Going, going, gone: Could the Republicans’ slim House majority slip away before November?
The crack of Louisville Slugger ash bats connecting with rawhide baseballs laced in Costa Rica will soon echo throughout ballparks all over North America. A dulcet-toned announcer will lunge forward from his seat in the press box, perched three tiers above home plate. The announcer will squint, looking to see if the ball hooks just inside the foul pole several hundred feet away down the right field line. “Going! Going! Gone!” he’ll chirp as the ball hugs the pole, staying just fair. The ball then caroms wildly, around an array of seats, concrete and fumbling fans, bouncing like it’s been triggered by a paddle in an arcade pinball machine. Perhaps the House of Representatives could hire some of those baseball announcers here on Capitol Hill. WHITE HOUSE BLASTS HOUSE GOP BUDGET, SAYS BIDEN WON’T LET THEM ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ It’s quite possible the Republican House majority is “going, going.” Gone is another question. But the scenario of Democrats seizing control of the House is emerging as a distinct possibility. Control of the House of Representatives has never flipped in the middle of a Congress. But if it’s going to happen, the 118th Congress is as ripe for that possibility. House Republicans face chaos in their conference. Members who planned to retire next January are now ditching Capitol Hill early. The House is an acrimonious place with yet another move afoot to dethrone the Speaker. FOX is told that other Republicans are angling to get out as soon as they can. A big payday in the private sector could lure some members to cash in their voting cards early. First, let’s talk about the length of a given “Congress.” Congress is called “Congress” because that’s when House members and senators convene in Washington. The word “Congress” means “coming together.” So lawmakers are here at the Capitol for the 118th time since starting the 1st Congress in 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City. Voters elected House members and about a third of all senators to the present 118th Congress in November 2022. Each “Congress” begins at noon ET on January 3 and runs until 11:59 am et on January 3 two years later. So the 118th Congress launched on January 3 of 2023. It expires in the late morning of January 3 next year. Thus, the term of all House members which began last year runs out at the same time next January. Those elected this November will serve in the 119th Congress beginning next January 3. House Republicans thought they might have a 50-seat majority in January 2023. They gained control of the House – but only by a handful of seats. The meager majority then dithered for five days before finally electing former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as their leader. The rancorous Speaker’s race foreshadowed what was to come. CONGRESSIONAL DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OFFICE SHUT DOWN BY $1.2T GOVERNMENT FUNDING DEAL McCarthy was done by October. The House burned more than three weeks electing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as McCarthy’s successor. Now Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has had enough of Johnson. She’s authored a resolution to remove the Louisiana Republican for his “betrayal” of House Republicans on the latest spending bill. The House wound up passing the bill with 185 Democratic yeas – but only 101 Republican ayes. Plus Johnson violated the GOP’s internal rule which gives members a full three days to read legislation before voting. Text of the bill appeared just before 3 am ET last Thursday. The House closed the vote on the bill at 11:45 am et last Friday. Johnson signaled before the vote that he might not grant lawmakers the requisite three days to process their legislation. “There’s nothing sacred about 72 hours. The idea is you want the legislation to be reviewed adequately by the members before they vote on it. We’re the party that believes in that principle. We’re trying to maintain it even in a time crunch,” said Johnson as he darted across Statuary Hall of the Capitol. And yet Johnson gave up on the rule so the House could approve the bill before a looming government shutdown deadline. Johnson’s gambit infuriated the right. But other Republicans weren’t upset. Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., wanted to waive the rule, adding that the House shouldn’t assign a vote “to a time.” Murphy was ready to vote right away. “What is this? A test?” asked Murphy. “Read faster.” But Greene was through with Johnson. She prepared to show the Speaker the door after the House approved the spending measure. UKRAINE AID COULD BE SAVED BY OBSCURE CONGRESSIONAL RULES, REAGAN-ERA POLITICS, BOLL WEEVILS AND GYPSY MOTHS “I do not wish to inflict pain on our conference and throw the House into chaos,” said Greene. “But I am saying the clock has started. It’s time for our conference to choose a new Speaker.” But Greene might not even get the chance to boot Johnson. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the House could flip control to the Democrats before 11:59 am et next January 3rd. In other words, during this Congress. It’s about the math. Former Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., resigned last Friday. Buck hit the door after refusing to vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., also refused to impeach Mayorkas. Gallagher initially planned to stay until January. But now the Wisconsin Republican departs on April 19. That’s immediately after the date which mandates a special election in Wisconsin. But since Gallagher checks out in mid-April, the seat remains empty until after the election. So after Bucks’s resignation, the House breakdown looks like this: 431 members. 218 Republicans. 213 Democrats. A margin of five seats. But the GOP can only lose two votes on any given issue without assistance from the other side. After Gallagher leaves, the breakdown slips to 430 members with 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats. That’s a four-seat margin. But the GOP can only lose one vote then. By rule, tie votes lose in the House. And things
GOP lawmaker rips Trump for wading into House Republican primary: ‘Unhelpful and unwarranted’
A House Republican is openly criticizing former President Trump for urging a primary challenger to step up against another GOP lawmaker. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., accused Trump of “bullying” his colleague, Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. “This is unhelpful and unwarranted,” the libertarian firebrand wrote. Massie praised Lee, a first-term House member, as “a conservative thoughtful member” of the House Judiciary Committee. SHARPTON WARNS BIDEN TEAM IT’S TOO COCKY ABOUT BEATING TRUMP: ‘I TELL THEM THEIR CONFIDENCE IS MISPLACED’ “She endorsed [Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis] for President but then endorsed Trump when DeSantis got out of the race. More of my colleagues should call out these ridiculous bullying tactics,” Massie finished. What followed was a post by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has been critical of Trump in the past. He added his support by commenting: “Co-sponsor.” Trump called for a primary challenger to Lee in a post on his Truth Social app on Sunday night, writing, “Any great MAGA Republicans looking to run against Laurel Lee in Florida’s 15th Congressional District? IF SO, PLEASE STEP FORWARD!” NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL TAUNTS TRUMP ABOUT INTEREST HE OWES ON CIVIL FRAUD JUDGMENT Fox News Digital reached out to spokespeople for the former president and for Lee’s re-election campaign for a response. Prior to running for the House of Representatives, Lee had served in the DeSantis administration as Florida Secretary of State from 2019 through part of 2022. She was the Sunshine State’s top election official in 2021 when DeSantis announced Florida would not audit the 2020 presidential election, despite urging from Trump allies. Trump won Florida over now-President Biden by roughly 3%. TRUMP BARRED FROM OPERATING BUSINESS, ORDERED TO PAY OVER $350 MILLION IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE Lee was the only member of Florida’s House delegation to back the state’s governor against Trump. Massie and Roy also endorsed DeSantis when he was running in the Republican primary, but only Lee switched her endorsement to Trump in late January when DeSantis dropped out of the race. Trump called for a primary challenger against Roy late last year.
Mexico tells court Texas immigration law is threat to its ‘sovereign’ rights
The Mexican government has claimed in a court filing that a Texas anti-illegal immigration law currently being challenged by the Biden administration would, if enacted, impinge on Mexico’s “sovereign right” to determine who enters the country. Mexico filed an amicus brief last week in support of the Biden administration’s lawsuit against Texas’ S.B. 4 — an anti-illegal immigration law that would allow police to arrest illegal immigrants and allow state judges to order them deported. The law was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December but has been on hold due to a challenge from the Biden administration, which says the law is unconstitutional, hurts international relations and impedes upon the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT NEW FEBRUARY RECORD HIGH Texas has argued that the law is necessary due to the Biden administration’s alleged failure to secure the southern border and enforce immigration law. In its brief, Mexico argues that the law going into effect creates a “substantial tension” on U.S.-Mexico relations, including trade, and could also lead to discrimination against Mexican nationals. “Mexico is deeply concerned that SB 4 will be applied in a discriminatory manner and fears that its enforcement will lead to improper harassment, detention, removal, and criminalization of Mexican citizens and individuals of Latino appearance,” the brief reads. BIDEN, TEXAS FEUD OVER ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW AS MIGRANTS RUSH BORDER: WHAT TO KNOW However, it also expresses concern that the law would result in the removal of illegal immigrants to Mexico “regardless of their nationality and without regard for Mexico’s own policies regarding entry into its territory or the noncitizens’ desire to enter Mexico.” “Mexico has publicly expressed its opposition to SB 4, expressly noting that that enforcement of SB 4 would interfere with Mexico’s sovereign right to determine who enters its territory.,” the brief says. The Mexican government then requested that the Fifth Circuit Court keep the injunction on the law going into place. MEXICO SLAMS TEXAS OVER IMMIGRATION LAW, WON’T ACCEPT REPATRIATIONS FROM STATE AFTER SCOTUS RULING The legal battle see-sawed last week as the law was briefly allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court before being kicked back down to the Fifth Circuit, which blocked it pending arguments on the merits. Abbott has said that his state can still use trespassing laws to stop immigrants who enter the U.S. illegally, just as February border numbers were announced showing that there was a record number of encounters for the month. “Even without S.B. 4, Texas has the legal authority to arrest people coming across the razor wire barriers on our border, and we will continue to use our arrest authority and arrest people coming across the border illegally,” Gov. Abbott said Wednesday.
Black lawmakers reject Democrat frontrunner in tight Senate race after use of racial slur
A number of Black lawmakers have chosen not to endorse one of their Democrat colleagues running in what could be one of the most closely watched Senate races this year after he used a racial slur last week. During Thursday’s House Budget Committee hearing, Democrat Rep. David Trone, who is running to replace retiring Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, used the word “jigaboo,” a disparaging term for Black people, while speaking about tax policy with Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Budget and Management, who was testifying before the committee. “So this Republican jigaboo that – it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” he said. “They’ve never been there. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.” WATCH: DEMOCRAT FRONTRUNNER IN TIGHT SENATE RACE DROPS RACIAL SLUR DURING HOUSE HEARING Despite apologizing and claiming he misspoke, meaning to use the term “bugaboo,” Reps., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, who are all Black, announced their support for Trone’s Democrat primary opponent, Price George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, Axios first reported Monday. A spokesperson for Lee confirmed her endorsement of Alsobrooks, who is also Black, but did not respond when asked if it was at all related to Trone’s use of the slur. Clarke, Meeks, Beatty and Crockett did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Trone, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Alsobrooks for comment. TOP DEMOCRAT IN TIGHT SENATE RACE BACKS CITIZENSHIP, VOTING RIGHTS FOR MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS In his apology last week, Trone said he recognized his “privilege” as a White man – just one example of his left-wing takes while on the campaign trail. He has also faced heat for comments he made at a candidate forum earlier this month in which he declared his support for granting citizenship and voting rights to the millions of illegal immigrants residing in the U.S. Trone holds a fundraising and polling advantage among a crowded Democrat primary field. Alsobrooks is currently his closest challenger. He will likely face Maryland’s former Republican governor, Larry Hogan, in the general election. Early polls suggested a tight race between the two. However, a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll released last week showed Hogan with a double-digit lead. Elections analysts rate the race as “likely” Democrat, but Hogan’s name recognition and high approval rating at the conclusion of his second term last year could further pose a challenge to Democrats’ hopes of maintaining control of the Senate. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
DOJ: Chinese hackers worked under guise of Wuhan tech company to target politicians, US businesses
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment on Monday charging seven Chinese nationals with working under the guise of a Wuhan tech company to coordinate cyber-attacks targeting politicians and American companies on behalf of the Chinese government for over a decade. The defendants — Ni Gaobin, Weng Ming, Cheng Feng, Peng Yaowen, Sun Xiaohui. Xiong Wang, and Zhao Guangzong — are charged in connection to China’s vast hacking operation that allegedly targeted sensitive data from U.S. elected and government officials, journalists and academics; valuable information from American companies; and political dissidents in America and abroad. The “prolific global hacking operation” was said to have involved over 10,000 malicious emails, impacting thousands of victims across multiple continents. The announcement from the Biden administration comes as Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday that a Chinese government-affiliated group also hacked into the United Kingdom’s electoral registry to steal the personal information of tens of millions of voters. “The Justice Department will not tolerate efforts by the Chinese government to intimidate Americans who serve the public, silence the dissidents who are protected by American laws, or steal from American businesses,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “This case serves as a reminder of the ends to which the Chinese government is willing to go to target and intimidate its critics, including launching malicious cyber operations aimed at threatening the national security of the United States and our allies.” The U.S. Treasury Department also sanctioned Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company, Limited (Wuhan XRZ), which American authorities say is a Wuhan, China-based Ministry of State Security (MSS) front company that has served as cover for multiple malicious cyber operations. CHINESE HACKERS HAD ACCESS TO US INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ‘AT LEAST 5 YEARS’ BEFORE DISCOVERY Between June and September 2018, the seven defendants sent more than 10,000 malicious email messages to professional and personal email addresses belonging to “high-ranking U.S. government officials and their advisors, including officials involved in international policy and foreign trade issues,” the indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York says. “Since at least 2015, the Conspirators sent thousands of malicious tracking email messages to the personal and professional email accounts of government and political officials in the U.S. and elsewhere, including targets’ family members and contacts,” the indictment alleges. “The malicious email messages generally purported to be from prominent American journalists, contained email subject headers purporting to contain legitimate news articles, and the body of the messages purported to include excerpts from news articles from news outlets, such as CNN and Vox.” Prosecutors go went on to say the messages contained an embedded hyperlink that served as a tracking link. “If the recipient activated the tracking link by opening the email, information about the recipient, including the recipient’s location, IP addresses, network schematics and specific devices used to access the pertinent email accounts, was transmitted to a server controlled by the Conspirators,” the indictment says. “The Conspirators used this method to enable more direct and sophisticated targeting of recipients’ home routers and other electronic devices, including those of highranking U.S. government officials and politicians and election campaign staff from both major U.S. political parties.” The targets allegedly included individuals at the White House; the Departments of Justice, Commerce, Treasury and State; members of Congress, including both Democratic and Republican U.S. senators from more than ten states; government officials in the Eastern District of New York; and the spouses of a high-ranking Department of Justice official, high-ranking White House officials and multiple U.S. senators. FBI DIRECTOR SAYS CHINESE HACKERS ARE ‘POISED TO ATTACK’ AS INFILTRATIONS REACH ‘FEVER PITCH’ The indictment says the targets also included political strategists and commentators and political and special interest advocates, as well as U.S. government contractors, including cleared defense contractors, to obtain U.S. government information. In May 2020, the DOJ says, the defendants began targeting email accounts belonging to several senior campaign staff members for a presidential campaign. By November 2020, they allegedly sent emails containing tracking links to targets associated with additional political campaigns, including a retired senior U.S. government national security official. “In or about March 2022, the Conspirators sent emails containing tracking links to various government officials in the U.S. Senate, the State Department and the Departments of Commerce, Labor and Transportation,” the indictment says. DOJ prosecutors say the seven Chinese nationals also targeted other government officials around the world who expressed criticism of the PRC government, including members of the Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China (“IPAC”), a group founded in 2020 on the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests whose stated purpose was to counter the threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party to the international order and democratic principles. The Hubei State Security Department (“HSSD”), the provincial foreign intelligence arm of the MSS located in the city of Wuhan, first created Wuhan XRZ in 2010 to carry out its computer intrusion activities, according to the indictment. “A PRC government business license issued by the PRC Administration for Market Regulation described Wuhan XRZ as a company involved with research and experimental development, technology development, technology consultation and technology transfer,” it says. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also announced it was designating Zhao Guangzong and Ni Gaobin, two of the defendants believed to be affiliated with Wuhan XRZ, “for their roles in malicious cyber operations targeting U.S. entities that operate within U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, directly endangering U.S. national security.” The U.S. Department of State announced a Rewards for Justice offer for information on the seven Chinese nationals, their organization or any associated individuals or entities, and the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office implemented matching sanctions. “The United States is focused on both disrupting the dangerous and irresponsible actions of malicious cyber actors, as well as protecting our citizens and our critical infrastructure,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement. “Through our whole-of-government approach
Sen. JD Vance’s Silicon Valley network bankrolling his Midwest mission to dump vulnerable Dem
Sen. JD Vance’s Silicon Valley network could play a pivotal role in the upcoming general election as GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno looks to oust vulnerable three-term Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. Moreno, a Cleveland-based business leader and luxury auto dealership giant, was endorsed by Vance last year, and the first-term senator’s support was seen as a prelude to former President Donald Trump’s backing of Moreno earlier this year. “We’re going to win. We’re going to unite this party. And Bernie’s going to make a great U.S. senator,” Vance predicted to Fox News Digital on the eve of last week’s primary in Ohio, as he accompanied Moreno at a campaign stop in suburban Cleveland. HERE’S MORE PROOF OF DONALD TRUMP’S IMMENSE GRIP OVER THE GOP Thanks in part to Trump’s endorsement, combined with the support from Vance and other top allies of the former president, Moreno ended up winning the primary over two rivals by nearly 20 points. Moreno now faces off in November against Brown in a titanic showdown that may decide whether the GOP wins back the Senate majority. WHAT BERNIE MORENO TOLD FOX NEWS AFTER WINNING OHIO’S GOP SENATE PRIMARY But Vance did much more than just stump for Moreno on the Ohio campaign trail. Republicans involved in the race confirm to Fox News that the senator was responsible for bringing in more than $1 million in fundraising contributions to the pro-Moreno super PAC Buckeye Values. That includes hauling in half a million dollars in just 24 hours to help pay for a rally headlined by Trump just three days before the primary. Vance, after serving as a Marine in the Iraq War, moved for a handful of years to San Francisco to work as a venture capitalist in the tech industry. And Vance – the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was made into a Netflix film – two years ago won his own crowded and combustible GOP Senate primary thanks in part to Trump’s late-in-the-game endorsement. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “JD has a Rolodex of Silicon Valley contacts that very few Republican figures can get to. And he put some of those to use on behalf of Moreno,” a source in Vance’s political orbit told Fox News. Vance was instrumental in landing a $375,000 contribution to the Moreno-aligned super PAC from Steve Schwarzman, the billionaire founder and CEO of Blackstone Group, who’s a top GOP donor. And sources familiar with a meeting between Trump and Vance at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, say the senator made the case for Trump to endorse Moreno rather than Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who was angling for the former president’s backing. Moving forward, Vance is expected to continue his fundraising efforts in support of Moreno. And Vance, who campaigned on behalf of Trump in New Hampshire in January ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary, will continue to help to raise money for the former president’s bid to return to the White House. As Moreno’s campaign shifts its focus to the general election, the Republican businessman will be up against an onslaught of attack ads and millions of dollars raised by Brown. The longtime senator’s campaign had $14.6 million cash on hand at the beginning of this year and raised over $12 million combined during the last two quarters of 2023. Fox News Digital reached out to Brown’s campaign about Vance’s fundraising prowess. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
New census data analysis suggests Pennsylvania advantage for Trump and GOP in 2024
Recent migration out of Pennsylvania and between its counties could present an even closer 2024 matchup between President Biden and former President Trump in the critical battleground state than in 2020, an analysis of new census data shows. “Uneven patterns of in-and out-migration could work to make what was a closely contested 2020 presidential campaign even closer in 2024,” penned Berwood Yost, director of Floyd Institute’s Center for Opinion Research at Franklin & Marshall College. FETTERMAN REJECTS HARRIS SUGGESTION THAT ISRAEL COULD FACE CONSEQUENCES FOR RAFAH INVASION In the 2020 presidential election, Biden defeated Trump by under 100,000 votes, winning the state 50% to 48.8%. Going into 2024, the Keystone State is expected to play a similarly pivotal role, especially given its high percentage of manufacturing workers – a demographic that both campaigns have made a point of lobbying in the early months of the election year. Since 2020, when the last census was taken, Yost noted that census data released earlier this month showed counties won by Trump had a net gain in populace of about 4,500 people. As for Biden-won counties, they posted a combined loss of more than 45,000 people. BIDEN VOWS TO FORGE AHEAD WITH STUDENT LOAN HANDOUTS, HAS 4 WORDS FOR ALL HIS CRITICS Overall, Pennsylvania saw its population decline since 2020, with a Census Bureau press release even highlighting Philadelphia County as one of the largest declining counties in the U.S. “The biggest losses at the county level were in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County and Philadelphia. And those are two of the big centers of Biden’s support,” Yost told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And so does that affect his ability to win by large margins in those counties? That’s a real issue,” he said. COURT SLASHES TRUMP’S MASSIVE BOND — BUT ALSO MAKES NEW STIPULATION FOR FAMILY’S BUSINESS MOVES In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “With just 35 percent job approval, Joe Biden is floundering in his home state of Pennsylvania. Between higher gas prices, surging crime, and failed Democrat policies crushing families at every corner, it’s no wonder that Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth are increasingly rejecting the failed Biden agenda and supporting President Trump.” Yost stressed he can’t say for sure whether the migration patterns both in and out of state will be detrimental for Biden, but he explained that there’s certainly the potential that it could be, especially with the competition expected to be close. JUDGE SETS TRIAL TIMELINE AFTER REFUSING TO DELAY TRUMP ‘HUSH MONEY’ CASE The director pointed out that those leaving the Philadelphia area are “most likely to end up in the suburbs around Philly,” which are similarly Democratic-leaning. However, those leaving Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County are “moving out into places that voted heavily for Trump.” “Do they take their voting habits with them?” he posed. “Was it for jobs? Was it for cheaper housing? Who knows?” Yost continued. He further referenced Biden’s near-record low approval rating, which “alone” could present an obstacle to re-election, per Yost. “The population changes that have happened in the state since 2020 do nothing to make this challenge less difficult,” he wrote. In new polling this month, Biden’s approval rating fell to 36%, while 61% disapproved of his job as president. According to the latest Fox News poll, Trump and Biden are in a practical dead heat in Pennsylvania. Among all votes, 49% opted for Trump and 47% for Biden, which is notably within the survey’s margin of error. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
House Dems urge Biden to target Israel military aid over Gaza humanitarian concerns
A group of House Democrats is suggesting President Biden weigh cutting off military assistance to Israel over accusations it is restricting aid to Gaza, something the Middle Eastern U.S. ally has denied. The six lawmakers, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, called the situation in Gaza a “humanitarian catastrophe” in a weekend letter to Biden. They urged him to “make clear” to Israel that it is in violation of long-standing U.S. law that blocks foreign aid to countries that are preventing the U.S. from getting humanitarian aid somewhere else. UN FINALLY RECOGNIZES THAT ISRAELI WOMEN WERE RAPED, SEXUALLY ATTACKED BY HAMAS TERRORISTS “For months following Hamas’ horrific October 7th attacks, which you and the U.S. Congress have rightly condemned, you have urged the Israeli government to exercise its right to self-defense judiciously while prioritizing the protection of innocent lives. Instead, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has restricted the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by placing onerous burdens on the oversight of aid, severely limiting entry points for aid delivery, and arbitrarily preventing food, medicine, and other supplies from entering Gaza,” the letter said. “Given the catastrophic and devolving humanitarian situation in Gaza, we urge you to enforce the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act… and, as required by that law, make clear to the Israeli government that so long as Israel continues to restrict the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the continued provision of U.S. security assistance to Israel would constitute a violation of existing U.S. law and must be restricted.” NETANYAHU VOWS TO INVADE RAFAH REGARDLESS OF POTENTIAL CEASE-FIRE WITH HAMAS: ‘IT WILL HAPPEN’ The Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act prohibits U.S. foreign aid from going to a country whose government is restricting or blocking U.S. humanitarian aid. “While dialogue between allies is a key part of diplomacy, words are no longer enough to meet the humanitarian crisis of Gaza’s scale nor to protect the hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians seeking shelter in the war zone,” the Democrats wrote. “We urge you to act on the law and demonstrate to Prime Minister Netanyahu that U.S. support has firm limits and does not include enabling conditions that will lead to famine in Gaza.” PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTERS ACCOST AOC OUTSIDE MOVIE THEATER, DEMAND SHE CALL ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR A ‘GENOCIDE’ Arguments over the U.S. role in Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas have splintered the Democratic Party. Biden has taken heat from progressives for not doing enough to curb Israel’s retaliation, while more moderate Democrats have continued to stand by the Middle Eastern nation. The Palestinian refugee-centered United Nations agency UNRWA said over the weekend that Israel is no longer allowing its food convoys in northern Gaza. UNRWA itself has been under scrutiny over allegations its workers and people associated with it played a role in the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for a response to the letter.
White House blasts House GOP budget, says Biden won’t let them ‘defund the police’
EXCLUSIVE: The White House is blasting House Republicans and accusing them of taking steps to defund the police, while claiming President Biden will protect law enforcement and support crime-reducing programs. The comments come after the House Republican Study Committee released its Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, titled “Fiscal Sanity to Save America.” The White House is blasting the RSC for its proposal to reduce funding for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), a program created in the 1990s as a means to support state and local law enforcement agencies with expenses like salaries, court programs, and juvenile justice programs. HOUSE GOP LEADERS TEAR UP BIDEN’S NEW $7.3T BUDGET PROPOSAL “Conservatives support our men and women in blue but should question whether the government should involve itself in state and local law enforcement, even if it is only a matter of funding,” the budget proposal states. The White House is also hitting Republicans on the proposal to defend what the GOP calls the “constitutionally dubious red flag provisions in the so-called Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.” The White House is also accusing House Republicans of taking steps to support “abolishing the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).” “Violent crime surged under President Biden’s predecessor, but this president immediately fought back and has now reversed that trend with a historic reduction in crime,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital. Bates said Biden took “unprecedented action to hire waves of police officers, invest in crime effective crime reduction strategies, and mental health services.” “Joe Biden won’t let Congressional Republicans defund the police, abolish law enforcement agencies like the FBI, gut crime prevention, or rollback landmark legislation critical to the fight against gun crime,” Bates told Fox News Digital. The White House touted Biden’s American Rescue Plan, saying communities across the country have been able to invest more than $15 billion “to keep their communities safe and prevent crime.” SOARING DEFICITS TO PUSH PUBLICLY HELD DEBT TO RECORD LEVEL IN 4 YEARS “These include investments to avoid cuts to police budgets, hire more police officers for safe, effective, and accountable community policing, ensure first responders have the equipment they need to do their jobs, and expand community violence intervention and prevention programs,” the White House said. The White House said Biden’s budget also includes $1.2 billion over five years to launch a new “Violent Crime Reduction and Prevention Fund.” “The President’s budget also funds his Safer American Plan, including providing for hiring 100,000 additional police officers for effective, accountable community policing,” the White House said, adding that Biden “wants to deploy $17.7 billion for DOJ law enforcement, including $2.0 billion, an increase of over 30 percent since 2021, for the ATF.” But the RSC is now calling out the White House, saying their budget proposal points out that COPS funding has drastically increased since the Trump administration as a result of Democrat-led cities “needing bailouts” after “defunding their own police departments.” The RSC told Fox News Digital that the White House is now latching onto an argument that actually “highlights how Democrats really are defunding the police around the country.” “Conservatives versus Biden on crime—the record couldn’t be more different,” RSC Executive Director Joe Barry told Fox News Digital. “RSC’s budget doesn’t subsidize sanctuary cities or local entities who have embraced the defund the police movement.” Barry added: “We are committed to upholding the rule of law.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP And a spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News Digital that House Republicans “oppose President Biden’s disastrous budget, which would raise taxes by $5 trillion and create the largest debt-to-GDP ratio in history.” “In contrast, the House GOP budget would reduce deficits by trillions and balance the budget over the next decade, while protecting Social Security and Medicare,” the Johnson spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Lithium demand and development swell, but US laws lag behind
Washington’s drive to make the United States a major global lithium producer is being held back by a confusing mix of state regulations that are deterring developers and hampering efforts to break China’s control of the critical minerals sector. Across Texas, Louisiana and other mineral-rich states, it’s unclear who owns the millions of metric tons of lithium locked in salty brines underneath U.S. soils, how the battery metal should be valued by regulators and who ultimately should pay to process it into a form usable by manufacturers. These legal ambiguities are the latest impediment – alongside technical challenges and sagging commodity prices – to America’s plans to produce more of its own lithium and wean the country off foreign supplies, according to interviews with regulators from seven U.S. states, legal experts, politicians, landowners, investors, royalty firms, industry executives and consultants. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN ARGENTINA AND CHILE GRAPPLE WITH SOARING DEMAND FOR LITHIUM U.S. federal officials in Washington are largely powerless to force states to change regulations, leaving the Biden administration’s aggressive electrification targets beholden to the pace at which local officials update outdated statutes. Global lithium demand is expected to outpace supply by 500,000 metric tons annually by 2030. Unless the United States boosts its own production, the country’s manufacturers will find themselves reliant on China and others for supply as the end of the decade approaches, analysts warn. The Texas legislature, for example, last year approved a law – supported by Standard Lithium and Chevron – that instructed the state’s oilfield regulator to craft regulations for lithium extraction from brines. But the regulator, known as the Railroad Commission of Texas, told Reuters it has no timeline for when it will finish that task. “I don’t even know where to start in terms of working with the local authorities to get brine mineral rights in Texas. It’s confusing,” said Brady Murphy, CEO of Tetra Technologies, which aims to produce lithium with partner Exxon Mobil. The Railroad Commission of Texas told Reuters it plans to release its rules for public comment once they are formulated, and then the three commissioners will vote on them. While the 1972 U.S. Clean Water Act gives Washington regulatory power over water extraction and reinjection across the country, state officials have autonomy to govern other parts of the process. Tetra, which also produces chemicals for water treatment and recycling, has tested more than 200 brine samples from Texas, but so far has opted not to do business in the Lone Star State due to legal uncertainty, Murphy said. Koch Industries-backed Standard Lithium said last October it had drilled a Texas brine well with lithium concentrations nearly as high as those found in parts of Chile, which has the world’s largest lithium reserves. But Standard can’t touch that lithium until regulations are set. “We’re taking a measured approach to Texas,” said Robert Mintak, Standard’s CEO. In Oklahoma, which has several brine deposits, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission – which oversees oil and gas development – said it has no jurisdiction over lithium production and royalties, and referred comment to the state’s Department of Mines, which said it also does not oversee lithium. In Utah, the state legislature and governor approved a bill last year aimed at preventing water levels from dropping in the lithium-rich Great Salt Lake. That led Compass Minerals to abandon plans last month to produce lithium for Ford in the imperiled lake and disband its entire lithium team, saying “regulatory risks have increased significantly around this project.” And in Louisiana, the lack of state guidelines is fueling concerns from legal experts that producers could trespass on neighboring land when they reinject brine after filtering out lithium. Reinjection is a key step to preserve underground water table levels. “There’ll likely need to be a court fight about whether they have the right to do that,” said Keith Hall, director of the Louisiana State University’s Mineral Law Institute. The Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources told Reuters it does not have existing statutes related to lithium. The path is even murkier for water that is extracted alongside crude oil. Oil companies for decades have paid to dispose of that produced water, which contains lithium that could be sold for a profit. With lithium demand now on the rise, landowners, oil producers, and companies that oversee water disposal are tussling over ownership. A Texas state appeals court last year ruled that COG Operating controls such water that it extracts alongside crude oil, but the ruling only applied to that specific case. And not all oilfield leases include clauses for who owns other minerals extracted alongside oil, sparking questions as to whether lithium is covered by existing leases or if companies need to negotiate new contracts with landowners. “That is going to have a chilling effect on capital investments until it’s resolved,” said Jamie Rhymes, an attorney specializing in minerals contracts at the Liskow & Lewis law firm. Legal experts told Reuters that it’s unclear how lithium will be valued for royalty payouts given the cost for equipment to filter the battery metal from brine, which unlike oil typically has no market value itself. In Arkansas, where Tetra, Exxon, Albemarle and Standard Lithium hope to produce the battery metal within a few years, state officials have been debating a royalty structure to compensate landowners since 2018. Shane Khoury, who oversees the body that will set the royalty rate in his role as secretary of the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment, said the state may charge different rates depending how much lithium is in a brine deposit. Albemarle, the world’s largest lithium producer with operations in the United States, Chile, Australia, China and elsewhere, plans to open a pilot facility in Arkansas by the end of the year and said it has chosen not to – for now – submit a royalty proposal while it watches Standard’s royalty review process. “We’re waiting to see how (the Arkansas royalty situation) evolves,” said Netha Johnson, the Albemarle executive overseeing