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Trump, House GOP allies eye pathways to extend White House crime crackdown in DC

Trump, House GOP allies eye pathways to extend White House crime crackdown in DC

President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress are working to solidify his grip on Washington, D.C. A leadership aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that House Republicans are working with the White House on a package of bills “to fix the many problems with D.C. governance and crime.” Trump all but confirmed the effort in a late-night Truth Social post at midnight on Wednesday stating that House and Senate leaders “are working with me, and other Republicans, on a Comprehensive Crime Bill.” “It’s what our country needs, and NOW! More to follow,” Trump posted. GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER STRATEGY TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CRISIS Meanwhile, House GOP Trump allies have been working on various measures to extend the president’s grip on D.C.’s police, which another source told Fox News Digital the White House was keeping track of. Under The District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, which, among other measures, established a local government for the nation’s capital, the president is allowed to federalize D.C.’s police force for a period of 48 hours, though it can extend to 30 days with notification to the relevant congressional committees. Any longer period must be authorized via a resolution passed in the House and Senate – several of which have already been offered while lawmakers are back on their home turfs for the annual August recess. The act does not limit how long Trump can deploy federal forces into the capital for, however – which he has also done. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., was first to announce he was working on a bill “to amend the D.C. Home Rule Act, so the president can extend this emergency as long as it takes, until our Capitol is taken back, and its streets are safe” on Aug. 13. He told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that House GOP leadership seemed positive about his bill. “I sent it to [House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.] after we drafted it,” Ogles said. “He liked the proposal, so when we get back, we’ll sort through the various ideas and approaches and see which one is best. Obviously, I’ll advocate for mine, but…whatever keeps the people safe.” Ogles pointed out that his bill, while getting rid of the 30-day limit, also requires the White House to notify Congress every 30 days about the basis for continuing federalization of D.C.’s police because “we still have a Constitution that we need to abide by.” Scalise’s office did not address Ogles’ bill when reached by Fox News Digital. Others, like Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., and Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., have introduced similar bills. “I think that there’s plenty of support for my bill, or a version of it,” Luna told Fox News Digital. “The fact is, is that, you know, we do have home rule. It’s well within our right and authority. And frankly, we’re doing it not just for us, but also for the actual civilians in the Washington, D.C., area.” Luna’s bill, like Ogles’, would extend Trump’s ability to federalize D.C. police for as long a period as the president deems necessary. GOP GOVERNOR NOMINEE PUSHES REDISTRICTING TO OUST STATE’S LONE HOUSE DEM Biggs’ bill would extend Trump’s hold on D.C. police for a period of six months. Because D.C. is a federal district, and not a state, Congress and the federal government are able to exercise significant amounts of control over various aspects of how it’s run. The White House and Trump allies have touted a significant decrease in homicides in D.C. since Trump took over policing in the city, while signaling that other U.S. cities could soon see federal government intervention to deal with crime as well. Opponents of the move, largely Democrats, have accused the Trump administration of ripping autonomy away from those who live in the nation’s capital. A White House official told Fox News Digital when asked for more information, “Efforts to address some of the underlying causes of the DC crime problem will be a topic of sustained focus for the administration, as well as other issues, such as maintenance, transportation and beautification.” “That includes working with all levels of government, executive branch, legislative branch, and Washington, DC, to ensure that the capital city of the greatest nation on earth is the envy of the world,” the official said.

Top California Republican drops ‘two-state solution’ to combat Newsom’s redistricting

Top California Republican drops ‘two-state solution’ to combat Newsom’s redistricting

The top Republican in the State Assembly will announce Wednesday a new bill to split California into two new states along a north-south line as a response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mid-decennial redistricting effort, Fox News Digital has learned. Assemblyman James Gallagher’s plan, laid out in what will be filed as AJR-23, would create a new state featuring its liberal coast and another uniting California’s conservative inland counties. Gallagher, R-Yuba City, dubbed the move a “two-state solution” – a term more identified with territorial clashes in the Middle East – to Newsom’s own clash with Republicans, which is the governor’s reply to Texas’ redistricting efforts. “The people of inland California have been overlooked for too long. It’s time for a two-state solution,” Gallagher said. Gallagher’s resolution responds to Sacramento’s attempt to permanently redraw California’s congressional maps – an act he says would silence rural voices and rig the political system forever. DEMS WANTED TO DRAW EVERY REPUBLICAN OUT OF MARYLAND BUT NOW LAMBAST TEXAS REDISTRICTING While the political power of California’s overall current landmass would be diminished, the new “Inland” California would be one of the largest states by population in the nation, and reliably right-leaning. Following a series of county lines generally slightly west of Interstate 5 – which runs the 800-mile height of the state – the new coastal state would retain many notably left-wing communities like San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley and Sonoma. It would also include the relatively center-right Orange County, as well as San Diego County, where the state’s Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones hails from. Jones said earlier this month that Newsom wasn’t elected “to play gerrymandering games to boost his presidential campaign, [but] to solve problems here at home.” Fox News Digital reached out to Jones, Newsom and Gallagher, for comment. Gallagher’s home county – Sutter, located north of Sacramento – would fall in the new conservative inland state. It would also include right-leaning Truckee – where Interstate 80 crosses the Sierras – along with Kern County, where former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., hails from. San Bernardino, Riverside and Imperial counties – which today make up what is similarly called the “Inland Empire” – would also fall in the new state.  The 17 coastal counties would together create a state of 29.5 million people while the inland state would be home to 10 million, according to the Manteca Bulletin. MEXICAN IMMIGRANT-TURNED-CONGRESSWOMAN BLASTS DEM CLAIMS TEXAS REDISTRICTING HURTS LATINO VOTE Texas would become the nation’s most populous state, edging out Coastal California by about 1.5 million, while Inland California would become the 11th most populous state – fitting in between Michigan and New Jersey. Gallagher has lambasted what he calls Newsom’s “mid-decade power grab” as a “mockery of democracy.” “Don’t p— on my boots and tell me it’s raining. These are rigged maps, drawn in secret to give Democrat politicians more power by dismantling the independent commission Californians created to keep them out of map-drawing,” he said in a statement earlier this month. His comments came after Newsom approved the Democrats’ plan to place a resolution on the November ballot allowing the state to circumvent its semi-independent redistricting board. “Californians should choose their representatives, not the other way around,” he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP State Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, is the top Republican on the elections committee. Niello said earlier this month that Democrats only recently found interest in redrawing the congressional maps – sharing several examples of liberal lawmakers verbally opposing redistricting as recently as July. “In just a few weeks, a mysterious case of collective and selective amnesia seems to have set in. Let’s rewind the tape and hear them in their own words,” Niello said. Gallagher is expected to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. PT in Sacramento to further discuss his plan.