Biden flip-flop on pardoning son Hunter is wildly unpopular with Americans, poll finds
President Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter after previously vowing he would not give his son a pass has the approval of only 20% of Americans, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found about half of adults disapprove of the pardon, which came after Hunter was convicted on felony gun and tax charges. About 18% of adults neither approved nor disapproved of the decision, while 8% said they didn’t know enough to say one way or the other, according to the poll. While Democrats were more likely to approve of the pardon than Republicans and Independents, the poll showed just 38% of Democrats approve compared to 27% who said they disapproved of the about-face. DEM REP. DEAN PHILLIPS BLASTS BIDEN AFTER HUNTER PARDON, SAYS SOME PEOPLE ‘ARE INDEED ABOVE THE LAW’ About 80% of Republicans and 51% of Independents disapproved of the pardon, according to the poll. Biden issued a sweeping pardon for Hunter on Dec. 1 after he stated on record multiple times that he would not pardon him should a jury convict his son. MOTHER OF HUNTER BIDEN’S DAUGHTER DEFENDS PARDON, SAYS HE’S ‘TARGETED BECAUSE OF WHO HIS DAD IS’ The first son had been convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year. He pleaded guilty to federal tax charges in September, and was convicted of three felony gun charges in June after lying on a mandatory gun purchase form by saying he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. The president argued in a statement that Hunter was “singled out only because he is my son” and that there was an effort to “break Hunter” in order to “break me.” Reporters grilled White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre a day after the pardon, asking whether Biden and his surrogates lied to the American people. Jean-Pierre responded, “One thing the president believes is to always be truthful with the American people,” and repeatedly pointed to Biden’s own statement on the matter. Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
Outgoing Treasury Sec. Yellen ‘sorry that we haven’t made more progress,’ believes deficit must be decreased
Outgoing Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen said that she’s “concerned about fiscal sustainability” and thinks the deficit must be decreased. She made the comments during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit after Greg Ip, chief economic commentator for the outlet, noted that President Joe Biden and Yellen are leaving behind a big budget deficit. “Are you sorry you couldn’t make more progress on that?” he asked. Ip also asked Yellen how much risk the issue presents to the economy. “Well I am concerned about fiscal sustainability. And I am sorry that we haven’t made more progress. I believe that the deficit needs to be brought down, especially now that we’re in an environment of higher interest rates,” Yellen replied. BIDEN SAYS TRUMP INHERITING ‘STRONGEST ECONOMY IN MODERN HISTORY,’ SLAMS TARIFF PLAN AS ‘MAJOR MISTAKE’ Yellen helmed the Treasury Department during President Joe Biden’s White House tenure, but will soon step down as Biden’s term ends next month. In that time, the already-massive national debt continued soaring to new heights, and has now surpassed $36 trillion. “Today, the U.S. economy is in strong shape, with a robust labor market and solid economic growth. Tune in as I join @Greg_Ip at the @WSJ CEO Council Summit to discuss the economic progress we have made under the leadership of @POTUS and @VP,” Yellen declared in a post on X. US NATIONAL DEBT HITS A NEW RECORD: $36 TRILLION Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential contest, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote. The president-elect tapped Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury Department secretary in his upcoming administration. “Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump said in a statement last month. YELLEN TOUTS IRS ENFORCEMENT AS HELPING CLOSE THE BUDGET DEFICIT Yellen previously served as chair of the Federal Reserve Board of governors from early February 2014 through early February 2018.
GOP governor calls on incoming Trump officials to ban junk food in food stamps: ‘Make America Healthy Again’
FIRST ON FOX: Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has sent a letter to the incoming Trump administration heads of the Health and Agriculture departments, calling for the end of junk food as part of the federal food stamp program. “As you know, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a $113 billion federal program designed to support low income families with food assistance,” Sanders wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital to HHS Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary-nominee Brooke Rollins. “Unfortunately, this ‘Nutrition Assistance’ program is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayers’ dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food.” “In fact, soda, unhealthy snacks, candy, and dessert account for nearly 23 percent, or $25 billion, of all SNAP purchases. Given the relationship between junk food and poor health, our federal food assistance policies are fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a wide range of chronic health conditions around America.” Sanders cited her experience as a mother of three as motivation for “improving maternal health outcomes” in children and explained that one third of the people in her state suffer from diabetes or pre-diabetes, and 40% struggle with obesity. TRUMP TAPS RFK JR. TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES “Sadly, these health conditions disproportionately affect lower-income families-the same people who rely on SNAP for food,” Sanders wrote. Sanders cited the work of Stanford University Professor Jayanta Bhattacharya, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to head the National Institutes of Health, which concluded that removing sugary drinks and snacks from the SNAP program would prevent obesity in 141,000 children and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults. TRUMP-RFK JR. ALLIANCE BECOMES BEACON OF HOPE FOR ‘CRUNCHY MOMS’: ‘STANDING UP FOR OUR CHILDREN’ “Health-centered SNAP reform also offers a great opportunity for Americans to support Arkansas farmers by enjoying Arkansas-grown and harvested poultry, eggs, beef, pecans, peanuts, soy, strawberries, sweet potatoes, rice, peaches, oats, and more,” Sanders wrote. “As someone who believes in the Trump administration’s unifying, aspirational vision for the future, the time has come to support American farmers and end taxpayer-funded junk food.” “As Secretaries, I ask that you work collaboratively across the Administration to prohibit the sale of junk food in SNAP and end taxpayer-funded junk food. I also wish to notify you of my intent to pursue a SNAP waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service that would support fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and protein and prohibit using SNAP for junk food.” Sanders closes the letter by saying, “Together, we can, and we will, Make America Healthy Again.” Sanders’ letter is likely to have a sympathetic ear in the form of Kennedy Jr., who has openly expressed his desire for healthier food in the United States. “We have a generation of kids who are swimming around in a toxic soup right now,” Kennedy previously told Fox News in regards to process foods. “We’re letting these industries corrupt our agencies and mass poison them.”
Biden, Democrats back away from bill that would give Trump more federal judges to appoint
President Biden and key Democrats are now opposing a once bipartisan bill that would have authorized 63 new permanent district judgeships now that President-elect Donald Trump would be the one to fill 21 of those slots once he takes office. The Senate in August passed the “Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act” or the “JUDGES Act of 2024,” which staggers the 63 new permanent judgeships the president may choose over the next 10 years. Citing how courts are burdened by heavy caseloads, the bill says the president shall appoint 11 of those permanent judgeships in 2025 and 11 more in 2027. The president would tap another 10 judges in 2029, 11 in 2031, 10 in 2033 and 10 more in 2035, the bill says. Democrats are decrying how the bill did not come to a vote in the House before the election – when control of the next presidency, and therefore which party would choose those next 21 judges, still hung in the balance. The White House released a statement on Tuesday saying Biden would now veto the bill if it came to his desk. “While judicial staffing is important to the rule of law, S. 4199 is unnecessary to the efficient and effective administration of justice,” the White House said. “The bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies. Those efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now.” TRUMP WILL APPOINT ‘DOZENS’ OF JUDGES, EXPERTS SAY, DESPITE DEMS RAMMING THROUGH NOMINEES IN LAME-DUCK SESSION “In addition, neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships,” the White House continued. “Further, the Senate passed this bill in August, but the House refused to take it up until after the election. Hastily adding judges with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress would fail to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the judges are allocated.” During a House Rules Committee hearing on Monday, Rep. Chip Roy, R-N.C., and House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, made the argument that a significant number of districts in states, regardless of their political make-up, have sounded the alarm about staffing shortages worsening the backlogs of cases. However, despite the significant need, they argued, the appointment process has become politicized. “We need the number of judges,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, admitted. “However, President Trump has shown, he bragged that by his three appointments, he overturned Roe v. Wade. He said he was going to do it. He did it. So don’t tell me it’s not political.” “Under this legislation, we all promised to give the next three unknown presidents a certain number of judges,” Nadler said. “Because no one can tell the future we were all at an equal disadvantage, but for this deal to work, the bill had to be passed before Election Day.” The bill text cites how as of March 31, 2023, there were 686,797 pending cases in the district courts across the country, with an average of 491 weighted case filings per judgeship over a 12-month period. Shortly before the White House released its statement signaling Biden would veto the bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., gave a speech noting how the JUDGES Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent in August. TRUMP NAMES ALINA HABBA AS COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT; REVEALS SEVERAL STATE DEPARTMENT PICKS The bipartisan support, McConnell argued, proved “that the right to a speedy trial still enjoys overwhelming popularity.” “I was particularly encouraged by the vocal endorsement of our friend, the Democratic leader, who recognized the measure as, quote, ‘very responsible, bipartisan and prudent bill that would lead to a better functioning judiciary.’ Soon, we expect the House to take up and pass the JUDGES Act with similar overwhelming support,” McConnell said. “And normally, we could rest assured that such popular action would be signed into law without further ado. But maybe not this time.” “Last week, the White House seemed to suggest, through anonymous comment that President Biden has concerns with the bill. I, for one, would be curious to hear the president’s rationale. It’s hard to imagine a justification for blocking the JUDGES Act that doesn’t smack of naked partisanship,” McConnell, who did lead the GOP effort to block former President Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, said. “It’s almost inconceivable that a lame duck president would consider vetoing such an obviously prudential step for any reason other than selfish spite.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Litigants across America deserve their day in court,” he said. “They deserve to know the federal judiciary has the bandwidth to carefully and thoroughly consider their cases. The president, former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is well equipped to appreciate this fact, and I hope he acts accordingly.”
Federal judge who refuses mental evaluation at age 97 fights suspension
Judge Pauline Newman, the oldest federal judge in America at age 97, is continuing to fight against a suspension from the bench by her colleagues who found her mentally not fit enough to serve. Newman is appealing her suspension and has also filed a motion to unseal documents related to an investigation which ultimately led to her being temporarily removed from the bench. Newman, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, was barred from serving in September 2023 for a year by the Federal Circuit’s Judicial Council after the panel said she refused to cooperate with an investigation into “reasonable concerns” surrounding her mental fitness. The suspension was extended for another year by the panel in September. The Committee on Judicial Conduct conducted more than 20 interviews with court staff pointing to her “significant mental deterioration including memory loss, confusion, lack of comprehension, paranoia, anger, hostility and severe agitation,” per court documents. FEDERAL JUDGE, 96, BARRED FROM HEARING CASES AFTER PANEL CLAIMS LACK OF MENTAL FITNESS: ‘BASELESS ALLEGATIONS’ The suspension order also said Newman was slower than her colleagues in issuing opinions and had “amassed a troubling backlog of cases,” which her team has said is not accurate. The Federal Circuit Court on which Newman has served for nearly 40 years deals frequently with patent, intellectual property and copyright cases. Newman is considered a leading intellectual property jurist. The investigation into Newman led her to file a federal lawsuit against her fellow judges. U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, a President Obama appointee, threw out most of Newman’s lawsuit in February, then dismissed the entire case on the pleadings in July, per Law & Crime. In his 15-page ruling, Cooper rejected the legal challenges Newman had raised to the Judicial Conduct & Disability Act and did not focus on the factual allegations against Newman. Newman appealed the ruling Monday and argued via counsel to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that although advanced in age, she “retains her sharp intellect,” and both lay and expert witnesses have described her as an “unusually cognitively intact … woman” whose cognitive and physical abilities make her appear “20 or more years younger than her stated age,” per Law & Crime. She says she is physically and mentally fit enough to continue doing her job, and has obtained independent evaluations from doctors issuing the same opinion, court documents revealed. REAGAN-APPOINTED JUDGE, NOW 95, FACES PROBE INTO WHETHER SHE CAN STILL DO THE JOB In the appellate brief, cited by Law & Crime, Newman’s counsel said she was in sound mental and physical health, and argued that the only reason Newman was late in submitting written opinions is that “she takes extraordinary pains to ensure that her opinions fully reflect her views and remain consistent from case to case and year to year.” Newman is being represented in the lawsuit by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonprofit civil rights group that says it views the “administrative state” as an especially serious threat to constitutional freedoms. The group says that the suspension is illegal and that Newman was removed without due process. “Judge Newman’s indefinite, complete suspension is unprecedented in American judicial history, exceeding sanctions imposed on judges who committed serious misconduct and improprieties,” the group said in a statement. “Suspending an Article III judge from all judicial functions of her office is unconstitutional.” The group said that world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Aaron G. Filler recently directed a cutting-edge Perfusion Computed Tomography (PCT) scan of Newman’s brain and administered a full neurological examination that turned up “no relevant deficits, confirming that she is fully fit to perform the duties of the office.” On Thursday, Greg Dolin, who has represented Newman throughout the case, said via a statement that the entire disciplinary process against Judge Newman was “always factually baseless and legally meritless.” “But the issues are more important than Judge Newman,” said Dolin, a senior litigation counsel for the NCLA. “At stake is the very independence of American judiciary and our system of checks and balances. The D.C. Circuit should put a stop to the Federal Circuit Judicial Council’s unconstitutional and ultra vires actions against Judge Newman.” Newman also filed a motion to unseal documents related to the committee’s investigation and findings that are subject to a Dec. 4 gag order, per Law & Crime. Newman’s legal team said that Newman’s judicial colleagues have refused to abide by rules of judicial conduct and have “threatened Judge Newman and her counsel with unspecified sanctions” for making documents public. Her team also accused the defendants of seeking to “direct the process within their own forum” in an “entirely inappropriate effort” to contradict the law. Former senior U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown, was the oldest person to serve as a federal judge in the history of the United States, actively hearing cases until approximately one month before his death at age 104, according to the U.S. Courts. Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Elizabeth Pritchet contributed to this report.
Biden admin extends $10B Iran sanctions waiver 2 days after Trump election win
The Biden administration has renewed a controversial sanctions waiver that will allow Iran access to some $10 billion in payments from Iraq – an action that came just two days after President-elect Trump emerged victorious on Election Day. Secretary of State Antony Blinken again extended the waiver for humanitarian trade, which permits Iran to access accounts in Iraq and Oman. However, Republican critics have said that allowing the Iranian regime access to these funds frees up money Iran can use to support terrorism in the Middle East or advance its nuclear program. “On November 7th, the department did renew Iraq’s electricity waiver for the 23rd time since 2018. It was done so for an additional 120 days,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed last week. US NAVY DEFEATS HOUTHI ATTACKS IN GULF OF ADEN FOR SECOND TIME IN WEEKS “We remain committed to reducing Iran’s malign influence in the region. Our viewpoint is that a stable, sovereign and secure Iraq is critical to these efforts,” he added, pointing out that this sanctions waiver began in 2018 during the first Trump administration. Congress has passed several sanctions targeting Iran that give the president authority to temporarily suspend, or “waive” the sanctions if the president determines doing so is in the interests of U.S. national security. GOP SENATOR QUESTIONS FBI OVER REPORTED IRANIAN HACK ATTEMPT OF TRUMP PICK KASH PATEL The waiver is set to expire after Trump takes office in January. It is unclear whether the Trump administration would again extend the sanctions relief. The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, argued Tuesday that the sanctions waiver allows Iran to fund proxy terror groups that have attacked U.S. forces in the Middle East. FALL OF SYRIA’S BASHAR ASSAD IS STRATEGIC BLOW TO IRAN AND RUSSIA, EXPERTS SAY “The House voted to eliminate these waiver authorities — twice. But the Biden administration is still waiving the sanctions, putting more money in the Iranian regime’s pockets to fund its terrorist proxies and nuclear weapons program,” McCaul posted on X. “The U.S. should not be subsidizing Iran’s malign activities.”
Outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman issues ‘Dear White People’ thread following Daniel Penny acquittal
On the heels of Marine veteran Daniel Penny’s acquittal, outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman issued a “Dear White People” thread on X which he started by saying he did not know why he felt the need to keep talking to white people. “Dear White People, I don’t know why I feel the need to keep talking to you. I don’t know why part of me still has hope for you and for us. Some of you are too far gone. But maybe enough of you aren’t and will join us in fighting to end white supremacy,” Bowman declared in the first post of his thread. Bowman, who decisively lost the Democratic primary in New York’s 16th Congressional District earlier this year, will soon depart from Congress because his term ends in less than a month. JAMAAL BOWMAN LOSS ENRAGES LIBERALS, LEFT-WING COMMENTATORS: ‘WILLING TO BUY OUR DEMOCRACY’ “I just wanna call out the hypocrisy and evil of it all and just continue to hope. I won’t rely completely on you because I know what’s most important is to work with my community and other like minded allies in the fight for justice. But I guess I’ll just offer this,” Bowman wrote. “I am 48 years old and I have seen countless incidents of brutal police violence and killings in my lifetime,” he declared before going on to mention individuals including Rodney King, George Floyd, and others. “Jordan Neely is the latest. He was sick. He was not a threat. He was subdued. Still not a threat. Daniel Penny choked him for 6 minutes. And killed him. We all watched it on camera, and he was still acquitted,” the lawmaker asserted. The congressman made the posts after Marine veteran Daniel Penny was found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely. DANIEL PENNY SAYS HE COULDN’T LIVE WITH GUILT IF JORDAN NEELY HURT SUBWAY PASSENGERS “I’ve left out probably another hundred instances of this trauma in my life. For comparison, I ask white people, how many times have you seen a white man killed in cold blood on camera on your newsfeed? How many times have you even heard about this?” Bowman asked. “The answer is never. You never have. And whenever you feel discomfort from your whiteness, Black people are harmed or killed. And there is never accountability or justice. This is the evil of white supremacy. It spans across geography and political parties and sickens us all,” he declared. “I wish I didn’t have to live with all of this trauma deep in my bones. I wish I could just be free to be me. I marvel at the beauty and greatness of my people in spite of white supremacy. It’s extraordinary. That is what I will continue to lean on.” NEW YORK GOP LEADER CELEBRATES BOWMAN’S DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFEAT TO PRO-ISRAEL DEMOCRAT: ‘GOOD RIDDANCE, JAMAAL’ Bowman retweeted his “Dear White People” post, the first part of his multi-post thread, and commented, “Seems like I hit a nerve. White people on X going crazy on this one. Must’ve been a lot of truth in what I posted.” “Wow. This has been so triggering for so many of you. Do you realize you’re actually proving my point? If you are that triggered by this, imagine how I must feel when Black people are murdered consistently and there is no Justice. Y’all can’t handle a tweet. Fascinating,” Bowman wrote in another post.
Top DOGE senator demands answers on plan to exhaust CHIPs Act funds before Trump arrives
EXCLUSIVE: A top U.S. senator is expected to demand that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo explain her reported plans to exhaust the remainder of the CHIPs and Science Act’s multibillion-dollar appropriations before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. “Your recent mandate to the Department of Commerce staff to work overtime–including weekends–spending billions of dollars in funding provided by the CHIPs and Science Act as quickly as possible before President-elect Trump takes office in January is extremely concerning,” Senate DOGE Caucus leader Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, writes in a letter that’s to be given to Raimondo on Wednesday. Ernst called on Raimondo, the previous Rhode Island governor, to immediately halt all last-minute spending plans. Raimondo recently told Politico she’d “like to have really almost all of the money obligated” from what is one of President Biden’s major government spending initiatives “by the time we leave.” ‘DOGE’-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER AARON BEAN LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’ The CHIPs Act, sponsored by then-Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, sought to invest in domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research, development and other related endeavors. In her letter, Ernst said microchips and other “essential goods” strengthen the U.S. economy and supply chain. She said that the success of the CHIPs Act hinges on careful planning and execution, which, according to her interpretation, are not reflected in Raimondo’s remarks regarding the upcoming final rounds of spending. “[B]inge buying shopping sprees by bureaucrats shoveling billions out the door before your term expires” are unwise, she said. “This is not a time to let the CHIPs fall where they may,” she said, pointing to reports that nearly $280 billion in COVID-19 response funding was wasted or subject to fraud. RAMASWAMY OUTLINES DOGE’S VISION “Shoveling out heaps of taxpayer dollars as fast as possible, with little to no oversight, is part of the reason the United States government is nearly $36 trillion in debt today,” Ernst wrote. In exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, Ernst quipped that while “Black Friday might have come-and-gone, the Biden administration is on a spending spree, convinced every tax dollar must go.” “We’ve never seen bureaucrats work this hard, and you can be sure they made a list and aren’t checking it twice to find out who is naughty and nice. This is backwards and underscores the need for DOGE to shake up Washington and bring some much-needed Iowa common sense to the capital,” she said. In her letter, Ernst wrote that with $25 billion of $53 billion in available appropriations already earmarked, it is difficult to believe the same level of oversight will be given to the last-minute expenditures as there likely was for the first two years’ worth. In addition to her criticisms and demands that the spending be halted, Ernst asked Raimondo to inform her on several related fronts before the day the new Congress is seated next year. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Ernst is requesting the total number of ongoing negotiations between Commerce and CHIPs Act fund applicants, the duration of planned CHIPs projects and the amount of money spent via the CHIPs Act both prior to and after Trump’s election win. She will also ask Raimondo how her team is coordinating with the Trump transition on this matter. Trump has chosen Cantor-Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to succeed Raimondo on Jan. 20. Fox News Digital reached out to Raimondo on the general subject of her remarks to Politico. A Raimondo representative directed Fox News Digital to a portion of her interview: “You know, there’s a deadline, there’s a clear deadline with a change of administration. So, certainly, a deadline focuses the mind. But this was the plan we were on all along to complete this mission. I don’t worry terribly about any of the CHIPs money being rolled back, as you say. I mean, the Commerce Department is somewhat unique in so far as everything we’ve done and are doing is bipartisan,” Raimondo said.
Florida lawmaker introduces bill to require DACA students to pay out-of-state tuition
Florida state Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican, proposed a bill to require high school graduates with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status to pay out-of-state tuition for college. Fine claims the state cannot afford to subsidize tuition for students who are not in the country legally and says the policy passed in 2014 offering them in-state tuition costs Florida $45 million a year. Under S.B. 90, DACA students would no longer qualify for in-state tuition, which costs an average of $6,143 for the 2024-2025 academic year, according to the State University System of Florida. The University of Florida, for example, is $6,381 for in-state tuition but $28,658 for out-of-state tuition, according to US News & World Report. DESANTIS WELCOMES FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY AS SHE DITCHES DEMOCRATS “While blue-collar Floridians are struggling to make ends meet, it is not fair to require them to pay $45 million a year to subsidize sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here,” Fine said in a statement. “This is a no-brainer way to reduce the size of government and free up resources to help Floridians in need,” he continued. “We must put Floridians first, and I am proud to do my part to rebalance the scales for our citizens.” The bill would not modify the admission policies of Florida’s 12 state universities and 28 state colleges. State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, has expressed strong opposition to the bill, arguing that the proposed change would create significant financial barriers for students who have lived in Florida most of their lives. “These are students who have only known the United States as home,” Eskamani said, according to Fox 13. Eskamani also noted that many DACA students do not qualify for scholarships and are already at a financial disadvantage. The legislation, Fine argues, is about “ensuring people who shouldn’t be in the country aren’t getting discounted educations,” according to Fox 13. TRUMP PRESSING DESANTIS TO NAME LARA TRUMP AS RUBIO’S SENATE SUCCESSOR: SOURCE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fine’s previous attempts to pass similar legislation have come up short, but Democrats worry that increased national focus on immigration issues, such as President-elect Trump promising mass deportations in his second term, could give the bill momentum this time around. “I am concerned this policy may have legs this year,” Eskamani said. Fine, who joined the state Senate last month, is resigning from the legislature, effective March 31, so he can run for the U.S. House seat that is expected to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was nominated by Trump to be his White House national security advisor.
Protesters attempt to stop removal of hundreds of migrants from public-funded housing
Activists and several elected officials gathered outside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office in the Capitol in Albany on Monday to protest the closure of two hotels housing several hundred migrants in the state’s capital region. New York City has a “right to shelter” law, requiring the city to provide shelter for anyone who asks for it and has no other options. Protest organizers said they were advocating for Hochul to intervene to prevent the migrants’ eviction and to provide new state funding to shelter the migrants. Speaking during the protest, Angelica Perez-Delgado, president of the pro-migrant nonprofit Ibero-American Action League, said, “Our need right now is to ensure that people in our hotels are not evicted. We need leadership and money from Gov. Hochul right now to fund at least six months of housing and related services.” BLUE STATE TO SHUTTER OVER DOZEN MIGRANT SHELTERS AS TRUMP’S SET TO IMPLEMENT DEPORTATION AGENDA The migrants in Albany have been staying at a Ramada Plaza and Holiday Inn Express, both of which are being paid for by the New York City government and are set to close this month. The hundreds in Albany are just a fraction of the 58,000 migrants being housed by the city of New York and the more than 223,000 migrants who have received taxpayer aid since 2022. According to a report released this year by the New York City Comptroller’s Office, the city is projected to spend $987 million in two years on contracted hotels for tens of thousands of migrants. In total, the city is projected to spend more than $12 billion in responding to the migrant surge through fiscal 2025. Since the election of President-elect Donald Trump last month, however, the city has moved to scale back its shelter program, closing some 12 shelters by the end of the year. NYC HOME TO NEARLY 60K ‘CRIMINAL’ MIGRANTS: REPORT New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been behind many of the moves to crack down on services for migrants, saying, “We have been wasting taxpayers’ money for far too long.” The city has already shuttered two hotels-turned-migrant shelters: the Hotel Merit in Manhattan and the Quality Inn JFK in Queens. Eight more shelters in Dutchess, Erie, Orange and Westchester counties are also set to close by the end of the year. The protest against the closures was organized by a group called Columbia County Sanctuary Movement and a coalition of local nonprofits. One of the protest leaders, Bryan McCormack, co-executive director of the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, said migrant families “should not be forced to abandon their jobs or uproot their lives to return to New York City shelters.” MAYOR ADAMS CALLS FOR ‘INVOLUNTARY REMOVAL’ OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ‘A DANGER TO OTHERS’ ON THE STREETS Speaking with Fox News Digital after the rally, McCormack said it is important to quickly find the migrants shelter as the harsh New York winter approaches. He also said New York City has used the crisis and migrants as a “political football” and “mismanaged the whole process.” He said the migrants being sheltered in the hotels have “already established gainful employment and a life here” and have “been a major contributor to New York’s communities, cultures and economies.” “As somebody from upstate New York, I see every day how the immigrant community has impacted our lives as New York residents, from the food that’s put on our table to the revitalization of our cities through construction to caring for sick and elderly folks throughout the pandemic and on to now,” he said. “So, we hope that they will be able to continue to contribute to the capital region’s culture and economy and make a full integration into our community.” New York State Assembly member Matt Slater, however, told Fox News Digital that the protesters outside Hochul’s office are “out of touch” with the real feelings of New Yorkers about the migrant crisis. TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP REVEALS ROAD MAP TO REBUILD NEW US IMMIGRATION SYSTEM ‘FROM THE ASHES’ “New Yorkers have had it,” he said. “My constituents are demanding accountability. They want to make sure that we live in a state that respects the rule of law, that understands that illegal immigration is illegal. Hard stop.” According to a Siena poll published this week, a majority of New York voters (54% to 35%) say the state should support rather than oppose the upcoming Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants in the state. “It is a real concern for my constituents in the Hudson Valley,” said Slater. “If people are protesting the fact that we’re finally getting real about illegal immigration, they should open their own doors and welcome these people in. By all means, no one’s stopping them. But to sit here and say that taxpayers should be fronting billions of dollars to continue to incentivize those who are breaking our laws is madness and insanity.” Slater said that though he is hopeful about the Trump administration clamping down on the border, he said New York state and city governments must also do their part. According to Slater, New York, which is a sanctuary state, allocated $4.3 billion of taxpayer money in the latest budget to provide a host of services for migrants, like housing, clothing, food and cellphones. “We cannot continue to allow a state government, a city government, to continue to incentivize illegal immigration by utilizing taxpayer dollars,” he said. “It is wrong, and it must end.”