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Trump lawyers affirm executive privilege of former DOJ official fighting to keep DC Bar license

FIRST ON FOX — The legal team of former President Trump is instructing former Justice Department official Jeffery Clark to maintain executive privilege amid the fight to strip his bar license. Clark, who served as assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division during Trump’s administration, is fighting efforts by the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel to have him disbarred for a letter he drafted in which he outlined what he perceived as “significant concerns” in Georgia during the 2020 election. According to a letter obtained by Fox News Digital from white-collar attorney Todd Blanche, who represents the 45th president in two of his criminal cases, Trump’s legal team is instructing Clark to “maintain President Trump’s executive privilege and other related privileges, including law enforcement privilege, attorney client privilege, and deliberative process privilege.” A District of Columbia Bar disciplinary proceeding against Clark is set to begin on March 26, when former White House Counsel Patrick Philbin is scheduled to testify, according to Blanche. JEFFREY CLARK ATTORNEY FILES MOTION OBJECTING TO PROPOSED TRIAL DATE; CALLS IT ‘HIGHLY PREMATURE’ Clark is also a named defendant in the ongoing racketeering case against Trump in Georgia. The question of executive privilege between a president and his administration appointees has been central to cases against Trump and allegations that he tried to interfere with the 2020 election. In 2021, the Department of Justice told Clark that President Biden’s decision to waive executive privilege gave Clark and other former department officials clearance to testify about their deliberations in relation to Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the presidential election. But Doug Collins, then-attorney for Trump, told Clark that waiver was “unlawful.”  “The executive privilege applicable to communications with President Trump belongs to the Office of the Presidency, not to any individual President, and President Biden has no power to unilaterally waive it. The reason is clear: if a President were empowered unilaterally to waive executive privilege applicable to communications with his or her predecessors, particularly those of the opposite party, there would effectively be no executive privilege,” Collins wrote in an August 2021 letter.  TRUMP FILES ‘POWERHOUSE’ MOTION CALLING FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH TO BE HELD IN CONTEMPT OF COURT Blanche in his Jan. 4 letter notes that at the time Trump did not seek judicial intervention to prevent Clark’s testimony or the testimony of other former department officials. But because Clark was “never subpoenaed to testify to the House Oversight or Senate Judiciary Committees, never sat for transcribed interviews with these Committees, and seeing that there are no similar pending congressional subpoenas applicable to you, this assertion is now moot,” Blanche writes. SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP CASE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, FORMER REAGAN AG SAYS “Further, the Collins Letter preserved President Trump’s executive privilege rights by not “’otherwise waiving the executive privilege associated with the matters [concerning the 2020 election] the Committees are purporting to investigate,’” Blanche continued.  “In light of these circumstances and the pending D.C. Bar disciplinary proceeding against you, … we hereby instruct you to maintain President Trump’s executive privilege and other related privileges, including law enforcement privilege, attorney client privilege, and deliberative process privilege,” he concluded. Trump, who is leading the polls in the 2024 GOP presidential primaries, will be in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to ask the U.S. Court of Appeals to toss out criminal charges filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith against the former president for alleged election interference in the 2020 election. The former president has claimed “absolute immunity” from prosecution since he was president in the weeks after the election and on Jan 6, 2021, when the Capitol riots took place. Fox News’ Bill Mears and Tyler Olsen contributed to this report.

Mayorkas tells Border Patrol agents that ‘above 85%’ of illegal immigrants released into US: sources

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday admitted to Border Patrol agents that the current rate of release for illegal immigrants apprehended at the southern border is “above 85%,” sources told Fox News. Mayorkas made the remarks when meeting privately with agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, according to three Border Patrol sources who were in the room and heard the remarks themselves. The conversation happened during the muster for agents in the busy border area. Fox is told Mayorkas was asked directly about comments he made on “Special Report” last week when he was asked by anchor Bret Baier about reporting that over 70% of migrants are released into the U.S. each day. MAYORKAS ACKNOWLEDGES THAT MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: ‘I KNOW THE DATA’  “It would not surprise me at all. I know the data,” Mayorkas said. “And I will tell you that when individuals are released, they are released into immigration enforcement proceedings. They are on alternatives to detention. And we have returned or removed a record number of individuals. We are enforcing the laws that Congress has passed. “ Fox is told that on Monday agents pushed him on those remarks, saying that the number is even higher than 70%, and then Mayorkas acknowledged a release rate of “above 85%.” Mayorkas had also said last week on “Special Report” that “well more than a million” migrants are released into the U.S. annually, and argued repeatedly that it is up to Congress to provide more funding and immigration reform to fix what he has called a “broken” system. He said that the agency is limited in detention capacity by funding provided by Congress. “When somebody enters the country, we place them in immigration enforcement proceedings pursuant to immigration law, and if their claim for relief, their claim to remain in the United States succeeds, then by law they are able to stay here,” he said. The remarks come just two days before the House Homeland Security Committee holds its first impeachment hearing, featuring multiple state attorneys general who will testify about the impact the crisis has had on their states. The hearing on Wednesday marks the first impeachment hearing after a year of investigations and reports by the House Homeland Security Committee which looked at the handling of the nearly three-year migrant crisis. Republicans have blamed the historic migrant crisis, which saw 302,000 migrant encounters last month alone on Biden-era policies, including the releases of migrants into the interior — dubbed “catch-and-release.” They have pointed to the broad use of parole, as well as narrowed ICE enforcement and the stopping of wall construction. EX-DHS OFFICIALS BACK JOHNSON’S AGGRESSIVE BORDER STANCE IN FUNDING FIGHT, SAY GOP MUST HAVE ‘CLEAR RESOLVE’  The administration says it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. It has claimed it is expanding “lawful migration pathways” and increasing consequences for illegal entry, but can only do so much with a “broken” system. Mayorkas and other DHS officials have said that it has removed or returned more than 470,000 people since May, which is more than in the entirety of FY 2019. The White House has also requested $14 billion in border funding from Congress as part of its emergency supplemental spending proposal, but that is being held up as Republicans demand significantly more restrictions on the release of migrants into the interior. Mayorkas said last week that it was that broken system, not administration policy, which was the magnet drawing migrants to the border. “What is a magnet is the fact that the time in between an encounter of an individual at the border and their final ruling in their immigration case can sometimes take six or more years. That is a magnet, which is why precisely why I am working with Republicans and Democrats in the United States Senate to deliver a solution for the American people, to deliver a fix to an immigration system that everyone agrees is broken, and that is long overdue,” he said. Separately, the administration last week announced a lawsuit against the state of Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that allows state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants. The lawsuit claims that the law is unconstitutional and interferes with the federal government’s authority on immigration matters. Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report. 

Ramaswamay targets Haley after snowstorm derails her campaign stop in Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is using a snowstorm in Iowa to take aim at GOP nomination rival Nikki Haley. After Haley canceled an event Monday morning in Sioux City, in the northwest corner of the state due to a snowstorm, Ramaswamy took to social media to spotlight that “I’m headed to Sioux City for our event right now. We’re not canceling.” Ramaswamy, the multimillioinaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate who for months has been a very vocal critic of Haley, charged that the former South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, scrapped her event in Sioux City to “avoid embarrassment.” He tweeted out a clip of an NBC News report that showed a nearly empty Horizon Family Restaurant in Sioux City, where the Haley countdown-to-caucus event was supposed to have been held. But the clip that Ramaswamy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, didn’t include the portion of the report where the correspondent noted that Haley’s stop was canceled because of heavy snow. HALEY HEADLINES FOX NEWS TOWN HALL – 6PM ET MONDAY IN IOWA Ramaswamy, who drove two and a half hours from Des Moines to Sioux City, continued to jab at Haley, saying at a campaign event in the city that “some saw a snowstorm, canceled events in northwest Iowa. We got four events. We’re keeping them intact.” But Ramaswamy apparently made no reference to former President Donald Trump’s campaign, which also canceled an event due to the storm that had dumped a few inches of snow in portions of western and southern Iowa by midday, with more forecast. The Trump campaign “indefinitely postponed” an event in Ottumwa, where former Arkansas Gov. MIke Huckabee, a two-time GOP presidential candidate, and his daughter, current Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders – who served as Trump’s White House press secretary – were scheduled to stump on the former president’s behalf. GREAT EXPECTATIONS: THE PRESSURE’S ON FOR TRUMP, DESANTIS, AND HALEY TO PERFORM IN IOWA’S CAUCUSES Haley’s campaign didn’t respond to the slight from Ramaswamy, but noted that they texted supporters early Monday morning to alert them that the Sioux City event had been canceled due to the snow and poor driving conditions. Haley has soared in recent months, thanks in part to her well-regarded performances in the first three Republican presidential primary debates. Over the past month, Haley has caught up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the latest Iowa polls and in national surveys, for a distant second place behind Trump, who remains the commanding frontrunner for the nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the GOP presidential nominating calendar. Later Monday, Haley will take questions from “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum, who will host a Fox News town hall in Des Moines. The hour-long town hall starts at 6 p.m. ET and will be in front of a live audience. Haley has also surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second – just eight days after Iowa. FIRST ON FOX: HALEY FUNDRAISING SOARS THE PAST THREE MONTHS Ramaswamy, who’s polling in the single digits in the latest surveys in Iowa, has been repeatedly crisscrossing the Hawkeye State in recent months, often making numerous campaign stops per day. On Monday, his wife Apoorvaa filled in for Ramaswamy at one event, so the candidate could make it to the northwestern part of the state, which is heavily Republican. Haley’s been drawing healthy crowds as she campaigns in both Iowa and New Hampshire. Her most recent visit to Sioux City came last month, when she drew a couple hundred people to her event. There’s been plenty of acrimony between Ramaswamy and Haley in recent months, as they repeatedly clashed at the GOP presidential primary debates. Ramswamy wasn’t the only candidate to jab at Haley over the snowstorm. A text from the DeSantis campaign earlier Monday also took aim at Haley over the Sioux City cancellation, claiming that she scrapped the event “because she can’t stop making gaffes.” Haley’s failure to mention slavery when answering a question late last month about the causes of the Civil War quickly went viral, and provided instant ammunition for her GOP presidential competitors. So did her comments this past weekend that you “change personalities” from Iowa to New Hampshire and last week that New Hampshire voters “correct” the results of the Iowa caucuses. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

GOP Indiana Rep. Larry Bucshon announces retirement from Congress

Republican U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon of Indiana announced Monday that he will not seek reelection this year to an eighth term and will retire from Congress after 14 years. Bucshon did not explain his decision not to seek reelection to southern and western Indiana’s 8th District but said in a statement that he reached his decision to retire during the Christmas holiday. “Scripture teaches us, ‘For everything there is a season,’ and it became clear to me over the Christmas holiday with much discernment and prayer that the time has come to bring my season in public service to a conclusion,” he said. BLAINE LUETKEMEYER BECOMES LATEST HOUSE REPUBLICAN TO ANNOUNCE RETIREMENT More than two dozen House members are seeking other office or retiring so far heading into the 2024 election. Bucshon first won the seat in the Republican-leaning district in 2010, when then-incumbent Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth vacated it to run for the U.S. Senate. The 8th District covers several Indiana counties in the west-central and southwestern portions of the state. Bucshon, who is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, thanked his wife, Kathryn, their four children and his constituents for supporting him over the past 14 years during his congressional career. “As the son of an underground coal miner and a nurse who grew up in a small town in rural America, it’s been the privilege of a lifetime to have been afforded the opportunity to represent Hoosiers in Southern and West Central Indiana as their elected representative in the U.S. Congress,” he said.

US officials renew calls for Israel to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza

Palestinian Health Ministry says 249 people killed and 510 wounded in Israeli assault on Gaza over 24 hours. US officials have reiterated calls for Israel to ease its assault on Gaza as the Ministry of Health in the besieged Palestinian territory reports hundreds of more deaths. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East amid growing alarm that Israel’s war on Gaza could turn into a regional conflagration. He arrived in Israel late on Monday after a day meeting Gulf Arab leaders. Israeli officials have said they are entering a new phase of more targeted warfare after the mass bombardments that have laid waste to the Gaza Strip and killed more than 23,000 people, according to Palestinian authorities. Blinken held talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday to try to chart a way out of the conflict. Saudi state news agency SPA reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) stressed the importance of ceasing hostilities in Gaza and forming a path to peace. SPA said MBS emphasised the need to restore stability and to ensure the Palestinian people gain their legitimate rights. Blinken said he would tell Israeli officials in their meeting later that they must do more to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza and they must allow Palestinians to return to their homes after several calls from right-wing Israeli officials for the displacement of Palestinians out of Gaza. Israeli soldiers deployed in Gaza [Ronen Zvulun/Reuters] He announced that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE would consider participating in and contributing to “day after” scenarios for Gaza. “We agreed to work together and to coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilise and recover, to chart a political path forward for the Palestinians to work toward long-term peace, security and stability in the region as a whole,” he told reporters. While he did not offer specifics, he said the countries had agreed to use their leverage and influence in the region to prevent the war from spilling into neighbouring countries. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also attended the meeting in Saudi Arabia. In the United States, President Joe Biden was interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire while giving an address in Charleston, South Carolina. “I understand their passion, and I’ve been quietly working, quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza,” Biden said. ‘New phase of war’ Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Monday that the war in Gaza would move away from the “intense manoeuvring phase of the war” toward “different types of special operations”. Gallant told The Wall Street Journal that the next phase will last for a “longer time”. “We’re close to the next phase in the north, including Gaza City. … It will take some time, but we aren’t going to give up.” At least 23,084 people have been killed, and 58,926 wounded in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. At least 249 people were killed in the latest 24-hour reporting period and 510 wounded, the ministry said on Monday. Adblock test (Why?)

Governor’s revolt: Why Iowa’s Kim Reynolds split from Trump ahead of caucus

For decades, it was a tradition for Iowa governors to remain neutral ahead of the state’s all-important caucuses — the first major contest of the United States presidential race. And Republican Governor Kim Reynolds seemed poised to uphold that tradition for much of last year. “I’m going to remain neutral,” she told Fox News in May, touting her role in welcoming all Republican presidential hopefuls, no matter who they are, to her state. But facing pressure from Republican frontrunner Donald Trump to pick a side, Reynolds made a defiant choice: She decided to back Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the former president, her erstwhile ally. Now, with the Iowa caucuses only days away, her decision is being seen as a test of her power as a rising star in the Republican Party — and a high-stakes gamble that could alienate her from Trump’s broad base of supporters. “Governors have long played key roles in endorsing particular presidential candidates and organising their state parties to gear up for the year’s elections,” Ken Kollman, a political science professor at the University of Michigan, told Al Jazeera. “What’s interesting is the calculations different leaders are making. What’s the right timing to break with Trump, betting that — when the party emerges from Trump and becomes a normal party again — it will be a boost to have opposed him now as opposed to later?” Whether that bet will ultimately pay off remains unclear, Kollman added. Leaders like Reynolds “are playing a longer game than others, but clearly a risky one”. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, whom Donald Trump hosted at the White House on several occasions, has since had a falling-out with the former president [File: Leah Millis/Reuters] Fractures in Trump’s leadership Going into the Iowa caucuses on January 15, Trump remains the faraway leader in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. A national polling average compiled by the website FiveThirtyEight shows Trump nearly 50 percentage points ahead of his next closest rivals, DeSantis and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley. So far, no Republican candidate has come close to challenging Trump’s lead. Nevertheless, Reynolds and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu — from another early primary state — have both backed Trump opponents for the party nod, revealing subtle fault lines in the Republican caucus. Reynolds credited her decision to political pragmatism in an interview with the Des Moines Register. “I don’t think he can win,” she said of Trump’s prospects in the general election, where he likely faces a rematch with current President Joe Biden. She also noted the 45-year-old DeSantis’s relative youth, compared to the 77-year-old Trump. “We have to look towards the future and not the past.” But some analysts believe behind-the-scenes friction contributed to Reynolds’s decision, particularly as Trump publicly blasted the governor for her early gestures at neutrality. No other Iowa governor, however, had endorsed a candidate before the caucuses since 1996. “Reynolds apparently can’t stand Trump personally, and she likes and clicked early with DeSantis,” Steffen Schmidt, an emeritus professor at Iowa State University, told Al Jazeera. Schmidt explained that DeSantis and Reynolds bonded during the COVID-19 pandemic, when both of their states resisted federal health recommendations to close public institutions and encourage physical distancing. “She also thought DeSantis would shortlist her, given her support for him, for the vice president role,” Schmidt added. Governor Kim Reynolds has appeared in multiple rallies with Donald Trump, including one in Sioux City, Iowa, on November 3, 2022 [File: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo] A poster child for ‘Trump’s America’ But Reynolds’s defection from the Trump camp was seen as a stark reversal for the Iowa Republican, whose political rise was intimately linked with the former president’s. Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 elections quickly catapulted Reynolds into the national spotlight. At the time, Reynolds was a 57-year-old grandmother and former county treasurer working as lieutenant governor under Terry Branstad, the longest-serving governor in US history. But when Trump tapped Branstad to be his ambassador to China, Reynolds inherited the executive seat. In doing so, she made history, becoming Iowa’s first female governor. Very quickly, Reynolds developed into the poster child for Trump’s transformation of the Republican Party. Politico Magazine dubbed her “the governor of Trump’s America”, describing a new political landscape where it would be “dangerous for any Republican to abandon the president”. And Reynolds embraced the association. Faced with running for governor for the first time in 2018, she appeared on the campaign trail with both Trump and his daughter Ivanka. “The Midwest has a partner in the White House with President Donald Trump,” she said, standing next to him at a 2018 rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa. When Trump made his re-election bid in 2020, Reynolds likewise made appearances on his behalf, helping him to carry Iowa by eight percentage points over Biden. But Trump ultimately lost that race. Though Reynolds eventually acknowledged his defeat, she was careful not to criticise or contradict Trump — despite his false claims that the election had been “stolen” through widespread voter fraud. “What we need to do is stop pointing fingers, and we need to move forward,” she said in a call to reporters in January 2021, shortly after Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol. Governor Kim Reynolds hosted Republican candidates including Ron DeSantis (right) and Doug Burgum at the Iowa State Fair for ‘Fair-Side Chats’, a play on the presidential tradition of ‘fireside chats’ [File: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters] Surviving Trump’s ire While Trump briefly faltered, Reynolds’s star continued to rise. She cruised to an easy re-election in 2022, and she has since styled herself as a Republican kingmaker, holding “Fair-Side Chats” at last year’s Iowa State Fair, where she hosted presidential hopefuls for public interviews. Some of those contenders even courted her endorsement. In July, Haley praised her as a “conservative rockstar” on social media. Meanwhile, Chris Christie, another Republican candidate, told a SiriusXM radio show that she is someone who “has the capabilities, if she wanted to be president, to

Modi row with the Maldives

NewsFeed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest tourism campaign in India’s tropical island territory of Lakshadweep has sparked an ugly row with Maldives government officials who believe India cannot compete against their nation’s renowned tourist hotspots. Published On 8 Jan 20248 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)

Senate not expected to release text on border security package this week

Despite optimism over the weekend for the release of legislative text for a possible border security package, no release is expected this week, a source close to bipartisan Senate negotiations tells Fox News.  The source added that there are a “thousand small things to work out.”  Despite no forthcoming release, Fox was told the talks have not lost momentum, and negotiators are pleased with where things stand.  Senators are aware of the need to ship further aid to Israel and Ukraine. There is also concern that any struggle with funding the government later this month could undercut such talks.  The source told Fox News that government funding “takes precedence” and has a “hard deadline.”  MEXICAN PRESIDENT DEMANDS $20B, WORK PERMITS FOR 10M HISPANICS IN EXCHANGE FOR IMMIGRATION HELP Negotiators are expected to speak to Senate Democratic and Republican lunches tomorrow about the status of the talks.  The Biden administration has been directly involved in the talks as the president tries to both secure support for a top foreign policy priority — funding Ukraine’s defense against Russia — and demonstrate action on a potential political weakness — his handling of the historic number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border with Mexico. Biden has faced staunch resistance from conservatives to his $110 billion request for a package of wartime aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as other national security priorities. In the Senate, Republicans have demanded that the funding be paired with border security changes. But in the House, conservatives have criticized any proposals that fall short of the strict border measures they passed on a party-line vote last year. And some House members aligned with Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican presidential front-runner, have suggested they would not support any bipartisan proposal — no matter the substance — if it means giving Biden a border bill to sign in an election year.

Senate GOP lawmakers bash $1.66 trillion Johnson-Schumer budget agreement: ‘Can and must do better’

Several GOP senators, in alignment with House Republicans, expressed outrage over the agreed-upon annual government spending cap of $1.59 trillion brokered between House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over the weekend.  Lawmakers argued Monday that this figure neglects ample Republican suggestions for budget cuts. Meanwhile, the first spending deadline is fast approaching on Jan. 19. That means there are just eight legislative days until Congress must pass the first batch of appropriations to fund several federal agencies to avert a government shutdown. The second deadline is Feb. 2.  “As the House Freedom Caucus has noted, the actual spending levels in this plan are nearly $100 billion above what we are being promised, but mostly preserve all the pre-existing funding for Biden’s priorities,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah told Fox News Digital on Monday.  “At a time when we’re $34 trillion in debt and inflation is hollowing out America’s middle class, Republicans can and must do better than this,” he said.  SENATE HAS ONLY PASSED 3 OUT OF 12 SPENDING BILLS AS DEADLINE LOOMS The $1.59 trillion figure was part of an agreement mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) last year, a compromise reached during debt limit talks between President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.  Democratic leaders said the final top line would also include an additional $69 billion in nondefense discretionary spending that was part of a McCarthy and Biden side deal at the time. That would bring the total to roughly $1.66 trillion, a figure the House Freedom Caucus called “a total figure.” The budget comprises $886 billion allocated for defense and $704 billion designated for nondefense expenses. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kans., a member of the upper chamber’s budget committee, said there will be at least a dozen Republican senators who “are going to have to look twice at this number.” Nonetheless, he thinks the budget in its current form will still reach the 60 votes needed to pass. “Speaker Johnson is gonna have to try really hard to get his conference on board with this, but I don’t think he’s going to ever get more than 90% of them on board with it,” Marshall told Fox News Digital on Monday.  “He needs every vote he can get, and they’re going to want to argue about this $70 billion, which is important — that’s a lot of money,” he said.  HOUSE, SENATE RELEASE BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINES LOOM 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. However, a potential confrontation is approaching. Johnson has emphasized his desire to include conservative policy additions in the ultimate spending agreement. Opening up the next legislative session Monday afternoon, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor that “both parties reached this agreement without resorting to the painful and draconian cuts that the hard right, particularly those in the Freedom Caucus clamored for.” “And make no mistake, Democrats have made clear to Speaker Johnson that we will not support the inclusion of any poison pills in any of the 12 appropriation bills before the Congress,” he said. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

Missouri secretary of state swatted after fake shooting called in at family home

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, became the latest victim of swatting on Sunday night after police were alerted to a shooting at his family’s home – which turned out to be false. Ashcroft recently threatened to remove President Biden from the election ballot as some states work to disqualify former President Trump from the Republican primary ballot because of his actions during the U.S. Capitol protest on Jan. 6, 2021. Ashcroft said in a press release that he was home with his wife and children when he received a call from the Jefferson Police Department to make sure he was safe after receiving a call about a shooting at his house. He also said he walked out of his home with his hands in the air as several armed law enforcement officials waited for him outside. TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON, WIFE TARGETED BY HOME ‘SWATTING’ ON NEW YEAR’S DAY The secretary of state, his wife and his children were not injured in the incident. After the swatting incident, Ashcroft turned to social media. WHAT IS ‘SWATTING,’ THE ‘CRIMINAL HARASSMENT’ HOAX THAT’S HIT 3 GOP LAWMAKERS SINCE CHRISTMAS? “My home was just swatted,” he posted on X. “My family and I are safe. I am grateful to Jefferson City law enforcement for the professionalism with which they handled the situation.” Ashcroft said in a separate statement that he is hopeful the people responsible for the “childish, cowardice acts” are brought to justice. MTG TO INTRODUCE BILL TARGETING ‘SWATTERS’ AS RICK SCOTT BECOMES LATEST TARGET Swatting, which is illegal, is when an individual calls in a false police report about a violent crime – like a murder, hostage situation or other crime that would require a larger than normal law enforcement response – to the home of the target. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Over the past few weeks, several elected officials have been targets of swatting, including Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, Rep. Brandon Williams of New York and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.