Page 4 – Texas Weekly Online

Stefanik looks back to fiery exchanges with college leaders in Senate confirmation hearing: ‘watershed moment’

Republican New York Rep. Elise Stefanik touted her fiery grillings of college administrators on Tuesday when she appeared before Senate lawmakers as part of her confirmation process to serve as the ambassador to the U.N., saying it was a “watershed moment” that exposed “antisemitic rot” in the U.S. colleges. “My oversight work led to the most viewed testimony in history, in the history of Congress. This hearing with university presidents was heard around the world and viewed billions of times because it exposed the antisemitic rot in colleges and universities, and was a watershed moment in American higher education,” Stefanik said Tuesday while speaking before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Since 2023, Stefanik has served as a conservative firebrand who has repeatedly grilled “morally bankrupt” college leaders over their handling of antisemitism on campus following Hamas attacking Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. During last year’s college school year, agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they do not feel safe on some campuses. AS A HARVARD JEWISH STUDENT, I KNOW ELISE STEFANIK IS THE RIGHT PERSON TO FIGHT ANTISEMITISM AT THE UN Most notably, Stefanik grilled Ivy League college administrators from Penn and Harvard, her alma mater, in December 2023 regarding whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” violates the respective school’s codes of conduct. The school leaders, however, waffled in their responses. “It can be, depending on the context,” Harvard’s then-President Claudine Gay responded when asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated school conduct rules. STEFANIK PLANS TO PUSH TRUMP’S ‘AMERICA FIRST’ AGENDA AT UN, MAKE SURE IT ‘SERVES THE INTERESTS’ OF US PEOPLE “Antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation – that is actionable conduct, and we do take action,” Gay said when pressed to answer “yes” or “no” if calls for the genocide of Jews breaks school rules. Both Gay and Penn’s then-President Liz Magill resigned from their high-profile positions shortly after the hearing, while footage of the exchanges spread like wildfire on social media. WHAT STEFANIK’S HOUSE TENURE REVEALS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF UN AMBASSADOR SHE MAY BE President Donald Trump nominated Stefanik to serve as ambassador to the U.N. back in November, celebrating her as an “incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.” Stefanik said in her opening remarks on Tuesday that Trump sees “great promise” for the United Nations if it returns to its roots of promoting peace around the globe. “When discussing this nomination with President Trump, the President shared with me that he sees great promise in the United Nations if it focuses on its founding mission of international peace and security. President Trump has long advocated for peace and no new wars,” she said.

Trump admin hits back as ACLU launches lawsuit on birthright citizenship: ‘Ready to face them’

The Trump administration says it is ready to push back against “the Left’s resistance” in court, after a top civil rights group filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants. “Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda,” Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, told Fox News Digital. “These lawsuits are nothing more than an extension of the Left’s resistance – and the Trump administration is ready to face them in court,” he said. TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW Trump signed the order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which ends birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants. The order seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states:”All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Some legal scholars and immigration groups argue that the amendment clearly includes those of illegal status, but some conservatives have said that it does not because they are not under the jurisdiction of the U.S. The American Civil Liberties Union immediately filed a lawsuit “on behalf of organizations with members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order…” and claimed the order is unconstitutional and against congressional intent and Supreme Court precedent. TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY 1 EXECUTIVE ORDERS “Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional – it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said. The Trump order argues: “Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE But the ACLU argues that “every baby born in the United States is a U.S. citizen.” It allows for one exception – children of foreign diplomats. “Birthright citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is. This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans. We will not let this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans go unchallenged. The Trump administration’s overreach is so egregious that we are confident we will ultimately prevail,” Romero said. ‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY’: TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS The order is one of many Trump signed on Monday related to border security and illegal immigration on his first day in office. Trump also signed an order declaring a national emergency at the border. Trump also ordered the resumption of border wall construction, the ending of Biden’s parole policies and the designation of international cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Other orders suspended refugee resettlement for four months and ended the ability for migrants to claim asylum by creating an immediate removal process without the possibility of asylum.

‘Class act’: Barron Trump sets social media ablaze for shaking hands with Biden at dad’s inauguration

President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron Trump, is garnering praise online for shaking hands with former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris at his father’s inauguration on Monday. “Barron Trump just shook hands with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. This kid will be our President one day. Bet on it,” conservative personality Nick Sotor posted to X of the exchange. The youngest first son shook Biden’s and Harris’ hands shortly after his father took the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States. The 18-year-old New York University freshman participated in a handful of inaugural festivities on Monday, including attending a church service at St. John’s that morning with his family, as well as the inaugural parade later in the day. Conservatives and other social media commenters praised Barron Trump on X, formerly Twitter, and TikTok for the handshakes, speculating he could one day launch a political career, while others pondered what the first son said to Biden during the quick exchange. BARRON TRUMP IS ALL GROWN UP: A LOOK AT THE FIRST SON’S TRANSFORMATION FROM 2017 TO 2025 Others joked on social media that Barron whispered “you forgot to pardon yourself” when shaking Biden’s hand. Barron Trump also attended the inaugural parade later that day, where he received applause from Trump supporters when the first son was broadcast on the Capital One Arena’s jumbotron. “And then I have a very tall son named Barron. Has anyone ever heard of him?” President Trump said to the crowd as the arena’s camera panned to Barron. TRUMP FAMILY RETURNS TO NATION’S CAPITAL AHEAD OF INAUGURATION DAY: ‘THIS TIME, AMERICA WON’ The youngest Trump child waved to the crowd as supporters broke out into applause and cheers, before raising his fist like his father after his first assassination attempt in July. Barron also egged on the crowd for more applause before his dad praised him for his efforts to rally the youth vote while on the campaign trail. UNEARTHED FOOTAGE OF BARRON TRUMP SPEAKING WITH MOM’S ACCENT SPREADS LIKE WILDFIRE AFTER DAD’S MASSIVE WIN “He knew the youth vote. You know we won the youth vote by 36 points,” Trump said, lauding him for encouraging him to join podcasts while on the campaign trail in order to reach younger voters. Trump kicked off his first day in office by signing at least 42 executive orders, memoranda or proclamations, delivered three separate speeches and fielded roughly an hour of media questions. Inauguration festivities were moved indoors this year, as frigid temperatures gripped the nation’s capital. Trump’s inauguration was held in the Capitol Rotunda, and the inaugural parade at the Capital One Arena.

4 Trump rivals that Biden didn’t pardon

Former President Joe Biden doled out a flurry of pardons during his final days in office, but he did not issue a pardon for Jack Smith, or other figures connected to cases involving President Donald Trump, who has frequently castigated those he feels have unjustly targeted him. In a post on Truth Social earlier this month, Trump asserted that “Corrupt Democrat judges and prosecutors” had targeted him “at levels of injustice never seen before.” Biden also did not pardon figures Trump has publicly assailed, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Judge Juan Merchan, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH RESIGNS AFTER 2-YEAR STINT AT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Trump has often decried Jack Smith, the special counsel who sought to wage two federal cases against him, but who has now resigned. Trump has repeatedly called the man “Deranged Jack Smith.” In a report issued earlier this month ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Smith asserted, “with respect to both Mr. Trump’s unprecedented efforts to unlawfully retain power after losing the 2020 election and his unlawful retention of classified documents after leaving office, the Principles [of Federal Proseuction] compelled prosecution.” “While we were not able to bring the cases we charged to trial, I believe the fact that our team stood up for the rule of law matters,” he noted. ‘ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY’: LEGAL EXPERTS SHRED NY V. TRUMP AS ‘ONE OF THE WORST’ CASES IN HISTORY Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought a case that led to a jury finding Trump guilty of charges of falsifying business records. Bragg has been one of the targets of Trump’s ire. On Truth Social, Trump has called him “Soft on Crime Alvin Bragg” and “Corrupt Soros Funded District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.” Trump has also excoriated Judge Juan Merchan, who was involved in Trump’s New York criminal trial. For example, Trump has called him “Corrupt, Deeply Conflicted, Democrat Appointed Acting Judge Juan Merchan,” and claimed that the judge was aiming to “RIG the Manhattan Sham ‘Trial.’” Earlier this month, ahead of Trump’s inauguration as president, Merchan sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge. TRUMP CHEERS DISQUALIFICATION OF ‘CORRUPT’ FANI WILLIS, SAYS CASE IS ‘ENTIRELY DEAD’ The Georgia Court of Appeals declared Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from a Trump-related election interference case. “There is no way such corrupt people can lead a case, and then it gets taken over by somebody else,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “It was a corrupt case, so how could it be taken over by someone else?” Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report

Trump’s House GOP allies push birthright citizenship bill after progressive fury at presidential order

EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans are moving to back up President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship as it faces an expected flurry of legal challenges. House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Brian Babin, R-Texas, is planning to introduce a new bill on the issue this week, Fox News Digital was told, with more than 20 GOP lawmakers already signing on to co-sponsor the effort. Babin told Fox News Digital that he saw an issue both with people coming over the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and having children here, and wealthier foreigners coming to the U.S. just to have children, colloquially known as “birth tourism.” “It’s going to have a huge impact on our immigration system because it’s going to close loopholes that exploit birthright citizenship, and discourage illegal immigration and end the misuse of this really, this completely misinterpreted privilege,” Babin said. “I don’t want anyone saying that I am opposed to immigration. My ancestors immigrated as well. I have a daughter-in-law… she is from Brazil, married my son, and she is a proud U.S. citizen. But she did it the legal way. And we cannot continue to have this abuse.” MARCO RUBIO CONFIRMED BY SENATE TO BE NEXT SECRETARY OF STATE, BECOMES FIRST TRUMP CABINET PICK TO BE APPROVED Minutes after being sworn in on Monday, Trump got to work signing dozens of executive orders, from measures repealing Biden administration policies on climate and gender to renaming the “Gulf of Mexico” as the “Gulf of America.” But ending the current birthright citizenship policy in the U.S. has been widely seen as one of the most controversial, if not legally tenuous, executive actions Trump has taken so far. Multiple progressive groups pounced on the order just hours after it got the president’s signature, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said Trump’s move was “unconstitutional” and “a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values.” Babin said, “I welcome this lawsuit because we have to get this into the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s probably going to take several years for this to wind its way through the court system. But we want the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on this and give us a final ruling, because it has been misinterpreted.” Like Trump’s order, his bill would limit birthright citizenship to babies born with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or a lawful non-citizen serving in the U.S. military. It would exclude children born to illegal immigrants or parents on temporary visas. At the heart of the argument is whether the Constitution grants birthright citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. The citizenship clause of the Constitution reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The long-standing interpretation of unrestricted birthright citizenship comes from the 1898 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which said “a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Emperor of China, but have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States” was a lawful U.S. citizen. But opponents of that interpretation have pointed to other Western countries like France and the United Kingdom, where citizenship hinges on at least one parent already being a permanent resident. TRUMP TO DEPLOY MILITARY TO BORDER, END BIDEN PAROLE POLICIES IN FLURRY OF DAY ONE EXECUTIVE ORDERS While signing the order on Monday night, Trump dismissed concerns of a legal challenge. “It’s ridiculous. We’re the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know. And it’s just absolutely ridiculous. But, you know, we’ll say we think we have very good grounds. Certain people have wanted to do this for decades,” Trump told reporters. But having a bill clarifying boundaries for the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause would undoubtedly give Trump more solid legal standing. Babin is not expected to introduce his legislation as a constitutional amendment, given his disagreement not with the text itself but rather the interpretation of the 14th Amendment and the 1898 Supreme Court opinion. Introducing it as an amendment could imply that the words in the Constitution themselves were thought to be flawed, Fox News Digital was told. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on whether Trump would sign such a bill.

Pritzker bashes Trump order on birthright citizenship: ‘We will not follow an unconstitutional order’

Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker bashed President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. “That’s unconstitutional. We will not follow an unconstitutional order,” Pritzker told reporters on Monday while speaking at an unrelated event, Politico reported. Trump’s order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” asserts that the 14th Amendment of the Constitution does not automatically confer American citizenship to individuals who are born within the United States. The amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” TRUMP SIGNS ORDER ENDING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FOR CHILDREN OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Some legal experts have said that such a move is a constitutional change and cannot be made by executive order. The move will almost certainly face a challenge in court from civil rights groups and immigration activists. Trump advisers and some conservative legal scholars have previously argued that the idea of giving birthright citizenship to children of illegal immigrants is based on a misreading of the amendment. TRUMP TARGETS CULTURE WAR LIGHTNING RODS IN EARLY SLATE OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS The Democratic governor also took several swings at Trump as the 47th president unleashed a flurry of executive actions intended to make good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, end federal DEI programs and more. Pritzker, who is known to harbor presidential ambitions, said the rapid fire executive actions from Trump were not communicated to state governors ahead of time. “They have not communicated with us. I’m reading the same thing you are,” he said. “This is indicative of what you’re going to see of the Trump administration for the next four years. It’s chaos.” 2028 WATCH: HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY EVENTUALLY JUMP INTO THE NEXT WHITE HOUSE RACE He also echoed concerns former President Biden raised in his farewell address of an oligarchy of ultra-wealthy entrepreneurs who have cozied up to Trump. Silicon Valley titans Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were high-profile attendees at Trump’s inauguration. “He’s got the oligarchs sitting on the front row of his inauguration. It shows who he cares about. It’s the wealthiest people in America who are cow-towing to him and not ordinary Americans. He does not care about ordinary Americans,” said Pritzker, who himself is a billionaire member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt hotel chain. Pritzker claimed his biggest problem with the new administration is “the intent to attack people’s rights. That is something we will have to put up with or deal with every single day of this administration.”

Bipartisan lawmakers join forces to break up ‘out-of-touch’ DC power structure

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican and a Democrat are banding together to break up the centralized power structure in Washington, D.C., with a new bill moving federal agencies to other parts of the country. Reps. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, and Jared Golden, D-Maine, are introducing a bill Tuesday to relocate certain U.S. government offices elsewhere in the country’s 50 states, Fox News Digital was told. Exceptions would be made for national security-focused agencies like the Department of Justice, the Pentagon, the Department of Energy and the State Department. For other agencies, like the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Interior, for example, the legislation would block new and old leases as well as major renovation permits, forcing them to look outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area for new space. REPUBLICAN SENATOR SAYS TRUMP SHOULD NOT PARDON HUNTER BIDEN It would then establish a “competitive bidding process” for other states to lease their land to the federal government, according to the bill text. Hinson argued it would transfer such agencies and offices to states that rely on their services most. “Moving federal agencies out of Washington and closer to the people most impacted will ensure that federal bureaucrats who have never left DC aren’t issuing out-of-touch mandates that disproportionately harm working families, small businesses, and our farmers who feed and fuel the world,” she told Fox News Digital. Hinson added there was “no valid reason” for USDA to operate in Washington, D.C., when it could be in her home state of Iowa, for example. Golden, also referencing industry in his home state of Maine, told Fox News Digital, “No one knows better than fishermen what it takes to make a living on the water, or the threat that new regulations from far away can pose not only to their livelihoods but to their entire community or region.” “Redistributing federal agencies and jobs around the country would bring the government closer to the people, ensure regulators are embedded in the communities that thrive or struggle based on their rulings and bring good-paying jobs out of the beltway and into communities across the country,” he said. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who has introduced a counterpart bill in the Senate, said the legislation was aimed at “reining in the administrative state that has run unchecked at the taxpayer’s expense.” BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT It is not immediately clear what the effects would be on job levels in Washington, D.C., where the federal government is the largest employer. It is also unclear what the overall costs could be of transferring agencies. However, the lawmakers argued that it would ultimately save taxpayer dollars by conducting necessary oversight over federal leases, at a time when some spaces are still sitting largely unused due to remote work policies left over from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would also direct the federal government to use funds from the sale of any federal land or building to offset relocation costs.

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