Big Paychecks, Bigger Problems: How a bloated bureaucracy exposes Congress’ funding failure
FIRST ON FOX: A new report from a government watchdog group begs the question of why — with nearly 800,000 federal bureaucrats drawing six-figure salaries and the average payroll of the federal workforce far outpacing its size — is Washington still unable to fund the basics of government? Open The Books, a project of American Transparency, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan charitable organization, closely tracks government spending and released an expansive report Wednesday ahead of a looming agreement between Republicans and Democrats to reopen the government, showing the swamp has gotten bigger, richer and more secretive since 2020. The report, which analyzed all publicly disclosed federal salaries for fiscal year 2024, found a total of 2.9 million civil service employees with a total payroll of $270 billion, plus an additional 30% for benefits. While the total number of employees rose by 5% since 2020, payroll grew nearly five times as much. DEPT OF ED SPENDING SOARED 749% DESPITE DOWNSIZING, NEW DOGE-INSPIRED INITIATIVE REVEALS The current federal workforce is costing American taxpayers $673,000 per minute, $40.4 million per hour and just under $1 billion per day, according to Open The Books. This includes almost 1,000 workers who are making more than the president’s $400,000 per year salary, 31,452 non-War Department federal employees who made more than every governor of all 50 states and 793,537 people making $100,000 or more. Those making $300,000 or more have seen an 84% increase since 2020, while there has similarly been an 82% increase in those earning $200,000 or more, the report points out. During Open The Book’s investigation, the fiscal watchdog group also found that the names of 383,000 federal workers across 56 different agencies were redacted, amounting to a total of $38.3 billion in pay. According to Open The Books CEO John Hart, “You can’t have accountability without visibility.” “The Trump administration has a historic opportunity to bring much-needed transparency to the administrative state. While federal employees don’t add as much to the debt as safety net programs, defense and overall agency spending, they are an indicator of government’s growth,” Hart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our investigators found far too many redactions and blind spots that DOGE should have already fixed. You can’t have accountability without visibility. Taxpayers need a much clearer picture of the federal workforce than they have today.” U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, has been working with Open The Books to fight for greater transparency. In a letter sent in September to Scott Kupor, the director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Ernst said she had identified “numerous examples” of full-time federal employees earning two salaries while moonlighting for other agencies or government contractors, something typically prohibited under the law. Ernst pointed out that this was being done without the approval or knowledge of these workers’ managers. FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND SPENDS EYE-POPPING AMOUNT OF CAMPAIGN CASH ON LUXURY HOTELS, ‘TOP-TIER’ LIMO SERVICES “From 2021 to 2024, a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) employee held multiple other full-time government contractor jobs, frequently billing taxpayers for more than 24 hours of work in a single day,” Ernst chronicled in her letter. “In addition to HUD, she was paid by AmeriCorps and the National Institutes of Health. Since she teleworked in all three positions, she was able to hide her overlapping jobs and get away with billing taxpayers $225,866 for hours she never worked. She claimed she worked 26 hours on 13 of the 21 workdays in a single month.” Ernst also described a second example of a human resources official at the Peace Corps who was caught falsifying time cards submitted to different agencies, which led to the employee double-billing taxpayers for tens of thousands of dollars. She laid out several other examples in the letter as well. “Until recently, outside of death and taxes, the expanding Washington bureaucracy was one of the few certainties in life,” said Ernst. “I am proud to have partnered with the Trump administration and DOGE to successfully downsize the bloated bureaucracy, but there is much more work to be done to make Washington more efficient.” One can “look no further” than the “failed Schumer shutdown,” Ernst said, pointing out that taxpayers will be on the hook for more than $12 billion in back pay for 750,000 non-essential federal employees who did not work for a month and a half. In October, Ernst introduced the Non-Essential Workers Transparency Act, aimed at providing the public with an exact accounting of how much back pay the government will be required to fork over in the case of a shutdown. The bill would require executive agencies to submit detailed reports to Congress within 30 days of a lapse in appropriations that must include the total number of employees and contractors employed by the agency at the time of the shutdown, the total salaries paid by the agency during the prior fiscal year, the number of furloughed during the lapse and their annual pay, the number of employees not furloughed and the sum of their pay and a requirement that all this information be posted publicly on the agencies’ websites.
House Democrat accuses fellow Dem of violating a ‘free and fair election’ in stunning public move
Stunning intraparty tensions erupted on the House floor when one Democrat accused another of undermining the Constitution. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., unexpectedly rose during House votes on an unrelated issue Wednesday night to demand a vote on condemning Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., for unexpectedly dropping his re-election bid, which effectively made way for his chief of staff to run in his place. As is the custom for forcing a House vote via a “privileged resolution,” Gluesenkamp Perez read her legislation out loud. She accused Garcia of having “filed nominating petitions to be on the Democratic primary ballot in March 2026. On Nov. 5, 2025, on the last day of filing, Representative García’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, submitted her own paperwork to enter the Democratic primary.” DEMOCRATIC REP JESÚS ‘CHUY’ GARCÍA DECLINES TO SEEK RE-ELECTION: REPORTS “Whereas on Nov. 6, after the filing deadline, Representative Garcia confirmed that he would not be seeking another term in 2026 and would be withdrawing his nomination, nominating petitions. Whereas Representative García’s chief of staff was the only Democrat who filed to run in the primary at the direction of Representative Garcia, undermining the process of a free and fair election,” the moderate Democrat continued. “García’s actions are beneath the dignity of his office and incompatible with the spirit of the Constitution.” “Now, therefore, be it resolved that the House of Representatives disapproves of the behavior of the representative from Illinois, Mr. García, under rule nine, a resolution offered from the floor by a member other than the majority leader or the minority leader as a question of the privileges of the House, has immediate precedence.” DEMOCRATS LIKELY TO CHIP AWAY AT RAZOR-THIN HOUSE GOP MAJORITY IN SPECIAL ELECTION SHOWDOWN A “privileged resolution” is a mechanism for forcing a House vote on legislation within two congressional work days. If not withdrawn, that means the full House could vote on condemning García next week. The move, a rare example of intraparty hostilities between Democrats spilling out onto the House floor, appeared to catch other lawmakers by surprise. Fox News Digital did not see García’s immediate reaction. Garcia’s chief of staff, Patty Garcia, who is not related to him, launched her campaign to take over his House seat Wednesday. The congressman had initially filed to run for re-election in recent weeks before dropping out recently, citing his health and a desire to spend time with his grandchildren. Fox News Digital reached out to his office for comment.
Congress sends bill ending longest government shutdown in history to Trump’s desk
A bill to end the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown is headed to President Donald Trump’s desk after more than 42 days. Federal funding legislation aimed at opening the government passed in the House Wednesday evening, ending the weeks-long fiscal standoff that has largely paralyzed Congress since Oct. 1. Republicans on the House floor erupted in cheers when the bill prevailed while the majority of Democrats quietly exited the chamber. The White House said Trump would sign the bill at 9:45 p.m. this evening. Six Democrats voted with all but two Republicans to pass the bill with a 222 to 209 margin. The Democrats who voted in favor of the legislation are Reps. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Adam Gray, D-Calif., Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash, and Don Davis, D-N.C. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ISSUE DESPERATE PLEA AS FAMILIES STRUGGLE WITHOUT PAYCHECKS When the House took its initial vote on federal funding legislation on Sept. 19, just one Democrat — Golden — voted with the GOP. The vast majority of House Democrats opposed the bill, however, including their senior ranks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reiterated to reporters hours before the vote that Democrats were frustrated the bill did not do anything about COVID-19 pandemic-era healthcare subsidies under Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Those enhanced tax credits expire this year. “House Democrats are here on the Capitol steps to reiterate our strong opposition to this spending bill because it fails to address the Republican healthcare crisis, and it fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credit,” Jeffries said. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sounded optimistic in comments to reporters Wednesday morning ahead of the vote, however. “I wanted to come out and say that we believe the long national nightmare will be over tonight,” Johnson said. “It was completely and utterly foolish and pointless in the end.” Some drama threatened to crack House GOP unity earlier in the day, however, as some Republicans in the lower chamber seethed over a last-minute provision added to the bill that allows senators whose communications were tapped during former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe to sue the federal government for $500,000 each. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Austin Scott, R-Ga., and Morgan Griffith, W.Va., all shared concerns with the measure but said they would not extend the government shutdown over it. THE 5 LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS IN HISTORY: WHAT HAPPENED, HOW THEY ENDED Johnson appeared to placate their and others’ concerns, at least for now, with a promise to vote next week on separate legislation repealing that provision. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., told reporters he would vote against the bill over its inclusion, however. “I’m not voting to send Lindsey Graham half a million dollars,” he told reporters. He and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against the final bill, but their opposition was not enough to sink legislation. “What Republicans learned is if their opening offer is Joe Biden’s budget, they can survive the shutdown. That’s the vote,” Massie told reporters afterwards. Meanwhile, the shutdown’s effects on the country have grown more severe by the day. Many of the thousands of air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents who had to work without pay were forced to take second jobs, causing nationwide flight delays and cancellations amid staffing shortages at the country’s busiest airports. Millions of Americans who rely on federal benefits were also left in limbo as funding for critical government programs ran close to drying out. At the heart of the issue was Democratic leaders’ refusal to back any funding bill that did not also extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies. Democrats argued it was their best hope of preventing healthcare price hikes for Americans across the U.S. Republicans agreed to hold conversations on reforming what they saw as a broken healthcare system, but they refused to pair any partisan priority with federal funding. In the end, a compromise led by the Senate — which saw eight Democrats in the upper chamber join colleagues to pass the bill in a 60 to 40 vote — included a side deal guaranteeing the left a vote on extending the enhanced subsidies sometime in December. Johnson has made no such promise in the House, however. And the lack of a guarantee on extending those subsidies has angered progressives and Democratic leaders. “What were Republicans willing to give in the end, other more than a handshake deal to take a future vote on extending the healthcare subsidies?” Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., said Wednesday. “We all know that a future vote is the equivalent of asking two wolves and a chicken to vote on what’s for dinner. It is dead on arrival.” Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, criticized Democrats for prolonging the shutdown for little payoff. “They literally got absolutely nothing except for a total and complete surrender, that accomplished nothing more than hurting American families,” he said. The bill kicks the current federal funding fight to Jan. 30, by which point House GOP leaders said they were confident they’ll finish work on a longer-term deal for fiscal year 2026. It also includes full-year federal spending for the Department of Agriculture, the legislative branch, and the Department of Veterans Affairs — three of 12 annual appropriations bills that Congress is tasked with passing annually. “There are nine remaining bills, and we’d like to get all of those done in the next few weeks. And, so, [House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla.] and his appropriators will be working overtime,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital. Asked if he thought they’d get it done by that date, Cole said, “I think we can.”
White House hits back after JFK’s grandson calls RFK Jr. a ‘rabid dog’
The White House dismissed comments from Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of John F. Kennedy, about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., labeling his cousin a “rabid dog.” Schlossberg, the son of diplomat Caroline Kennedy, launched a bid Wednesday to run for a U.S. House of Representatives seat in New York in the 2026 election. If his campaign succeeds, he would replace Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler to represent New York’s 12th Congressional District. “I don’t even think such ridiculous comments are worth responding to,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. “Obviously, those things are not true. And Secretary Kennedy is doing a phenomenal job bringing transparency and the gold standard of silent science back to our health care system.” JFK’S GRANDSON SAYS THERE IS ‘NOTHING HEROIC’ ABOUT TRUMP’S DECLASSIFICATION ORDER Schlossberg appeared on MSNBC Wednesday, where he compared Kennedy to a dog, adding Trump is “obsessed” with the Kennedy family and that’s why Kennedy is a Cabinet member with the Trump administration. “He put a collar on my cousin, RFK Jr., and has him there barking, spreading lies and spreading misinformation,” Schlossberg said. BILL MAHER SAYS ‘NUTTY’ RFK JR. HAS ‘GOT TO GO’ FOLLOWING CDC FIRINGS, SENATE HEARING Likewise, Schlossberg took aim at his cousin directly, specifically pointing to Kennedy’s decision to fire advisors on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine panel in June and the rise in measles cases in areas like West Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services announced that the outbreak ended in August. “RFK Jr. is a dangerous person who is making life-and-death decisions as secretary of Health and Human Services,” Schlossberg said. “I mean, when he’s not making infomercials for Steak ‘n Shake and Coca-Cola, he’s spreading misinformation and lies that are leading to deaths around the country.” The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Schlossberg, 32, graduated from Harvard Law School in 2022 and joined Vogue as a political correspondent in 2024.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Major Pentagon contractor executive caught in child sex sting operation
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Data shows flight delays and cancellations rising even as shutdown winds down –Duckworth staffer accused of posing as lawyer in attempt to free illegal immigrant from ICE custody -White House slams Dems’ ‘bad-faith’ Epstein doc release as demand for files intensifies The founder and executive chairman of Govini, a software firm with deep Pentagon ties, has been arrested and charged with soliciting sexual contact with a preteen girl, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office. Eric Gillespie, 57, of Pittsburgh, allegedly tried to arrange a meeting with a young girl through an online chat platform often used by sex offenders, authorities said. An undercover agent posing as an adult intercepted Gillespie’s messages. “Our Child Predator Section proactively uncovered this defendant who, under an online pseudonym, was lurking online to access children,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “During the investigation, Gillespie alluded to methods he accessed children, and other evidence was found regarding contact with children,” the office said in a statement…READ MORE. POWER GRAB PERIL: Trump’s signature tariffs hang on key question about Congress’ power before Supreme Court ODDS SHRINK: Prediction markets put Trump tariff win at 24% following Supreme Court oral arguments ENERGY UNLEASHED: Trump admin unleashes Arctic power shepherding 1,000 miles of pipeline, LNG generation in Alaska HISTORIC ENGAGEMENT: China tightens fentanyl precursor controls after FBI director visit, Patel says SHORTS SCANDAL: Michelle Obama reveals moment that left her infuriated on Air Force One TEHRAN STRIKES BACK: Iran claims missile power now ‘far surpasses’ pre-war levels after Israeli bombardment POWER TO PATIENTS: Rick Scott calls Democrats ‘heartless’ as he pitches new Obamacare fix ‘DEEPLY CONCERNED’: Potential Pelosi successor pressed on transgender people in women’s spaces ’11TH HOUR’ ADDITION: House Republicans balk at Senate provision letting lawmakers sue over ‘Arctic Frost’ phone records ‘DISADVANTAGE’: James Carville says Democrats lacked ‘end-game’ plan for shutdown, urges party to move on WINDY CITY SHOWDOWN: DHS blasts Chicago mayor for comparing raid leader to segregationists, accusing him of ‘terror’ VOTE DEADLINE FIGHT: Ballots arriving after Election Day to face Supreme Court test ENERGY SHOCK: Stefanik thrashes Hochul on energy as New Yorkers brace for $800/year hike, as gov blames tariffs UPHILL BATTLE: Michigan GOP leader signals Senate bid, sets up clash with Trump-endorsed Mike Rogers ‘AMAZING’: Cowboys owner’s daughter makes surprising admission about Bad Bunny amid Super Bowl outrage ‘WOKE MIND VIRUS’: Red-state university ripped for offering entry-level job to foreign workers, not grads: ‘Woke mind virus’ GOVERNOR RESPONDS: Newsom breaks silence on violent Berkeley protest of TPUSA at California university Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Trump’s backing of H-1B visa program exposes cracks within MAGA movement
President Donald Trump drew criticism from those within his “Make America Great Again” base after he reinvigorated debate on one of his party’s most controversial issues: H-1B visas. The visas allow U.S. companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers for up to six years. The issue resurfaced after Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in an interview that aired Tuesday that bringing foreign workers to the U.S. on H-1B visas is important to “bring in talent” to the U.S. While Ingraham argued that the U.S. has talent at home, Trump said that wasn’t the case. ARE AMERICAN WORKERS BEING REPLACED? INSIDE THE H-1B VISA CONTROVERSY “No, you don’t. No, you don’t. You don’t have, you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn!” Trump said. “You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say I’m gonna put you into a factory where we’re gonna make missiles.” Trump also defended past remarks endorsing allowing up to 600,000 Chinese students to come to the U.S. to Ingraham, claiming that they must study in the U.S. so U.S. colleges don’t “go out of business.” While proponents of the program argue that the program is key to U.S. competitiveness, critics argue that the visa holders are taking away jobs from Americans. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., promptly spoke out against the statements, claiming that she is “America First and America Only.” “I believe in the American people. I am one of you.I believe you are good, talented, creative, intelligent, hardworking, and want to achieve. I am solidly against you being replaced by foreign labor, like with H1Bs,” Greene said. “I am solidly against allowing foreign students into our colleges and universities, like 600,000 Chinese students, just to financially prop them up. If they fail, they fail. The system in place isn’t helping our young people anyway.” Other Republicans weighed in and said the policy could play out poorly for the GOP in the 2026 midterms. TRUMP ADMIN REVEALS OVER 100 INVESTIGATIONS INTO H-1B ABUSES AS IT PLEDGES ‘EVERY RESOURCE’ TO PROTECT US JOBS “This is insane—we’re going to lose the mid-terms so badly,” Anthony Sabatini, a Republican county commissioner in Florida, said in a Tuesday post on X. “We’ve never seen an administration crash & burn in its first year so badly—for no reason other than to appease donors and special interests.” Meanwhile, the White House pointed to the Trump administration’s announcement in September that would require a $100,000 annual fee for companies seeking to obtain an H-1B visa. Likewise, the White House said that the Department of Labor launched Project Firewall in September in an attempt to ensure employers don’t abuse the H-1B visa process. “The Trump administration is protecting American workers by restoring accountability in the H1-B process, ensuring that it is used to bring in only the highest-skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations and not low wage workers that will displace Americans,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a Wednesday statement to Fox News Digital. The issue historically has been controversial within Trump’s base, particularly after Trump himself came out and backed H-1B visas, saying it was a “great program” and that he’s a “believer in H-1B” in an interview with the New York Post in December 2024. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who originally is from South Africa and used an H-1B visa to remain in the U.S., also said in December he would “go to war” on the issue. “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,” Musk said in a December 2024 post on X. The comments and Trump’s support ignited backlash within the president’s own party. Original MAGA supporters like Steve Bannon, who previously served as Trump’s White House chief strategist, blasted the program in response and labeled it a “scam” in his podcast in December 2024. DOJ CALLS FOR TIPS ON EMPLOYERS FAVORING FOREIGN WORKERS IN HIRING PRACTICES He also promised to undermine Musk’s influence at the White House as Musk geared up to oversee the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a separate interview. “This thing of the H-1B visas, it’s about the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords, they use it to their advantage, the people are furious,” Bannon told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in January. In the same interview, Bannon vowed to “run out” Musk from the White House and would make “it my personal thing to take this guy down.” Members of the left also remain critical of the H-1B program. For example, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said that the program is used to replace U.S. workers and pay foreigners for less. “The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad,” Sanders said in a post on X in January. “The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make.” Fox News’ Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Democrat’s swearing-in tips scales for House battle to unseal Epstein documents
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was sworn into office on Wednesday, unlocking the needed support to force the House of Representatives into a vote over the Epstein files. Now having received the oath of office, Grijalva is free to become the 218th — and final signatory — to advance a discharge petition on a bill to instruct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its documentation on Jeffrey Epstein. If successful, the petition would bring the bill to the floor over the objection of the chamber’s leadership. EPSTEIN VICTIMS SET TO BREAK SILENCE AMID BIPARTISAN PUSH TO RELEASE FILES: ‘PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE OUTRAGED’ Grijalva, who now fills the seat formerly held by her father, the late Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said signing the petition would be her first act as a member of Congress. “I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files. It’s past time for Congress to restore its role as the check and balance on this administration and fight for we, the American people,” Grijalva said. Epstein, a former businessman and financier, died in 2019 while jailed on federal sex-trafficking charges involving minors. During his career, he accrued an impressive social circle that included rich and powerful figures like former President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump and the United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew. His sudden death, ruled a suicide by investigators, left unanswered questions about whether he had used his expansive social circle to facilitate illegal sexual encounters for some of his contacts. SPEAKER JOHNSON HIT WITH DEMOCRAT-LED LAWSUIT OVER DELAYED SWEARING-IN AMID HOUSE SHUTDOWN CHAOS After disappointing announcements from the DOJ that the investigation met a dead end earlier this year, lawmakers led by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., demanded Congress vote to force the DOJ to release its documentation on the matter. Those demands went unheeded by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who said the DOJ was already conducting its own internal evaluation and complying with congressional requests for information. For Massie and three other Republicans, that wasn’t good enough. Massie joined Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., — and all House Democrats — in signing the petition, falling just one signatory short of putting it over the needed 218 threshold. EPSTEIN VICTIMS PRESS LAWMAKERS TO SUPPORT BILL TO RELEASE HIDDEN FILES, SAY AMERICANS WILL BE ‘APPALLED’ Two of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged victims joined lawmakers in the House chamber for Grijalva’s swearing in. “Our democracy only works when everyone has a voice. This includes the millions of people across the country who have experienced violence and exploitation — including Liz Stein and Jessica Michaels, both survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse. They are here in the gallery here this evening,” Grijalva said. Johnson has said he supports the measure in principle but believes aspects of it are poorly written or may provide insufficient protections for Epstein’s potential victims. With Grijalva’s support, Democrat leadership believes the petition will come to the floor sometime in December. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, noted that Johnson might try to derail its timeline. “It should ripen in early December. That doesn’t mean that the speaker of the House [won’t] try to do some shenanigans, but if all goes the way we want it to go, early December,” McGovern said.
Tlaib-backed Senate candidate in the hot seat after deleting ‘defund the police’ social media posts
A Michigan Senate candidate backed by “Squad” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and other far-left politicians quietly deleted old social media posts he made online espousing support for the “defund the police” movement between 2020 and 2021. This anti-law enforcement rhetoric became a flashpoint for Democrats during the summer of 2020 and during the Biden years. The anti-police rhetoric was also a major issue during the New York City mayoral race as Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani faced immense backlash for his past anti-police rhetoric, compelling the candidate to go on Fox News at one point to apologize for what he once said. “Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty,” El-Sayed wrote in a June 2020 post on X, then-Twitter, just several weeks after the death of George Floyd. “Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about.” “The police have become standing armies we deploy against our own people,” El-Sayed said in a separate post on social media from around the same time. REPUBLICANS TARGET 2 KEY DEMOCRATIC RACES WITH MAMDANI CONNECTION STRATEGY El-Sayed’s past social media posts, which were first reported by CNN, include about a dozen posts that espoused support for the “defund the police” movement. “When we make a choice to invest in policing in a majority black community, rather than to invest in public schools, that choice is influenced by systemic racism,” El-Sayed said during an interview for Michigan Online that was posted to YouTube around the same time as his social media posts that have now been deleted. “When we talk about the question of quote-unquote defunding the police,” he continued, “it’s a question of asking how do we right-size government away from the racist ideologies that have led us to investing in war material for policing rather than public health for children.” El-Sayed, a former executive director of Detroit’s health department, is running in a crowded primary to win Michigan’s Senate seat against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and many others. On the Republican side, former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., is considered the frontrunner after he narrowly lost a bid for the seat in 2024. “I’m proud to endorse Abdul El-Sayed to be our next Senator,” Tlaib said earlier this month during a town hall tour featuring El-Sayed. “As a health equity champion and Medicare for All advocate, Abdul leads with a grassroots vision for change centered on inclusion and dignity for Michigan families. He has long been a fighter — we were arrested together in 2018 while protesting for a $15 minimum wage — and he is fighting now to kick money out of politics, tackle our affordability crisis, and build a stronger, healthier Michigan.” DEMOCRATS’ ‘UNITY’ DINNER DRAWS BACKLASH OVER ANTI-TRUMP ‘86 47’ SIGN LINKING MAGA TO NAZIS In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the CNN probe, a campaign spokesperson for El-Sayed shared a statement about how the former health director has worked to support law enforcement. The statement also touted El-Sayed’s endorsements from individuals in the law enforcement community. “On his third week as Wayne County’s Health Officer, Dr. El-Sayed declared a public health emergency at the Juvenile Detention Facility, working alongside law enforcement to fully rebuild it from the studs, raising officers’ wages by 35% and funding a safer, more humane system,” the statement said. “He learned and grew through the process—and has earned endorsements from a sitting Sheriff, a former Sheriff, and a Detroit Police Commissioner.” The campaign statement also slammed President Donald Trump’s “militarizing” of agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and argued that “rather than defund Police” El-Sayed is “challenging” the government to reconsider the way it allocates its money. “Rather than defund Police, Dr. El-Sayed is challenging government choices that defund food, healthcare, and social services while militarizing agencies like ICE in sharp contrast to Donald Trump’s presidency because real safety comes from investing in people—not in tanks and tear gas,” the campaign statement concluded. In addition to Tlaib, self-proclaimed democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and far-left Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison endorsed his campaign. El-Sayed, who has been compared to Mamdani, has embraced the comparison between him and New York City’s mayor-elect, a self-described socialist with connections to the broader socialist movement. “Like Zohran, I’m running a people-powered campaign because I know we deserve better,” El-Sayed reportedly said in a campaign advertisement that now appears to be deleted, according to the Washington Examiner. But it isn’t just their policies that are similar; so are their opinions about the police. Prior to Mamdani’s election victory last week, he was compelled to go on Fox News and apologize for his past anti-police comments calling the New York Police Department (NYPD) “racist, anti‑queer & a major threat to public safety.” Mamdani’s past comments, which also included support for the “defund the police” movement, came around the same time as El-Sayed’s social media posts that followed the death of George Floyd. Mamdani told Fox News Digital at the time that he had apologized to rank-and-file NYPD officers behind closed doors and when pressed on whether he would offer a broad, public apology, Mamdani said, “Absolutely.” FROM COMBAT BOOTS TO THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: ARMY VETERAN MARCHES INTO MICHIGAN CONGRESSIONAL RACE “I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers, and I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day,” Mamdani added. But, despite the apology, Mamdani’s negative comments about the police may have already spurred damage. In October, the same month as his Fox News apology and just weeks before Mamdani’s widely expected victory, the NYPD reportedly saw a 35% hike in cops of all ranks leaving the department, according to the New York Post’s analysis of Police Pension Fund data. “Morale is down because everyone is concerned about
Fetterman’s new book details explosive feud with Gov Josh Shapiro over parole board dispute
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., called Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapio a “f—— a——” during a hot mic moment amid a heated Zoom hearing, his new memoir reveals. Fetterman, who was the state’s lieutenant governor at the time, recalled delivering the outburst after Shapiro delivered a “very long-winded and unnecessary” speech justifying his decision to vote against commuting the sentences of Lee and Dennis Horton, the New York Post reported. The Lee brothers had been convicted of second-degree murder in a fatal 1993 robbery and shooting. FETTERMAN FIRES BACK AT NEWSOM AFTER SHUTDOWN CRITICISM, REFUSES TO ‘PLAY CHICKEN’ WITH THE LIVES OF AMERICANS The hearing was part of the Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons meeting when Shapiro expressed concerns that transcripts from the siblings’ original trial were missing, Fetterman wrote in the memoir, titled: “Unfettered.” In response, Fetterman became angry. At one point during a private meeting, he threatened to run for governor in 2022 and pull Shapiro into a primary. “I told him there were two tracks — that one and the one in which he ran for governor and I ran for the Senate (which was the one I preferred),” Fetterman wrote in his new book, “Unfettered,” as excerpted by The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I had no interest in friction, only in what I felt was justice,” he added. The book reportedly details how Shapiro’s people reached out to Fetterman. “He wanted me to retract things I had said and to deny the rumors about the private meeting taking place,” Fetterman wrote. “That wasn’t going to happen.” In December 2020, the board voted to commute the Hortons’ sentences. Fetterman eventually invited Dennis Horton to be his guest at the 2023 State of the Union address. FETTERMAN SAYS HE KNOWS AND LOVES TRUMP VOTERS: ‘I’M THE ONLY DEMOCRAT IN MY FAMILY’ However, his relationship with Shapiro never recovered. “I sincerely wish him the best,” Fetterman wrote of the governor. “He is a credit to the state and may one day be a credit to the country. I remember fondly the days when we were nobodies trying to climb the ladder. Even if we no longer speak.” The roots of the feud on the parole board stemmed from who was granted parole or a pardon. “I truly believed with all my heart that nobody I ever supported for a pardon was a danger to society. I was willing to stake my political career on it,” Fetterman wrote. “[Shapiro] was far more cautious, and at a certain point, I began to think that what was influencing him was not mere caution but political ambition.” At one meeting, Shapiro voted against parole in 12 of 15 cases, causing Fetterman to break his reading glasses in frustration, the senator recalled. “I believe what drove him to delay and deny applications was not the facts of a given case as much as a fear that someone whose sentence he’d commuted would go on to commit terrible violence on the outside,” Fetterman wrote. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has reached out to Shapiro’s office for comment. On Capitol Hill, Fetterman has clashed with his fellow Democrats because of his stance on working with the Trump administration and his support for Israel.
Fetterman torches Democratic Party in new book: ‘Elitist,’ ‘lost touch’ with working class
Botched policies, ignoring reality and turning their backs on the voters that built the party are the key ingredients that Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., believed helped Democrats lose big last year. In his memoir “Unfettered,” Fetterman unloaded on the Democratic Party and his colleagues’ missteps that he argued led to President Donald Trump’s victory over former Vice President Kamala Harris and a sea change in Washington, D.C. Fetterman argued that the Democratic Party had lost touch with the working class, a key bloc of voters that at one point made up the backbone of the party. DEMOCRATS, LEFT EMPTY-HANDED IN SHUTDOWN, TURN FURY ON SCHUMER In particular, it was the attacks on men, be it through speeches or legislation, that helped turn the Democratic Party into an elitist organization too focused on “celebrity endorsements,” he said. In turn, those who voted for Trump perceived “Democrats as soft and gooey, with a platform built on ideals that weren’t based in the reality of the average person.” “We became the party of the elites, one that had lost touch with its base,” he wrote. “Also, the continued speech and policies against men have not been without consequences. “If men are forced to choose between picking their party or keeping their balls, most men are going to choose their balls.” Fetterman’s book, released Tuesday, comes at a particular inflection point for Democrats. The party had spent much of the year searching for a binding message to both rebuild their brand with voters and build unity among their ranks in Congress. SENATE ENDS 41-DAY GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN STALEMATE, SENDS BIPARTISAN DEAL TO HOUSE That came with the government shutdown, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the majority of the caucus moved in lockstep with demands that the government wouldn’t reopen until expiring Obamacare subsidies were dealt with. Schumer’s failure to prevent a cohort of Senate Democrats, including Fetterman, from crossing the aisle to join Republicans has earned him heat from progressives in the House and outside the walls of Congress. Despite often straying from Schumer’s position, particularly throughout the shutdown, Fetterman wrote sparingly of the top Senate Democrat. Instead, he is briefly mentioned when reflecting on Schumer’s 2023 decision to change the dress code on the Senate floor to accommodate Fetterman, whose standard dress is a baggy hoodie and basketball shorts. But Schumer caved on that initiative, too, in early 2024. MIKE JOHNSON EYES WEDNESDAY VOTE WITH END OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IN SIGHT “Schumer was forced to reverse himself and enforce a dress code aimed at me,” Fetterman wrote. One policy area in particular that Fetterman felt Democrats had failed was immigration. He reiterated that while he was pro-immigration, Democrats’ unwillingness to tackle the growing crisis at the southern border under former President Joe Biden was something he couldn’t get behind. He wrote that Democrats’ assertion that “an open border is a compassionate policy” wasn’t based in reality. “It is chaos, both for those immigrants and for the citizens impacted by the overwhelming number of people coming in who need assistance,” he wrote. And, further, that position likely played a large factor in Trump and the GOP’s across-the-board victories in 2024, Fetterman argued. “Democrats were swearing up and down that the border was secure and telling its voters to not believe their own eyes,” he wrote. “I suspect this may have been the deciding factor in the 2024 election. You can’t tell people to not believe their own eyes and expect to win elections.”