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Senate Republicans warm up to Mayorkas impeachment trial over border concerns

Senate Republicans warm up to Mayorkas impeachment trial over border concerns

Senate Republicans are coming out in favor of holding a trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by the House over his actions and guidance regarding the southern border and illegal immigration more than two weeks ago. A growing list of Republican senators — not confined to hard-line conservatives — have voiced their support for a full impeachment trial for Mayorkas after the Republican-controlled House approved articles this month. Initially, several Republican senators predicted doom for the House’s impeachment effort in the Senate. Though Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said he believes Mayorkas to be responsible for enforcing President Biden’s “disastrous immigration policies,” he isn’t in favor of a trial in the upper chamber. “An impeachment trial might be great politics, but it’s not the remedy for bad policy and would set a terrible constitutional precedent,” he wrote recently on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM ON MIGRANT SURGE’S THREAT TO HOSPITALS IN ‘SANCTUARY’ CITIES Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., recently told reporters that “It’ll fail in the Senate.” “If I could use the House term: It’ll be dead on arrival when it comes over,” he said.  Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., didn’t hold back from criticizing his House counterparts over the effort. He told Axios the impeachment was “the worst, dumbest exercise and use of time.” However, in the weeks following the House’s vote, more Republican senators have emerged in favor of a trial into Mayorkas’ impeachment. Those in support of a trial are not solely members of the more hard-line faction of the Senate GOP, demonstrating a somewhat unified Republican stance. Last week, a group of Republican senators led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called on Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to “demand” a Senate trial. It was conveyed in a letter signed by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., JD Vance, R-Ohio, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. BIDEN, TRUMP TO MAKE US-MEXICO BORDER STOPS THURSDAY AS MIGRANT CRISIS ROILS ELECTION To the surprise of some, both McConnell and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., each professed their support for a trial Tuesday. Citing the House’s move to impeach Mayorkas, Thune said during a press conference, “That issue will come before the United States Senate. I believe the Senate needs to hold a trial.” McConnell later told reporters a trial is “the best way forward.” Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., John Kennedy, R-La., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., have also since told Fox News Digital they support an impeachment trial.  “The Senate should fulfill its constitutional charge and hold a proper trial in full view of the public,” said Britt. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, reiterated his belief that his House colleagues were right to impeach Mayorkas, and he went as far as saying Mayorkas “should be impeached because he lied under oath by saying the border is secure.” TRUMP BLAMES ‘BIDEN’S BORDER INVASION’ FOR LAKEN RILEY MURDER, VOWS ‘LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION’ IF ELECTED As for Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, his office did not clarify his support for a trial but said he plans to serve as a juror and withhold his judgment until its completion.  The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on these developments, referring Fox News Digital to its earlier statement regarding the House’s impeachment vote.  “House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border,” wrote Mia Ehrenberg, DHS spokesperson.  “While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment,” she continued. Despite the expanding GOP support for a trial, any such effort is expected to fail because it would require a two-thirds Senate majority to convict and remove Mayorkas from his post. Republicans are in the minority in the Senate and members of the conference have already joined Democrats in criticizing the House for the impeachment, making hopes for a conviction and removal dim. After procedural requirements of the impeachment process take place, including delivery and reading of the articles to the Senate by selected House managers, the swearing in of senators as jurors and the issuing of a summons to Mayorkas, the Senate is expected to decide how to move forward. Only a simple majority is required to dismiss the trial, which could be sought by Democrats, who have an advantage over Republicans, 51-49, as the three independent senators each caucus with the Senate Democrats. Schumer hasn’t said whether he would be supportive of cutting a trial short with a motion to dismiss, and his office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital.

GOP hardliners furious at Johnson for passing another short-term spending bill with Dems: ‘Usual c–p’

GOP hardliners furious at Johnson for passing another short-term spending bill with Dems: ‘Usual c–p’

House Republican hardliners are frustrated at Speaker Mike Johnson for once again passing a “clean” short-term federal funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown this week. “It’s just the usual c–p. Swamp is going to swamp, nothing’s changing, we’re spending more money. We’re not changing the bureaucracy,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “We’re afraid to shut down, we won’t use the power of the purse, and the result is a demonstrably weaker America.” Members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies have been pushing House GOP leaders to leverage a shutdown to force the Democrat-dominated Senate and White House to agree to conservative policies on the U.S. border and elsewhere. CONGRESS LIKELY TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES AGAIN, SOURCES SAY The House passed a short-term extension of fiscal 2023’s government funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), on Thursday along bipartisan lines. It’s the fourth such extension passed since Sept. 30. While a majority of both parties supported the measure, the bill received significantly more votes from Democrats than from Republicans. GOP lawmakers opposed to passing “clean” CRs – meaning without Republican policy riders and at current spending levels – have argued that it extends the previous Democrat-controlled Congress’ priorities. Differences over government funding have led to a political civil war within the House Republican Conference – ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by Republican hardliners after putting the first “clean” CR on the floor late last year. House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., told Fox News Digital that Thursday’s measure will only lead to fiscal 2024 spending bills that his group will also oppose. TOP HOUSE REPUBLICANS FLEE CAPITOL HILL AMID RISING CHAOS, DIVISION: ‘A BAD WORKPLACE’ “We got no wins for the American people. We’re just further exacerbating the debt situation by continuing the [Democrat] spending levels, the [Democrat] policies that are destroying the country,” Good said. “We’re doing nothing for the border. We’re doing nothing to demonstrate we really care about the spending, and all this was was a bridge to a bill that will be even worse.” Asked whether Johnson could face pushback from GOP rebels, Good said, “Everything’s on the table to try to figure out what to do, but it’s unfortunate the direction that we’ve chosen to go.” A partial government shutdown, even a short one, has the potential to significantly disrupt federal programs and potentially furlough hundreds of government employees. Johnson was also under added pressure to avoid a shutdown ahead of President Biden’s planned March 7 State of the Union address. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., accused Congress of failing to do its duty by not leveraging a shutdown. HOUSE GOP LEADERS JETTISON PROMISE TO VOTE ON 12 INDIVIDUAL SPENDING BILLS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “We just keep spending money, and we keep the policies that are in place, and that means the border remains open,” Biggs said on the House floor. “This country is in danger because of this administration, but not just [the] administration, but because this body does not use what the founders gave us as the ultimate tool, and that is the purse strings.” The CR overwhelmingly passed the House, 320-99, with 113 GOP lawmakers voting for it, while 97 voted against. Two hundred and seven Democrats voted for it, versus just two who were opposed. In a modest win for Johnson, however, this CR got more GOP votes than the extension he put on the House floor in January, which got 107 Republicans’ support.

Flour massacre: How Gaza food killings unfolded, and Israel’s story changed

Flour massacre: How Gaza food killings unfolded, and Israel’s story changed

At least 112 Palestinians have been killed and more than 750 wounded after Israeli troops opened fire on hundreds waiting for food aid southwest of Gaza City. Here is what we know: What happened and when? The incident unfolded at about 04:30 local time (02:30 GMT) on Thursday, when people congregated at Harun al-Rashid Street in Gaza, where aid trucks carrying flour were believed to be on the way. A convoy of aid trucks passed through the checkpoint, heading north, as people started gathering in large groups. According to the Israeli military, a convoy of 31 trucks entered Gaza but nearly 20 entered the north on Monday and Tuesday.  As people gathered in large groups waiting for much-needed aid, they were shot at by all kinds of military equipment, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reported from Rafah. According to a report by the Associated Press, people pulled boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks. After the first round of shooting stopped, people returned to the trucks, only for the soldiers to open fire once more. “After opening fire, Israeli tanks advanced and ran over many of the dead and injured bodies,” Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul said, reporting from the scene. Where did the shooting take place? Palestinian authorities said the incident took place on al-Rashid Street at the Nabulsi Roundabout on the southwestern side of Gaza City. This is in northern Gaza, where food deliveries have been scarce. The first deliveries in over a month arrived this week. This happened one day after Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), told the United Nations Security Council more than 500,000, or one in four people, were at risk of famine, with one in every six children below the age of two considered acutely malnourished. How do Palestinian witnesses describe what happened? Palestinians in Gaza said that Israeli forces conducted a massacre by firing on a crowd of people who were waiting to collect desperately needed food aid. According to Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud, the more he spoke to people, “the clearer it became they felt it was a trap, an ambush”. “We had come here to get our hands on some aid. I have waiting since noon yesterday.  At about 4:30 in the early morning trucks started to trickle in. The Israelis just opened random fire on us as if it was a trap. Once we approached the aid trucks, the Israeli tanks and warplanes started firing on us,” a witness at the scene told Al Jazeera. Witnesses said that the stampede happened as a result of Israeli firing and that the trucks also rolled over wounded people, adding to the death toll. Al Jazeera has verified that donkey carts were used to take people to hospital because no ambulances could reach the area. “We were going to bring flour … then Israeli snipers shot at us,” another person in the area told Al Jazeera. “They shot me in the leg. I’m unable to stand up,” he added. What did Israel say? The Israeli military said the trucks were managed by private contractors as part of an aid operation overseen by them for the past four nights. But the Israeli version of events changed over the course of the day. Reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith said the Israeli military “initially tried to pin the blame on the crowd”, saying that dozens were hurt as a consequence of being crushed and trampled in a stampede when aid trucks arrived. “And then, after some pushing, the Israelis went on to say that their troops felt threatened, that hundreds of troops approached their troops in a way they posed a threat to them so they responded by opening fire,” Smith added. But they didn’t explain how those people posed a threat. Witnesses insisted that the stampede happened only after Israeli troops started firing at people looking for food. What is the current situation with aid in Gaza? Since the war started, aid agencies claim that Israel has been delaying deliveries. Israel denies the allegation. “The risk of famine is being fuelled by the inability to bring critical food supplies into Gaza in sufficient quantities, and the almost impossible operating conditions faced by our staff on the ground,” Skau said. He described dangerous conditions for WFP trucks trying to get food to the north earlier this month. “There were delays at checkpoints; they faced gunfire and other violence; food was looted along the way; and at their destination, they were overwhelmed by desperately hungry people,” he added. A month ago, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague said Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in the territory. But according to human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Israel “failed to take even the bare minimum steps to comply”. The number of trucks decreased by 40 percent since the ICJ ruling, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). What have been the reactions? The office of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned what it described as an “ugly massacre conducted by the Israeli occupation army”. UN’s chief Antonio Guterres also condemned the incident. “I condemn Thursday’s incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid,” he said. “The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week.” I condemn Thursday’s incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid. The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the @UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week. — António Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 1, 2024 The US government said it was seeking answers from Israel- though it refused to condemn the killings directly. “Far too many innocent Palestinians have been

At least 45 killed in Bangladesh after fire breaks out at shopping mall

At least 45 killed in Bangladesh after fire breaks out at shopping mall

People dining out and shopping suffocated or jumped to their deaths as firefighters battled for hours to douse the flames. A massive blaze in a six-storey shopping mall in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, has killed at least 45 people and wounded dozens. The fire, which struck Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall late on Thursday, started in a biryani restaurant on the first floor, with 13 units of firefighters battling for two hours to douse the flames. Doctors said most of the dead suffocated, with others dying as they jumped off the building. Dozens of people are being treated for burn wounds in two state-run hospitals. Brigadier General Main Uddin, a top fire service official, said that the fire could have originated from a gas leak or stove. “It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases,” he told reporters. Relatives gathered at the hospital early on Friday to receive the bodies of the dead, with some mourning outside the emergency department. Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters that he expected the death toll to rise. People watch as firefighters work to contain a blaze that broke out at a commercial complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Thursday, February 29, 2024 [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo] Survivor Mohammad Altaf recounted his narrow escape. “I went to the kitchen, broke a window and jumped to save myself,” he told reporters, adding that a cashier and server who urged people to leave during the first moments had died later. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock and sorrow over the incident, ordering officials to provide swift treatment for the injured. The government has set up a five-member panel to investigate the incident. Inadequate safety measures Fires are common in densely populated Dhaka, where many new buildings have sprung up, many without adequate safety measures. Fires and explosions have resulted from faulty gas cylinders, air conditioners and poor electrical wiring. In July 2021, many children were among 54 people killed at a food processing factory outside Dhaka, while at least 70 were killed in a February 2019 fire that engulfed a centuries-old precinct. Relatives attend prayers to pay homage to workers killed during the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse at Savar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 24, 2014. The disaster highlighted unsafe conditions for many of the four million workers in the South Asian country’s garment industry [Abir Abdullah/EPA] The garment sector has been subject to intense scrutiny since a fire in 2012 and a building collapse in 2013 that together killed more than 1,200 workers. But in other industries, mainly catering to Bangladesh‘s booming domestic economy and lacking equal emphasis on safety, hundreds of people have died in fires. Adblock test (Why?)

George Galloway who campaigned against Gaza war wins UK by-election

George Galloway who campaigned against Gaza war wins UK by-election

George Galloway wins Rochdale seat by 12,335 votes after running on pro-Palestine campaign. A left-wing United Kingdom politician has registered a landslide win in a parliamentary by-election on a platform promising to advocate for Gaza. George Galloway won the seat in the northern English town of Rochdale after a fractious campaign, which saw the Labour Party withdraw support from its candidate over his anti-Israel comments. Galloway won 12,335 votes compared with 6,638 for second-placed David Tully, an independent candidate. The former Labour candidate, Azhar Ali, came fourth after the opposition party pulled its support after he was recorded espousing conspiracy theories about Israel. Turnout was low at 39.7 percent. “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” Galloway said on Friday, referring to the Labour leader who initially refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza where more than 30,000 people have been killed in the past five months of Israeli bombardment. “You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in … in the Gaza Strip,” he said. Galloway, who represents the Workers Party of Britain, accused both Labour and the Conservatives of backing Israel as he ran a pro-Palestinian campaign in the constituency with a substantial Muslim population. Israel’s devastating war on Gaza was a key issue in the elections during which local concerns usually dominate. Divisions over Israel’s war on Gaza Galloway, who has now been a British MP seven times, has been critical of Labour, a party he once belonged to before being ejected for criticising then-Prime Minister Tony Blair over the Iraq war. His victory underlines the divisions in Britain over Israel’s war on Gaza, which has brought protesters onto British streets in support of both sides. It will be the first time Galloway’s left-wing Workers Party of Britain has been represented in parliament. For some in Rochdale, a former cotton mill town near Manchester, the by-election, triggered by the death of Labour lawmaker Tony Lloyd last month, had failed to offer them a clear choice of someone determined to help their town, ranked in the top 5 percent most deprived English local authorities in 2019. Galloway also campaigned to reinstate maternity services in Rochdale but it was his message on Gaza that rang loudest. He has promised to speak out on Gaza in Parliament, challenging Labour, which initially gave full backing to Israel following the October 7 attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas. The Labour party has since shifted its position to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Galloway will try to exploit Labour’s divisions. “I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, that the plates have shifted tonight,” he said. “This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates.” Adblock test (Why?)