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‘The right thing’: Paxton, Cornyn trade blows in Texas primary but unite for Trump’s Iran strikes

‘The right thing’: Paxton, Cornyn trade blows in Texas primary but unite for Trump’s Iran strikes

WACO, TEXAS — Two of this primary season’s fiercest rivals have one thing in common: unflinching support for President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, are both leaning into their relationship with Trump and their record of support over the years as they vie for the Republican nomination in Texas’ contentious Senate primary. While it’s a crowded primary, including Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, all eyes are on Paxton and Cornyn.  And as they push for Trump’s coveted endorsement in the final stretch of their intense campaign, their support of the president has remained unwavering. BIPARTISAN REVOLT TARGETS TRUMP’S WAR POWERS AFTER MASSIVE IRAN STRIKES Paxton told Fox News Digital outside his final campaign event ahead of the March 3 primary that he believed Trump “did the right thing” with Operation Epic Fury. When asked what voters were saying, he said, “No one wants foreign wars.” “But the reality is, when you’ve got a country that’s trying to build nuclear weapons, that is willing to use them, and that has demonstrated terrorist activity for decades, 40 or 50 years, you’ve got to deal with that, or eventually it comes to you,” Paxton said. Cornyn had a front-row view of Trump’s decision. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan “Raizin” Caine said Tuesday during a press conference at the Pentagon that Trump gave the go-ahead to launch Operation Epic Fury while en route to Corpus Christi, Texas, to promote his energy agenda. 1 IN 4 AMERICANS BACK TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES, MOST SAY HE’S TOO QUICK TO USE FORCE: POLL Cornyn and others from the Texas delegation were on Air Force One when Trump gave the order. When asked by Fox News Digital whether he was aware of the plan while traveling with the president, Cornyn said Trump was “a very cool customer.” “He asked us whether we supported a strike on Iran,” Cornyn recalled. “The members of Congress who were there in the cabin of Air Force One all raised our hands and said we did support that, recognizing the gravity of the decision and that only the president, as commander in chief, could make it.” In Washington, D.C., lawmakers are grappling with the decision, with members of both parties calling for a vote to limit Trump’s war powers in the region. Both Paxton and Cornyn said they are open to debate on the matter. ISRAELI MINISTER OUTLINES IRAN MISSION GOALS, SAYS IRANIAN PEOPLE NOW HAVE CHANCE TO ‘REGAIN THEIR FREEDOM’ Cornyn argued it comes down to a simple choice. “I want to know who’s standing on the side of American peace and security, and who’s standing on the side of a nuclear-armed Iran,” Cornyn said. “I think that’s the choice.” How long the country remains involved in the operation remains an open question. Trump said in a video address that the U.S. would continue operations “until all of our objectives are achieved,” but later suggested it could take “four weeks or less.” Some Senate Democrats, including Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., argued the strike was “the same dangerous and foolish decision” former President George W. Bush, a fellow Texan, made more than two decades ago in the Middle East. “I think the president is doing his best to get in and out. Bush was into nation-building, a very different approach to things. I do not think that’s Trump’s idea here or his endeavor,” Paxton said. “I’m very confident that he’s going to do whatever he can to take them out, and he’s encouraging the people in Iran to take their country back.” “He’s not encouraging us to move in and help them do that,” Paxton added. “We’re just taking out the bad guys, and then it’s up to them to build their country in a way that they see fit.”

GOP Texas candidate in the hot seat after rival exposes family’s Dem donations: ‘Doesn’t make sense’

GOP Texas candidate in the hot seat after rival exposes family’s Dem donations: ‘Doesn’t make sense’

A GOP candidate running for Congress in Texas believes the state’s open primaries may have allowed a Democrat to enter a Republican primary. Alexander Hale can’t help but have questions about the political positions of his fellow Republican challenger, Alexander Kalai, as they face off to represent Texas’ 7th Congressional District. Kalai’s background first caught Hale’s attention in December. “I was simply looking up my opponent’s information. And I saw on Transparency USA that his father had given [thousands] to Beto” and other top Democrats, Hale said, referring to a former Democratic representative of Texas, Beto O’Rourke, the failed Senate and gubernatorial candidate.  TRUMP INTRODUCES CORNYN, PAXTON BUT STAYS MUM ON ENDORSEMENT IN HEATED GOP PRIMARY “And I thought, ‘well, that is super strange.’” Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that his family has a track record of donating to Democrats, leading Hale to believe that the open primary system in Texas may invite Republican-looking candidates to detract attention from candidates with platforms that align more closely with the GOP base. Hale believes that’s a weakness shared by many states that use open primaries. “I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say, well, ‘shouldn’t we only have Republicans electing Republicans and Democrats only electing Democrats?’” Hale said of the primary elections. Texas is one of 14 states that use an open primary system, allowing unregistered candidates to announce their consideration for a party’s primary race. In Kalai’s case, his website states that he supports traditional Republican positions like school choice, protecting women’s sports and an emphasis on deregulation to promote economic activity. Kalai did not respond to a request for comment on his positions. TEXAS EARLY VOTING BEGINS AHEAD OF CONTENTIOUS MARCH 3 PRIMARY ELECTIONS Kalai’s campaign has received $182,000. Of those, $134,000 has come from his own pocket. Kalai lists his source for those donations as “self-employed.” His campaign has also received two donations from his parents, Bashar and Grigitte Kalai, both for $3,500 — the most one donor can give a candidate for the primary, according to federal law. Bashar Kalai’s donation to his son, a Republican, goes against the grain of his past political contributions. As the president and CEO of Amerapex, a technology, engineering and industrial services company based in Houston, Bashar has a long track record of political donations — to Democrats. In addition to his contributions to Beto O’Rourke, he has donated to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the House Majority PAC, which is controlled by Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives and other Democratic candidates. Hale believes his proximity to his son should raise questions about Alexander Kalai’s affiliations. “I’d love to hear an explanation as to why someone comes out of the blue with all this blue money and says, ‘Hey, I’m a Republican. You’ve never heard of me. I’ve never voted in a primary, but I’m the Republican you need.’” “It doesn’t make sense,” Hale said. DAVID MARCUS: IN DALLAS, VOTERS WEIGH TWO SENATE PRIMARIES AND NOW, A WAR Hale said he fears that candidates with sufficient financial backing, like Kalai, could present a convincing picture to voters in a primary process where fundraising is often used to establish legitimacy. “Money buys attention. In open primaries, we end up in a situation where whoever has the most money — it feels like whoever has the most money wins,” Hale said. Hale and Kalai will face off at the ballot box on Tuesday evening alongside three other Republican candidates. Whoever wins that primary will face off against incumbent Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, in November.

Kristi Noem to face Senate grilling over Minneapolis shootings as DHS shutdown hits week 3

Kristi Noem to face Senate grilling over Minneapolis shootings as DHS shutdown hits week 3

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem heads to Capitol Hill Tuesday to face lawmakers demanding she resign, be fired or impeached. Her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as members of both parties criticize her handling of the Trump administration’s immigration operations throughout the country. Some Democrats have called for her to face impeachment. Her testimony has been in the works for months. Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, had been seeking her appearance to conduct routine oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS FUNDING STALEMATE THAWS AS WHITE HOUSE SENDS DEMOCRATS ‘SERIOUS’ COUNTEROFFER But it wasn’t until after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good during immigration operations in Minneapolis that Noem agreed to testify. Last month, President Donald Trump dismissed the idea of firing Noem. “Why would I do that?” Trump said. “We have the strongest border in the history of our country. We have the best crime numbers we’ve ever had, going back to the year 1900 — that’s 125 years.” Still, she is expected to face tough questioning from Senate Democrats. DHS SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM ADDRESSES CALLS FOR HER FIRING, NEW ALEX PRETTI VIDEO Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the top Democrat on the committee, said at the time the hearing was announced that Noem previously “refused to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee last year and now tells us that she will be available in five weeks — should she still be DHS Secretary at that time.” “With all of the violence and deaths involving DHS, the Secretary is apparently in no hurry to account for her mismanagement of this national crisis,” Durbin said in a statement. “And she expects us to rubber stamp her record-breaking budget in the meantime.” And there’s at least one Senate Republican on the panel, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has emerged as one of her top critics. In January, Tillis said he would place holds on DHS nominees coming through the committee until Noem agreed to testify — a move that would block Trump’s picks for the agency. SCHUMER, DEMS AGAIN BLOCK DHS FUNDING, FORCE STATE OF THE UNION SHOWDOWN “I’m not going to get into impeachment,” Tillis said at the time. “I think it should be a management decision. She needs to go.” Her testimony also comes as a partial government shutdown affecting only DHS enters its third week. Some Republicans have expressed concern that the shutdown could hamper the agency’s ability to respond proactively to potential threats in the U.S., particularly following Trump’s weekend strikes in Iran, along with other security challenges that could arise during a prolonged closure. The White House and Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have been negotiating for weeks, but neither side has reached a breakthrough. The White House sent its latest offer to Democrats, which a White House official described as “serious” in a statement to Fox News Digital. Still, no agreement has been reached, and the agency remains shuttered. “Democrats need to make a move to end the shutdown before more Americans are harmed by a lack of funding for critical services like disaster relief,” the official said.

Khamenei Killing Protests: 14 injured, including 6 security personnel, in Srinagar clashes; advisory issued

Khamenei Killing Protests: 14 injured, including 6 security personnel, in Srinagar clashes; advisory issued

In a fresh clash that broke out in Kashmir on Monday, at least 14 people, including six security personnel, were injured as protests continued over the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a joint US-Israeli attack, PTI reported. In response, the authorities have imposed strict restrictions on movement, reduced mobile internet speeds, and shut schools and colleges for the next two days.