided to exclude AfD.” The AfD said in response on Thursday that it had “taken note of the ID Group’s decision” but insisted it remained optimistic about the June 6-9 elections. The party insisted it would “continue to have reliable partners at our side in the new legislative period”. The AfD’s exclusion came a day after Krah said following talks with the party’s top brass that he will leave its federal steering committee. The lawmaker is at the centre of a deepening crisis after one of his aides in the European Parliament was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Krah and another key AfD candidate, Petr Bystron, have also been forced to deny allegations they accepted money to spread pro-Russian positions on a Moscow-financed news website. Bystron, who holds the second spot on the AfD’s European Union elections list, said on Wednesday that he, too, would stop appearing at campaign events, putting it down to “family reasons”. The ID group had consisted of 59 European lawmakers from eight countries, the largest delegations being Italy’s League party with 23 lawmakers and France’s National Rally with 18. Adblock test (Why?)

Thousands mourn at Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s funeral procession

NewsFeed Funeral services for Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi started in Tehran and ended in his hometown of Mashhad. Raisi died alongside Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and six others Sunday in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan. Published On 23 May 202423 May 2024 Adblock test (Why?)

Rand Paul endorses GOP Utah Senate candidate to replace Romney, says he’s the ‘type of Republican’ needed

A Utah Senate candidate who vowed to “push back against the establishment” if he’s elected has earned the support of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who said he is the “type of Republican” needed in the upper chamber to replace retiring GOP Sen. Mitt Romney. Paul endorsed Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs on Thursday, backing a man who gained notoriety in 2020 for his opposition to mask mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic. “In 2024, Utah will elect a Republican no matter what. It’s about what type of Republican,” Paul said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “We need someone who will stand with myself and Mike Lee defending the Constitution. We need a Republican who will stand against reckless spending and endless war. I enthusiastically endorse Trent Staggs because he is that type of Republican,” Paul added. TRUMP ENDORSES GOP UTAH SENATE CANDIDATE LOOKING TO REPLACE ROMNEY: ‘HE WILL BE A GREAT SENATOR’ Describing Paul as a “constant champion” of conservative principles, Staggs – who also landed former President Trump’s endorsement last month – said he appreciated the Kentucky senator’s support. “Rand Paul has been a constant champion of liberty and small government. I’m honored to have his support,” Staggs told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to joining him in fighting big government and pursuing an America First agenda in the Senate.” Staggs announced his decision to enter the race last spring, prior to Romney’s announcement that he would retire from the chamber at the end of his term next year. “I love my children, and I’m worried about the country they will inherit if I sit on the sidelines,” Staggs told Fox News Digital at the time. “For too long, we’ve allowed government bureaucrats to spend away the next generation’s future, and we need more voices willing to push back.” “Mitt Romney fits in the Senate much better than I do. We’ve elected far too many people who ‘fit in’ in Washington. I’m not going to Washington to make friends, I’m going to make change,” he added. Romney, who won the GOP nomination for president in 2012 and was later defeated by Barack Obama, announced in September that he would not be seeking a second term in the Senate. In March, during a town hall event at Riverton High School, Staggs discussed the endorsements his campaign has received and insisted those that have endorsed him have the energy he hopes to “emulate” if he’s elected. “I’m not just somebody going out there trying to pick up any old endorsement,” Staggs said at the time, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “These are intentional. These are folks that I want to be able to say I’m going to emulate their type of fire and energy and ability to push back against the establishment.” UTAH GOP CHOOSE TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE AS NOMINEE TO REPLACE SEN. ROMNEY, BUT PRIMARY STILL TO COME Trump praised Staggs as someone committed to the “Make America Great Again” movement, in his endorsement post on Truth Social. “Trent Staggs is 100% MAGA, and is running to fill The Mitt Romney, a Total Loser, Seat as the next Senator from the Great State of Utah,” Trump wrote at the time. “A Highly Successful Entrepreneur, who has served brilliantly as Mayor of Riverton for the past six years, Trent knows how to Create Jobs, Stop Inflation, Grow the Economy, and Secure the Border.” “As your next Senator, Trent will help us Unleash American Energy, Support our Military/Vets, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” he added. “Trent Staggs has my Complete and Total Endorsement – He will be a GREAT Senator, and never let you down!” Staggs was one of the first candidates to pose a potential challenge to Romney and has since picked up endorsements from several other prominent Republicans, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, among others. He has also received the backing of Utah’s largest police union – the Utah Fraternal Order of Police, which labeled Staggs “a longtime supporter of law enforcement and specifically the FOP.” Though the state’s primary election isn’t until June 25, when voters will get to voice their opinion on the nominee, the Utah Republican Party selected Staggs as its nominee to replace Romney last month during a state convention. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Staggs is one of a handful of Republicans seeking the party’s nomination. Others who are seeking to replace Romney in the Senate include more moderate candidates like Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, current Utah Rep. John Curtis, and businessman Jason Walton. The winner of the Republican primary election will go on to the state’s general election, where the GOP nominee is likely to defeat Democrat nominee Caroline Gleich and other independent or write-in candidates. No Democrat has won statewide office in Utah since 1996.

More than 50 Dems vote for House GOP bill to repeal DC law letting noncitizens vote

The House of Representatives advanced a bill Thursday to repeal a Washington, D.C. law that allows noncitizens to vote in local elections. A whopping 52 Democrats joined Republicans on the measure, with 143 Democrats voting against it, for a final 262 to 143 vote. The D.C. law was passed by the progressive city council in 2022 and recently survived a court challenge earlier this year. Republicans who opposed the bill warned that allowing non-Americans to help decide what local officials run the nation’s capital could have negative effects on national security. WASHINGTON DC LAW ALLOWING NONCITIZENS TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS CHALLENGED BY LAWSUIT “What we’re doing is, we are talking about passing a law that prohibits citizens of foreign countries from voting in elections in D.C. It prohibits people that are here illegally from voting in elections. It prohibits spies from China from voting in elections. It prohibits people that are here from Russia that have wishes of ill will in the United States from voting in the elections in D.C.,” Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., said during debate for the bill. GOP lawmakers have also accused Democrats of trying to tip the scales at the ballot box by encouraging illegal immigrants to sign up to vote – something the left has denied. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS STORM US BORDER IN EL PASO, KNOCK OVER GUARDS AMID STANDOFF OVER TEXAS LAW “It would, of course, be crazy for an undocumented person to attach their name to a public and transparent document like a voter registration document…we were not able to find any evidence that there were any undocumented people doing so,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. “In other words, the district’s use of this practice for local elections and local government functions appears to be in accord with the way it’s always been used, which is for permanent residents who are part of the community, who are on the pathway to citizenship.” Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who introduced the bill last year, emphasized the close margins that critical elections have been won by in recent years. He argued that allowing even the chance for undocumented people to vote could sway an entire race. 7.2 MILLION ILLEGALS ENTERED THE US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES “They’re encouraging people to vote for mayor, for attorney general, for members of the state Board of Education and more. And some may argue that, yes, these are just local elections. Well, there are democratic elections that regularly determine taxation, the criminal code…and the election of the various city council members who decide ordinances like who gets to vote. Not to mention that many of these are decided by close margins,” Pfluger said. It’s the latest effort in a wider crackdown on voting security that House GOP leaders are mounting roughly six months before the November 2024 elections. The House-wide vote on D.C.’s local law comes on the same day that a key House committee is poised to advance a bill to heighten enforcement and penalties for undocumented people who vote in federal elections.

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