Republican lawmakers push to abolish ‘unconstitutional’ ATF
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are pushing to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office later this month. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., is unveiling the bill on Tuesday and already has several co-sponsors in Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Mike Collins, R-Ga., Bob Onder, R-Mo., Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Mary Miller, R-Ill., Keith Self, R-Texas, and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. Burlison argued that the ATF was an “unconstitutional agency” and that its mission and goals are duplicates of existing state and local regulations. DANIEL PENNY TO BE TAPPED FOR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL BY HOUSE GOP LAWMAKER “The Constitution makes it very clear that when it comes to the federal government, there shall be no laws restricting firearms,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s in the purview of the states, and so I don’t think it belongs on the federal level.” “But here’s the thing I want to reiterate – they don’t have the manpower to enforce the laws that they implement. So they go and they solicit help from every local state law enforcement official to help them implement their stupid new rules.” He said assisting the ATF “takes them out of the things they should be prioritizing to keep the community safe.” Burlison said he has not spoken with members of President-elect Trump’s orbit on the bill, but added, “I’m sure there’s quite a few people in Trump world that would be open to this.” One possible supporter the bill could find is Vice President-elect JD Vance, who previously called for abolishing the ATF and vowed to fight toward that goal in the Senate. REPUBLICANS GIVE DETAILS FROM CLOSED-DOOR MEETINGS WITH DOGE’S MUSK, RAMASWAMY The ATF makes federal regulations for firearm handling and storage, gun licenses and other matters. It also assists in law enforcement investigations like the recent New Orleans attack. The modern iteration of the ATF was formed as a bureau under the Treasury Department in 1972. It was transferred to the Department of Justice in 2003 as a law enforcement agency after laws on gun control and explosives were added to the ATF’s purview in the 1990s. Supporters of the ATF’s existence include gun control advocates who argue it does important work to fight gun violence. However, opponents like Burlison argue its regulations are unnecessary. ATF Director Steven Dettelbach warned earlier this week that he believes curbing the ATF will result in more unnecessary deaths. “People who don’t think that law enforcement, including ATF, has anything to do with driving down violent crime are just wrong — it didn’t happen by accident,” he told the New York Times. “What I am concerned about is that people will take their eye off the ball, that they’ll either get complacent or political, or some combination of those things.” The ATF has gotten public blowback for its handling of the infamous standoffs in Ruby Ridge and Waco, Texas, however. Trump previously promised to fire Dettelbach on his first day in office. He told an audience at a National Rifle Association event that the Biden administration appointee was a “radical gun-grabber.” It is not clear if he would abolish it altogether, however. Fox News Digital reached out to Trump and the ATF for comment.
Trump team fires back after Dem senator declares ‘The fight is just beginning’
Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the certification of the 2024 presidential election results on Monday, but Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asserted in a post on Tuesday that the political battle was only beginning. Blumenthal, who has served in the Senate since 2011, claimed President-elect Donald Trump has tapped “malignly motivated” nominees who are not qualified. “Now that the Electoral Count is done we can move on? No. Not with Trump planning blanket pardons. Not with dangerously unqualified, malignly motivated Trump nominees. Not with Trump normalizing election denial. The fight is just beginning,” the senator declared in the post on X. WILL CONGRESS WORK WITH TRUMP TO SECURE CABINET NOMINATIONS? “Enough with the Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Karoline Leavitt, who Trump has selected to serve as his White House press secretary, said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “The American people clearly support President Trump and his policies to secure the border, end inflation, and restore world peace; and President Trump will work with anyone on Capitol Hill who wants to solve these problems and deliver results,” she added. Fox News Digital also reached out to Blumenthal’s office to request comment from the senator on Tuesday, but no comment was provided. SEN. BLUMENTHAL SAYS MYSTERIOUS DRONES SPOTTED RECENTLY ‘SHOULD BE SHOT DOWN, IF NECESSARY’ Trump, who is slated to be sworn in on January 20, has indicated that on his first day back in office he will likely pardon people connected with the Jan. 6 episode, telling “Meet the Press” moderator Kristin Welker late last year that the cases would be examined and there could be exceptions if a person was “radical, crazy.” After President Joe Biden announced a sweeping pardon for his son Hunter last year, Trump declared on Truth Social, “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” In a March 2024 post, Trump said freeing “January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned” would be among his “first acts” as president. DONALD TRUMP SAYS HE’LL PARDON JAN. 6 RIOTERS ON DAY ONE: ‘ACTING VERY QUICKLY’ “Pardoning any convicted Jan 6 rioter, particularly anyone who attacked police officers, would disgrace them & endanger democracy,” Blumenthal asserted in a tweet on Monday.
Federal judge blocks Special Counsel Jack Smith from releasing final report
A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Special Counsel Jack Smith from releasing his report relating to his now-suspended investigations into President-elect Trump’s alleged 2020 election interference and alleged improper retention of classified records. Trump co-defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed an emergency motion to block the reported imminent release of Smith’s final report. FORMER TRUMP CO-DEFENDANTS WANT JUDGE TO BLOCK SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REPORT U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of Florida Aileen Cannon ruled in favor of Nauta and De Oliveira to “prevent irreparable harm.” Cannon said Smith is “temporarily enjoined” from “releasing, sharing, or transmitting the Final Report or any drafts of such Report outside the Department of Justice.” The order remains in effect until three days after a resolution is announced from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. It is customary for special counsels to release a final report, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached. In Smith’s case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump’s status as president-elect and long-standing Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. The report would first go to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s office for review, according to standard practice. JUDGE GRANTS JACK SMITH REQUEST TO DISMISS JAN. 6 CHARGES AGAINST TRUMP, APPEAL DROPPED IN FLORIDA DOCS CASE Nauta and De Oliveira pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Smith was tapped by 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 Florida residence. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. Cannon, this summer, dismissed Smith’s case against Trump relating to classified records, ruling that he was appointed unlawfully as special counsel. And in November, federal Judge Tanya Chutkan dropped Smith’s charges against Trump in the 2020 election interference case. Smith also dropped his appeal to Cannon’s ruling in the classified records case. Trump, during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday reacted to Cannon’s decision to block Smith’s report. “Deranged Jack Smith dropped the lawsuits. He was told to by the DOJ because they had no lawsuit. They lost in court in front of a very strong and a very brilliant judge,” Trump said, referring to Cannon. “So, he wanted to do a report just before I take office probably, so he’ll do a 500-page report and it will be a fake report, just like the investigation – it was a fake investigation.” Trump added that Smith was “thrown off the case in disgrace.” “Why should he be allowed to write a fake report? It will only be a fake report,” Trump said, “That’s great news.” Garland has opted to release the reports from two other special counsels whose investigations concluded during his tenure – publishing both the summary reports submitted by John Durham, who was tapped by then-Attorney General Bill Barr in 2019 to review the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, as well as the final report from Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney whom he tapped in 2023 to investigate President Biden’s handling of classified documents.
Midwestern state senator revives DOGE-aligned bills as GOP prepares for DC takeover
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is taking the opportunity to renew two key bills aligned with the incoming advisory board known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) now that the GOP controls the Senate. DOGE was previously announced by President-elect Donald Trump, who tapped billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the charge in eliminating government waste. TRANSGENDER BILL BARRING MEN FROM WOMEN’S SPORTS TO GET FLOOR VOTE IN NEWLY GOP-LED SENATE The ERASER Act would target regulations by requiring agencies to repeal three rules before issuing any new major rule and ensure that the new rule does not exceed the cost of the repealed rules. The Separation of Powers Restoration Act (SOPRA) would address the Administrative Procedure Act by ending the standards of executive deference and allowing courts to weigh arguments without affording deference to either party. REPUBLICANS LOOK TO FINALLY PUSH THROUGH LAKEN RILEY BILL WITH NEW GOP TRIFECTA “Reining in an out-of-control administrative state has long been one of my top priorities, and I look forward to working hand-in-hand with the incoming Trump Administration to [accomplish] the shared goal of gutting the administrative state and clawing power out of the hands of nameless, faceless bureaucrats and returning it back to the people,” Schmitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The ERASER Act would require agencies who wish to enact a new regulation to pull three regulations off the books. And, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act would put a stop to courts’ deference to agency interpretation on regulations and enact a much stricter review, putting power back in the hands of the people, where it belongs … This is a critical, one-two punch to the bloated administrative state.” KAMALA HARRIS MAKES TRUMP’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL WIN OFFICIAL DURING JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is a co-sponsor of the ERASER Act. SOPRA is also backed by co-sponsors Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Rand Paul, R-Ky., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Ted Budd, R-N.C., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. The bills were debuted by Schmitt in the last Congress but never received consideration on the floor due to Democratic leadership in the Senate. NEW SENATOR BERNIE MORENO WANTS A BORDER BILL ON TRUMP’S DESK ON DAY 1, PUTTING DEMS ON RECORD However, with Republicans leading the upper chamber, and an increased emphasis on government efficiency, it’s much more likely the measures will get voted on. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is already expected to tee up votes on a couple other re-introduced GOP bills that never got floor time.
Biden admin and Minneapolis agree to police changes, questions loom over whether Trump will strike them down
The Biden administration secured an agreement to implement police reforms in Minneapolis ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. The consent decree agreement Monday with the Minneapolis Police Department follows a similar decree that the department agreed upon with Louisville, Kentucky, police last month. The agreements follow the Biden administration’s initiation of 12 investigations in 2021, which probed possible “pattern or practice” of civil rights abuses by police departments around the country following the anti-police riots that took place after the death of George Floyd in 2020. Both decrees await approval by the courts. The 171-page Minneapolis agreement would overhaul the city’s police training and use of-force-policies, while requiring officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their activities.” The decree also mandates that officers must not allow race, gender or ethnicity “to influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used.” MINNEAPOLIS POLICE STAFFING LEVEL PLUMMETS TO HISTORIC 4-DECADE LOW 3 YEARS AFTER GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH: REPORT Other elements of the Minneapolis agreement include bolstering protections for protesters, new data collection requirements aimed at reducing racial discrimination, guidelines restricting officers from going after fleeing subjects, new interrogation requirements, a mandate against racial profiling in investigations, traffic stop reforms and more. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division was asked repeatedly during a Monday press conference from Minneapolis whether the Trump administration could derail the agreement. “I can’t predict the future,” Clarke said. “What I can tell you is that the findings we identified in Minneapolis are severe. These are real issues that impact people’s lives. The community wants reform. The city wants reform, the police department wants reform, and the Justice Department stands here today as a full partner in the effort of achieving reform and transformation for this community.” BIDEN DOJ OPPOSES COURT DECISION ALLOWING DEREK CHAUVIN CHANCE TO EXAMINE GEORGE FLOYD’S HEART Meanwhile, in an email to constituents, Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley said she has no faith that the incoming Trump administration will be a “serious partner” in supporting the recently agreed-upon consent decree. A similar consent decree agreed upon by the Biden administration and the Loisville police roughly three weeks ago also compels the department to revise its use-of-force policies, places new restrictions around traffic stops and police searches, and challenges how law enforcement deals with protesters. A local police union in the city is challenging the reforms, calling on a judge not to approve the agreement. Meanwhile, the conservative Heritage Foundation has argued that the point of the consent decree coming so late in Biden’s term is “to bind the Trump 47 Administration and future elected Louisville administrations who may well vehemently and categorically disagree with the Proposed Consent Decree.” Both Minneapolis and Louisville were flash points for debates around police reform after both cities saw the high-profile deaths of Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020. Both cities, and numerous others, saw protesters rampage through the streets following their deaths, leading to multiple fatalities and billions of dollars in damage that year. Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department for comment, but they declined to comment.
Trump announces $20 billion in new data centers in post-certification address
President-elect Trump addressed the nation for the first time since the certification of his November election victory on Tuesday. Trump held a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago home just one day after Congress and Vice President Kamala Harris certified his electoral college victory. Trump took the opportunity to announce $20 billion in new data centers across the country. Trump says the $20 billion will come over a “short period of time” from DAMAC Properties. Trump and the company’s owner, Hussain Sajwani, detailed that the investment will center around Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. Sajwani said the investment is aimed at facilitating the development of AI and cloud-based technologies. SCOTT JENNINGS CLASHES WITH CNN HOST OVER CRITICISM OF MUSK’S FOREIGN DEALINGS Trump also said his administration would adopt a policy of expediting approvals for any company seeking to invest $1 billion or more in the U.S. He said that many international companies view U.S. regulations as a “quagmire.” BIDEN MOVING TO BAN OIL AND GAS LEASES FOR 20 YEARS IN NEVADA REGION, JUST WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURATION “If you invest a billion dollars or more, we’re going to move them quickly through the environmental process,” Trump said, going on to reference other regulations as well. Trump’s back-and-forth with reporters also touched on the Panama Canal, which Trump has expressed interest in retaking for the U.S. He criticized President Jimmy Carter for selling the canal during his administration. The body of the late president, who passed away on Dec 29, is currently en route to the U.S. Capitol and will lie in state from 7 p.m. until midnight. Trump also announced plans to “immediately” reverse President Biden’s bans on new oil drilling, particularly off the U.S. coasts. He says his administration plans to “drill baby, drill.” Trump’s comments come after Biden issued an 11th-hour executive order Monday morning aimed at limiting oil growth exactly two weeks before his term ends, announcing a permanent stop to most new oil and gas drilling across U.S. coastal and offshore waters in an area that spans about 625 million acres.
Trump says Meta has ‘come a long way’ after Zuckerberg ends fact-checking on platforms
EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Donald Trump reacted to Meta’s move to end its fact-checking program on Facebook, Instagram and its other platforms, telling Fox News Digital that the company has “come a long way.” Fox News first reported that Meta is ending its fact-checking program and lifting restrictions on speech to “restore free expression” across its platforms, admitting its current content moderation practices have “gone too far.” META ENDS FACT-CHECKING PROGRAM AS ZUCKERBERG VOWS TO RESTORE FREE EXPRESSION ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said he thinks Meta’s “presentation was excellent.” “They have come a long way,” Trump said. Trump’s comments come after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement in a video Tuesday morning, saying his company is “going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms.” Meta plans to replace fact-checking with a “Community Notes” model similar to the one used on X. Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was put in place after the 2016 election and had been used to “manage content” and misinformation on its platforms, largely due to “political pressure,” executives said, but admitted the system had “gone too far.” UFC HEAD DANA WHITE, STRONG TRUMP SUPPORTER, JOINS META’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS Meta Chief Global Policy Director Joel Kaplan told Fox News Digital that Meta is also changing some of its own content moderation rules, especially those that they feel are “too restrictive and not allowing enough discourse around sensitive topics like immigration, trans issues and gender.” “We want to make sure that discourse can happen freely on the platform without fear of censorship,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “We have the power to change the rules and make them more supportive of free expression. And we’re not just changing the rules, we are actually changing how we enforce the rules.” Kaplan said Meta currently uses automated systems, which he said make “too many mistakes” and removes content “that doesn’t even violate our standards.” He also said there are certain things Meta will continue to moderate, like posts relating to terrorism, illegal drugs and child sexual exploitation. However, as for the timing of the changes, Kaplan told Fox News Digital the company has “a real opportunity now.” ZUCKERBERG, EXPRESSING REGRETS, ADMITS BOWING TO BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PRESSURE TO REMOVE CONTENT “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression,” Kaplan said, referring to the incoming Trump administration. “It gets us back to the values that Mark founded the company on.” Last year, Zuckerberg sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, in which he admitted that he felt pressure from the Biden administration, particularly with regard to COVID-19 content, and even subjects like satire and humor. “The thing is, as American companies, when other governments around the world that don’t have our tradition or our First Amendment, when they see the United States government pressuring U.S. companies to take down content, it is just open season then for those governments to put more pressure [on their companies],” Kaplan explained. “We do think it is a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration and to work on free expression at home.” MUSK PROVES HUNTER BIDEN CENSORSHIP CAME FROM COLLUSION AMONG BIDEN CAMPAIGN, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TWITTER Kaplan also said Meta sees “opportunities for partnership” with the Trump administration, not only on issues of free expression but also in “promoting American business and America’s technological edge.” “Those are issues of great importance to Meta and our sector,” Kaplan said. “And we’re excited to work with the Trump administration to advance those goals.” Meanwhile, Meta also said it plans to take a more personalized approach to political content, so that users who want to see more posts of that kind can do so. Meta said it will refocus its enforcement efforts to “illegal and high-severity violations.” Meanwhile, this week, Trump ally UFC CEO Dana White joined Meta’s board. “I love social media,” White wrote. “And I’m excited to be a small part of the future of AI and emerging technologies.” Also joining the Meta board is former Microsoft Corp. executive Charlie Songhurst, who has been working with the company already on artificial intelligence products, and Exov NV CEO John Elkann. Elkann’s company has stakes in many European businesses, including Ferrari NV and Italy’s popular soccer team, Juventus Football Club.
Conservatives rejoice over ‘jaw dropping’ Meta censorship announcement: ‘Huge win for free speech’
Conservatives on social media took a victory lap on Tuesday in response to the news that Meta had ended its controversial fact-checking practices and promised to move toward a system more focused on free speech. “Meta finally admits to censoring speech…what a great birthday present to wake up to and a huge win for free speech,” GOP Sen. Rand Paul posted on X on Tuesday in response to news, first reported by Fox News Digital, that Meta is ending its fact-checking program and lifting restrictions on speech to “restore free expression” across Facebook, Instagram and Meta platforms, admitting its current content moderation practices have “gone too far.” “Jaw dropping—he explicitly says Meta will ‘adopt a system like X has of community notes’ because of the bias/abuse of 3rd party fact checkers,” Independent Women’s Forum visiting fellow Lyndsey Fifield posted on X in response to Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, speaking to Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning for an exclusive interview to discuss the changes. FACEBOOK ADMITS ‘MISTAKE’ IN CENSORING ICONIC TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT PHOTO: ‘THIS WAS AN ERROR’ “Nature is healing,” Fifield said. “There is absolutely 0 chance this would have happened if Trump didn’t win,” Abigail Jackson, communications director for GOP Sen. Josh Hawley, posted on X. “Here is the full video from Mark Zuckerberg announcing the end of censorship and misinformation policies,” Breaking Points co-host Sagaar Enjeti posted on X. “I highly recommend you watch all of it as tonally it is one of the biggest indications of ‘elections have consequences’ I have ever seen.” “Zuck is committed to cleaning house,” journalist Jordan Schachtel posted on X. “Question the motives or not, this is a very real commitment and it’s good news for speech on the internet. Of course, probably not possible to pull off without Trump winning.” Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was put in place after the 2016 election and had been used to “manage content” and misinformation on its platforms, largely due to “political pressure,” executives said, but admitted the system has “gone too far.” Since then, the process has drawn the ire of conservatives who have accused the platform of politically driven censoring while pointing to several examples of content being silenced, including the bombshell New York Post reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop, which Zuckerberg admitted the Biden White House pressured him to do and later called the move a mistake. FACEBOOK HAS ‘INTERFERED’ WITH US ELECTIONS 39 TIMES SINCE 2008: STUDY Kaplan said Meta currently uses automated systems, which he said make “too many mistakes” and removes content “that doesn’t even violate our standards.” He also said there are certain things Meta will continue to moderate, like posts relating to terrorism, illegal drugs and child sexual exploitation. Zuckerberg also pointed out in his video message on Tuesday that moderation teams will be moving from California to Texas, where he suggested there will be “less concern about the bias of our teams.” “We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Zuckerberg said. “More specifically, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X, starting in the U.S.” Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Biden admin working to effectively ban cigarettes in 11th hour proposal a ‘gift’ to cartels, expert says
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with a regulatory rule in the final days of the Biden administration that would effectively ban cigarettes currently on the market in favor of products with lower nicotine levels, which could end up boosting business for cartels operating on the black market, an expert tells Fox News Digital. “Biden’s ban is a gift with a bow and balloons to organized crime cartels with it, whether it’s cartels, Chinese organized crime, or Russian mafia. It’s going to keep America smoking, and it’s going to make the streets more violent,” Rich Marianos, former assistant director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the current chair of the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, told Fox News Digital of the proposal. The FDA confirmed to Fox Digital on Monday that as of Jan. 3, the Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Certain Tobacco Products had completed a regulatory review, but that the proposed rule has not yet been finalized. “The proposed rule, ‘Tobacco Product Standard for Nicotine Level of Certain Tobacco Products,’ is displaying in the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) ROCIS system as having completed regulatory review on January 3,” an FDA spokesman told Fox Digital. “As the FDA has previously said, a proposed product standard to establish a maximum nicotine level to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products, when finalized, is estimated to be among the most impactful population-level actions in the history of U.S. tobacco product regulation. At this time, the FDA cannot provide any further comment until it is published.” Fox New Digital reached out to the White House regarding concerns over the proposal if it were to take effect but did not receive a response. BIDEN ADMIN FACING CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OVER PROPOSED BAN ON MENTHOL CIGARETTES Former President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in 2009, which granted the FDA the power to regulate tobacco products. In the years since, the agency has worked to lower nicotine levels, including in July 2017 under the Trump administration, when then-FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced it would seek to require tobacco companies to drastically cut nicotine in cigarettes in an effort to help adult smokers quit. In 2022, the FDA under the Biden administration announced plans for the proposed rule that would lower levels of nicotine so they were less addictive or non-addictive. “Lowering nicotine levels to minimally addictive or non-addictive levels would decrease the likelihood that future generations of young people become addicted to cigarettes and help more currently addicted smokers to quit,” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said at the time. POPULAR ITALIAN CITY OFFICIALLY BANS CIGARETTE SMOKING OUTDOORS Lowering the levels of nicotine in commonly purchased cigarettes and other tobacco products would open the floodgates to the illicit trafficking of tobacco products into the U.S., Marianos told Fox News Digital. “This decision is being thrown down the public’s throat without one ounce of thought and preparation. Nobody sat down with law enforcement, nobody sat down with any doctors, No one sat down with any regulators to find out, ‘Hey, look, what are the unintended ramifications of such a poor choice,’ and that’s what I’m going to call it, a poor choice,” Marianos said. He explained that Mexican cartels are well-positioned to bring illegal tobacco across the border, as they do with substances such as fentanyl that have devastated communities across the U.S., while Chinese criminal organizations have some of the best counterfeit operations stretching from baby formula to cigarettes, and Russian organized crime groups have their foot in the door in cities across the nation, including in bodegas and other stores that sell tobacco products. Marianos said that criminal groups would likely quickly catch on to the proposal if it takes effect and subsequently amplify their tobacco operations – which he says will serve as an economic boon for the criminals. Americans who want to purchase cigarettes with higher levels of nicotine would then need to go through the illicit channels to obtain them, similar to buying “loosie” cigarettes on the streets of New York, putting average Americans at further criminal risk while also offering them cigarettes that are not regulated and originating from foreign nations. WANT TO STOP SMOKING FOR GOOD? CDC LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN WITH FREE RESOURCES TO QUIT Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers have already warned that tobacco trafficking in the U.S. poses a grave national security threat and already has its foot in the door. “In 2015, the State Department cited activity by terrorist groups, and criminal networks who have used tobacco trafficking operations to finance other crimes, including ‘money laundering, bulk cash smuggling, and the trafficking in humans, weapons, drugs, antiquities, diamonds, and counterfeit goods,’” Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn.; and then-Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., wrote in a 2023 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. BIDEN ADMIN ABRUPTLY DELAYS PLAN TO BAN MENTHOL CIGARETTES AMID WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION “Recently, public reporting has also noted these financial linkages between Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) involved in narcotics and fentanyl trafficking, and these tobacco smuggling activities. Mexican TCOs pose a grave threat to American national security and public health.” Marianos added that in addition to the criminal effect posed to America and its residents, lowering nicotine levels would also defeat the stated mission of weaning smokers off cigarettes and instead lead to an increase in smoking. “You’re going to create more smoking. And I thought that’s what we’re trying to get away from, right? Smoking is bad. I thought we’re trying to do everything possible to get away from that and get the country safer. Well, if you take down the nicotine levels, people are going to smoke more. That is proven. All you have to do is just drive here in DC and see, you know workers on their smoke break,” he said, saying work productivity will even be driven down as people take more smoke
Laken Riley Act: House poised to pass 1st bill of 119th Congress
The House of Representatives is poised to vote on its first piece of federal legislation on Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers will be voting on the Laken Riley Act, a bill named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. The bill would require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes. It also would allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration. KAMALA HARRIS MAKES TRUMP’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL WIN OFFICIAL DURING JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS Jose Ibarra, who was sentenced to life in prison for Riley’s murder, had previously been arrested but was never detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the agency previously said. The bill passed the House along bipartisan lines last year after it was first introduced by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga. All voting Republicans plus 37 Democrats voted for the bill by a margin of 251 to 170. All the “no” votes on the bill were Democrats. PRO-ISRAEL DEM COULD TIP SCALES IN KEY SENATE COMMITTEE AS MIDDLE EAST WAR CONTINUES It was not taken up in the Senate, however, which at the time was controlled by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “[T]he Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, holds the Biden Administration accountable for their role in these tragedies through their open border policies, requires detention of illegal aliens who commit theft and mandates ICE take them into custody, and allows a state to sue the Federal government on behalf of their citizens for not enforcing the border laws, particularly in the case of parole,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said in his daily House floor lookout. HOUSE REPUBLICANS REJOICE OVER QUICK SPEAKER VOTE WITH ONLY ONE DEFECTOR “House Republicans won’t stop fighting to secure the border and protect American communities. When will Democrats finally decide enough is enough?” The Senate is also poised to vote on the bill this week. It is one of several border security bills House Republicans have reintroduced this year as they prepare to take over all the levers of power in Washington, D.C. Republicans held the House and took over the Senate in the November elections. President-elect Donald Trump will take office on Jan. 20.