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‘Squad’ Dems demand end to US investigation into anti-Israel weapons embargo

‘Squad’ Dems demand end to US investigation into anti-Israel weapons embargo

A trio of House Democrats in the progressive “Squad” is demanding an end to the U.S.-led investigation into a key ally’s anti-Israel arms embargo. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Cori Bush, D-Mo., and Summer Lee, D-Pa., wrote to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), an independent agency that oversees maritime trade affecting the U.S., regarding Spain’s “decision to deny port entry to ships carrying weapons bound for the Israeli government and its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.” “This investigation is a reckless insult to our allies in Spain, which has only sought to enforce in good faith its sovereign national policies and uphold international law, including its treaty obligations to prevent genocide,” the hardline-left lawmakers wrote. “It is bad enough that the United States is violating these same obligations and its own domestic laws by sending these weapons. We urge you to immediately suspend this obstruction of justice and withdraw this misguided investigation.” NETANYAHU WARNS HOUTHIS AMID CALLS FOR ISRAEL TO WIPE OUT TERROR LEADERSHIP AS IT DID WITH NASRALLAH, SINWAR Spain, a longstanding U.S. ally and fellow member of NATO, said it would stop selling weapons to Israel when its war with Hamas broke out in October 2023. Since then, the Spanish government has been accused in three separate instances of refusing ships from docking in its ports over allegations those ships were carrying weapons meant for Israel. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told state TV channel RTVE of one of the incidents in May, according to the Associated Press. “The Middle East needs peace. That is why this first denial of authorization will start a policy for any boat carrying arms to Israel that wants to dock at a Spanish port.” The FMC opened its probe earlier this month after receiving information that “indicates Spain has refused entry to certain vessels on at least three separate occasions this year,” a press release read. “The two most recent instances involved U.S.-flagged vessels.” The agency will now “investigate whether regulations or practices of foreign governments result in conditions unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade of the United States.” But the House Democrats wrote: “Spain’s decisions to bar the Maersk Denver and the Maersk Seletar from stopping in transit at its port in Algeciras in early November, as well as its decision to deny port of call to the Marianne Danica at the port of Cartegena in May of this year, are legitimate actions taken by a sovereign state to ensure that it is in compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law.” Tlaib, Bush and Lee have been three of Congress’ loudest critics of the Israeli government since it launched its invasion in Gaza. The campaign was launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack in southern Israel. Terrorists crossed the border and killed more than 1,200 Israelis who were in their homes, attending a music festival, and other areas. The responding operation to eradicate Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. HOUSE DEMOCRAT BLASTS IRELAND, SPAIN, NORWAY RECOGNITION OF PALESTINIAN STATE AS ‘GIFT TO HAMAS’ The trio of House Democrats has frequently accused the Biden administration of improperly acquiescing to Israel, the U.S.’s closest ally in the Middle East. They also argued the U.S. has no standing to investigate Spain’s decision, claiming “these actions do nothing to threaten the reliable international ocean transportation supply system that the FMC is tasked with safeguarding.” “No agency of the United States should be in the business of punishing or sanctioning our allies for enforcing the international law that our government has refused to uphold,” they wrote. Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, made the decision to formally recognize Palestinian statehood earlier this year. Fox News Digital reached out to the FMC for comment.

Ousted Rep Cori Bush thinks she’ll seek office again: ‘I will always be Squad’

Ousted Rep Cori Bush thinks she’ll seek office again: ‘I will always be Squad’

Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., a member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as the “Squad,” thinks she will eventually run for political office again. The outgoing congresswoman took office in 2021 and won re-election in 2022 but lost the Democratic primary in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District this year. “Running for office again is not off the table at all. I did not expect to only be in Congress for four years, and so I do believe at some point I will run again, whether it’s for Congress or something else, I don’t know. I don’t have any plans right now, but it’s not off the table,” she said, according to Politico. “The Squad will keep fighting,” she declared. “The numbers will be lower for the 119th Congress, but they will keep fighting for people who have the greatest need. They’re not going to change their priorities and what they believe. The number of people in Congress on the team will just be smaller. But they’ve never been silent. Anyone who underestimates our power is severely mistaken, because we aren’t going anywhere, and I will always be Squad. I’m not going far.” ‘SQUAD’ REP CORI BUSH’S LOSS CHEERED BY RIGHT, LEFT SOUNDS OFF ON AIPAC SPENDING Like Bush, outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., another Squad member who took office in 2021, is departing Congress after losing a Democratic primary this year. Bowman has indicated that he may seek office again. ‘SQUAD’ DEM APPLAUDS BIDEN FOR SPARING MURDERERS FROM ‘RACIST’ DEATH PENALTY IN 11TH-HOUR CLEMENCY MOVE “The liberating aspect of no longer being in Congress formally is now I have an opportunity to be helpful and support my community in a variety of ways. There’s many ways to teach and be an educator and lead as it relates to education. There’s many ways to impact electoral politics. I plan to be a part of that from a community organizing perspective and a fundraising perspective. And yes, there is a good chance I will run for office again, at some point, depending on the right situation and where that goes,” Bowman said, according to City & State. “I’m going to be hyperlocal initially in my engagement,” he noted. “It’s time to build that power in places like Yonkers in the Bronx, across the city and state and across the country.” OUTGOING REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN ISSUES ‘DEAR WHITE PEOPLE’ THREAD FOLLOWING DANIEL PENNY ACQUITTAL Fox News Digital reached out to the Bush and Bowman offices for comment, but they did not immediately respond. 

Trump has Christmas message to ‘Radical Left Lunatics,’ tells inmates Biden granted clemency to ‘GO TO HELL!’

Trump has Christmas message to ‘Radical Left Lunatics,’ tells inmates Biden granted clemency to ‘GO TO HELL!’

President-elect Trump dished out a fiery Christmas message on Wednesday in which he wished a “Merry Christmas” to “Radical Left Lunatics,” told the 37 prisoners whose death row sentences were recently commuted by President Biden to “GO TO HELL!,” and more. “Merry Christmas to the Radical Left Lunatics, who are constantly trying to obstruct our Court System and our Elections, and are always going after the Great Citizens and Patriots of the United States but, in particular, their Political Opponent, ME. They know that their only chance of survival is getting pardons from a man who has absolutely no idea what he is doing,” Trump declared on Truth Social. “Also, to the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden. I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky “souls” but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL! We had the Greatest Election in the History of our Country, a bright light is now shining over the U.S.A. and, in 26 days, we will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. MERRY CHRISTMAS!” he added. TRUMP AND BIDEN OFFER CHRISTMAS GREETINGS AS US APPROACHES TRANSFER OF POWER Biden recently announced that he commuted the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row to life sentences without the potential for parole. “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss,” the president said in a statement, but noted that he is “more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”  TRUMP PLEDGES TO BRING BACK FEDERAL EXECUTIONS AFTER BIDEN COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCES FOR 37 INMATES  In a separate post, Trump declared, “Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in its building 110 years ago), always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in ‘repair’ money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything.’ He also discussed Canada, referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the “Governor” of America’s northern neighbor, while suggesting that Canadian businesses would boom if the nation became a U.S. state. TRUMP FLOATS NHL LEGEND WAYNE GRETZKY AS CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER AMID TRUDEAU TURMOIL “Also, to Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose Citizens’ Taxes are far too high, but if Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World. Likewise, to the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes and, who want the U.S. to be there, and we will!” Trump declared.

Vance is the likely 2028 frontrunner, but these Republicans may also run for president

Vance is the likely 2028 frontrunner, but these Republicans may also run for president

With former president and now President-elect Trump term-limited and constitutionally unable to run again for the White House in 2028, Vice President-elect JD Vance is on a glide path to be the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party’s powerful MAGA base. It was a point driven home by Donald Trump Jr., the former and future president’s eldest son and powerful ally of the vice president-elect. “We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance!” Trump Jr. said on the campaign trail in Ohio a few weeks ahead of November’s election. Plenty of Republican politicians, strategists and pundits agree that Vance, who was elected to the Senate in Ohio just two years ago, will likely be the clear frontrunner in the next Republican presidential nomination race. HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 “The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News Digital.  Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said Vance “is the guy to beat.” David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, told Fox News that Vance is the frontrunner due to “the size and the scope of last week’s victory and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump.” “There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement,” Kochel said. And with Trump’s support in a party firmly in the president-elect’s grip, the 40-year-old Vance will be extremely hard to knock off.  However, Kochel noted that “nobody will completely defer to JD Vance. There will be a contest. There always is.” Carney added that “there may be other people who challenge him [Vance]… there’s a lot of people who want to be president, but it will be a very hard lane other than the Trump lane.” He added that a possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration would give potential Vance challengers “opportunities.” However, he praised the vice president-elect’s messaging and accessibility on the campaign trail and that “he is the guy to beat, regardless of whether it’s a good four years or a rough four years.” Carney also touted that the Republican Party has a “deep bench.”  Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley, a top Trump ally, said in a recent Fox News Digital interview that he’s “very excited about the bench that we have in the Republican Party right now.” Pointing to Trump’s remaking of the GOP, Whatley added that “as we go into 2028, we are in a great position to be able to continue the momentum of this agenda and this movement.” But he also emphasized that regardless of Vance’s likely frontrunner status as 2028 nears, the RNC will hold to its traditional role of staying neutral in an open and contested presidential primary. Here’s a look at some of those on the bench that may have national aspirations and ambitions in 2028, or beyond. The conservative governor of Florida was flying high after a landslide re-election in 2022, but an unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary run and a bruising battle with Trump knocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis down in stature. However, the term-limited 46-year-old governor, who has two years left in office steering Florida, proved over the past few years his fundraising prowess and retains plenty of supporters across the country. DeSantis was also able, to a degree, to repair relations with Trump, helped raise money for the GOP ticket during the general election, and earned a prime time speaking slot at July’s convention. It’s likely that DeSantis, who sources say Trump has considered as a plan B for Defense secretary if his nominee Pete Hegseth runs into trouble, has his eyes on another White House run. The popular conservative governor is one of the few in the GOP who can claim he faced Trump’s wrath and not only survived, but thrived. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited, has two years left in office and enjoys strong favorable ratings in a crucial battleground state. Expect to see the 61-year-old Kemp on the campaign trail across the country for fellow Republicans in 2026, as his national profile expands. With his 2021 gubernatorial victory – the first by a Republican in Virginia in a dozen years – Gov. Glenn Youngkin instantly became a GOP rising star. In Virginia, governors are limited to one four-year term, which means Youngkin has one year left in office.  The 58-year-old governor, who hails from the Republican Party’s business wing but has been able to thrive in a MAGA-dominated party, likely harbors national ambitions.  A first step could be a Cabinet post in the second Trump administration after his term as governor ends. Sen. Ted Cruz was the runner-up to Trump in the blockbuster 2016 Republican presidential battle. The controversial conservative firebrand passed on challenging Trump again in 2024, as he ran for what was thought to be another difficult re-election bid, after narrowly surviving his 2018 re-election. However, the 53-year-old senator ended up winning a third six-year term in the Senate by nearly nine points. The Army veteran, who served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before becoming a rising star in Republican Party politics, was considered to be on the larger list of potential Trump running mates. The now-47-year-old Sen. Tom Cotton seriously mulled a 2024 White House run of his own before deciding against it in late 2022, putting his young family ahead of political ambitions. However, he did not rule out a future presidential bid. Cotton is currently bidding for the GOP conference chair, the number three leadership position in the incoming Senate Republican majority. The 44-year-old Sen. Josh Hawley, along with Cotton, is another rising conservative star in the Senate.  Hawley is also a strong defender of Trump’s America First agenda