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Republicans respond to Trump ballot bans with bill to make SCOTUS only authority on insurrection challenges

Republicans respond to Trump ballot bans with bill to make SCOTUS only authority on insurrection challenges

Sen. Thom Tillis and a group of Republican senators are introducing a bill on Thursday that would make it so only the Supreme Court can decide whether to block a candidate from the ballot for allegedly engaging in insurrection – a direct response to efforts to remove former President Donald Trump from the ballot in the upcoming election. “We’re seeing the games played. We’ve seen it in Colorado. We’ve seen it in Maine and other states,” Tillis, R-N.C., said in an exclusive interview with Fox News. “And I’ll guarantee you, when the situation is reversed, you will have Republicans doing this. We need to put this to bed.”  Tillis added: “Part of what I’m trying to do here is calm the waters.”  COLORADO VOTERS SEEKING TRUMP BALLOT BAN FILE RESPONSE IN EFFORT TO SPEED UP SUPREME COURT DECISION Tillis who announced his intent to bring the legislation last month, was joined by Sens. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Rick Scott, R-Fla., Ted Budd, R-N.C., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.  The main enforcement mechanism in the bill is a provision which would ban the use of any federal funds to run elections in a state where an official tries to block a candidate from the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.  That is the section of the 14th Amendment cited by the Colorado Supreme Court and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows to block Trump from appearing in their respective states’ presidential elections. It says anyone who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” against the United States may not hold federal or state office.  “The record establishes that Mr. Trump, over the course of several months and culminating on January 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them to the Capitol to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and the peaceful transfer of power,” Bellows wrote in her decision disallowing Trump from the ballot.  PELOSI PANNED FOR SAYING BANNING TRUMP FROM BALLOT OVER JAN. 6 DEPENDS ON ‘DIFFERENT LAWS FROM STATE TO STATE’ Trump is fighting the Colorado ballot ban in the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Maine ban in Maine’s Superior Court.  Tillis’ bill also bars any state courts from considering a case on the eligibility of someone to run for office who allegedly engaged in insurrection.  Instead, Tillis’ bill would create a system in which a panel of federal district court judges would collect facts on the case, before passing that information to the Supreme Court to make a final judgment.  “A Federal district court of 3 judges shall be convened when an action is filed in Federal district court challenging the ballot eligibility of a candidate for the Office of President of the United States,” the text of the bill says. “The 3-judge panel shall make findings of fact, which shall be transmitted to the Supreme Court of the United States. Upon receipt of these findings of fact, the Supreme Court shall consider the matter on an expedited basis before issuing a ruling on the findings of law.”  Tillis said conversations to build support for the bill among Republicans have gone well. But he said he is trying to get broader support too, emphasizing that this is likely to be an issue in future elections unless Congress acts.  “It was an abuse of power at the state level. It needs to end, and I believe our bill ends it,” Tillis added. 

Biden to send delegation to Taiwan days after election in move likely to anger China

Biden to send delegation to Taiwan days after election in move likely to anger China

President Biden will send an unofficial delegation to visit Taiwan after the island conducts its elections this weekend. The move is sure to anger China, which regularly bristles at any suggestion that Taiwan is an independent nation apart from China. The White House has not offered details about who will be in the delegation, according to NBC News. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, but they did not immediately respond. Taiwan’s election, set for Jan. 13, could play a major role in furthering the island’s separation from mainland China. One of the presidential candidates, Lai Ching-te, is a proponent of Taiwanese independence, and Beijing has issued a statement urging Taiwanese voters not to support him. Lai currently serves as vice president and is leading in election polls. TAIWAN APOLOGIZES AFTER EMERGENCY ALERT MISTRANSLATION LED TO ‘MISSILE’ WARNING FOR CHINESE SATELLITE LAUNCH China has in the past reacted with a military response when the U.S. sends a delegation of officials or lawmakers to Taiwan. CHINA’S XI JINPING UNANIMOUSLY ELECTED TO SERVE 3RD TERM AS PRESIDENT Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in 2022, resulting in weeks of Chinese live fire military exercises surrounding the island. China made a similar display last year when Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last year. Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed during his year-end address on New Year’s Eve that Taiwan would be reunified with mainland China. He has warned in the past that China could resort to using force. CHINA’S XI SEIZES TOTAL POWER, THREATENS INTERNATIONAL ORDER WITH ECONOMIC STRENGTH, MILITARY “All Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Xi said in his speech. “The motherland will surely be reunified,” he added. Taiwan split from mainland China in 1949, when democratic forces fled to the island after losing a civil war against the Chinese Communist Party.

Fetterman, Cassidy unveil bipartisan bill to protect students from antisemitism, hold colleges ‘accountable’

Fetterman, Cassidy unveil bipartisan bill to protect students from antisemitism, hold colleges ‘accountable’

FIRST ON FOX: Senators Bill Cassidy, R-La., and John Fetterman, D-Pa., are introducing a bipartisan bill Thursday aimed at protecting students on college campuses from antisemitism and other discriminatory acts. The Protecting Students on Campus Act of 2024 seeks to “empower students” to file civil rights complaints if they experience discrimination on college campuses, according to a press release exclusively shared with Fox News Digital. “No student should be harassed or attacked at school just because of who they are,” Cassidy said in a statement. “This legislation holds colleges and universities accountable and ensures discrimination against students is never ignored.”  FETTERMAN: HARVARD WAS ALWAYS A ‘LITTLE PINKO’ BUT I ‘DON’T RECOGNIZE IT’ ANYMORE Fetterman, who has been an outspoken supporter of Israel amid its war with Hamas, said, “No student should face hostility or violence for who they are, what they look like, where they’re from, or what they believe.” “Diversity is our strength as a country,” Fetterman said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Amid a despicable rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in our country, I am proud to introduce this bill with my colleague Senator Cassidy to empower students facing discrimination to take action and hold universities accountable in protecting students.” The bill would require colleges to post information and links on their websites and in high-traffic public areas, like student centers, detailing how to file a Title VI discrimination complaint with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). It would also require the OCR’s assistant secretary to give monthly briefings to Congress explaining the number of complaints the office had received, how they were addressed and how long the complaints had been pending with the OCR.  Additionally, each college receiving federal funds would have to submit an annual report to the Education Department’s inspector general detailing the number of complaints it had received regarding discrimination, an analysis of the number of such complaints, and the action the institution took to address them. “The Inspector General of the Department of Education shall complete an annual audit of the institutions of higher education that are in the top 5 percent of institutions based on the per capita number of complaints,” the bill states. Cassidy told Fox News Digital that he held a bipartisan roundtable discussion with college students and faculty members in November, during which it became apparent that students were unclear on whether they could file a complaint with the OCR. “Right now, universities have fallen down in terms of their responsibility to make sure that every child can have access to the kind of education that he or she signed up for,” he said. “We need some transparency,” he added. “Frankly, I think it’s in the natural interest of the university to downplay it, but it can’t be downplayed. The kids have to know their rights, and the public has to know what universities are doing a good job and what are not.”