Chris Christie to drop out of 2024 race, ending Republican presidential campaign
Chris Christie will make what’s being billed as a major announcement on Wednesday where he’s widely expected to formally suspend his campaign for president. Two sources close to Christie’s campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital that the former two-term New Jersey governor who is making his second run for the Republican presidential nomination would be suspending his campaign. Christie, a long-shot for the nomination in a race dominated by former President Donald Trump, in recent weeks had faced increased calls from fellow Republicans and from voters to end his bid to give rival Nikki Haley a boost as she aims to close the gap with Trump. Sources indicated that Christie would not be announcing an endorsement for anyone in the 2024 presidential race at this time. CHRISTIE RAMPS UP ATTACKS ON HALEY AS SHE CLOSES THE GAP WITH TRUMP Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, has soared in recent months, becoming the main rival to the former president, who’s making his third straight White House run. Christie told reporters last week that “I’ve also said I also know when I’m not doing well, and I dropped out after the New Hampshire primary eight years ago because I didn’t do as well as I thought I would. I have no interest in doing this if it doesn’t lead to success. So that’s the bottom line.” Considered one of the best communicators in the GOP, Christie was once a strong Trump ally but became one of the former president’s most vocal GOP critics. Christie, who was first elected governor of deep-blue New Jersey in 2009 and overwhelmingly re-elected in 2013, first ran for president in the 2016 cycle. He placed all his chips in New Hampshire, but his 2016 campaign crashed and burned after a disappointing and distant sixth-place finish in the state. He was far behind Trump, who crushed the competition in the primary, boosting him towards the nomination and eventually the White House. Christie became the first among the other GOP 2016 contenders to endorse Trump, and for years was a top outside adviser to the then-president and chaired Trump’s high-profile commission on opioids. However, the two had a falling out after Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden. Christie publicly mulled a 2024 presidential run for over a year and a half before formally announcing his candidacy at an event in New Hampshire last June. Similar to his 2016 White House run, Christie once again placed most of his chips in the Granite State, where independent voters and moderates play an influential role in the state’s storied presidential primary. The former governor, known for the kind of in-your-face politics that Trump has also mastered, criticized his rivals for not being more aggressive in taking on Trump. And he argued that he was the only contender with the chops to potentially take down Trump on the debate stage. But the former president skipped out on the debates, depriving Christie of any face-to-face confrontation with Trump. Christie becomes the latest Republican to drop out of the increasingly slimmed down field of GOP presidential contenders. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum ended his bid early last month. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina dropped out in November. Former Vice President Mike Pence suspended his presidential campaign on Oct. 28, during his address to the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. Four lesser known candidates who all failed to qualify for the GOP presidential debates had already suspended their campaigns. There are former CIA spy and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Florida, business leader and quality control expert Perry Johnson, and 2021 California gubernatorial recall election candidate and former conservative talk radio host Larry Elder. Another long-shot for the nomination, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, remains in the race. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Temporary funding on the table as Congress scrambles to find path forward to fund government
A continuing resolution (CR), a temporary funding measure passed by Congress to provide interim funding for federal agencies when the regular appropriations bills have not been enacted by the start of the fiscal year, is appearing more likely to avert a government shutdown next week. This would be a blow to the staggered deadlines that Congress agreed upon last year for appropriations to make it across the finish line set for Jan. 19 and Feb. 2. “We ought to allow some time to do some work on the other bills and, if there is a CR, maybe in the March timeframe,” Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday. In November, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated he was “done” with short-term funding patches, known as a CR, which would fund government agencies temporarily until a permanent deal for the year is passed – placing him at odds with Republican leaders in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday a CR would be the “obvious” route at this point. SENATE GOP LEADERS BASH $1.66 TRILLION JOHNSON-SCHUMER BUDGET AGREEMENT: ‘CAN AND MUST DO BETTER’ Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday morning that congressional leaders “agree a shutdown would be a terrible way to start the year.” “Speaker Johnson and I are on the same page on that,” he said. However, on many of the other policy specifics, they are worlds apart, as Johnson has floated including conservative policy additions in the ultimate spending agreement. “This is the best deal that we could broker under the circumstances, and I think the pedal is to the metal,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. However, on Wednesday, Johnson said he wouldn’t rule out a CR. “I’m not ruling out anything, committing to anything other than getting these appropriations done. And I think we can,” he said. Meanwhile, Congress still has the White House’s $110 billion national security supplemental request with aid to Ukraine to deal with, on top of an ongoing border security deal that lawmakers are trying to agree on. But Thune said Tuesday it’s unlikely those issues will get resolved until the government receives funding. SENATE HAS ONLY PASSED 3 OUT OF 12 SPENDING BILLS AS DEADLINE LOOMS On Jan. 19, funding will expire for several federal departments, including Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Energy, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. On Feb. 2, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Defense Departments will also run out of funding. So far, the Senate has only passed three of its 12 appropriations bills and the clock is ticking. “I can imagine there’ll be a short-term spending bill to buy a little bit more time, but it does seem that a pathway has been created to get a final spending bill,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday. “We all know that it’s been difficult to get it done, but we’ve got to govern,” he said. “We’ve got to put Republican priorities in law, we’ve got to fund the military and other things. So I am cautiously optimistic that we’ll get it all done.” Johnson and Schumer agreed to a topline figure over the weekend, amounting to $1.66 trillion in spending for the next fiscal year. HOUSE, SENATE RELEASE BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINES LOOM The budget comprises $886 billion allocated for defense and $704 billion designated for nondefense expenses. According to Johnson, the achieved Republican concessions involve $10 billion in extra cuts to IRS mandatory funding (totaling $20 billion) and a $6.1 billion reduction from the Biden administration’s ongoing COVID-related funds. Johnson said the new agreement would see some additional cuts to discretionary spending to offset the deal. Meanwhile, Schumer said on the floor Wednesday that “there are 30 or so hard right Republicans in the House who labor under the illusion that they can bully everyone else into submission to get their narrow, hard right agenda enacted into law.” “That’s what they’re trying to do in the appropriations process,” he said.
Texas Republicans at the front of intensifying effort to impeach Mayorkas
Democrats dismiss the ouster effort as a partisan abuse of impeachment.
House Judiciary passes resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress, setting up full floor vote
The House Judiciary Committee passed a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, setting up a full vote on the House floor in the coming days that would recommend the first son for prosecution. The vote at the House Judiciary Committee was 23-14. A source familiar tells Fox News Digital a full House floor vote could come as early as next week. HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING The House Oversight Committee also met for a markup Wednesday at 10 a.m. to consider the resolution that recommends contempt proceedings against the first son after he refused to comply with a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door deposition. The resolution has not yet been passed out of Oversight and their meeting is ongoing. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Obama increasingly worried about Trump beating Biden, report says: ‘Incalculable damage’
Former President Obama is becoming increasingly anxious about the closeness of the 2024 presidential election and fears former President Trump could take back the White House, according to a report. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, one of Obama’s closest confidants, told USA Today that if Trump were to win the Republican nomination and beat President Biden this November, there could be “incalculable damage” brought upon the country. Holder confirmed Obama “absolutely” holds the same views when asked by the publication. “I think that’s what motivates him. I think that’s what will continue to motivate him,” Holder responded. MICHELLE OBAMA SAYS SHE IS ‘TERRIFIED ABOUT WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN’ IN 2024 ELECTION Individuals within Obama’s inner orbit further said he believes the race would be extremely close, according to USA Today. Due to this, Obama will try to “move the needle” toward Biden with calculated moments throughout the campaign. Others said Obama thinks the 2024 landscape has “major structural advantages that will favor Republicans” and believes Trump winning again would be “dangerous.” “President Obama is going to do everything he can to help in that regard, and that means campaigning, but it also means sharing strategic advice with [Biden],” Holder told the publication. “And who better than President Obama to be a primary advisor to the campaign?” The former president’s unease comes on the heels of his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, saying she is “terrified” about what could happen in the 2024 election. ‘ANIMATED’ OBAMA URGES BIDEN TO STEP UP CAMPAIGN, ‘MOVE AGGRESSIVELY’ TO COUNTER TRUMP: REPORT During a recent podcast appearance, Michelle Obama was asked about what keeps her up at night and her biggest fear. “It has less to do with me personally and more to do with the world that we’re in,” she responded. “There’s such thing as ‘knowing too much,’ and when you’ve been married to the President of the United States who knows everything about everything in the world, sometimes you just want to turn it off.” While she noted concerns ranging from wars across various regions and the future of artificial intelligence to climate change and voter turnout as being problems on her mind, America’s upcoming presidential election remains chief among them. “Those are the things that keep me up, because you don’t have control over them. And you wonder, where are we in this? Where are our hearts? What’s gonna happen in this next election?” she said. “I am terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub
Lloyd Austin hospitalization: New details emerge surrounding internal Defense Department communications
New details emerged Wednesday to indicate that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, was aware of her boss’ hospitalization on Tuesday last week but did not inform Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks. Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters this delay was in part due to Magsamen having the flu. A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News on Wednesday that a military assistant from Austin’s office notified a counterpart in Hicks’ office of the transfer of authority to her on Jan. 2. Then on Thursday, Jan. 4, it was Magsamen who notified the chief of staff for Hicks that Austin had been hospitalized on Monday, Jan. 1, and that his condition was improving. PENTAGON OFFICIALS STUNNED BY DEFENSE SECRETARY KEEPING CANCER DIAGNOSIS SECRET FROM BIDEN When asked by Fox News if it was senior military assistant Lt. Gen. Ron Clark who spoke to the military assistant in Hicks’ office on Tuesday, the senior U.S. defense official did not have an answer and said a 30-day review will cover exactly who the military assistant was. President Biden first learned of Austin’s prostate cancer on Tuesday, which was the same day as the public and a month after the diagnosis. This is despite the two speaking on the phone on Saturday. Walter Reed National Military Medical Center revealed Tuesday that Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December and underwent a prostatectomy on Dec. 22. MEDIA, DEMOCRATS, BIDEN OFFICIALS RIP DEFENSE DEPARTMENT FOR HIDING AUSTIN’S ICU STAY The hospital added that the 70-year-old recovered uneventfully from his surgery and was released the following morning. His prostate cancer was detected early and the prognosis was “excellent,” according to the facility. During his hospitalization, Austin transferred authority to Hicks and did not inform the White House nor the reason behind the transfer. The Defense Department has for days said Austin was initially at Walter Reed for an “elective medical procedure,” not prostate surgery. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday that Biden was not informed of Austin’s hospitalization until last Thursday and only learned of the cancer diagnosis on Tuesday. Asked whether Biden believed the time-lapse was acceptable, Kirby said it was “not optimal.” “For a situation like this to go as long as it did without the commander in chief knowing about it or the national security adviser knowing about it or, frankly, other leaders at the Department of Defense, that’s not the way this is supposed to happen. The president understands that,” Kirby said. Fox News’ Bradford Betz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Republicans, Dems spar at Mayorkas impeachment hearing as state AGs describe impact of migrant crisis
Republicans and Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee clashed at the first hearing to examine whether DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached over his handling of the crisis at the southern border – and as state attorneys general explained how the crisis had harmed their states. The committee held the first impeachment hearing at a time when the migrant crisis is setting records at the border, with over 302,000 migrant encounters in December, and a current release rate of over 85%. Republicans and Democrats have been deeply split over what has caused the crisis and those divisions were on display as Republicans pointed at the Biden administration, and Democrats accused Republicans of not working with them to fix the crisis. HOUSE HOMELAND DEMOCRATS BACK MAYORKAS, SLAM GOP ‘SHAM’ AHEAD OF IMPEACHMENT HEARING “Secretary Mayorkas has brazenly refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress and has enacted policies that knowingly make our country less safe,” Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said. “What we’re seeing here is a willful violation of the oath of office taken by Secretary Mayorkas.” Republicans have blamed an expanded catch-and-release, a rollback of Trump-era policies, an “abuse” of humanitarian parole to release migrants into the interior, and the ending of border wall construction as factors in what has encouraged a massive and historic migrant crisis. Green also said his committee’s investigation has uncovered 100 instances where Mayorkas has misled the public. DHS and Democrats have rejected that narrative, pointing to what it says are a large number of recent removals and returns and saying that authorities need more funding and a comprehensive immigration reform package – including a $14 billion supplemental funding request currently being negotiated in Congress. Ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., accused Republicans of throwing “political red meat” to their base in an effort to keep campaign money coming in during an election year. “It’s now campaign season, and Republicans recently rolled out their impeachment proceedings against the secretary like the pre-planned, pre-determined political stunt it is. This is not a legitimate impeachment,” he said. Thompson also defended Mayorkas’ conduct in office. “The facts show Secretary Mayorkas is doing his job across all the department’s many critical homeland security missions, including border security and immigration enforcement. Despite what Republicans would have Americans believe, Secretary Mayorkas is enforcing immigration law,” he said. Republicans invited three Republican attorneys general from the heartland to describe the impact the crisis had on their states. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen described an explosion of fentanyl pouring into the state, with authorities on track to have seized half a million dosage units in 2023, from over 6,000 in 2020. The drug is produced primarily in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then shipped across the southern land border. It can be fatal in tiny doses and is often hidden in other drugs so users don’t know they are ingesting fentanyl. Republicans have linked the fentanyl crisis to the border crisis. MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES Knudsen said he believed the border had been largely secured under the Trump administration, but that work had been undone under the leadership of Mayorkas. “Secretary Mayorkas is the architect of that destruction. The American people are watching. They know that our border was secured just a few years ago. They see the devastation metastasizing in our communities from drugs and human trafficking. The conclusion is clear, Secretary Mayorkas has violated his oath, and I urge this body to impeach,” he said. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described the crime his state had seen, citing stats that the Oklahama Department of Corrections is housing more than 500 illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes. “Illegal immigration cost Oklahoma taxpayers more than $750 million each year with a minimal offset return,” he said. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. since 2021 is larger than the population of his state. “These numbers are not an accident. There is only one reason eight million people illegally cross a sovereign nation’s border – because they know that they can get away with it,” he said. “There has been an orchestrated lack of enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws. [Mayorkas] has failed to do that which is most fundamental to his mission. Protect our border.” Frank Bowman, a law professor at the University of Missouri, called as a witness by Democrats, was skeptical of the impeachment claims being made – warning that impeachment cannot be used for policy disagreements. “Official conduct must meet a very high threshold of seriousness. It must also be of a type that corrupts and subverts political and governmental process, and it ought to be plainly wrong, regardless of legal,” he said. “The most commonly encountered categories of impeachable conduct are official corruption, abuse of power, betrayal of the nation’s foreign policy interests, subversion of the Constitution. There is no serious allegation of which I’m aware that the secretary has done any of those things.” Meanwhile, DHS issued a memo ripping into the impeachment effort, pointing to prior comments from Republicans who say the threshold for impeachment has not been met. It also argued that it has stopped more fentanyl in the last two years than in the previous five years combined. “Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws,” the agency said.
White House says NYC migrants displacing students ‘is something that New York City needs to answer to’
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says the decision to temporarily transfer nearly 2,000 migrants from a Brooklyn tent shelter to a nearby high school — forcing students there to pivot to remote learning Wednesday — is “something that New York City needs to answer to.” Jean-Pierre made the remark after New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office said Tuesday that it was moving 1,900 migrants from Floyd Bennett Field for safety reasons due to an incoming storm that ended up bringing inches of rain and winds topping 60 mph to some parts of the Big Apple. The migrants were moved to James Madison High School, which confirmed it was being used as a “temporary overnight respite center” and would be closed as a result on Wednesday — with students being forced to “pivot” to remote learning as a result. “A whole high school in New York is having remote classes today because the building was needed to house people who came into this country illegally. So what is the president’s priority in this case? Is it the migrants or is it the students?” Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked Jean-Pierre during Wednesday’s briefing. NYC HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FORCED INTO REMOTE LEARNING AS 2,000 MIGRANTS SHELTERED IN SCHOOL INSTEAD “So let me just clear this up a little bit. So yesterday, New York City informed us that as a precaution, they would temporarily relocate migrants staying at Floyd Bennett Field to a nearby high school. As of this morning, all migrants have returned to the facility at Floyd Bennett Field,” she responded. “And so anything specific as to the program and what they decided to do and all of the specifics to that, I would certainly refer you to New York City for any additional questions.” DESANTIS RIPS BIDEN, NYC FOR KICKING STUDENTSO UT OF SCHOOL FOR MIGRANTS Then Jean-Pierre added that “when it comes to education, migrants, the economy, the president deals with multiple issues all at once. That is his job. “There are multiple things happening all at once. And as it relates to this particular question that you’re asking me about New York City, that is something that New York City needs to answer to,” she also said. “That is a process that they took. So they have to answer to that.” Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Speaker Johnson speaks with Biden ahead of border, shutdown battle
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke with President Biden about the southern border amid the worsening migrant crisis, the House Republican leader’s office said on Wednesday. “Speaker Johnson spoke with President Biden today. The speaker strongly encouraged the president to use his executive authority to secure the southern border,” Johnson spokesman Raj Shah announced. Shah said Johnson also reiterated topics discussed in a letter he sent Biden in late December similarly calling on him to act unilaterally on the border. MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES It’s not immediately clear who initiated the call. Johnson’s office told Fox News Digital it had nothing more to add when asked. Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House for comment on the conversation. Johnson wrote to Biden at the time, “You have clearly undermined America’s sovereignty and security by ending the Remain in Mexico policy, reinstating catch-and-release, suspending asylum cooperative agreements with other nations, ignoring existing restraints on the abuse of parole, and halting border wall construction.” HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING The speaker has made the border crisis a cornerstone of the House GOP majority’s priorities this year, leading a delegation of more than 60 lawmakers to Eagle Pass, Texas, earlier this month. Their conversation comes just over a week before the first of two government funding deadlines. Congress must make a deal on how to avoid a partial government shutdown by Jan. 19, with another deadline coming on Feb. 2. MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES It’s not clear if they discussed that topic or if the conversation was solely about the border. Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced a deal aimed at avoiding a government shutdown on Sunday. It would set discretionary government spending levels for the remainder of the fiscal year at $1.59 trillion, and include an added side deal of about $69 billion negotiated between ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Biden in the spring. Johnson’s deal would offset about $16 billion of that funding for this year.
GOP rebels plunge House into chaos amid mutiny over government shutdown deal
A small group of hardline Republicans forced a House floor vote to fail on Wednesday afternoon in an apparent shot at Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for working with Democrats on a bipartisan path to avoiding a government shutdown. Tensions flared in the Capitol as Republicans rebelled against their own party on a normally sleepy procedural vote. It was followed by what appeared to be a heated confrontation between Johnson and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has been leading criticism of the GOP leader since the government spending deal was announced. HOUSE GOP ERUPTS IN DIVISION OVER CALL TO PUSH JOHNSON OUT OF SPEAKERSHIP: ‘WORKING FOR JOE BIDEN’ Both men were visibly animated, pointing at times and shaking their heads as the group of lawmakers and staffers around them grew larger. Thirteen members of the House Freedom Caucus and their allies voted against Republicans to sink what’s known as a rule vote, a major public setback for House Republican leaders as they deal with just a two-seat majority right now. A rule vote is a procedural measure made to clear the way for an ultimate House vote on a bill’s passage. It’s historically unusual for them to fail; before the current Congress, a rule had not failed since 2002. Republican hardliners have weaponized rule votes several times last year. After the protest vote most of the rebels were seen following Johnson into his office just off the House floor. House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., one of the 13 lawmakers who tanked the rule vote, addressed reporters off the House floor as lawmakers huddled behind closed doors. “We’re making a statement that the deal — as has been announced, that doesn’t secure the border, and that doesn’t cut our spending and it’s going to be passed apparently under suspension of the rules with predominantly Democrat votes — is unacceptable,” Good said. “This deal that’s been announced does nothing about the border, it does nothing about spending and again, the American people just can’t afford it. They’re suffering. That’s not what they elected us to do,” Good continued. “And so this was a statement of protest to say, hey, we’re not going to just go along to get along like everything’s okay, and pass messaging bills that are gonna go nowhere.” Rank-and-file members, meanwhile, are increasingly frustrated with the House Republican majority’s public disarray. “Many have jumped past frustration,” one GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “Most are pissed.” “Some people get upset about not getting the thing we are never going to get. They need to come to a place that allows them to agitate and us to legislate. It’s not helpful or productive,” the lawmaker said. It’s the eruption of a standoff that has been brewing since Sunday when Johnson announced a spending deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. to set a statutory limit of $1.59 trillion for discretionary government funding. It would honor a McCarthy-Biden side-deal of an added $69 billion, but Johnson said he secured an extra $16 billion in cuts for this fiscal year to offset some of that. But Johnson has little wiggle room when negotiating against a Democratic Senate and White House. Current government funding runs out on two deadlines — some agencies run dry after Jan. 19, while others after Feb. 2. If no action is taken to stop those expiration dates from coming, Congress could be dealing with a government shutdown.