Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to vote for Johnson after seeking to oust him from speakership last year
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who unsuccessfully sought to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson from the speakership last year, said that she will vote on Friday for Johnson to retain the gavel. Last year, the congresswoman lambasted Johnson as “the Uniparty Speaker,” asserting that he “is exactly what is wrong with the Republican establishment” and had “done nothing for conservatives and given everything to Joe Biden and Democrats.” But she now plans to vote on Friday for Johnson to remain in the leadership post. “Let’s put aside our pride, let’s put aside our egos, and let’s put aside the infighting,” she said in a video, adding that it is time for the GOP to join together and “do whatever it takes to make sure that we deliver the mandate that the American people told us to do.” DERRICK VAN ORDEN TARGETS CHIP ROY OVER SPEAKERSHIP VOTE: ‘CHIP IS FIGHTING TO KEEP HIS BRAND MARKETABLE’ Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who supported the effort to oust Johnson last year, has declared that he will not support the speaker’s bid to remain in the role. “You can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them, you can start cutting off my fingers, I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow,” Massie declared during an appearance on “The Matt Gaetz Show.” President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson for the job earlier this week. REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ DEMANDS ‘ASSURANCES’ SPEAKER JOHNSON ‘WON’T SELL US OUT TO THE SWAMP’ “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post. Johnson’s path to victory is precarious, and could be derailed if another Republican opts to join Massie in opposing Johnson’s bid. Fox News Senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has explained, “The winning candidate must secure an outright majority of all Members voting for a candidate by name.” MIKE JOHNSON’S SPEAKERSHIP TO BE PUT TO ANOTHER TEST IN 1ST VOTE OF NEW CONGRESS Pergram described a possible scenario in which just two Republicans could prevent Johnson from reaching the threshold necessary to win. “So let’s say there are 434 members and all vote for someone by name. The magic number is 218. If Johnson gets the votes of all 219 Republicans, he wins. If Johnson gets 218 votes, he also wins. But 217? No dice,” Pergram noted. During an interview on Fox Business’ “Kudlow,” Johnson indicated that he believes he’ll win the gavel in the first round of voting and is “hopeful for that.”
Carter’s judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
Former President Jimmy Carter served just a single term in the White House, but it proved to be an impactful one for the federal courts, which saw the appointment of more than 260 federal judges across the country, including some who would go on to wield considerable influence in the nation’s top courts. His appointments were barrier-breaking and diverse, helping reshape the federal bench and paving the way for women and minorities to serve on the Supreme Court. Here are just some of the ways Carter helped reshape the federal judiciary during his four years in office. Diversifying the bench Carter appointed a total of 262 federal judges during his four years in the White House, more than any single-term president in U.S. history. And despite never getting to appoint a Supreme Court nominee, Carter’s judicial appointments were history-making in their own right. That’s because he appointed a record number of minority and female jurists during his presidency, announcing 57 minority judges and 41 female jurists during his four years in office. This was aided in part by Carter’s creation of the Circuit Court Nominating Commissions during his first year as president, which he tasked with identifying potential judicial candidates as part of an overarching effort to make the U.S. courts look more like the populations they represented. These judges helped diversify the federal judiciary. More broadly, they also helped shape the hundreds of court opinions handed down at the district and appellate court level. Supreme Court impact Speaking to NBC News’s Brian Williams in 2005, Carter revealed that he had planned to nominate a woman to serve on the Supreme Court if a vacancy had opened up during his presidency. In fact, Carter even had a name in mind: Judge Shirley Hufstedler, who in 1968 was appointed by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She was the first woman to serve as an appellate court judge. “Had I had a vacancy,” he told Williams, Hufstedler was “the foremost candidate in my mind.” Carter did go on to choose Hufstedler for another role: the nation’s first secretary of education. “If I had had a Supreme Court appointment, she was the one in my mind that I had in store for the job,” Carter said. It would instead be Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan, who would go on to nominate the nation’s first female Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, in 1981. JIMMY CARTER DEAD AT 100 Though Carter did not directly appoint any judges to the Supreme Court as president, two of his appellate court nominees would go on to serve on the nation’s highest court: Stephen Breyer, who he tapped for the U.S. Appeals Court, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who Carter appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Both were tapped by former President Bill Clinton to serve on the Supreme Court in the early 1990s and both were subsequently replaced by women jurists. Breyer retired in 2022, replaced by President Biden’s sole nominee to the court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Ginsburg died in September 2020 and was replaced by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. CARTER EXPECTED TO LIE IN CAPITOL ROTUNDA Ginsburg was praised for her trailblazing work on gender discrimination. In nominating her to the Supreme Court in 1993, Clinton lauded Ginsburg for being “to the women’s movement what Thurgood Marshall was to the movement for the rights of African Americans.” In public speeches, Ginsburg often credited Carter for his work in reshaping the judiciary. “Women weren’t on the bench in numbers, on the federal bench, until Jimmy Carter became president,” Ginsburg said in a 2015 speech at the American Constitution Society. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Carter “deserves tremendous credit for that,” she said.
Shampoo rules and immigrant care: A look at some ‘draconian’ state laws, tax hikes taking effect in 2025
In the 1942 film “Holiday Inn,” legendary crooner Bing Crosby describes the stroke of midnight on New Year’s as “one minute to say goodbye before we say hello.” In 2025, Americans in several states around the country are “saying hello” to many new laws and changes in tax codes. In West Virginia, for example, residents saw an automatic 2% personal income tax cut taking effect on New Year’s Day. “If anybody says there’s something [else] that could drive more growth to West Virginia than that, you’re out of your mind,” outgoing Republican governor and Sen.-elect Jim Justice quipped of that particular policy change. However, other states’ residents may face more proverbially “draconian” policies and regulations. Here’s a look at some of them. “Congestion pricing” The Empire State’s heavily-debated congestion pricing law will take effect on Sunday, Jan. 5. While Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair Janno Lieber have been supportive of the change, which charges the average driver crossing or entering Manhattan below Central Park a photo-enforced $9 toll, many New Yorkers remain outraged. HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE OVER CONGESTION PRICING “Congestion pricing, the latest in a long string of tyrannical taxes, has been pressed forward through consistent opposition about the burden on New York families and workers,” several New York Republican federal lawmakers wrote in a December letter. Meanwhile, Democrats like State Sen. Andrew Gounardes of Bay Ridge had urged the congestion-pricing plan to begin “immediately, before [Donald] Trump can block it.” Lather up Visitors to one of the most popular tourism states in the country will no longer be welcomed by travel-sized shampoo and lotion bottles, as they will be prohibited come the New Year. The Empire State’s ban took effect on Jan. 1, while a similar ban in Illinois goes into practice on July 1 for larger hotels and Jan. 1, 2026, for smaller ones. While many hotels across the country have transitioned to affixing bulk shampoo dispensers into shower walls, many tourists still prefer the tiny bottles. Tax hikes California’s SB-951 of 2022 stipulated that workers will have slightly more money withheld from their paychecks in 2025. The state’s disability insurance program rate is to increase from 1.1% to 1.2%. The average California worker will see $8 less per month in their net pay. Gas prices California Republicans estimated that new regulations taking effect in the New Year will cause “major sticker shock” for drivers in the Golden State. “I’m concerned Californians will … be unprepared for the rapid gas spike in 2025, which could be an additional 90 cents per gallon,” said state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones. CA LAWMAKERS SLAM ‘IVORY TOWER’ ENERGY ‘POLITBURO’ AS GAS PRICE HIKE LOOMS Jones estimated Californians will pay $900 more over the course of the year for gasoline. Parental rights AB-1955, or the SAFETY Act, took effect Jan. 1. The law prohibits schools from enacting policies that require parental notification if their child changes their gender identity. In December remarks to FOX-11, bill sponsor Assemblyman Chris Ward said “politically motivated attacks on the rights, safety, and dignity of transgender, nonbinary and other LGBTQ+ youth are on the rise nationwide, including in California.” Ward, D-San Diego, said school districts had wrongly adopted policies to “forcibly out” students and that parents should love their children unconditionally in all cases. Immigrant health insurance coverage requirements A 2022 bill relating to health insurance coverage for Coloradans regardless of immigration status will take effect next month, according to the Denver Post. CALIFORNIA VOTERS NARROWLY REJECT $18-PER-HOUR MINIMUM WAGE HB-1289 requires the state to provide “full health insurance coverage for Colorado pregnant people who would be eligible for Medicaid and the children’s basic health plan (CHIP) if not for their immigration status and continues that coverage for 12 months postpartum at the CHIP federal matching rate,” according to the bill text. Abortion As of July 2025, Delaware colleges will be required to provide emergency abortion access and contraception or direct the patient to an external facility, according to the Wilmington News-Journal. A law is also primed to take effect in the First State that mandates insurance coverage and eliminates deductibles for abortion procedures, according to multiple reports. State Sen. Bryant Richardson, R-Blades, ripped the new law after it passed the legislature earlier in 2024. “This is a procedure you want my tax dollars to pay for. I’m sorry, I think this is evil,” he said. Stop light Washington, D.C., will institute a ban on right-turns-on-red within District boundaries. The law is a rare regulation in a blanket context, with New York City being one of the few other major cities with a similar law. Signage denoting the otherwise tacit law is typically posted when entering New York City from highways like Major Deegan or one of the city’s many river crossings, but it is often lacking on the hundreds of small streets on the grid that traverse into Westchester or Nassau Counties. In the same vein, the District of Columbia reportedly lacks funding for signage on most of the streets entering the nation’s capital from Maryland or Virginia, which may or may not affect enforcement, according to reports. The $385,000 in district funds allocated to notifying residents and drivers of the law was never identified, a DDOT official told WTTG. Bird watch D.C.’s Migratory Local Wildlife Protection Act of 2023 imposes a new building restriction as of Jan. 1. Permit applications or glazing alterations will require bird-friendly materials on exterior walls and fenestration within 100 feet of grade level, according to WTTG. The district is also one of a handful of places where the sales tax will see an increase. In the capital’s case, it will rise to 6.5%. Firearms Minnesota will institute a ban on “binary triggers” on personally owned weapons, according to reports. That is, the function that allows a gun to fire multiple rounds with one press of the trigger. Vaping ban The Ocean State is set to enact a ban on sales of and possession-with-intent-to-sell flavored vape products in
Mike Johnson’s speakership to be put to another test in 1st vote of new Congress
House Speaker Mike Johnson stares down a difficult battle to retain the gavel on Friday, even despite an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump. Despite narrowly hanging on to the GOP majority, Johnson’s speakership hangs in the balance after a series of moves to fund the government that angered conservatives over the effort’s failure to cut spending. On the opening day of the 119th Congress, the House will vote on a measure to elect a new speaker, and Americans will catch a rare glimpse of the drama that breaks out on the House floor. C-SPAN has been granted permission to run cameras inside the chamber. If every member votes, Johnson can only afford one Republican defection and still hold on to his job. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already said he will not vote for Johnson. While other Republicans have refused to affirm their support for Johnson, none have joined Massie in vowing publicly not to vote for him. “I’m going to talk to Mike and raise my concerns. As of right now, I’m still undecided,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital. Trump this week gave Johnson his “complete and total endorsement,” and the speaker vote will test the hold he has on the new Congress. Compounding the pressure is the uncertainty about what a drawn-out speaker race would mean for the incoming president. Congress has never certified a presidential election without a speaker at the helm. TRUMP GIVES JOHNSON ‘COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ AHEAD OF SPEAKERSHIP FIGHT Rep. Chip Roy said on X that he is also “still undecided” on Johnson for speaker. “But something MUST change,” he added. “We cannot allow what happened right before Christmas, where a 1500+ page bill was attempted to be jammed through over our objections … all of which could have been avoided with any serious planning & communication.” Johnson, however, said that he is confident he will attain enough votes. “We’re going to get this done,” Johnson told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Thursday. “We’re shifting into a brand-new paradigm. We have unified government that begins tomorrow. We have the White House, the Senate, and the House. A totally different situation than we dealt with over the last 14 months since I’ve been speaker. So, we’re excited to deliver on the America first agenda. It begins on day one, and all that begins right here tomorrow.” Johnson met with several potential GOP holdouts in the speaker’s office on Thursday, such as Reps. Victoria Spartz, Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andy Harris, Andy Ogles, Michael Cloud and Eli Crane. Last month, Johnson scrambled to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown and once again kick the funding deadline down the road to March. Though he was ultimately successful, the House went through three iterations of a continuing resolution and ultimately settled on one that could pass with the help of Democrats, who made up for the 34 angry GOP defectors. Congress balked at the original 1,500-page spending bill then defeated a narrow, 116-page bill – which Trump endorsed. Things got worse when the House only mustered a scant 174 yeas for the Trump-supported bill, with 38 Republicans voting nay. JOHNSON ALLIES URGE TRUMP TO INTERVENE AS MESSY SPEAKER BATTLE THREATENS TO DELAY 2024 CERTIFICATION Circumstances grew even more dire when the House actually voted to avert a holiday government shutdown but passed the bill with more Democrats (196) than Republicans (170). Thirty-four Republicans voted nay. Around a dozen House Republicans have not committed to voting for Johnson, and Fox News projected this week anywhere from four to 10 could ultimately end up voting no. “The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!” Johnson survived a test to his speakership in May when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., launched a motion to vacate, forcing a vote to reaffirm him as the House’s leader. Eleven Republicans voted against him at that time, with another 10 not voting at all. However, Democrats came to his rescue at that time, a prospect that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has ruled out this time around. Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Trump taps team to work with US Treasury nominee Scott Bessent
President-elect Trump announced several appointments to his administration Thursday, including the team that will work with his nominee for the U.S. Treasury, Scott Bessent. In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced that Ken Kies will serve as assistant secretary for tax policy. Kies, who has worked as a tax lawyer for 47 years, has served as the chief of staff for the Joint Committee on Taxation and the chief Republican tax counsel of the House Ways and Means Committee. Also joining the team is Alexandra Preate, who Trump appointed as senior counsel to the secretary. TRUMP PICKS MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COMMISSIONER KEVIN MARINO CABRERA FOR PANAMA AMBASSADOR Trump said Preate is an accomplished executive in public relations. Trump appointed Hunter McMaster to serve as the director of policy planning and Daniel Katz was appointed to serve as chief of staff. Katz, Trump wrote, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a graduate of Yale. Katz also served as a senior adviser at the Treasury Department. Trump’s appointment as deputy chief of staff in the Treasury Department is Samantha Schwab, who worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs during the president-elect’s first term. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? “All of them are incredible, hardworking Patriots, who will work tirelessly to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” Trump said of the team. In addition to the Treasury Department appointments, Trump announced that Benjamin Leon James will serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Spain. “Benjamin is a highly successful entrepreneur, equestrian, and philanthropist. He came to the U.S. from Communist Cuba at 16-years-old, with only five dollars in his pocket, and proceeded to build his company, Leon Medical Centers, into an incredible business,” Trump wrote. “He has helped support many worthy causes, like La Liga Contra el Cancer, and important Medical Research at Johns Hopkins and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.” HOW PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP COULD PULL OFF ‘THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY’ AS HE ENTERS OFFICE Trump also appointed Joe Popolo to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. Popolo helped transform the Freeman Company into what Trump called “the world’s leading live event brand experience company.” Popolo also serves as founder and CEO of Charles & Potomac Capital, LLC; the chairman of the board of Pinnacle Live, LLC; and, as a board member of Ondas Holdings. “Joe is an E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner, and also a recipient of the Dallas Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO Award,” Trump wrote. “He is a proud graduate of Boston College, a member of their Board of Regents, and also, a Patron of the Arts in the Vatican Museum.” Trump also appointed Cora Alvi to serve as his deputy chief of staff. Alvi, Trump wrote, most recently worked as the national deputy finance director for Donald J. Trump for President Inc.
New Orleans attacker had ‘remote detonator’ for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
New Orleans attacker Shamsud-Din Jabbar acted alone and planted “remote detonator” explosives inside coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter, just a few hours before he drove a pickup truck at a high rate of speed into a crowd of people celebrating New Year’s on Bourbon Street, President Biden said at a news conference Thursday. “We have no information that anyone else was involved in the attack,” Biden said during a news conference about his administration’s 235 judicial confirmations. “They’ve established that the attacker was the same person who planted the explosives in those ice coolers in two nearby locations in the French Quarter, just a few hours before he rammed into the crowd with his vehicle. They assessed he had a remote detonator in his vehicle to set off those two ice chests.” NEW ORLEANS ATTACK: INSIDE BOURBON STREET TERRORIST’S HOUSTON HOME Biden stated that federal agents are investigating potential links to the Las Vegas explosion, also probed as a terror attack, and urged them to “accelerate” their efforts. Fourteen people were killed, and Jabbar died in a shootout with police. “As of now, they’ve just been briefed,” Biden said. “They have not found any evidence of such a connection thus far. I’ve directed them to keep looking.” The FBI identified Jabbar as the driver who crashed a rented truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The bureau told congressional lawmakers on Thursday that it had zero information about Jabbar prior to his attack. They also said that while Jabbar has said he was “inspired” by ISIS, investigators have not found any evidence that he was directed by ISIS. INVESTIGATORS USE TATTOO, PHOTOS TO IDENTIFY SUSPECT BEHIND CYBERTRUCK EXPLOSION AT TRUMP HOTEL New Orleans hospitals treated a total of 37 victims who were injured in Wednesday’s attack. LCMC Health has not stated how many of those injured have since been discharged, nor has it clarified the condition of those still hospitalized. Authorities had been investigating a potential military connection between Jabbar and the Las Vegas suspect, who law enforcement identified to The Associated Press as Matthew Livelsberger. “As you know, there’s also an FBI investigation in Las Vegas. We are following up on all potential leads and not ruling anything out,” FBI Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division Christopher Raia told reporters Thursday. “However, at this point, there is no definitive link between the attack here in New Orleans and the one in Las Vegas.” Jabbar, a U.S. native born in Texas, had previously served in the U.S. military. Authorities are still investigating how and when he became radicalized. Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Kash on Demand
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – What to know about the race for Speaker of the House – Trump says he’s not changed his mind on H-1B visas as debate rages within MAGA coalition – Biden gives presidential medal to Liz Cheney ahead of Oval Office exit President-elect Donald Trump’s allies are excoriating the FBI for its initial characterization of the brutal car attack in New Orleans as not terror-related, before the nation’s top federal law enforcement agency backtracked and launched a terrorism investigation allegedly connected to ISIS. “The FBI has a no-fail mission. There is no room for error. When they fail, Americans die. It’s a necessity that Kash Patel gets confirmed ASAP,” a source close to Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday morning. Early Wednesday morning, chaos broke out on Bourbon Street in New Orleans as New Year’s Eve revelers partied on the streets. The suspect, later identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, is accused of ramming a truck into the crowds on the beloved and famed party street, killing at least 15 and injuring dozens of others. Jabbar, who was armed with a Glock and a .308 rifle, was killed after opening fire on police. As details filtered to the public on Wednesday morning, law enforcement officials, including the FBI, held a press conference where a special agent initially told the public that the attack was not related to terrorism…Read more ‘RADICALIZATION’: New Orleans terror suspect’s brother says attack is sign of ‘radicalization’…Read more NEW ORLEANS: What we know about the victims of New Orleans terrorist attack…Read more AIRBNB LINK: Bomb-making materials found at New Orleans Airbnb linked to Bourbon Street terrorist: report…Read more WAR ON TERROR: New Orleans, Las Vegas suspects latest in long line of military radicals…Read more ISIS INFLUENCE?: Pro-ISIS group called on Muslims to conduct NYE attacks ahead of New Orleans massacre…Read more SIGNS OF TERROR: NYC protesters follow New Orleans attack by calling for ‘intifada revolution’ hours after rampage…Read more LAS VEGAS: Las Vegas police say Cybertruck that exploded at Trump hotel had fuel containers large firework mortars…Read more SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: Suspect behind Cybertruck that exploded at Trump hotel identified as active-duty U.S. Army soldier…Read more CHRISTIANS TARGETED: Christians increasingly persecuted worldwide as ‘modern and historical factors converge’…Read more 2025 SHOWDOWNS: As Trump returns to the White House, these are the elections to watch in 2025…Read more VICTORY RALLY: Trump to headline ‘victory rally’ in nation’s capital on eve of inauguration…Read more ‘LIVES DEPEND ON IT’: Republicans push for prompt Trump confirmations in wake of New Orleans attack…Read more ‘NO WAY IN HELL’: Derrick Van Orden targets Chip Roy over speakership vote: ‘Chip is fighting to keep his brand marketable’…Read more SPEAKER STRUGGLE: Mike Johnson gets public GOP Senate support ahead of tight House speaker vote…Read more CHANGING THE RULES: House Republicans move to change rules for vacating speakership one year after McCarthy’s ousting…Read more SPOKE TOO SOON?: Hochul’s Christmastime boast of safer subway came amid string of alarming violent attacks…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
FLASHBACK: Biden downplays ISIS threat to US, repeatedly says white supremacy ‘most lethal’ danger
Before the devastating terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day rocked the nation, President Biden and his administration repeatedly stressed that the greatest threat facing the country was white supremacy — even explicitly stating that terrorist organizations such as ISIS could not compare to the danger posed by white supremacists. “According to the intelligence community, terrorism from white supremacy is the most lethal threat to the homeland today. Not ISIS, not al Qaeda — white supremacists,” Biden said in June of 2021 on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The comment came just weeks after he declared during the State of the Union that year, “We won’t ignore what our intelligence agencies have determined to be the most lethal terrorist threat to the homeland today: White supremacy is terrorism.” Early on New Year’s Day, New Orleans and the nation were rocked by a suspected terror attack when a man identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, allegedly rammed a truck into crowds of revelers celebrating the holiday on the city’s famed Bourbon Street. The FBI confirmed on Wednesday that they were investigating the incident as an act of terror, noting that they had confirmed the suspect had an ISIS flag in the vehicle at the time of the attack. BIDEN BLASTED FOR CALLING ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ ‘MOST DANGEROUS TERRORIST THREAT’ AT COLLEGE SPEECH: ‘PURE EVIL’ ISIS is a jihadist group that has carried out terrorist attacks worldwide but has lost momentum in recent years, including in 2019 when U.S. forces killed Iraqi militant and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The FBI said Thursday that Jabbar had been “inspired” by ISIS, adding that they have not found any evidence that he was directed by ISIS to carry out the attack. BIDEN TELLS HOWARD GRADS ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ IS THE ‘MOST DANGEROUS TERRORIST THREAT’ TO THE UNITED STATES The shocking attack has resurrected Biden’s previous rhetoric on white supremacy and the state of national security, which was also promoted by administration leaders such as Attorney General Merrick Garland. “In the FBI’s view, the top domestic violent extremist threat comes from ‘racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists, specifically those who advocated for the superiority of the white race,’” Garland declared in May of 2021 before the Senate Appropriations Committee of the top threats to the U.S. Garland was joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayarokas in sounding the alarm on the threat that white supremacists posed to the U.S. that year. Garland and Biden administration officials at the time argued that Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of President-elect Donald Trump breached the Capitol building, opened the floodgates to concern over home-grown threats to democracy. “I have not seen a more dangerous threat to democracy than the invasion of the Capitol,” Garland said at the time, calling it “an attempt to interfere with the fundamental element of our democracy, a peaceful transfer of power.” Biden has also cited the threat of white supremacy in more recent public remarks, including during his commencement address to Howard University in 2023. “White supremacy … is the single most dangerous terrorist threat in our homeland,” Biden said. “And I’m not just saying this because I’m at a Black HBCU. I say this wherever I go.” BIDEN ADMIN MOCKED FOR LABELING ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ THE GREATEST THREAT TO US The U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration released a report in 2020, called the “Homeland Threat Assessment,” which found that white supremacists and other “domestic violent extremists” posed “the most persistent and lethal threat” to the nation. Following Biden’s inauguration, Mayorkas declared that DHS was “taking a new approach to addressing domestic violent extremism, both internally and externally,” compared to the previous administration. Following the attack on Wednesday morning, conservative social media users and critics of the Biden administration resurrected Biden’s previous comments on white supremacy, quipping that the comments have “not aged well.” COLLEGE OFFERING ‘WHITE SUPREMACY IN THE AGE OF TRUMP’ COURSE AS PRESIDENT-ELECT RETURNS TO WHITE HOUSE The brother of the suspected terrorist told the New York Times that Shamsud-Din Jabbar had been raised Christian, but converted to Islam. The brother, Abdur Jabbar, underscored that his brother does not represent the Islamic faith and instead called his actions an example of “radicalization.” “What he did does not represent Islam,” he added. “This is more some type of radicalization, not religion.”
US Army soldier charged over alleged hacking of Trump, Harris phone records
A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with selling confidential phone records. Cameron John Wagenius, 20, was charged by federal authorities in Texas with two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information on Dec. 20 and the indictment was unsealed this week. Wagenius was a soldier at Fort Cavazos in Texas. Court records didn’t specify his rank. TOP REPUBLICAN DEMANDS ‘COSTS’ FOR CHINA AFTER IT HACKED TREASURY DEPT IN YEAR MARKED BY CCP ESPIONAGE He was allegedly linked to the online handle Kiberphant0m, which was part of several high-profile data breaches, including the Snowflake data hacking, and which claimed to have hacked President-elect Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris’ phone records, Reuters reported, citing cybersecurity journalist Brian Krebs. The alleged AT&T call logs for the 2024 presidential candidates were posted online in November, according to The Verge, which noted that the call logs had not been verified as genuine. The indictment didn’t give details on the hacking. GOP SENATOR QUESTIONS FBI OVER REPORTED IRANIAN HACK ATTEMPT OF TRUMP PICK KASH PATEL The indictment accuses Wagenius of selling “confidential phone records” online. “We are aware of the arrest of a Fort Cavazos soldier,” Fort Cavazos told Fox News Digital. “III Armored Corps will continue to cooperate with all law enforcement agencies as appropriate.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Wagenius will next be extradited to Seattle where the case is being handled. Reuters contributed to this report.
Biden awards Liz Cheney, Jan 6 committee chairman a medal: US ‘is better because of their dedication’
President Biden awarded the leaders of the former Jan. 6 House Select Committee, former Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney and Mississippi Democrat Rep. Bennie Thompson, the second-highest civilian medal for their “exemplary deeds of service for their country,” according to the White House. “The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded to citizens of the United States of America who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens. President Biden believes these Americans are bonded by their common decency and commitment to serving others. The country is better because of their dedication and sacrifice,” the White House detailed in a statement Thursday. The White House announced 20 people across the nation would receive the Presidential Citizens Medal on Thursday, including Cheney and Thompson, who Biden lauded as “intrepid” and holding a “steadfast commitment to truth.” “Throughout two decades in public service, including as a Congresswoman for Wyoming and Vice Chair of the Committee on the January 6 attack, Liz Cheney has raised her voice—and reached across the aisle—to defend our Nation and the ideals we stand for: Freedom. Dignity. And decency. Her integrity and intrepidness remind us all what is possible if we work together,” the White House said in its statement of Cheney. FBI SHOULD PROBE ‘POTENTIAL’ LIZ CHENEY ‘WITNESS TAMPERING’ IN JAN 6 MATTER, HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY “Born and raised in a segregated Mississippi, as a college student inspired by the Civil Rights movement, Bennie Thompson volunteered on campaigns and registered southern Black voters. That call to serve eventually led him to Congress, where he chaired the House January 6th Committee—at the forefront of defending the rule of law with unwavering integrity and a steadfast commitment to truth,” the statement on Thompson read. Thompson served as the chair of the Jan. 6 select committee, with Cheney serving as the vice chair. The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House. The committee concluded its 18-month investigation in 2023, after Republicans regained control of the House, and sent referrals to the Justice Department recommending that Trump be criminally prosecuted for his involvement in the lead-up to his supporters breaching the Capitol. ‘RIDICULOUS’: CHENEY RESPONDS TO TRUMP FLOATING JAIL TIME FOR J6 COMMITTEE MEMBERS The committee was composed of seven Democrats and two Republican lawmakers, Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both of whom are no longer in office. Incoming Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., reacted to Biden’s decision to award Cheney with the medal in a comment to Fox Digital on Thursday, slamming her as a former elected official who “represents partisanship and divisiveness.” “President Biden was either going to pardon Liz Cheney or give her an award. She doesn’t deserve either. She represents partisanship and divisiveness, not Wyoming,” he said. Republican elected officials and President-elect Donald Trump have railed against the committee and its leaders for years, with a recent Republican House report calling on the FBI to investigate Cheney for “potential criminal witness tampering” related to her role on the former select committee. REP LOUDERMILK BLASTS JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE FOR TARGETING HIM: ‘THERE IS A WAR ON THE TRUTH IN THIS COUNTRY’ “Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” stated a report released last month by House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chair Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. “Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge.” Cheney and Thompson both slammed the report in comments to Fox Digital last month. DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE’LL PARDON JAN 6 RIOTERS ON DAY 1: ‘ACTING VERY QUICKLY’ “The January 6th Committee’s hearings and report featured scores of Republican witnesses, including many of the most senior officials from Trump’s own White House, campaign and Administration,” Cheney said. “All of this testimony was painstakingly set out in thousands of pages of transcripts, made public along with a highly detailed and meticulously sourced 800 page report. Now, Chairman Loudermilk’s ‘Interim Report’ intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did. Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth. No reputable lawyer, legislator or judge would take this seriously.” Cheney had served as the third-highest ranking Republican in the House but was ousted from her role as GOP conference chair by her colleagues in 2021. Cheney lost her 2022 primary run for re-election to Trump-backed Rep. Harriet Hageman. HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES JAN 6 COMMITTEE ‘DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE’ The report followed speculation that Biden could grant Cheney a presidential pardon ahead of leaving the Oval Office. Late last year, Trump renewed his longstanding criticisms of Cheney and the Jan. 6 committee, suggesting she and Thompson could face jail time. “Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” he said in an interview with NBC. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence.” “And Cheney was behind it. And so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” he continued. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.” The Presidential Citizens Medal is the second-highest honor a civilian can receive from the president, after the Presidential Medal of Freedom, according to the Associated Press.