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GOP lawmaker explains why he called trans Dem ‘Mr. McBride’: ‘I don’t have to participate in his fantasy’

GOP lawmaker explains why he called trans Dem ‘Mr. McBride’: ‘I don’t have to participate in his fantasy’

After referring to Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride of Delaware as “Mr. McBride” during a congressional hearing this week, Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, said he is not obligated to engage in McBride’s “fantasy.” While discussing the issue, Self referred to McBride – who identifies as a transgender woman – using male pronouns. “Well, Michael, I’m a retired Green Beret. I’m not even sure what all the fuss is about,” Self told conservative commentator Michael Knowles of the Daily Wire during an interview. GOP LAWMAKER CALLS TRANS DEM ‘MR. MCBRIDE,’ ABRUPTLY ENDS HEARING AFTER ULTIMATUM FROM ANOTHER DEM “I mean, he is allowed to live his life — in fact, I spent 25 years on active duty defending his right to live his life as he chooses. But I don’t have to participate in his fantasy,” Self said. Rep. Mary Miller, who referred to McBride as “the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride,” when recognizing the lawmaker for a floor speech last month, agreed with Self’s sentiments, declaring in a post on X, “Exactly! No one should be forced to go along with the Democrats’ delusions. Thank you, @RepKeithSelf, for your boldness.” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., also expressed his support for Self’s position, tweeting, “#GoodMan.” HOUSE REPUBLICAN INTRODUCES TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER AS ‘THE GENTLEMAN … MR. MCBRIDE’ FOR FLOOR SPEECH McBride referred to Self as “Madam chair” during a hearing on Tuesday after Self, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Europe subcommittee, recognized McBride as “the representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride.” Subcommittee ranking member Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., halted the hearing over the issue, demanding that Self introduce McBride the “right way.”  GOP LAWMAKER SCRAPS WITH DEMOCRAT IN HEARING OVER TRANSGENDER ‘SLUR,’ BATHROOM RIGHTS: ‘NOT GOING TO HAVE IT’ CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “You will not continue” the hearing “with me unless you introduce a duly-elected representative the right way!” Keating declared. In response to the ultimatum, Self declared, “This hearing is adjourned.” “No matter how I’m treated by some colleagues, nothing diminishes my awe and gratitude at getting to represent Delaware in Congress. It is truly the honor and privilege of a lifetime. I simply want to serve and to try to make this world a better place,” McBride tweeted on Tuesday night.

Trump admin task force moves rapidly to punish colleges for inaction over antisemitism

Trump admin task force moves rapidly to punish colleges for inaction over antisemitism

The recent cancelation of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University by the Trump administration’s Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism was seen as a major wake-up call to the country’s universities. In its press release, the task force announced that the “decisive action” is “a notice to every school and university that receives federal dollars.” Leo Terrell, leader of the Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, told Fox News Digital that Columbia was an initial target for funding cuts because the school has been “in my opinion, the worst of the worst when it comes to allowing this type of conduct to take place and to continue.” Rabbi Moshe Hauer, executive director of the Orthodox Union, told Fox News Digital that “the more dramatic action that the [Trump] administration seems ready to take … seems to be the necessary approach for something as urgent as what we have been facing.” Hauer added that his community has “a lot of hope.” TRUMP ADMIN WON’T TOLERATE ANTISEMITISM IN SCHOOLS, SAYS LEO TERRELL AS NYC SCHOOLS UNDER MICROSCOPE Hauer added that recent protests at Columbia University and Barnard College “reminded us how alive the issue [of campus antisemitism] is.”  Terrell said President Donald Trump’s executive order directing increased efforts to fight antisemitism “set the tone for every single agency” involved in the task force, which includes the Departments of Justice, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and State, in addition to the U.S. General Services Administration and the FBI. Terrell said newly confirmed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon “is involved in this extensively, per the directive from [U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi.”  He says experts within his task force will be assessing schools based on about nine criteria to determine whether they are adequately protecting Jewish students. In addition to looking for evidence of hate crimes and examining schools’ tax-exempt status, Terrell said the task force will search for violations of Title VI and Title VII in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Title VI protects Americans who engage in programs that receive federal funds from discrimination based upon race, color and national origin. Former President Joe Biden’s administration used Title VI when the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights examined hostile antisemitic environments on K-12 and college campuses. Title VII prevents federal employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex or color. The task force’s move at Columbia follows weeks of protests at the university and affiliated Barnard College. In January, students stormed a Columbia classroom and “allegedly threw around [fliers] filled with hateful speech.” The following month, more than 50 protesters took over a building at Barnard College and were said to have assaulted an employee. COLUMBIA STUDENT DESCRIBES ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS: ‘IT’S TERRIFYING’ During a March 5 protest on Barnard’s campus, protesters were pictured passing out pamphlets from the “Hamas media office,” in addition to pictures of former Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah and stickers featuring former chair of the Hamas terror organization Yahya Sinwar, according to the Times of Israel. In a press release, Columbia confirmed that four of its students were arrested during the Barnard “disruption.” The students were subsequently “suspended and restricted from campus.” The situation at Columbia has grown more complex after former student Mahmoud Khalil was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for allegedly advocating for Hamas. Terrell said Khalil’s arrest was not conducted at the behest of the task force but explained that “all of this is coming out of the Trump executive order.”  TRUMP VOWS ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL WAS ‘FIRST ARREST OF MANY TO COME’ A Columbia representative did not respond to questions from Fox News Digital about the cancellation of its grants, its posture toward ICE on campus or whether it plans to continue employing anti-Israel professors who are accused of spreading antisemitic views.  Columbia’s interim president, Katrina Armstrong, released a statement on March 7 in which she said “Columbia is taking the government’s action very seriously.” Armstrong sought to “assure the entire Columbia community that we are committed to working with the federal government to address their legitimate concerns. To that end, Columbia can, and will, continue to take serious action toward combatting antisemitism on our campus. This is our number one priority.” When it comes to demonstrating their effective efforts to combat antisemitism, Terrell said schools must “earn trust.” Citing as an example “the little feeble action” Columbia has taken in response to funding cuts, Terrell asked, “Is it the money driving them or their concern for Jewish-American students?”  Terrell also said there will be no special rewards for schools that have managed antisemitism without federal involvement. “They have a fundamental right to protect Jewish Americans and Jewish students,” he said.