Republicans relentlessly use Mamdani as socialist cudgel to bash vulnerable Democrats
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s stunning Democratic Party primary victory in the nation’s most populous city proved to be a gift for Republicans aiming to paint Democrats as extreme radicals. Republicans have been relentless in trying to anchor Mamdani to Democrats across the country who are running in competitive races in elections this year and in next year’s midterms. One of the latest examples comes from New Hampshire, in the high-profile 2026 race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Republican candidate and former Sen. Scott Brown went up this week with a digital ad that edits a picture of Rep. Chris Pappas, the Democratic candidate in the race, alongside photos of Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star who backed Mamdani. TRUMP ARGUES NYC FACES DIRE CONSEQUENCES IF ‘COMMUNIST’ MAMDANI BECOMES MAYOR The caption on the ad reads “Comrade Chris.” Responding, the Pappas campaign told Fox News that “Scott Brown is so desperate to make this election about anything other than the issues because he knows he embraces an agenda of higher costs and health care cuts that’s deeply unpopular in New Hampshire.” And Pappas campaign communications adviser Collin Gately added that “Chris is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress, and has a demonstrated record of working across the aisle to deliver results for New Hampshire.” THE PLOT TO STOP MAMDANI: DEMOCRATS SCRAMBLE TO PREVENT FAR-LEFT TAKEOVER IN NYC The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was one of the first out of the gate to capitalize on Mamdani’s leftward lurch, firing off an email release minutes after his victory that claimed, “the new face of the Democrat Party just dropped, and it’s straight out of a socialist nightmare.” Aiming to tie House Democrats to Mamdani, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella argued that “every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him.” The National Republican Senatorial Campaign (NRSC) also quickly got into the game, tying Pappas and Abdul El-Sayed – one of the contenders for the Democratic Senate nomination in battleground Michigan – to Mamdani. No surprise – the Republican attacks have even come from President Donald Trump, who, since Mamdani’s victory two weeks ago, has repeatedly claimed that the 33-year-old Ugandan-born state assemblyman from the New York City borough of Queens is a “communist.” Mamdani, who convincingly topped former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic mayoral nomination and take a big step towards becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor, is giving Republicans plenty of ammunition. He’s proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5, and setting up government-run grocery stores. RESURFACED MAMDANI PHOTO SPARKS SOCIAL MEDIA FIRESTORM Also fueling the Republican attacks are recent news items that have gone viral. They include a 2020 photo Mamdani posted online that shows him flipping off a statue of Christopher Columbus, stories about comments Mamdani made last December, when he said as mayor he would arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his recent comments in a cable news interview that “I have many critiques of capitalism.” “The Democratic Party’s trying to convince people that the tail is not wagging the dog, and they don’t answer to the more extreme elements of their party,” veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed told Fox News. “Now, that entire effort is undercut by a socialist winning handily in a bellwether election to determine who’s going to run America’s largest city.” “It’s a messaging nightmare that’s going to unfold in real time from now until the midterms,” said Reed, who is a top political adviser to Brown. MAMDANI LANDS ENDORSEMENT OF TOP CUOMO BACKER Veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance told Fox News that “the primary challenge for Democrats regarding Mamdani’s candidacy is not his policy approach. The challenge is his party identification as a democratic socialist.” “If there’s any doubt about the negative implications of adding the word socialist to Mamdani’s party affiliation, one need only peruse the national coverage whose focus has been on his party and the absence of party leadership to rush to his defense or offer endorsements,” Lesperance, the president of New England College, said. But Democrats question the effectiveness of the GOP push. They argue that there’s a world of difference between heavily blue New York City, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a roughly six-to-one margin, and some key battleground states and swing districts across the country. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee told reporters the day after Mamdani’s victory that “I love New York, but it’s a very liberal place and I don’t know that you can necessarily apply that to the rest of the country.” Gately, the Pappas campaign communications adviser, pointed to the ad from the Brown campaign and said that “Granite Staters trust Chris and will see through these attacks.” And veteran Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo cautioned, “I wouldn’t read too much into this.” Caiazzo, a veteran of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, argued that “Republicans are making too much out of this.”
State Department to begin mass layoffs of about 1,800 employees in coming days
The State Department informed U.S.-based employees on Thursday that it would soon begin laying off nearly 2,000 workers after the recent Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to move forward with mass job cuts as part of its efforts to downsize the federal workforce. The agency’s reorganization plan was first unveiled in April by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to eliminate functions and offices the department considered to be redundant. In February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing Rubio to revamp the foreign service to ensure that the president’s foreign policy is “faithfully” implemented. Employees affected by the agency’s “reduction in force” would be notified soon, Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources Michael Rigas told employees in an email on Thursday. ‘IT WILL HAPPEN QUICKLY’: STATE DEPT POISED TO ACT AFTER SUPREME COURT GREEN-LIGHTS AGENCY LAYOFFS “First and foremost, we want to thank them for their dedication and service to the United States,” Rigas said in the email. “Every effort has been made to support our colleagues who are departing, including those who opted into the Deferred Resignation Programs … On behalf of Department leadership, we extend our gratitude for your hard work and commitment to executing this reorganization and for your ongoing dedication to advancing U.S. national interests across the world,” he added. The department did not specify on Thursday how many people would be fired, but in its plans to Congress sent in May, it had proposed laying off about 1,800 employees of the 18,000 estimated domestic workforce. Another 1,575 were estimated to have taken deferred resignations. SOTOMAYOR BREAKS WITH JACKSON IN SUPREME COURT DECISION OVER TRUMP CUTS TO FEDERAL WORKFORCE The plans to Congress did not state how many of these workers would be from the civil service and how many from the foreign service, but it did say that more than 300 of the department’s 734 bureaus and offices would be streamlined, merged or eliminated. Once affected staff have been notified, the department “will enter the final stage of its reorganization and focus its attention on delivering results-driven diplomacy,” Rigas said in the email to colleagues. The expectation is for the terminations to start as soon as Friday. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters earlier on Thursday that the only reason there had been a delay in implementing force reductions is because the courts have stepped in, as she said the mass layoffs would be happening quickly. “There has been a delay – not to our interests, but because of the courts,” Bruce noted. “It’s been difficult when you know you need to get something done for the benefit of everyone.” “When something is too large to operate, too bureaucratic, to actually function, and to deliver projects, or action, it has to change,” she said. Reuters contributed to this report.
White House again defends success of B-2 raid on Iran amid new report some uranium survived
The White House maintains that last month’s Operation Midnight Hammer “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites despite a new report from The New York Times suggesting Israeli officials have concluded some enriched uranium survived the targeted U.S. attack. According to the Times, a portion of the stockpile of near-bomb-grade enriched uranium located underground survived bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers June 21, 2025, which may still be accessible to Iranian nuclear engineers. When asked about the report, Anna Kelly, a White House deputy press secretary, told Fox News, “As President Trump has said many times, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities. The entire world is safer thanks to his decisive leadership.” The White House’s messaging reiterates what President Donald Trump has said since the night of the attacks, which is that Iran’s nuclear sites were “totally obliterated.” OPERATION MIDNIGHT HAMMER: HISTORIC B-2 BOMBER MISSION FLEW FROM MISSOURI TO STRIKE IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES Operation Midnight Hammer commenced when B-2 stealth bombers took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri at 12:01 a.m. June 21. Some of the bombers flew west and into the Pacific as a decoy, while the main strike force of seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, flew silently eastward with minimal communication as they undertook the 18-hour flight to the target area. The flight required the aircraft to refuel multiple times without landing, and when overland, the strike group linked up with escort and support aircraft from Central Command. At about 5 p.m. EST, a U.S. submarine launched over two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets as the main strike force entered Iranian airspace. MIDNIGHT HAMMER IS ‘MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’ BUT THERE’S ONE BIG RED FLAG Additional tactics were used to deceive Iranian forces as the B-2 strike group approached Fordow and Natanz. A total of 14 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) weapons, commonly known as bunker-busters, were dropped on Fordow and Natanz, while Tomahawk missiles launched by U.S. submarines were last to strike, hitting targets at Isfahan. After the mission, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. military carried out “massive precision strikes on three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime: Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.” Trump also addressed the nation on television, touting the success of Operation Midnight Hammer. “Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said. “And Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.” PENTAGON FLEXES US MILITARY’S DECOYS AND STRATEGIC DECEPTION THAT TOOK IRAN AND WORLD BY SURPRISE Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have railed against the “fake news” media ever since the attacks for casting doubt that the U.S. strikes on Iran destroyed the country’s nuclear program. While at a NATO summit last month, Hegseth slammed CNN and The New York Times, arguing they work “to find a way to spin” the news. “There’s a reason the president calls out fake news for what it is,” Hegseth said. “These pilots, these refuelers, these fighters, these air defenders. The skill and the courage it took to go into enemy territory flying 36 hours on behalf of the American people and the world to take out a nuclear program is beyond what anyone in this audience can fathom.” “And then the instinct, the instinct of CNN, the instinct of the New York Times, is to try to find a way to spin it for their own political reasons, to try to hurt President Trump or our country,” he added. “They don’t care what the troops think. They don’t care what the world thinks. They want to spin it to try to make him look bad based on a leak. “Of course, we’ve all seen plenty of leakers. And what [do] leakers do? They have agendas. And what do they do? Do they share the whole information or just the part that they want to introduce?” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
‘Big tent party’: DNC chair shrugs off Mamdani’s refusal to condemn ‘globalize the intifada’ slogan
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), dismissed concerns over NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s unwillingness to explicitly condemn the slogan “globalize the intifada,” adding in an interview with PBS that the key to developing a winning coalition is through welcoming people with whom you disagree. After Mamdani’s monumental upset in the Democratic primary election for New York City mayor over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, he garnered backlash for refusing to condemn a phrase used to describe violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel. The slogan, “globalize the intifada,” has become a rallying cry for anti-Israel protesters in the United States ever since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attacks against hundreds of innocent Israelis. “There’s no candidate in this party that I agree 100% of the time with, to be honest with you. There are things that I don’t agree with Mamdani that he said, but at the end of the day, I always believe, as a Democratic Party chair in Minnesota for the last 14 years and now the chair of the DNC, that you win through addition,” Martin said during a Wednesday interview with PBS NewsHour. TOP DEMOCRATS, MEDIA DEMAND ZOHRAN MAMDANI CONDEMN ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ PHRASE “You win by bringing people into your coalition. We have conservative-Democrats, we have centrist-Democrats, we have labor-progressives like me, and we have this new brand of Democrat which is the leftists,” Martin continued. “We win by bringing people into that coalition and at the end of the day, for me, that’s the type of party we’re going to lead. We are a big tent party.” Martin conceded that sometimes this type of coalition building “leads to dissent and debate,” but, he noted, such “differences of opinion” should be celebrated and recognized as a way to move the party forward. During a podcast last month, Mamdani referred to the controversial slogan as “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.” When given another chance to explicitly condemn the phrase on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” the NYC mayoral candidate once again refused to do so. “That’s not language that I use,” Mamdani told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “The language that I use and the language that I will continue to use to lead this city is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is an intent grounded in a belief in universal human rights.” HAKEEM JEFFRIES SAYS NYC HOPEFUL MAMDANI NEEDS TO ‘CLARIFY’ HIS POSITION ON ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ When Welker doubled-down on whether Mamdami would “actually condemn” the slogan, which Welker pointed out a lot of people perceive as a call to violence against Jews, Mamdani responded that he has spoken with numerous Jewish New Yorkers about their fears of anti-Semitism and said he would be committing to increasing “anti-hate crime programming” in the city by 800%. “Ultimately, what I think I need to show is the ability to not only talk about something but to tackle it and to make clear that there’s no room for antisemitism in this city,” Mamdani responded. “And we have to root out that bigotry, and ultimately we do that through the actions, and that is the mayor I will be, one that protects Jewish New Yorkers and lives up to that commitment through the work that I do.” Before turning to a different topic, Welker, for a third time, sought to get Mamdani on the record over whether he condemned the controversial slogan. “Why not just condemn it?” Welker asked. “My concern is to start to walk down the line of language and making clear what language I believe is permissible or impermissible. Takes me into a place similar to that of the president who is looking to do those very kinds of things, putting people in jail for writing an Op-Ed, putting them in jail for protesting,” Mamdani responded. “Ultimately, it’s not language that I use, it’s language I understand there are concerns about, and what I will do is showcase my vision for this city through my words and my actions.”
Texas Border Patrol shooter details remain scant as violence against ICE, CBP agents surges
Details about the shooter who opened fire on Border Patrol agents at an annex in McAllen, Texas, Monday remain scant days later as assaults against federal immigration officials are on the rise. Authorities identified Ryan Louis Mosqueda, 27, as the suspect Monday, confirming Mosqueda was killed at the scene. “Both Border Patrol agents and local police helped neutralize the shooter,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Monday. “Two officers and a Border Patrol employee were injured, including one shot in the knee. All three have gone to the hospital. This is an ongoing investigation led by the FBI.” SHOOTER WHO OPENED FIRE ON BORDER PATROL AGENTS IN SOUTH TEXAS IDENTIFIED BY POLICE CHIEF But the motive of the shooter still remains unknown, and McAllen, Texas, Police Chief Victor Rodriguez did not have any additional information to share with reporters during a news conference Monday about why Mosqueda opened fire on the agents. . Rodriguez said the gunman fired off “many dozens” of rounds at Customs and Border Protection’s McAllen, Texas, station. Mosqueda is affiliated with a Michigan address, and his car had Michigan license plates. However, Rodriguez said Mosqueda was reported missing from an address in Weslaco, Texas, less than 20 miles away, and that “an hour and a few minutes later he was at this particular location, opening fire on a federal building.” Mosqueda’s brother, Joe, told Detroit’s WDIV Local he’d never witnessed his brother speak about immigration issues or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but said he suspected he was dealing with undiagnosed mental health challenges. “Out of the blue,” Joe Mosqueda told the outlet. “I don’t know if he was intentionally targeting, I don’t know. I believe it was mental health issues.” Joe Mosqueda or other family members could not be immediately reached for comment by email or phone calls by Fox News Digital. RED STATES CONSIDER ‘ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ’ SPINOFFS AS WH URGES THEM TO FOLLOW DESANTIS’ LEAD: ‘LOTS OF BEARS’ The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The Department of Homeland Security reported earlier in July that assaults against ICE officers and other federal immigration agents have risen nearly 700% compared to 2024. While the agency reported 10 assault incidents between Jan. 1, 2024, and June 30, 2024, that number rose to 79 reported assaults in the same time frame in 2025. Other recent episodes of violence against law enforcement include another shooting near ICE’s Prairieland Detention Facility Friday, where a Texas police officer was shot in the neck. The Justice Department announced Tuesday that 10 individuals face charges in the shooting. The White House has urged Democrats to scale back language toward federal immigration officials after the shooting and other similar instances of violence. “We certainly call on Democrats to tone down their rhetoric against ICE and Border Patrol agents, who, again, are everyday men and women,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday. “These are honorable Americans who are just simply trying to do their job to enforce the law. They go home to their families every night, just like we all do, and they deserve respect and dignity for trying to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and to remove public safety threats from our communities.” Lawmakers, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., have issued harsh statements about ICE in recent weeks. Jayapal accused ICE of acting “like a terrorist force” in June and defended her comments in a July 2 interview with CNN after the White House demanded an apology from the lawmaker. TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ BOLSTERS BORDER SECURITY BY $100 BILLION Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., who oversees the House Homeland Security committee’s subcommittee on border security and enforcement, said in a statement Wednesday to Fox News Digital that “radical anti-law enforcement rhetoric” has prompted the uptick in crime against federal immigration officials. “This dangerous rhetoric from the far left jeopardizes the safety of our men and women in green. Violence against law enforcement will not be tolerated,” Green said. “The Committee on Homeland Security is in close contact with DHS concerning this attack on our law enforcement, and we will support the FBI’s investigation into the individual responsible and their motives.” Fox News’ Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.
Tim Walz blasted for costing Minnesota taxpayers $430K in legal prep ahead of Hill hearing
Republican state lawmakers in Minnesota have not held back with criticism after news Gov. Tim Walz spent $430,000 in taxpayer money to prepare for a House congressional hearing probing blue state governors on their “sanctuary city” policies. Invoices obtained by the Star Tribune of Minnesota uncovered that Walz’s office contracted with high-powered global law firm K&L Gates to prepare for the governor’s mid-June hearing in front of the GOP-controlled House Oversight Committee, which included questions about his and other blue state governors’ “sanctuary city” policies. In May alone, Walz incurred legal fees of around $232,000, according to invoices the Star Tribune obtained. This balanced out to a rate of about $516 per hour, the local outlet noted. In total, according to the Star Tribune, K&L Gates worked with Walz’s office from April 10 until the June 12 hearing, costing taxpayers $430,000 for the legal preparation. TAXPAYERS COULD BE FORCED TO FUND TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES’ LEGAL DEFENSE IF DEM BUDGET ITEM PASSES Minnesota GOP Rep. Jim Nash, one of two Republicans on the state’s Legislative Advisory Commission, questioned why Walz felt compelled to get outside counsel rather than work with the state’s attorneys and public relations specialists. “A half a million dollars of taxpayer money to prepare the governor to go to his old stomping grounds seems exorbitant, particularly since the AG for the state of Minnesota was in Congress with Walz at the same time, and the two of them certainly could have figured out how to do what they were needing to do,” he said. Nash added that he intends to dig deeper into scrutinizing the invoices obtained by the Star Tribune. NEW BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON HARRIS’ DECISION TO PICK WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE OVER SHAPIRO: ‘WENT WITH HER GUT’ Republican Minnesota state Rep. Harry Niska noted there “appears to be no legitimate legal interest in the state racking up nearly half-a-million dollars in what amounts to PR consulting.” “Tim Walz spent 12 years in Congress — he knows those hearing rooms inside and out, and he certainly knows how to conduct himself in that type of setting. So, why did the governor feel the need to spend $430,000 of taxpayer money on a private firm to ‘prepare’ for this hearing?” Niska asked. “To be clear, there appears to be no legitimate legal interest of the state in racking up nearly half a million dollars in what amounts to PR consulting as he tries to lay the groundwork for a presidential campaign that’s going absolutely nowhere. It is unconscionable to make hardworking Minnesota taxpayers pay for the governor’s personal national political aspirations.” In response to the criticism over Walz’s decision to contract with K&L Gates, both the governor and his team sidestepped offering an explanation. Instead, they suggested the blame fell at the feet of Republicans for holding a hearing that served no other purpose than to “grandstand,” according to the Star Tribune. TIM WALZ CRITICIZED FOR ‘NAIVE’ CLAIM ON WORLD’S ‘MORAL AUTHORITY’: ‘MIGHT BE THE CHINESE’ Teddy Tschann, a Walz spokesperson, described the hearing as a “planned political stunt on the taxpayer dime,” the Star Tribune reported. “They were too busy performing for the cameras to even feign interest in hearing from Gov. Walz about Minnesota’s balanced approach to immigration,” Tschann added. “What’s most frustrating is that Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber planned this spectacle knowing what it would cost and went through with it anyway.” When asked directly about the legal bill, Walz told reporters the GOP-led hearing was “not where I wanted to spend money. It’s not where I wanted to spend my time, and it certainly proved that there was nothing there other than using it as grandstanding.” While the hefty legal bill has garnered Walz backlash this week, it wouldn’t be the first time a governor has paid hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal advice. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said earlier this year after attending a hearing in the nation’s capital she expected to pay around $650,000 to the law firm that helped her prepare. The City of Denver also forked over $250,000 for outside legal counsel earlier this year to prepare the city’s mayor, Mike Johnston, for a congressional hearing. Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office and K&L Gates for comment but did not receive a response from either.
Trump administration bans illegal immigrants from taxpayer-funded services, including Head Start
The Trump administration announced Thursday that the Department of Health and Human Services will ban illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded services, including the popular Head Start early childhood education program. The agency announced that it will rescind the 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), which extended certain federal public benefits to those living in the United States illegally. “For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Today’s action changes that — it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.” NEW GOP BILL WOULD CUT OFF HOUSING FUNDS TO SANCTUARY CITIES DEFYING TRUMP DHS The PRWORA, known as welfare reform, passed during the Clinton administration and granted states greater autonomy to manage social welfare programs. The new policy applies PRWORA’s plain-language definition of a “federal public benefit,” affirms that programs serving individuals, households or families are subject to eligibility restrictions and clarifies that no HHS programs have been formally exempted under PRWORA’s limited exceptions, HHS said. Among the programs no longer accessible to illegal immigrants will be Head Start, an early childhood education and nutrition program for low-income families. TRUMP HAS A SECRET WEAPON TO DEFEAT ACTIVIST JUDGES ON IMMIGRATION An HHS preliminary analysis estimates American citizens could receive as much as $374 million in additional Head Start services annually. “Alongside HHS, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is committed to providing and protecting resources that serve America’s most vulnerable,” said acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. “Head Start’s classification under the new PRWORA interpretation puts American families first by ensuring taxpayer-funded benefits are reserved for eligible individuals.” Other services now classified under the “federal public benefit” category include grant programs for workforce programs, mental health and substance abuse, among others. The new policy takes effect upon publication in the Federal Register and has a 30-day comment period.
Fundraiser for Texas ex-official seeks $20K in donations after ‘Whites-only’ comment about young flood victims
A Democratic former mayoral appointee in Houston, Texas, is being slammed on a fundraising platform after a campaign was set up to help with “legal support” following her comments on social media about the race of the 27 girls from Camp Mystic who died in Hill Country floods last week. In the video, Sade Perkins said the camp “is a Whites-only girls Christian camp” that “doesn’t even have a token Asian” or “token Black person.” She neglected to mention the races of more than 200 others missing or dead as a result of the floods across multiple Texas counties. “It is a all White, White-only conservative Christian camp,” Perkins said in the video. “It’s not to say that we don’t want the girls to be found, whatever girls that are missing … but you best believe, especially in today’s political climate, if this were a group of Hispanic girls … this would not be getting this type of coverage that they’re getting. No one would give a f—.” PARENTS DESPERATELY SEEKING ANSWERS ON MISSING CAMPERS AFTER TEXAS FLOOD The fundraiser, “Support for Sade Perkins,” was posted on crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo and features photos of some young girls who died in the flood. Created by Marian Hills, it supposedly will benefit Perkins, a former member of the Houston Food Insecurity Board. “Sade Perkins is being publicly targeted for telling the truth,” organizers wrote on the site. “After the devastating flood at Camp Mystic, Sade, like many of us, was heartbroken. But she also had the courage to say what others wouldn’t: Would this response have looked different if the victims were Hispanic or Black girls?” Hill claimed Perkins is being stalked, harassed and flooded with hate messages, noting Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Perkins was fired “to make it look like they’ve taken some kind of action in response to public outrage.” However, Hill said Perkins resigned “on her own terms” in January, which is when her term expired, according to the city. FORMER HOUSTON MAYORAL APPOINTEE’S BOYFRIEND SLAMS HER ‘WHITES-ONLY’ CAMP MYSTIC COMMENTS Despite Perkins inserting race into the conversation, organizers are now calling the backlash she is facing “racialized violence.” “Sade simply spoke up about racial disparity in emergency response, something many have quietly thought but were too afraid to say. And the hate she’s getting? It’s not just disagreement, it’s racialized violence in plain sight,” according to the fundraiser. Hill alleged that if a white public figure had made the same comment, “it would have sparked debate, not a takedown.” She added that since Perkins is a Black woman, she is being told, “You shouldn’t be talking at all.” FORMER HOUSTON APPOINTEE CLAIMS FLOOD-RAVAGED CAMP MYSTIC IS ‘WHITES-ONLY’ IN VIRAL VIDEO With the money raised, organizers said, Perkins will be afforded “protection, legal support, and recovery from the reputational and emotional harm she’s enduring.” As of Thursday afternoon, the campaign had raised just over $400, with a goal of $20,000. Many of the donations are in small amounts, sent in by usernames acting as comments. A donation by “Disgrace to Houston” garnered 23 likes, while donations made by other usernames with racial slurs, obscene language or death threats aimed toward Perkins have hundreds of likes. While Perkins has yet to address the fundraiser, her boyfriend, Rev. Colin Bossen, released a statement on his website noting he “disavows” her comments. “My partner Sadé Perkins has made comments on social media regarding the horrific flooding that devastated Camp Mystic. I want to be clear that I disavow her comments,” Bossen wrote. “While she was not speaking on my behalf or on behalf of my congregation, I recognize that her comments have caused harm to many who are experiencing terrible loss and anxiety.”
‘It will happen quickly’: State Dept poised to act after Supreme Court green-lights agency layoffs
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the agency is poised to move “quickly” after the Supreme Court shot down a lower court’s ruling blocking the Trump administration from implementing widescale reductions in force across the federal government. “I think it’s fair to say that with everything else that happens [at the State Department], it will happen quickly,” Bruce said when asked how soon the agency would begin issuing notices to department employees. “This is not going to be an extended wait for people who are listening and watching in this building, or fellow Americans at home and around the world, this will happen quickly.” Bruce pointed out that, up to this point, the only reason there has been a delay in implementing force reductions at the Department of State, is because of the courts that have stepped in to try to halt the reforms. SOTOMAYOR BREAKS WITH JACKSON IN SUPREME COURT DECISION OVER TRUMP CUTS TO FEDERAL WORKFORCE “There has been a delay – not to our interests, but because of the courts,” Bruce added. “It’s been difficult when you know you need to get something done for the benefit of everyone. So it will be – it will be quickly.” However, while Bruce indicated the agency would be moving “quickly,” she declined to provide any specific timeline. She also declined to provide specifics around whether a court order that followed the Supreme Court’s decision authorizing the Trump administration’s reductions in force, which seeks to resolve a dispute over whether the administration must publicly share the reasoning for their reorganization efforts, might slow down the process. SUPREME COURT LETS TRUMP’S ‘WRECKING BALL’ FEDERAL JOB CUTS PROCEED WHILE LEGAL FIGHT CONTINUES The court order seeking to determine whether the Trump administration must publicly share the details of their planned reforms and reductions in force across the government was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston. It was Illston’s previous ruling in May that temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing its executive agency reforms, which the Supreme Court overturned this week. Illston’s May ruling stemmed from lawsuits initiated by labor unions and advocacy groups, which argued the president’s February work reduction executive order was an overreach of power and undermined certain civil service protections.
Obama officials admitted they had no ’empirical evidence’ of Trump-Russia collusion: House Intel transcripts
Obama-era intelligence officials acknowledged that they had no “empirical evidence” of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, but continued to publicly push the “narrative” of collusion. The House Intelligence Committee, in 2017, conducted depositions of top Obama intelligence officials, including Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, national security advisor Susan Rice and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, among others. FLASHBACK: HOUSE INTEL TRANSCRIPTS SHOW TOP OBAMA OFFICIALS HAD NO ‘EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE’ OF TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION The officials’ responses in the transcripts of those interviews align with the results of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation – which found no evidence of criminal coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016, while not reaching a determination on obstruction of justice. Their testimony has come back into the spotlight amid revelations that former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress, Justice Department sources exclusively told Fox News Digital. The transcripts, from 2017 and 2018, revealed top Obama officials were questioned by House Intelligence Committee lawmakers and investigators about whether they had or had seen evidence of such collusion, coordination or conspiracy – the issue that drove the FBI’s initial case and later the special counsel probe. “I never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting/conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election,” Clapper testified in 2017. “That’s not to say that there weren’t concerns about the evidence we were seeing, anecdotal evidence…. But I do not recall any instance where I had direct evidence.” Lynch also said she did “not recall that being briefed up to me.” “I can’t say that it existed or not,” Lynch said, referring to evidence of collusion, conspiracy or coordination. But Clapper and Lynch, and Vice President Joe Biden, were present in the Oval Office on July 28, 2016, when Brennan briefed Obama and Comey on intelligence he’d received from one of Hillary Clinton’s campaign foreign policy advisors “to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” KEY PLAYERS IN ORIGINS OF TRUMP-RUSSIA PROBE “We’re getting additional insight into Russian activities from (REDACTED),” Brennan’s handwritten notes, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital in October 2020, read. “CITE (summarizing) alleged approved by Hillary Clinton a proposal from one of her foreign policy advisers to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security service.” After that briefing, the CIA properly forwarded that information through a Counterintelligence Operational Lead (CIOL) to Comey and then-Deputy Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Peter Strzok, with the subject line: “Crossfire Hurricane.” Fox News Digital exclusively obtained and reported on the CIOL in October 2020, which stated: “The following information is provided for the exclusive use of your bureau for background investigative action or lead purposes as appropriate.” “Per FBI verbal request, CIA provides the below examples of information the CROSSFIRE HURRICANE fusion cell has gleaned to date,” the memo continued. “An exchange (REDACTED) discussing US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s approval of a plan concerning US presidential candidate Donald Trump and Russian hackers hampering US elections as a means of distracting the public from her use of a private email server.” The FBI did not open an investigation into the matter, and instead, continued with its counterintelligence investigation into whether candidate Trump and members of his campaign were colluding or coordinating with Russia to influence the 2016 campaign. Days after the Brennan meeting to brief Obama, Biden, Comey, Clapper and Lynch on July 31, 2016, the FBI opened the original Trump–Russia investigation, which was referred to inside the bureau as “Crossfire Hurricane.” Meanwhile, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, according to the transcript of her interview to the House Intelligence Committee, was asked whether she had or saw any evidence of collusion or conspiracy. Power replied: “I am not in possession of anything – I am not in possession and didn’t read or absorb information that came from out of the intelligence community.” When asked again, she said: “I am not.” Obama national security advisor Susan Rice was asked the same question. “To the best of my recollection, there wasn’t anything smoking, but there were some things that gave me pause,” she said, according to her transcribed interview, in response to whether she had any evidence of conspiracy. “I don’t recall intelligence that I would consider evidence to that effect that I saw… conspiracy prior to my departure.” When asked whether she had any evidence of “coordination,” Rice replied: “I don’t recall any intelligence or evidence to that effect.” When asked about collusion, Rice replied: “Same answer.” Former deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes was asked the same question during his House Intelligence interview. OBAMA OFFICIALS USED DOSSIER TO PROBE, BRIEF TRUMP DESPITE KNOWING IT WAS UNVERIFIED ‘INTERNET RUMOR’ “I wouldn’t have received any information on any criminal or counterintelligence investigations into what the Trump campaign was doing, so I would not have seen that information,” Rhodes said. When pressed again, he said: “I saw indications of potential coordination, but I did not see, you know, the specific evidence of the actions of the Trump campaign.” Meanwhile, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was not asked that specific question but rather questions about the accuracy and legitimacy of the unverified anti-Trump dossier compiled by ex-British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. McCabe was asked during his interview in 2017 what was the most “damning or important piece of evidence in the dossier that” he “now knows is true.” McCabe replied: “We have not been able to prove the accuracy of all the information.” “You don’t know if it’s true or not?” a House investigator asked, to which McCabe replied: “That’s correct.” After Trump’s 2016 victory and during the presidential transition period, Comey briefed Trump on the now-infamous anti-Trump dossier, containing salacious allegations of purported coordination between Trump and the Russian