Kennedy urges GOP to restart spending battle amid soaring cost of living, warns against wasting majority
One Senate Republican is making the case that lawmakers aren’t using all the tools at their disposal to tackle affordability in the United States. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wants Republicans to take another crack at budget reconciliation, the grueling, monthslong process used earlier this year to pass President Donald Trump’s crowning legislative achievement of 2025, and one that tested the unity of congressional Republicans. Kennedy wants to see the process used to eat into the cost of living in the country, which has proven a thorny issue for the GOP after Trump’s promises on the campaign trail to hack away at skyrocketing inflation that proved politically fatal, among other issues like immigration, for Democrats in last year’s election. SENATE MULLS NEXT STEPS AFTER DUELING OBAMACARE FIXES GO UP IN FLAMES But it’s a Pandora’s box that lawmakers have been hesitant to reopen after narrowly advancing the colossal tax package over the summer. “I have been preaching as persuasively as I can for months now that we need to do another reconciliation, and in that bill, we need to address things like rules and regulations, which add about $2 trillion to the cost of goods and services,” Kennedy said. He acknowledged that the process could be tricky, given that it is governed by the Byrd Rule, which nixes any provisions that don’t have a budgetary impact, but noted that lawmakers have at least two more attempts to take advantage of the process while Republicans still control both chambers of Congress. TRUMP INSISTS PRICES ARE ‘COMING DOWN,’ BLAMES BIDEN — BUT VOTERS SAY THEY’RE STILL GETTING SQUEEZED “And I am at a loss to understand why our leadership will not agree to another reconciliation,” he said. “If you went to Senator [Chuck] Schumer right now and said, ‘Schumer, Senator Schumer, you have the chance to pass anything you want to pass today within the parameters of Byrd, without having to depend on a single Republican vote,’ what do you think Chuck would do? He’d take a dozen, and I just don’t understand why we are not doing that.” Affordability and the cost of living have become a central focus for many on the Hill, particularly after dueling partisan proposals to tackle the impending hike to healthcare premiums and expiring Obamacare subsidies went down in flames last week. Lawmakers are still searching for a path forward on that front, with a bipartisan group led by Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, meeting on Monday night to build a consensus between the parties. GOP ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF MANUFACTURING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS AS OBAMACARE SUBSIDY FIGHT NEARS DEADLINE Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of the architects of Senate Republicans’ healthcare proposal that failed last week, told reporters, “The calendar precludes getting something done this week,” but was still optimistic about finding a way to deal with rising costs on the healthcare front. “But, still, a commitment to work together is a lot of progress,” he said. Still, Kennedy was ardent that lawmakers had spent little time since passing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” taking advantage of their majority in Congress. “Yes, we passed the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ that was July 1, five months ago, now, almost six months ago,” he said. “We need to act. And I’m hoping that after the holidays, my friend, Senator [John] Thune, and he is a friend, and I think he’s doing a great job, but I think Senator, I hope Senator Thune will relent and agree to another reconciliation bill that addresses the cost-of-living issue.”
DC mayor fires back at House Oversight Committee over ‘politically motivated’ crime statistics report
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized an interim House Oversight Committee report on the city’s crime statistics, saying the findings were driven by politics rather than a complete investigation. Fox News Digital obtained a letter Bowser sent on Monday to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and ranking member Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. “Since the outset, my Administration has fully cooperated with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Committee) investigation into allegations concerning publicly reported crime statistics by the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department,” Bowser said in part. “That cooperation was intended to educate the Committee about the complex subject of crime reporting, address the public misrepresentations about crime in the nation’s capital, and identify policies and processes that could be improved to ensure transparent, high-quality crime data. The Committee’s interim report is a disappointing rejection of that good faith approach and instead reflects a rush to judgement in order to serve a politically motivated timeline and release a report whose outcome appears to have been determined before the investigation began.” RANK-AND-FILE DC OFFICERS ACCUSE SUPERIORS OF DOWNGRADING CRIMES TO MASK REAL LEVELS: REPORT The committee’s 22-page report claims that outgoing Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Pamela Smith, who announced her resignation on Dec. 8, oversaw an unprecedented system of intervention in crime reporting. It alleges that Smith, who is expected to remain in the position through the end of the year, pressured commanders on numerous occasions, and at times instructed them to downgrade offenses and avoid classifications that would appear on the city’s daily crime report. The findings, based on eight transcribed interviews with MPD district commanders, describe a toxic management environment in which accuracy was sacrificed for optics, and career officials faced public humiliation or demotion for presenting Smith with unfavorable crime statistics. FIGHT OVER POLICING DC MOVES TO CONGRESS AS PARTIES SPLIT ON CONTROL Bowser defended Smith in her letter as an integral figure in helping reduce a 2023 spike in violent crime and homicides. She also noted that the committee did not interview Smith or any of MPD’s assistant chiefs before issuing its findings. “Even a cursory review of the report reveals its prejudice: of the 22 block quotes presented as complaining about Chief Smith’s management style, 20 of them were made by only two command officials interviewed,” Bowser wrote. The House Oversight investigation unfolded against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s federal crime crackdown in the nation’s capital. In August, Trump issued an executive order to address the “epidemic of crime” in the district and deployed federal law enforcement personnel, including the National Guard. Bowser said the district is committed to publishing accurate, high-quality crime statistics. “The pressure public leaders should all feel to reduce crime and the fear of crime in our communities will never be an acceptable excuse to intentionally alter and downgrade crime, and any police official who believes otherwise will be held accountable,” she added.
Obamas planned to meet Reiners on night they were killed, former first lady reveals
The Obamas were scheduled to meet Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, on the night they were killed, former first lady Michelle Obama revealed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday. Michelle Obama said she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, were close friends with the late couple and described them as “some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know.” “My God. We’ve known them for many, many years, and we were supposed to be seeing them that night — last night. And we got the news,” she said. “And let me just say this: unlike some people, Rob and Michele Reiner are some of the most decent, courageous people you ever want to know,” she continued. ROB REINER AND WIFE MURDERED: TIMELINE SHOWS ARGUMENT WITH SON NIGHT BEFORE DEATHS “They are not — they’re not deranged or crazed,” the former first lady added. “What they have always been are passionate people in a time when there’s not a lot of courage going on.” Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Reiner, 68, were discovered stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday. Their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with their deaths, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. He is being held without bail after it was previously set at $4 million. Michelle Obama went on to say the Reiners “were the kind of people who were ready to put their actions behind what they cared about.” 2 PEOPLE FOUND DEAD INSIDE HOME OF HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR ROB REINER IN AFFLUENT LOS ANGELES NEIGHBORHOOD “And they cared about their family, and they cared about this country, and they cared about fairness and equity,” she said. “And that is the truth. I do know them.” Earlier Tuesday, former President Barack Obama released a statement expressing his condolences on the couple’s deaths. Obama wrote that he and Michelle are “heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele.” “Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,” he said. “But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired. We send our deepest condolences to all who loved them.”
Democrats unite against Sydney terror — but Fetterman warns party’s anti-Israel rift boiling over
Members of the Democratic Party were quick to condemn the horrific Hanukkah attack in Australia, but one senator says their response clashes with years of anti-Israel rhetoric inside the party. Sunday’s mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach left at least 15 people dead and dozens wounded. Australian authorities labeled the shooting an act of terrorism targeting the Jewish community. It sparked swift condemnation from top party politicians, from the center to the left, as well as a chorus of calls by leading Democrats to combat antisemitism. But Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, a fierce supporter of Israel, warned of consequences for his party’s discord over the more than two years of fighting between the Jewish state and Hamas in Gaza. The senator criticized fellow Democrats for embracing what he called openly hostile, anti-Israel rhetoric that he said is now “becoming more and more part of my party’s platform.” Fetterman’s comments come as the attack is likely to intensify pressure on the party, which is already facing internal fractures over the Israel–Hamas conflict that could define its 2026 electoral messaging. WERE WARNINGS IGNORED IN AUSTRALIA TERROR ATTACK ? In the hours after this weekend’s mass shooting in Australia, Democrats instantly joined Republicans in raising warnings about the rising tide of antisemitism. “As I have warned repeatedly, antisemitism is a scourge around the world that must be condemned loudly and fought vigorously at every turn,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is Jewish, wrote. And House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., emphasized, “It is our collective responsibility to aggressively eradicate the poison of antisemitism whenever and wherever it is found.” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is considered a potential top-tier contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, wrote, “We stand with the Jewish community worldwide against a rising tide of antisemitic violence and hate.” EYEWITNESS TO AUSTRALIA TERROR ATTACK DESCRIBES ‘PANDEMONIUM’ DURING DEADLY SHOOTING AT HANUKKAH EVENT Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, another high-profile Democrat who may seek the White House in the next presidential election cycle, highlighted, “Antisemitism has no place in this world.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a progressive champion who could potentially run for president in 2028, said she was “horrified by the attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia. My thoughts are with the victims and our Jewish communities in NYC mourning. As antisemitism rises across the world, we have a moral obligation to stamp it out everywhere it exists.” And Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin, in a statement, said, “We must all vigorously condemn antisemitism and hate at every turn, and the perpetrators of these evil acts must be brought to justice.” While condemnation of the attacks was uniform among Democrats, the party has been anything but unified when it comes to bloodshed in Gaza, which was sparked by the bloody Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel. Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed after Hamas ambushed them, with over 250 people taken hostage. In the more than two years since the attack, over 70,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, were killed during Israel’s military response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza. Tensions between Democrats over the fighting flared at the DNC’s summer meeting in August, as a party committee voted on a symbolic resolution calling for an arms embargo and suspension of U.S. military aid to Israel, which has long been the top American ally in the Middle East. The divide among Democrats has Fetterman befuddled. Pointing to anti-Israel comments from some on the left, Fetterman said this weekend in an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” “I can’t imagine why so many parts of people in my party continue to back away or to kind of deflect… condemning these kinds of horrific acts of terrorism.”
Comer warns contempt as Clintons face January dates for Epstein-probe depositions
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is delaying Bill and Hillary Clinton’s depositions before Congress until January. In a letter sent to their attorney on Monday evening, Comer warned that a failure to appear for their new dates would result in immediate contempt of Congress proceedings. “They’re saying now that he’s going to a funeral on that day, so we’ve been going back and forth with the lawyer,” Comer told Fox News Digital the same evening. “We’re going to hold him in contempt if he doesn’t show up for his deposition.” The letter said, however, that they failed to provide “alternative dates” for their testimonies. COMER ACCUSES OVERSIGHT DEMS OF ‘CHERRY-PICKING’ EPSTEIN ISLAND FILES: ‘CHASING HEADLINES’ “Therefore, the Committee has chosen the date of January 13, 2026, for the deposition of President Clinton and January 14, 2026, for the deposition of Secretary Clinton. If your clients do not comply with these new dates, the Committee will move immediately to contempt proceedings,” the letter said. The Clintons were originally subpoenaed over the summer to testify in the House Oversight Committee’s probe into Jeffrey Epstein. They were part of a long list of former presidential administration officials called in for closed-door meetings with the panel’s lawyers. EPSTEIN BOASTED HE BRIEFED RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT ON HOW TO HANDLE TRUMP IN NEWLY RELEASED EMAILS To date, just two people have shown up in person — former Trump administration Attorney General Bill Barr and former Trump administration Labor Secretary Alex Acosta. Others have deferred their subpoena dates or opted to send in written statements due to various personal matters, but it appears Comer is not allowing the Clintons to sidestep an in-person grilling. In his letter, the Republican leader even went so far as to criticize the Clintons’ lawyer for asking for the same treatment. “Your correspondence with the Committee continues to ignore the Committee’s arguments, misstates relevant facts, and seeks information about the Committee’s investigation to which neither you nor your clients are entitled,” the letter said. “As the Committee stated clearly in its November 21, 2025, letter to you, the Committee’s decision to forego in-person depositions for certain other individuals was because those individuals ‘lacked any relevant information to the Committee’s investigation or otherwise had serious health issues that prevented their testimony.’” Comer said the former president and former secretary of state “are not similarly situated and therefore your argument that they are receiving unfair treatment — which you continue to repeat — is baseless.” VIRGINIA GIUFFRE’S MEMOIR RECOUNTS RAPE BY FORMER PRIME MINISTER; EPSTEIN’S TIES TO BILL CLINTON, TRUMP “For example, unlike these other individuals, President Clinton and Secretary Clinton had a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell,” he wrote. Photos and other documents released by the committee so far have shown Bill Clinton and other powerful figures, including President Donald Trump, socializing with Epstein to varying degrees. Both Bill Clinton and Trump were shown to have handwritten entries in a book compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday, though until then much of the media scrutiny had been focused on Trump’s entry alone. Neither of the Clintons have been implicated in any wrongdoing related to Epstein, however, and their social engagements with him appear to have ended long before his 2019 federal indictment on sex trafficking charges and subsequent suicide.
GOP accuses Democrats of ‘fabricating’ Trump-Epstein link with selective document leaks, internal memo shows
FIRST ON FOX: The GOP majority on the House Oversight Committee is at war with their Democratic counterparts over what they say is a false narrative being crafted about President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Republican committee staff authored a new talking points memo sent to GOP lawmakers on Tuesday morning that is aimed at discounting Democrats’ recent leaks of information on Epstein, accusing them of releasing information on a selective basis to paint a picture that is not there. “Throughout the Oversight Committee’s review of the federal government’s handling of the Epstein and Maxwell criminal investigations, Democrats have demonstrated a sustained pattern of misconduct — misrepresenting witness testimony, selectively leaking cherry-picked documents, and manipulating emails and images — to fabricate yet another politically motivated hoax targeting President Trump,” the memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, said. “As a result, nothing Democrats post or leak on this matter can be taken at face value.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY DEMS TWISTING EPSTEIN PROBE TO SMEAR TRUMP IN NEW MEMO The memo also encourages Oversight Republicans to take aim at “Legacy Media,” which it says “uncritically amplified these falsehoods, acting as a willing conduit rather than performing basic due diligence.” “This reckless combination of partisan distortion and media malpractice undermines the Committee’s work, misleads the public, and distracts from the serious responsibility of ensuring accountability, transparency, and justice for the American people,” the memo said. What had initially begun as a bipartisan investigation quickly devolved into partisan infighting. WHITE HOUSE SLAMS DEMS’ ‘BAD-FAITH’ EPSTEIN DOC RELEASE AS DEMAND FOR FILES INTENSIFIES Democrats have argued that Republicans are using the probe to give Trump cover, while the GOP said the left is distorting facts to create a false narrative that Trump participated in Epstein’s crimes. The pair were known to have a close friendship decades ago but had a falling out in the early 2000s before accusations of sexual contact with minors first surfaced. To date, the president has denied involvement — and not been implicated — in any of Epstein’s crimes. Among the memo’s highlights are Oversight Democrats releasing three emails sent to the committee by Epstein’s estate which appear to suggest that Trump “knew about” various illicit activities of Epstein’s, including one which refers to him as “that dog that hasn’t barked.” EX-PRINCE ANDREW APPEARS IN PHOTO RELEASED BY JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S ESTATE, SHARED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS Republicans said they selectively released three emails out of a tranche of 20,000 pages of documents at the time. “When CNN questioned the redactions, Democrat Committee members falsely claimed Republicans were responsible. After Republicans released more than 20,000 pages, Democrats then claimed this transparency was intended to ‘disorient’ and ‘distract’ from their fabricated narrative,” the memo said. In a later release of photos from Epstein’s estate, Republicans accused Democrats of having “censored adult women’s faces to smear President Trump.” For example, one of the photos censored, they said, “shows President Trump standing next to adult Hawaiian Tropic women models.” Democrats have not always mentioned Trump directly in their releases, but he has been a regular feature of the emails and photos they have made public. “It is time to end this White House cover-up and bring justice to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful friends,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement on one of the releases. “These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world. We will not rest until the American people get the truth. The Department of Justice must release all the files, NOW.” Meanwhile, the Trump administration is facing a Dec. 19 deadline to release its files related to Epstein, pursuant to a near-unanimous vote in the House and a unanimous vote in the Senate. Fox News Digital reached out to Oversight Committee Democrats for a response to the memo.
Trump admin defends White House ballroom as national security matter
The Trump administration argued in a court filing on Monday that pausing construction on the new White House ballroom would undermine national security, citing a Secret Service declaration warning that halting work would leave the site unable to meet “safety and security requirements” needed to protect the president. The declaration says the White House’s East Wing, demolished in October and now undergoing below-grade work, cannot be left unfinished without compromising essential security measures. “Accordingly, any pause in construction, even temporarily, would leave the contractor’s obligation unfulfilled in this regard and consequently hamper the Secret Service’s ability to meet its statutory obligations and protective mission,” reads the filing in part. The government’s memorandum was in response to a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a nonprofit that says it advocates for preserving historic sites of national importance and protecting the public’s role in that process. WALZ REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM THAT TRUMP CONSIDERS WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM ‘TOP PRIORITY’ The National Trust lawsuit targets key government officials responsible for overseeing the White House grounds and the agencies managing the construction project, including the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior. It argues that pausing the Trump administration’s ballroom project is essential to prevent irreversible changes while the required oversight and public involvement procedures are carried out. “Submitting the project to the National Capital Planning Commission for review protects the iconic historic features of the White House campus as it evolves. Inviting comments from the American people signals respect and helps ensure a lasting legacy that befits a government of the people, by the people, for the people,” said Carol Quillen, the president and CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. TRUMP UNVEILS VISION FOR EISENHOWER EXECUTIVE OFFICE BUILDING MAKEOVER The White House announced President Donald Trump’s plans in July to move forward with a 90,000-square-foot state ballroom that would cost an estimated $200 million. That figure has now risen to at least $300 million, and while the project is backed by some private donors, Trump has also insisted it will be funded “100% by me and some friends of mine.” In its filing, the administration emphasized that key regulatory reviews are forthcoming, saying it plans to submit draft architectural drawings and materials to the National Capital Planning Commission and the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in the coming weeks. The government argued the lawsuit is premature because above-grade construction is not scheduled to begin until April 2026. The National Trust, however, counters that the scale of the project makes early intervention necessary. In its lawsuit, the group argues that the 90,000-square-foot addition would dwarf the Executive Residence and permanently upset the classical balance of the White House’s design. The complaint also cites an October statement from the Society of Architectural Historians, which warned that the proposed ballroom would represent the most significant exterior change to the building in more than 80 years.
House GOP tensions erupt as Republicans turn on each other heading into year’s end
Tensions are boiling within the House GOP as lawmakers are set to begin their final legislative week of 2025. More than a dozen House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital over the last week gave different answers on where tensions lie, with frustrations directed toward Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the White House, their Senate counterparts and even each other. Most of the issues they discussed were varied as well, but several people acknowledged concerns over whether there could be any defining legislative issues Republicans could coalesce around in 2026 to follow up on their signature achievement with the “one big, beautiful bill” last summer. “Right now, we don’t have a focused agenda that we’re moving towards like we did with the one big, beautiful bill,” one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “That brought all of our energy together in a focused manner.” HOUSE GOP SPLITS OVER OBAMACARE FIX AS COSTS POISED TO SPIKE FOR MILLIONS Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said he was not frustrated with any one leader in Congress specifically, but lamented that the institution did not better allow House Republicans to tackle the issues in front of them. “The problem is, because of the nature of the beast, we’re always fighting against the next big emergency, right? So, instead of being proactive and doing good solutions — I mean, healthcare. Healthcare has been the number one expense for families for a decade,” McCormick said. He said Republicans “did nothing” on healthcare when they first came to power earlier this year and were now left “in this position” where they were scrambling for a solution to the looming health insurance premium hikes early next year. House Republicans unveiled a bill aimed at lowering healthcare costs on Friday evening, but it’s unclear as of now if it has enough support to pass. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital broadly, “I’m always gonna want to see more action. My job isn’t to come here and be satisfied.” But he said of House GOP leadership, “When you’re in charge you get more blame and more praise than you probably deserve, but it’s gonna take the whole conference to come together, remembering what brought us here.” CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER WEEKS OF SHUTDOWN DRAMA Still, a fair share of GOP lawmakers have directed their anger at Johnson in recent weeks. “I think there’s a lot of concerns about the way things have been handled the last several months, starting with leadership, let this redistricting war break out, which is gonna upend the districts of dozens of our members. And then the fact we just weren’t here for two months,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital. “And then the way that the House is really not in the driver’s seat on a lot of the key issues around here — I think all of that is pretty frustrating to a swath of the conference.” Others are frustrated at Johnson over more personal issues. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital she believed Johnson was blocking her efforts to build a National Women’s Museum, an effort she said had President Donald Trump’s support. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE EXODUS THREATENS JOHNSON’S GRIP ON POWER AS OVER 40 MEMBERS HEAD FOR EXIT “It’s been stalled by the speaker, in committee, despite having 165 sponsors from both parties,” Malliotakis said. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., meanwhile, was angered last week by the way Johnson handled the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). “We’re getting shoved, and we just have to eat it, or, you know, vote against increasing pay to our military service members. It’s a very unfortunate situation to be in, that the speaker keeps putting us in,” Steube said. “I think getting Trump’s signature piece of legislation through is excellent, and everybody should be commended for that, because that was just a huge accomplishment, and it’ll do great things for the country next year. Now that we’ve gotten over that … now you’re kind of, like, what can we do next?” MIKE JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE GOP WORKING FULL STEAM AHEAD ON TRUMP’S ‘AFFORDABILITY AGENDA’ Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has notably been one of Johnson’s loudest critics and recently become a political enemy of Trump’s as well. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who Johnson promoted to House GOP leadership chairwoman after the White House took her out of the running for ambassador to the United Nations, publicly accused Johnson of kowtowing to Democrats over a provision in the NDAA before walking the anger back when she won that battle. And Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., recently wrote a scathing op-ed in The New York Times, where she wrote, “Here’s a hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House speaker than any Republican this century.” “Speaker Mike Johnson is better than his predecessor. But the frustrations of being a rank-and-file House member are compounded as certain individuals or groups remain marginalized within the party, getting little say,” Mace wrote. Mace told Fox News Digital she had spoken with Johnson the same week the op-ed was published. While she declined to go into detail about their private conversation, Mace said she did not feel heard by the speaker. A second House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously said, when asked if there was wider frustration with Johnson, “Yeah, I would say so. Especially rank-and-file people.” DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE But three others accused those criticizing Johnson publicly of doing so for their own personal gain. A senior House Republican said those complaining were “people whose modus operandi is about showing their opposition for their own purposes.” A fourth House Republican said, “Some people have been frustrated, but we have some people who are in Congress now that care more about their own personal headlines when they’re running for other offices or whatever, so they’re trying to push things out.” Meanwhile, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill.,
Trump urges China’s Xi to free jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai
Trump appeals to Chinese leader Xi Jinping after Jimmy Lai convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law in case said to symbolises collapse of media freedoms in the city. United States President Donald Trump has personally appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to release imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, saying he was deeply concerned about the 78-year-old’s health following his conviction. On Monday, Hong Kong’s High Court found Lai guilty on three charges in his national security trial, a ruling condemned by rights groups as a decisive blow to press freedom in the Chinese financial hub. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Prosecutors accused Lai of orchestrating conspiracies to encourage foreign governments to take action against Hong Kong or China, and of publishing material that “excited disaffection” against Chinese authorities. Lai pleaded not guilty and now faces a possible life sentence following his guilty verdict. “I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump told reporters on Monday, without saying when he made the request to Xi. “He’s an older man, and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. Trump met Xi in October in South Korea, where he is believed to have raised Lai’s case with the Chinese leader. Shortly after Trump’s comments on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the verdict underscored Beijing’s determination to suppress dissent. Rubio said the conviction showed China’s resolve to “silence those who seek to protect freedom of speech and other fundamental rights”. Lai founded the now-defunct pro-democracy tabloid newspaper Apple Daily and became one of the most prominent pro-democracy figures targeted under Hong Kong’s national security law. Advertisement “Reports indicate that Mr. Lai’s health has severely deteriorated during more than 1,800 days in prison,” Rubio said in the statement. “We urge the authorities to bring this ordeal to an end as soon as possible and to release Mr. Lai on humanitarian grounds,” he said. Jimmy Lai has spent over 1,800 days in prison. I echo President Trump’s call for Beijing to conclude this ordeal and release Mr. Lai. — Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 15, 2025 The United Kingdom also criticised the conviction of Lai as a “politically motivated prosecution” and called for his immediate release. Lai, who has been detained since late 2020, is a British citizen. His son Sebastien said that the UK needed to increase pressure on Beijing. “It’s time to put action behind words and make my father’s release a precondition to closer relationships with China,” Lai’s son said at a news conference in London. Lai’s daughter, Claire, said her father would abandon political activism if freed from jail. “He just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to dedicate his life to serving our Lord, and he wants to dedicate the rest of his days to his family,” she told the Associated Press in Washington. “My father is fundamentally not a man who operates on illegal ground,” she said. A devout Catholic, Lai has drawn support in the US from a loose coalition of democracy advocates, press freedom groups and Christian activists, a constituency that forms a key part of Trump’s political base. The forced closure of Lai’s Apple Daily in 2021, once known for its fiercely critical reporting, marked a turning point for Hong Kong’s media landscape. News organisations have since scaled back critical coverage of China amid fears of prosecution in Hong Kong, while the city’s global press freedom ranking has fallen sharply, dropping to 140th out of 180 countries, according to advocacy group RFA. “Although it’s an expected verdict, when the news came out, the feeling of ‘finally it’s here’ hit us,” said Edward Li, a former editor at Apple Daily currently residing in Taiwan. “Not only does Hong Kong no longer have Apple Daily; Hong Kong no longer has a strong voice to criticise and monitor the government…, which is why we feel the need to fill that role,” Li said. Adblock test (Why?)
Russian court designates punk band Pussy Riot as ‘extremist’ group
Exiled punk band says its members are proud to be branded ‘extremists’ and hits back at Putin as an ‘aging sociopath’. A Moscow district court has designated Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot as an extremist organisation, according to the state TASS news agency. The exiled group’s lawyer, Leonid Solovyov, told TASS that Monday’s court ruling was made in response to claims brought by the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and that the band plans to appeal. According to TASS, the case was heard in a closed session at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The court said that it had upheld prosecution submissions “to recognise the punk band Pussy Riot as an extremist organisation and ban its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation”, the AFP news agency reports. An official Pussy Riot social media account shared a statement, responding defiantly to the ruling, saying the band’s members, who have lived in exile for years, were “freer than those who try to silence us”. “We can say what I think about putin — that he is an aging sociopath spreading his venom around the world like cancer,” the statement said. “In today’s Russia, telling the truth is extremism. So be it – we’re proud extremists, then.” The group’s designation will make it easier for the authorities to go after the band’s supporters in Russia or people who have worked with them in the past. “This court order is designed to erase the very existence of Pussy Riot from the minds of Russians,” the band said. “Owning a balaclava, having our song on your computer, or liking one of our posts could lead to prison time.” According to TASS, earlier reports said that the Prosecutor General’s Office had brought the case over Pussy Riot’s previous actions, including at Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February 2012, and the World Cup Final in Moscow in 2018. Today Russian court designated Pussy Riot as an extremist organization. And yet, we’re freer than those who try to silence us. We can say what I think about putin — that he is an aging sociopath spreading his venom around the world like cancer. In today’s Russia, telling the… pic.twitter.com/ymz3BbApTo — 𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙💦 (@pussyrrriot) December 15, 2025 Advertisement The band’s members have already served sentences for the 2012 protest at the cathedral in Moscow, where they played what they called a punk prayer, “Mother of God, Cast Putin Out!” Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, who were jailed for two years on hooliganism charges over the cathedral protest, were released as part of a 2013 amnesty, which extended to some 26,000 people facing prosecution from Russian authorities, including 30 Greenpeace crew members. In September, a Russian court handed jail terms to five people linked with Pussy Riot – Maria Alyokhina, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova, Diana Burkot and Alina Petrova – after finding them guilty of spreading “false information” about the Russian military, news outlet Mediazona reported. All have said the charges against them are politically motivated. Mediazona was founded by Alyokhina alongside fellow band member Tolokonnikova. The news outlet says that it is continuing to maintain a verified list of Russian military deaths in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. “We have confirmed 153,000 names, each supported by evidence, context, and documentation,” Mediazona said on Monday. Adblock test (Why?)