Fox News Politics: South Carolina chill
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. What’s Happening? – Thousands gather in the snow in DC for the March for Life – STATE OF THE RACE: Trump lands new endorsement, and the latest polls for NH – Trump’s Georgia prosecutor attempts to quash subpoena on alleged misconduct surrounding reported affair Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is not backing former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 GOP primary. Scott will endorse Trump on Friday at an event in New Hampshire starting at 6 p.m. ET, ahead of the state’s first-in-the-nation primary next Tuesday. Both Trump, who’s the commanding front-runner in the GOP nomination race, and Haley called the senator in recent days as they both tried to secure Scott’s endorsement, sources told Fox News Digital. Haley and Scott share a long political history. They both served together in the state legislature and in 2012, then-Gov. Haley appointed then-Rep. Scott to the Senate to fill a vacancy. ‘HELPING A FRIEND’: Hunter Biden’s lawyer hits back at James Comer over million-dollar loans …Read more ‘WORST FEARS’: Biden admin failing to track Chinese ownership of US farmland: govt watchdog …Read more ‘THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS’: Hawley slams scheme allowing migrants to board planes …Read more ‘SECURITY THREAT’: Republicans demand more info from FBI, DHS over TikTok investigations …Read more SAY ‘NO’: Trump, conservative senators urge lawmakers to vote against border deal that falls short …Read more DEMANDING ANSWERS: Senate Republican wants explanation from Treasury on push for banks to ‘surveil’ customer transactions in 2021 …Read more HOUSE OF CHAOS: GOP rebels plot revenge after House passes bipartisan spending deal …Read more REBELLION: Ex-Nancy Mace staffers working with former top aide to unseat her, sources say …Read more ‘PERSONAL RACISM’: Barbara Lee alleges racist White man tried to stop her from entering Capitol …Read more ‘LUDICROUS’: Freedom Caucus revolts in South Carolina over claims GOP plans to ‘muzzle’ legislative powers, boost Dems …Read more DARK MONEY MACHINE: Biden’s top outside group raises eye-popping cash to boost tough re-election fight …Read more HEATING UP: Haley turns up heat on Trump 4 days before NH primary …Read more RULE OF LAW: Wyoming election chief mounts full-court press against ‘radical left’s’ push to remove Trump from ballot …Read more ‘SHE’S NOT COMING’: ‘The View’ taunts Nikki Haley to appear on show, but one host says she’d chicken out …Read more COWABUNGA: RFK goes surfing in Hawaii for his birthday with this legend …Read more UNITY TICKET? No Labels prepares for potential 3rd-party ticket as Biden-Trump rematch seems likely …Read more PRO-LIFE GENERATION: Youth vote on abortion could surprise both sides …Read more MARCH FOR LIFE: Today, we march with every woman, for every child …Read more ELDERLY VOTING (MACHINES): New Hampshire’s aging voting scanners raise concerns as primaries approach …Read more Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called to testify before Congress about secretive hospitalization
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been called to testify before congressional lawmakers to explain his secretive hospitalization earlier this month. Austin and the Pentagon have come under heavy scrutiny for not being more transparent about the secretary’s hospitalization and communication gaps that left senior officials and the White House unaware of his condition or whereabouts for several days. In a letter dated Thursday, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, said he spoke with Austin after news broke that he had been hospitalized for complications from an elective surgery. DEFENSE SEC. LLOYD AUSTIN IN ‘GOOD CONDITION’ AS HOSPITALIZATION APPROACHES TWO-WEEK MARK: PENTAGON OFFICIALS “While you did respond to some of my questions I had for you, a concerning number of questions were not addressed,” Rogers wrote. “Specifically, I am alarmed you refused to answer whether you instructed your staff to not inform the President of the United States or anyone else of your hospitalization.” “Unfortunately, this leads me to believe that information is being withheld from Congress,” he added. Austin’s office said the Department of Defense provided the House Armed Services Committee three letters in a “good-faith effort” to respond to the panel while “recognizing that there is an internal 30-day review underway, and the DOD Inspector General is conducting his own review.” “The Department looks forward to continuing to work with the Committee to accommodate its legislative needs,” the agency said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “As always, we will respond to congressional requests as appropriate, to include requests for the Secretary to testify. We have nothing further to provide at this time.” DEFENSE SECRETARY LLOYD AUSTIN DIAGNOSED WITH PROSTATE CANCER The call to testify came after reports that Austin’s aide asked first responders to remain “subtle” and not use sirens or lights during while transporting him from his home on New Year’s Day to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, according to a 911 call. Austin returned to work in a virtual capacity on Jan. 5 while still hospitalized, even authorizing airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. He was released Monday. Despite being admitted to Walter Reed upon Jan.1, the Pentagon didn’t inform the public, press or Congress until Jan. 5. Officials also acknowledged that the White House had not been informed about Austin’s hospitalization until Jan. 4. In addition to being summoned to Capitol Hill, the Pentagon is conducting an internal review into the communication lapse. “This is a time of immense global instability. Our country deserves reliable leadership at the department,” Rogers wrote. “Maintaining the most ready and lethal force possible requires that everyone in the national security community be able to rely upon the secretary of defense’s availability and transparency.” “Regrettably, you have not exhibited these attributes throughout this most recent string of events,” he added.
Namibia’s president to undergo treatment after ‘cancerous cells’ found
Hage Geingob, 82, will continue to carry out his presidential duties while seeking treatment, his office said. Namibian President Hage Geingob will start treatment for cancer after routine medical checkups led to the detection of “cancerous cells”, his office has said. In a statement from the Namibian Presidency on Friday, it said that “as part of regular annual medical examinations” the 82-year-old leader had a colonoscopy and a gastroscopy on January 8, followed by a biopsy. “The results revealed cancerous cells,” the statement said. “On the advice of the medical team, President Geingob will undertake appropriate medical treatment to deal with the cancerous cells,” it added. Geingob’s office gave no more details on his diagnosis but said he would continue working. “With Presidential and National Assembly elections programmed for the end of the year 2024, The Presidency wishes to inform the Namibian public that President Geingob will continue to carry out presidential duties, alongside the Cabinet, of which he is the Chairperson,” the statement said. Health scares have followed the president even before he took office. In 2013 Geingob underwent brain surgery. A year later, he told the public that he had survived prostate cancer. In 2023, the tall, deep-voiced leader, underwent an aortic operation in neighbouring South Africa. Geingob, who is serving his second term, was first elected as president in 2014 after spending 12 years as the country’s longest-serving prime minister. Namibia will hold elections to choose a new leader in November. Geingob will not be standing for re-election. Last year, the governing party, the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), named Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its candidate for the election. She is the party’s vice-president and Namibia’s current deputy prime minister. Adblock test (Why?)
Former Nancy Mace staffers working with ex-chief of staff to unseat her, sources say
Rep. Nancy Mace’s former chief of staff is being propped up by her own ex-staffers as he mulls a primary challenge against her, two sources told Fox News Digital. Dan Hanlon joined Mace’s office in 2021 after serving in the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget. He departed last month under reportedly contentious circumstances. A source familiar with his plans told Fox News Digital that Hanlon was being approached about a possible run for Mace’s seat, and two sources said that multiple former staffers were informally aiding Hanlon in some capacity. The source said at least one is a former communications director for Mace who is now helping Hanlon and said “there are many” ex-staffers of hers in his position. JOHNSON CAUGHT BETWEEN WARRING HOUSE GOP FACTIONS: ‘DRIFTING TOWARD MOB RULE’ “I along with several other former staff are backing Hanlon in some sort of way,” the second source said. “Dan is receiving great feedback because for years he did the actual job of serving the constituents of South Carolina in Congress while Nancy Mace was busy going on TV and getting her net worth up millions,” the first source familiar with Hanlon’s plans said. “Both the donor class and grassroots voters are tired of Mace privately bashing Trump and publicly bashing real conservatives as a–holes.” Hanlon’s potential primary challenge was first reported in Politico earlier this week. Fox News Digital asked Mace about those reports on Capitol Hill Thursday. She said, “I believe we put a statement out. He’s going to have to move to the district if he has to run.” CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS STRIKE DEAL TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES When reached for comment, Doug Stafford, a spokesman for Mace’s re-election campaign, told Fox News Digital, “This can’t be true. Mace couldn’t get this lucky? Well, would he move there, cause he sure as s— doesn’t live there now!” The source familiar with Hanlon’s plans responded to her accusation about his living outside the district, “Dan owns a home in the district. Rep. Mace had her ex-fiancé buy her one.” HOUSE VOTES TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AFTER SPEAKER JOHNSON BUCKS GOP REBELS Mace’s former staffers coalescing around her former top aide comes after several reports of a toxic workplace culture in her office. She’s seen a slew of staff departures in recent months in addition to Hanlon’s. Mace was accused of making lewd comments in the office by three sources who spoke anonymously with the Daily Mail in December. A Daily Beast report from November claimed Mace had a “handbook” for staffers that allegedly said, among other things, that her office must send out at least one press release per day and put her on TV at least nine times per week. Mace told Fox News Digital during a Nov. 3 interview that she had not read the report, and shrugged off its accusations.
Journalist questions bombing of Gaza university
NewsFeed “It’s not troubling to you?” A reporter questions the US State Department about Israeli justification for destroying Israa University in Gaza City in what appears to be a controlled demolition. Published On 19 Jan 202419 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
‘Until Israel stops!’: Yemenis rally for Houthis, Palestinians in Sanaa
Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, to show their support for Palestinians and protest against Western attacks on Yemen, as Israel’s war on Gaza continues. Al Jazeera’s Mohammed al-Attab, reporting from the scene of the protests on Friday, said many in the crowd accused the United States of supporting Israel’s war and promised to continue standing by their “brothers in Palestine”. “They are now saying that, ‘We don’t care about your rage, we don’t care about whatever you do to us, we will continue our support and resilience with Palestinians until Israel stops its war on Palestine,’” he added. Demonstrators also chanted against the US attacks on Yemen and some criticised the US designating the Houthis a “terrorist group”. On Wednesday, the Biden administration re-listed Yemen’s Houthis as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” group over the rebels’ attacks in the Red Sea on ships it says have links to Israel. In response to the shipping attacks, which have disrupted maritime trade between Asia and Europe, the US has also launched attacks on sites in Yemen since last week. The Houthis say their attacks on ships will continue until Israel’s war on Gaza stops. Other rallies reportedly also took place in Hodeidah, western Yemen, in Hajjah and Saada provinces of northwestern Yemen, in southwestern Taiz province, and in Al-Bayda province of central Yemen on Friday, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah channel. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump, GOP skeptics of Ukraine aid balk at potential McConnell-Schumer border deal
Former President Donald Trump said that Republicans should say “No” to a border security deal that does not include “everything needed” to stop the flow of illegal migrants at the southern border. “I do not think we should do a Border Deal, at all, unless we get EVERYTHING needed to shut down the INVASION of Millions & Millions of people, many from parts unknown, into our once great, but soon to be great again, Country!” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. Congressional leaders are hoping to reach a bipartisan deal that would be attached to the national security supplemental package and unlock billions in funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. Both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters this week that a national security funding deal could come up for a vote as soon as next week. HOUSE, SENATE GOP LEADERS URGE SCOTUS TO HALT ‘DANGEROUS PRECEDENT,’ DEFEND TRUMP’S BALLOT ACCESS However, even though it will likely garner the 60 votes needed to pass in the upper chamber, it will be dead on arrival in the GOP-controlled House if it does not include Trump-era immigration penalties as outlined in H.R. 2 — the House’s border security bill passed last year. McConnell has indicated that the priority is not just the border, but the other national security issues outlined in the package. “The rest of the bill is important,” McConnell said this week. “We’re getting shot at. The Houthis are shooting at our ships, at commercial ships. We’ve got a war in Israel, a war in Ukraine. I’m sure the Chinese were unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election in Taiwan a few days ago.” He added, “I think it’s time to go ahead with the supplemental, and I’m anticipating it will be before us next week.” Schumer and McConnell both agree that aid to Ukraine and border security should not be separated. The U.S. has already sent an estimated $100 billion to assist Ukraine in its defense against Russia, and the Biden administration has exhausted the amount of funds that can be sent to the Eastern European nation without needing Congress’s approval in a final $200 million package last month. There is likely to be a showdown between a small group of GOP senators who oppose more aid to Ukraine. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a staunch critic of more aid to Ukraine, said this week the U.S.’s security “is threatened right now on our border” and that leaders would “much rather spend money on Ukraine’s border than our own. I say again, it is exactly backwards — it’s insane.” But the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination has been in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s ear, too. Johnson said on Fox this week that he “frequently” chats with Trump about the crisis at the southern border, and that he’s “not wrong” for telling lawmakers to reject a deal that falls short. 14 HOUSE DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS TO REBUKE BIDEN OVER BORDER CRISIS “President Trump is not wrong,” Johnson told Fox News host Laura Ingraham this week. “He and I have been talking about this pretty frequently. I talked to him the night before last about the same subject.” Meanwhile, some conservatives in the upper chamber remain skeptical about the so-called border deal that still has not made it to paper. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said in a post on X, “It’s unfair to put pressure” on Johnson, “or anyone else — to support a ‘deal’ that doesn’t yet exist, the details of which remain cloaked in secrecy.” But Lee agreed with Trump and said, “But from what little we do know, no Republican should support it. This is nuts.” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., shared a similar sentiment in an interview with Fox News Digital. He said that Biden doesn’t need “all these policy changes,” since the border “was secure under Trump.” It’s a matter of enforcement, he argued. “The border was secure under Trump — he didn’t need a policy change. I haven’t seen the text of the bill, but there are some things that might be nice to have, but it’s not going to secure the border this year,” Scott said. The package will need around 10 Republican votes to pass in the Senate.
Biden admin failing to track Chinese ownership of US farmland: govt watchdog
The Biden administration is failing to properly track foreign ownership of U.S. farmlands and doesn’t appear to have a plan to begin tracking that data, according to an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). According to a GAO report detailing the findings of its investigation, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed to consistently share timely data on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land as required under the 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). Further, Pentagon officials told investigators, according to the report, that USDA needs to regularly provide more up-to-date and specific AFIDA data. “Sharing current data could help increase visibility into potential national security risks related to foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land,” the GAO report, which was published late Thursday, states. “USDA implements AFIDA across field offices and headquarters, but its processes to collect, track, and report key information are flawed.” The GAO investigation concluded that USDA collects AFIDA data on paper forms filed with county or federal offices, but that its process is “unclear and challenging to implement.” And USDA also has no plans and timelines to create an online AFIDA database despite Congress mandating the agency create one by 2025. GOP BILL TO SAFEGUARD US AGRICULTURE FROM CHINA ADVANCES WITH HEAVY BIPARTISAN SUPPORT Finally, the government watchdog agency’s review of AFIDA data — the most recent of which is from 2021 — found the USDA has published errors such as reporting the largest land holding associated with China twice. “This report confirms one of our worst fears: that not only is the USDA unable to answer the question of who owns what land and where, but that there is no plan by the department to internally reverse this dangerous flaw that affects our supply chain and economy,” Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said. “Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries to influence our food supply while we stick our heads in the sand.” “I will, in my capacity as a member of the Select Committee on the CCP, Chairman of the Western Caucus, and as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, be working to introduce measures aimed at fixing USDA’s internal reporting and data management to identify to Congress, and the American people, exactly who is investing in the over 40 million acres of U.S. farm land reported to have ties to foreign actors,” he continued. CCP-TIED EV COMPANY BACKED BY DEMS BUYS UP MICHIGAN LAND MILES FROM US MILITARY BASES In recent months, Republican lawmakers and local leaders nationwide have increased scrutiny on land purchases by foreign investors. The increasing number of land purchases has sparked concern that foreign companies and investors, particularly those from China, may be establishing a stranglehold of key U.S. food and energy supplies. USDA’s most recent data suggests that, as of 2021, foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land grew to approximately 40 million acres. Additionally, Chinese agricultural investment in the U.S. increased tenfold between 2009 and 2016 alone. The apparent trend led to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., leading a letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro signed by nearly 130 fellow House Republicansin October 2022, requesting a probe into foreign investment in U.S. farmland and its “impact on national security, trade, and food security.” BIDEN ADMIN ABRUPTLY REVERSES PROPOSAL OPENING PUBLIC LANDS TO FOREIGN OWNERSHIP AFTER GOP OPPOSITION “Growing foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, particularly by China, poses a direct threat to our food security and national security,” Thompson and Comer said in a joint statement Thursday. “Safeguarding our farmland and food supply requires a whole of government approach and we will continue to work with the impacted agencies, related committees, and leadership to continue our robust oversight and to identify legislative vehicles to address the findings of the GAO report,” they added. In February 2023, officials in Grand Forks, North Dakota, rejected a Chinese company’s proposed corn mill that received significant local pushback over concerns about its proximity to a U.S. Air Force base in the area. While the company, Chinese-owned Fufeng Group, was able to purchase 300 acres of land in the area, the local government rejected its building permits, effectively killing the project. Air Force Assistant Secretary Andrew Hunter said prior to the Grand Forks City Council decision that the project would pose a “significant threat” to national security, but that the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) concluded it did not have jurisdiction in the case. CFIUS is an interagency taskforce overseen by the Department of the Treasury and tasked with reviewing certain foreign investments that may pose a national security threat. NEARLY 200 DEMS JOIN REPUBLICANS IN BLOCKING CHINA FROM BUYING RURAL LAND In addition, a subsidiary of Chinese green energy firm Gotion High-Tech purchased 270 acres of land, including some zoned for agricultural use, in Green Charter Township, Michigan, in August. The land is slated to be used to build an electric vehicle battery component factory, but is located within 60 miles of military armories and within 100 miles from Camp Grayling, the largest U.S. National Guard training facility in the country. Like its determination in the Fufeng Group case, CFIUS ruled in April 2023 that Gotion’s plans in Michigan are not covered transactions. “The process to report and track foreign-owned agricultural land is complex and is governed by a 46 year-old law that depends on self-reporting by foreign buyers and sellers of U.S. agricultural land,” a USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “To fulfill our obligations under the law, USDA gathers information from the more than 3,000 counties and county equivalents in the United States, each with their own county clerk and recorder’s office — or none at all — feeding information into more than 50 different state systems.” “The GAO’s recommendations would require changes by Congress, starting with the funding needed to increase staff and modernize our processes, in addition to a change in data collection mandates down to the
‘Criminal complaints’ filed against Israeli President Herzog in Switzerland
Swiss prosecutor confirmed the filing but would not reveal details about the nature and number of the complaints. Israeli President Isaac Herzog is the subject of criminal complaints during his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Swiss prosecutors have confirmed, as Israel finds itself accused of committing war crimes in Gaza. “The criminal complaints will be examined according to the usual procedure,” the Office of the Swiss Attorney General said on Friday, adding that it would contact the Swiss foreign ministry to examine the question of immunity of the individual concerned. In theory, third countries do not hold criminal jurisdiction over current heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers of other countries. The reasons behind the complaints and who filed them were not specified. A spokesperson for Herzog’s office did not comment on the statement by Swiss prosecutors, saying only that Herzog had been to Davos to present Israel’s position on the situation in Gaza. The AFP news agency obtained a statement allegedly issued by the people behind the complaint, entitled “Legal Action Against Crimes Against Humanity”. It said several unnamed individuals had filed charges with federal prosecutors and with cantonal authorities in Basel, Bern and Zurich. The statement said the plaintiffs were seeking a criminal prosecution in parallel to a case brought before the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) by South Africa, which has accused Israel of genocide in its offensive in Gaza. While it could take years for the ICJ to produce a final verdict, South Africa asked the court to instruct “provisional measures” – a temporary order for Israel to stop the war – while the case is pending. Israel has called South Africa’s accusations “baseless” and a “blood libel”. Universal Jurisdiction The reasons behind the complaints filed to the Swiss prosecutor are unclear, said Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays. They could relate to something that took place in Switzerland while Herzog attended the Davos summit, he explained, or they could relate to previous statements Herzog made about Palestinians, which were also cited by South Africa’s legal team at the Hague while presenting their case. Days after October 7 – when Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack into southern Israel killing nearly 1,200 people – the Israeli president said it was not only Hamas fighters but “an entire nation” that was responsible for the violence and that Israel would fight “until we break their backbone”. After the Hamas attack, Israel launched a ferocious bombardment of Gaza that has killed more than 24,500 people, 70 percent of whom are women and children, according to the United Nations. If prosecuted, such a case filed to the Swiss court would be dealt with under “universal jurisdiction”, William Shabas, a professor of international criminal and human rights law at Middlesex University in the UK, told Al Jazeera. Under international law, universal jurisdiction is based on the principle that certain crimes are so serious that their perpetrators must be prosecuted transcending borders. This means that states or international organisations can file legal complaints against people regardless of their nationality or where the alleged crime was committed. Such cases are usually related to international crimes. “It used to be extremely rare for this to happen but more and more, particularly in European countries, there is an effort to prosecute such crimes – the crime of genocide, war crimes, and so on, using universal jurisdiction,” Shabas said. “The obstacle would be the alleged immunity of a president of a country – that is going to be a real problem,” he added. Addressing the issue of immunity, the statement seen by AFP suggested that it could be lifted “in certain circumstances”, including in cases of alleged crimes against humanity, adding that “these conditions are met in this case”. Another obstacle for the prosecutor to proceed, Shabas said, would be obtaining “a level of political approval”. Adblock test (Why?)
Could Ethiopia and Somalia go to war?
Mogadishu says a deal to grant Addis Ababa access to sea in Somaliland is a violation of its sovereignty. An agreement between Ethiopia and a breakaway part of Somalia is raising tension on the Horn of Africa. Somalia regards Somaliland as part of its territory, and has warned Ethiopia against interfering in its affairs. But Ethiopia is landlocked and wants access to the sea – something Somaliland can provide. Regional blocs are trying to mediate, but neither side is willing to back down. So how will this dispute play out? And is war a possibility? Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam Guests: Kemal Hashi Mohamoud – Member of the Ethiopian parliament Matt Bryden – Strategic adviser at Sahan Research, a political think tank covering the Horn of Africa Abdi Aynte – Former Somali minister of the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development Adblock test (Why?)