Trump targets Haley in New Hampshire during final weeks before primary
Former President Trump’s campaign launched an ad in New Hampshire attacking former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Thursday. The ad is the first time Trump has gone after Haley on New Hampshire airwaves, and it comes just weeks ahead of the state’s January 23 primary. The ad largely seeks to connect Haley’s positions with those of President Biden. It argues that there are “confirmed warnings of terrorists sneaking in through our southern border.” “Yet Haley joined Biden in opposing Trump’s visitor ban from terrorist nations. Haley’s weakness puts us in grave danger. Trump’s strength protects us,” it continues. NIKKI HALEY’S BOOK CONFESSION ABOUT CHANGING HUSBAND’S NAME RESURFACES: ‘HE LOOKS LIKE A MICHAEL’ Haley has risen significantly in polls in recent weeks, with several surveys showing her eclipsing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in the race. Trump, however, maintains a commanding lead over the rest of the field. Haley’s campaign issued an extensive response to Trump’s ad on Thursday, rebutting each point made in the 30-second block. They argued that the two central claims in the ad – that Haley opposed Trump’s border wall and his so-called “Muslim ban” – are lies. “Haley supported banning travel for people from countries with serious terrorist activity, but opposed religious tests. Trump himself dropped his support for a Muslim ban that was widely panned as unconstitutional in favor of a travel ban from countries posing a national security risk. The Supreme Court upheld the third version of Trump’s ban specifically because “the text says nothing about religion,” Haley’s campaign wrote. HALEY’S MOMENTUM IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE APPEARS TO BE PAYING OFF Haley’s team pointed to her comments on the border wall, saying she never opposed the building of the wall, but she did oppose the wall being the only solution. “Don’t say you’re just going to build a wall. Because a wall is not going to do it. You’ve got to have commitment of ground troops, equipment, money, all of that to bring it together. Then you’re being serious about tackling illegal immigration,” Haley’s team wrote. “All the lame nicknames in the world don’t change the fact that Donald Trump is clearly terrified of Nikki Haley’s momentum,” Haley communications director Nachama Soloveichik said in a statement. “Nikki passed one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration bills in the country back when Trump was still a Democrat. Trump should spend more time explaining why he never fulfilled his signature promise to build a wall instead of desperately trying to mislead voters with easily debunked ads.” CHRIS CHRISTIE VOWS ‘I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. SO LET’S BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT THAT’ The ad buy comes as most eyes remain focused on Iowa, where GOP voters will make their choice on January 15. Fox News will also be hosting town halls on women’s issues with Haley and DeSantis on January 8 and 9. Fox will also hold a town hall with Trump on January 10. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Israel’s long history of assassination attempts in Lebanon
A drone strike on the southern Beirut neighbourhood of Dahiyeh this week killed several Hamas leaders including Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of the group’s political wing and founder of the military wing, Qassam Brigades. The move represents a major regional escalation in Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 22,000 people there so far. But this was not the first time that Israel has carried out an assassination within Lebanon. Al-Arouri had been living in exile in Lebanon since 2015. Israel has not taken responsibility for the killings, but it is considered highly likely that Tel Aviv ordered the assassination. For decades, Israel has targeted Palestinian leaders in Lebanon, a stronghold of the Hamas ally, Hezbollah. However, al-Arouri’s death comes after an 18-year pause in a long list of attempted and successful political assassinations. Here are some of the key cases. 1972 – Aftermath of Lod Airport killings One of Israel’s first targets in Lebanon was Ghassan Kanafani, a prominent Palestinian author and poet who was assassinated on July 8, 1972 in Beirut along with his 17-year-old niece. A grenade had been connected to the ignition switch of his car. When he started the car, this ignited a plastic bomb that had been planted behind the car’s bumper. Kanafani was a spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). His assassination came in the aftermath of the May 30, 1972 Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International Airport) mass shooting in which 26 people were killed and scores of others were injured. Three members of the Japanese Red Army had been recruited to carry out the shootings as the airport was already on high alert for possible attacks by Palestinians. Israel said Kanafani’s killing was in response to this attack, but it is thought the assassination was already being planned well before that. Bassam Abu Sharif, who became spokesperson for PFLP after Kanafani’s murder, was also targeted with a parcel bomb in Beirut on July 25, 1972. Abu Sharif survived the attempt but suffered severe injuries – he partially lost his sight and hearing, as well as four fingers. Bassam Abu Sharif looks at a photo of Ghassan Kanafani, a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, on June 25, 2020. In 1972, Abu Sharif was injured by a parcel bomb two weeks after he replaced the assassinated Kanafani [Sharon Pulwer for The Washington Post via Getty Images] 1973 – Response to Munich kidnappings On September 5, 1972, members of Black September, a faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), kidnapped 11 Israeli athletes at the Summer Olympics in Munich. The hostages were eventually killed in a botched rescue attempt by West German authorities. In response, Israel launched an assassination campaign called Operation Spring of Youth, to target the masterminds of the kidnapping. Travelling by boat from Haifa for an operation that would last from April 10 to 11, 1973, Israeli special forces landed on the beach in Beirut with their commander, the future prime minister, Ehud Barak, disguised as a woman. They raided a high-rise building and private homes of PLO officials in Beirut and Sidon which they had previously had under surveillance, blowing open the doors with explosives and spraying gunfire until their targets were dead. Three top PLO officials were killed: Muhammad Youssef al-Najjar, a deputy to PLO leader Yasser Arafat; spokesperson Kamal Nasser; and Kamal Adwan, military leader for the West Bank. 1973-2001 – A long plot to kill Yasser Arafat On October 1, 1973, Israel tried to assassinate Arafat, as well as PLO members Khalil al-Wazir, Faruq al-Qaddumi, Hani al-Hassan and Wadi Haddad during a meeting in Beirut. Bombs dropped on the building where the men were meeting failed to detonate, however. Plans to assassinate Arafat continued for years. Israeli intelligence mapped out several plans to shoot down commercial planes that might carry Arafat, but concerns about the possible political fallout from killing civilians in the attempt hindered those efforts. Several attempts to eliminate Arafat were launched between June and August 1982. Salt Fish, an Israeli task force created for that sole purpose, launched several bombing attacks on possible locations of Arafat, but none were successful in killing him. In 2001, Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, who regarded Arafat as a “murderer of Jews”, is understood to have finally decided to stop trying to assassinate him. Yasser Arafat is pictured in Beirut, Lebanon on August 30, 1982 [Pierre Perrin/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images] 1979 – Another response to Munich kidnappings On January 22, 1979, Mossad agents executed an elaborate plot to assassinate Ali Hassan Salameh, 37, a top PLO member believed to be the architect of the Munich kidnappings. Spies had enrolled at his gym to befriend him weeks before and a British-Israeli agent rented an apartment close to Salameh’s home to monitor his movements. Salameh was killed when his car passed by a mined Volkswagen that was remotely detonated. 1988 – Attempt to kill Ahmad Jibril On December 9, 1988, Israel raided Palestinian bases in southern Lebanon, targeting Ahmad Jibril, then secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC). Commandos raided locations just outside Beirut, but were met with heavy resistance from Palestinian fighters. Several Palestinian operatives were killed. It was later revealed that Jibril was never in that location. 2006 – Sidon assassination On May 25, 2006, Mahmoud al-Majzoub, a senior leader of the armed Palestinian group Islamic Jihad and a close Hezbollah ally, was assassinated in the city of Sidon. A car bomb attached to the door of al-Majzoub’s car door exploded when he opened it. Israel denied responsibility for the attack, but both Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah held Tel Aviv responsible. Nidal al-Majzoub, his brother, was also killed. 2024 – The war on Gaza On January 2, a drone strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahiyeh left Saleh al-Arouri dead. Six others, including high-ranking Hamas military commanders Samir Findi and Azzam al-Aqraa, were also assassinated. The men
Jeffrey Epstein list: Whose names are on the newly unsealed documents?
About 950 pages of court documents identifying associates of financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public on Wednesday. What is the Jeffrey Epstein list? Included in the unsealed papers are the names of about 150 Epstein associates. The documents were filed as part of Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator in his sexual abuse scheme. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges. Giuffre is one of the women who sued Epstein for abusing them at his homes in Florida, New York, the United States Virgin Islands and New Mexico. She said she was pressured into having sex with men in Epstein’s social orbit. Other documents were unsealed by the court from 2019 to 2022. Last month, a judge listed in a 50-page document about 180 people — under pseudonyms — ordering that their identities be made public within 14 days of the order. Some individuals have objected to the disclosure of their identities in the case. The inclusion of a name on the list does not indicate there are any allegations against the individual. Here is a closer look at some of the names in the recent documents: Prince Andrew The documents unsealed on Wednesday have revealed sexual assault allegations against the British royal. Johanna Sjoberg, who is one of the many women who have accused Epstein of sexual abuse, said Andrew put his hand on her breast in Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2001. This was while he was taking a photo with Sjoberg and Giuffre. Maxwell and Epstein were present while this photo was taken. Sjoberg said the photo also included a puppet that said “Prince Andrew” on it. The incident, which has been previously reported by other media outlets and which Andrew has denied, was in an initial trove of previously redacted documents that otherwise revealed few new details about the extent of Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking activities. Sjoberg was recruited to work for Epstein by Maxwell, who had been his girlfriend in the early 1990s before they became professional collaborators and accomplices in sex crimes for almost three decades. While Sjoberg was hired as an assistant when she was a 20-year-old college student, she was quickly turned into a massage therapist and was sexually coerced while she worked for Maxwell and Epstein from 2001 to 2006. Giuffre, now 38, accused Andrew of sexually abusing her two decades ago when she was 17, an allegation the prince called baseless. The case was settled in 2022. According to the documents, Sjoberg said she witnessed Giuffre, then 17, in Epstein’s New York mansion with Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell. She also said she believes what Giuffre has said about Andrew and Epstein sexually abusing her. Alan Dershowitz Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is well-known for his work in US criminal law. The documents pertaining to him include allegations made by an unnamed woman, Jane Doe #3. Jane Doe #3 said Epstein “required” her to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on multiple occasions when she was a minor. Dershowitz also played a significant role in negotiating an agreement that provided immunity from federal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida not only for Epstein but also for “any potential co-conspirators of Epstein”, the documents say. Epstein’s housekeeper Juan Alessi testified that Dershowitz would often visit Epstein’s Florida mansion to get massages. Another one of Epstein’s household employees, Alfredo Rodriquez, said the lawyer would be present at Epstein’s residence without his family and in the presence of girls. Dershowitz said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that Jane Doe #3 misidentified him, and he denied ever meeting her. He suggested he was the victim of the MeToo movement’s “hypocrisy”, accusing “radical feminists” of focusing on Epstein and his associates while not “condemning Hamas”, the Palestinian armed group. Jean-Luc Brunel Jean-Luc Brunel was a French model scout who was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls when he committed suicide in a Paris jail in 2022. Giuffre was among the women who had accused Brunel of sexual abuse. She said Maxwell sent her to many places to have sex with Brunel. The documents also say Brunel would exploit underage girls from disadvantaged backgrounds by offering them modelling jobs but would then bring them to the US and “farm them out to his friends, especially Epstein”. According to the documents, Jane Doe #3 accused Epstein of trafficking her to Brunel, who was Epstein’s close travel companion. She said she was also forced to watch Brunel, Maxwell and Epstein sexually assaulting underage girls. Rolling Stone magazine published a report on Tuesday about a recent Los Angeles lawsuit in which a new woman accused Brunel of holding her hostage at a Canadian estate so she could be sexually abused by multiple men when she was 18. David Copperfield Sjoberg testified to meeting American magician David Copperfield at one of Epstein’s houses. She added that she observed him to be a friend of Epstein’s. She also recalled a girl at that dinner who she thought looked like she was of high-school age. Sjoberg said Copperfield asked her if she knew that “girls were getting paid to find other girls”, referring to the recruitment of women by Epstein and Maxwell as “massage therapists”. Bill Clinton Former US President Bill Clinton is also mentioned in the court documents. While Sjoberg said she did not meet Clinton, she testified that Epstein said to her: “Clinton likes them young,” apparently referring to girls. While Giuffre had mentioned earlier that Clinton and Epstein had a close relationship, she did not accuse him of any illegal action. Clinton has repeatedly rejected all allegations that he was involved in anything unlawful and has said he had no interactions with Epstein for several years prior to the financier’s arrest. Donald Trump Former President Donald Trump is also mentioned in the documents but not accused. Sjoberg mentioned an incident when she left
British PM Sunak says he expects general election in second half of 2024
Rishi Sunak says it is a ‘working assumption’ that the vote will be held in the second half of the year. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said it is his “working assumption” that a general election will be called for during the second half of 2024. “My working assumption is we’ll have a general election in the second half of this year, and in the meantime, I’ve got lots that I want to get on with,” he told reporters during a visit to Nottinghamshire on Thursday. Sunak refused to rule out holding an election in May, coinciding with local elections, but said he had to get the economy back on track. “I want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people’s taxes, but I also want to keep tackling illegal migration,” Sunak said. “I’ve got lots to get on with, and I’m determined to keep delivering for the British people.” British opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer delivers a speech in Bristol, southwest Britain [Toby Melville/Reuters] The Tories, who have had five leaders and prime ministers since they were elected in 2010, are widely expected to struggle in the election and they are trailing behind the Labour Party in the polls. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer also made his first appearance of the New Year in Bristol on Thursday. Starmer is aiming to return his left-of-centre party, out of office since 2010, back to power in an election that must be held by January 2025. “We are ready for an election. I think the country is ready for elections. People are crying out for change. And I say to the prime minister, what is he hiding?” Starmer told Sky News. “This has serious implications for the country because he’s basically saying he’s going to be squatting for months and months in Downing Street, dithering and delaying”. Sunak’s pledges Sunak has struggled to make progress on his main pledges, including stopping migrants from arriving in small boats, growing the economy and cutting hospital waiting lists. He has hit one target of halving inflation by the end of 2023, but economists say that has little to do with government policy. He faces threats from all sides. Labour’s Starmer has vowed to fight the Conservatives on the economy, traditionally seen as one of their strengths, while the right-wing Reform UK party has refused to renew its pact with the governing party to help protect its parliamentary seats. Sunak also must try to quell a growing rebellion inside his own party, with some lawmakers threatening to try to oust him if he refuses to cut taxes, something they believe could help win back traditional Conservative supporters. He will be hoping a so-called spring budget on March 6 can deliver such party-pleasing announcements. Adblock test (Why?)
This West Texas town has a lot of money in the bank. Why can’t it pick up its trash?
Like local leaders in many other towns in West Texas, the Kermit City Council spent years saving its tax revenue fearing the energy economy would crash. Now it is struggling to keep up with essential services like trash and road repair.
Ramaswamy blasts WaPo reporter with viral response to question on condemning ‘white supremacy’: ‘Shame on you’
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy went viral on social media for his response to a reporter’s question asking him if he condemns “White supremacy and White nationalism.” “Of course I condemn any form of vicious racial discrimination in this country. But I think that the presumption of your question is fundamentally based on a falsehood that really is the main form of racial discrimination we see in this country today,” Ramswamy told a reporter from the Washington Post on the campaign trail in Iowa on Wednesday. “Institutionalized racism is institutionalized racial discrimination that we see that doesn’t come from somehow discriminating against people on the basis of some tentative White supremacy,” Ramaswamy continued. “It’s based on affirmative action. It’s based on actually discriminating against people on the color of their skin in a way that’s actually institutionalized today.” Ramaswamy said that “questions and framings like that” are what have “caused the American people to lose all trust in the mainstream media.” RAMASWAMY SAYS TIME TO FIGHT SYSTEMIC RACISM IS OVER, BLASTS AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AS ‘ANTI-AMERICAN’ The Washington Post reporter pushed back at Ramaswamy, “You didn’t say you condemn White supremacy.” “I’m not, I’m not gonna recite some catechism for you,” Ramaswamy fired back. “I’m not pledging allegiance to your new religion of modern wokeism,” Ramaswamy continued. “I’m not going to bend the knee to your religion. I’m sorry. I’m not asking you to bend the knee to mine and I’m not going to bend the knee to yours. But do I condemn vicious racial discrimination? Yes I do. Am I going to play your silly game of gotcha? No I’m not.” Ramaswamy told the reporter he “already knows” how her “game” works and predicted she will post a headline that says, “Vivek Ramaswamy refuses to condemn White supremacy.” RAMASWAMY FIRES BACK AT CNN’S VAN JONES FOLLOWING ‘DEMAGOGUE’ SWIPE: ‘JUST SHUT THE F— UP!’ “Because you asked a stupid question,” Ramaswamy said. “The reality is I condemned vicious racial discrimination in this country, but the kind of racial systemic discrimination we see today is the discrimination based on race in a very different direction. You want to know what the best way is to end discrimination on the basis of race? Stop discriminating on the basis of race. “You people have been responsible for bringing this country to a breaking point, creating a projection of national division,” Ramaswamy continued. “I meet people from the South Side of Chicago to a meeting like this one of every shade of melanin, multiple from men to women, doesn’t make a difference, who are hungry for reviving unity in this country and you with this catechism that you try and get these politicians to whatever fake headline your going to put on the basis of this conversation tomorrow, that’s what’s dividing this country to a breaking point. “Shame on you. Look people in the eye and tell them what you’ve actually failed to tell them for the last five years. Own the accountability for your own failures as the media,” he continued. “That’s how we rebuild trust in this country and until then I don’t have a lot of patience to play the games.” Ramaswamy received an applause from the crowd after he finished his answer. Ramaswamy’s response to the question quickly went viral on social media, with conservatives praising the way the 38-year-old entrepreneur handled the exchange. “This man is incredible,” sports and political commentator Jason Whitlock posted on X. “Wow.” “Absolutely magnificent,” author and political commentator Ann Coulter posted on X. “Every GOP should memorize this answer.” RAMASWAMY WELCOMES FORMER IOWA REPUBLICAN REP STEVE KING’S ENDORSEMENT, DEFENDS ‘VILLAINIZED’ EX-CONGRESSMAN “Vivek gets it,” Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk wrote on X. “Leveling up in real time. Based.” “Good for @VivekGRamaswamy who gives brilliant response to stupid question from biased & unprofessional WAPO reporter,” former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee posted on X. The question from the reporter came in response to former Iowa GOP Congressman Steve King’s endorsement of Ramaswamy. King made headlines in 2019 when he was stripped of his committee assignments by fellow Republicans in Congress after controversial comments regarding White supremacy. Ramaswamy addressed the interaction in a post on X. “After Steve King announced he was endorsing me, predictably a lame reporter from @WAPO tried to get me to play the game of ‘denouncing white supremacy,’” Ramaswamy wrote. “While she refused to actually define ‘white supremacy’ which in recent years encompasses concepts like ‘punctuality” & ‘the written word.’ I refused to play along with her game.” In another post, Ramaswamy wrote that the question was the “stupidest question I’ve gotten yet from the media.” “And that says a lot,” he added.
Trump files ‘powerhouse’ motion calling for Special Counsel Jack Smith to be held in contempt of court
Former President Trump’s attorneys filed what his campaign called a “powerhouse” motion on Thursday calling for a federal judge to hold Special Counsel Jack Smith in contempt of court for allegedly “repeatedly violating” a stay order in his 2020 election investigation. Smith’s case against Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, is on pause as Trump’s attorneys appeal the case, and argued that presidential immunity protects him from being prosecuted. The trial had been set to begin on March 4. “The Stay Order is clear, straightforward, and unambiguous,” Trump attorney John Lauro wrote in the filing Thursday. “All substantive proceedings in this Court are halted. Despite this clarity, the prosecutors began violating the Stay almost immediately.” JACK SMITH DISPUTES TRUMP’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY CLAIM IN APPEALS COURT Lauro said within the first five days of the court pausing proceedings, Smith’s team “served thousands of pages of additional discovery, together with a purported draft exhibit list.” “Through counsel, President Trump advised that he rejected the prosecutors’ unlawful productions, that their actions violated the Stay Order, and that he would seek relief if their malicious conduct continued.” Lauro also said Smith filed an “expansive motion in limine less than 10 days later,” which he said “teems with partisan rhetoric, including false claims that President Trump ‘propagates irrelevant disinformation’ both ‘within the courtroom’ and ‘outside of it.’” SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO ISSUE EXPEDITED RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE Lauro also said that motion “mirrors the Biden administration’s dishonest talking points, asserting, again falsely, that President Trump was responsible for the events of January 6, 2021, when in truth he called for peaceful and patriotic assembly and protest.” “In this manner, the prosecutors seek to weaponize the Stay to spread political propaganda, knowing that President Trump would not fully respond because the Court relieved him of the burdens of litigation during the Stay,” Lauro wrote. “Worse, the prosecutors have announced their intention to continue this partisan-driven misconduct indefinitely, effectively converting this Court’s docket into an arm of the Biden campaign.” Lauro argued that Smith and federal prosecutors should be held in contempt of court, be required to “immediately” withdraw their motion in liming and “improper” productions, and be forbidden from submitting further filings during the stay. Lauro also said they should assess “monetary sanctions in the amount of President Trump’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in responding to the prosecutors’ improper productions and filings.” TRUMP CALLS CLAIMS HE’S A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY A ‘HOAX,’ SAYS BIDEN IS THE REAL THREAT: ‘I WILL SAVE DEMOCRACY’ Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that Trump has “filed a powerhouse motion to hold Crooked Joe Biden’s henchman, Deranged Jack Smith, in contempt of Court for repeatedly violating the stay order in the Washington DC J6 Witch Hunt.” “Smith was ordered to not take any further action in the trial court until the Presidential Immunity issue is resolved, which should be a full dismissal of this ‘case’ because President Trump was carrying out his duty as President to investigate the Rigged and Stolen 2020 Presidential Election,” Cheung said. “Rather than respect the rule of law, Jack Smith unilaterally decided to disobey the stay order and continue with his harassing litigation, all done in order to keep parroting the pathetic Biden Campaign’s corrupt talking points in the name of election interference.” Cheung explained that, “as a result, President Trump is seeking to hold Deranged Jack in contempt of Court.” “No prosecutor is above the law,” Cheung said. Trump, in August, pleaded not guilty in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Smith filed an argument disputing Trump’s claim to presidential immunity in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected Smith’s appeal to expedite their assessment of the immunity claim before it went fully through a federal appeals court. Trump’s legal team asked the court to deny Smith’s request.
Ex-DHS officials back Johnson’s aggressive border stance in funding fight, say GOP must have ‘clear resolve’
FIRST ON FOX: Conservative former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials are backing Speaker Mike Johnson’s aggressive stance on border security when it comes to ongoing negotiations over a supplemental spending agreement — calling on Republicans to have “clear resolve” about the crisis. In a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital, former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan, former acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan and former acting deputy Homeland Security Chief of Staff Lora Ries, say that “weaponized mass illegal immigration” is fueling the destruction of the economy, national security and public safety. “While the Biden administration and Left-wing lawmakers continue to purposefully drive chaos and carnage at our southern border, House conservatives have taken critical steps to end it, notably through passage of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act—which continues to collect dust in the Senate,” they say. JOHNSON CALLS MIGRANT CRISIS ‘TRULY UNCONSCIONABLE’ DURING VISIT TO BESIEGED SOUTHERN BORDER Homan and Morgan are visiting fellows at the Heritage Foundation, while Ries is the director of the organization’s Border Security and Immigration Center. They are part of a coalition that has said that H.R. 2 must be part of any supplemental spending deal currently being negotiated in Congress. Their statement comes as talks are still ongoing between lawmakers in the Senate and the administration. The administration has requested $14 billion for border funding as part of the $100 billion-plus package, which includes money for Ukraine and Israel. That funding request includes more staffing at the border, aid to communities accepting arrivals and removal flights. But Republicans in both chambers say they want stricter limits on asylum and the use of humanitarian parole by the administration to stop releases. Senate Republicans have issued their own proposals, while many in the House have said that H.R. 2 in its entirety must be included. Johnson, leading a congressional delegation to the southern border on Wednesday, said that H.R. 2 — which includes limits on asylum and releases as well as the restarting of wall construction among other provisions — is the “necessary ingredient.” “Because it has provisions that fix each of these problems and these things work together,” he said. If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it’d better begin by defending America’s national security,” he said. BIDEN ADMIN EYES MORE DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO VENEZUELA AS MIGRANT NUMBERS SHATTER RECORDS The former officials say that uniting behind H.R. 2, as well as a separate move by the House Homeland Security Committee to begin impeachment hearings of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, are “imperatives demanded by Americans across the country.” “H.R. 2 is the only effective and immediate solution to the madness that most of the conference has now witnessed firsthand. And Secretary Mayorkas is undoubtedly guilty of violating his oath and knowingly endangering the citizens he is supposed to serve,” they say. “We commend Speaker Johnson’s commitment to H.R. 2 and hope every lawmaker returns to Washington armed with the reality they experienced in Eagle Pass and a clear resolve in upcoming spending negotiations,” they say. Democrats in the Senate have ruled out H.R. 2 and similar proposals as a non-starter. Even some reported concessions by the Biden administration, including the establishment of a Title 42-style removal authority, have been met with anger from some liberal Democrats. HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING The Biden administration, meanwhile, sought to pin some of the blame on Republicans for failing to agree to the funding request as it is. “Speaker Johnson is continuing to block President Biden’s proposed funding to hire thousands of new Border Patrol agents, hire more asylum officers and immigration judges, provide local communities hosting migrants additional grant funding, and invest in cutting-edge technology that is critical to stopping deadly fentanyl from entering our country,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Wednesday “We have House Republicans that are literally blocking the president’s effort to do something. That’s what they’re doing. They’re playing political games. They’re doing political stunts,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. The administration has also said negotiations are moving forward. “Our negotiations with the Senate continued over the holidays, and we continue to be encouraged by the progress being made. And while we are not there yet, we believe we are moving in the right direction,” a senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday. But the former officials dismissed those negotiations in their statement. “While Biden’s appointees and allies continue to ‘negotiate’ in the Senate, lawmakers on the Left have proven they have no real intention of ending the record tide of illegal immigration,” they say. “If conservatives are united behind H.R. 2, the decision between the safety of a secure border and the chaos of unlimited illegal immigration lies solely with White House and their friends in the Senate. The American people are watching.”
Wisconsin consultants hired to redraw GOP-drawn legislative maps following court ruling
Two consultants hired to analyze new legislative boundary lines in Wisconsin after the state’s Supreme Court tossed the current Republican-drawn maps will be paid up to $100,000 each in taxpayer money under terms of their contracts made public Thursday. Each consultant will be paid an hourly rate of $450, up to $100,000 total, but the state director of courts has the authority to exceed the maximum amount if she determines it is necessary, according to the contracts. Wisconsin is one of more than a dozen states currently wrestling with challenges to redistricting maps that were redrawn following the release of the 2020 U.S. census and first applied to the 2022 elections. Court challenges could result in new U.S. House and state legislative maps before the November election. WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT TOSSES GOP-DRAWN LEGISLATIVE MAPS, ORDERS NEW VOTING BOUNDARIES In Wisconsin, the court last month ruled that the current legislative maps are unconstitutional because many districts aren’t contiguous. The court ordered that either the Legislature pass new maps that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is willing to sign into law, or the court will proceed with adopting its own map. The consultants were hired to analyze maps submitted to the court by the Legislature, Evers and others, and report back on their findings. The consultants — who have the authority to recommend changes to the submitted maps or to create their own — have had a hand in reshaping districts in other states. Jonathan Cervas, of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, redrew New York’s congressional and state Senate maps after a court struck down ones adopted by the Democratic-led Legislature. Bernard Grofman, of the University of California, Irvine, helped redraw Virginia’s federal and state legislative districts after a bipartisan commission deadlocked. Conservative justices also objected to the hiring of the consultants, saying their selection, the legal authority to appoint them and their responsibilities all raise serious questions. WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS PASS REDISTRICTING REFORM PLAN, GOV. EVERS CALLS IT ‘BOGUS’ The maps from parties to the lawsuit are due by Jan. 12, with supporting arguments due 10 days later. Reports from the consultants are due by Feb. 1, with responses a week later. That means the court will release new maps likely sometime in late February or early March unless the Legislature acts first. The state elections commission has said maps must be in place by March 15 if the new districts are to be in play for the November election. Republican lawmakers last week asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stay and reconsider its 4-3 ruling throwing out the GOP-drawn maps. Thursday was the deadline for parties to the lawsuit to submit their arguments. The court is unlikely to reverse its ruling. The liberal four-justice majority voted in favor of ordering new maps, with the three conservative justices dissenting. The legislative electoral maps drawn by the Legislature in 2011 cemented the Republican Party’s majorities, which now stand at 64-35 in the Assembly and 22-11 — a supermajority — in the Senate.
DeSantis campaign accuses Haley of ‘insulting’ Iowans by saying NH will ‘correct’ caucus results
With just a week and a half to go until the Iowa caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, the war of words between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is reaching fever pitch. DeSantis and Haley are neck and neck for second in the latest polls in the Hawkeye State, far behind former President Donald Trump, who remains the commanding frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. But Haley has soared in recent months, catching up with DeSantis for second place not only in Iowa but also in national surveys, and surpassing the Florida governor and narrowing the gap with Trump in the latest polls in the New Hampshire primary, which will be held just eight days after the caucuses. Campaigning in Milford, New Hampshire, on Wednesday, Haley told the large crowd listening to her that “we have an opportunity to get this right. And I know we’ll get it right, and I trust you. I trust every single one of you. You know how to do this. You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it.” ONLY ON FOX: HALEY PUSHES BACK BUT DOESN’T CATEGORICALLY RULE OUT BEING TRUMP’S RUNNING MATE Pointing to her home state, which on Feb. 24 will hold the first southern contest in the Republican presidential primary schedule, Haley added “and then my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home.” The comment appeared to be tailored to Granite Staters, and the crowd cheered Haley’s remarks. Recent political history backs up Haley’s comment. The past three winners of the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses – former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in 2012, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in 2016 – all came up short the next week in New Hampshire. And none of them went on to win the GOP nomination. FIRST ON FOX: HALEY FUNDRAISING SOARS THE PAST THREE MONTHS Then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the winner of the 2000 Iowa GOP caucuses, also lost the following week in New Hampshire, but went on to capture the nomination and then the White House. Haley has placed plenty of emphasis on a strong finish in New Hampshire, and her upward momentum in the state has accelerated since she landed the endorsement last month of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who joins her at each of her campaign stops. But she’s also spent plenty of time and resources in Iowa, and returns to the state on Thursday. Since launching her campaign last February, Haley’s held roughly 150 town halls, just about equally divided between Iowa and New Hampshire. But another popular GOP governor, Kim Reynolds of Iowa, didn’t seem to care for Haley’s remark. Reynolds, who endorsed DeSantis in November, took to social media soon after Haley’s comment grabbed attention to write, “I trust Iowans to make their own decisions. No ‘corrections’ needed!” And DeSantis campaign communications director Andrew Romeo charged that Haley’s “closing argument is insulting Iowans by saying their votes will need to be corrected.” “Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis is closing strong in Iowa by outworking and outorganizing the competition day in and day out,” Romeo added. While he’s spent plenty of time in New Hampshire, DeSantis appears to be staking his campaign on a strong finish in Iowa. GOP NOMINATION RACE: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES FOR DONALD TRUMP “We’re going to win here in Iowa. We have the organization in place,” DeSantis told Fox News Digital in an interview last month. DeSantis predicted that the caucus results “will be very clarifying in terms of who is the real deal and who is not.” Haley has been careful not to state what kind of finish she expects in either Iowa or New Hampshire. “I need to be strong in Iowa, strong in New Hampshire, strong in South Carolina. That’s what I intend to do,” Haley said Tuesday in a Fox News Digital interview. But the next day, Sununu made some predictions. “We know Trump is going to win the caucus in Iowa,” Sununu said at a Haley campaign event in Londonderry, New Hampshire. “But again, Nikki coming in second place when nobody thought it could happen, that’s going to happen and give her even more momentum.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.