Arrested on ICC warrant: What was Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’?
Former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity, has been flown to the Hague hours after being arrested in the capital Manila on Tuesday. The ICC warrant seen by Reuters accuses Duterte of criminal responsibility for the murder of at least 43 people between 2011 and 2019 as part of his war on drugs as mayor of the southern city of Davao and later as the president between 2016 and 2022. Duterte wanted his trial to take place in a court in the Philippines. “If I committed a sin, prosecute me in Philippine courts,” he told police officers while in custody in Manila. Here’s what we know about Duterte’s war on drugs and the reactions of families of victims. What was Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’? Rodrigo Duterte built his reputation as “the punisher” while he was the mayor of Davao for more than 20 years, though he served intermittently. During his on-and-off tenure, more than 1,000 people were killed, including suspected drug users and dealers. Rights organisations have accused Duterte of running a “death squad” as mayor, a position that he held until his last term ended in 2016. Advertisement His pledge to launch a nationwide crackdown on drug gangs became the feature of his successful presidential campaign in 2016. Just after taking oath as president on June 30, 2016, Duterte vowed to solve the country’s illegal drug problem within six months.“I don’t care about human rights, believe me,” he later declared. He also offered soldiers and police his “official and personal guarantee” of immunity from prosecution for deaths undertaken in the performance of their duties. On July 1, 2016, the first full day of Duterte’s presidency, police carried out anti-drug operations across the country, killing at least 12 people and ushering in a bloody campaign for the next six years that would leave some 7,000 people dead, including women and children. By December 2016, more than 5,000 people had been killed across the country, including 2,041 drug suspects slain in police operations, according to data gathered by Al Jazeera. The other victims were killed by unknown gunmen, some of whom would later turn out to be police officers. In Duterte’s first few months in office, many of the victims were found bound, their remains dumped in polluted creeks, garbage dump sites and grasslands. By the end of his term in 2022, human rights advocates and the ICC prosecutor estimated some 30,000 people were killed by police and unidentified individuals. But police only reported 7,000 deaths during police operations, omitting those killed by unknown perpetrators. What was the public’s reaction to the war on drugs? Throughout his presidency, Duterte enjoyed a high approval rating from the public, allowing him to push for his brutal anti-drug war agenda. Advertisement Right after he took office in 2016, he received an approval rating of 86 percent. And just before he left office in 2022, his approval rating was at 73 percent, according to a Pulse Asia survey. At every turn, Duterte’s pronouncement about his bloody war on drugs was cheered on by an adoring public. In 2017, a national assembly of city and provincial legislators roundly applauded when he said there was nothing he could do if poor people were killed in his war on drugs. He also complained that the media were “treating victims as saints” and “innocent people”. An Amnesty International report in 2017 found that most of the people who were killed were living under the poverty line. The report said that police officers also confessed to receiving reward money equivalent to $150 to $300 for every drug suspect they killed, creating an “incentive to kill”. Surviving Duterte’s war on drugs While many of the victims in the drug war met their untimely death, a few have survived to tell the tale of police executions and abuse. In September 2016, Francisco Santiago Jr told Al Jazeera that he and another man were detained by police in Manila, before they were brought to a darkened alley and shot multiple times. Santiago’s companion, George Huggins, was killed on the spot. But Santiago stumbled on the ground and played dead. He got up after journalists came to the scene, and his rescue was dramatically caught on camera. His testimony to the media was later included as evidence in the complaint filed before the ICC. Advertisement Roger Herrero met a similar fate in 2018. The young father of four from Quezon Province was shot by police at point-blank range, shattering his jaw. He was accused by police of robbery, and of attempting to flee using a motorcycle. But Herrero’s wife later told photojournalist Ezra Acayan that the victim does not even know how to ride a motorcycle. Herrero also played dead to survive, and only managed to get up and ask for help after the police left. In another case in 2017, the Commission on Human Rights found a hidden cell inside a police station in Manila with 12 detainees cramped inside. The agency said that there was no record of their arrest and the police failed to notify their families or lawyers about their disappearance. In 2021, the government dismissed the complaint against the police officers, accused of the illegal detention. Children not spared As of June 2020, four years into Duterte’s drug war, an estimated 129 children had been killed by police or allied assailants, according to a Reuters news agency report that cited an activist group. One of the youngest to have been killed was three-year-old Myca Ulpina, who was hit during a 2019 raid targeting her father in the Rizal Province just outside of Metro Manila. Police claimed that the child was used as a “shield” during the operation. On Negros Island in the central Philippines, four-year-old Althea Fhem Barbon was also killed after police fired at her and her father while they were on a motorbike. Police claimed that her father was a drug dealer. Advertisement One of the most
First on Fox: Top conservative group aligns with Trump as it makes major endorsement in high-profile race
EXCLUSIVE – A leading conservative organization that has long been a major player in GOP primary battles is putting its weight behind the candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. The Club for Growth PAC, a political arm of the Club for Growth public advocacy organization, on Tuesday endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida’s 2026 gubernatorial race. The development was shared first with Fox News. Donalds, a conservative former state lawmaker who has represented Florida’s 19th Congressional District in the southwest part of the state, is currently the only major Republican to launch a campaign. The staunch Trump supporter and House ally announced his candidacy during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” late last month, days after landing the president’s endorsement. TOP CONSERVATIVE GROUP VOWS TO WORK CLOSELY WITH PRESIDENT AFTER PAST CLASHES WITH TRUMP Donalds was backed by the Club when he first won the congressional seat in 2020. The Club notes that it spent $2.5 million to help Donalds narrowly emerge from a nine-way Republican primary contest en route to his general election victory. And Donalds enjoys a 100% lifetime rating by the group, which tracks how members of Congress vote on economic issues. The Club promotes a fiscally conservative agenda, including a focus on tax cuts and other economic issues. “Rep. Byron Donalds is a proven constitutional conservative who has consistently demonstrated his commitment to pro-growth economic policies, school freedom, and limited government principles,” Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Club for Growth PAC is proud to have supported Rep. Donalds since his first election to Congress in 2020, and we look forward to electing him as Florida’s next Governor.” The Club for Growth PAC is affiliated with Club for Growth Action, which describes itself as “America’s largest independent conservative Super PAC.” The Club notes that in the 2024 cycle, candidates endorsed by the PAC won 73% of their races. The endorsement of Donalds comes as Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has acknowledged she is considering a 2026 gubernatorial run to succeed her husband in Tallahassee. Trump and Florida’s first couple had breakfast together a week and a half ago at the president’s West Palm Beach golf course, and also played a round of golf. The governor shared a photo of his wife and Trump from the golf outing on social media. RON AND CASEY DESANTIS TEE OFF WITH TRUMP AS FLORIDA GOVERNOR’S RACE HEATS UP A Republican source in Florida confirmed to Fox News that the governor and first lady used their face-to-face time with Trump, in part, to appeal to the president to not further engage in the gubernatorial race beyond his initial endorsement of Donalds. The president, who moved his primary residence to Florida in 2019, took to social media last month to write that Donalds – who was a major surrogate for Trump on the 2024 campaign trail – “would be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida.” Trump added that Donalds, “should he decide to run, will have my Complete and Total Endorsement. RUN, BYRON, RUN!” An internal poll conducted for Donalds’ campaign indicated the congressman edging Casey DeSantis by single digits in a hypothetical GOP primary showdown. But the survey suggested that Donalds’ lead surged to more than 20 points when respondents were informed that he is supported by Trump, whose sway over the GOP is stronger than ever. WHAT BYRON DONALDS TOLD FOX NEWS’ LARA TRUMP The Club’s endorsement of Donalds is their first effort this cycle to align with Trump in high-profile primaries. McIntosh and the Club have had an up-and-down relationship with Trump. They opposed him as he ran for the White House in 2016 before embracing him as an ally. In the 2022 cycle, Trump and the Club teamed up in some high-profile GOP primaries but clashed over combustible Senate nomination battles in Alabama, Ohio and Pennsylvania. TRUMP, CLUB FOR GROWTH, MAKE PEACE AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTIONS Additionally, the Club was on the outs with Trump as the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race got underway. Trump repeatedly criticized McIntosh and the Club, referring to them as “The Club for NO Growth,” and claimed they were “an assemblage of political misfits, globalists, and losers.” However, Trump and McIntosh made peace about a year ago, with Trump saying in March 2024, as he was wrapping up the GOP presidential nomination, that they were “back in love” after the protracted falling out. “I think you’ll see Club for Growth PACs work closely with President Trump, his political team,” McIntosh told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview last month. “We’re definitely going to be working closely with his policy team to get the tax bill through. A lot of the legislation that we both agree is really important for turning things around in the country.”
Trump energy chief declares climate change a ‘global physical phenomenon’ amid reversal of Biden-era policies
President Donald Trump’s energy chief vowed a reversal of “politically polarizing” Biden-era climate policies as the new administration approaches climate change as “a global physical phenomenon.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking during an energy conference on Monday, knocked climate policies implemented under former President Joe Biden and dismissed claims that he was a “climate denier.” “I am a climate realist,” Wright said at S&P Global’s CERAWeek conference in Houston. “The Trump administration will treat climate change for what it is, a global physical phenomenon that is a side effect of building the modern world.” The remarks represent an administrative shift on the issue after Biden claimed that climate change was the “ultimate threat to humanity.” TRUMP PROMISES TO RAMP UP ENERGY PRODUCTION, LOWER COST OF EGGS DURING JOINT ADDRESS: ‘LIQUID GOLD’ BIDEN SENT $2 BILLION TO STACEY ABRAMS-LINKED GROUP IN GREEN ENERGY ‘SCHEME,’ EPA SAYS Wright argued that the Biden administration had implemented policies that did not promote consumer choice, such as electric vehicle mandates and regulations on household appliances. Two main goals of the Trump administration’s approach to these appliances will be lowered cost and higher performance, according to Wright. “Is that radical?” Wright said of the objectives. “The Trump administration will end the Biden administration’s irrational, quasi-religious policies on climate change that imposed endless sacrifices on our citizens.” “The previous administration’s climate policies have been impoverishing to our citizens, economically destructive to our businesses and politically polarizing,” Wright said. “The cure was far more destructive than the disease. There are no winners in that world except for politicians and rapidly growing interest groups. The only interest group that we are concerned with is the American people.” During his remarks, Wright announced the fourth action on liquefied natural gas (LNG) with the approval of an export permit extension for Delfin LNG LLC (Delfin), a project which was delayed by the Biden administration, according to a press release from the energy department. Wright’s remarks come as Trump makes “unleashing American energy” a key focus of his second administration. Fox News Digital reached out to Biden and the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Romania’s now-barred presidential frontrunner Călin Georgescu claims he is facing Trump-like charges
Romania’s right-wing presidential frontrunner was barred from the race under criminal charges he compares to those President Donald Trump faced. “We are faced with a communist regime as well,” Călin Georgescu, told Fox News Digital just before a Romanian electoral bureau barred him from running in a May presidential election rerun. Prosecutors opened a criminal case against him two weeks prior. Chaos broke out in the streets of Romania’s capital, Bucharest, after the bureau announced its decision to bar the right-wing populist from the ballot. Georgescu was the top vote-getter in the results of the first election, which were annulled. ROMANIA BLOCKS FRONTRUNNER FROM POSTPONED PRESIDENTIAL RACE The charges against him stemmed from “communication of false information,” involvement with a fascist organization and “incitement to actions against the constitutional order.” “They are trying to destroy democracy,” Georgescu claimed. “They could not accept to lose the power and access to the money.” He claimed Romanian authorities are trying to “censor all the online sites.” Before emerging as a conservative political figure, Georgescu’s background was in sustainable development, and he worked on environmental issues at the United Nations. Georgescu is now appealing the ban on his candidacy, which prompted U.S. leaders to comment on the drama. The Constitutional Court is expected to weigh in on his appeal by Wednesday. “How can a judge end democracy in Romania?” Elon Musk asked in an X post on Monday. ROMANIAN FAR-RIGHT PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER JD VANCE’S REBUKE OF EUROPEAN ELECTIONS The results of the first election were thrown out over accusations that Russia had launched a TikTok campaign to benefit Georgescu. The turmoil earned Romania a shoutout from Vice President JD Vance in his speech at the Munich Security Conference. “You can believe it’s wrong for Russia to buy social media advertisements to influence your elections. We certainly do. You can condemn it on the world stage, even. But if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.” Georgescu thanked U.S. leaders for weighing in on his behalf, though he said he has not had contact with American government officials behind the scenes. Georgescu denied that Russia was at play in the first election, and claimed he was not the “pro-Russian” candidate. “I’m pro-Romanian. I have nothing to do with Russia,” he said. Nevertheless, Russia has said any election without Georgescu would be “illegitimate.” ROMANIA ANNULS FIRST ROUND OF PRESIDENTIAL VOTE WON BY FAR-RIGHT CANDIDATE “It has nothing to do with [Russia]. It’s just a copy paste of the accusations made against Donald Trump. It’s just they changed the name Trump.” The politician has taken heat for describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “man who loves his country.” But he claims that critics twist his words advocating “peaceful settlement” in the war on Ukraine because they are “allergic to the word peace.” Georgescu has been critical of NATO and the European Union, and enthusiastically said he would cut off all aid to Ukraine if he took high office. “We shall stop totally all the contributions related with Ukraine,” he said. Georgescu, who was little-known until a social media campaign for his candidacy took off last year, is also charged with obscuring the origins of campaign financing. Asked how he raised money for his campaign, Georgescu said: “The situation was very, very easy. I made the best of what I had… we established a strategy sent by social media and I said to the people, be free to do everything you want.” “The people in the moment when they realize they [can be] free… we won this point, because it’s a moment when the people are free, they can do miracles.” “They accuse me for different things, they are very strange and awkward, no evidence in any situation,” said Georgescu, adding that he believes he is under investigation because “the oligarch system was exposed.” Last week, Romania also expelled two military attachés with the Russian embassy. Their reason for expulsion was listed vaguely as taking part in actions that ran afoul of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Asked if Russian influence was an issue in his country, Georgescu said: “I don’t know anything about that. The only thing which I know, I know that we have to have very good relationships with our neighbors, extremely good relationships with the neighbors, and very good relationships with all the big countries, particularly, of course, with, with Russia, with the United States, with China.” “Of course, we cannot allow [anybody] to intervene in our country. This is all. But we have to have very good relationships with everybody.” He declined to say whether he would pull Romania out of NATO. “The United States is the first partner,” he said. “So whatever I have to do, whatever I wish to do, this is the main part which I recognize. The United States as a principle flag of democracy and freedom. And this is the principle partner which I’m looking for.”
Federal judge orders Trump administration to pay ‘unlawfully’ restricted USAID funds
A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to pay the remainder of foreign aid owed to contractors for completed work, noting in a new court ruling that the administration likely violated the separation of powers doctrine by “unlawfully impounding” nearly $2 billion in funds appropriated by Congress. U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali, a Biden appointee, said in the ruling that the Trump administration likely exceeded its constitutional authority in attempting to block the payments owed by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to grant recipients and foreign aid contractors. “Here, the executive has unilaterally deemed that funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid will not be spent,” Ali said. “The executive not only claims his constitutional authority to determine how to spend appropriated funds, but usurps Congress’ exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place.” SCOTUS RULES ON NEARLY $2 BILLION IN FROZEN USAID PAYMENTS Ali said the limits of the case, which focuses solely on projects completed before Feb. 13, prevent him from ordering the administration to make payments on other work, or ordering the reinstatement of other contracts. As of last Friday, that amount owed by the government stood at around $671 million. It is unclear whether additional payments have been made, though Ali ordered the plaintiffs to file a joint status report by March 14 apprising the court of the Trump administration’s compliance with the order. Plaintiffs were also told to propose a schedule for next steps in this matter. “The Court is prepared to hold a prompt hearing at the request of the parties to address any feasibility concerns,” Ali said in the 48-page order. Ali also dedicated a large portion of the 48-page ruling to arguments that the Trump administration likely usurped its executive authority under the Constitution in ordering a blanket freeze on nearly all foreign aid payments in a Jan. 20 executive order, and a memo just four days later that curtailed foreign aid funding and restructured existing contracts. White House and State Department officials did not immediately respond to the Fox News’s request for comment on the status of the remaining payments, or if the amount owed still stands at $671 million. LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS Ali had previously ordered the Trump administration to pay all owed foreign aid funds for previously completed work, totaling $1.9 billion, by Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. The Supreme Court took up the case for emergency review last week, but ruled 5-4 to reject the administration’s request to extend the freeze. Instead, the court remanded the case back to the D.C. federal court and Ali to hash out the specifics of what must be paid and when. But the bulk of last week’s hearing in D.C. federal court, which stretched on for more than four hours, focused largely on the government’s role and review of all foreign aid contractors and grants, which Trump administration lawyers told Ali they had already completed and made final decisions for. Lawyers were also pressed over whether the Trump administration can legally move to terminate projects whose funds are allocated and appropriated by Congress – something Ali referenced specifically in his ruling. “The provision and administration of foreign aid has been a joint enterprise between our two political branches,” he said. “That partnership is built not out of convenience, but of constitutional necessity.” These arguments – and the ruling from Ali – could eventually kick the issue back up to the Supreme Court, should the government move to appeal any part of the memo or the allegations.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the House voting to avoid a government shutdown today
The House is poised to debate and vote on an interim spending bill to avoid a government shutdown early Saturday morning. This bill renews all Biden-era funding numbers. It also cuts the budget for Washington but allows the Pentagon to begin new programs and increases military pay. It is all about the math. The margin could be tight. That is why Vice President JD Vance is on Capitol Hill meeting with House Republicans behind closed doors at 9 a.m. ET. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HERE WE GO AGAIN (AGAIN) President Donald Trump unloaded last night on Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., threatening a primary challenge. Massie is a hard no. The administration and House GOP leaders believe a shutdown would be catastrophic and interfere with adopting Trump’s agenda. House Democratic leaders oppose the package. They believe Republicans should pass the bill themselves since they didn’t negotiate with Democrats. However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refused to answer when asked twice yesterday if all Democrats would vote nay. VIDEO OF DEMS RAILING AGAINST PAST SHUTDOWNS UNVEILED BY GOP Democrats are somewhat torn. On the one hand, they believe a shutdown could impede DOGE. On the other, they fear that a shutdown could embolden Elon Musk to shutter programs that are closed. The vote comes today sometime after 4 p.m. ET. Even if the bill passes, the measure faces an unclear future in the Senate. Even if all 53 Senate Republicans vote yes, they need seven Democrats to break a filibuster. The deadline to fund the government comes at 11:59:59 p.m. ET Friday.
GOP lawmakers take crucial step to ‘unlock’ American energy to reverse Biden-era ‘disaster’
Newly introduced legislation aims to make it easier to export energy used for warming and lighting up homes in the United States and around the globe. The “Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act of 2025’’ would grant “exclusive authority” to sign off on applications for liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and exports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, moving it away from the Department of Energy. The Biden administration stopped clearing LNG export applications and put out a study in December warning about potential long-term cost risks as well as environmental concerns, according to Reuters. TRUMP ADMIN ENDS WAIVER ALLOWING IRAQ TO BUY IRANIAN ELECTRICITY AS PART OF ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ CAMPAIGN However, South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott, the bill’s Senate sponsor, told Fox News Digital it is critical for various reasons, including national security. “If you want your prices to go down, your production has to go up,” Scott said. “I remember back to 2014 when I was still on the Energy Committee […] we had the Lithuania Minister of Energy come before our committee and talk about exporting LNG as a way of sidelining Russia and reducing our dependence on adversaries,” he added. “I’ll never forget that hearing when he was there, it really stuck with me.” Texas Republican Rep. August Pfluger, the legislation’s House sponsor, shared the potential long-term benefits will “tremendously impact” his central and west Texas district, as the state “is the leading LNG exporter in the United States.” “This bill will support thousands of new jobs in Texas, from construction and engineering to operations at export terminals along the Gulf. Furthermore, it will give natural gas producers in Texas a more competitive edge in international markets, ensuring that Texas remains a global energy leader,” he said. The Trump administration appears to be excited about the prospect of expanding LNG efforts domestically, as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright both visited a facility in Louisiana last week amid an $18 million investment from its owner, Venture Global. The U.S. currently leads the world in natural gas creation, according to the Department of Energy. US ‘ENERGY DOMINANCE’: WRIGHT, BURGUM VISIT LOUISIANA LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS FACILITY AMID $18B EXPANSION “If you think about the America First strategy, the simple answer is an America Last strategy is depending on foreign adversaries for our energy, whether it’s LNG, oil, gas, whatever it is. So the more we do in America to increase our production, the more we engage in the energy America First strategy,” he said. The legislation is meant to be a long-term measure to ultimately make it harder for the policies of a specific administration to determine what permits are approved. However, Scott noted in the short term that “having President Trump in office is the most effective weapon.” FIRED PIPELINE WORKER SAYS REVIVING KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE WILL HELP FAMILIES ‘PROSPER’ “Our goal, of course, is making sure that in the future, no matter who’s in office, that we have in place something that tethers the production to FERC and hopefully avoids the disaster that we saw under the Biden administration – their ability to manipulate the Department of Energy,” Scott added. Last year, legislation under the same title passed the House but did not make it to former President Joe Biden’s desk.
GOP spending bill would force DC to cut $1B from city government, officials say
Washington, D.C., officials are making a last-ditch plea to Congress over the continuing resolution (CR) that is expected to head to the House floor on Tuesday. City officials, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, protested the measure outside the Capitol building on Monday. “Unfortunately, we are here today to talk about potentially devastating and really highly unusual situation that we face with the draft budget CR that would immediately have the effect of cutting $1 billion out of our local budget,” Mayor Bowser told the media during a Monday news conference. DEMS THREATENING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN OVER ELON MUSK HATE, REPUBLICANS SAY Bowser implored Congress to put language in the draft CR that would allow D.C. to continue raising and spending local funds under its most recently approved budget, which has been included in past stopgap bills. The mayor says the current CR draft wrongly treats D.C. like it does federal agencies, which have not had their FY25 budgets approved. “We are not a federal agency. We are a city, county, state all at once,” Bowser said. She warned that if the CR’s language is not changed, D.C. will have six months to cut spending by $1.1 billion. White House staff and House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office have been in contact with Mayor Bowser regarding the omitted language, according to Politico. Additionally, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson reportedly told the outlet that he spoke with senior Republican Staff at the House Appropriations Committee about the situation. The mayor explained that the D.C. budget, which has been approved, focused on public safety, public education and economic growth. She also said that passing the CR would work against a goal that she and President Donald Trump share, “to make Washington, D.C., the best, most beautiful city in the world.” TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT SHUTDOWN HEADS FOR HOUSE VOTE Last week, the House Appropriations Committee put out a press release highlighting key parts of the CR that is meant to help avoid a government shutdown. The committee says the CR will still allow for the funding of “core government services” and increases funding for air traffic control, among other things. “This straightforward continuing resolution ensures the government remains open and working for Americans. It maintains critical services for our constituents and provides the largest pay raise for our brave junior enlisted heroes since President Reagan,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Ok., said in a press release. “Democrats have a choice to join us or display their true intentions. Should they choose to vote to shut the government for negotiation leverage and their contempt of President Trump, they are readying to hurt hundreds of millions more,” Cole said. “It’s a battle they lost in November, and one the people will continue to see through.” Bowser concluded her remarks at the news conference by saying that D.C. is ready to work with the federal government to ensure that the city “always represents the strength and prosperity of this country.”
DOGE and agencies cancel 200,000 federal government credit cards
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that it has deactivated more than 200,000 credit cards linked to more than a dozen federal agencies following an audit showing they were unused or unneeded. The announcement comes as the Elon Musk-led agency continues to root out waste, fraud and corruption in the federal government. “Weekly Credit Card Update! Pilot program with 16 agencies to audit unused/unneeded credit cards,” DOGE wrote on its X account. DOGE UNCOVERS OVER 4M GOVERNMENT CREDIT CARDS RESPONSIBLE FOR 90M TRANSACTIONS “After 3 weeks, >200,000 cards have been de-activated. Great progress this past week by @HHSGov [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] @Interior [U.S. Department of the Interior].” The agency said that at the start of the audit, there were more than 4.6 million active cards/accounts throughout those agencies. “So still more work to do,” the DOGE team wrote. It is unclear how much money the taxpayer will save following the cancelations. Last month, DOGE said the 4.6 million credit cards were used for 90 million unique transactions, totaling around $40 billion worth of spending in FY24. In total, 204,801 credit cards have been canceled, consisting of 171,120 travel cards and 33,681 purchase cards. TRUMP ISSUES WARNING ABOUT WASTEFUL SPENDING, ORDERS ‘RADICAL TRANSPARENCY’ AMID DOGE PROBES, REVELATIONS The agencies which have had credit cards canceled include the General Services Administration (GSA), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Labor Department, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Education Department, the Interior Department, the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Agriculture Department (USDA), NASA, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security, Social Security Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Interior Department saw the largest number of credit card terminations with nearly 20,000 purchase cards and nearly 40,000 travel cards canceled. HHS was second with more than 43,700 travel credit cards and 2,235 purchase cards canceled. The State Department is the only agency of the 16 which didn’t have any credit cards canceled. Last month, Musk spoke at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting and said he is looking to find $1 trillion in savings through DOGE to help slash the national debt, which is around $36.5 trillion. Musk took aim at what he described as $2 trillion in deficits, stating that America “simply cannot sustain” that amount of debt “If this continues, the country will go, become de facto bankrupt,” Musk claimed. Musk described DOGE as “not an optional thing” and argued that it was “central” to reforming the U.S. economy. Over the weekend, DOGE also identified thousands of cases where more than $300 million in loans were granted to children. DOGE said it identified that the Small Business Administration (SBA) granted nearly 5,600 loans for $312 million to borrowers whose only listed owner was 11 years old or younger at the time of the loan. The loans were issued in 2020 and 2021 – while the world struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic – and it is unclear what they were used for. Fox News’ Andrea Margolis and Michael Lee contributed to this report.
House Dem pushes to censure Boebert over TV interview about Al Green
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., is pushing to censure Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., over a TV interview in which the Republican congresswoman criticized Rep. Al Green, D-Texas. Green notably heckled President Donald Trump multiple times during his first address of his second term to Congress last week until House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ordered the Sergeant at Arms to escort Green from the chamber. Houlahan submitted a resolution Monday calling to censure Boebert “for her recent disparaging and derogatory comments” about Green. REP. AL GREEN BLAMES ‘INVIDIOUS DISCRIMINATION’ FOR BEING CENSURED AFTER DISRUPTING TRUMP’S SPEECH During a March 7 interview with Real America’s Voice News, Boebert said “Al Green was given multiple opportunities to stand down, to sit down, to behave, to show decorum.” “For him to go and shake his pimp cane at President Trump was absolutely abhorrent,” Boebert added. The resolution said those words uttered by Boebert “are disparaging, derogatory, and racist toward another colleague, and are a breach of proper conduct and decorum of the U.S. House of Representatives.” It calls for Boebert to be censured, “forthwith present herself in the well of the House of Representatives for the pronouncement of censure,” and that Boebert “be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the Speaker.” In a statement, Houlahan said, “After my discussion on the House floor last week when Speaker Johnson told me he’d have to censure half the members if he actually enforced the rules of the Congress, I decided to help, and tonight introduced a resolution to censure Representative Boebert for her racist and derogatory statements about Representative Al Green (D-TX).” At the start of Trump’s address before Congress, Green stood up when the president described his electoral victory as a “mandate” from the American people. “You have no mandate! You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” Green shouted, waving his cane at Trump. The lower chamber of Congress voted to censure Green the next day, and Johnson condemned how the Democrat “chose to deliberately violate House rules in a manner that we think is probably unprecedented in history.” Houlahan initially voted to table the motion, but she was among the 10 Democrats who ultimately joined with Republicans to censure Green. Establishment Democrats and progressives promptly turned on each other over their party’s disrupting behavior during Trump’s address, complaining how they’ve failed to have a unifying message against Republicans. TRUMP BLASTS REP AL GREEN AS ‘AN EMBARRASSMENT’ TO DEMOCRATS, SAYS HE ‘SHOULD BE FORCED TO TAKE AN IQ TEST Houlahan acknowledged in an X post on Thursday that “today’s vote to censure my fellow representative was not easy and has angered many of you.” Speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer afterward, she defended her decision but also criticized past behavior from Republicans in the chamber that she argued also warranted censure. “I voted to table that because I think we have much, much better things to do with our time than to continue to do this tit-for-tat nonsense with one another,” Houlahan told the newspaper. “That being said, the motion to table failed, so we don’t have the opportunity to not vote on this. And I believe we need to recognize that we have rules in the House of Representatives and we have standards of decorum that we all presumably agree to, and we all need to agree to those standards so we can get the work for the people done and so we can not be a banana republic.” After the vote, Houlahan told the Inquirer she pulled Johnson “to the side and had a very‚ very strong conversation with him where I explained I voted in favor but I am not OK with arbitrary and capricious applications of the same rule.” She said she complained about how there was no censure or sanction against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Johnson replied, “Well, she just wore a hat.” But Houlahan argued Greene “also yelled at the President of the United States,” referring to her treatment of former President Joe Biden last year, “and I don’t believe it’s OK that she did not have same treatment.” “And I think it’s absolute hypocrisy that people after the vote were standing there yelling at Mr. Green when their own colleagues have done very, very similar things, not wearing masks when it was mandated, wearing MAGA hats when there are literally no hats allowed on the floor,” Houlahan said. “We had to make a special exception for wearing hijabs. It’s insane… We need to behave like grown-ups and stop the madness.” Houlahan said it was a “really, really, really hard vote for me,” but ultimately she did her duty. “And it’s frustrating because Al Green’s statement was true,” Houlahan said. “It wasn’t provocative or offensive. It was the truth. But I think each one of us had to make decisions about how we were going to comport ourselves and what was appropriate, and I know each colleague on both sides made those choices, and each one of us knows there are consequences to those choices.”