Former Trump Education secretary lays out ‘unfinished business’ for new admin on school reforms
President-elect Donald Trump’s first Department of Education (DOE) secretary, Betsy DeVos, has been floated as one of the potential candidates for the position again. However, if she does not get the job, DeVos has some ideas about who would be a good fit to carry the mantle Trump started in 2017. “There’s a whole host of Republican governors who have led on issues around at K-12 education, in particular, and in other cases, higher education,” DeVos told Fox News Digital in an interview. “They have great backgrounds and could do a great, great job in carrying out the policies of a second Trump administration. Which I believe, as President Trump has said, should definitely include every effort to depower the federal agency and turn control and power back over to states, local, districts and parents.” BETSY DEVOS JOINS TRUMP’S CALL TO ‘DISBAND’ THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND ‘RE-EMPOWER’ FAMILIES GOP-dominated legislatures in Florida, Iowa, Arkansas and elsewhere passed bills significantly expanding school vouchers last year. On the campaign trail, Trump said one of the first things he’ll do is “closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work it needs back to the states.” DeVos said the budget and investments in education would not change, but through “block granting.” “Let’s talk about eliminating the bureaucracy, not the budget, and ways in which that can be done,” DeVos said. “Very simply, block granting the money back to the states, so that it goes to states and ideally directly it to families who need it most.” TRUMP’S FORMER EDUCATION SECRETARY SAYS SHE IS ‘VERY OPEN’ TO DISCUSSION ABOUT RETURNING TO PREVIOUS POST During Trump’s first term, DeVos strongly advocated for school choice policies and expanding school voucher programs and tax credit scholarships to allow public funding to be used for private and religious school tuition. She also rescinded federal guidance on the use of bathrooms by transgender students in schools, arguing it should be a state and local decision. DeVos scaled back federal oversight and programs in K-12 education, including the scope of civil rights investigations conducted by the DOE. DEM REP RUBEN GALLEGO BEATS KARI LAKE IN BATTLE FOR ARIZONA SENATE SEAT “This is unfinished business from the first term, when we introduced with President Trump’s support and urged a freedom, a tax credit freedom bill to establish a pool of funds that individuals could designate money to at the federal level, but it would go alongside what states are already doing,” DeVos said. “Many states have passed education freedom policies to support families making those choices in that state, and other states have not yet done that, but this would allow for kids in every state through scholarship granting organizations to experience more education, freedom and choices and options, and that is a really important piece that should be addressed. And I believe this new Congress is ready to jump into it,” she added. On the contrary, President Biden increased funding for public schools, particularly in low-income areas, through the American Rescue Plan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout his presidency, Biden pushed for college student debt relief, despite being blocked by the Supreme Court. Biden’s Education Department is trying to push through a new federal rule in the final weeks before President-elect Trump takes over to provide additional student loan forgiveness for 8 million borrowers who face financial hardships. If finalized, the new rule would authorize student debt forgiveness on a one-time basis for people who the department considers to have at least an 80% chance of defaulting on loans based on a “predictive assessment using existing borrower data.” The rule would also allow people, including potential “future borrowers,” to apply for relief that will be awarded based on “a holistic assessment of the borrower’s hardship.” “There is every argument for if the taxpayers are going to be funding student lending, there better be ways to oversee it and actually do it effectively and efficiently,” DeVos said. “And it has not been happening. It is a huge mess, and it needs to be rethought and re-examined, and frankly, the private sector, private sector lending needs to come back into it and be an option.” Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
Rick Scott outlines consensus for ‘dramatic change’ to Senate operation in post-McConnell era
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., summarized several points of “widespread consensus” within the Republican Senate conference to transform how the Senate GOP functions in the post-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., era. “I believe that now is the time for dramatic change in the Senate and in Washington,” Scott wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter to his fellow Republican senators on Tuesday. Scott ran to succeed McConnell as leader, competing against Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Scott was knocked out of the secret ballot election after the first vote, during which he received the support of 13 of his colleagues. MATT GAETZ ‘WORKING THE PHONES,’ SPEAKING TO GOP SENATORS DESPITE DIFFICULT CONFIRMATION ODDS Thune ultimately defeated Cornyn on the second ballot, 29-24. Scott reiterated to GOP senators that “President Trump won with a mandate, and it is now incumbent on us as Republican senators to respond to the clear wishes of the American people and implement his agenda and confirm his nominees.” He then listed several items that he said had significant support within the conference going into the new Congress. First, Scott urged transparency among the Republican conference. “[S]top the surprises and create a plan to achieve our legislative goals that we can work on and schedule around,” he said. SENATE GOP INITIATES THUNE-ENGINEERED SLOW DOWN AS SCHUMER LOOKS TO STACK JUDICIAL VOTES The Florida Republican also noted that there was “broad agreement” on the necessity of returning the Senate to “regular order,” during which legislation goes through the committee process rather than being brought immediately to the floor. “The desire to empower Committee Chairs and have the work of our committees reflect the desire of the Conference.” He also stressed the importance of and the popularity within the conference of “ending the cycle of omnibus spending deals and Continuing Resolutions and getting back to passing appropriations bills on time and through regular order.” GOP CRIES FOUL ON DEM BORDER SPENDING BILL THEY SAY WOULD DRAG OUT MIGRANT CRISIS The letter comes as Congress appears poised to pass another stopgap spending bill ahead of Christmas if individual appropriations bills are not approved. Scott additionally said the conference has expressed significant interest in improving “coordination with the House.” This will likely be made easier for Republicans in 2025, given that they will control both chambers. SPENDING BILL TROUBLE BREWS AS SEN MIKE LEE WARNS OF CHRISTMAS ‘SWAMPBUS’ Lastly, the Florida senator said Republicans largely want “to make sure that the [National Republican Senatorial Committee] NRSC and others focus on helping incumbents win their races and fight aggressively to support them throughout the cycle.” Notably, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., nearly lost her traditionally safe Republican Senate seat to a dark horse independent candidate that targeted her as a career politician. “I look forward to working with each of you to accomplish our goals,” Scott concluded in the letter to colleagues.
Johnson declines to say if transgender rep-elect is man or woman, says House to treat everyone with ‘respect’
House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to answer whether transgender Rep-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is a man or a woman, vowing to “treat all persons with dignity and respect.” At the House GOP weekly press conference on Tuesday, a reporter asked Johnson, “Is freshman elect Sarah McBride a man or a woman?” “Look, I’m not going to get into this. We welcome all new members with open arms who are duly elected representatives of the people,” Johnson responded. “I believe it’s a… command that we treat all persons with dignity and respect, and we will. And I’m not going to engage in… silly debates about this. There’s a concern about uses of restroom facilities and locker rooms and all that. This is an issue that Congress has never had to address before. And we’re going to do that in a deliberate fashion, with member consensus on it. And we will accommodate the needs of every single person.” Fox News Radio Capitol Hill and White House correspondent Ryan Schmelz posed a follow-up question to Johnson, asking if he plans on bringing up a resolution brought by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol “and putting that into the rules package”? REP MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE WANTS MEN BANNED FROM WOMEN’S SPACES IN ‘ALL TAXPAYER-FUNDED FACILITIES’ “I’m not going to address the plans on any of that,” Johnson said. “I just told you what I’m going to say about the issue. I’m not going to engage in this. We don’t look down upon anyone. We treat everybody with dignity and respect. That’s a principle that I’ve pursued my whole life. And we will take care of this, you know, issue – a first impression for Congress – as we will any other thing. We will provide the appropriate accommodation for every member of Congress.” Mace introduced a resolution on Monday that moves to prohibit members, officers and employees of the House from using “single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” It asserts that “allowing biological males into single-sex facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms designed for women jeopardizes the safety and dignity of Members, officers, and employees of the House who are female.” In X posts on Monday, McBride derided the resolution as “a blatant attempt from far right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing.” “Every day Americans go to work with people who have life journeys different than their own and engage with them respectfully, I hope members of Congress can muster that same kindness,” McBride wrote. TRANSGENDER WOMEN TO BE BANNED FROM CAPITOL HILL FEMALE BATHROOMS UNDER NEW HOUSE GOP PROPOSAL “The radical left is calling me an extremist for being a feminist fighting to protect the rights of women and girls,” Mace said in a follow-up video message shared to X on Tuesday. “If being a feminist makes me an extremist or bigot or a monster, I am totally here for it because I am going to fight like hell for every woman and every little girl across this country to protect you and to keep you safe.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Tuesday that she asked the men in the House Republican Conference what they were going to do to prevent biological males from using spaces reserved for biological females at the U.S. Capitol. “You know, Sarah McBride, as he calls himself, formerly Tim McBride, is a biological man, and he should not be using any of our restrooms in the Capitol, and that in our office buildings. But Nancy Mace’s resolution doesn’t go far enough,” Greene told reporters. “America gave a mandate at this election and said, not only are they sick of the open borders, the invasion, the out of control inflation, foreign wars, but they’re sick of the trans ideology being shoved down our throats. And it’s an attack on women and children all over the country.” Meanwhile, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., told reporters that the Democratic caucus supports McBride “100%,” and condemned the resolution brought by Mace. “It’s just disgusting,” Garcia told reporters. “I was actually sick to my stomach when I read that yesterday. And I think it’s really unfortunate that someone is being attacked. She just got to Congress. She is going to use whatever restroom that she needs to use. This is just sick that we’re having to have this conversationn… I’ve heard disgust, to be honest, on both sides of the aisle. And so I hope that this just moves forward and let’s let her legislate and move on.”
College plan to use ‘creative ideas’ to pay undocumented students blasted by GOP leader
A Connecticut university is roiled in controversy after a report revealed that the school was attempting to find “creative ideas” to offer undocumented students payment for their internships. “They’re prioritizing citizens over noncitizens, and that’s the problem,” Connecticut GOP Chairman Ben Proto told Fox News Digital. The comments come after a Connecticut Inside Investigator report revealed that Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) officials searched for ways to pay undocumented students “in a way that doesn’t mention ‘employment’ or require a social security number,” according to emails obtained by the outlet through a Freedom of Information Act request. “The President’s Undocumented Student Committee is looking for creative ideas for helping undocumented (or underdocumented) students find paid internships/experiential learning opportunities,” CCSU career coach Audra Mika wrote in one email, dated Sept. 13, 2024. “Other universities have set up grants, scholarships, fellowships, and stipends to pay these students in a way that doesn’t mention ‘employment’ or require a social security number.” HAITIAN MIGRANTS REPORTEDLY FLEE SPRINGFIELD, OHIO “PJ and I want to see what is possible,” the email, which was sent to the university’s grants department, continued. “Thank you for any suggestions you might have for helping our undocumented students find paid jobs.” That email was replied to by Kathleen Moore of the CCSU’s Office of Post-Award Grants with a warning that the idea would be “morally wrong” and “illegal” and also noted that grants were awarded via competitive application process and require anyone paid with grant money to be a U.S. citizen. “If you were told that other universities are using grants ‘to pay these students’ you were misled, or those individuals are doing something illegally and, in my opinion, have no morals,” Moore’s reply read. Moore’s email was later forwarded to CCSU Associate Vice President Carmen Veloria by Director of the Career Development Office Paul Rossitto, who wrote, “FYI, we have some people that work at the university that don’t believe we should help all students.” Meanwhile, the initial request garnered responses from officials at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), who noted that there is a scholarship fund for “Dream Scholars,” though that scholarship only covers “Dreamers” under the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and not for all undocumented migrants. TRUMP SELECTS SOUTH DAKOTA GOV KRISTI NOEM TO RUN DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SCSU officials also noted that they offer the Monarch Scholarship and funds “for undoc [sic] students who work on campus doing an academic internship,” while officials from another state school, Eastern Connecticut State University, suggested the institution encourage students to get Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITIN), but warned doing so “does not provide work authorization or legal status” to the migrant. CCSU officials ran with that idea, encouraging undocumented students to obtain ITINs and then approach local businesses in order to gauge if they would be interested in “hiring/supporting undocumented students as interns” or work with the school’s Student Affairs Department, “to create fellowships, funding opps, stipends for undoc student workers (on and off campus); and to find and teach ‘allies’ what these measures could mean for CCSU.” To Proto, the story is just the latest example of government officials, employees and lawmakers in the state prioritizing the needs of migrants over the legal citizens of Connecticut. “Where is the state focusing its energy? Should it be focusing its energy on the citizens of the state of Connecticut, or should it be focusing its energy on those people who are here illegally in violation of our laws,” Proto said. “When you have the attorney general running around since election day telling everyone that he’s going to protect illegal immigrants… it seems like his priorities are in the wrong place.” In a statement to Connecticut Inside Investigator, CCSU spokeswoman Jodi Latina said that there had been “no intent to mislead or circumvent any laws.” “This email message was misinterpreted by the receiver. The committee member was exploring avenues to support students within the confines of what is permissible under the law,” Latina told the outlet. “The requester was inquiring as to whether there are any avenues we aren’t already exploring that exist legally for undocumented students.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Latina said that the university “has not and will not ever condone any activities that circumvent the law, and this committee was implemented only to coalesce legal means to support these students, as we endeavor to do for our entire Central Family.” Latina also shared a letter sent by university President Zulma Toro, who stressed that the school’s efforts were limited to lawful programs. “Our undocumented students are eligible for various sources of aid from private donors and/or the state of Connecticut. They are not, however, entitled to federal financial assistance, to participate in federal work study grants, become employed, and are prohibited from participating in many programs and experiential learning opportunities that require background checks and social security numbers,” read the letter that was sent out to members of the CCSU community. “This University has not and will not ever condone any activities that circumvent the law, and this committee was implemented only to coalesce legal means to support these students, as we endeavor to do for our entire Central Family.”
Prosecutors request stay in Trump NY case until 2029 as defense plans motion for dismissal ‘once and for all’
New York prosecutors are requesting a stay until at least 2029 in New York v. Trump, as the president’s defense attorneys prepare to move to dismiss the case entirely. Prosecutors wrote a letter to Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday, who agreed last week to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the conviction proceedings against Trump in the final months before he takes office. Merchan granted the request, which issues a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date, to consider the effect of his election as president. Prosecutors had asked for the pause in proceedings, which they said would allow them to better evaluate the impact of Trump’s new status as president-elect. “As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, Defendant’s inauguration as President will occur on January 20, 2025,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg wrote to Merchan on Tuesday. “Given the need to balance competing constitutional interests, consideration must be given to various non-dismissal options that may address any concerns raised by the pendency of a post-trial criminal proceeding during the presidency, such as deferral of all remaining criminal proceedings until after the end of Defendant’s upcoming presidential term,” Bragg wrote. Trump, who will be sworn into office as the 47th President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2025, will be the commander-in-chief until 2029. Bragg said his team would not oppose Trump’s request to stay further proceedings pending his attorneys’ motion to dismiss. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that “this is a total and definitive victory for President Trump and the American People who elected him in a landslide.” “The Manhattan DA has conceded that this Witch Hunt cannot continue,” Cheung, who was tapped to serve as White House communications director, said. “The lawless case is now stayed, and President Trump’s legal team is moving to get it dismissed once and for all.” Bragg noted that New York prosecutors plan to oppose Trump defense attorneys’ motion to dismiss entirely, WHERE DOES TRUMP’S NEW YORK SENTENCING STAND AFTER MASSIVE ELECTION WIN? Trump’s attorneys, who had filed a motion to vacate the charges completely, also backed the stay. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree but was found guilty in May after a six-week-long unprecedented criminal trial in New York. Trump’s attorneys have requested that Merchan overturn the guilty verdict, citing the United States Supreme Court’s decision that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office. Trump’s legal team argued that certain evidence presented by Bragg and New York prosecutors during the trial should not have been admitted, as they were “official acts.” Specifically, Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that testimony from former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks; former Special Assistant to the President Madeleine Westerhout; testimony regarding The Special Counsel’s Office and Congressional Investigations and the pardon power; testimony regarding President Trump’s response to FEC Inquiries; his presidential Twitter posts and other related testimony was impermissably admitted during trial. Trump attorneys also pointed to Trump’s disclosures to the Office of Government Ethics as president. TRUMP REQUESTS NY JUDGE OVERTURN GUILTY VERDICT, INDICTMENT AFTER SCOTUS IMMUNITY RULING Blanche said that “official-acts evidence” that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented to the grand jury “contravened the holding in Trump because Presidents ‘cannot be indicted based on conduct for which they are immune from prosecution,’” the motion read. “The Presidential immunity doctrine recognized in Trump pertains to all ‘criminal proceedings,’ including grand jury proceedings when a prosecutor ‘seeks to charge’ a former President using evidence of official acts.” Blanche argued that Bragg “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine by using similar official-acts evidence in the grand jury proceedings that gave rise to the politically motivated charges in this case.” “Because an Indictment so tainted cannot stand, the charges must be dismissed,” Blanche argued. Blanche also explained that the Supreme Court’s decision does not allow for an “overwhelming evidence” or “harmless error” exception to “the profound institutional interests at stake.” The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on presidential immunity came from a question that stemmed from charges brought against Trump in a separate, federal case brought by special counsel Jack Smith related to the events on Jan. 6, 2021 and any alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges in that case. Smith is winding down his cases against Trump following his election as the 47th President of the United States. Smith’s classified records case against Trump was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida earlier this year, who ruled that the special counsel was unlawfully appointed.
AAP tickets for Delhi assembly polls to be given on basis of public opinion, winnability: ‘There will be no nepotism’
AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said tickets for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections will be given to candidates based on their work, win probability, and public opinion.
Proposed Chicago police resource cuts could land city in court, top officials warn
Illinois’ Democratic attorney general and a court-appointed monitor are among those warning Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson that his administration’s proposed cuts to police resources may land the crime-wracked city in litigation. During a status hearing last week, monitor Maggie Hickey told Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer that cuts to the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD’s) Constitutional Policing division could “could be a devastating blow to the future of CPD reforms” under a legally-mandated consent decree, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. State Attorney General Kwame Raoul separately warned Johnson that adopting cuts proposed in his new budget would place Chicago “at significant risk of being held in contempt of court for failing to comply with the consent decree.” In 2017, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, then-Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson and then-Illinois Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan entered into the consent decree after the Justice Department reportedly found evidence of systemic civil rights violations within CPD. DEMOCRAT MAYOR NOT WELCOME AT FUNERAL FOR SLAIN CHICAGO OFFICER Verbal warnings for use-of-force and requirements to render first aid were among the other agreed upon terms besides the funding. The decree came after Madigan sued Chicago for oversight of its police department, which effectively mooted a separate plan from then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who reportedly opposed consent decrees — according to NBC News. In his letter to the mayor, Raoul credited Police Superintendent Larry Snelling with working diligently to deliver on the decree’s commitments to the state and the court, and overseeing a simultaneous decrease in gun violence and homicides. “I am writing to you today because of my grave concern over your proposed budget cuts to the CPD — the deepest of which target units within CPD responsible for implementing the consent decree’s reforms. I strongly urge you to reconsider these proposed cuts,” Raoul wrote in a letter to Johnson obtained by the Sun-Times. “Now is not the time to undermine the progress the department is making through unwise budget cuts.” He told the mayor that while the progress in Chicago may be frustratingly slow, it remains “quiet and steady” through his work in Springfield. In comments to Fox News Digital, Raoul signaled CPD itself is working in earnest toward the decree’s goals. “Superintendent Snelling and his leadership team at CPD are building momentum toward effective, constitutional policing and, ultimately, a safer Chicago.” “I have had positive conversations with the corporation counsel and believe the right leadership team is in place at CPD,” Raoul said. CHICAGO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ID SUSPECT, ANNOUNCE CHARGES IN MURDER OF POLICE OFFICER “Now is the time to build on their momentum, not to pull the rug out from under CPD’s progress. Certainly, the city at large is facing budgetary concerns; however, targeting court-ordered reform work for budget cuts is simply not an option.” Both Snelling and Raoul separately pointed to the police department’s handling of the Democratic National Convention in August as an example of the strides it has made in effective policing. “We have to make sure the allocation of resources reflects the trends we have seen,” Snelling said. “As evidenced during the DNC, no matter what challenges we are presented with, we will get the job done with the highest levels of dedication and professionalism,” he said at a City Council meeting on Friday. Snelling added that the buck stops with him when it comes to police accountability and that he will not back away from public criticism. “I don’t fear it,” he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP After resources were used to create a robbery task force earlier this year, the number of such crimes has gone down by 1,400 over previous statistics, he added. Snelling responded to an alderman’s question by saying he convinced Johnson to reverse one of the cuts: a nine-job bloc for mental health clinicians in precincts currently lacking them. “The consent decree is extremely important,” CPD Chief Angel Novalez added at the meeting, noting he meets with Pallmeyer and the court monitor’s team on a regular basis. Johnson’s budget includes a reduction of about 450 police vacancies in areas the Chicago Sun-Times reported would greatly affect the consent decree’s reforms. Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson’s office, as well as the CPD which referred back to a stream of Snelling’s City Council testimony.
Speaker Johnson’s government funding play hits the rocks within House GOP
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan for a short-term bill to kick the government funding debate into early next year is getting a rocky reception from various corners of the House GOP. “That’s not my preference at all,” Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., President-elect Donald Trump’s former Interior secretary, told Fox News Digital. Zinke said a short-term bill that kicks the fiscal year (FY) 2025 government spending fight into early next year could impede Trump’s goal of immediately implementing his agenda in the first 100 days of the new administration. “You’ve always heard the first 100 days is extremely important, and it is. But to be bogged down in the first 100 days dealing with the issues of last Congress, I think it unfortunately doesn’t provide the runway,” Zinke said. JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ Johnson told “Fox News Sunday,” “We’re running out of clock. Dec. 20 is the deadline. We’re still hopeful that we might be able to get that done, but if not, we’ll have a temporary measure, I think, that would go into the first part of next year and allow us the necessary time to get this done.” He said a short-term extension of this year’s funding, called a continuing resolution (CR), would benefit Republicans by kicking the spending fight into a period when the GOP controls both Congress and the White House. Other Trump allies, like Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., are also advocating for a short-term bill to give Republicans full control over this year’s fight. However, several rank-and-file Republicans like Zinke suggested that dealing with the previous administration’s issues could hinder Trump’s aim of a productive first 100 days. On the other side of the House GOP, hardliners who previously opposed a CR on principle signaled they would not budge this time, either. REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA “I really have to read things before I say whether I’m going to vote on them or not,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital. “I have never really voted for any CR, so it’s hard for me to support in the first place.” House and Senate negotiators have done little bicameral work to fund the government for the current fiscal year. Instead, congressional leaders chose to extend the previous deadline of Sept. 30 through late December. It has caused frustration among some House Republicans who have pushed for Congress to fulfill its duties of setting new fiscal spending directives for FY 2025. MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL “We should have got our business done before,” Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, told reporters on Monday evening. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., suggested kicking the debate into next year could hamper Trump’s ability “to hit the ground running,” but saw little other choice left, given the short amount of time before the Dec. 20 deadline. Others, like Zinke and Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, are still pushing for a full spending package addressing the current fiscal year’s spending. “The smartest thing that I believe that we can do as a conference would be to do an end-of-the year package to clean the entire decks for President Trump when he comes in,” Miller said. “If we were able to put an end-of-the-year package together and finish the appropriations process, which is our main job in Congress, then the president can get going in January with his agenda and his legislation.” One senior GOP lawmaker pointed out that a partial government shutdown is a “high probability” if Republicans can’t all get on board with a CR, assuming Democrats do not support one either. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, said when asked about Johnson’s tentative plan, “You know I’m not a fan of CRs in any form.”
Border state governor vows to defy Trump’s ‘misguided’ mass deportation push
Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs says the border state, which voted for President-elect Donald Trump in the presidential election this month, will not be aiding the incoming administration with its “misguided” plan to launch a mass deportation operation. Hobbs was asked by ABC News about whether the Trump administration will bring a reset on the border, and she responded by focusing on current partnerships with the federal government to secure the border. “I am very hopeful that that partnership can continue, and that the incoming administration will listen to, not only my administration, but the experts here on the ground, the people that are doing the work about what is most needed, and what we can continue to do that will be most helpful in securing our border,” she said. ‘SANCTUARY’ CITY MAYOR VOWS SHE WILL DEFY TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PUSH: ‘CAUSING WIDESPREAD FEAR’ She then added, “What I will unequivocally say is that, as governor, I will not tolerate efforts that are part of misguided policies that harm our communities, that threaten our communities, that terrorize our communities, and Arizona will not take part in those.” Trump made launching a mass deportation operation a key part of his 2024 presidential campaign, and his transition team has already started making plans on the logistics of the operation. On Monday, Trump said he was open to declaring a national emergency and using military assets to make it happen. When pressed on the deportations, Hobbs’ was asked if state police and National Guard would help with deportations. “We will not be participating in misguided efforts that harm our communities, and I’ve been incredibly clear about that,” she said. TRUMP CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR MAJOR STEP IN MASS DEPORTATION PUSH TO ‘REVERSE THE BIDEN INVASION’ She cited the diversion of resources and law enforcement as one of the reasons she opposes those operations. “I think the diversion of law enforcement from the work that they do every day to keep our communities safe, people hiding in fear – we saw that under previous state policies here – and it it harms communities. It tears families apart. And we’re not going to…that’s not going to happen on my watch,” she said. She is the latest Democratic official to promise not to assist the Trump administration with deportations. Earlier this week, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said the sanctuary city would not be cooperating with the deportation operation, after Mass. Gov. Maura Healey has promised to use “every tool in the toolbox” to protect residents. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Officials elsewhere across the U.S. have made similar claims, but Hobbs’ comments are significant since it is not only a border state, but also a swing state that voted for Trump in the recent election. Trump’s team have indicated they will carry out the plan, even without the support of those Democratic officials. Tom Homan, who was appointed to be the “border czar” by President-elect Trump, said recently that those officials should get out of the way. “If you don’t want to work with us, then get the hell out all the way. We’re going to do it,’ he said.
Are Pete Hegseth’s tattoos symbols of ‘Christian nationalism’?
President-elect Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the Department of Defense, Pete Hegseth, is being blasted for tattoos that some allege are symbols of White supremacy and Christian nationalism. Hegseth, 44, is a former Fox News host and retired Army major who served in the infantry and was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Like many current and former military members, Hegseth has an array of tattoos with Christian and American symbolism. One of the tattoos garnering the most attention is a symbol on Hegseth’s chest known as the “Jerusalem Cross,” which consists of one large cross surrounded by four smaller crosses. Hegseth, an evangelical Christian, has said that the cross is a symbol of his Christian faith, but his detractors have said the Jerusalem Cross is an indicator of extremism, White supremacist and Christian nationalist sentiment. Some have even mistaken it for the Nazi swastika. PENTAGON BRACING FOR SWEEPING CHANGES AFTER TRUMP NOMINATES PETE HEGSETH FOR SECRETARY According to Hegseth, concern over the tattoo caused his leadership in the District of Columbia National Guard to pull him from a mission to guard the inauguration of President Biden and ultimately factored into his decision to retire from the military. According to Father David Grenier, a Catholic priest and member of the religious order the Holy Land Franciscan Friars, which uses the Jerusalem Cross as its symbol, the cross originated in Eastern Christianity sometime in the fifth and sixth centuries and was later adopted by crusaders and the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1291. The cross, which adorns Grenier’s habit, continues to be used by his order today. The cross is also the emblem of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Catholic order, the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. He explained to Fox News Digital that the Jerusalem Cross has a dual meaning of representing the five wounds of Christ’s crucifixion and the gospel being taken to every corner of the world. In the latter interpretation, he said that the large cross represents Jerusalem from which the gospels reach the north, south, east and west, which are represented by the four smaller crosses. TRUMP NAMING CABINET OFFICIALS AT ‘WARP SPEED,’ FAR AHEAD OF FIRST TERM PACE While he said that he cannot speak to why Hegseth chose to tattoo the Jerusalem Cross on himself, he is not familiar with the cross being used to represent Christian supremacy sentiments. On the contrary, he said that the cross symbolizes the message of salvation being taken to all people. He also said that it is a fairly common practice for Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem to tattoo a Jerusalem Cross on themselves as a sign that they have visited the holy city. “That was something that was happening, not necessarily for everyone, but for many people who traveled,” he said. “And even today, when they go to the Holy Land to have the Jerusalem cross tattooed on their body.” One of those modern pilgrims with a Jerusalem Cross tattoo is Father Mike Schmitz, a podcaster, youth speaker and one of the most well-known Catholic priests in America. In a video explaining his tattoo, Schmitz said that it serves as a reminder that “I never, ever, no matter what–I never want to be able to take off Jesus.” “If you are baptized, you’ve been clothed in Christ. You can’t take Him off. Same with me. I’ve been clothed in Christ in my baptism, and I can’t take him off, even if I wanted to. But there is some kind of expression of that. Now it’s on my arm,” he said. WHY TRUMP IS STICKING WITH GAETZ, HEGSETH DESPITE NEW ACCUSATIONS – AND HIS ‘MORNING JOE’ MEETING Similarly, Jennifer Greenberg, an evangelical author and composer, told Fox News Digital that the Jerusalem Cross is also very common in evangelical circles. She said she was “shocked” to see the cross being compared to a swastika online, which compelled her to respond in a viral X post. “To see something so beautiful and so precious, such a symbol of rich Christian heritage equated with Nazism, you know, white supremacy, it was just really disgusting,” she said. According to Greenberg, the cross continues to be worn by pastors and to adorn Bibles and Christian books. She also pointed out that Hegseth’s other controversial tattoos, “Deus Vult” and “Join or Die,” are common Christian and American symbols and are not associated with extremism. The “Join or Die” tattoo, which depicts a chopped-up snake, is a political cartoon first published in 1754 in Benjamin Franklin’s Philadelphia newspaper. The cartoon was intended to encourage the various American colonies to unite over a common cause and became one of the most well-known symbols of the Revolutionary War. However, perhaps more controversial is the Deus Vult tattoo, Latin for “God wills it.” This saying was a common battle cry during the Crusades, but, as Greenberg explained, it is also a common saying in Christianity indicating trust and abandonment of oneself to God’s providence. “What they were saying is, ‘God, no matter what happens to me, if I die in battle, if I’m terribly injured, no matter what happens, may your will be done,’” she said. “I think it makes a lot of sense that someone like Pete Hegseth, being a veteran, would resonate with that kind of symbol because, as a veteran, as a soldier, he would have gone into battle. He would have walked between landmines, and this would have been a comforting thought for him. No matter what happens to me, God, let your will be done.”