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Navy veteran Rocky Rochford seeks to turn Tampa Bay red, unseat 20-year House incumbent

Fri, 15 May 2026 18:42:47 -0400

Navy veteran Rocky Rochford served his country for 33 years, holding the title of commodore. Now, he's on a mission to flip Tampa Bay from blue to red, in the midst of a spirited campaign to unseat 20-year incumbent Kathy Castor in Florida's 14th congressional district.

Rochford recently sat down to discuss his campaign with Fox News Digital.

"So in 20 years, Kathy Castor has been the author of two bills that became law. And both of those were to rename post offices. So I would say that Kathy Castor has been ineffective. She hasn't really helped Tampa Bay in the ways that matter the most. Affordability is probably the biggest thing on everyone's kitchen table list of discussion points. Gasoline, groceries, electricity, insurance. I mean, the list goes on and on and on."

Rochford emphasizes that his leadership experience has prepared him to be ready to represent the people of Tampa Bay from day one.

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"So it's about leadership. I have spent my entire adult life…33 years in the Navy, four years at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. I got to go back to the age of 18 for the first time before I was actually part of the military. So, it's been entrenched in my being, it is in my soul, I'm very strong in my faith.

And I believe that we need someone who is not only going to bring leadership to the process, but is going to bring their faith to the process up in D.C., and be part of the solution. People who are anti the other side, whether it doesn't matter what side you're sitting on, when they are against the other side to the point where they won't even talk to them, that's problematic. We're not gonna get anything accomplished, we're not going to get anything done. And that's exactly what's happening up in DC right now, we see a lot of that."

Children's rights is an issue at the forefront of Rochford's campaign.

"I have three major bills that are the highlight of what I've been working on. And the first is my children's bill of rights. I do believe that children are the future, and they need to be protected far better than they're being protected now. So the laws that govern children are written amongst 11 different government agencies. Those agencies don't overlap and they don't talk to each other. This bill is designed to create a shield, an organization that oversees all of those laws.

"This covers everything from AI for kids, online predators, and it provides new penalties with teeth. This is we're going to get after those folks. The predators have been exploiting four different avenues on children across state lines. I'm going to close every one of those doors. Parental rights, no boys in girls sports. I mean, this bill covers adoption. It covers foster care, egg donor, IVF. It is complete."

Rochford argues that foreign influence plays a large role in shaping electoral outcomes, and particularly singles out China-based political donor and activist Neville Roy Singham.

"There's a lot folks who have nothing to do with the United States…that are influencing our elections, they're influencing the people…We know that Neville Singham, who's a U.S. citizen living in Shanghai, is taking money from the CCP to disrupt America from the inside. China calls this the smokeless war, and it really is and and they're not the only ones.

"Iran is doing the same thing, we know North Korea is involved, Russia so there's a lot of influence happening in here that are that are causing wreaking havoc but we as a society need to see beyond that. We are one America, and I'm America first. I'm American first before politics, America first before party."

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Florida's 14th district is hardly politically monolithic, and Rochford emphasizes that he seeks to represent the entire district, not merely Republicans.

"I'm about listening. So I'm here to not only listen to the right, I'm here to listen to the center, and I'm here to listen the left. Because if we can't come together and find the commonalities that will make us a better country, then we are doomed as a country. So we must support what we're all after, which is a great America, a great society that takes care of its own and helps around the world."

He views energy policy and independence as the foundation of affordability for American workers and families.

"So I've been talking about affordability for some time. To me, the foundation of affordability for just about everything runs off of energy. The price of oil drives the price of gas, which is in our trucks, in our trains, in our airplanes, in ships. And so we need to get control. And so one of the bills that I have drafted will propose that…we first have to become energy independent. We're the largest producer of energy in the world. So our people should be benefiting from it, not hurting from it."

Among the most important policy issues for Rochford is the national debt, which he has spent a great deal of time researching. He has a plan that would retire America's national debt by the 2060s:

"We don't want to leave a legacy of debt to our children and grandchildren. So I had go back 40 years to try to figure out where this all started, and where we went off the tracks. And I now understand the entire policy. Balancing the budget is only treating a symptom. It does not treat the disease. So the disease is Congress, I'm sorry, but it's true.

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"Every bit of money that comes in that's extra from Congress goes into the general pool and they spend it. And all of the great ideas that have been used in the past, because I studied them all in the past on how to get after the national debt, balance the budget, the things that'll help us get there. They were only policy, they were never law. So this suite of bills is law and it has teeth. And so the very first bill will design, it will create a trust and it is the American National Debt Trust. And when the money goes in there, it cannot come out and it cannot be spent by Congress in any other way. So if we enacted [my legislation] it would still take us to the 2060s to retire the national debt, but if we do nothing, and we're on the path of doing nothing, in 10 years the national debt will be $61 trillion."

Florida's primary election is August 18.

Longtime Democratic Rep Steve Cohen announces end to re-election bid

Fri, 15 May 2026 11:34:54 -0400

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced on Friday that he signed a document requesting not to be included on the ballot in Tennessee's 9th Congressional District.

The congressman described the district determined by "new lines" as "nothing like the 9th district that I've represented."

The Democratic primary in the district is scheduled to take place in August.

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Redistricting was approved in the state last week.

A press release from the Tennessee Secretary of State website states, "Candidates who previously qualified for 2026 congressional elections may run in the new district that has the same district number. Candidates who wish to change districts or withdraw may do so by filing a notarized statement with the State Division of Elections, attention Coordinator of Elections."

Cohen's office says the lawmaker's "majority-Black district was gerrymandered into three Republican-leaning districts by the state General Assembly last week."

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD ON REDISTRICTING

Cohen is ending his re-election bid after more than 19 years in Congress — he took office in early 2007.

Speaking after his announcement on Friday, Cohen slammed President Donald Trump, describing the president as "the greatest threat to democracy," "decorum," as well as to "grace, that we've ever seen."

Cohen stated that he would not seek reelection in any of the three newly gerrymandered districts that now divide Memphis. He tied his departure to the current map and left the door open to return if that map is overturned.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.

McMahon tells House panel Trump admin moving to dismantle ‘failed’ $3T education bureaucracy

Thu, 14 May 2026 10:47:45 -0400

Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon declared on Thursday that Americans elected President Donald Trump "to sunset" the "education bureaucracy," asserting that the administration is enacting "education renewal."

"Americans reelected President Trump with a clear mandate to sunset a 46-year-old, $3-trillion dollar, failed education bureaucracy in D.C. and return authority to where it belongs to parents, teachers and local leaders," she said during her opening statement before the House Committee on Education and Workforce on Thursday.

"Today I can confidently attest that we're delivering on the vision of educational renewal that for decades many promised, but none delivered," she added.

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The secretary is testifying before the House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing titled, "Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Education."

"We've been clear: Shifting authority back to the states will not come at the expense of essential federal support and programs, much of which predate the department itself," she said.

McMahon added that when Trump's "administration makes promises, we keep them."

"And with your partnership, we will unleash momentous opportunity for every child to realize their God-given potential," she said at the hearing.

EDUCATION SECRETARY LINDA MCMAHON ACCUSES CRITICS OF HAVING ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’

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"The most important thing we can do for our children is to make sure they can read and do math. We have failed them. When you have only 30%, or even a little less, of eighth graders and fourth graders that can read at proficient level, we are failing our students, and we need to change that," McMahon said.

House Republican misses another week of votes as health absence strains thin majority

Wed, 13 May 2026 08:17:31 -0400

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a GOP lawmaker who has been absent from Washington for more than two months, will miss votes again this week, his office confirmed to Fox News Digital.

"Congressman Kean is still attending to a personal health matter, and we appreciate the outpouring of support," Dan Scharfenberger, Kean’s chief of staff, said in a statement Monday. "He will be returning to a regular full schedule soon."

Kean, 57, has not specified when he plans to return to work or the nature of his health issue. His office has insisted for weeks that he would resume his congressional responsibilities "soon."

The New Jersey Republican has not voted since March 5, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional activities. During that time, he missed all 70 roll-call votes in the lower chamber, including legislation to end the government shutdown and extend a critical warrantless surveillance tool.

JOHNSON WARNS HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO ‘STAY HEALTHY’ AS GOP MAJORITY SHRINKS TO THE EDGE

Kean’s absence has an outsize impact on House Republicans’ razor-thin majority as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford to spare just a handful of votes on party-line bills. Democrats have also struggled to maintain full attendance in recent weeks.

Johnson said in April that he spoke with Kean on the phone and expects him to make a full recovery.

"Tom is one of the most dedicated and hardest-working members of Congress, and I am grateful for all he does and will continue to do to serve New Jerseyans and our country," Johnson said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

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Kean’s prolonged absence from Washington comes as he faces a potentially difficult re-election battle in one of the country’s most contested districts. House Democrats' campaign arm is expected to aggressively target the swing seat and four Democratic candidates are vying to take him on in a crowded June primary.

The New Jersey Republican has no GOP challengers and is running for a third House term with President Donald Trump's endorsement.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the contest as a "toss-up" after downgrading the race in favor of Democrats last year.

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Kean’s office has continued to post on social media while he recovers from the undisclosed medical issue.

"The Congressman’s team continues to serve the people of New Jersey uninterrupted," Scharfenberger said in a statement.

GOP lawmaker unveils historic move to 'expunge' both 'maliciously false' impeachments against Trump

Mon, 11 May 2026 12:23:11 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has introduced a resolution aimed at reversing the two impeachments of President Donald Trump in the House of Representatives in a move he says will rectify a situation where Democrats used "knowingly false" claims in a partisan attempt to destroy the president’s reputation.

The resolution, H.Res.1211, referred to the House Judiciary Committee, declares that both of Trump’s impeachments, approved by the House in 2019 and 2021, should be formally "expunged as if such Article had never passed the full House of Representatives."

"The fact is that the Constitution doesn't spell out what to do when you've wrongfully indicted somebody," Issa told Fox News Digital. "An impeachment is basically an indictment and it's an indictment that you can't really be acquitted from. If you are impeached by the House, famously where do you go to get your reputation back, is the question,"

"And that’s sort of a problem that we're dealing with, which is that the president was wrongfully accused, the evidence is now out that there was withheld information and false information, but where do we go to unring this bell? And the answer is we go back to Congress and we go to the House floor and we have a vote."

GREGG JARRETT: LONG-HIDDEN DOCUMENTS REVEAL FIRST TRUMP IMPEACHMENT WAS A TOTAL FRAUD

"More importantly," Issa explained, is that he hopes his process will "make sure that the facts and the reality that there was misconduct in the process gets a hearing" because that’s "really where this becomes a big deal is that we really have to make our case in front of Congress and in front of the American people."

The resolution makes the case that the 2019 impeachment was based on unreliable and politically biased information, pointing to newly declassified material that it says undermines the credibility of the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint triggered the inquiry.

It contends the whistleblower lacked firsthand knowledge, was assisted by other officials with alleged political bias, and that House investigators mishandled or misrepresented evidence while denying Trump the opportunity to confront his accusers.

LAWYER OF WHISTLEBLOWER IN TRUMP IMPEACHMENT CASE SUES ADMINISTRATION OVER REVOKED SECURITY CLEARANCE

In a press release earlier this year, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced the declassification of documents she says revealed a "coordinated effort" within the intelligence community "to manufacture a conspiracy that was used as the basis to impeach President Trump in 2019."

Issa says the Democrats "broke every House rule" in their impeachment quests, and a source close to Issa's office told Fox News Digital that prominent Democrats have admitted in private that information revealed since the impeachments "reflects so poorly on the House" and "represents an example of what's gone wrong in the Capitol and in Washington."

The resolution argues that the 2021 impeachment was rushed and procedurally flawed, noting that the House moved from introduction to passage in two days and did not conduct a full evidentiary process. While lawmakers held a brief committee hearing with constitutional experts, the measure advanced without fact witnesses or extended investigation, which the resolution says denied Trump basic due process.

"They impeached him for essentially an insurrection, a true high crime, and it's false," Issa said.

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Previous attempts have been made to reverse the impeachments, including resolutions in 2022 and 2023, but never received hearings, markups or floor votes, and died at the end of the 118th Congress.

Issa told Fox News Digital that the previous resolutions were not written as strongly as this one and "didn’t have what we have," which is "the compelling case to say the misconduct of the accusation is now what we're going to have on trial rather than the president because he was impeached with information that the very people who brought it knew was wrong."

Additionally, Issa’s effort has the backing of one of the top Republicans in Congress, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

"Democrats weaponized impeachment against President Trump with politically motivated charges," Jordan told Fox News Digital. "We applaud Chairman Issa for leading the fight to expunge this sham from the record."

The effort also has strong support from other House Republicans. A list of over 20 cosponsors includes: Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., Russell Fry, R-S.C., Mark Alford, R-Mo., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Tom McClintock, R-Calif., David J. Taylor, R-Ohio, Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., Rick Allen, R-Ga., Rich McCormick, R-Ga., Michael Rulli, R-Ohio, Mary Miller, R-Ill., Mike Collins, R-Ga., Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., Tracey Mann, R-Kan., Tim Walberg, R-Mich., John Rose, R-Tenn., Joe Wilson, R-S.C., David Rouzer, R-N.C., Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn., and Ronny Jackson, R-Texas.

Issa’s resolution reignites a constitutional argument about whether the House can retroactively nullify an impeachment it has already adopted. Supporters contend that because the Constitution gives the House the "sole Power of Impeachment," it also has authority over its own records and can vote to expunge prior actions.

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Critics, including some legal scholars, argue that while the House can express disapproval or annotate its records, it cannot erase the historical fact of an impeachment or undo the constitutional process once it has occurred, making such efforts largely symbolic.

"Our goal is to show that it's false and it was maliciously false and, as a result, it should no longer stand as a legitimate accusation to then be played upon when people are saying, ‘No Kings,’" Issa said.

"When you've been falsely accused, whether it's days, weeks, months or years later, somebody should be just as interested in printing that retraction on the front page as they were in putting the original charge on the front page," Issa explained. "And that's what we're trying to achieve, is to have the legitimate retraction receive at least some semblance of the same attention as the false accusations did."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

AOC, asked about running for president, says her ambition is 'way bigger than that'

Sun, 10 May 2026 07:51:22 -0400

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is not quite ready to announce a run in the 2028 Democratic primary, because she said her ambition is far greater than that.

"They assume that my ambition is positional; they assume that my ambition is a title or a seat," Ocasio-Cortez told Democratic strategist David Axelrod at an event Friday in Chicago. "And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country."

"Presidents come and go; Senate, House seats, elected officials come and go, but single-payer healthcare is forever," she continued. "A living wage is forever. Workers’ rights are forever. Women’s rights, all of that."

Ocasio-Cortez was responding to criticism of her comments that billionaires like Elon Musk cannot truly "earn" a billion dollars without the work of others, calling the blowback "a veiled threat" against her running for president.

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"This was the elite saying, if you want this job, you just stepped out of line," she said. "And we want you to know where the real power is, and it's in the modern-day barons who own The [Washington] Post and own the algorithms, and we're going to — we’ll make an example out of you."

She said critics misunderstand what drives her political decisions: "What use is a gavel, what use is a seat if it doesn’t result in anyone’s life changing for the better. She does not aim for the top, but from it.

"When you haven’t been fantasizing about being this or that since you were seven years old, it is tremendously liberating," she said. "Because I get to wake up every day and say, how am I going to meet the moment?

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"And conditions change radically all the time. So I make my response less to an attachment to some positional, like, you know, title or position and working backwards from there.

"But I make decisions by waking up in the morning, looking out the window, and observing the conditions of this country. And saying, 'What move or decision can I make today that's going to get us closer to that future, stronger, faster, and better than yesterday?'"

The New York Democrat made an early realization of the competition in America, walking onto the Senate floor as a freshman House member and thinking, "Wow, everyone here thinks they’re going to be president."

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"And they are making decisions from that place," she said. "And I don’t want to make decisions from a place of, what’s in it for me? I want to make decisions from a place of, how are we going to change the country?"

Ocasio-Cortez did not rule out any future office, saying she could pursue her goals from multiple places, regardless of big media's attempts to spin her away from her ambitions.

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"No billionaire can stop that: No concentrated level of power and no elite, no gatekeeper, can prevent me from doing everything I can, waking up every day in service of the working class," she said. "I can do that in the House, in the Senate. I can do that in the White House.

"I can do it from a shack in upstate New York chopping wood and being a burnout. I can do it from anywhere."

Bipartisan lawmakers push to remove Secret Service from DHS after Trump assassination attempts

Thu, 07 May 2026 11:28:14 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: A pair of House lawmakers are seeking a major change to the Secret Service after heightened scrutiny following the third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump in April.

Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Russell Fry, R-S.C., introduced legislation Thursday that would transfer the Secret Service from DHS supervision and make the agency a direct report to the White House.

The measure is part of a broader package of bipartisan reforms that Moskowitz, a former emergency management director, is unveiling to reform the sprawling department that has come under frequent criticism for bureaucratic dysfunction. His legislative package would also make FEMA an independent cabinet-level agency and move TSA under the jurisdiction of the Department of Transportation.

The goal, Moskowitz said, is to cut red tape at DHS that impedes its subagencies’ ability to function — an observation he saw up close as a member of the congressional task force investigating the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa.

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"Going to Butler, talking to Secret Service, is when I realized, well, the Secret Service is suffering the same problems that FEMA is suffering," Moskowitz said in an interview with Fox News Digital. "Because they were such a small agency, they couldn't get the resources they needed. They couldn't get decisions being made."

"These pieces of legislation would streamline all three of those agencies," Moskowitz added. "It would cut a lot of the bureaucracy we're getting at DHS."

Moskowitz, who was present at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where the Secret Service subdued the alleged shooter, said the assassination scare reinforced the need to make the agency directly accountable to the president and provide agents with "more resources, not less."

Fry, who is co-leading the bill, said the measure would better allow the Secret Service to fulfill its responsibility of protecting the president.

"In a time where political attacks are becoming increasingly rampant, the Secret Service should be able to focus solely on its mission of protecting top U.S. officials — not dealing with bureaucratic tape that ultimately serves as a distraction to keeping the president safe," Fry said.

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Moskowitz’s DHS reform package comes after the embattled department endured a record-breaking funding lapse that concluded in late April after lasting for 76 days. The Florida lawmaker repeatedly joined Democrats against full-year DHS spending bills, but supported funding the department’s non-immigration functions.

If Moskowitz’s reform package was signed into law, the TSA, Secret Service and FEMA would likely be shielded from another prolonged DHS funding lapse.

More than 1,000 TSA agents quit during the shutdown, leading to long security lines at major airports and a spike in missed flights for passengers.

"I don't think the American people should have their lives interrupted at the airport because of the dysfunction in Washington," Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.

He also argued that TSA would function better if it was transferred out of DHS.

"The idea that the Department of Transportation, they have the FAA that keeps our skies safe, but then Homeland keeps the people safe in the airport … we should put things under one roof," Moskowitz said. "I'm trying to unify keeping people safe in the air and safe on the ground when flying."

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Moskowitz’s previous efforts to make FEMA a cabinet-level agency have stalled in committee.

The Florida lawmaker, however, said he has talked with members of the Trump administration about reforms to DHS and believes there is extensive bipartisan support for overhauling the department.

"The question is, are we able to function and actually do something like this anymore?" Moskowitz said. "Or are we just only able to fund the agencies now and can't do any reform?"

Moskowitz is partnering with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., on the FEMA reform measure and co-leading the TSA transfer bill with Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

He told Fox News Digital that he is planning to seek re-election in the new GOP-leaning 25th Congressional District, following Florida Republicans passing an aggressive gerrymandered map that carved up his Democratic seat last week.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the DHS before publication.

Trump's agenda on razor's edge as GOP divisions block legislative path in House

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:00:44 -0400

Republican infighting in the House of Representatives is jeopardizing the passage of President Donald Trump's agenda, as deep divisions over three high-profile pieces of legislation stall action on the floor.

House GOP leadership canceled votes on Tuesday as internal negotiations failed to win over conservative holdouts to support an extension of a controversial surveillance program or mammoth legislation enacting agriculture and nutrition policies known as the farm bill.

Republicans on the House Rules Committee teed up a procedural vote advancing the legislative items on Tuesday after Democrats forced the panel to entertain dozens of failed amendments. But a swath of conservative lawmakers are noncommittal about supporting the procedural measure ahead of a highly anticipated vote scheduled for Wednesday morning.

"We've been through some trying times here," House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said after reading a portion of the Serenity Prayer when the panel reconvened Tuesday afternoon amid flaring tensions among lawmakers.

'HELL WEEK' IN WASHINGTON: A LOOK AT HOUSE REPUBLICANS' CURRENT BIND, AND HOW WE GOT HERE

The intraparty divisions come as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is up against a fast-approaching April 30 deadline to pass an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The speaker can spare just a handful of GOP defections on the House floor during the test vote, setting up the measure for a vote on final passage if Democrats unite in opposition.

"I am a NO on the Rule," Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., wrote on social media Tuesday after she criticized the House Rules Committee for rejecting her amendments to the farm bill.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also threatened to vote "no" during the procedural vote after voicing frustration with the House Rules panel’s proceedings.

GOP privacy hawks have so far withheld their support on the procedural measure and the underlying three-year extension of a FISA renewal bill absent reforms. The Trump administration has failed for weeks to convince Republican holdouts to support a clean extension of the spy law despite warning about the national security risks of letting the program lapse.

Though the procedural measure includes language permanently banning central bank digital currencies (CBDC) — a high priority for some conservative members — the spy law extension does not include a requirement that would direct intelligence officials to obtain a warrant before reviewing Americans’ data.

The surveillance tool allows the U.S. government to surveil foreigners who are using U.S. communication platforms abroad. The program also permits intelligence collection on Americans in contact with foreigners without a warrant — a policy long seen as problematic by a mix of conservatives and progressives who want stricter privacy guardrails.

"The Intel community always just comes in and says people will die if you do this," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Tuesday, referring to a warrant requirement. "A lot of Americans died to give us and protect that Fourth Amendment right, that we don't have government looking at our stuff."

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The final shape of the House’s FISA renewal bill is also sparking tensions with the Senate.

"There's a feeling that if it gets in the bill, then it's going to sink the bill," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital, referring to the CBDC ban language that conservatives have described as an anti-surveillance measure. "I don't know if that's true or not. We'd love to at least vote on it."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters Tuesday that a FISA renewal bill that contains a permanent ban on central bank digital currencies would be "dead on arrival" in the upper chamber.

Several House Republicans dismissed the majority leader’s comments, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., referring to Thune as "Senator Palpatine" on social media.

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Luna has also threatened to "blow up" the farm bill if controversial pesticide language is not scrapped from the legislation. Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) advocates and Democratic lawmakers have slammed the provisions as a liability shield for pesticide manufacturers.

Democratic lawmakers are unlikely to bail out Republican leadership during the critical test vote due to their likely opposition to the trio of legislative items within the procedural measure.

"Kash Patel is a major obstacle to getting to a FISA deal," Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., a member of House Democratic leadership, said Tuesday, referring to the FBI head. "And it's because many members of Congress simply do not trust Kash Patel."

'Hell Week' in Washington: A look at House Republicans' current bind, and how we got here

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 19:57:36 -0400

There’s no such thing as hazing in Congress.

You won’t find "fraternity row," with each house festooned with a trifecta of deltas, gammas and epsilons.

No drinking games here.

At least not officially.

WHCD SHOOTING SHOWS DEMS ARE 'PLAYING' WITH AMERICANS' SAFETY BY WITHHOLDING DHS FUNDING, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS

But get ready for something on Capitol Hill with which many Greek pledges are all too familiar:

"I’m going to say next week is hell week," warned Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, last Thursday. "Next week is going to be hell week.’

And this was all before the harrowing episode Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington.

HOUSE GOP PUSHES BACK ON SENATE'S 'SKINNY' PLAN TO END RECORD-BREAKING DHS SHUTDOWN

To wit about the week facing Capitol Hill:

House Republicans face a devil of a week. They must get on the same page as the Senate to pass a budget framework – to prospectively fund ICE and the Border Patrol. FISA, the nation’s controversial spy program expires early Friday morning. That’s to say nothing of trying to pass the farm bill.

If they don’t get all of this done, "Dean Wormer" (of Animal House fame) might just place House Republicans on "double secret probation" before the week is through.

So let’s examine what got House Republicans in this bind.

Let’s start at 3:36 a.m. last Thursday.

We begin there, because in the past several weeks, the most important moments in Congress have unfolded at 2:12 on a Friday morning, 2:16 on a Friday morning and now 3:36 on a Thursday morning.

3:36 a.m. is when the Senate approved a budget framework to possibly fund ICE and CBP. Republicans are running a special legislative gambit called "reconciliation" to bypass a filibuster. That’s because Democrats won’t help. They’ve never secured the reforms they need to support ICE. So Republicans are going it alone.

"We're trying to use the reconciliation process to get money to secure the border," said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Democrats have balked about funding ICE since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the winter.

"They want to give $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol without any reforms," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. "(They’re) adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody – well, two groups, Border Patrol and ICE – that nobody respects in this country."

That prompted an explosive response from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during an appearance on Fox.

"It makes my ears red. It takes a lot to get me upset. But Chuck Schumer, no one respects you. The definition of a lying scumbag politician. That is you," said Mullin of his former Senate colleague.

ICE SHUTDOWN FIGHT MIGHT RESTRICT FEMA, COAST GUARD TO ‘LIFE-THREATENING’ EMERGENCIES

Perhaps this why the white-hot rhetoric on both sides may have contributed to the mayhem of Saturday night.

Mullin says emergency DHS money is about to expire. So pressure is intensifying on the House to align with the Senate with no changes to the outline adopted by the Senate.

"It has to be clean, because it's got to be quick," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. "The last paychecks go out at the end of this month."

But remember, this is just the House lining up with the Senate on a blueprint to address the funding lapse at ICE and CBP. The assassination attempt at the White House dinner only amplified the need to fund DHS. And fast. However, Johnson refused to pick up a bill to fund everything else at DHS which the Senate passed twice. Then Johnson agreed to pass the bill after dissing it. But the House has never synced up.

Johnson says the Senate funding package – not the reconciliation framework – "has some problematic language" because it was "haphazardly drafted."

And now Johnson is suggesting there may be yet another DHS funding bill in the works.

That may be inevitable, considering the chaos of the weekend.

REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN

Budget reconciliation takes a while.

"Reconciliation is still a little ways off," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. "They're running out of runway to fund a lot of those agencies."

But here’s the other problem with reconciliation: Many conservatives insist on add-ons.

"We should be taking a broader approach to reconciliation," said Rep. Chip Roy R-Texas.

Here’s what they’re mulling: Maybe money to cover the cost of the war in Iran. Perhaps a suspension of the federal gasoline tax. Additional tax cuts. You name it.

Many on the right demand the inclusion of the SAVE America Act. The bill requires proof of citizenship in order to vote.

"I think you'd see a lot more folks on our side jump on board with it if they had that," said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., about the SAVE America Act.

However, even advocates of the SAVE America Act doubt the GOP can stuff that into a Senate bill which must be fiscal in nature. Many demand an additional, expansive reconciliation bill which is not limited to DHS.

"This is probably the only reconciliation we're going to have before the break. That's a poor excuse for the work we're doing up here," complained Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. "One bill with that limited amount."

"People probably intend to do a third reconciliation bill. But you're not looking at Bambi's baby brother here," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. "This is the last train leaving the station."

All aboard?

SENATE TAKES FIRST STEP TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL IN BID TO CUT DEMS OUT OF THE FUNDING PROCESS

For the moment, President Trump is still focused on the reconciliation outline.

"We need all Republicans to join together and support this Budget Blueprint, which will allow us to bypass Democrat obstruction in the Senate, and fund Immigration Enforcement with only Republican Votes. The Senate passed this Blueprint last week on Thursday morning, and now, House Republicans must UNIFY, and pass the same Blueprint to get the Bill done," wrote the President on Truth Social.

The President added that he wants a "FAST and FOCUSED" bill by June 1.

That’s nearly five weeks from now.

Hence the challenge of the week.

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"This is so difficult. Up here, we can't agree with much," fumed Nehls.

But here’s a little secret. Every week on Capitol Hill in recent memory has morphed into a political inferno. A failed exercise to fund the government which lingered since last summer. Fights over the Epstein files. Resignations amid dark political scandals. Efforts to expel other lawmakers. You name it.

"If you’re going through hell, keep going," said Winston Churchill.

Which is maybe why Congress goes through the same hellish, legislative landscape nearly every week.

Hakeem Jeffries doubles down on 'maximum warfare' rhetoric, tells critics 'I don't give a damn'

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:15:34 -0400

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., doubled down on his inflammatory rhetoric toward Republicans during a fiery news conference Monday, telling critics, "I don’t give a damn."

"I stand by it," Jeffries told reporters, when asked about his vow last week to unleash "maximum warfare" on the GOP to counter the party’s redistricting efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections. "You can continue to criticize me for it. I don't give a damn about your criticism."

Jeffries' messaging sparked backlash from Republicans following the third apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump's life at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday.

The top Democrat defended his choice of words by pointing to a report from The New York Times last year in which an anonymous White House staffer used the same phrase to threaten Democrats.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES' CALL TO FIGHT TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’ SPARKS BACKLASH AS A 'MAXINE WATERS MOMENT'

"That phrase ‘maximum warfare everywhere, all the time’ came from the White House in the summer of 2025, when they started this redistricting battle, and now they're big mad," Jeffries continued. "Why? Because Democrats have decided to finish it. Get lost."

The top Democrat insisted that he denounced political violence in all of its forms.

Jeffries also had harsh words for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who he labeled a "disgrace" and a "stone-cold liar" after she criticized Democrats' rhetoric that frequently labels Trump as an existential threat.

"This so-called White House press secretary wants to lecture America and lecture us about civility. Get lost," Jeffries said. "Clean up your own house before you have anything to say to us about the language that we use."

DEM LEADER CONDEMNS THANKSGIVING BOMB THREATS AGAINST LIBERAL LAWMAKERS AFTER TEAM TRUMP TARGETED

The White House slammed Jeffries' attack on Leavitt and his defense of the "maximum warfare" phrase.

"Hakeem ‘High Tax’ Jeffries is truly one of the dumbest and most divisive members of Congress," White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.

Leavitt hammered top Democrats’ embrace of hostile messaging toward Trump during a news conference Monday.

"This hateful, constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day for 11 years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment," Leavitt said.

"When you have mentally disturbed individuals across the country who are listening to this crazed rhetoric about the president day after day after day, it inspires them to do crazy things," she added.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sharply criticized Jeffries’ defense of his comments.

"Democrats are playing with fire and pretending they don’t smell the smoke," NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. "If they can’t bring themselves to put an end to this kind of rhetoric, it proves they'll do anything to appease their far-left base."

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Jeffries on Monday also blasted a proposed new congressional map that Florida’s Republican legislature is expected to pass in the coming days that is aimed at erasing Democrats’ gains in Virginia, where voters approved a gerrymander targeting four Republican-held seats last week.

"The so-called map, which is a DeSantis dummymander actually, is blatantly unconstitutional," Jeffries said. "Florida is not going to make a meaningful difference as it relates to their efforts to rig the midterm elections. That effort has failed."

Tom Kean Jr's prolonged absence puts pressure on House Republicans' razor-thin majority

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:00:06 -0400

House Republicans face a critical week for must-pass legislation, but one GOP lawmaker who has tallied dozens of missed votes may not be present.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., has missed more than a month of votes due to an unspecified health issue. It remains to be seen whether the two-term lawmaker will be absent again this week as the House considers a budget blueprint to fund immigration enforcement and legislation reauthorizing the government’s warrantless surveillance powers.

Kean’s prolonged absence comes as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can afford to lose just a handful of votes on party-line legislation given House Republicans’ razor-thin majority.

"He’s expected to be totally fine and back to a full schedule soon," Harrison Neely, a spokesperson for Kean, told Fox News Digital.

MEET ANALILIA MEJIA, THE SANDERS-AOC BACKED PROGRESSIVE WHO JUST WON ELECTION TO CONGRESS

Neely did not specify when Kean plans to resume work or the nature and extent of his illness.

Kean has missed 50 roll call votes since March 17, amounting to a 100% absence rate, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional absences. He last voted on March 5 — nearly two months ago.

Johnson said Thursday that he spoke to Kean by phone and expects him to make a full recovery.

"He is attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon," Johnson said in a statement to Fox News Digital, first obtained by The New York Times. "Tom is one of the most dedicated and hardest-working Members of Congress, and I am grateful for all he does and will continue to do to serve New Jerseyans and our country."

THESE HOUSE MAVERICKS DEFIED THEIR OWN PARTIES MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE IN 2025

The scrutiny over Kean’s extended absences comes as national Democrats are aggressively targeting his swing seat ahead of November’s midterm elections. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Kean’s re-election contest as a "toss-up."

Kean fended off Democratic candidate Sue Altman by five points in 2024. Four Democratic challengers are vying in a June primary to unseat him.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) sharply criticized Kean for not disclosing his specific health issue to his constituents.

"New Jersey voters deserve to know where Congressman Kean Jr. is and why he continues to play the stock market while in office," Eli Cousin, a DCCC spokesman, told Fox News Digital.

Cousin alluded to a recent NOTUS report that found Kean has continued to make several personal stock trades during his absence from Washington, D.C.

A Kean spokesperson told The New Jersey Globe last year that the congressman’s investments are handled by financial advisors without his involvement.

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Kean’s office has notably continued to post on social media throughout his extended absence from Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, Kean’s office highlighted that two bills he introduced earlier in this Congress advanced out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The post did not mention that Kean was not present for the committee markup.

North Dakota state rep, pilot killed in plane crash

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:23:53 -0400

A North Dakota state representative and the pilot of a small plane were killed after they crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday near Crystal Airport in a Minneapolis suburb.

Rep. Liz Conmy, D-Fargo, was identified as one of the two people killed when the Beech F33A went down in Brooklyn Park, Minn., and caught fire.

"Liz served her state and community with care and compassion, from her service in the Legislature and on the state’s Human Trafficking Commission to her work on education, habitat and immigration," North Dakota GOP Gov. Kelly Armstrong wrote in a statement. "Kjersti and I are saddened by this tragic loss and offer our deepest condolences to her family, friends and fellow legislators. We ask North Dakotans to join us in keeping them in our prayers."

Armstrong directed all U.S. and North Dakota flags to be flown at half-staff from dawn to dusk on the day of Conmy’s interment, encouraging North Dakotans to do the same at their homes and businesses.

DC PLANE CRASH: VICTIM'S FAMILY SEEKS $250 MILLION IN FIRST LEGAL ACTION SINCE DEADLY COLLISION

"I am heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rep. Conmy, a dear friend and former colleague with whom I had the privilege of serving in the state House," Lt. GOP Gov. Michelle Strinden wrote in a statement. "Liz brought integrity, compassion and unwavering dedication to her work on the Education and Judiciary committees, and I was proud to partner with her on efforts to strengthen our schools. My thoughts are with her family and all who knew and loved her."

The Federal Aviation Administration said two people were aboard, but the pilot was not immediately publicly identified.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, Fox 9 reported.

WHO ARE THE SHOOTING VICTIMS IN THE 'TARGETED' ATTACKS AGAINST MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS?

"We are completely heartbroken and gutted by the loss of Representative Liz Conmy," the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party wrote Saturday on X.

"Her death is a profound loss for our state. As a lawmaker, she championed public education, the environment, and transparency."

Brooklyn Park Police Inspector Matt Rabe said officers were called at 11:51 a.m. to a report of a small plane crash in a park area. Emergency crews found the aircraft engulfed in flames after it crashed shortly after departing from Crystal Airport, north of Minneapolis. The Brooklyn Park Fire Department arrived within minutes and extinguished the fire, but there were no survivors.

Neighbors near the crash site described hearing a loud explosion and seeing flames shoot up from the wreckage.

"I was in the house, in my bedroom, and my daughter was eating cereal at the kitchen table, and there was a really loud boom," Ashley Capp, who lives across the street, told FOX 9.

Another neighbor, Kim Clark, said the scene unfolded quickly.

"We look across the street, and it was a huge flame, huge fire," Clark told the station. "Everybody started calling 911."

State Sen. Tim Mathern, who described Conmy as a friend and former running mate, said she brought "a zest for life and a strong work ethic" and would be missed by Democrats and Republicans alike.

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The crash was the second deadly plane crash in Brooklyn Park in more than a year, according to FOX 9.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: SPLC’s legal woes grow as Jim Jordan fires latest salvo at left-wing group

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:00:44 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The House Judiciary Committee escalated scrutiny of the Southern Poverty Law Center on Thursday, demanding documents from the nonprofit after a federal indictment alleged the group funneled millions in donor funds to extremist organizations.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter first obtained by Fox News Digital to SPLC President Bryan Fair that the GOP-led committee was investigating any coordination between the SPLC and the Biden Department of Justice and FBI, both of which had used the left-wing nonprofit as a resource.

Jordan demanded a slate of documents from the SPLC by April 30, a request that comes after his Republican counterparts in the Senate also ramped up scrutiny of the SPLC and after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hinted at more possible indictments related to the group.

The intensifying investigations into the SPLC, expanding from the DOJ to Congress, come after Jordan's committee previously investigated the group, saying it was known for "maligning several mainstream conservative and religious organizations as 'hate groups,'" such as Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA, and that the Biden DOJ improperly used it for civil rights enforcement.

SPLC SAW REVENUE SURGE AFTER CHARLOTTESVILLE RALLY AS DOJ ALLEGES INFORMANT TIES

"Publicly available documents revealed how the Justice Department partnered closely with the SPLC during the Biden-Harris Administration, including scheduling regular meetings, giving the SPLC early access to federal law-enforcement data, and allowing SPLC employees to train federal prosecutors," Jordan wrote. "The new information about the SPLC alleged in the indictment only raises further questions."

Jordan also noted that a controversial internal memo originating from the FBI Richmond Field Office during Director Christopher Wray's tenure, which framed so-called radical-traditionalist Catholics as a group of people more prone to violent crime, used the SPLC as a source for its findings. The memo surfaced in 2023, with Wray later retracting it and saying it was an "appalling" breach of religious freedom.

Jordan's letter pointed out that the Richmond memo was among more than a dozen FBI documents that used the SPLC as a resource.

The DOJ on Tuesday charged the SPLC with several counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit money laundering, alleging the group defrauded donors for more than a decade.

RADICAL HOUSE DEM APPOINTED TO GOP-LED COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING JANUARY 6: 'WE WILL EXPOSE THE LIES'

Prosecutors said the nonprofit, which promotes its efforts to fight White supremacy, misled donors by using shell companies to mask how donor funds were used. More than $3 million was paid through the shell companies to informants who participated in activities involving the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement, among others, prosecutors alleged.

"The SPLC's paid informants ... engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website," prosecutors wrote, noting one informant allegedly went so far as to help plan the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Congress has an important interest in protecting Americans from extremist violence and criminal activity," Jordan wrote in his letter. "The Committee on the Judiciary has been conducting oversight of the Biden-Harris Administration’s close coordination with the SPLC on federal civil rights matters."

BIDEN DOJ SUBPOENAED JIM JORDAN'S PHONE RECORDS COVERING MORE THAN TWO YEARS

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday set its sights on a woman previously affiliated with the SPLC who was a federal judge and Biden appointee serving a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

"Every individual associated with SPLC should have to answer for what they knew about the organization's extremist ties, and when," committee Republicans wrote in a statement on X.

"That includes Nancy Abudu, SPLC's former litigation director who Biden appointed as a lifetime judge on the 11th Circuit."

Just before the DOJ announced charges, Fair said in a public statement that the federal investigation was political rather than sincere.

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"They have made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy," Fair said, noting the group no longer works with paid informants but adding they had "risked their lives" to infiltrate extremist groups.

Fox News Digital reached out to the SPLC and Abudu's chambers for comment.

DeSantis taunts Jeffries with Florida invite — Dem leader responds with $20M warning shot

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:39:12 -0400

There's no let up in the verbal fireworks between House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida in their war of words over congressional redistricting.

One day after DeSantis on Wednesday taunted Jeffries, saying "there’s nothing that could be better for Republicans in Florida than to see Jeffries … everywhere around this state," the top Democrat in the House fired back.

Pointing to the announcement Thursday morning from a top super PAC aligned with House Democrats that it will shell out $20 million to target potentially vulnerable Florida Republican members of Congress, Jeffries said the move is "making it clear that we're on offense. That's our Democratic gift to Ron DeSantis and the Florida Republicans, who he is putting in jeopardy."

The trading of trash talk between the congressman from New York and the two-term Sunshine State governor comes ahead of next week's special session of the Florida legislature that DeSantis called to enact congressional redistricting to create additional right-leaning U.S. House seats.

DESANTIS, JEFFRIES TRADE VERBAL FIRE OVER CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

Florida is the latest battleground between President Donald Trump and Republicans versus Democrats in the high-stakes showdown over congressional redistricting. Both parties have been redrawing the House district lines in states they control to gain partisan advantages heading into this year's midterm elections, when the GOP will be defending its razor-thin congressional majority.

Pressure from fellow Republicans is mounting on DeSantis to take action after the passage earlier this week in Virginia of a congressional redistricting referendum, which if it clears legal hurdles, will give the Democrat-controlled legislature — rather than the current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election.

It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia's congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge.

VIRGINIA VOTE GIVES DEMOCRATS MIDTERM MAP EDGE - SPARKS GOP BLAME GAME

DeSantis called next week's special session to create more GOP-friendly congressional seats in a state where Republicans currently control 20 of 28 congressional districts.

But the road ahead for Florida Republicans isn't easy: they already changed the House district lines four years ago, and it's illegal under the state constitution to draw maps for partisan gain, which is known as gerrymandering.

Jeffries on Wednesday took aim at what he's dubbed "dummymander," which is a play on gerrymander, and argued that redrawing the maps in a state where the GOP suffered setbacks earlier this year in special legislative elections would harm Republican members of Congress.

"Our message to Florida Republicans is, ‘F around and find out,’" Jeffries told reporters as he referenced next week's redistricting legislative session. Jeffries said the redistricting move would lead Democrats to increase their target list of vulnerable Florida House Republicans.

He warned DeSantis and Republicans that "the electoral tide is turning in Florida,"

DEMOCRATS NARROWLY WIN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING SHOWDOWN IN VIRGINIA

Pushing back, DeSantis said "Please. Be my guest. I will pay for you to come down to Florida to campaign."

"I’ll put you up in the Florida governor’s mansion. We will take you fishing," the governor added.

Aiming to prevent what happened during his first term in the White House when Democrats reclaimed the House majority in the 2018 midterms, Trump last spring first floated the idea of rare, but not unheard of, mid-decade congressional redistricting.

The mission was simple: redraw congressional district maps in red states to pad the GOP's fragile House majority to keep control of the chamber in the midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

When asked by reporters last summer about his plan to add Republican-leaning House seats across the country, the president said, "Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five."

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called a special session of the GOP-dominated state legislature to pass the new map.

But Democratic state lawmakers, who broke quorum for two weeks as they fled Texas in a bid to delay the passage of the redistricting bill, energized Democrats across the country.

Among those leading the fight against Trump's redistricting was Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

California voters in November overwhelmingly passed Proposition 50, a ballot initiative that temporarily sidetracked the left-leaning state's nonpartisan redistricting commission and returned the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democratic-dominated legislature.

That is expected to result in five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts in California, which aimed to counter the move by Texas to redraw their maps.

The fight quickly spread beyond Texas and California.

Republican-controlled Missouri and Ohio and swing state North Carolina, where the GOP dominates the legislature, have drawn new maps as part of the president's push.

In blows to Republicans, a Utah district judge late last year rejected a congressional district map drawn by the state's GOP-dominated legislature and instead approved an alternate that will create a Democratic-leaning district ahead of the midterms.

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Republicans in Indiana's Senate in December defied Trump, shooting down a redistricting bill that had passed the state House. The showdown in the Indiana statehouse grabbed plenty of national attention.

Virginia was in the redistricting spotlight the past month, leading up to this week's election, where the Democrat-supported referendum passed by a narrow three-point margin.

Now, the fight moves to Florida, where the special legislative session gets underway Tuesday.

But no proposed maps have been circulated yet to state lawmakers, and DeSantis and Republicans in the legislature have had strained relations.

Regardless, there's pressure coming from Washington, in wake of the Virginia vote, for Florida to take action.

"Florida has the right and the intention to do it. And my view is that they should," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Wednesday when asked if Florida's maps should be redrawn in time for the midterms.

Howard Lutnick shuts down Dem questions over Jeffrey Epstein at budget hearing

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 15:48:29 -0400

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeatedly shut down questions about his past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a budget hearing Thursday.

He refused to address discrepancies in his statements and insisted the setting was "not" the place to discuss them because he was appearing before the House Appropriations Committee to discuss the budget.

Lutnick deflected as Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., pressed him on why he claimed to have cut off contact with Epstein in 2005 despite evidence they remained in touch for years afterward, amid mounting calls for his removal from the Trump administration.

TRUMP COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK TO APPEAR FOR HOUSE EPSTEIN PROBE, COMER SAYS

The clash underscores intensifying scrutiny over Lutnick’s past relationship with Epstein and raises fresh questions about the consistency of his account, as lawmakers weigh oversight of the Commerce Department and demand greater transparency from senior officials tied to the late financier’s network.

During the hearing, Meng pointed to reports that Lutnick visited Epstein’s private island in 2012 and exchanged business emails as recently as 2018.

She asked why Lutnick had previously said he was never "in a room" with Epstein after 2005.

Lutnick did not answer her inquiries, instead saying he had agreed to address "any and all questions" in a separate session with lawmakers in the coming weeks. "Today I am here to testify about the budget," he said, repeating that he had "nothing to hide."

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS BID TO CENSURE DEMOCRAT OVER EPSTEIN LINKS GOES DOWN IN FLAMES

The same pattern played out later in the hearing when Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., confronted Lutnick more forcefully, accusing him of lying about the extent of his relationship with Epstein and pressing him on past business ties.

"Why did you lie about your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?" she pressed, urging the Commerce secretary to respond publicly rather than in a closed-door setting.

Lutnick again declined to engage, pointing to a future appearance before another committee and refusing to answer directly. Dean cut him off, saying, "Let the record reflect—you’re dodging the question. The cover-up continues," before raising the possibility that President Donald Trump could remove him from his post.

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Lutnick has sought to downplay his past relationship with Epstein amid pressure from the public for the late sex offender's associates to be revealed.

The two lived next door to each other in New York, but Lutnick told Congress he "barely had anything to do with that person."

The Trump administration has so far dismissed calls for his resignation, even as questions about his past ties continue to mount, and Lutnick is expected to face more direct questioning from lawmakers in May.

Resignation is the new escape hatch as lawmakers face expulsion

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:00:18 -0400

I don’t know how Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick thought she had a prayer of hanging onto her seat.

The Florida Democrat was indicted six months ago on charges of embezzling $5 million from FEMA. She says she’s innocent, but if convicted faces up to 53 years in prison.

In the past, the congresswoman would simply try to beat the prosecution in court.

But the House Ethics Committee took up the case, and granted her a delay when she lost her legal representation.

INDICTED DEMOCRAT SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK TO RESIGN FROM CONGRESS AMID EXPULSION THREAT

But on Tuesday, 20 minutes before the ethics panel was going to recommend her expulsion, she resigned – accusing the committee of a "witch hunt."

This has suddenly become the default setting for legislators in trouble – you can’t fire me, I quit.

It’s like scrambling down the fire escape of a burning building to flee a blaze that you set yourself, all the while complaining about the smoke.

WHY ERIC SWALWELL WAS FORCED TO QUIT CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

In just the last nine days, two other members of Congress pulled the same maneuver.

Eric Swalwell surrendered his seat on April 14 after mounting accusations of sexual misconduct, which he denies, despite the California Democrat’s repeated insistence, after dropping his gubernatorial campaign, that he would not resign.

That same day, Texas Republican Tony Gonzales, who text messages showed having an affair with staffer Regina Santos-Aviles, vowed to keep his seat, even after she tragically committed suicide.

Both men bailed in the face of virtually guaranteed expulsion.

When these lawmakers quit, the Ethics Committee automatically loses jurisdiction, like the wave of a magic wand.

It’s not that anyone is fooled. Every story says they acted to avoid the official disgrace of being kicked out of Congress. But in the history books it just goes down as a resignation.

This is a sea change, and I suppose you could argue the result is the same. Far too often in the past, the bipartisan ethics panel has dragged its feet, done nothing or suggested only a mild sanction.

CORY MILLS SAYS MACE EXPULSION PUSH COULD DRAG HOUSE INTO DANGEROUS NEW TERRITORY

Cherfulis-McCormick, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, won a special election to represent parts of Florida’s Palm Beach and Broward counties.

The charges, which date to the pandemic in 2021, say Cherfilus-McCormick received federal disaster funds meant to fight COVID-19 at the healthcare company owned by her family. Within two months, the indictment says, more than $100,000 was spent to buy her a 3-carat diamond ring.

The lawmaker was also charged with hiding personal expenses and political spending by listing them as charitable contributions and business deductions. Her brother and two aides were also named in the indictment, which included money laundering, false tax returns and listing donations from straw donors.

Cherfilus-McCormick dismissed what she called "an unjust, baseless, sham indictment" – and vowed not to resign. Until she did.

And the exodus may not be over. The Ethics Committee voted on Tuesday to investigate Florida Republican Cory Mills.

The allegations, according to the panel: Violating campaign finance laws in his 2022 and 2024 campaigns. Filing false reports with Congress. Soliciting and receiving improper gifts. Misusing government resources. And accusations of "sexual misconduct and/or dating violence."

"I don’t plan to resign. We’re going to seek re-election," Mills told reporters, adding that he is cooperating.

There’s a hefty dose of partisan politics in the closely divided House. The departures of Swalwell, Gonzales and Cherfilus-McCormick means two Democrats and one Republican have been ousted. The Dems would love to even the score.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who pushed hard to expel Cherfilus-McCormick, has refused to criticize Mills.

NANCY MACE MOVES TO EXPEL FELLOW REPUBLICAN CORY MILLS, CITING MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

A state judge issued a restraining order against Mills last fall after a beauty contest winner who says she lived with him when he was in Florida alleged that he threatened to blackmail her by releasing images of them having sex. Mills called the accusation false and blamed it on a political opponent.

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace has introduced an expulsion resolution against Mills. "Cory, your days are numbered. Start packing," said Mace, who is being scrutinized by the ethics panel for improper reimbursement practices.

In American history, only 21 members of Congress have been expelled – and 17 of those were for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The first Senate expulsion, in 1797, was of William Blount for conspiracy in helping Great Britain seize Spanish territory.

The first House expulsion was in 1980, when Michael "Ozzie" Myers was banished for bribery in the Abscam scandal.

James Trafficant was expelled in 2002 after being convicted of racketeering, bribery and tax evasion.

And George Santos – you remember him, the serial fabricator – was evicted in 2023 after an Ethics Committee report on campaign fraud.

That’s it. The Constitution requires a two-thirds majority in either house.

But in the case of Traficant, did the House really have to wait for a criminal conviction to decide that he was unfit to serve?

The House moved more quickly in the case of Ozzie Myers, who accepted a $50,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents and was caught on tape saying "money talks in this business and bulls--- walks."

In a rare tactic at the time, Anthony Weiner resigned during a sexting scandal in 2011 to avoid expulsion. One incentive: Turns out you can still get your federal benefits if you quit.

It wasn’t until 2017 that Weiner pled guilty to sexting a 15-year-old girl and drew a 21-month sentence. His laptop famously became an issue in Hillary Clinton’s campaign the previous year.

LABOR SECRETARY LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER EXITS TRUMP ADMIN; KEITH SONDERLING NAMED ACTING HEAD

The marketing of departures also applies to the executive branch, and most corporations as well.

President Trump has fired three Cabinet members in recent weeks: Kristi Noem at Homeland Security, Pam Bondi at Justice and Lori Chavez-DeRemer at Labor.

But these are always framed as resignations, though there’s nothing voluntary about it.

The president heaps praise on their performance. The exiles say they were thrilled to have the job. They know it’s a crock. We all know it’s a crock. But it provides a fig leaf of dignity.

Bondi and Noem may have committed political malpractice or, as at DOJ, not delivered the results Trump wanted in charging and convicting his political enemies.

But only Chavez-DeRemer is under investigation, by Labor’s inspector general. She has been accused of daytime drinking, ordering her staff to buy her wine at night, having an affair with one of her security guards, and using government resources for personal trips. Several top aides, including the security official, have resigned. Her husband has been barred from the building over complaints of unwanted sexual advances.

Chavez-DeRemer, who denies any wrongdoing, hasn’t been charged with anything, but was days away from being interviewed by investigators and became a growing distraction.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this historic administration and work for the greatest president of my lifetime," she said in an X posting.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

Maybe we’re sliding into an era of greater accountability. The long-toothless Ethics Committee is finally showing some bite.

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The voters always have the option of recalling House members in the next election, but that doesn’t mean much when nearly all districts are safe. But perhaps we’re reaching the point where it isn’t politically safe when Congress fails to police its own.

Democrat Rep David Scott dead at 80

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 13:08:29 -0400

U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., has died, Fox News learned Wednesday. He was aged 80.

Multiple sources confirmed Scott's death to Fox News. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Scott, a longtime lawmaker, has represented Georgia’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003. He previously served as a state senator for Georgia’s 36th district from 1983 to 2003 and as a state representative for the 37th district from 1975 to 1983.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., presided over the House on Wednesday afternoon and formally announced Scott's death to the chamber.

INDICTED DEMOCRAT SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK TO RESIGN FROM CONGRESS AMID EXPULSION THREAT

"The House will be in order," Foxx said. "The chair announces to the House that, in light of the passing of the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. David Scott, the whole number of the house is 430."

Scott had been, until the beginning of this Congress, the leading Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, acting as a prominent voice for his party on issues related to farm aid policy and food aid for consumers. He was also a prominent Black member of the party’s moderate Blue Dog caucus.

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., shared a statement following Scott's death.

"He was a strong voice for Georgia’s farmers, hungry veterans and young people – who he helped shape into the next generation of agricultural leaders through his fierce advocacy for the 1980’s Scholarship Program at historically Black colleges and universities," Craig said. "The House Agriculture Committee will remember him for his strong faith, kindness and dedication to our nation’s farmers and working people. May his memory be a blessing."

HOUSE AVOIDS UNPRECEDENTED FOUR-MEMBER EXPULSION WEEK AS SWALWELL AND GONZALES RESIGN INSTEAD

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Capitol Hill that the "news of Congressman Scott’s passing is deeply sad."

"David Scott was a trailblazer who served district that he represented admirably, rose up from humble beginnings to become the first African American ever to chair the House Ag Committee," Jeffries said. "He cared about the people that he represented. He was fiercely committed to getting things done for the people of the great state of Georgia, and he’ll be deeply missed."

Scott is the 8th member of the House to die in less than two years, and the second this year alone. Seven of the eight legislators were Democrats, with three of the four Democrats having been ranking Democrats on their committees.

Scott was seeking his 13th term in Congress despite challenges from within his party. He faced criticism and concerns in recent years because of declining health, enduring a primary challenge in 2024 and facing another one at the time of his death.

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Scott’s death slightly widens Republicans’ narrow House majority going into the thick of this midterm election year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Missing scientists probe was sparked after 'UFO General' disappeared, Republican lawmaker reveals

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 13:26:57 -0400

A congressional probe launched this week into the string of missing scientists was sparked by the disappearance of a former high-ranking official who oversaw some of the military’s most classified research programs, one House Republican revealed.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in an interview that he was particularly taken aback by the disappearance of retired Air Force Gen. William Neil McCasland, who vanished in February from his Albuquerque, New Mexico home. His phone and prescription glasses were left behind.

The Missouri Republican said his staff was already working to contact McCasland, who he described as the "UFO general" due to his deep expertise, about a separate congressional investigation prior to his disappearance.

STRING OF SCIENTIST DEATHS, VANISHINGS FUELS EXPERT TALKS OF SHADOW OPS AND SILENCED SECRETS: 'VERY SERIOUS'

"He was on our list to talk to, and he disappeared, so that kind of piqued our interest," Burlison detailed.

McCasland is one of the 11 individuals working in nuclear or rocket technology who have died or vanished under mysterious circumstances since 2022. Some, including McCasland, have ties to UFO research.

The astronautical engineer's hiking boots, wallet and a .38‑caliber revolver were reported as missing, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico.

Though federal officials have not identified a connection between the missing scientists, their shared field and potential access to sensitive research have sparked growing concern.

Asked by Fox News Digital about whether he suspects foul play is involved in McCasland's disappearance, Burlison said, "I'm not going to jump to that conclusion, but it’s certainly suspicious."

"How many people walk out their front door without their phone, their wallet, their keys, or anything?" Burlison added. "I don't go anywhere without my phone. I don't even mow the lawn without my phone."

REP BURLISON DEMANDS FBI PROBE AFTER TOP US SCIENTISTS VANISH OR TURN UP DEAD

"So it's just really, really strange that in about a five-month period of time, four or five people walked out their front door and never returned, and were all doing advanced aerospace research," Burlison said.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Burlison, who helms the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, opened an investigation into the missing scientists on Monday.

"I want them to determine if there's any kind of foul play," Burlison said, referring to the Trump administration.

The duo sent letters to the FBI, the Department of War, NASA and the Department of Energy requesting more information about Americans who have allegedly vanished. They have also asked for a staff-level briefing by April 27 — giving them only a week to prepare.

A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee said the panel will be releasing updates as the investigation proceeds.

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NASA said Monday that it would convene an interagency effort to probe the missing scientists, but cautioned that it had yet to identify any threats.

"At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat," NASA spokeswoman Bethany Stevens wrote on X. "The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as it becomes available."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has also said that Trump is "actively working with all relevant agencies and the FBI" to review the cases and identify any potential connections.

Nancy Mace moves to expel fellow Republican Cory Mills, citing misconduct allegations

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:52:49 -0400

FIRST ON FOX: The House of Representatives could soon face another expulsion vote after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said she would seek the removal of an embattled Republican from Congress.

Mace filed a motion to expel Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., on Monday evening. The measure is not privileged, though Mace could move to force a vote in the future.

Mace’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, accuses Mills of misrepresenting his military service, sexual misconduct, campaign finance violations and illicit involvement in federal contracts as a member of Congress, among other charges.

The expulsion push comes after NOTUS reported on Monday that Mills was drafting a similar resolution to remove Mace from the chamber.

NANCY MACE CALLS ON CONGRESS TO RELEASE SEXUAL HARASSMENT RECORDS, WANTS AN 'AVALANCHE OF RESIGNATIONS'

A spokesperson for Mills did not immediately return a request for comment on Mace’s expulsion resolution or the status of the congressman’s measure targeting Mace.

"As a survivor, I will always stand up and right the wrongs of others," Mace, who is running for governor of South Carolina, wrote on social media Monday. "He is only coming after me because he knows he’s next."

Mills has faced a bevy of recent scandals, including allegedly threatening an ex-girlfriend with revenge porn after they broke up and a separate assault allegation that law enforcement responded to in Washington, D.C., last year.

He has denied any wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged. Mills is seeking a third House term this November and President Donald Trump has endorsed his re-election campaign.

It is unclear whether Mace’s resolution could clear the two-thirds threshold required to expel a member of Congress.

HOUSE LAWMAKERS EXPRESS DISGUST OVER SWALWELL NOT BEING EXPOSED SOONER: 'IT'S SHAMEFUL':

Lawmakers in both parties have largely stopped short of calling for Mills’ removal, though many have voiced concern about the serious allegations against him.

"If there's evidence of criminal misconduct and wrongdoing, I hold the same standard for every member of Congress, whether they're a Democrat or Republican," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital last week when asked about whether she would support expelling Mills.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., is also expected to face an expulsion vote as soon as Tuesday if she does not resign.

The House Ethics Committee is expected to recommend its suggested punishment against Cherfilus-McCormick for violating more than two dozen ethics rules during a hearing Tuesday afternoon. She is also facing a separate federal criminal indictment.

Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, resigned last week to avoid looming expulsion votes, though both scandal-plagued lawmakers were likely at higher risk of being successfully removed by their colleagues. Swalwell has been accused by at least five women of sexual misconduct, while Gonzales admitted to an extramarital affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

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The looming expulsion vote is not the first time Mace and Mills are set to clash on the House floor.

Mace’s push to censure Mills and strip him of two committee assignments was overwhelmingly rejected by the House in November 2025. More than 300 lawmakers voted to send the matter to the House Ethics Committee, which is also investigating Mills for domestic violence and misrepresenting his military service, among other allegations of misconduct.

House GOP leadership has continued to stand by the embattled Florida Republican.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who has urged lawmakers to let Ethics Committee proceedings run their course prior to punitive measures, told reporters last week that he would be "looking into" the status of the Mills probe.

The House Ethics Committee released a statement Monday stating that its investigation into Mills that began in November 2025 was still ongoing. The panel noted its inquiry involves "sexual misconduct and/or dating violence."

The traditionally secretive panel did not specify a timeline for when it plans to wrap up the probe.

House punts Trump spy powers extension after conservatives block deal, forcing end-of-month showdown

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 03:20:33 -0400

President Donald Trump's push to extend the government's controversial warrantless surveillance powers suffered a minor setback early Friday morning after a group of conservative lawmakers rejected a compromise deal that would have extended the program for five years while incorporating some minor reforms intended to appease GOP privacy hawks.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Friday, the House of Representatives approved a two-week extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), giving lawmakers until April 30 to reach a deal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voiced confidence that his conference can come to an agreement by the end of the month.

"We were very close tonight. There's some nuances with the language and some questions that need to be answered and we'll get it done. The extension allows us the time to do that," he said.

JOHNSON FACES GOP REVOLT OVER WARRANTLESS SURVEILLANCE POWERS AHEAD OF KEY VOTE

The short-term FISA extension came together after House GOP leadership was forced to scrap an initial 18-month extension of the program due to opposition from conservatives, who want more privacy guardrails added to the program.

GOP privacy hawks also shot down a compromise agreement that would have extended the surveillance law until 2031 while adding more stringent criminal penalties for violations of FISA searches.

The Section 702 authority allows the government to spy on foreign nationals abroad even when those communications involve Americans. Both conservatives and progressives have pushed for a requirement that would force officials to obtain a warrant before reviewing Americans’ data.

House GOP leadership had been racing this week to renew the surveillance law before the April 20 deadline. When their desired approach ran into conservative opposition on the House floor, they settled for a two-week extension.

The Senate could pass the short-term extension by unanimous consent as early as Friday.

"What we're trying to do is thread the needle of ensuring that we have this essential tool to keep Americans safe but also safeguard constitutional rights and making sure that the abuses of FISA in the past are no longer possible," Johnson said early Friday morning.

The speaker could spare just two GOP defections during the test votes assuming all members are present and voting. Though many Democrats were supportive of a clean FISA reauthorization bill, Johnson could not count on their support during the procedural votes because they typically vote along party lines.

The Trump administration has argued the spying authority must be renewed to prevent potential terrorist attacks on the homeland and that it would be reckless to let the program lapse amid conflict with Iran.

"There’s a lot at stake," CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News during a visit to Capitol Hill in an effort to sell GOP holdouts on a clean extension.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine sent a letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, to Capitol Hill offices touting the surveillance tool’s importance for national security. Trump also publicly urged Republicans to "UNIFY" behind his desired approach of a clean extension on Truth Social.

ODNI SENDS CRIMINAL REFERRALS TO DOJ FOR EX-IG, WHISTLEBLOWER TIED TO TRUMP IMPEACHMENT

House GOP leadership’s and the Trump administration’s lobbying for a clean FISA extension absent reforms proved to be a tough sell among some conservatives. Despite the high-profile pressure campaign, GOP privacy hawks remained insistent on including a warrant requirement, which they argued would better protect Americans' data.

"We understand and agree with the president that we need 702 authority to go after bad guys abroad," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told reporters. "We're fighting for greater protections, whether it's this administration or future administrations to ensure citizens have protections."

"The folks who are saying we want these reforms within FISA, we mean what we say, and that's not something that we're going to sidestep," Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said Thursday.

"We're always threatened … that something very bad is going to happen, people will die if we don’t reauthorize 702," Boebert continued. "But many men and women, thousands have died for the Fourth Amendment, and I'm going to continue to stand up and protect that Fourth Amendment right for all American citizens."

Democrats also slammed the compromise deal early Friday morning for being drafted at the eleventh hour and argued the warrant requirement included in the since-rejected FISA deal is effectively toothless.

"This simply says they may seek a warrant. They don't have to. They may seek a warrant," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said, referring to the FBI. "In other words, this provision is meaningless. It just returns us to exactly where we were."

Despite a swath of GOP holdouts, fewer Republicans opposed a clean extension of the 702 program than during previous legislative fights over the spying law.

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Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a FISA skeptic, backed a straight reauthorization, citing more than five dozen reforms that Congress made to the program in 2024.

"2026 is not 2024 and a short-term clean extension of the 702 part of FISA law is an acceptable outcome for the situation that we find ourselves in," Jordan said Tuesday.

House GOP leadership argued that failure is not an option in preventing a reauthorization lapse for the FISA program.

"This is an essential tool for national security," Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday. "We cannot allow it to expire, and we won't."

Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

House Republicans defy Trump to shield Haitians from deportation

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:25:17 -0400

A group of House Republicans defied President Donald Trump on Thursday to support shielding more than 350,000 Haitian nationals from deportation.

Ten GOP lawmakers joined Democrats and one independent to approve legislation that would allow Haitians to be eligible for the temporary protected status (TPS) program for another three years.

Those Republicans included Reps. Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York; Maria Elvira Salazar, Mario Diaz-Balart and Carlos Gimenez of Florida. Don Bacon of Nebraska; Rich McCormick of Georgia; Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania; and Mike Carey and Mike Turner of Ohio. Many in that cohort have large Haitian diaspora communities in their districts.

The TPS program allows foreign nationals whose home countries face humanitarian crises or dangerous conditions to temporarily live and work in the United States without fear of deportation. It does not provide a pathway to citizenship.

SUPREME COURT TO HEAR TRUMP CHALLENGE TO PROTECTED STATUS FOR SYRIAN, HAITIAN NATIONALS IN US

The successful vote comes as the Trump administration has sought to revoke the TPS program for Haiti, arguing that conditions have improved in the country and that granting Haitians legal protections runs counter to American interests. The effort is currently stalled as the TPS termination works its way through the nation’s courts.

The measure is largely symbolic due to resistance from Senate Republicans who are not expected to hold a vote on renewing TPS for Haitians. Trump would almost certainly veto a TPS extension bill that clears Congress.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., a member of the "Squad," used a legislative maneuver known as a discharge petition to force a chamber vote on the TPS extension bill. The effort would have been futile without the support of a handful of Republicans who signed Pressley’s discharge petition to reach the necessary 218 signatures and trigger a vote.

Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., sponsored the resolution on the House floor.

JUDGE HALTS HOMELAND SECURITY PLAN TO END TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR SOUTH SUDAN

The president has also spotlighted the killing of a Florida woman by a Haitian illegal immigrant earlier in April. The suspect, Rolbert Joachim, 40, reportedly received TPS status during the Biden administration.

"An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

"This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration’s Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL."

Proponents of the measure argued that Haitians, who have been granted work authorization through the TPS program, have a positive economic impact on communities.

"I’ve heard from healthcare providers and business leaders across Nebraska who are concerned about the impact this would have on patient care and our economy," Bacon, who is retiring, told Fox News Digital.

"I don’t see the goodness of deporting people who are here legally, who are working and who contribute to our country."

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But the majority of House Republicans have stood by the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the TPS program for Haiti.

"Members of Congress have a sacred and exclusive duty to our American constituents, not to foreign nationals," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who is running for governor, told Fox News Digital.

Republicans bet higher tax refunds will boost midterm chances as blue states resist relief

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:23:08 -0400

Republicans are betting tax cuts they championed will be a difference-maker in November’s midterm elections amid a rise in refunds this filing season.

But Republicans still face a key challenge — convincing voters to credit them for the tax relief when they head to the ballot box.

"You can talk about it, but you’ve got to feel it and that's what's going to happen," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital in an interview on Wednesday, referring to the slate of new tax breaks signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2025.

"We believe by the time of the midterms, people are not only going to be talking about it, they are going to feel it," Emmer insisted.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP'S TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING WITH SPOTLIGHT ON ECONOMY

As they look to defend their slim House majority, the GOP is ramping up its messaging to promote the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as the Working Families Tax Cuts. Republicans spent Tax Day on Wednesday touting larger refunds this year while highlighting Democratic lawmakers’ opposition to the tax bill that passed with solely GOP votes.

The average refund this year is over $3,400, amounting to an 11% increase compared to last tax season, according to data released by the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday.

Republicans have pointed to those returns as early proof their tax policy is reaching voters’ wallets.

A vast swath of Americans is also benefiting from new tax cuts that Trump first floated on the 2024 campaign trail.

More than 53 million tax filers claimed new deductions for tips, overtime pay, automobile loans or being over the age of 65, according to the Treasury Department. Some are also receiving a larger child tax credit and relief for state and local taxes.

"When you're seeing it in your tax return, when you're seeing it in your paycheck, when you're actually able to feel that, I think that's going to make a difference to put us in a good spot for 2026," Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., said Wednesday.

Democrats, however, argue those benefits may not be enough to overcome Americans' broader economic concerns.

The party is voicing increasing confidence it will retake House control and put the Senate in play this November, citing voter discontent about cost-of-living issues and Trump’s declining approval ratings. Republicans must also overcome the trend of the party in power shedding seats during a midterm year.

"A lot of people want to count us out in November," Emmer said during a GOP messaging event highlighting the new tax benefits on Wednesday. "We're going to be just fine, because we’ve got a great map in the House. We’ve got great candidates across the country."

AVERAGE TAX REFUND TOPS $3,700 MIDWAY THROUGH FILING SEASON, TREASURY SAYS

Democrats have largely opposed the tax cuts, arguing they disproportionately benefit corporations and the wealthy.

But Republicans say working Americans and small businesses will see a smaller tax bill this year as a result of their policies.

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman told Fox News Digital that the overtime deduction has been a "morale booster" for law enforcement putting in extra hours.

More than 25 million Americans have claimed the new tax break with an average deduction of more than $3,100, according to the IRS.

Republicans are also highlighting a slate of business tax breaks, which beneficiaries argue could boost job growth and provide economic benefits to their community.

"It gave me the certainty and the confidence to go out and make capital investments," Courtney Silver, who owns a machine shop in North Carolina and invested more than $1 million in equipment following the passage of the tax bill, told Fox News Digital.

"For everything we invested in, we need to create those new positions on our team," Silver added.

The United States could have shed nearly 6 million jobs if Republicans had failed to extend the 2017 tax cuts through the party’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

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Still, seven in 10 Americans say their taxes are too high, the highest dissatisfaction in more than two decades, according to a recent Fox News poll.

Some Democratic-led states have notably refused to conform to the new federal tax breaks enacted by Republicans, citing concern about their impact on state revenue. GOP lawmakers have argued it’s an attempt by Democrats to prevent voters from feeling the tax relief passed by Republicans.

"I've got a governor that refuses and a Democrat-controlled legislature that refuses to do tax compliance, so I'm not getting the benefit, nor is any other Minnesotan," Emmer said, referring to the average increase in returns. "That’s a game changer and my state’s not getting that."

Trump is heading to Nevada and Arizona beginning Thursday to highlight his "no tax on tips" and "no tax on overtime" policies as he goes to bat for Republicans to help them keep their bicameral congressional majority in this year's midterm elections.

House avoids unprecedented four-member expulsion week as Swalwell and Gonzales resign instead

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:02:21 -0400

It may have been possible to bequeath this as "expulsion week."

Instead, this might be "resignation week."

The House has only expelled six Members in the history of the republic. But it was possible as recently as Monday that the House was primed to wrestle with a mind-boggling four expulsions.

It takes a two-thirds vote to expel a Member. The House last expelled one of its own in late 2023: former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Before that, you have to go back to 2002 when the House kicked out Rep. Jim Traficant,D-Ohio.

5TH ACCUSER COMES FORWARD AGAINST REP ERIC SWALWELL AHEAD OF EXPECTED RESIGNATION

Here was the chopping block:

Calls to expel former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., piled up after reports surfaced that he sexually assaulted a former aide and several other women. Swalwell initially said he would fight the allegations. Then he dropped his bid to become governor of California after a host of once close allies abandoned their support. Swalwell has now resigned, avoiding the ignominious scene of an expulsion.

Then there was former Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas. At first, Gonzales denied an affair with an aide who committed suicide by setting herself on fire. Gonzales was locked in a tough primary runoff against Republican Congressional candidate Brandon Herrera. But after pressure, Gonzales finally dropped out of the runoff and isn’t standing for re-election. However, Gonzales intended to stay on until his term expired on January 3 next year. But now Gonzales is out the door, too.

TWO DEMOCRATIC REPS CALL FOR SWALWELL TO EXIT CONGRESS AS CONTROVERSY SWIRLS AROUND HIS BID FOR CA GOVERNOR

So two down, two to go.

This is where things grow complicated.

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., could face expulsion soon. In late March, the House Ethics Committee held a rare "trial," declaring she improperly obtained an astonishing $5 million in COVID relief funds. The Ethics panel will likely recommend a punishment for Cherfilus-McCormick next week. The full House doesn’t have to consider or adhere to the prescribed discipline. The congresswoman proclaims her innocence. She faces a criminal trial in Florida in February 2027.

WHY ERIC SWALWELL WAS FORCED TO QUIT CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

"The facts are indisputable at this point, and so I believe it will be the consensus of this body that she should be expelled," forecast House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla., filed a resolution to bounce Cherfilus-McCormick from the body a few months ago.

And for the Republicans, there’s Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. Mills is accused of "stolen valor" and exaggeration of his military record. But what triggered the current expulsion push is an allegation that the congressman struck his girlfriend in early 2025. A judge imposed a restraining order against Mills. However, police never charged the congressman. The Ethics Committee is also investigating whether he violated federal campaign rules. But the formal ethics probe of the Florida Republican isn’t as far along as the Cherfilus-McCormick inquiry.

SWALWELL RESIGNATION COLLIDES WITH CHINA-LINKED SCANDAL AS CRITICS DEMAND FILE RELEASE

Johnson is mindful of that fact.

"With regard to Mills, I'm not sure the status of the Ethics Committee investigation and that's one of the things I'll be looking into today," said Johnson.

Four troubled members. Two Democrats and two Republicans. It was that parity which may have primed the House to take the unprecedented step of expelling those four members before Swalwell and Gonzales announced their resignations. But a push to expel Cherfilus-McCormick and not Mills creates a host of problems in the House.

GONZALES HIT WITH EXPULSION VOTE THREAT AHEAD OF EXPECTED RESIGNATION

It’s about the math.

The House swore in Rep. Clay Fuller, R-Ga., on Monday night. Fuller won a special election last week to succeed former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who resigned. That GOP gain is likely offset by an anticipated victory by Democratic Congressional candidate Analilia Mejia in a Thursday special election in New Jersey. This is a Democratic seat which has been vacant since New Jersey Gov. and former Congresswoman Mikie Sherill (D) resigned from the House last fall.

With Swalwell and Gonzales out and Fuller in, the current breakdown is 431 Members: 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Calif.) dropped his affiliation with the GOP. The addition of Fuller and the presumed win by Meija would make the breakdown 217 to 214 and one independent – with one vacancy, covering 432 members. After the Swalwell and Gonzales resignations, the remaining open seat is a solidly Republican district in northern California, long held by late Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.). He died in January.

ERIC SWALWELL WAS CABLE NEWS STAR FOR YEARS BEFORE RAPID FALL FROM GRACE

But what happens if the House moves against Cherfilus-McCormick and not Mills? That creates an imbalance between the parties – something which was lost when the potential expulsion of four members was on the table.

"What about this issue of parity," yours truly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

"The issue of parity hasn't been something that we've had a conversation about. We've been working through what's in front of us today and that's what we're going to continue to do," replied Jeffries.

LAWMAKERS PUT EXPULSION THREATS ATOP HOUSE AGENDA AS RETURN SETS UP HIGH-STAKES WEEK

I followed up.

"But isn't that a concern, though, if they take action against Cherfilus-McCormick? Her ethics process is further along than Mr. Mills," I asked.

"The ethics process is still incomplete, and we'll see what the Ethics Committee has to recommend next week," replied Jeffries.

'SMART DECISION': SWALWELL'S RESIGNATION SPURS PRAISE FROM BOTH PARTIES AFTER BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS EMERGE

That’s in reference to the upcoming ethics panel meeting, recommending punishment for the Florida Democrat.

It was one thing if the House may have bounced four Members, two Republicans and two Democrats, all at once. But it’s dicier now that Gonzales and Swalwell stepped aside. It’s further complicated considering the uneven status of the ethics inquiries regarding Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills.

It seems that Congress is now in a period of establishing new precedents on a regular basis. A record-breaking government shutdown – only superseded by another record-breaking government shutdown. In addition, the House is experiencing a dramatic increase in the raw number of "censures" which it doles out to Members. Censure is the second-highest mode of punishment in the House, just below expulsion.

JONATHAN TURLEY: ERIC SWALWELL'S ENABLERS KNEW THE TRUTH — AND PROTECTED HIM ANYWAY

The House censured late Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., in late 2010. Prior to that, the House last reprimanded late Reps. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., and Daniel Crane, R-Ill., in 1983. But since 2021, the House has censured five Members: Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., – when he served in the House – Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.

House Speaker Johnson recently characterized the censure explosion as the "political" weaponization of the ethics process.

It’s possible the House might not take any immediate action regarding Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills. Lawmakers from both sides may be more willing to expel one of their own – and maybe take one for the team on their side – if a similar outcome is guaranteed across the aisle.

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With such a tight majority, Republicans may not want to cede power to Democrats if the House expels a GOP Member as they try to cling to the majority. By the same token, it’s doubtful Democrats are willing to absorb a hit when they are within sneezing distance of the majority – if they don’t see a political equilibrium and document consequences for the Republican majority.

Moreover, tracking where the votes lie for disciplinary action is nearly impossible. What further complicates this is whether any expulsion motion actually comes to a true, up/down vote. There are often motions "to table" or kill any resolution to impose discipline against a Member. The same with motions "to refer" or dispatch allegations against a Member to the Ethics Committee for additional scrutiny. For instance, the Ethics panel is all but done probing Cherfilus-McCormick and is investigating Mills. So it’s unclear what would happen with any possible motion "to refer."

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And let’s be frank: some lawmakers either really want to be on the record voting to discipline one of their colleagues or want no part of it at all. Resolutions to sit in judgment of a colleague is one of the hardest votes lawmakers take. Right up with a vote to go to war. That’s why some prefer the political fig leaf of a "motion to refer" or "motion to table" to an actual up/down vote to punish one of their own.

So this could have been "expulsion week" on Capitol Hill. It’s certainly "resignation week." And if there’s no other disciplinary action, some lawmakers will be resigned to that outcome.

House to vote on aviation safety bill after deadly DC midair crash

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 11:14:38 -0400

House lawmakers are set to vote Tuesday on an aviation safety bill aimed at preventing another deadly midair collision near Washington, D.C.

The legislation, known as the ALERT Act, would require aircraft operating in busy or controlled airspace to use systems that help pilots track nearby planes and helicopters more precisely — a capability federal safety officials have long said could prevent catastrophic collisions.

The measure would also require new collision-prevention technology across much of the U.S. aircraft fleet, overhaul helicopter routes near major airports, and require the Federal Aviation Administration to update air traffic control procedures and training.

The push for reform follows the Jan. 29, 2025, crash involving an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft. The disaster marked the deadliest U.S. plane crash in more than two decades.

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Lawmakers revised the bill in recent weeks after federal safety officials criticized an earlier version. It is now headed to the House floor after unanimous approval in two key committees.

"The bipartisan ALERT Act is a comprehensive package that addresses the probable cause, contributing factors and responds to all 50 safety recommendations that were issued by the NTSB," Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., said during a March 26 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee markup, per Roll Call. Graves and Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., co-sponsored the bill.

Graves said lawmakers "worked diligently with the NTSB to refine and improve the legislation" after earlier concerns that the bill did not go far enough.

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The National Transportation Safety Board has said long-standing safety concerns went unaddressed in the years leading up to the crash.

The agency has recommended expanded aircraft-tracking technology since at least 2008, warning that gaps in how planes and helicopters detect one another in crowded airspace posed a serious risk. Investigators said such systems could have prevented the collision if both aircraft had them installed and activated.

The collision exposed broader weaknesses in how military and civilian aircraft operate in shared airspace, especially near major airports with heavy traffic.

At the time of the crash, the Army helicopter was not broadcasting its location data, in line with military policies designed to limit visibility during some operations. But the flight was a routine training mission, not a sensitive operation, raising questions about whether those exemptions should apply more broadly.

The House bill seeks to address some of those concerns by requiring aircraft to use Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast In, or ADS-B In, technology, which allows pilots to receive real-time location data on nearby aircraft. Most aircraft already use ADS-B Out systems that broadcast their own position.

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Still, critics say the legislation may not go far enough.

In a joint statement, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the House bill "falls short on a strong and clear requirement for common-sense situational awareness technology recommended by the NTSB 18 times."

The senators pointed to a separate proposal known as the ROTOR Act, which would impose stricter requirements by mandating ADS-B in technology across aircraft, including military flights. The bill passed the Senate unanimously in December but fell short of the threshold needed to advance in the House.

"Any legislation that is expected to pass both the House and the Senate will have to apply the strongest ADS-B safety standards to all aircraft, civil and military," Cruz and Cantwell said.

Families of the victims have also pushed lawmakers to strengthen the bill, including by setting firm deadlines for new safety measures and requiring all aircraft — including military helicopters on routine flights — to broadcast their positions.

"Recommendations without firm deadlines and clear mandates become recommendations without results," the Families of Flight 5342 said in a statement.

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The group added that "a clear ADS-B In mandate that fully meets the NTSB’s own recommendations must be part of any bill that becomes law."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Graves and Larsen for comment.

Johnson gets reinforcements as GOP swears in new member — but the edge could shrink within days

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 05:00:55 -0400

Relief is on the way for House Speaker Mike Johnson, as the GOP clings to a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives.

Republican Rep.-elect Clay Fuller of Georgia is expected to be sworn in by Johnson on Tuesday, one week after Fuller defeated Democrat Shawn Harris in a special election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat in Georgia's 14th Congressional District, in the crucial southeastern battleground state.

The seat, in northwest Georgia, was left vacant when MAGA firebrand Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stepped down at the beginning of January. Greene quit Congress with a year left in her term, after a bitter falling out with Trump.

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The special election came as Republicans clung to a fragile four-seat majority in the House. The GOP was under the gun to make sure the Democrats didn't pull off an upset in a district that President Donald Trump carried by a whopping 37 points in his 2024 presidential victory. Fuller ended up topping Harris by 12 points.

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Pointing to Fuller, Johnson in a statement to Fox News Digital said, "We look forward to welcoming him to our House Republican Conference and adding another strong member to our small but consequential majority."

And the speaker described Fuller, who was a local district attorney and a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard who's served in the Air Force since 2009, as "a principled leader who is laser-focused on delivering results for Georgia."

Fuller, in an interview last week with Fox News Digital minutes after winning the runoff election, described himself as a "reinforcement" for Johnson and said his victory was "extremely crucial."

And referring to Washington, D.C., he said he was looking "forward to getting up there as soon as possible... to being up there and fighting."

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When Fuller is sworn in, the House Republican conference will stand at 219, which includes Republican-turned-independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, who caucuses with the GOP.

But the Democrats may soon boost their ranks by one to 215.

Democratic congressional candidate Analilia Mejia is favored in Thursday's special election in New Jersey's left-leaning 11th Congressional District, in the race to fill the seat left vacant when then Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill stepped down late last year after winning election as governor.

There's one more vacant seat in Congress, in California's 1st Congressional District, following the unexpected death in early January of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa.

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A primary in the race to fill LaMalfa's seat will be held on June 2, which is primary day in California. And the special general election will be held on Aug. 4.

The district, in northeastern California, is solidly Republican.