Alsobrooks backs court-packing as Hogan fights GOP, McConnell, Trump associations
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and former Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan faced off in a debate on Thursday night ahead of the Senate election in Maryland. In a particularly notable response, Alsobrooks aligned with some of the more progressive lawmakers in the Democrat Party, telling the moderator that she would support packing the Supreme Court. “I agree with either increasing the number of justices or term limits, yes,” she said. ‘OUT OF MONEY’: WHISTLEBLOWERS ALLEGE LACK OF SECRET SERVICE FUNDS, DELAYED PAYMENTS, TOP SENATOR REVEALS Hogan ridiculed this in his answer, criticizing both parties for “trying to change the rules so they can pack the court.” “What I did was find the most qualified judges, regardless of what party they were,” he said. Striking a tone similar to that of outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., Hogan added, “if you can’t find one person to cross over and vote for a Democratic judge or a Republican judge, I’m not going to support them.” Manchin had developed a reputation for bucking his party during his time as a Democrat. FOR WISCONSIN DEMS, A 2024 WIN IN THE BATTLEGROUND STATE IS YEARS IN THE MAKING Democrats are favored to win the Maryland Senate seat, but with Hogan’s popularity in the state and his distancing from GOP party leaders, the margins appear too close for comfort. Alsobrooks also backed scrapping the legislative filibuster to accomplish Democrat priorities such as mandating abortion access or loosening voting requirements. The county executive took several opportunities on Thursday to suggest Hogan’s election would give Republicans the Senate majority, regardless of whether he personally disagrees with them or would vote differently. However, top political handicappers favor Republicans to take the Senate majority, with expected wins in West Virginia and Montana, regardless of what happens in the Maryland race. She further questioned why Hogan would run as a Republican and not as an independent if he disagreed on so many key issues. SEE IT: WISCONSIN DAIRY FARMER SAYS ‘NO QUESTION’ TRUMP ADMIN WAS ‘MUCH BETTER’ THAN BIDEN-HARRIS But Hogan pushed back, explaining that he thinks Washington, D.C., needs lawmakers who will challenge their own party. “I’ve stood up to my party. I’ll stand up to either party,” he said. “I think we need mavericks in Washington that aren’t going to just do exactly what the party bosses tell them to do.” “I’m not a MAGA, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell person,” Hogan stressed. While the former governor emphasized that he would support the right to abortion and policies like the negotiated border bill that Republicans opposed, Alsobrooks claimed that such bills likely wouldn’t get votes in a Republican-controlled Senate. WISCONSIN SENATE RACE SHIFTS TO ‘TOSS UP’ BY HANDICAPPER AS TAMMY BALDWIN FIGHTS FOR RE-ELECTION The majority leader of the Senate notably controls the agenda in the upper chamber. In a Washington Post-University of Maryland poll late last month, Alsobrooks led Hogan 51% to 40% in the traditionally deep blue state. The survey was conducted between Sept. 19 and Sept. 23 and had a sample size of 1,012 registered voters. The margin of error is +/-3.5 percentage points. The Fox News Power Rankings rated the Maryland Senate race “Leans Democrat” during the same time period. Top political handicapper the Cook Political Report considers Maryland’s open seat to be “Likely Democrat.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Fox News Politics: Harris and the Hurricanes
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. What’s happening… -Mayorkas refuses to answer questions on Afghan terror plot… -Dems fret Harris momentum has stalled… -GOP sees opportunity as Dems struggle with working class voters… Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis bashed Vice President Kamala Harris for attempting to insert herself into the response to hurricanes Helene and Milton on Thursday. DeSantis and Harris have clashed in recent days after the governor declined to take a call from Harris regarding the hurricane response. He said Thursday that Harris has “no role” in the process and added that she had never attempted to call him during previous storms in Florida. “I am working with the president of the United States. I’m working with the director of FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency]. We’ve been doing this now nonstop for over two weeks,” DeSantis said Thursday. “Although I’ve worked well with the president, she has never called Florida. She has never offered any support,” he said of Harris. “I don’t have time for those games. I don’t care about her campaign. Obviously, I’m not a supporter of hers, but she’s not, she has no role in this process. And so I’m working with the people I need to be working with.”…Read more BRIEFING BATTLE: Mayorkas refuses to answer questions on Afghan terror plot …Read more BACK TO CRIMEA: Biden blames Obama for Ukraine war: report …Read more ‘GLITCH’: Harris’ past comes back to haunt her after crime victim from her policy blasts resurfaced speech …Read more MORE NEEDED: FEMA has enough resources to address hurricanes but ‘will need additional funds,’ Mayorkas says …Read more POLITICAL STORM: Mayorkas rips ‘pernicious’ misinformation over FEMA relief …Read more ‘OUT OF MONEY’: Lack of Secret Service funds, delayed payments to Homeland Security teams revealed …Read more ‘KILL AND BURY’: Defund police Dem’s past comes back to haunt him in resurfaced police report …Read more ‘SCARED TO DEATH’: Dems fret Harris’ momentum has waned, urge campaign to be more aggressive …Read more TESTER TESTED: GOP upset in Montana race could flip the Senate …Read more LABOR’S LOVE LOST?: As Harris struggles with working class voters, GOP sees opportunity …Read more UNEXPECTED OPPOSITION: Battleground Dem warns traditional voting bloc being ‘split’ in 2024 …Read more NEIGHBORLY ADVICE: For Wisconsin Dems, a 2024 win in the battleground state is years in the making …Read more ‘BIDENVASION’: Kari Lake, Ruben Gallego spar over illegal immigration in AZ Senate debate …Read more ‘FOLLOW THE STUDENT’: Trump calls for federal education dollars to ‘follow the student,’ in push for universal school choice …Read more DECIDING FACTOR?: Trump holds lead over Harris in battleground states on this issue …Read more ‘CRICKETS’: Walz silent on support for eliminating Electoral College after Harris camp says it does not back proposal …Read more WHO’S MORE ACCESSIBLE?: Trump-Vance have done significantly more interviews than Harris-Walz …Read more ‘INHUMANE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL’: Death row inmates would be able to introduce newly discovered evidence in proposed bill …Read more SHOCKING DEATH TOLL: More Russian casualties in Ukraine war than all conflicts combined since WWII: US …Read more BATTLE CONTINUES: DACA saga drags on …Read more DEVOUT CATHOLIC: Ethel Kennedy, RFK’s widow, dead at 96 …Read more ‘LET HER SUFFER AND DIE’: Hospital that delayed Georgia woman’s emergency D&C blamed for death: lawyer …Read more Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Follow the Money: Understanding FEMA’s disaster budget in Hurricane Milton aftermath
It’s hard to understand the money when it comes to natural disasters. Does FEMA have enough to respond? Will residents get money after their car, home, business, town are destroyed by floodwaters? Will Congress approve additional tranches of disaster relief – both in the near-term and down the road. So, let’s follow the money. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WITH NO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS IN SEPTEMBER FEMA’s coffers for “immediate needs” and the Disaster Relief Program (DRF) were nearly bone dry as Congress approved an interim spending bill to keep the government from shutting down in late September. Lawmakers awarded FEMA more than $20 billion to reload the DRF, which dwindled to around $1 billion and change in September. Congress restocked the DRF simply because it was prudent to do so. Lawmakers had to return to Washington in an emergency session in the late summer of 2005 to refurbish the DRF after Hurricane Katrina. Front-loading the DRF with $20 billion this year would be enough for FEMA to get through any natural disaster until Congress returned in mid-November. That’s why FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell signaled things were fine with money for FEMA. For now. “I have the funding and sufficient resources to support the ongoing responses to Hurricane Helene, as well as Hurricane Milton,” said Criswell. “We had thought that we would go into immediate needs funding in December or January. I need to assess that every day to see if I’m going to be able to wait that long.” This is why House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., resisted demands to recall Congress to address the storms. President Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre have insisted that Congress come back ahead of schedule. The House and Senate are on recess until after the elections in mid-November. Regardless of the severity of both storms, it’s hard to envision a scenario where Congress returns to replenish FEMA’s coffers. Yes. It’s good politics for the President, Mayorkas and lawmakers in the affected areas and others to implore Congressional leaders to summon the House and Senate back to Washington. It gives the illusion of exhausting all options. Plus, if Johnson or Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., don’t call people back, those from the opposite party can suggest that they aren’t responsive or taking the damage as seriously as they should. Moreover, it’s probably not even necessary for Congress to come back into session until November 12th. The DRF is now well stocked. Only something as catastrophic as thermonuclear war could draw down the DRF to zero before next month. So draining the fund that fast – prompting Congressional action – is not likely. When lawmakers returned in a dramatic, emergency, witching-hour session in 2005 to replenish money for FEMA in the wake of Katrina, it did so with a skeleton crew. Only a few lawmakers showed up. Then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., approved the bill on the floor after a few quick remarks and “unanimous consent.” HOW US GOVERNMENT WILL DOLE OUT AID TO VICTIMS OF HURRICANES MILTON, HELENE There are three methods for the House and Senate to vote. A roll call vote where each Member is recorded as yea or nay. A “voice vote.” That’s where those in favor yell “aye” and those opposed shout “nay.” The louder side (supposedly) prevails. Then there is “unanimous consent.” That’s where a bill comes to the floor and a Member simply asks to pass a bill (more often in the Senate). If all Members agree, the bill is passed. But if there is a single objection, everything stops. The bill is dead. Approving an emergency storm relief bill with a handful of people may have worked right after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But American politics now occupies a very different galaxy than the one 19 years ago. In late March 2020, Congress attempted to approve a staggering $2.3 trillion relief package as the COVID-19 pandemic burned across the planet. Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution says that a “Majority” of the House and Senate “shall constitute a Quorum to do Business.” But the House and Senate conduct business all the time without a proper quorum. It’s usually not a problem so long as no one presses the issue. When the COVID bill hit the House floor, leaders insisted on social distancing. The aim was to approve the bill via unanimous consent or a voice vote. A formal roll call would require that all 435 House members come to the floor at once. Not an optimal scenario in the initial, dangerous days of the pandemic. However, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wanted to “make a point of order” that the House lacked a quorum and demand a roll call vote. Even former President Trump torched Massie, tweeting that the Kentucky Republican was “grandstanding” and should be evicted from the GOP. Former Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Md., presided over the vote. He quickly counted Members present. Both the majority and minority devised a way to bring a large number of Members into the House chamber to represent a quorum. Some materialized, spread out on the floor. Others appeared on the balcony of the then-closed public viewing gallery. For Brown, that was enough. The quorum was present. He gaveled the bill to passage without a roll call vote. In today’s toxified atmosphere, it’s hard to believe that lawmakers from both sides wouldn’t protest if leaders try to summon the House and Senate back to Washington for an emergency vote, ala, Katrina. Even though it’s disaster aid, some will carp about the extra spending. They might accuse leaders of trying to ram through the measure without enough vetting. The 2020 coronavirus package vote hints at potential problems unless all lawmakers are recalled to debate and vote on emergency spending. FORMER NIH OFFICIAL ACCUSED OF MAKING EMAILS ‘DISAPPEAR’ PLEADS FIFTH TO COVID SUBCOMMITTEE Then there is the question of offsets. Republicans representing the path of both storms certainly want the federal government
Dem strategists fret Harris ‘sugar high’ is over: ‘If you’re not nervous, you’re not paying attention’
Democratic strategists are calling on the Harris campaign to get more aggressive amid concerns her early momentum, spurred largely by Harris’ debate performance and the Democratic National Convention, has waned due to a number of factors. “I’m scared to death,” Democratic strategist James Carville said Wednesday. “Now that the sugar high is gone, people have realized what Kamala Harris has said from the start, which is that she is the underdog,” Anthony Coley, a former Biden and Obama staffer turned political consultant, told The Hill. “If you’re not nervous, you’re not paying attention,” former Harris communications director Jamal Simmons added. KAMALA HARRIS’ SUPPORT WITH ARAB AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN MICHIGAN IS ‘TENUOUS’: DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST Meanwhile, David Axelrod, widely regarded as the political mastermind behind former President Obama’s 2008 victory, recognized that “Harris had a great launch, right through the convention and the debate,” but he acknowledged “the race has plateaued.” Carville’s remarks that he is “scared to death” about Nov. 5, came during an interview Wednesday with MSNBC’s Ari Melber. Carville estimated that with Hurricane Milton dominating the news cycle, Harris only has about 20 days to amplify her messaging. JAMES CARVILLE SAYS DEMOCRATS TALK ABOUT JANUARY 6 AND 2020 ELECTION TOO MUCH, SHOULD MOVE ON An anonymous Democratic strategist told The Hill that Harris is still “fine-tuning her message” way too close to Election Day. “We are in the ‘make the sale’ phase of the campaign now. We’re not still tweaking the message,” the strategist pointed out. Some of the criticism from Democratic strategists also included suggestions the Harris campaign get more aggressive. “They need to be sharp. They need to be aggressive. They need to stop answering questions and start asking questions,” Carville insisted Wednesday. “I think she and the whole campaign need to be much more aggressive and much less passive than they are.” “In these campaigns, every time you clear a bar, the bar gets raised,” added Axelrod. “You have to lift your game and adjust your strategy.” With Election Day rapidly approaching, polling in three critical battleground states show former President Trump making gains, but the race still remains a toss-up between the two candidates. According to polling from Quinnipiac University, Harris is maintaining a three-point advantage over Trump in battleground Pennsylvania. However, that is a drop from Harris’ six-point lead in Quinnipiac’s September polling of Pennsylvania voters. TRUMP HAS 9-POINT LEAD ON MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE TO VOTERS: POLL Quinnipiac polling in Michigan shows Trump with a three-point edge, and it shows him with a two-point advantage in Wisconsin. Quinnipiac’s Michigan polling last month had Harris leading by five points, while its Wisconsin polling had her at a one-point advantage over Trump. “That was then, this is now,” Tim Malloy, a polling analyst at Quinnipiac, said. “The Harris post-debate starburst dims to a glow as Harris enters the last weeks slipping slightly in the Rust Belt.”
Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller subpoenaed to testify in his former political consultant’s criminal trial
Todd Smith was indicted in 2022 on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for hemp licenses that are issued by Miller’s office.
Political storm: On Trump ‘onslaught of lies,’ Biden urges former president to ‘get a life man’
There’s no let up in the war of words between President Biden and former President Trump over the federal government’s response to back-to-back devastating hurricanes that slammed into the southeast. After Trump continued to charge that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been slow and ineffective in steering the government’s storm efforts, the president once again fired back. Biden told reporters on Thursday that Trump needed to “get a life man, help these people.” And he argued that “the public will hold him [Trump] accountable” for making false claims regarding the capabilities of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) to assist storm victims. The former president’s son, Eric Trump, posted on X on Wednesday that the family has opened up one of its Florida hotels to house over 200 linemen who are helping in the storm’s aftermath. Trump has also launched a GoFundMe campaign for victims of Hurricane Helene in Georgia, which has raised more than $7 million so far. BACK-TO-BACK HURRICANES ROCK PRESIDENTIAL RACE The president spoke as millions in Florida remained without power after Hurricane Milton tore a path of destruction across the central and northern parts of the state late Wednesday into Thursday. Meanwhile, cleanup and recovery efforts continue across the southeast, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene nearly two weeks ago. With less than four weeks to go until Election Day in November, Harris and Trump are locked in a narrow margin-of-error showdown in the race to succeed Biden in the White House, and with two of the hardest-hit states from Helene — North Carolina and Georgia — among the seven key battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 election, the politics of federal disaster relief are again front and center on the campaign trail. CLICK HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE STORMS “Vice President Harris and I have been in constant contact with the state and local officials. We’re offering everything they need,” Biden emphasized on Thursday. Among those the president spoke with was Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. While DeSantis and Harris have traded verbal fire this week over whether he ignored hurricane-related calls from her, the governor and Biden have worked together on storm response and relief efforts. “I spoke with the president this morning,” DeSantis said during one of his numerous briefings on Thursday. “He said he wants to be helpful. And so if we have a request, he said, send them his way, and he wants to help us get the job done. So I appreciate being able to collaborate across the federal, state and local governments and work together to put the people first.” Despite those comments and others from DeSantis as well as other leading Republican officeholders in the storm-struck southeast, Trump has continuously slammed Biden and Harris. DESANTIS AND HARRIS TRADE FIRE OVER HURRICANE CALL “THE WORST RESPONSE TO A STORM OR HURRICANE DISASTER IN U.S. HISTORY,” Trump claimed in a social media post on Tuesday. “The worst hurricane response since Katrina,” the former president charged on Wednesday as he pointed to the much-maligned initial federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which was heavily criticized for being slow and ineffective. Trump, speaking at a campaign rally in battleground Pennsylvania, lobbed another political bomb at Harris, arguing that “She just led the worst rescue operation in history in North Carolina…the worst ever, they say.” And the former president once again made false claims that FEMA diverted money intended for disaster relief and spent it on undocumented migrants in the U.S. as he turned up the volume on his inflammatory rhetoric over the combustible issue of illegal immigration. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS WEATHER UPDATES ON HURRICANE MILTON “You know where they gave the money to: illegal immigrants coming,” Trump said as the crowd of MAGA supporters loudly booed. Hours later, Biden pushed back, accusing the Republican presidential nominee of leading an “onslaught of lies.” Biden charged that the rhetoric from Trump and other Republicans was “beyond ridiculous” and that “it’s got to stop.” But on Thursday at a campaign event in Michigan, Trump kept up the attacks. He praised southern Republican governors for doing a “fantastic job” reacting to the storms and argued that “the federal government, on the other hand, has not done what you’re supposed to be doing, in particular, with respect to North Carolina. They’ve let those people suffer unjustly, unjustly.” Harris, in a Wednesday interview with the Weather Channel, also chided Trump. “This is not a time for us to just point fingers at each other as Americans,” the vice president said. “Anybody who considers themselves to be a leader should really be in the business right now of giving people a sense of confidence that we’re all working together and that we have the resources and the ability to work together on their behalf.” Fox News’ Kirill Clark and Matteo Cina contributed to this report Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Biden, NATO head claim a stronger Obama response to Crimea invasion may have prevented Ukraine war
The West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 has been brought under fresh scrutiny this week – as outgoing NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the war in Ukraine may not have happened if the U.S. and NATO had a stronger response to that incursion. “If we had delivered a fraction of the weapons we have delivered after 2022, we may have actually prevented the war,” he said in an interview with Politico. Stoltenberg, a Norwegian politician, led NATO from 2014 until last week. President Biden reportedly expressed a similar sentiment. “They f—ed up in 2014,” Biden said, according to Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward’s upcoming book, “War,” obtained by Fox News Digital. “That’s why we are here,” the 81-year-old said. “We f—ked it up. Barack never took [Russian President Vladimir] Putin seriously.” NORTH KOREA TROOPS NOW FIGHTING FOR RUSSIA IN UKRAINE, SEOUL SAYS “We did nothing. We gave Putin a license to continue!” the president went on. “Well, I’m revoking his f—ing license!” In 2014, the Kremlin annexed the Crimean Peninsula after the so-called Revolution of Dignity, when Ukrainians ousted Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych. It was a quick and bloodless takeover. Russia flooded the regions with migrants and fended off Ukrainian efforts to take it back. The Obama administration provided Ukraine with defensive weapons, sanctioned the Kremlin and kicked Russia out of the G-8, but some, even reportedly including Obama’s then-vice president, Biden, believe he should have done more. It came as Russia had also invaded Ukraine’s Donbas region and shot down a Malaysia Airlines flight with nearly 300 people on board. He stopped short of providing Ukraine with lethal weaponry. As president, Donald Trump reversed Obama’s policy, approving a plan to sell Ukraine Javelin missiles for $47 million. In a 2014 interview with The Atlantic, Obama said he saw no benefit in the U.S. getting involved in the unfolding events in Europe related to Russia and Ukraine. “The fact is that Ukraine, which is a non-NATO country, is going to be vulnerable to military domination by Russia no matter what we do,” Obama said. “This is an example of where we have to be very clear about what our core interests are and what we are willing to go to war for.” In 2012, Obama famously downplayed the threat of Russia during a debate with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Romney had asserted that Russia was the U.S.’s greatest geopolitical foe. RUSSIA JAILS MERCENARY STEPHEN HUBBARD FOR FIGHTING AS A MERCENARY IN UKRAINE “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years,” Obama chided at the time. He also tasked his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, with pursuing a “reset” in U.S.-Russia relations, scrapping plans by President George W. Bush to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe that Russia saw as a direct military threat. Putin called that decision “correct and brave.” Obama defended his 2014 policy in a 2023 interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour. “Ukraine of that time was not the Ukraine that we’re talking about today,” Obama said. “There’s a reason there was not an armed invasion of Crimea, because Crimea was full of a lot of Russian speakers, and there was some sympathy to the views that Russia was representing.” The U.S. has offered some $175 billion in security assistance and financial aid since the outbreak of war in 2022. Earlier this week, Ukraine struck a large oil terminal off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea in the latest wave of attacks on Russian-controlled energy facilities.
Mayorkas refuses to answer questions on Afghan accused of Election Day terror plot
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday refused to answer questions about an Afghan national accused of an Election Day terror plot on behalf of ISIS, amid ongoing concerns about the vetting of those brought to the U.S. Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich questioned Mayorkas at a White House briefing on Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, who was arrested and charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS and receiving a gun to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism. The filing in the case initially said Tawhedi came to the U.S. on a special immigrant visa in September 2021, after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and is now on parole. Although, officials have since clarified that he came to the U.S. via humanitarian parole and later applied for SIV status. AFGHAN NATIONAL CHARGED WITH ELECTION DAY TERROR PLOT REIGNITES VETTING CONCERNS Heinrich asked Mayorkas how Tawhedi was brought to the U.S. and about the screening he underwent. But Mayorkas said he wished to focus on the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton. He was in North Carolina and participated in the briefing remotely. “Over 200 people have lost their lives in Hurricane Helene. We have reports that at least ten individuals have lost their lives as a result of Hurricane Milton. And I’d be very pleased to answer your question in a different setting, but we’re here to talk about emergencies and the support that we can deliver to people in desperate need,” he said. Heinrich asked again, specifically asking why he did not have answers prepared, but Mayorkas said that was not the case. “What I said is I’d be pleased to discuss this issue at a different time, but I am here to speak about disasters that have impacted people’s lives in real time. And that is a subject that I am addressing today,” he said. Heinrich followed up to ask again but Mayorkas again declined. “Jacqui, your persistence in questioning can be matched by my persistence in answers,” he said. After the exchange, a senior administration official told Fox News Tawhedi was screened three times. He was screened first to work security for the CIA in Afghanistan, then for humanitarian parole to enter the U.S. in 2021, when he was vetted and screened in a third country, and then for special immigrant status, for which he was approved. His status has not yet been finalized. Officials believe he was radicalized after coming to the U.S. There is also no indication that there were any red flags that should have barred his entry at any point in the process. His alleged co-conspirator in the case entered the country in 2018 and also passed vetting to receive a green card. AFGHAN MAN IN OKLAHOMA PLOTTED ELECTION DAY TERROR ATTACK IN US ON BEHALF OF ISIS, JUSTICE DEPT SAYS The U.S. brought in more than 97,000 evacuees during the evacuation in 2021, of which about 77,000 were admitted via humanitarian parole through a program called Operation Allies Welcome. But the new case has renewed concerns about vetting in the program, which has been identified for years by the DHS internal watchdog and by Republicans in Congress. In 2022, the DHS Office of Inspector General released a report in which it said it found that officials “did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees. “As a result, DHS may have admitted or paroled individuals into the United States who pose a risk to national security and the safety of local communities,” the report said. DHS OIG FAULTS AFGHAN VETTING, WARNS NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS MAY HAVE ENTERED US A Pentagon inspector general report the same year revealed that at least 50 evacuees were brought to the U.S. whose information indicated “potentially serious security concerns” and that officials were unable to locate dozens with derogatory information. A 2024 report found “vulnerabilities” in the processes of two DHS agencies for resolving derogatory information. It also found that DHS did not have a process for monitoring the expiration of the two-year parole period and guidelines for determining “re-parole” for parolees are “undefined.” The Biden administration has repeatedly defended the vetting process, arguing there is a multilayered process that includes classified and unclassified vetting, including against Pentagon and FBI databases as well as Interpol notices and other information. “Afghan evacuees who sought to enter the United States were subject to multilayered screening and vetting against intelligence, law enforcement and counterterrorism information,” a DHS spokesperson said Wednesday. “If new information emerges after arrival, appropriate action is taken.” But the latest revelation has only fueled concerns from Republicans. In a letter to Mayorkas on Tuesday, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green said it was “unacceptable that the Biden-Harris administration is precariously failing to take measures to safeguard U.S. national security by allowing alleged terrorists into the interior of the United States to plot terrorist attacks.” Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
‘Out of money’: Whistleblowers allege lack of Secret Service funds, delayed payments, top senator reveals
New whistleblower records allege a failure of the Secret Service to provide funding for Homeland Security “jump teams” and their travel to support security efforts on the campaign trail ahead of the November election. One email sent on Sept. 26 read, “Subject: Jump Team ‐ Out of Money,” according to a record obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and his oversight team. The Department of Homeland Security’s investigation unit jump team provides “a mechanism to build the connections between mission support and the front-line,” according to the DHS website. FOR WISCONSIN DEMS, A 2024 WIN IN THE BATTLEGROUND STATE IS YEARS IN THE MAKING Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), an agency within DHS, is charged with addressing global threats. “Jump Team members are responsible for helping to solve immediate issues, guide how funding is allocated, and to assist in developing solutions to deliver support most effectively to our front-line,” the DHS website added. In the wake of two separate assassination attempts against former President Trump, who is currently campaigning to be president again, jump teams have been deployed to assist the U.S. Secret Service. SEE IT: WISCONSIN DAIRY FARMER SAYS ‘NO QUESTION’ TRUMP ADMIN WAS ‘MUCH BETTER’ THAN BIDEN-HARRIS However, the documents provided to Grassley’s office via legally protected whistleblower disclosures show that fears of unpreparedness and mismanagement in the DHS and Secret Service could still be true, despite efforts to ramp up security. “Please do not submit or resubmit Jump Team authorizations. There is only $33 on the line right now,” DHS officials told HSI agents on Sept. 9, per Grassley. The senator’s office pointed to this email as an example of just how low the funds had fallen. On Sept. 26, agents were informed, “We will not receive more money for Jump Team this year.” The email instructed agents not to use the usual methods of expensing items, laying out a process of what to do instead. “If by some miracle money is added, you will be notified immediately,” the email continued. “The Secret Service has a critical, no-fail protective mission to carry out. Based on protected whistleblower disclosures, it neglected to transfer enough funds for HSI to reimburse its agents, calling into question the agency’s ability to manage federal resources and raising major concerns,” Grassley said in a statement. “Congress and the American people have witnessed too many Secret Service shortfalls in recent months – they deserve answers, and it’s Congress’ job to bring transparency and accountability.” WISCONSIN SENATE RACE SHIFTS TO ‘TOSS UP’ BY HANDICAPPER AS TAMMY BALDWIN FIGHTS FOR RE-ELECTION In the Sept. 26 email from a DHS official, they revealed that “we had over $371,000 worth of Jump Team Authorizations Fail last night.” According to Grassley’s office and the documents it has obtained, agents have been required to pay for expenses the agency can’t cover. The senator noted that this would be in violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits agencies from obligating or spending federal funds before they are appropriated. Reimbursements to agents are also apparently being delayed, and employees are left with uncertainty about their pay. In a Wednesday letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe; Patrick Lechleitner, the deputy director and senior official performing the duties of the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Katrina Berger, HSI executive associate director, Grassley described that “HSI agents are deployed, usually on very short notice, across the country on Jump Teams from as short as a few days for as long as multiple weeks, several times throughout the year.” TRUMP, REPUBLICANS VENTURE TO BLUE AREAS IN WISCONSIN TO BOOST GOP TURNOUT “The whistleblower disclosures further show that in some cases HSI agents have had to pay for their own travel expenses such as flights, food, rental cars, and hotels, and other incidentals, because HSI has delayed reimbursing agents for costs due to the Secret Service failing to transfer funds to HSI.” “If you have an explanation to add context to these emails, I welcome it,” he told the leaders. Grassley requested additional information from the department and agencies, including documentation about the finances of HSI and its jump teams. Neither the Secret Service nor Homeland Security immediately provided comment to Fox News Digital.
Trump calls for federal education dollars to ‘follow the student’ in push for universal school choice
Former President Trump is proposing that federal education dollars “follow the student” in his possible second term, while pushing his “universal school choice policy,” and stressing that he backs it “all the way.” The former president championed school choice last week, making his strongest case yet for the movement on the federal level. “We want federal education dollars to follow the student, rather than propping up a bloated and radical bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.,” Trump said at an event in Milwaukee. TRUMP PUSH TO DISMANTLE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT MET WITH ENTHUSIASM IN HOUSE GOP “If you want a better education for your child, Kamala Harris stands in your way,” Trump said. “Kamala and the Radical Left Democrat Party want to keep Black and Hispanic children trapped in family government. I think that’s really the reason.” The former president said he believes school choice “is the civil rights issue of our time.” “A child’s fate should be determined by their love of education, by their parents, by so many factors. But it can’t be determined by a ZIP code,” Trump said. “And no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government-run school.” Trump’s universal school choice would allow parents to send their children to public, private or religious schools. Trump’s stance is reflected in the 2024 Republican Party platform. According to proponents of school choice, it recognizes a role for both federal and state governments in expanding tax credit scholarship programs and Education Savings Accounts, which currently serve more than a million K-12 students across the country. The Trump campaign said school choice “leads to higher graduation rates, higher parental satisfaction and involvement, lower costs, increased competition among schools, and higher reading and math test scores.” At this point, 11 states have universal school choice, and 32 states and Washington, D.C., have at least one private school choice program – but 18 states have none. “Before President Trump took office, zero states had a universal school choice policy. Now, almost a dozen do, and it is in large part because of the voice and visibility that he gave to elevate the issue into the national consciousness during COVID – but even before that,” former Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News Digital. “There is an increase in the number and needs of American school children with respect to alternatives to conventional public schools,” Conway said. “There is an increase in resistance among Kamala Harris and Democrats to allow these types of alternatives – these types of options and choices – to be in the hands of parents.” On the other side of the aisle, Democrats are expanding their opposition to school choice, and teachers’ unions rejoiced when Vice President Kamala Harris tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, dubbing the ticket as a major win for public educators. Walz is a former teachers’ union member who has said he is opposed to the school choice “agenda.” MINNESOTA WALZ-APPOINTED BOARD REQUIRES TEACHERS TO ‘AFFIRM’ THEIR STUDENTS’ GENDER IDENTITIES Teachers’ unions pushed hard to prolong school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many districts shuttered for more than a year. Former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Walz was a “5-alarm fire for parents and students.” As for the Democratic Party platform, Democrats support all children “no matter their ZIP code” to have access to a “quality public K-12 education and for college to be affordable for every American.” Democrats are looking to push federal dollars toward public schools in an effort to “expand opportunities for higher education and job training.” Harris’ campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but her website lays out her plan to “ensure parents can afford high-quality child care and preschool for their children.” Harris also plans to focus on working to “end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.” Harris said she would work to “scale up programs that create good career pathways for non-college graduates.” But Conway explained that parents are focused on having more of a role in their child’s education – now more than ever. “There is a continuation of the parent’s rights renaissance that started during COVID and spilled over into 2021 and into Glenn Youngkin’s election over Terry McAuliffe in 2021 and continues unabated in so many states across this country,” Conway said, noting that since the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered schools at the request of the teachers’ unions, there “are a higher number of people running for school board, and you have more parents engaged in choices of schools and character of curricula.” “There is a need for a charismatic and compelling leader to take this on,” Conway said, referring to Trump. By December 2020, Trump signed an executive order to expand education opportunities for American children and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. That order offered flexibility to provide children with emergency K-12 scholarships to access in-person learning opportunities – an effort to provide an in-person learning option after prolonged school closures. The Trump administration also invested nearly $1.5 billion in the development of public charter schools and, under his tax reform bill, made it possible for parents to withdraw up to $10,000 tax-free per year from 529 education savings plans to cover public, private, or religious K-12 schooling costs. “President Trump says this is the civil rights issue of our time, and it is true, but also, when you look at the sheer numbers of charter schools and school choice scholarship recipients and even the alternatives, like homeschooled students – and that is still a growing piece – but parents want to take things into their own hands. They know their children best,” Conway said. “If Trump is re-elected, this is going to be a biggie.” As for the word “choice,” Conway said the left “wants to own that word” but only when it relates to abortion. “The