‘Warm hospitality’: University president has repeatedly cozied up to top CCP officials
FIRST ON FOX: A top diplomat of the Chinese Communist Party, who recently replaced a controversial official with deep ties to top New York Democrats, recently touted his relationship with an American university president and former top education official in New Jersey. Chen Li, who assumed the role of consul general of the People’s Republic of China in New York last month, took to social media last week to praise the “warm hospitality” he received from Kean University President Lamont Repollet. “Absolutely overwhelmed by the warm hospitality from President Repollet. I truly felt at home on this campus,” Li wrote on X. “The commitment to bilateral educational exchange and people to people connections is key to the success of Wenzhou-Kean University, a Chinese-American joint institution.” Repollet, who served as New Jersey’s commissioner of education under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy for more than two years, was seen smiling in two of the photos that Li posted. According to Repollet’s Kean University biography, he was in charge of “overseeing the shift to remote education amid the COVID-19 pandemic and playing a key role in planning for the 2020-2021 school year.” DEM GOVERNOR REVEALS CCP OFFICIAL WITH DEEP TIES TO HER OFFICE ‘NO LONGER’ IN ROLE AMID FORMER AIDE’S ARREST Despite Biden and Trump administration officials warning about the influence of the CCP, Repollet has developed deep ties to China dating back several years, a Fox News Digital review found. He most recently visited Beijing in October of this year to give a keynote speech at the Triennial Conference of the International Association of University Presidents, which was held in Beijing. Press releases from the conference emphasized how Repollet was passionate about equity in education and that his keynote speech highlighted how “AI is a revolutionary tool that can foster equity and transform how we engage with students and support their success.” “AI has the power to help close achievement gaps and ensure that every student, no matter their challenges, has access to high-quality educational resources,” he continued. “By offering personalized learning experiences, AI empowers historically marginalized students with the tools they need to succeed.” Months earlier, Chinese state media amplified China President Xi Jinping’s letter to Repollet, which was in response to a letter he sent to Xi, according to state media. CHINESE OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED CCP MAKES ANOTHER APPEARANCE AT TOP IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL: ‘HISTORIC CONNECTIONS’ “Recently, President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from Lamont Repollet, president of Kean University of the United States, encouraging Chinese and American universities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and contribute to China-U.S. friendship,” the Chinese government said in a press release. “Recalling witnessing the signing ceremony of the China-U.S. cooperation agreement on jointly establishing Wenzhou-Kean University in 2006 at Kean University, Xi Jinping said he is pleased to see that with the joint efforts of both sides, Wenzhou-Kean University has achieved remarkable results and become a landmark project in China-U.S. educational cooperation.” “Xi expressed appreciation for what Repollet said in his letter about deepening cooperation with Wenzhou-Kean University and encouraging American students to come to China for exchange and study, and called on universities of the two countries to step up exchanges and cooperation through different modalities to cultivate young envoys who know both countries well, and build more bridges to promote China-U.S. friendship,” the statement continued. Additionally, a press release from Wenzhou-Kean University touted Repollet’s “momentous” visit to China in April 2023. “Kean University President Lamont O. Repollet and his delegation embarked on a momentous visit to Wenzhou, marking the first visit in three years,” the press release said. “This visit presented a unique opportunity to strengthen the interactions between the two universities, foster people-to-people exchanges between Zhejiang province and New Jersey in the United States, and enhance the long-standing friendship between the two countries.” The press release said Repollet arrived in China on March 20, 2023, and he “wasted no time” meeting with Wenzhou Party Secretary Shuji Liu Xiaotao. “Mr. Liu Xiaotao expressed his hope that the two sides would continue to build a model of Sino-US cooperation in education and foster a bridge of friendly exchanges, with a bright future ahead for the university,” the press release states. “President Repollet extended his heartfelt gratitude to the Wenzhou government for its unwavering support toward the construction and development of WKU.” Xiaotao has been a member of the Chinese Communist Party since 1991 and has served in various roles over the last few decades. Additionally, a Chinese state media company held an event in New York City in September of this year that listed Repollet as a speaker where, according to a press release, he “emphasized the importance of cultural exchange and people-to-people diplomacy in fostering mutual understanding between nations.” The slate of speakers included several Chinese officials, including Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the U.S., and Shen Haixiong, the deputy minister of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee. Haixiong also serves as the head of the China Media Group, which is a crucial media conglomerate that plays a major role in the country’s state media apparatus. While Repollet’s ties to China have become stronger since he became the president of Kean University, his Facebook profile shows that he made multiple visits to China before he became the top administrator at Kean. For example, a 2016 Facebook post shows Repollet attending Wenzhou-Kean University’s inaugural commencement in China as a member of the university’s board of trustees. He attended the 2017 commencement in China also, according to another Facebook post. Prior to Chen Li taking over the top position in China’s New York consulate, that position was held by Huang Ping, who has a long history of promoting CCP propaganda and calling the CCP a “great party,” denying the alleged Uyghur genocide, and meeting with officials across the United States at universities, media companies and in elected office. Ping repeatedly met with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, all Democrats. Earlier this
Biden signs defense bill despite objections to ban on transgender health care for military children
President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China’s growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families. Biden said his administration strongly opposes the provision because it targets a group based on gender identity and “interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children.” He said it also undermines the all-volunteer military’s ability to recruit and retain talent. “No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve our nation,” the president said in a statement. The Senate forwarded the bill to Biden after passing it last week by a vote of 85-14. In the House, a majority of Democrats voted against the bill after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding the provision to ban transgender medical care for children. The legislation easily passed by a vote of 281-140. Biden also objected to other language in the bill prohibiting the use of money earmarked to transfer detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to some foreign countries and into the United States. He urged Congress to lift those restrictions. The annual defense authorization bill, which directs Pentagon policy, provides a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others. The legislation also directs resources towards a more confrontational approach to China, including establishing a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan in much the same way that the U.S. has backed Ukraine. It also invests in new military technologies, including artificial intelligence, and bolsters the U.S. production of ammunition. The U.S. has also moved in recent years to ban the military from purchasing Chinese products, and the defense bill extended that with prohibitions on Chinese goods from garlic in military commissaries to drone technology. The legislation still must be backed up with a spending package.
NY Republican compares sanctuary states to Confederacy: ‘We had a Civil War’ over federal law
New York’s last Republican governor said this week that sanctuary jurisdictions are reminiscent of the Confederate states that balked at federal law and waged war against the Union. Former Gov. George Pataki was speaking with businessman and 2013 New York City GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis on 77WABC radio when he was asked about the state of the Big Apple in that regard. “Right now, I’m concerned and people are concerned and rightfully so. But it comes down to leadership. We’ve had worse times in the past. I remember back in the ’60s and then in the early ’80s. And things got infinitely better,” Pataki said. “And it comes down to having the right people with the right policies running the city, running the state and running the country. I think we’re going to have the right policies in Washington. Now we just need to have the right leadership doing the right thing in Albany and in New York City.” MAGAVENUE: LAWMAKERS PREP LEGISLATION TO NAME SEVERAL HEARTLAND HIGHWAYS AFTER TRUMP Catismatidis said Trump has “put his foot down” against sanctuary policies, and quipped that he now has a “very large-sized shoe” given his overwhelming electoral victory. Pataki agreed, adding that if the U.S. is to be based on the rule of law, it should apply equally everywhere. “Cities or states that can pretend that the federal rules don’t apply to them are just violating the Constitution and violating our freedom… We had a Civil War over this,” he said. “And, it became plain that under the Constitution, every city, every state has to follow the law of this country.” Prior to the war-triggering attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, President James Buchanan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, was critical of Republican abolitionists and lamented his home state’s opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law. Following Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 victory, southern states began to secede, which Buchanan opposed, while believing a military response was the wrong option. The election of Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories, alarmed Deep South states, with South Carolina leading the way in declaring secession from the Union on Dec. 20, 1860. Pataki went on to say the nation’s largest city is bucking the feds in that regard, along with Los Angeles and other cities. NEW YORK’S LAST GOP GOVERNOR CONDEMNS BIDEN’S INACTION AS IRAN STATE TV PLAYS SCENES OF US ‘ANARCHY’ “Trump must make them follow the law or cut off all federal funding. And I think that would be a very positive step to bring America together and to bring us forward,” he said. The two discussed how New York City Council enacted a sanctuary city policy, and whether the state or federal government may step in against it. “I think [Mayor Eric] Adams may go along with [Trump intervention],” Pataki predicted, as other observers have viewed the mayor as being critical of sanctuary city policy but hamstrung by the 45-6 Democratic-majority city council. The former governor said he is optimistic about the New Year and that Trump must “dramatically reform” Washington instead of “tinker[ing] around the edges.” He noted Trump does have limits, in that he cannot statutorily rein in New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg or other far-left officials. Current Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has clashed with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party at times, once vociferously opposed another predecessor’s successful bid to make illegal immigrants eligible to receive driver’s licenses. In 2007, Hochul balked at Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s policy while she was serving as clerk of Erie County – which includes Buffalo. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, when she became governor upon the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, she reversed course. In November, Hochul indicated she would be the “first one” to call Immigration & Customs Enforcement to help the feds capture migrants or illegal immigrants accused of another crime and “get them out of here.” However, she maintained during her remarks in Queens that she supports helping otherwise law-abiding migrants find work in New York. Trump’s pick for “border czar,” Tom Homan, notably hails from the Watertown area and has condemned his home state’s current policies.
Trump pledges ditching Denali in favor of Mt. McKinley, but Alaska senators pan plan: ‘Awful idea’
President-elect Trump pledged this week to undo former President Obama’s 2015 decision to change the name of North America’s tallest peak to its Koyukon Athabascan name “Denali,” meaning “High One” or “Great One.” Speaking to conservatives at a Phoenix conference, Trump made the pledge and noted President William McKinley was also a Republican who believed in tariffs. He first promised to undo Obama’s action in August 2015 and called it an “insult to Ohio,” where McKinley was born and raised. During his Phoenix remarks, he also pledged to undo Democrats’ rebranding of southern military bases named for Confederates – like Fort Liberty in Fayetteville, North Carolina, which was formerly named after Gen. Braxton Bragg. The 20,320-foot mountain was first dubbed Mount McKinley in 1896 by gold prospector William Dickey, after learning the Ohioan had won the GOP presidential nomination – and as a swipe at silver prospectors he met who preferred Democrat William Jennings Bryan and his plan for a silver standard for the dollar. ALASKA OUTRAGED AT BIDEN’S FEDERAL OIL LEASE SALE SETUP AS ‘FITTING FINALE’ TO FOSSIL FUEL-AVERSE PRESIDENCY Six months into his second term, McKinley was visiting Buffalo, New York, when anarchist laborer Leon Czolgosz assassinated him in a gladhanding line. Czolgosz believed the root of economic inequality stood with the government and was reportedly inspired by the 1900 assassination of Italian King Umberto I. However, many Alaskans have appeared to prefer the historic name Denali: GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski told KTUU that Trump’s plan to bring back “Mt. McKinley” is an “awful idea.” “We already went through this with President Trump back and at the very, very beginning of his first term,” she said Monday. Murkowski said both she and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, – who originally hails from McKinley’s Ohio – support the name Denali. “[Denali] is a name that has been around for thousands of years… North America’s tallest mountain – shouldn’t it have a name like ‘The Great One’?” Murkowski added. MURKOWSKI SAYS SHE’S NOT ‘ATTACHED’ TO GOP LABEL In 2015, Sullivan told the Anchorage Daily News that “Denali belongs to Alaska and its citizens” and that the naming rights are held by Alaskan Natives. In a statement to KTUU this week, Sullivan said many Alaskans prefer the “name that the very tough, very strong, very patriotic Athabascan people gave” the peak. Meanwhile, then-Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, spent decades in Congress preventing any name change from McKinley to Denali – as the namesake president hailed from his Canton district. Regula, who died in 2017, lambasted Obama over the name change, saying he “thinks he is a dictator.” Appearing to cite his own work presenting procedural roadblocks and language added to Interior-related bills, Regula said Obama could not change such a law “by a flick of his pen.” “You want to change the Ohio River?” he quipped. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, some Ohio officials have also been deferential to the will of Alaskans. Current Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told the Dayton Daily News in 2015 that if Denali is what Alaskans want, then he in turn understood, as he wouldn’t want Alaskans dictating Ohio name changes. “So, I guess we shouldn’t tell people in Alaska should do in their own state. But I’m a big fan of Canton and McKinley and I’m glad that he’s getting talked about some more,” he said at the time.
Top Biden ally ‘disappointed’ by president’s veto on bill to increase number of US judges
A top ally of President Biden is “disappointed” after he vetoed a bill that would have increased the number of federal judges currently serving. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who served as a campaign co-chair for both of Biden’s recent presidential campaigns, stressed that he and his Republican colleague Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., kept bipartisanship top of mind when crafting the bill. “I am disappointed by this outcome, for my own state and for the federal judges throughout the country struggling under the burden of ever-higher caseloads. I’ve worked on this bill for years, and thanks to tireless bipartisan effort with Senator Young, it made it to the president’s desk. It’s highly unfortunate that it will not become law,” Coons said in a statement on Tuesday. REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY He then put the blame on House Republicans for the bill’s ultimate failure, however, for voting on it after the 2024 election. “Senator Young and I took pains to make this a nonpartisan process, structuring the JUDGES Act so that Congress could pass the bill before any of us – Republican or Democrat – knew who would occupy the White House in 2025 and therefore nominate the new federal judges,” Coons said. “The Senate did its part by passing the bill unanimously in August; the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, however, waited for election results before moving the bill forward. As a result, the White House is now vetoing this bill.” DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER Republicans in turn have accused Biden of making threats to veto the bill – which he issued two days before the House voted on it – to avoid giving President-elect Trump new roles to fill. “This important legislation garnered broad, bipartisan support when it unanimously passed the Senate in August because it directly addresses the pressing need to reduce case backlogs in our federal courts and strengthen the efficiency of our judicial system,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed out in a statement after the bill passed earlier this month. “At that time, Democrats supported the bill – they thought Kamala Harris would win the presidency. Now, however, the Biden-Harris administration has chosen to issue a veto threat and Democrats have whipped against this bill, standing in the way of progress, simply because of partisan politics.” The bill would have added 66 federal district judicial roles, spreading their creation out over more than 10 years to prevent a boon on new appointments for any one administration. At the time of its Senate passage, Democrats’ morale was high after Biden ducked out of the 2024 race and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris. It passed the Senate with unanimous consent, however, meaning no Republicans objected to the legislation’s advancement.
Dozens of House lawmakers rally around funding Afghan visa program as Trump vows major spending cuts
A group of 51 bipartisan lawmakers is urging House negotiators to keep up the flow of dollars to a visa program for Afghans fleeing the Taliban takeover of their country. Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, wrote to the House of Representatives’ top appropriators as they continue to negotiate federal funding for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2025. “We write to urge you to maintain critical provisions for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program1 in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations package. Authorizing new Afghan SIVs is critical to vetting and relocating qualified Afghan principal applicants currently in the processing pipeline,” they wrote to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., and others. It comes as President-elect Trump promised to work toward steep spending cuts in the coming federal funding fights. He wrote on Truth Social last week, “The United States will cut Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in spending next year through Reconciliation!” NEW REPORT WARNS OF GROWING NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT TO U.S. AS CHINA BUILDS AI: ‘SIGNIFICANT AND CONCERNING’ People in Trump’s orbit, including some House Republicans, are pushing for him to have greater control over how congressionally appropriated funds are spent. Meanwhile, Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy last month to lead an advisory panel on cost-cutting dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The duo have already positioned themselves as influential players in Congress’ spending discussions as well, having led the revolt against a 1,547-page government funding bill that was a product of bipartisan negotiations. They have not, however, said where they want to see Congress pull back on spending. EXPERTS WARN SYRIAN REBEL VICTORY POSES ‘WILDLY COMPLEX’ NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: ‘WHO KNOWS WHAT’S NEXT?’ The 51 lawmakers pushing for the Afghan SIV program to be preserved argue it is “a life-saving path to safety for Afghan nationals who face serious danger as a result of their work alongside U.S. troops, diplomats, and contractors.” “Congress must continue this work so that the State Department is able to issue visas to eligible Afghans who face imminent threats from the Taliban, Islamic State, and other hostile groups because of their service to the U.S. and our allies,” they wrote. The Afghan SIV program was first enacted in 2009, but saw new importance after the Taliban’s lightening-fast takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 – which precipitated the U.S.’s withdrawal after decades in the Middle Eastern country. Congress authorized additional visas under the program every year since FY 2019, according to the letter. Congressional negotiators have so far failed to come to an agreement on FY 2025 spending, forcing lawmakers to pass two extensions of last year’s funding levels to prevent a partial government shutdown. The most recent extension, called a continuing resolution (CR), gives lawmakers until March 14 to make a deal.
California Democrats urge feds to approve high-speed rail funding before DOGE nixes ‘boondoggle’
Several prominent California Democrats are calling on the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve a grant application for $536 million in federal funds to move forward with the state’s long-awaited high-speed rail network. The monies would come from funds already allocated in general to “federal-state partnership[s] for intercity passenger rail grants” through the 2021 “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” and made available via the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. Democrats urged Secretary Pete Buttigieg to approve the funds, saying progress on the “California Phase I Corridor” is “essential to enhancing our nation’s and California’s strategic transportation network investments.” “The Phase 1 Corridor aims to address climate concerns, promote health, improve access and connectivity, and boost economic vitality, while addressing current highway and rail capacity constraints,” a letter to the outgoing Cabinet member read. BUILDING STARTS ON HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINE BETWEEN LAS VEGAS AND LOS ANGELES AREA Drafted by Sen.-elect Adam Schiff, Sen. Alex Padilla, and California Democratic Reps. Jim Costa, Zoe Lofgren and Pete Aguilar, the letter calls for the funds to go to two projects in particular: tunneling through the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California and through the Pacheco Pass of the Diablo Mountains in Northern California. “These investments will continue to support living wage jobs, provide small business opportunities, and equitably enhance the mobility of communities in need – including disadvantaged agricultural communities – all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Schiff and the other lawmakers wrote. “Please consider the enormous value and meaningful impact that FSP-National grant funding will provide to advancing CAHSR beyond the Central Valley,” they told Buttigieg. The bores are needed, the lawmakers said, to connect with other intercity passenger rail systems including the Brightline West, CalTrain, Metrolink and Altamont Commuter Express. FLASHBACK: COMER TOUTS HUNTER BIDEN HEARING: RASKIN, SCHIFF ‘PULL STUFF OUT OF THEIR REAR’ According to California Republicans, the overall high-speed rail project is nearly $100 billion over budget and decades behind schedule. Trump’s DOGE duo of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy aren’t keen on the idea of continuing to fund what many Republicans consider a costly and unfruitful endeavor. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., said as much earlier this month in remarks on the House floor. “I am very happy to report that the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency has honed-in on perhaps the single greatest example of government waste in United States history – and that is California’s high-speed-rail boondoggle,” Kiley said. The official DOGE X account also described both California’s high-speed rail expenditures and requested funding in a November tweet. Earlier this month, Ramaswamy also called the plans a “wasteful vanity project” that burned “billions in taxpayer cash with little prospect of completion in the next decade.” He said Trump “correctly” rescinded $1 billion in federal funding for the project in 2019 and lamented President Biden’s reversal of that move. “Time to end the waste,” Ramaswamy said. California’s top state Senate Republican echoed the DOGE leaders’ concerns. “California’s ‘train to nowhere’ has already wasted billions of taxpayer dollars – now Biden wants all Americans to fund this boondoggle,” State Sen. Brian W. Jones of San Diego told Fox News Digital. “When President Trump returns to office in a few weeks, he must defund the high-speed rail. This wasteful government experiment must end once and for all,” he added. If approved, the federal funds will be bolstered by $134 million in state monies from California’s “cap & trade” program, according to the Sacramento Bee. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP At a 2013 conference, Musk floated the idea of a “hyperloop” which was also presented in a white paper. Though it has not yet come to fruition, Musk said at the time he had thought whether there is a better way to get from Los Angeles to San Francisco than what California has proposed. “The high-speed rail that’s being proposed would actually be the slowest bullet train in the world and the most expensive per-mile,” he said. “Isn’t there something better that we can come up with?” The world’s richest man described Hyperloop at the time as a combination of a Concorde, a rail gun and an air-hockey table.
Biden vetoes bill that would have given Trump more judicial seats to fill
President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judgeships over a span of more than a decade, a once-bipartisan effort designed so that neither political party would have an advantage in molding the federal judiciary. Three presidential administrations, beginning with the incoming Trump administration, and six Congresses would have had the opportunity to appoint the new trial court judgeships, according to the legislation, which had support from organizations representing judges and attorneys. Despite arguments from the organizations that additional judgeships would help with cases that have seen serious delays in resolution and ease concerns over access to justice, the White House said that Biden would veto the bill. In a statement, Biden said he made his decision because the “hurried action” by the House of Representatives left open questions about “life-tenured” positions. BIDEN’S DECISION TO COMMUTE SENTENCES FOR DEATH ROW INMATES SPARKS SOCIAL MEDIA FRENZY “The House of Representative’s hurried action fails to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the new judgeships are allocated, and neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate explored fully how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships,” Biden said. “The efficient and effective administration of justice requires that these questions about need and allocation be further studied and answered before we create permanent judgeships for life-tenured judges,” Biden added. He said the bill would also have created new judgeships in states where senators have not filled existing judicial vacancies and that those efforts “suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now. GOP CONGRESSMAN CHARGES BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S FOREIGN POLICY ‘LEFT THE WORLD IN A WORSE OFF PLACE’ When Biden’s plan to veto the legislation surfaced earlier this month, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told “America’s Newsroom” that the act is “the last spasm of a lame-duck.” “President Biden and his team don’t want to allow it to become law simply because a Republican administration would get to appoint some of the judges,” Kennedy said. “I wish they’d put the country first,” the senator added. The legislation was passed unanimously in August under the Democratic-controlled Senate, though the Republican-led House brought the measure to the floor only after Donald Trump was reelected president in November, creating an air of political gamesmanship. Biden’s veto essentially shelves the legislation for the current Congress. Overturning Biden’s veto would require a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate, and the House vote fell well short of that margin. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen recovering from multiple injuries after being bucked from horse: ‘Good prognosis’
Nebraska’s Republican Gov. Jim Pillen was in intensive care at a hospital on Monday to be treated for injuries after he was thrown off a horse while riding with his family the day before. Pillen, 68, was treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, where he underwent a medical procedure for an injured spleen he suffered when he was bucked off a new horse. Doctors said Pillen’s prognosis was positive despite seven rib fractures, a partially collapsed lung, a minor fracture in one of his vertebrae and a minor kidney injury that is expected to heal on its own. He is expected to remain in the hospital for at least another day, but is in stable condition. The governor underwent a minimally invasive procedure called a prophylactic embolization for the spleen injury. Doctors passed a wire into his arteries near the spleen and inserted coils to stop the bleeding, according to Nebraska Medicine trauma surgeon Hillman Terzian. NEBRASKA GOV. JIM PILLEN HOSPITALIZED AFTER HE WAS BUCKED OFF A HORSE Terzian said Pillen did well during the procedure, which he was sedated for. The operation lasted less than an hour and GOP Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly acted as governor for the time being in a routine transfer of power. The governor did not suffer any damage to his nervous system and there were no signs of an injury to his head, neck or spinal canal, according to Terzian. Pillen has been motivated to get out of bed and has already been walking laps, Terzian said, noting that this is “very impressive.” The doctor said being in intensive care is normal for people with a spleen injury similar to Pillen’s and with rib fractures at his age. Terzian said the governor had “a very good prognosis.” ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN NEBRASKA TOWN BRINGING ‘STRESS’ TO SCHOOLS, PUBLIC SAFETY “We don’t expect anyone with his injuries to be up and running a marathon the next day, but we like them to be out of bed, to show us that they can pick up small objects, that sort of thing,” Terzian said. The biggest priority for Pillen’s doctor right now is controlling his pain. No other operations are planned, although physicians have options for treating his ribs, Terzian said. Pillen has made arrangements to work from his hospital room. The governor’s office said his injuries were serious, but not life-threatening, and could have been much worse. Pillen was elected as governor in 2022, running in the gubernatorial election that year because former Gov. Pete Ricketts, also a Republican, was term-limited. The governor worked as a veterinarian and owned a livestock operation before he was elected to the state’s highest office. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘Independent-minded’: DCCC chair reveals blueprint for winning back majority during 2026 midterms
The House Democrat who chairs the party’s campaign committee says she wants to “build on” the “things we did right” in the 2024 elections as she works to win back the chamber’s majority in the 2026 midterms. While the party lost control of the White House and Republicans flipped the Senate majority while holding on to their fragile control of the House, Democrats were able to take a small bite out of the GOP congressional majority. Republicans will hold a razor-thin 220-215 majority in the next Congress, which means the Democrats only need a three-seat gain in the 2026 midterms to win back the chamber for the first time in four years. HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR TOUTS HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE “We won in tough districts, outperformed across the country,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state emphasized in a recent Fox News Digital interview. DelBene, who is sticking around for a second straight tour of duty steering the party’s campaign committee, said the 2024 successes are “a good example of what we need to continue to follow heading into 2026.” VANCE TO LIKELY BE 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL FRONT-RUNNER, BUT RNC CHAIR ALSO LIKES PARTY’S ‘BENCH’ “Number one, have great candidates who are independent minded, focused on the needs of their communities,” DelBene said. “Those candidates and their voices were critically important in this election.” DelBene said “making sure that they [the candidates] have the resources they need to get information out to voters and to continue to address head on the issues that are most important to their communities, lowering costs, making sure there’s economic opportunity” are also top priorities. SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE CHAIR SPELLS OUT HIS 2026 MISSION With President-elect Trump returning to the White House next month, and the GOP in control of both chambers of Congress, DelBene said Republicans are “going to be accountable for what they do in this country and the impact that has on working families” “We’re going to hold them accountable for their votes and the actions they take, especially if they aren’t supporting working families,” she emphasized. “I think people want to see governance work. So, if Republicans aren’t willing to work in a bipartisan way to get things done, that’s going to be a key part of the 2026 election as well.” The party in power traditionally takes a gut punch in the ensuing congressional election, which means the Democrats will have historical winds at their backs. Looking to the 2026 map, DelBene touted that Democrats will have “opportunities across the country.” And she said it’s the DCCC’s job to “reach voters where they are and make sure they’re getting accurate information about where our candidates stand.” Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report