Biden (maybe) wants Israel to stop using US bulldozers for ethnic cleansing
On Sunday, Israeli media reported a freeze in certain bulldozer shipments from the United States to Israel. The prominent English-language website Ynet News, for example, went with the sensational headline: “D9 bulldozer shipment stalled by US embargo, leaving Israeli soldiers exposed.” To be sure, there is nothing more tragic than “exposed” soldiers belonging to a genocidal army. According to the article, 134 bulldozers “ordered and paid for” by the Israeli military are currently “awaiting export approval from the US State Department” but their shipment has been stymied by internal US opposition and an apparent decision by President Joe Biden’s administration to freeze deliveries “for several months”. The D9 model is manufactured by the US firm Caterpillar Inc. Some observers have taken this move to mean that the Bidenites are registering their displeasure with the Israeli war crime of ethnic cleansing. But if you’re going to be against ethnic cleansing, why not go all the way and be against genocide too? Indeed, a shortage of new bulldozers will have precisely zero bearing on Israel’s ability to continue waging genocide in Gaza, where officially more than 43,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered over the past 13 months but the real death toll is undoubtedly many times higher. Ynet noted that the machines are used “primarily for flattening structures in the Gaza Strip” but they are “also needed” in southern Lebanon, where Israel’s latest terrorist operations have also killed thousands. The Israeli army’s existing arsenal of D9 dozers is reportedly in need of maintenance, hence the replacement order – the moratorium on delivery of which “will likely delay another significant operation by [Israel’s military] that remains incomplete: establishing a one-kilometer-wide [0.6-mile-wide] buffer zone between the Gaza Strip [and Israel] involving the leveling of hundreds of Palestinian buildings and agricultural lands”. Not only is there the troubling issue of the “exposed” soldiers then; there is also the annoying interruption to Israel’s scorched-earth plan. In addition to “leveling” civilian infrastructure and wiping out agriculture, bulldozers have served other handy purposes in Gaza. There was that time in September, for instance, that the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights documented the shooting by Israeli soldiers of 17-year-old Majed Fida Abu Zina, a resident of Gaza’s Far’a refugee camp, who was “left to bleed for approximately an hour and a half”, after which the Israeli army “brought in a bulldozer and began desecrating the boy’s body, tearing open his abdomen and exposing his internal organs before dragging and throwing him on al-Far’a hill”. Incidentally, Israel’s bulldozing of human beings has not been restricted to Palestinians. In 2003, 23-year-old American peace activist Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by a 36-tonne Caterpillar bulldozer driven by an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah, where she was protesting against Israel’s demolition of Palestinian homes. Call it Caterpillateral damage. And Rafah, as it so happens, was central to the story the last time the Biden administration made noises about suspending shipments of lethal materials to Israel. In May, Biden announced he would no longer be supplying offensive weapons to the Israeli army in the event of an all-out assault on the southern Gaza city, reasoning that “civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs.” Well, yeah – that’s how genocide works. And suspending a couple of bomb shipments here and there ultimately does absolutely nothing to put a dent in mass killings. Ditto for denying the Israelis their D9 dozer replacements. These extremely isolated cases of moratoria on weapons transfers impact Israeli military behaviour even less given that they are accompanied by a continuous flood of billions upon billions of dollars in US military aid to Israel and other free-flowing weaponry. Recall that in April, just weeks before Biden issued his warning re: Rafah, the US Congress OK’d no less than $26bn in supplemental wartime aid to Israel – which was authorised on top of all of the billions of dollars Israel already receives annually from its trusty American partner in crime. And as Al Jazeera reported in August, the Biden administration had just “approved sending $20bn worth of arms to Israel, even as the US publicly calls for restraint in the war on Gaza”. Of course, the mixed messaging is fully exploited by Israel’s psychopathic government, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which invokes every perceived slight by the fundamentally obsequious US as alleged evidence that even Israel’s best friends are somehow now anti-Israel. As per the Ynet dispatch, the temporary freeze in D9 bulldozer shipments is simply another case of Israel getting the “cold shoulder… from Washington” – a state of affairs that “could pose a risk to [Israeli] soldiers” in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. And yet the “cold shoulder” has not and will not prevent Israel from literally and metaphorically bulldozing Gaza to death while raining made-in-the-USA apocalyptic destruction from the sky. Forget the Israeli soldiers left “exposed” by the reported US freeze on bulldozer shipments. The population of Gaza is fully exposed to genocide – and international opposition to this most sinister reality is being bulldozed as we speak. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
Opposition secures landslide victory in Mauritius election
Former prime minister Navin Ramgoolam has won a third term in the Indian Ocean nation, official results show. Opposition leader Navin Ramgoolam has won a landslide victory in Mauritius’s parliamentary vote, the election commission said. The Office of the Electoral Commissioner said on Tuesday that Rangoolam and his Alliance of Change (ADC) coalition won 62.6 percent of the vote, securing the three-time former prime minister a fourth term. The ADC won 60 of 62 seats in the National Assembly, state broadcaster Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation reported. “The court of the people has delivered its verdict and a new Mauritius awakes,” 77-year-old Rangoolam said to crowds of supporters amid boisterous cheers and blaring horns. Ramgoolam served as prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014. As well as the 60 seats for Mauritius, there were two up for grabs for the island of Rodrigues and another eight allocated under what is dubbed the “best loser” system. The winner-takes-all election model means single coalitions often dominate parliament. ‘Free to talk’ Incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth had conceded on Monday that his Lepep alliance, led by his Militant Socialist Movement (MSM), was “heading towards a huge defeat”. “The people have chosen another team to lead the country,” Jugnauth, who has served as prime minister since 2017, told reporters. Only last month, the 62-year-old prime minister was celebrating a historic deal that saw Britain cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a long-running dispute. But the vote was overshadowed by an explosive wire-tapping scandal, when secretly recorded phone calls of politicians, diplomats, members of civil society and journalists were leaked online. Ramgoolam said that following his landslide victory, he would first dismantle the country’s “spying system so that Mauritians will be free to talk”. Economic challenges During the campaign, both camps promised to improve the lot of Mauritians who face cost-of-living difficulties despite robust economic growth. Measures outlined in the Alliance of Change manifesto include the creation of a fund to support families facing hardship, free public transport, increased pensions and reduced fuel prices, as well as efforts to tackle corruption and boost the green economy. It also called for constitutional and electoral reforms including changing how the president and parliament speaker are chosen. At least one million people were registered to vote on Sunday in the 12th election since Mauritius gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1968. Mauritius, which sits about 2,000km (1,240 miles) off Africa’s east coast, is recognised as one of the continent’s most stable democracies and has developed a successful economy underpinned by its finance, tourism and agricultural sectors since gaining independence. Both Jugnauth and Ramgoolam are members of the dynasties that have dominated the leadership of Mauritius since independence. Ramgoolam, who previously worked as a doctor and a lawyer, is the son of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, who led Mauritius to independence from Britain. Adblock test (Why?)
Biden admin touts job well done replenishing oil reserves despite depleting them by half over last 4 years
The Energy Department announced the end of replenishing the nation’s strategic oil reserves on Friday, which were depleted by nearly half under President Biden, and used the opportunity to praise the administration for the work it has done to maintain and replenish the stockpile. However, as of Nov. 1, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) inventory held just 387.2 million barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That is compared to 638.1 million barrels that were in the SPR inventory when Biden took over the presidency from former President Donald Trump. The major drop came from Biden’s decision to flood the U.S. oil market with millions of barrels from the SPR to keep oil costs down following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision to do so was frequently met with backlash from his critics who argued the move was “political” in order to keep gas prices down ahead of the election this month. “The SPR for this administration was used as a piggy bank to lower oil prices,” said Trishia Curtis, economist at the American Energy Institute. TRUMP TAPS FORMER NEW YORK REP LEE ZELDIN TO LEAD EPA “This is smoke and mirrors to make it look OK,” added Phil Flynn, senior markets analyst at the Price Futures Group, according to Market Watch. Despite the drastic drop in SPR during Biden’s tenure, Energy Department Secretary Jennifer Granholm lauded the Biden-Haris administration for “maintain[ing] the SPR as the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil” and for “putting the economic and energy security of the American people first,” in a Friday press release from the Energy Department about the latest SPR purchase. TRUMP TO INSTALL ‘ENERGY CZAR’ TO DISMANTLE BIDEN CLIMATE RULES: REPORT “With the awarding of these contracts, DOE has fully utilized all funding allocated for crude oil purchases following the sale of 180 million barrels in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and secured 20 million more barrels at a good price for taxpayers,” Granholm concluded. However, for Energy and Environmental Legal Institute fellow and former Trump administration Environmental Protection Agency transition advisor Steve Milloy, the numbers do not add up. “It’s deceptive,” Milloy told Fox News Digital. “They’ve only bought back one-third of what they let go. Now they’re trying to say that they actually bought back more, or they put back more, but what they’re counting is oil that’s already in there.” TRUMP VOWS AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY TO SLASH ENERGY COSTS, LIFT LNG PAUSE AND ‘FRACK, FRACK, FRACK’ Meanwhile, energy expert Chris Barnard, the president of The American Conservation Coalition, posited that it was “contradictory” for the Biden administration to claim it has been focused on U.S. energy security. “It feels quite contradictory for them to tout that they’re [replenishing the SPR], while at the same time saying that they want to end oil and gas,” Barnard said. “It’s felt like a bit of whiplash between Biden’s comments on the campaign trail back in 2019 and 2020, where he even told some voters, ‘I want to end fossil fuels altogether.’ But then at the same time claiming credit for replenishing the SPR, at the same time canceling Keystone Pipeline, at the same time going and begging the Saudis to produce more oil and send it to America,” Barnard said. “Their energy idealism has run up against energy reality.” On Biden’s way out of the White House, he has been imposing tighter environmental restrictions, including just this week, when Biden approved a new tax on methane emissions and implemented tighter restrictions on oil, solar and wind energy development across more than 6,500 square miles of federal land. The Energy Department declined to comment for this story.
Tom Cotton likely to succeed Marco Rubio in top Intelligence Committee post
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton is expected to become the next chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence after President-elect Donald Trump appoints current Vice Chairman Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to the role of secretary of state in his new administration. The Arkansas Republican and outspoken critic of both China and Iran is next in line after Rubio to lead the committee, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. JOHN THUNE SNAGS 2 MORE ENDORSEMENTS IN COMPETITIVE GOP LEADER RACE TO SUCCEED MCCONNELL However, the final decision on committee leadership will be made by the Republican leader. Cotton’s office declined to comment to Fox News Digital. DEM REP RUBEN GALLEGO BEATS KARI LAKE IN BATTLE FOR ARIZONA SENATE SEAT A source familiar told Fox News Digital on Monday night that Rubio would be tapped by Trump for the coveted State Department role. However, they noted that the president-elect could still change his mind and go in a different direction. The current Intel chair is Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who will be expected to become vice chair in the new Congress when Republicans have the majority. PUBLIC PRESSURE CAMPAIGN BOOSTING RICK SCOTT COULD FALL FLAT WITH SENATE GOP COLLEAGUES, STRATEGISTS SAY Cotton notably pulled his name from cabinet consideration last week, as Axios first reported. The senator, who many had seen as a frontrunner for a top cabinet position in the next Trump administration, told the Trump transition team and fellow lawmakers that he asked for his name to be pulled from consideration, a source close to the Arkansas Republican told Fox News. TRUMP ALLIES BACK RICK SCOTT IN GOP SENATE LEADER RACE AS THEY LOOK TO INFLUENCE SECRET BALLOT Cotton is currently running for the No. 3 Republican leadership position, which he feels “confident” in locking down. The source said Trump understands Cotton’s decision and knows “he is with him all the way in the Senate.”
Vance in ‘catbird seat’ for 2028 GOP presidential nomination, but these Republicans may also run
With former president and now President-elect Donald Trump unable to run again for the White House in 2028, Vice President-elect JD Vance appears to be the heir apparent to the America First movement and the Republican Party’s powerful MAGA base. It was a point driven home by Donald Trump Jr., the former and future president’s eldest son and powerful ally of the vice president-elect. “We are getting four more years of Trump and then eight years of JD Vance!” Trump Jr. said two weeks ago on the campaign trail in Ohio. Vance, who was elected to the Senate in Ohio just two years ago, will likely be the clear frontrunner in the next Republican presidential nomination race. HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 “The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it,” longtime Republican consultant Dave Carney told Fox News Digital. Carney, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns over the past four decades, said that Vance “is the guy to beat.” David Kochel, another longtime GOP strategist with plenty of presidential campaign experience, told Fox News that Vance is the frontrunner due to “the size and the scope of last week’s victory and the implied passing of the torch from Donald Trump.” “There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement,” Kochel said. Trump, in his victory speech late on Election Night, noted that he faced some criticism in July for naming Vance as his running mate, saying “I took a little heat at the beginning.” However, he emphasized “he turned out to be a good choice.” Additionally, with Trump’s support in a party firmly in the president-elect’s grip, the 40-year-old Vance will be extremely hard to knock off. However, Kochel noted that “nobody will completely defer to JD Vance. There will be a contest. There always is.” Carney added that “there may be other people who challenge him [Vance]…there’s a lot of people who want to be president, but it will be very hard a lane other than the Trump lane.” He added that a possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration would give potential Vance challengers “opportunities.” However, he praised the vice president-elect’s messaging and accessibility on the campaign trail and that “he is the guy to beat, regardless of whether it’s a good four years or a rough four years.” Carney also touted that the Republican Party has a “deep bench.” Here’s a look at some of those on the bench that may have national aspirations and ambitions in 2028, or beyond. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis The conservative governor of Florida was flying high after a landslide re-election in 2022, but an unsuccessful 2024 presidential primary run and a bruising battle with Trump knocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis down in stature. However, the term-limited 46-year-old governor, who has two years left in office steering Florida, proved over the past few years his fundraising prowess and retains plenty of supporters across the country. DeSantis was also able, to a degree, to repair relations with Trump, helped raise money for the GOP ticket during the general election, and earned a prime time speaking slot at July’s convention. While DeSantis may have his eyes on another White House run, with Sen. Marco Rubio likely leaving the Senate to become America’s top diplomat, there’s a possibility DeSantis could run in a 2026 special Senate election. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp The popular conservative governor is one of the few in the GOP who can claim he faced Trump’s wrath and not only survived, but thrived. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term limited, has two years left in office and enjoys strong favorable ratings in a crucial battleground state. Expect to see the 61-year-old Kemp on the campaign trail across the country for fellow Republicans in 2026, as his national profile expands. Gov. Glenn Youngkin With his 2021 gubernatorial victory – the first by a Republican in Virginia in a dozen years – Gov. Glenn Youngkin instantly became a GOP rising star. In Virginia, governors are limited to one consecutive four-year term, which means Youngkin has one year left in office. The 57-year-old governor, who hails from the Republican Party’s business wing but has been able to thrive in a MAGA-dominated party, likely harbors national ambitions. A first step could be a cabinet post in the second Trump administration after his term as governor ends. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz was the runner-up to Trump in the blockbuster 2016 Republican presidential battle. The controversial conservative firebrand passed on challenging Trump again in 2024, as he ran for what was thought to be another difficult re-election bid, after narrowly surviving his 2018 re-election. However, the 53-year-old senator ended up winning a third six-year term in the Senate by nearly nine points. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas The Army veteran, who served in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars before becoming a rising star in Republican Party politics, was considered to be on the larger list of potential Trump running mates. The now-47-year-old Sen. Tom Cotton seriously mulled a 2024 White House run of his own before deciding against it in late 2022, putting his young family ahead of political ambitions. However, he did not rule out a future presidential bid. Cotton is currently bidding for the GOP conference chair, the number three leadership position in the incoming Senate Republican majority. Sen. Josh Hawley The 44-year-old Sen. Josh Hawley, along with Cotton, is another rising conservative star in the Senate. Hawley is also a strong defender of Trump’s America First agenda and is thought to have national aspirations. Former Ambassador Nikki Haley The former two-term South Carolina governor, who served as U.N. ambassador in Trump’s first term, was the first GOP challenger to jump into the race against the former president in the 2024 nomination race. Former
Who could replace Elise Stefanik in House GOP leadership? What we know
A competitive race is brewing within the House GOP after the conference’s No. 4 leader was plucked to serve in the new Trump administration. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was elevated to serve as ambassador to the United Nations next year, sending lawmakers jockeying to fill her spot in Wednesday’s internal party leadership elections. Now, at least three GOP lawmakers are running to fill her role, sources say, while two others have expressed interest. The House GOP Conference chair is responsible for crafting and overseeing House Republicans’ messaging strategy, as well as setting up their weekly conference meetings and beyond. TRUMP NAMES STEFANIK UN AMBASSADOR It is an influential role on Capitol Hill that is little-known outside of Washington, D.C., but that could change in a federal government where Republicans control the White House, House and Senate. Here’s everyone who is considering running so far. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., is a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee and has at times served as a liaison during negotiations between House GOP leaders and more right-wing members of the conference. She has the backing of several fellow Republicans like Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. Cammack’s bid was also endorsed by LGBT group Log Cabin Republicans and the national Young Republicans organization. STEFANIK SPARS WITH HEAD OF TOP SCHOOL OVER FAILING GRADE ON ANTISEMITISM, STUNNING WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIM In her letter to Republicans pitching herself for the role, Cammack suggested creating a Hispanic Outreach Task Force and a dedicated “rapid response operation” to help with communications conference-wide. First-term Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., pointed out her experience running a communications firm in her argument to Republican lawmakers. Like Cammack, she also shared a vision for moving House GOP messaging past traditional routes. “The role of Conference chair is not about being in the spotlight; it’s about amplifying our members’ voices and providing them the tools we need,” Houchin said. “As legacy media fades, I’ll carry forward President Trump’s approach of taking our message directly to the American people.” Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., currently House GOP Conference secretary, was the first to express interest in the House GOP Conference chair role after Stefanik’s then-rumored departure. Unlike the other three confirmed competitors, McClain comes from a critical battleground district – something she pointed out in her memo to lawmakers. “I hail from a blue state, one of the most critical battlegrounds for the presidency and our House majority. I understand what it takes to win tough races,” she said of her home state of Michigan. STEFANIK GRILLS HARVARD PRESIDENT OVER STUDENTS CALLING FOR ‘INTIFADA,’ RAMPANT ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS McClain has scored support from lawmakers across the House GOP, including Freedom Caucus member Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., senior House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., and Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., among others. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., a first-term lawmaker who has garnered a significant media following, told Fox News Digital she was considering a run for the No. 4 House GOP leadership spot. “I haven’t ruled out running, many people are saying I should. Whoever it is, I believe it’s important [they support] President Trump from the very beginning,” she said. Luna has been a staunch ally of President-elect Donald Trump and is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus. Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, currently serves as House GOP Conference vice chair – a job he won after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ascended to the top job after his successor’s ouster in late 2023. A source close to Moore told Fox News Digital that he was considering a run for conference chair as of Monday, and that he was making calls to colleagues about the matter. Like Luna, he has not formally entered the race.
Schumer invites McCormick, Gallego to new-senator orientation
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has invited Senators-elect Dave McCormick, the Republican from Pennsylvania, and Ruben Gallego, the Democrat from Arizona, to the new-senator orientation this week after previously saying they would not be permitted to participate. “Ruben Gallego and David McCormick have been invited to attend orientation,” a spokesperson for Schumer told Fox News. Schumer had initially resisted inviting McCormick to the orientation, claiming the Republican had not been declared the winner of his election. This was despite The Associated Press calling the race in his favor over three-term Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey last Thursday. Gallego also had not received an invitation, but the AP did not call his race against Republican Kari Lake until Monday night. It was the final Senate race to be called, leaving the Republicans with a 53-47 majority. GOP SENATOR OFFERS TO ‘PERSONALLY ESCORT’ MCCORMICK TO SENATE ORIENTATION AFTER SCHUMER HOLD Gallego will replace Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party two years ago. Casey still has not conceded in the Pennsylvania race. As of Tuesday morning, McCormick was leading Casey by 35,063 votes, according to the Pennsylvania elections results website. A Schumer spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that McCormick was not invited because at the time there were still “over 100,000 ballots left to be counted” in Pennsylvania’s Senate race, claiming that the contest “has not been decided.” SCHUMER WON’T ALLOW DAVE MCCORMICK AT SENATE ORIENTATION, CITING OUTSTANDING PA BALLOTS On Monday, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, offered to “personally escort” McCormick into the Capitol to attend the new-senator orientation, and Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Katie Britt, R-Ala., agreed to join him, lambasting Schumer over the exclusion. McCormick was leading by more than 30,000 votes when the AP called the race at 4:09 p.m. Thursday. Though there were an estimated 91,000 votes still outstanding at that time, the AP asserted that there were not enough in areas supporting Casey for him to make up the difference. Fox News’ Julia Johnson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
California Republican congressman concedes competitive race to Democratic challenger
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., conceded his race to Democratic challenger George Whitesides on Tuesday as the final House races across the country start to get called. Despite Garcia’s concession, the Associated Press has yet to call the race for Whitesides. As of Tuesday morning, Whitesides holds a 2-point lead with 83% of the vote counted. Whitesides’ lead is made up of roughly 7,000 votes. “Since the age of 18 I have served this beautiful country,” Garcia said in a statement. “Representing the people of California’s 27th Congressional District the last 4.5 years has been an honor of a lifetime.” Garcias went on to thank his family, staff and volunteers who worked on his campaign. SHUTDOWN STANDOFF LOOMS IN CONGRESS’ FINAL WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP’S RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE “I spoke with George Whitesides this evening to congratulate him, and I will ensure a smooth handoff of open constituent case work packages to him and his team,” Garcias added. Whitesides accepted Garcia’s concession in a statement on social media after the pair spoke on the phone. “Rep. Garcia called me earlier to concede the race, and I thanked him for his years of service to our district and to the nation,” Whitesides wrote. “In Congress, you can count on me to fight to create more good local jobs, lower everyday costs, build safe communities, protect Social Security and Medicare, and protect reproductive freedom.” ALL EYES ON CALIFORNIA AS HOUSE MAJORITY STILL HINGES ON TIGHT RACES Garcia’s race was one of over a dozen House races that have yet to be decided. Republicans currently hold 214 seats, just 4 wins away from controlling the chamber. WHAT STEFANIK’S HOUSE TENURE REVEALS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF UN AMBASSADOR SHE MAY BE Many undeclared seats are in the western U.S. or in swing districts, including Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Maryland, New York, Maine and Alaska. The path to victory for a Democratic majority in the House is narrowing, with the party needing to sweep the most contested races to win power. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Sarah Rumpf Whitten contributed to this report.
NY judge grants Trump’s request to pause court deadlines, sentencing, in a victory for president-elect
The Manhattan judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump’s trial agreed to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the felony conviction proceedings against President-elect Donald Trump in the final months before he takes office, a closely-watched decision that allows Trump to avoid a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison. The judge overseeing the case, Judge Juan Merchan, granted the request, which issues a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date, to consider the effect of his election as president. Trump’s team had also filed a motion to vacate the charges. Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from a case about payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH MOVES TO DROP TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Merchan agreed earlier this year to a four-month delay for the court proceedings, pushing next steps until after the 2024 presidential election. He had set Nov. 12 as a self-imposed deadline to decide how best to proceed. The decision comes after the Supreme Court said in a July 1 ruling that presidents should be granted a certain level of immunity in court convictions. Justices writing for 4-3 majority said that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from any actions taken within the scope of “core constitutional powers” as commander-in-chief. A certain level of immunity also applies to other actions taken while holding office, they said. The Nov. 12 deadline is separate from the sentencing hearing for the 34 convictions, which had previously been set for Nov. 26. Rather, this was a self-imposed deadline set by Merchan that allows him to consider Trump’s claims of presidential immunity, and whether the Supreme Court’s July ruling on the scope of immunity should apply to the state level. Even if Trump’s convictions were upheld, the president-elect has myriad ways to appeal the case or get the charges against him dismissed before the Nov. 26 sentencing hearing—making it all but certain he will face no time behind bars. STEFANIK SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘SCARE TACTICS’ ON TRUMP’S RECORD WITH WOMEN ON IVF, ABORTION The first would be moving the case from state to federal court — which Trump’s lawyers had twice tried and failed to do in the months ahead of the election. But their request to elevate the case to federal court now carries more weight, given Trump’s status as president-elect. If that fails, Trump’s attorneys would likely appeal the convictions ahead of his sentencing hearing; using the Supreme Court immunity ruling as grounds to have the charges dismissed. They are also likely to use the immunity claim to throw out portions of evidence used by prosecutors in the New York case, including testimony from former White House communications director Hope Hicks. Even if all this fails, legal analysts and former prosecutors have roundly dismissed the idea that Trump would face prison time for the convictions. “Understand, Trump is not going to prison even if Merchan metes out an incarceration sentence. Though the charges are felonies, they are not sufficiently serious under New York law to merit immediate detention; Trump will get bail pending appeal,” Andrew McCarthy, a former U.S. prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, wrote in an op-ed last week for Fox News Digital. Had Merchan moved to keep the convictions intact, he could have sought additional guidance from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, including on whether Trump should be submitted to state convictions as a sitting president—a question that has never been tested. STEFANIK SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘SCARE TACTICS’ ON TRUMP’S RECORD WITH WOMEN ON IVF, ABORTION Trump’s legal team would almost certainly have appealed any conviction as far as the Supreme Court, if necessary. Trump is shielded from federal convictions under longstanding Justice Department policy preventing U.S. attorneys from prosecuting a sitting president. But this precedent has never been applied to state convictions, giving Judge Merchan a somewhat wider berth in deciding how to proceed. His decision comes days after Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump in Washington, D.C. Smith had been tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s keeping of allegedly classified documents at his residence in Florida after leaving the White House in 2020. While those charges have not been officially dropped, the special counsel appears to be moving in that direction, and Smith said his team plans to give an updated report on the official status of the case against Trump on Dec. 2. Former Attorney General Bill Barr told Fox News Digital that state and local prosecutors and judges need to move on from the “spectacle” of prosecuting the president-elect.
Who could run to replace Stefanik in the House?
Once Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., vacates her seat to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has 10 days to set the date for a special election to replace her in the House. The special election must be held within 70 to 80 days afterward, and there are already a number of possible contenders reportedly being considered to claim New York’s 21st Congressional District. Stefanik won a sixth term to represent the district which encompasses North County, New York, but President-elect Donald Trump chose her this week to fill the U.N. ambassadorship in his new cabinet. Republican names being floated include state Sen. Dan Stec, who represents portions of St. Lawrence County and other eastern regions of the state; state Assemblymen Robert Smullen and Christopher Tague; and Rensselaer County Executive Steven McLaughlin, according to WWNY. Possible Democratic candidates include Assemblyman Billy Jones, whose state district falls just east of St. Lawrence County, as well as past unsuccessful challengers to Stefanik such as Matt Castelli and Paula Collins. Stefanik won 62.27% of the vote last week against Collins, who garnered just 37.73%, according to The Associated Press. WHAT STEFANIK’S HOUSE TENURE REVEALS ABOUT WHAT TYPE OF UN AMBASSADOR SHE MAY BE Stefanik has built up a national profile as an unwavering ally of Trump and as a sharp-tongued Republican voice. First elected to Congress in 2014 at age 30, she eventually shed her early reputation as a moderate Republican and rose to become the highest-ranking woman in the House Republican leadership. Stefanik represents a largely rural northern New York district that includes some of the most sparsely populated parts of the state. Democrats in New York unseated three first-term Republican incumbents in the U.S. House last Tuesday, as voters in the Empire State were expected to play an outsized role in helping determine control of the House. Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump following the 2020 election. There will also be a separate contest to replace Stefanik as the House Republican Conference chair. Stefanik’s grilling of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests in the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah continues. STEFANIK TO REPORTEDLY MEET ISRAELI PRESIDENT AFTER TRUMP NAMES HER NEXT UN AMBASSADOR Stefanik, who served as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Intelligence Committee, and the Education and Workforce Committee, released a statement Monday afternoon following her nomination to Trump’s cabinet. During a conversation with Trump, Stefanik said she shared “how deeply humbled I am to accept his nomination and that I look forward to earning the support of my colleagues in the United States Senate.” “President Trump’s historic landslide election has given hope to the American people and is a reminder that brighter days are ahead – both at home and abroad,” she said. “America continues to be the beacon of the world, but we expect and must demand that our friends and allies be strong partners in the peace we seek. The work ahead is immense as we see antisemitism skyrocketing coupled with four years of catastrophically weak U.S. leadership that significantly weakened our national security and diminished our standing in the eyes of both allies and adversaries.” The congresswoman said she stands ready to advance Trump’s “restoration of America First peace through strength leadership on the world stage on Day One at the United Nations” and thanked her “beloved constituents in New York’s 21st Congressional District for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to work my very hardest to serve and give them a voice at the highest levels of Congress.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.