Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who made waves as a witness during the first impeachment proceedings of former President Donald Trump, is now being accused of trying to profit off the war in Ukraine by pitching lucrative defense contracts through his private company.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who was one of the sharpest critics of Vindman throughout the impeachment investigation, blasted him as an "opportunist," and accused him of undertaking continuous efforts to try and personally profit from his attacks against the Trump administration to his reported dealings in Ukraine.
The first impeachment of Trump centered around a July 2019 call in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine—specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats and some witnesses, including Vindman, cited as a quid pro quo arrangement.
"When conservatives speak the truth, the mainstream media panics and desperately attempts to provide cover for the left. They did this for Alexander Vindman, just like they did for Hunter Biden, Dr. Fauci and teachers unions," Blackburn said, referencing liberal media outlets' staunch defense of Vindman throughout his time as a witness during the impeachment investigation.
"Alexander Vindman has always been a political activist and opportunist masquerading behind his career. He saw an opening for personal fame and profited by exploiting the media’s outrage against President Trump," she accused.
"Vindman has spent the last three years on MSNBC and CNN attacking Republicans. Now, new revelations suggest Vindman could be profiting off the war in Ukraine, just as he did by speaking out against the Trump administration," Blackburn added.
According to a report by Human Events, a conservative digital newspaper, Vindman has been pitching the government of Ukraine to obtain defense contracts through Trident International LLC, of which he is the CEO.
The report stated that last year, Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, pitched a project worth $12 million that his company said would address the country's problems with managing the readiness, repair and maintenance of its weapons systems by developing a center within the country to essentially operate as a middle-man between NATO and the Ukrainian military.
The center would reportedly operate in such a way that equipment and weapons could be repaired in closer proximity to the front line and cut down on the time it takes for transpiration and maintenance.
It's unclear, however, if the project has been approved as the report stated court documents showed there was an ongoing dispute over payments related to the project.
According to Breitbart News, Vindman appeared to confirm Human Events' report in a now deleted tweet.
"Thanks for the advert. I’m trying to get logistics in place to help Ukraine win the war and secure America. Looking for philanthropic contributions to get it going. Reach out if you support the cause of democracy and US National Security," Vindman allegedly tweeted.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Vindman responded to the accusations by blasting Blackburn, accusing her of lying and contributing to him ultimately leaving the military.
"Ooh, Blackburn. She’s an idiot, an agent of chaos promoting disinformation. She has never said one true thing about me. Her attacks in 2019/20 contributed to an environment that made it impossible for me to continue my nonpartisan military service," Vindman said.
"More importantly, it’s the politicization of Ukraine, by the fringe right, that brought about this war, imperiling Ukraine, Europe, and most importantly the U.S.," he added.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson whipped up a firestorm Tuesday on Capitol Hill, sparking bipartisan backlash and igniting tensions with Capitol Police by downplaying the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on his prime-time program as “mostly peaceful chaos.”
His show divided Republicans, with a number of GOP senators ripping his portrayal of the incursion at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger, who rarely offers opinions on political issues, said the Monday night show was filled with “offensive and misleading conclusions about the Jan. 6 attack.”
“The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments,” Manger wrote in a memo to lawmakers.
“Those of you who contributed to the effort to allow this country’s legislative process to continue know firsthand what actually happened.”
The segment was the first of two installments planned for this week relying on security footage granted to Carlson by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Carlson was expected to air more clips from the footage during his show on Tuesday evening.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued a scathing rebuke of Carlson and Fox on Tuesday, holding up a copy of the memo and saying he wanted to associate himself “with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol police about what happened on Jan. 6.”
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) holds up a letter from U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger during a media availability following the weekly policy luncheon on Tuesday, March 7, 2023. McConnell supports Manger’s view against the released video footage to Fox News’ Tucker Carlson of the Jan.6 attack on the Capitol. (Greg Nash)
“It was a mistake, in my view, [for] Fox News to depict this in a way completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official in the Capitol” described, McConnell said.
It’s an unusual position for the host of one of Fox’s most-watched programs, who, while often a magnet for the ire of the left, seldom gets such direct criticism from those on the right.
Carlson, who has previously criticized McCarthy on his show, suggested at the start of the year that the new House Speaker release all Jan. 6 security footage in order to win support from detractors threatening to block his path to the gavel. McCarthy later gave Carlson exclusive first access to the footage, but has denied that release came as a result of negotiations for the Speakership.
Though McCarthy and other Republicans said last week that footage released for broadcast would be subject to a Capitol Police security review, and Carlson said as much on his show, Capitol Police said it saw just one of the several clips that Carlson aired on Monday: An interior door that Carlson said was blurred as a result of security concerns.
“We repeatedly requested that any clips be shown to us first for a security review,” Capitol Police told The Hill on Monday. “So far we have only been given the ability to preview a single clip out of the multiple clips that aired.”
A senior GOP aide with knowledge of the process of releasing the footage said the Capitol Police provided a list of what would be considered security sensitive, and only one clip that Carlson wanted to air met that standard, which Capitol Police then cleared.
The same camera angle was released without any blur on the door during the 2021 impeachment of former President Trump.
“We worked with the Capitol Police to identify any security-sensitive footage and made sure it wasn’t released,” McCarthy spokesman Mark Bednar said in a statement.
A representative for Fox News declined to comment on Tuesday.
A number of lawmakers offered pointed and direct criticism of Carlson’s first use of the footage.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), meanwhile, told multiple news outlets said that Carlson’s show on the Jan. 6 footage was “bullshit.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told CNN: “To somehow put that in the same category as a permitted peaceful protest is just a lie.”
Sen. Kevin Cramer is among the Republicans that have criticized Tucker Carlson airing Jan. 6 footage. (Greg Nash)
Carlson at the same time won plaudits from other Republicans who have similarly criticized and downplayed the attack.
“When will judges begin applying justice equally? Doesn’t look like “thousands of armed insurrectionists” to me,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in a tweet after thanking McCarthy and Carlson for showing the footage.
“I've seen enough. Release all J6 political prisoners now,” Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) said in a tweet as Carlson’s show aired.
Trump also weighed in on the footage, praising Carlson and McCarthy over its publication and calling the tapes the Fox host played for his audience “irrefutable.”
Carlson aired the footage after being granted access to the trove of security tapes by McCarthy, prompting outrage from Democrats and pundits who raised concerns that the tapes could threaten Capitol security procedures and amplify conspiracy theories.
Former President Trump speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. (Greg Nash)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on the Senate floor on Tuesday called Carlson’s show “one of the most shameful hours we’ve seen on cable television,” saying he was “furious” with both Carlson and McCarthy. He called on Fox News and its owner Rupert Murdoch to tell Carlson to not run more footage on Tuesday evening.
“Speaker McCarthy has played a treacherous, treacherous game in catering to the far right,” Schumer said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was one of the members on the Jan. 6 committee, is among those who have raised security concerns over the release of the footage, noting it could be used to map the Capitol and the evacuation path of lawmakers.
He called Carlson’s show and conspiracies about Jan. 6 pushed through his documentary a “central part of the GOP agenda and playbook as they try to get Donald Trump elected to the White House again.”
“They didn't even apparently honor their agreement with the Capitol Police to provide the clips in advance. So there can be some attempt to contextualize whatever silly potshots they're taking,” he told The Hill.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (Annabelle Gordon)
“The absurd part is they act like their fragmented and disoriented potshots from Capitol security footage are the only documentary record of what happened. There are thousands and thousands of hours that have already been published – not just security footage – but also [by] media that were present and insurrectionists themselves. The whole world was watching and everyone knows exactly what happened. They are involved in a fraudulent enterprise here,” he added.
Among the unfounded theories Carlson floated in his Monday program were suggestions that federal agents helped incite the violence, though he stopped short of providing evidence to prove it. He also cast doubt on the circumstances surrounding the death of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick.
It was something Manger deemed “the most disturbing accusation from last night” in asserting his death “had nothing to do with heroic actions on Jan. 6.”
“The department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day,” the chief said.
The top-rated host last year produced and published a multi-part documentary series dubbed “Patriot Purge,” which purported to tell an alternative story of the attack and features at least one subject who suggests the event may have been a “false flag” operation.
The publication of the tapes also comes as Carlson specifically and Fox more generally are taking intense heat from critics over revelations the company’s top executives and talent embraced and discussed Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election on air but privately cast doubt on them.
“They believed the election they had just voted in had been unfairly conducted,” Carlson said Monday of the people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. “They were right. In retrospect, it is clear the 2020 election was a grave betrayal of American democracy, given the facts that have since emerged about that election,” he said. “No honest person can deny it. Yet the beneficiaries of that election continue to lie about what is now obvious.”
Manger dismissed those conclusions in his Tuesday letter.
“TV commentary will not record the truth of our history books,” he wrote in his letter. “The Justice system will. Truth and justice are on our side.”
U.S. Capitol Police say they saw just one of the many clips from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol that Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired on Monday night, after he was granted access by Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“We repeatedly requested that any clips be shown to us first for a security review,” Capitol Police told The Hill on Monday. “So far we have only been given the ability to preview a single clip out of the multiple clips that aired.”
The limited consultation comes after McCarthy said Capitol Police would be consulted before the video aired to address security concerns.
“We work with the Capitol Police as well, so we’ll make sure security is taken care of,” McCarthy told reporters last week.
Carlson said on his show that his team checked with Capitol Police before airing the footage, and that their reservations were “minor” and “reasonable.”
His show blurred the details of an interior door in the Capitol due to those concerns.
The same camera angle of the door was previously released during the impeachment trial of former President Trump in 2021, without any blurring of the door, picturing senators and staff evacuating.
The disagreement over whether Capitol Police were meaningfully consulted comes as Carlson says he will release more of the roughly 44,000 hours of unseen footage he now has access to.
A senior GOP aide with knowledge of the process of releasing the footage said that there was coordination with Capitol Police.
The Capitol Police gave a list of what would be considered security sensitive, the aide said.
When Carlson’s team picked out the clips to air, only one of those – the clip with the door – was considered to be security sensitive based on that list, and then given to the Capitol Police to review.
The Capitol Police then cleared that clip, with the details of the door being blurred.
“We worked with the Capitol Police to identify any security-sensitive footage and made sure it wasn’t released,” McCarthy spokesman Mark Bednar said in a statement.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, also said last week that the footage given to Carlson to air would be cleared for security purposes.
“It’s basically controlled access to be able to view tapes. Can’t record, can’t take anything with you. Then they will request any particular clips that — that they may need, and then we’ll make sure that there’s nothing sensitive, nothing classified — you know, escape routes,” Loudermilk said.
A representative for Fox News did not immediately return a request for comment.
“This action clearly does not coincide with promises of safety and security and endangers everyone who visits and works in the Capitol complex,” Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), top Democrat on the House Committee on Administration, which oversees Capitol Police, said in a statement to The Hill.
During his primetime show on Monday, Carlson aired the first portion of never-before-seen angles of footage from the attack by Trump supporters, downplaying the violence that broke out during the incident describing the scene at one point as “mostly peaceful chaos.”
“‘Deadly insurrection.’ Everything about that phrase is a lie,” Carlson said during his show Monday night. “Very little about Jan. 6 was organized or violent. Surveillance video from inside the Capitol shows mostly peaceful chaos.”
The agreement to consult Capitol Police over the footage comes after Democrats and several who worked on the Jan. 6 panel raised the alarm over the security fallout that could result from sharing the footage.
"When the Select Committee obtained access to U.S. Capitol Police video footage, it was treated with great sensitivity given concerns about the security of lawmakers, staff, and the Capitol complex,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who served as head of the Jan. 6 panel, said at the time.
“Access was limited to members and a small handful of investigators and senior staff, and the public use of any footage was coordinated in advance with Capitol Police. It’s hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly.”
The three House Democrats who have announced they are running for Senate in California are proponents of far-left actions to combat climate change and have endorsed the multi-trillion-dollar Green New Deal.
The Democrats — Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff — have supported aggressive policies to transition the U.S. grid from traditional fossil fuel sources to green energy like wind and solar power, argued for massive spending packages that would rapidly achieve such a transition and backed so-called environmental justice measures. The three have all recently entered the race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein and are currently the highest-profile candidates.
According to the League of Conservation Voters, a left-wing Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that tracks how lawmakers vote on environmental and climate issues, Schiff has a 98% lifetime score while Lee and Porter boast 97% lifetime scores. The high scores indicate the three have a long track record of supporting measures backed by the far-left organization.
"From the devastating wildfires in my home state of California to the snowstorms in my birthplace of Texas, there’s no denying that the climate crisis is here, and the threat to the safety and economic security of our communities is growing by the day," Lee said after cosponsoring the Green New Deal alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in April 2021.
"In order to ensure a healthy and safe future for our children and grandchildren, the federal government must invest in bold policies that address the climate emergency head on, especially in communities of color and low-income communities that have experienced generations of environmental injustice," she added. "Our solutions must match the scale of the crisis—that’s why I’m proud to support the Green New Deal."
Lee's congressional website further states that fighting climate change is a top priority for her, noting that she has fought oil companies and is working to ensure "good-paying jobs created by the growing green energy sector are open to all, especially people of color, women and veterans."
Lee also joined a congressional delegation to a United Nations climate conference in Egypt late last year where she reaffirmed her commitment to giving billions of taxpayer dollars to the international "Green Climate Fund" and warned the "window is closing fast" on saving the planet.
Porter has also been a vocal proponent of far-left climate proposals and signed on to the Green New Deal after she worked to strengthen "pro-worker provisions" in the legislation.
"Congresswoman Porter has fought to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for cleaning up after they drill, in addition to advocating for a future powered by clean energy," Porter's website states. "Congresswoman Porter is taking action to accelerate our transition to clean energy and make the United States a leading green economy."
"She is a proud member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, which advocates for policies that promote renewable energy, address climate change, and create good green jobs."
Porter has also repeatedly attacked the fossil fuel industry for its supposed "misinformation campaigns." In August, she introduced legislation that would remove taxpayer-funded subsidies from oil companies that were used to help the industry market products, saying "it’s bad enough these corporations poison the planet."
And Porter made headlines during an October 2021 hearing where she blasted oil executives over how much federal land their companies have leased. In a live demonstration, Porter used candy and rice to show how much land the companies controlled.
"When you lobby and sue so that you can take more of our public land, you’re saying too much is never enough," Porter stated. "The American people are tired of this charade."
Finally, Schiff is the only candidate of the three Democrats to list climate change as a key issue on his campaign website. He argues in favor of the Green New Deal which he was an original cosponsor of, major new green investments, developing a "green economy" and leading the world in clean energy development.
"Climate change is real, our planet is on fire, and we must act. Now," he states on his website. "That seems like common knowledge, but half of our country’s political structure still refutes that simple truth. And worse, refuses to act on it."
"The Green New Deal is not just a bold plan for addressing climate change and beginning to right the ship, it also is an urgent call to invest in growing a modern, green economy that is equitable and just for all," he adds.
On Wednesday, he introduced legislation that would create a sustainable investment fund for federal employees that avoids oil, pharmaceutical tobacco investments. He said the bill would help federal workers use investments to boost "sustainable practices that will help combat the climate crisis."
He also slammed Republicans for passing legislation that would rescind a Biden administration rule allowing fiduciaries to factor environmental considerations into Americans' retirement accounts, an action opponents have argued could significantly harm the interests of customers by placing social priorities over financial interests.
A judge denied a request from a Jan. 6 defendant to push back the start of her trial to allow time to review about 44,000 hours of Capitol riot footage from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg acknowledged that the ask from defendant Sara Carpenter is "certainly not a frivolous request by any means," but said the defense failed to clarify why any additional footage would be exculpatory, Politico reported. Carpenter, a retired NYPD officer, is facing two felony charges over the Capitol riot.
Boasberg, who is soon to become Washington D.C.’s chief district court judge, also argued that delaying trials for Carpenter and other Jan. 6 defendants to allow time to review the Capitol and police surveillance footage from McCarthy's office could "derail dozens of trials that are set in the next few months."
Prosecutors say they already provided Carpenter with an "overwhelming" amount of CCTV footage documenting her 34 minutes inside the Capitol building, leaving only "a matter of seconds" unaccounted for.
They say they've been left in the dark as to what McCarthy's footage might add.
"We don’t have what the speaker has," Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Cook said during Friday's hearing, according to Politico. "In any case, there’s always the possibility some information may be out there."
In 2021, Capitol police already shared some 14,000 hours of footage – including the hours of noon to 8 p.m. on Jan. 6 – to Trum House impeachment managers and two House committees investigating the riot that interrupted Congress certifying Joe Biden's presidential victory.
In requesting a 60-day delay in the trial, Carpenter’s attorneys argued some of McCarthy's footage might help fill the "gaps" and provide more context to the defendant's actions inside the Capitol.
Prosecutors are required to provide defendants with any potentially exculpatory evidence they might bring in the case, but limits exist when dealing with another agency, such as Capitol Police, which is an arm of Congress, or if the court deems the government has acted in good faith in turning over as much material as possible.
The Justice Department, in bringing cases against more than 950 defendants in connection to Jan. 6, 2021, has already cited a massive cache of video evidence including from Capitol security cameras, police body cameras, journalists and demonstrators themselves, who recorded hundreds of hours worth of footage.
The DOJ reportedly has not indicated whether it will attempt to review the footage from McCarthy's office.
Other Jan. 6 defendants, including Proud Boys on trial for seditious conspiracy, have questioned how the tens of thousands of hours of footage will affect their cases.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, the Republican chairman of the House Administration Committee’s oversight subpanel, has reportedly said the footage from McCarthy's office would also be made available to Jan. 6 defendants on a case-by-case basis to ensure they're afforded due process.
Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday tore into Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for waiting nearly two weeks before addressing the toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, and openly wondered how the embattled secretary is still in his job.
"Pete Buttigieg – what the hell does this guy gotta do to get fired?" Cruz asked at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference just outside Washington, D.C. "At this point it’s a bar game . . . like, what else could he do?"
Buttigieg waited 10 days before talking about the train derailment that led to the chemical spill, and that’s one of several black marks on his performance as a cabinet secretary in the Biden administration. Buttigieg has been criticized for on over-reliance on expensive private air travel, even as he watched airlines cancel thousands of flights in 2022, in part because of a system failure at the Federal Aviation Administration late last year.
Buttigieg has also come under criticism for making arguments that the federal highway system is racist, while coming close a few times to a rail strike that could have crippled the economy.
Cruz said that Buttigieg’s late and tepid response to the environmental disaster is a sign that he and the entire Biden administration aren’t interested in helping people who live in predominantly conservative districts.
"The Democrats don’t give a damn about East Palestine, because it’s a blue-collar, red place, and they’re like, ‘To hell with you,’" Cruz charged. "If you were a bunch of transgender tech workers, you’d have the entire Biden cabinet down there for a listening session and sit-in to feel their pain."
Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General said it was opening up an investigation into Buttigieg’s use of private jets for travel, which followed a Fox News Digital report that said he has taken at least 18 taxpayer-funded private flights since taking his job.
A department spokesman said that officials "welcome this independent audit."
On the CPAC stage Thursday, Cruz added that President Biden has been "completely AWOL" on the derailment.
Cruz gave credit to Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, for sticking with the community and making videos showing evidence of chemicals spilling into waterways. He said that Vance, who shared a stage with him at the CPAC event on Thursday, has done a "fantastic" job sticking up for his voters.
"But J.D., alongside Donald Trump, came there and guilted the administration, and that was powerful as hell," Cruz said.
President Biden on Wednesday traveled to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to mark 20 years since the creation of the sprawling agency, as its leader, Alejandro Mayorkas, faces a barrage of criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Biden extolled the value of DHS, an agency that has faced its share of controversy since it was formed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to combat terrorism and potential threats against the United States.
The agency has grown significantly in the 20 years since its creation. It now houses more than a dozen government agencies, and its purview includes matters related to immigration, cybersecurity, election integrity and disaster response. The department as a whole has roughly 260,000 employees, Biden noted.
“In the 20 years since DHS began, the world has become more interconnected, more complicated than ever, and new threats are emerging with the incredible advances in technology,” Biden said in prepared remarks. “Some are frightening ... many are reassuring. And yet because of you, America is safer and stronger and is better prepared to meet whatever threat we face.”
But, the agency’s work securing the southern border has been in the spotlight and the target of intense scrutiny during the past two administrations.
The focus on the influx of migrants at the southern border has made it tough for other work of the department to get attention, argued Stewart Verdery, a former assistant secretary at DHS under President George W. Bush.
“Twenty years ago at its creation, DHS was supposed to tackle several equally important missions at all once — aviation security, securing international travel and disaster preparedness. Of course the southern border was part of the equation, but it wasn’t the whole equation,” he said. “But the political focus on migrant flows in this hemisphere by both the right and the left has almost made it impossible for the other missions to get any real attention, especially from the Congress.”
During the Trump administration, DHS was frequently at the center of criticism because of its immigration enforcement responsibilities. Former President Trump largely used the agency to implement his crackdown on the flow of immigrants into the country, and some Democrats during the last administration called for defunding Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is housed within DHS.
Trump also publicly clashed with cybersecurity experts who said the 2020 election had been secure as the former president sowed doubt about the results.
Biden said on Wednesday that the work of DHS is now “even more important” than it has been in its 20 years, rattling off its work, notably including “protecting our air, our land, our maritime borders.”
The department was at the center of a firestorm over an order under Trump to separate migrant families who illegally crossed the border, and the government’s inability to reunite hundreds of those families in a timely manner has lingered into the Biden administration.
The department's secretary, Mayorkas, has been closely scrutinized by Republicans who have complained that he has not done enough to secure the southern border and reduce the flow of migrants. Some Republicans have called for Mayorkas’s impeachment over his handling of the border.
But Biden came to do the defense of Mayorkas, who he nominated, calling him a “true patriot” who “decided his career to protecting and serving the American people, while upholding our nation’s laws and standing up for American values.”
The ceremony on Wednesday also included remarks from Mayorkas, as well as recorded messages from former President George W. Bush and Tom Ridge, the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which was created under Bush's tenure.
“The people who work at DHS come to work every morning knowing their most important job is to protect their fellow citizens," Bush said in a pre-recorded message. "You’ve worked tirelessly and effectively to do just that. I thank you for your service to our country and for the sacrifices you have made in the pursuit of keeping your neighbors safe.”
President Bidenavoided going to survey the train derailment and toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, again, electing to travel to Baltimore, Maryland, for the House Democrat retreat instead.
On Wednesday, the president trekked not too far down the road from Washington, D.C., to Charm City to deliver an address to the assembled House Democratson their retreat.
Biden’s travel to Baltimore comes as East Palestine, Ohio, still reels from a Norfolk Southern train derailment and toxic chemical spill last month that saw a controlled burn of the vinyl chloride that was released.
Fox News Digital asked the White House if Biden was planning to travel to East Palestine to survey the train derailment and toxic chemical spill, and, if he was, when the president would be going to Ohio.
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Biden will reportedly "discuss how to keep bringing jobs back to America at an historic rate, keep lowering costs like prescription drugs and energy, and further cutting the deficit by having rich special interests pay their fair share," according to a White House official who spoke with Punchbowl News.
"He will reiterate his promise to release his budget to the American public, and his call on Republicans to do the same," the official said. "He will also highlight that congressional Republicans are now threatening to trigger a catastrophic default if they are unable to take health coverage away from millions of families."
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg traveled to East Palestine last week to survey the toxic chemical spill after weeks of staying away.
Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., alongside several of his fellow House Republicans, introduced a resolution on Tuesday condemning Buttigieg and demanding he resign from his Cabinet post.
The resolution, obtained by Fox News Digital, blasts Buttigieg as having "failed to mitigate or effectively respond to multiple national crises" and that his "ineptitude has jeopardized the safety and prosperity of the American people."
The lawmakers highlighted several controversies in Buttigieg’s career as transportation secretary, such as the secretary being "absent during a historical supply chain crisis when United States ports faced a record backlog of ships stranded off of United States coasts," as well as the "more than 15,000 flights" canceled under his watch in "the worst and most costly single airline operational disruption in the history of United States aviation."
Republican Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., a freshman Republican who is on Waltz’ resolution, called on the secretary to resign in an opinion piece and blasted Buttigieg’s response to the crisis in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Collins said, "They should have shown up immediately" and that "any time we have a problem, as far as small businesses are concerned, you get right to the scene and see exactly what's going on, so you can assess the problem" and "figure out what the solution is."
"Yeah, they sent people up there, but… this thing was a major catastrophe and something like that garners the head of the department showing up," Collins said.
"And, you know, he just was bent on not going," the congressman continued. "And there's reasons why he did that."
"That’s just another, in my opinion, another clear example of this agency and the fact that they have got their sights set on stuff other than trying to improve the infrastructure of this country," Collins said. "And that’s the woke culture that this guy is promoting."
Collins said that whether it’s a train derailment, "planes almost landing on top of each other," or "some person deleting a file that shuts down a whole industry, there's something else that is going on besides what you see," calling them "results of an administration that is pushing a woke culture."
The Georgia Republican also said he does not "think anything is off the table" when it comes to impeaching Buttigieg, should he not step down.
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., is leading a House Republican resolution condemning Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and calling on him to resign.
Waltz and several of his fellow lower chamber GOP lawmakers introduced the resolution on Tuesday demanding Buttigieg resign over his track record as a Cabinet secretary.
"Whether it’s waiting weeks to visit East Palestine, vacationing in Portuguese wine country during vital union negotiations, his extended absence during one of the largest shipping crises we’ve faced, or his failure to prevent massive aviation groundings, Secretary Buttigieg has shown an inability to carry out the duties of his office," Waltz told FOX News Digital.
"It’s time for him to resign," the Florida Republican added.
The resolution, obtained by Fox News Digital, blasts Buttigieg as having "failed to mitigate or effectively respond to multiple national crises" and that his "ineptitude has jeopardized the safety and prosperity of the American people."
The lawmakers highlighted several controversies in Buttigieg’s career as transportation secretary, such as the secretary being "absent during a historical supply chain crisis when United States ports faced a record backlog of ships stranded off of United States coasts," as well as the "more than 15,000 flights" canceled under his watch in "the worst and most costly single airline operational disruption in the history of United States aviation."
Waltz and the Republicans said Buttigieg "neglected his duties and left the country to vacation in Portuguese wine country amidst ongoing negotiations of an impending railroad labor strike, leaving Congress to act in order to prevent the impending rail workers strike."
The lawmakers also hit Buttigieg for the "preventable malfunction in the Notice to Air Mission’s System" on January 11, 2023, where "the Federal Aviation Administration was forced to impose the largest nationwide ground stop since the attacks of September 11, 2001" as well as his sluggish response to the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment and toxic chemical spill.
Additionally, the lawmakers slammed Buttigieg as having "repeatedly demonstrated a gross level of incompetence and apathy in his role as Secretary of Transportation" and "has lost the confidence of the American people," calling on him to "resign."
Joining Waltz on the resolution are several of his GOP colleagues, including Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Ryan Zinke of Montana, Mike Collins of Georgia, and Greg Steube of Florida.
Buttigieg has been under GOP fire in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment and toxic chemical spill.
Collins recently published an opinion piece with Fox News Digital calling on Buttigieg to resign.
The congressman told Fox News Digital that impeachment is not off the table, should Buttigieg not resign.
