Defense Secretary Austin has no plans to resign, Pentagon says
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is not resigning, the Pentagon said, amid his unannounced, multi-day hospital stay that was not initially disclosed even to President Biden. Department of Defense press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told Fox News Digital that Austin doesn’t have any plans to leave his post. “Secretary Austin has no plans to resign,” Ryder said. “He remains focused on conducting his duties as Secretary of Defense in defense of our nation.” The comment came in response to former President Trump, who had called for Austin to lose his job. The Pentagon did not disclose Austin’s hospital stay, which started on New Year’s Day, earning rebukes from lawmakers and the press. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER MYSTERY PROCEDURE; DOD REMAINS MUM ON RELEASE “Failed Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin should be fired immediately for improper professional conduct and dereliction of duty,” Trump wrote on Sunday on TruthSocial. “He has been missing for one week, and nobody, including his boss, Crooked Joe Biden, had a clue as to where he was, or might be,” the former president continued. “He has performed poorly, and should have been dismissed long ago, along with ‘General’ Mark Milley, for many reasons, but in particular the catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan, perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our Country!” Trump wrote. The Pentagon has said little about Austin’s unannounced hospital stay and has not said when the secretary of defense will be released from medical care. Additionally, the five-walled citadel refuses to say why Austin was hospitalized to begin with. Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last Monday, for what Ryder described as complications from an elective medical procedure. On Sunday, Ryder told Fox News that Austin had an elective medical procedure at Walter Reed on December 22, 2023. Austin was on leave at the time of the procedure, and he returned home the next day. However, the defense secretary started to experience “severe pain” on January 1 and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at Walter Reed Hospital. Ryder said Austin was placed in the ICU to ensure immediate access to his medical needs, but he remained there, in part, because of privacy and hospital space considerations. Ryder told Fox News he could not provide additional information about Austin’s ailments for privacy reasons. Austin resumed his duties from the hospital on Friday. Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Liz Friden contributed reporting.
House GOP says Hunter Biden ‘violated federal law’ by defying subpoena, prepare contempt resolution
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans have prepared a resolution that would hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after the first son, in a “criminal act,” defied a congressional subpoena and as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. Fox News Digital on Monday obtained the contempt resolution and accompanying report from the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees. HOUSE REPUBLICANS CONSIDER HOLDING HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS Instead, Hunter Biden appeared on Capitol Hill to deliver a statement to the press, defying that subpoena, and said he would only testify in a public setting. “Mr. Biden has violated federal law, and must be held in contempt of Congress,” the report reads. The House Oversight report identifies Hunter Biden’s testimony as “a critical component of the impeachment inquiry into, among other things, whether Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Vice President and/or President: (1) took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family; (2) abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or (3) abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him.” HOUSE GOP PROBING IF BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN HUNTER’S ‘SCHEME’ TO DEFY SUBPOENA, POTENTIAL ‘IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE’ “The Oversight and Accountability Committee, with the other investigating committees, has accumulated significant evidence suggesting that President Biden knew of, participated in, and profited from foreign business interests engaged in by his son, about which the Committees intended to question Mr. Biden during his deposition,” the report states. “Mr. Biden’s decision to defy the Committees’ subpoenas and deliver prepared remarks prevents the Committee from carrying out its Constitutional oversight function and its impeachment inquiry,” it continues. The report and resolution is set to be considered by the House Oversight Committee during a markup meeting on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. HUNTER BIDEN WILL NOT SIT FOR DEPOSITION BY GOP, SAYS FATHER NOT ‘FINANCIALLY’ INVOLVED IN HIS BUSINESS “Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with our subpoenas constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution,” Comer said last week. “We will not provide him with special treatment because of his last name.” The House Judiciary Committee will also hold a similar markup on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress. Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the move, saying there “is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath, and on a day of the Committee’s choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a Committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed.” JORDAN SAYS HUNTER BIDEN MADE A ‘HUGE CHANGE’ BY SAYING HIS FATHER WAS ‘NOT FINANCIALLY INVOLVED’ IN BUSINESS Meanwhile, last month, Comer and Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son’s “scheme” to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month — conduct, they say, “could constitute an impeachable offense.” The House impeachment inquiry against President Biden was formalized by the full House last month. The inquiry is being led by Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.
Manipur: Fresh firing between police, militants in Moreh
Mortar shells were used by the militants during the attack on security forces, officials said.
Mexican president demands $20B, work permits for 10M Hispanics in exchange for immigration help
Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador issued a lengthy series of demands detailing what the U.S. must offer in exchange for Mexico’s help in stemming the flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. Lopez Obrador’s demands came during a Friday press conference, which came roughly a week after he met with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Mexico City in late December. The U.S. officials requested that Mexico boost its assistance in stopping illegal immigration. Lopez Obrador responded by demanding the U.S. give $20 billion to Latin American and Caribbean countries, grant work visas to 10 million Hispanics who have worked in the U.S. for at least 10 years, end sanctions against Venezuela and halt the blockade of Cuba. The negotiations come at a critical time for President Biden, whose polling numbers on illegal immigration have been low throughout his presidency. The U.S. also suffered a surge of migrants at the border this fall, with roughly 240,000 monthly migrant encounters at the border in late 2023. MEXICO’S AMLO INTENSIFIES ANTI-GOP MEDDLING WITH NEW ATTACK ON TEXAS GOV ABBOTT A senior Biden administration official responded to those demands in a statement to NBC News, saying Lopez Obrador “has a very ambitious agenda. For some of these things, we would need Congress to act. We share the vision that we need to lift up the region.” Lopez Obrador has proven more than willing to challenge U.S. politicians on immigration issues. He picked a fight with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over one of that state’s new immigration laws last month. MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT BORDER SOAR PAST THE 200K MARK IN DECEMBER, WITH OVER A WEEK STILL TO GO The new legislation allows law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants who would then face the choice to leave the U.S. or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges for illegal entry. Migrants who do not comply could face arrest again and more serious felony charges. Abbott said the bill aims to stop a “tidal wave” of illegal immigration. “The Texas governor acts that way because he wants to be the Republican vice presidential candidate and wants to win popularity with these measures,” Lopez Obrador said in late December. “He’s not going to win anything. On the contrary, he is going to lose support because there are a lot of Mexicans in Texas, a lot of migrants.” MEXICAN PRESIDENT RAMPS UP ANTI-REPUBLICAN RHETORIC, URGES HISPANICS NOT TO GIVE DESANTIS ‘ANY VOTES’ The Mexican Foreign Ministry also previously filed a complaint against Texas over the construction of buoys set up by the state in the Rio Grande. It had also sought to link the deaths of two migrants in the river to the buoys. In July, Lopez Obrador urged Hispanics not to vote for Abbott in response to the buoys. “We don’t have to do much, just tell our compatriots not to vote for the governor of Texas or for lawmakers of the Republican Party who support these measures,” he said at the time. Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report
Conservatives revolt against Johnson-Schumer deal to avoid government shutdown: ‘Worse than we thought’
Republican hardliners in the House of Representatives are pushing back against the bipartisan deal struck on Sunday aimed at avoiding a government shutdown. The conservative House Freedom Caucus led the revolt against Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s agreement on Sunday evening, recirculating a late December memo that said any funding topline higher than $1.59 trillion would be “totally unacceptable.” “It’s even worse than we thought,” the group posted on X. “Don’t believe the spin. Once you break through typical Washington math, the true total programmatic spending level is $1.658 trillion — not $1.59 trillion.” The statement called the deal a “total failure.” HOUSE, SENATE RELEASE BIPARTISAN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT FUNDING AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINES LOOM Previous GOP rebellions in the spending fight have seen conservative lawmakers intentionally tank their own party’s procedural votes, effectively delaying government funding bills from getting to the floor. But Congress is working on a major time crunch, with federal funding expiring for some agencies on Jan. 19 and all others on Feb. 2. They’re also operating on a two-seat majority for most of this month, after Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., announced Friday that he would be recovering from cancer-related treatment for most of January. HUNTER BIDEN, MAYORKAS, FAUCI: HOUSE LAWMAKERS RETURN FROM HOLIDAYS FOR A HIGH-PROFILE WEEK That means House leadership will likely have to put any spending bills up under suspension, which would bypass the procedural hurdle but raise the threshold for passage to two-thirds of the chamber rather than a simple majority. It’s all but assured that any final appropriations bills will need Democratic support to pass the House. Both Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said they were against the agreement. “I’m currently a no,” Burchett said on Fox Report. “I’d like to see some real cuts…and maybe cut back on all the…spending that we’ve been doing. And until we do that, we are we are falling off a fiscal cliff.” Greene wrote on X, “I am a NO to the Johnson Schumer budget deal. This $1.6 Trillion dollar budget agreement does nothing to secure the border, stop the invasion, or stop the weaponized government targeting Biden’s political enemies and innocent Americans. So much for the power of the purse!” WHERE NO CONGRESS HAS GONE BEFORE: FACING GALACTIC-SCALE FISCAL CLIFF AND BORDER SECURITY THREATS Johnson and Schumer, D-N.Y., both claimed victory when announcing they had agreed on what level to fund the government at for the remainder of fiscal year 2024. Their plan would set a statutory topline of $1.59 trillion, the same level Schumer set with ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as part of negotiations to raise the debt limit last spring. The updated plan would also factor in most of a $69 billion side deal made between McCarthy and President Biden. Johnson said he negotiated an added $16 billion in spending cuts this year to offset that. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, on X called the agreed-upon spending level “terrible,” adding that it “gives away the leverage accomplished in the (already not great) caps deal” between McCarthy and Biden, the Fiscal Responsibility Act. But a GOP aide pushed back against that notion on Sunday night, telling Fox News Digital, “This deal has the same levels of spending as the [Fiscal Responsibility Act] deal except with billions more in cuts. Republicans put the screws to Democrats one more time.” The House is formally back from the holidays on Jan. 9.
West Virginia legislators look ahead to fentanyl crackdown and education funding
Leading lawmakers in West Virginia want to increase penalties for fentanyl dealers, give public school teachers more pay raises, remove disruptive students from classrooms and boost funding for emergency responders. State Senate President Craig Blair and House of Delegates Speaker Roger Hanshaw, both Republicans, and House Democratic leader Sean Hornbuckle gave a glimpse of their priorities Friday at an annual meeting with journalists sponsored by the West Virginia Press Association. The 60-day legislative session starts next week. Hanshaw said lawmakers also want to closely watch how a new higher education funding formula pans out. The Legislature previously approved a mathematical formula rewarding schools for degree attainment, workforce outcomes and graduate wages. WV STATE TROOPER’S LEG AMPUTATED DURING RECOVERY FROM WEEKEND GUNFIGHT “For far too long, funding to our higher education institutions was based in very large part on whether your school was represented on the House or Senate finance committees,” Hanshaw said. “That’s not a viable way to do business.” In September, West Virginia University’s board made wide-ranging reductions to academic programs and faculty positions as it grappled with a $45 million budget shortfall that is projected to grow as high as $75 million in five years. The university in Morgantown has been weighed down financially by a 10% drop in enrollment since 2015, revenue lost during the pandemic and an increasing debt load for new building projects. A month earlier, Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill that allocated $45 million for Marshall University in Huntington to open a new cybersecurity center. The governor later rejected suggestions that state money should have been used to help WVU in light of the state’s $1.8 billion surplus in the 2023 fiscal year that ended last June. The new funding formula kicks in this year. “We’re anxious to see how it works,” Hanshsaw said. “We’re anxious to see what tweaks we need to make to it.” During last year’s legislative session, a bill to upgrade fentanyl distribution from a misdemeanor to a felony failed to pass. Blair and Hanshaw made it clear at the start of Friday’s meeting that they are determined to get something done. For years, West Virginia has had by far the highest rate of drug overdose deaths in the nation. “Pushers of fentanyl are murderers,” Hanshaw said. SENATE REPORT SOUNDS ALARM ON SURGE IN FENTANYL DEATHS AMONG OLDER AMERICANS: ‘SILENT EPIDEMIC’ Pay raises suggested by the governor this year for public school teachers, school service personnel and other state employees would help offset rising health care costs and would follow a $2,300 increase for state employees in 2023, as well as cuts in the state income tax last year by an average of 21.25% across brackets. “I personally am in favor of doing that again if our finances will allow us,” Blair said. Last year, lawmakers passed a bill addressing unruly students who would serve either in-school or out-of-school suspensions depending on the number of incidents. Blair said further legislation could be considered this year to move such students to another classroom where there would be cameras and available specialists. “Teachers are having a tough time in the classroom because of disruptive students,” Blair said. The bill would “allow those teachers to do their jobs without the disruption.” Lawmakers also want to prioritize financial support for the state’s vast network of volunteer fire and emergency services departments. Justice signed legislation in August providing $12 million to those departments and said the state needed to find a permanent source for such funding. Hanshaw agreed Friday that “it’s a priority for us.” Justice also has said he wants lawmakers to revisit a new law allowing high school athletes to switch schools one time during their careers and be immediately eligible to compete. The bill became law last year without the Republican governor’s signature. Justice, who coaches a high school girls basketball team, became concerned after several high school football games involved lopsided scores to start the 2023 season. While Hornbuckle welcomed a review of the law, he said “we cannot have a knee-jerk reaction. We have to find a middle ground. It’s a little more nuanced than you think. And we’ve got to take our time with this.” West Virginia has one of the nation’s lowest workforce participation rates, and the top lawmakers addressed ways they could assist families with child care concerns. After two years of receiving federal subsidies, 220,000 child care programs across the country were cut off from funding this past fall. Hanshaw said larger state employers last year were allowed to claim a credit for developing child care programs. Now, he wants to expand that opportunity to some smaller companies. “The program that we enacted last year, as the data that we’ve been presented with tells us, is going extraordinarily well,” Hanshaw said. Justice has made numerous job announcements in recent years, including on Monday with plans by LG Electronics to develop technologies in renewable energy, telehealth and other industries. Hornbuckle said bringing jobs to the state is great only if workers can find ways to look after their children. “The No. 1 thing is child care,” Hornbuckle said. “We’ve got to make sure the people have the ability to go get these great jobs.” Republicans hold supermajorities in the House and state Senate.
New Mexico governor’s gun restriction orders to be reviewed by state Supreme Court
Advocates for gun rights are urging the New Mexico Supreme Court to block emergency orders by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham restricting people from carrying guns at public parks and playgrounds in the state’s largest metro area and address gun violence as a public health crisis. The state Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments Monday in a lawsuit brought by Republican state legislators, the National Rifle Association and several residents of the Albuquerque area that include retired law enforcement officers, former federal agents, licensed firearms instructors and a gun-shop owner. The state’s legal standoff is one of many — from an Illinois ban on high-powered rifles to location-based restrictions in New York — since a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year expanded gun rights and as leaders in politically liberal-leaning states explore new avenues for restrictions. A California law was set to take effect Jan. 1 banning firearms in most public places, but a legal challenge has held up implementation. NEW MEXICO GOV. GRISHAM PROPOSES SPENDING INCREASE FOR HOUSING, EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE Lujan Grisham, a second-term Democrat, first invoked the orders in response to a spate of shootings that included the death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium. The petitioners say Lujan Grisham has overstepped her authority as governor in violation of the Second Amendment and that gun violence and drug abuse don’t qualify as public health emergencies that can limit access to firearms even temporarily. They accuse the governor of infringing on the Legislature’s authority and overriding gun regulations that have been refined over the course of more than a century, including concealed handgun laws. The state Republican and Libertarian parties also support the legal challenge. In defining what constitutes a public health emergency, the governor asserts that both gun violence and drug abuse “comfortably fall within” the category because of extremely dangerous conditions posed by weapons and toxic chemical agents posing an imminent threat to many New Mexico residents. The temporary orders don’t violate constitutional rights, she said. US JUDGE UPHOLDS NEW MEXICO GOV. GRISHAM’S SUSPENSION ON GUN-CARRY RIGHTS IN PUBLIC PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS Separately, a federal judge has allowed enforcement of the gun provision to continue while legal challenges run their course. The October ruling by U.S. District Judge David Urias marked a victory for Lujan Grisham. The governor’s orders, first issued on Sept. 8, 2023, sparked public protests among gun rights advocates and additional legal challenges in federal court that are still underway. Initial restrictions on carrying guns were scaled back from the original order that broadly suspended the right to carry guns in most public places, which the Bernalillo County sheriff and Albuquerque’s police chief had refused to enforce. The governor’s health order includes directives for gun buyback efforts, monthly inspections of firearms dealers statewide, reports on gunshot victims at New Mexico hospitals and wastewater testing for indication of illicit drug use at public schools. Longtime NRA leader Wayne LaPierre resigned before Monday’s start of a civil trial in New York over allegations he treated himself to lavish perks at the expense of the powerful gun rights group.
South Dakota lawmakers address workforce needs as Gov. Noem pitches tax cuts in legislative session
Workforce needs, the budget and tax cuts will be on the minds of South Dakota lawmakers when the Legislature convenes Tuesday for a two-month session. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will address the GOP-controlled Legislature on the session’s opening day. Last month, she presented her vision for the budget to the Legislature, and now it’s up to lawmakers to craft a plan for the next fiscal year, among other measures. Republican House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said South Dakota’s short session — 38 days spread over about two months — “helps keep us focused on only the most important topics.” HEADING TO IOWA, NOEM SAYS SHE’LL DO ‘WHATEVER I CAN’ TO HELP TRUMP GET ‘ACROSS FINISH LINE’ “I tell my caucus often that our only two jobs we absolutely have to do are passing a budget and getting the hell out of there,” Mortenson said. Republican majority leaders largely support Noem’s agenda, in part because of South Dakota’s strong finances. State revenues have exceeded the Legislature’s 2023 forecast by 11%, or $115 million, from July through November, the first five months of the fiscal year, according to a state Bureau of Finance and Management comparison. Republican priorities are new prison construction, college affordability, workforce needs and the sustainability of long-term care in rural communities. They expect to be working with less money after years of COVID-19 pandemic-era federal aid. Democrats are focused on child care needs, pre-K education and teacher pay. SOUTH DAKOTA GOV NOEM STUMPS FOR TRUMP IN IOWA, SAYS NIKKI HALEY WOULD BE ‘MISTAKE’ AS HIS RUNNING MATE Noem has emphasized a lean budget amid rising inflation, proposing a nearly $7.3 billion plan for fiscal year 2025. She called for 4% increases for the state’s “big three” priorities of K-12 education, health care providers and state employees. Budget writers will review the 4% proposal in the context of the entire budget, Mortenson said. “I was encouraged that the governor focused the vast majority of our ongoing dollars on core priorities,” he said. Noem also has proposed making a temporary sales tax cut permanent. The four-year reduction was approved in 2023. Republican state Rep. Chris Karr has filed a bill to make that change, citing years of state revenue surpluses. “Government collects taxes to provide certain services. When those services are provided, any excess dollars should go back to the people because that’s who it belongs to,” Karr said. Sales taxes are the main driver of South Dakota’s state revenues. Mortenson predicted House Republicans will coalesce around a permanent sales tax cut. Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree said Senate Republicans will consider other potential tax cuts, possibly including property taxes. “I think the conversation is what do we cut and how much do we cut going forward,” he said. Workforce needs loom large, Mortenson said. South Dakota has more than 20,000 job openings advertised online and had a 2% unemployment rate as of November 2023, according to the state Department of Labor and Regulation. Mortenson also sees college affordability as “absolutely critical for our state’s future,” to keep young people in South Dakota and attract others from out of state. Democrats, who hold 11 of 105 seats, are pursuing bills “that really directly help working-class people,” Senate Minority Leader Reynold Nesiba said. He listed proposals to lengthen the period for people to file a worker compensation claim if injured at work, and to incrementally raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, as voters did in neighboring Nebraska in 2022. Advocates for LGBTQ and voting rights expressed concern about possible lawmaker actions. Samantha Chapman, advocacy manager for the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, called recent legislation restricting gender identity a “misuse of the way our government is supposed to work, to constantly be passing bills that are clawing away at a small portion of our population’s rights.” Crabtree said that when discussions of those issues arise, “you’re going to see common sense prevail.” Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said he is leery of the Legislature potentially trying to raise the bar for ballot initiatives, citing a defeated 2022 measure that sought to require 60% of voters to support certain spending or tax measures for the initiatives to pass. SOUTH DAKOTA GOV NOEM WON’T MAKE 2024 ENDORSEMENT, SAYS THERE’S ‘NO PATH TO VICTORY’ FOR ALL BUT ONE Republican state Rep. Jon Hansen, who sponsored the measure, said in a 2021 floor session that certain money issues deserve more support than a simple majority vote. “I think each and every time they try to mess with the will of the voters and direct democracy, they get themselves in trouble,” Weiland said. He is leading efforts to put two measures on the 2024 ballot: one to place abortion rights in the state constitution, and another to repeal the state’s grocery tax. South Dakota outlaws all abortions but for life-saving circumstances. Weiland called it the most extreme abortion law in the country. Noem campaigned for reelection in 2022 on repealing the grocery tax, but the Legislature went a different route with the temporary sales tax cut of $104 million annually. Noem is in her second term as governor. Once seen as a potential 2024 presidential candidate, she has embraced former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, endorsing him at a rally last year.
Mayorkas impeachment hearing: State AGs to testify on impact of migrant crisis, Biden-era policies
FIRST ON FOX: State attorneys general from the heartland will testify at the first impeachment hearing of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, Fox News Digital has learned — and will describe the effect the ongoing migrant crisis has had on their states, despite their distance from the besieged border. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey will testify about the impacts of the crisis on their states, as well as the legal challenges they have launched against the Biden administration’s policies. They are also expected to describe how they believe Mayorkas is not enforcing the law. The hearing on Wednesday, “Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States,” 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. HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING The House voted to refer impeachment articles to the committee in November, and on Wednesday the committee will now take up that process. It comes as border numbers have hit a new record, with over 302,000 migrant encounters in December. “Secretary Mayorkas’ unprecedented and intentional border crisis has impacted every city and state in our country,” Chairman Mark Green said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The chaos and devastation at the border and in our communities are the result of Alejandro Mayorkas’ failure to fulfill his oath as secretary of Homeland Security. His primary responsibility is to secure the homeland—and he has failed.” Republicans say that Mayorkas has failed to enforce immigration law, including those related to the parole, removal and detention of illegal immigrants, as well as having created new programs that contravene Congress. “Who better to testify about the fallout from this crisis than the top legal officers of states in our heartland?” Green said. “These officials will not only speak to the consequences of this crisis for their states, but the various legal challenges they have mounted in response to Secretary Mayorkas’ failure to do his job and enforce the law. I look forward to their testimony.” The Biden administration and House Democrats have pushed back against the GOP impeachment effort. While Republicans have blamed the historic crisis on Biden-era policies, as well as the rolling back of Trump policies like wall construction and stricter enforcement, the administration says it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. DHS told Fox News Digital last week that the “House majority is wasting valuable time and taxpayer dollars pursuing a baseless political exercise that has been rejected by members of both parties and already failed on a bipartisan vote.” “There is no valid basis to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, as senior members of the House majority have attested, and this extreme impeachment push is a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities,” spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said. “Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe.” Ranking Member Bennie Thompson described the “extreme MAGA Republican effort” to impeach Mayorkas as “completely baseless.” BIDEN ADMIN EYES MORE DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO VENEZUELA AS MIGRANT NUMBERS SHATTER RECORDS “They’ve only shown the American people it is nothing more than a political stunt without any foundation in the Constitution. It was never meant to be a legitimate investigation – only a MAGA spectacle,” he said. Meanwhile, talks are ongoing in Congress about the White House’s supplemental funding bill, which includes money for the border as well as for Ukraine and Israel. Republicans in both chambers have demanded that any funding include limits on asylum and the release of migrants into the interior. While the administration is reportedly open to some concessions, it is unclear if it will go far enough for Republicans in the House — who have called for the GOP border security bill passed last year to be included in full.
Bilkis Bano case: Rahul Gandhi says SC verdict showed country who gives patronage to criminals
The SC on Monday said the Gujarat government abused its power in grating the remission to the men convicted in the Bilkis Bano case.