House GOP plows ahead on risky immigration plan

Posted on April 19, 2023 (Updated April 20, 2023) by By Jordain Carney

House Republicans dug in Wednesday on a two-track strategy to project commitment to border security. Both tracks seem headed toward failure.

On one side, Judiciary Committee Republicans advanced a sweeping border and immigration plan after weeks of closed-door negotiations. Meanwhile, Republicans are also quietly laying the groundwork to potentially impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, using an hours-long appearance before the Homeland Security panel to preview their argument amid a cascade of GOP fury over his handling of the border.

The border bill and Mayorkas impeachment already faced heavy skepticism from a coalition of GOP centrists that's showing no signs of fading. Centrists have raised fears that the immigration plan goes too far in limiting asylum claims, while also blanching at conservative demands to take the historic step of impeaching a Cabinet official.

Though neither House GOP effort has a chance at success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, a failure to get border security measures through the one chamber of Congress they control would mark a significant stumble for Republicans on an issue highly important to their base.

“I am confident leadership will not bring anything to the floor that does not have the votes to pass. … However long that takes, that’s what you want,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), a vocal critic of the Judiciary Committee's bill.

Criticism from purple-district Republicans amounts to a political tee-ball pitch for Democrats, who are all too happy to cite their GOP colleagues in making their case against the immigration legislation.

“This bill has no chance of being enacted into law, and most of its provisions cannot even pass on the House floor because of opposition from Republicans,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), his party's top member on the Judiciary panel.

In a nod toward Gonzales, Nadler added that Republicans “should heed the advice of one of their own.”

While the intra-GOP fight has blasted to the forefront, given the Judiciary Committee's advancement of the border security bill Wednesday, Gonzales remains locked in a months-long public spat with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who has vocally pushed more conservative immigration measures.

Though Roy’s bill isn’t in the Judiciary package, pieces of the committee’s proposed changes to asylum laws closely reflect sections of the Texas Republican's plan.

Many Republicans defended the Judiciary Committee bill, arguing it was needed to push back against more than two years of Biden administration policies, and, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) added, “to restore the successful Trump policy.” Republicans argue the border influx was much more manageable under the former president, when the Trump administration placed drastic limits on migrants' ability to claim asylum.

Republicans, more broadly, view the issue as a potent one heading into 2024, where they are hoping to win back the White House and flip the Senate by ousting a handful of Democrats running in red and purple states.

But, Democrats aren't making it easy for Republicans to pass the legislation, offering a slew of potential changes that could appeal to skeptical centrists.

For example, they unsuccessfully offered multiple amendments to alter, or remove, a section that would beef up e-verify requirements, which require that certain businesses check the citizenship status of their employees.

Opponents of the bill are hoping they will find allies on the floor with agriculture-minded Republicans like Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) against the broader bill.

“I’m surprised that this bill is in here, frankly. … It’s never been able to pass on the House floor,” Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said about the GOP’s e-verify language.

The immigration package is likely to clear the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday without getting tangled in GOP infighting, in part because the panel is stocked with conservatives. But what can clear that panel, Republicans acknowledge, isn’t automatically reflective of what could get 218 votes on the House floor.

And Republicans have set an ambitious goal to clear legislation through the chamber by the middle of next month.

In the meantime, the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a vote on its own border bill next week. The Rules Committee is then expected to merge the two proposals, allowing Republicans to make more changes before a final product gets to the floor.

The Homeland Security panel had initially been expected to hold a vote on its proposal this week, but that was delayed by Mayorkas' scheduled testimony. And Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the panel’s chair, reportedly told donors this month that he believed his committee was making the case for Mayorkas' impeachment — a move that would require near-total House GOP unity to succeed.

Republicans have so far rolled out two impeachment resolutions against Mayorkas, and neither has won over even close to a majority of the House GOP conference.

One, from Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), currently has 42 cosponsors, while a separate resolution from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) has 32. Democrats, and some GOP lawmakers, have warned that their colleagues are equating a policy disagreement — namely, that Mayorkas isn't appropriately handling increased migration levels — to a high crime or misdemeanor.

“I was dismayed to see that, speaking to a group of campaign contributors last week about today’s hearing, the chairman said, and I quote, ‘Get the popcorn, it’s going to be fun.’ I think that tells Americans all they need to know,” said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee.

Underscoring the competing pressures within their own party, Republicans found themselves at odds with one of their own during Wednesday’s hearing when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Mayorkas a “liar.”

Green, the panel's chair, ultimately ruled that her remarks went against committee rules and formally struck them from the hearing record — a rare step that is even more rarely taken against a member of the same party. The dust-up generated frustrations and headlines of its own, threatening to put a focus back on intra-party tensions.

But Republicans also used Wednesday's Homeland Security hearing to zero in on the GOP’s argument for impeachment, with Green telling Mayorkas: “You have not secured our borders, and I believe you’ve done so intentionally.”

Heated GOP grilling of Mayorkas leads to pledge to ‘dial the rhetoric down’

Posted on April 19, 2023 (Updated April 20, 2023) by Rebecca Beitsch

Republicans gave a preview Wednesday of a still materializing impeachment case against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, zeroing in on a 2006 law that requires a standard of perfection at the border.

But what started as a fiery hearing filled with attacks on Mayorkas ended with promises to tone down the rhetoric and move towards civility in the House Homeland Security Committee — a panel with numerous members who have pledged to remove the secretary from office.

The GOP on Wednesday repeatedly referenced the Secure Fence Act of 2006, a law that defines operational control as achieved when there is not a single unlawful entry of either migrants or drugs at the border.

Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and other Republicans played numerous clips of Mayorkas previously answering questions about whether he has maintained operational control of the border — a tactic that comes after Green reportedly told donors at a fundraiser to “get the popcorn” ready ahead of the hearing.

Green rattled off a series of policies rolled out under the Biden administration, including the rescission of some Trump-era policies, though the current administration has alienated immigration advocates by retaining others.

“You have not secured our borders, Mr. Secretary, and I believe you've done so intentionally. There is no other explanation for the systematic dismantling and transformation of our border,” he said.

Several Republicans on the committee, including Green, leveled a series of accusations against Mayorkas, using their full five minutes for speeches, without asking questions of Mayorkas or allowing him to respond.

“I have no interest in asking the secretary any questions because he obfuscates and lies,” said Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) after arguing Mayorkas had “failed your country.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the committee, defended Mayorkas, pointing to reporting from The New York Times about Green’s comments to donors.

“I was dismayed to see that speaking to a group of campaign contributors last week about today's hearing the Chairman said, and I quote, ‘Get the popcorn. It's going to be fun.’ I think that tells Americans all they need to know about the Republican agenda here,” Thompson said.

“They don't want solutions to homeland security challenges. They want to make a headline or photo opp. They want a political wedge issue and something to talk to their deep-pocketed donors about more than they want to work together to get things done.”

Green later said the article misquoted him. He did not specify how but detailed he has no power to impeach Mayorkas, noting such a move would fall to the House Judiciary Committee and that his role is limited to oversight.

Republicans used much of the hearing to dissect Mayorkas’s previous statements on operational control of the border.

Mayorkas has repeatedly maintained he has control of the border, but the GOP has seized on prior comments from Border Patrol Chief Raúl Ortiz who answered “no” when asked if the department was meeting the high standard set under the Secure Fence Act.

It was a line Green said “told the truth” about the situation at the border.

Mayorkas on Wednesday said he was previously cut off by lawmakers from giving nuance to earlier answers, arguing the law leaves much discretion to the secretary in determining how to manage the border while the standard itself has never been met.

“The Secure Fence Act provides that operational control means that not a single individual crosses the border illegally. And it's for that reason that prior secretaries and myself have said that under that definition, no administration has had operational control,” Mayorkas said.

“As I have testified under oath multiple times, we use a lens of reasonableness in defining operational control. Are we maximizing the resources that we have to deliver the most effective results? And under that definition, we are doing so very much to gain operational control.”

Democrats took turns defending Mayorkas.

Rep. Donald Payne (D-N.J.) accused Republicans of having “such short memories … with respect to the situation at the Southern border.” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) rattled off a list of Trump-era policies, including family separation, prompting Mayorkas to say they not only failed to achieve operational control but “disobeyed our values as a country.”

Thompson turned to the archives, citing comments from GOP lawmakers from when the Secure Fence Act was first passed, citing concerns over the standard it set, including Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), a member of the committee who worked on the legislation.

“When you put this number as a metric in the definition of operational control, you make it impossible to achieve operational control. Perfection shouldn't be the enemy of the good,” McCaul said at the time, according to a portion of the transcript read aloud by Thompson.

Republicans, however, took issue with Mayorakas’s explanation, arguing the secretary has no right to interpret the laws passed by Congress.

“Congress set an objective in law. You haven't pursued it,” said Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.). “Who are you to displace the legal definition of operational control by this Congress in favor of pursuing one of your own invention?”

Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), who played a central role in the impeachment of then-President Trump, later pounced on Bishop’s phrasing.

“I have a little experience with impeachment and I can tell you, as well as everybody else, that there is no grounds for impeachment based on a policy dispute. And there is absolutely nothing that I've seen here today that amounts to a false statement under oath,” he said.

“In fact, Mr. Bishop, my colleague, in referencing operational control and that standard, stated himself that it is an objective. It is the objective of the Department of Homeland Security to have operational control and, as you pointed out, that is to allow no unlawful entry into this country. That, of course, is an impossible standard.”

Other Republicans sought to hold Mayorkas accountable with other methods.

One lawmaker brought a series of charts with multiple questions. Two others brought guests to the hearing, including parents of children that had died of a fentanyl overdose and the family of victims who died after a man carrying migrants crashed into their car while seeking to evade police in a high-speed chase.

The committee’s proceedings came to an almost 20-minute standstill following comments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) accusing Mayorkas of lying.

Green agreed to a motion from Democrats to take down her words, ultimately resulting in the loss of her speaking privileges during the hearing.

It was a complex turn of events given that many Republicans at prior points in the hearing accused Mayorkas of being dishonest before Congress, though none, as Greene did, labeled him a liar.

Still, the hearing ended on a tone much different from how it started, with Thompson and Green both speaking to the need to maintain decorum during proceedings.

Thompson said the two men had "sidebarred" about the language used, noting other nations keep tabs on Congressional proceedings — “our adversaries look at us,” he warned.

“You and I pledge that going forward, we'll make every effort to get back to the civility that this committee has been known for,” Thompson said.

Green echoed that in his own closing remarks.

“I agree with the former chairman, now ranking member, that we disagree on a lot of policies. We really do. And we don't have to despise someone because they disagree with us. We don't have to disparage someone because they disagree with us,” Green said.

“And we do need to dial the rhetoric down in the country and apparently in the committee.”

Mayorkas comes face to face with family of grandmother, 7-year-old girl killed by human smuggler near border

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas apologized Wednesday to the family of two victims who died in a traffic accident caused by a human smuggler fleeing arrest at the border.

Mayorkas — testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee — was asked to apologize to the family of Maria Tambunga and Emilia Tambunga, who were killed last month.

"They're sitting right behind you. They came here today because they want answers. They came here today because of the failures of you and your leadership. They came here because they want closure," said Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas.

SEN. MARSHALL INTRODUCES RESOLUTION FOR VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN MAYORKAS AMID SENATE GRILLING

Mayorkas did stand and express condolences to the Tambunga family present — although he also accused Pfluger of politicizing the tragedy.

Speaking directly to the family without a microphone, Mayorkas could be heard at one point telling the group, "My heart breaks for your loss."

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Rassian Comer, 22, of Louisiana, ran a red light during a high-speed chase on eastbound I-10 in Ozona and crashed into Maria Tambunga's car.

BORDER PATROL CHIEF SAYS DHS DOESN'T HAVE OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF US BORDER

Two of the 11 illegal migrants being smuggled in Comer's 2021 Dodge pickup truck were also killed in the crash, Texas DPS said. Both were from Mexico.

"Mr. Mayorkas, are you going to tell the Tambunga family that the border is secure today?" Pfluger asked.

"Congressman, you are politicizing a tragedy," Mayorkas responded.

Mayorkas has become a lightning rod for Republican criticism over the border crisis, and scrutiny has increased ahead of the looming end of Title 42 expulsions at the beginning of May.

BIDEN ADMIN SEES PROGRESS IN TACKLING BORDER CRISIS AS MARCH'S NUMBERS DOWN FROM LAST YEAR

"Mr. Mayorkas, do you disagree with the head Border Patrol agent when he said that our border is not secure?" Pfluger pressed.

"Congressman, I have testified to that issue," Mayorkas began.

"So you do disagree with him. You disagree with your chief of Border Patrol?" the congressman asked again.

"I respectfully do in that regard," the secretary replied.

While the administration has been touting relatively lower numbers in recent months — which it ties to border measures introduced in January that included increased expulsions of a humanitarian parole program for four nationalities — officials fear a massive increase in apprehensions once Title 42 drops.

The Biden administration has dismissed the push by Republicans in the House to impeach Mayorkas, saying that Congress should instead focus on fixing what it says is a broken immigration system.

A spokesperson on Tuesday renewed those calls in response to a resolution by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., to trigger a vote of no confidence in Mayorkas.

Fox News' Bradford Betz and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

AOC’s campaign obscured thousands of dollars in expenditures, FEC complaint claims

Posted on April 19, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign obscured thousands of dollars in expenditures during the 2022 election cycle, a nonprofit alleged in a recent Federal Election Commission complaint.

According to the complaint filed by attorney Dan Backer on behalf of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, the New York Democrat failed to disclose where around $9,600 in credit card payments ultimately wound up, the Daily Caller News Foundation first reported.

Campaigns must itemize credit card charges to a vendor exceeding $200 in federal filings, including the vendor's name and address, the disbursement's purpose, the date of the services, and its amounts.

AOC SLAMS ERIC ADAMS FOR INCREASING PAY FOR 'MILITARIZED' POLICE: 'DEFUNDING SAFETY'

"On numerous occasions throughout 2022, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez's authorized candidate committee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress ("AOC for Congress"), reported tens of thousands of dollars of disbursements for card payments and card payment reimbursements to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself; American Express; and an entity called ‘Veyond!,’ which appears to have provided virtual reality services and apparently no longer operates under that name," the complaint states.

Backer alleges that in some cases, the 'Squad' member's committee failed to disclose the card payments' purposes. He further says the sum of specific memo items is less than the amount the campaign reported paying the recipient.

"Although campaigns are permitted to use charge cards (or reimburse candidates for use of their personal charge cards) for otherwise permissible campaign-related expense, their disclosure reports must accurately identify both the recipient of those funds, as well as each of the campaign-related goods and services those charge cards were used to purchase," the complaint says.

AOC DOUBLES DOWN ON 'IGNORING' ABORTION RULE, CLARENCE THOMAS IMPEACHMENT: 'ABUSE OF JUDICIAL OVERREACH'

"Not only is the public entitled to that information, but without such disclosure, it is impossible to confirm a candidate is not illegally using campaign funds to pay personal expenses," the complaint continues.

Ocasio-Cortez's campaign, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint, separately found itself in hot water over its failures and delays in paying vendors regarding her glitzy Met Gala appearance in 2021.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the matter last year. In March, the committee announced they had "substantial reason to believe" that Ocasio-Cortez improperly accepted gifts for the gala, which she attended with her fiancée, Riley Roberts.

"As part of her attendance, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was provided with a couture dress, handbag, shoes, and jewelry," a House ethics report said. "She also received hair, makeup, transportation, and ready-room services."

AOC, OTHER POLITICIANS PAID THOUSANDS IN CAMPAIGN CASH TO CHINESE FOREIGN AGENT

"Riley Roberts received a bowtie and shoes in advance of the event," the report said. "While Rep. Ocasio-Cortez appears to have now paid for the rental value of the attire she wore to the Met Gala and for the goods and services she and her partner received in connection with this September 2021 event, payment for these goods and services did not occur until after the OCE contacted her in connection with this review."

The ethics committee unanimously recommended the probe continue. Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, pinned the blame for the delayed payments on a campaign staffer.

Cori Bush joins fellow Squad members in calling for Clarence Thomas impeachment

Posted on April 18, 2023 (Updated April 18, 2023) by Mychael Schnell

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) is calling for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be impeached, joining other members of the progressive “Squad” who have called for the conservative justice to be reprimanded following a bombshell report on his relationship with a Republican donor.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bush said Thomas “holds a complete disregard for law and ethics that is incompatible with the trust and confidence placed in federal judges.”

“For these reasons, and because the federal judiciary has failed to hold Justice Thomas accountable, I am calling for impeachment proceedings to begin regarding Justice Thomas’s apparent violations of federal law,” she said.

ProPublica reported earlier this month that Thomas, who has served on the bench since 1991, went on luxury vacations with Republican donor and real estate developer Harlan Crow. The donor paid for the trips, which have been happening for more than two decades, according to ProPublica.

Supreme Court justices are required by federal law to file annual financial disclosures that include gifts, unless they fall under certain exemptions. In a statement following the report, Thomas said that he “was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”

Days later, ProPublica reported that Thomas did not disclose a 2014 real estate deal he did with Crow. The donor reportedly purchased a series of properties in Savannah, Ga., from Thomas, his mother and his late brother’s family for $133,363. On Monday, CNN reported that Thomas plans to amend his financial disclosure forms to disclose the real estate deal.

And The Washington Post reported that Thomas has reported that his family received rental income from a real estate firm launched by his wife and her family that has not existed since 2006.

The revelations regarding Thomas have angered judicial watchdog groups and congressional Democrats, leading some to call for the justice’s impeachment, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and now Bush.

Bush in her statement on Tuesday said Thomas “has made a mockery of his ethical obligations and disgraced himself and the entire judiciary,” and said recent discoveries “are just the latest in a pattern of lawless and shocking behavior that has characterized Justice Thomas’s career.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who was among the first House Democrats to call for Thomas’s impeachment amid the recent revelations, acknowledged in an interview with CNN that it is “very difficult” to see a path where Thomas is impeached by a House controlled by Republicans.

But Bush, nonetheless, wants the chamber to plow forward with impeachment. And if that does not work, she called on the Judicial Conference of the United States to refer Thomas to the attorney general.

“History will judge how Congress responded during this crisis in our federal judiciary. House Republicans must move forward with impeachment proceedings,” she said. “But if they continue choosing not to act, the Judicial Conference of the United States must immediately exercise its authority and refer Justice Thomas to the Attorney General for further action.”

In addition to impeachment, Bush on Tuesday called on Congress to approve Supreme Court ethics reform, to expand the court, institute term limits “and take other actions to rein in this unaccountable, anti-democratic, and dangerous institution.”

“Holding judges accountable for their behavior is a matter of life-or-death for our communities. They wield enormous power, and the current hands-off approach to the judiciary has only emboldened lawless, corrupt, far-right judges to strip away our rights and make our lives worse off,” she added.

Watch AOC let loose on Clarence Thomas on ‘The Daily Show’

Posted on April 18, 2023 (Updated April 19, 2023) by Walter Einenkel

This week, longtime “The Daily Show” correspondent Jordan Klepper is taking his turn in the guest host seat. He kicked the week off with a bang, scoring an interview with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her home turf of New York City.

And while the interview began as a conversation about violence and social services in America, it ended up touching on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ ethics failures, the fight for reproductive rights, and Donald Trump being the only person who is crying for Donald Trump.

YouTube Video

After Klepper joked about a theoretical Beyonce Knowles collecting Third Reich memorabilia, Ocasio-Cortez brought the interview back on track and succinctly drilled down to the bottom line:

“Supreme Court justices are required, if they are receiving money from people—they shouldn't even be receiving money from people. This is why we pay salaries to public servants. And if they want to live that kind of lifestyle, then they can resign from the court. They can retire.

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Before Klepper ended the interview, he brought up the orange elephant in the room. Did Ocasio-Cortez think people “were crying,” as Trump claimed, during his recent arraignment on charges of falsifying business records?

“Maybe George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene were, but not me,” Ocasio-Cortez said. She went on to say that Trump’s indictment is a symbol of the deep inequalities in our justice system, as she watches “people get treated far worse for doing far less” than Trump. “If you hurt one person, you get ten years in prison. But if you hurt millions of people, you get your name on a building.”

You can watch the whole interview below, as well as read a transcript of the interview.

YouTube Video

The Clarence Thomas scandal keeps growing

Clarence Thomas’ lavish vacation getaways are so corrupt, even Republicans think they're bogus

Justice Clarence Thomas has reported up to $750,000 in income from a company that doesn't exist

Transcript:

Jordan Klepper: I considered going into the medical profession. I thought I could play a handsome doctor on TV. Didn't pan out. While we were on the subject of national embarrassment, I had to ask the congresswoman about Clarence Thomas and his BFF Nazi, swag collector, Harlan Crow. I want to talk a little bit about Clarence Thomas. You've said you would even draft articles of impeachment for the things that he's done. Has there been any quid pro quo? And I said quid pro quo, partially because it took all that effort to learn what quid pro quo meant back in the Ukraine days, and it feels apropos of now. And I don't think I used apropos correctly.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: I think that quid pro quo is this bar that doesn't even need to be met. The justice is required by law to disclose something like that. And he hasn't been.

Jordan Klepper: Can you empathize, though? If Beyoncé came through here, wanted to take you on a sweet vacation, wouldn't you say, “Yes.” And let her show you her Nazi memorabilia.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Tell someone about it. But hey, don't! Don't put Bey's name on that.

Jordan Klepper: I'm not saying she has. I'm saying if she invested in Nazi memorabilia to show that she hates Nazi memorabilia, she'd want to show it off.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: And that whole thing is just, I mean, bizarre. You also don't keep the linens around …

Jordan Klepper:--All the Nazi linens?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Yeah. Who does that?

Jordan Klepper: Don't you think if you had $1,000,000,000 and you bought everything, you'd probably eventually get to Nazi linens?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: This is the distraction of that whole issue.

Jordan Klepper: You're right. We're just focused on that as opposed to all the money that's going over to Clarence Thomas. Although if you're a billionaire, can't billionaires have friends?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: They can. Supreme Court justices are required, if they are receiving money from people—they shouldn't even be receiving money from people. This is why we pay salaries to public servants. And if they want to live that kind of lifestyle, then they can resign from the court. They can retire.

Jordan Klepper: Now I want to talk about the court. It's looking as if the Supreme Court is going to rule on some of the conflicting rulings around mifepristone. Who do you think is going to write the final decision that takes away these vital rights from women? Is it going to be the guy who cried over beer or was it going to be the buddy with the Nazi memorabilia guy?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: You know, my hope is that they—we do not get to that point. But we also have to face the reality that the Supreme Court has chosen to give up huge swaths of their own legitimacy. Chief Justice Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, the Republican Party: In them giving up trying to take seriously the legitimacy, the standards, the integrity of the court, they have given up a very large degree of their authority.

Jordan Klepper: The new news in Florida this week is the six-week abortion ban. How do women approach that or fight back against something like that that's happening in Florida?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Of course, there's the standard, like, vote and mobilize. But I'm going to put that aside for a second. We do not have to accept tyranny, and this is a form of tyranny. It is a form of violence. Women will die. People will die because of this decision. And it will be, by and large, the men who signed these laws that are killing the women that will die by them.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: And we have a responsibility to help one another, whether that is supporting organizations that mail mifepristone, which has significantly reduced risk, certainly safer than medications like Viagra. But ultimately, we cannot continue to accept people in power who will abuse others for their own gain.

Jordan Klepper: Indictment week was last week. It might also be a month from now, too. We could have a lot of indictment weeks. How do you think New Yorkers treated former President Donald Trump?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: I think they treated him like a Florida man. He don't belong to us no mo’, okay? You're not from Queens anymore. He's a citizen of Mar-a-Lago at this point.

Jordan Klepper: And you said New Yorkers treated him as such?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Yeah. Why wouldn't we?

Jordan Klepper: Do you think people were weeping when he was booked, as he claims?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Maybe George Santos and Marjorie Taylor Greene were, but not me. Take it back to LaGuardia.

Jordan Klepper: Take it back to LaGuardia, which is in your district?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Yes, it's in my district. And so is Rikers. And so we have, I have to go in every single day watching people get treated far worse for doing far less and then, you know, it's like this red carpet that gets rolled out. I mean, if you hurt one person, you get ten years in prison. But if you hurt millions of people, you get your name on a building.

Jordan Klepper: Congresswoman, thanks for talking with us.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Thanks for having me.

On today’s episode, Markos and Kerry are joined by a friend of the podcast, Democratic political strategist Simon Rosenberg. Rosenberg was one of the few outsiders who, like Daily Kos, kept telling the world that nothing supported the idea of a red wave. Simon and the crew break down his strategy for Democratic candidates to achieve a 55% popular vote in all elections—a number that a few years ago would have seemed unattainable, but now feels within reach.

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McConnell defends Supreme Court after Clarence Thomas revelations

Posted on April 18, 2023 (Updated April 18, 2023) by Alexander Bolton

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Tuesday defended the Supreme Court from Democrats’ calls to pass judicial ethics legislation or even conduct an impeachment inquiry after reports that Justice Clarence Thomas received gifts and hospitality from a billionaire.

“The Supreme Court and the court system is a whole separate part of our Constitution, and the Democrats, it seems to me, spend a lot of time criticizing individual members of the court and going after the court as an institution,” McConnell told reporters at his first leadership press conference in the Capitol since suffering a concussion on March 8.

McConnell accused Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) of threatening conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh at an abortion rights rally outside the Supreme Court in 2020, when the Democratic leader warned they “won’t know what hit” them if they overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion rights case.

“My counterpart went over in front of the Supreme Court and called out two of the Supreme Court justices by name and actually threatened them with some kind of reprisal — I don’t know what kind — if they ruled the wrong way in a case he cared about,” he said.

McConnell also asserted that Attorney General Merrick Garland “seemed to be largely unconcerned with security issues around the homes of Supreme Court members” after a draft opinion of the court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe, leaked in May.

The GOP leader said he has “total confidence” in Chief Justice John Roberts to handle any ethical issues facing the court.

“I have total confidence in the chief justice of the United States to deal with these court internal issues,” he said.

His comments came in reaction to a recent letter Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent to Roberts raising concerns about reporting by ProPublica that Thomas accepted luxury trips regularly from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow without disclosing the gifts.

ProPublica also reported that one of Crow’s companies bought a property in which Thomas owned a one-third share, which Thomas also failed to disclose.

Senate Democrats informed Roberts that they will hold a hearing on “the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards” and urged the chief justice to investigate the matter.

“And if the court does not resolve these issues on its own, the committee will consider legislation to resolve it,” they wrote.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in a CNN interview over the weekend suggested the House should conduct an impeachment inquiry into Thomas, telling CNN’s Dana Bash it is “the House’s responsibility to pursue that investigation in the form of impeachment.”

GOP senator floats no confidence vote as Mayorkas defends border response

Posted on April 18, 2023 (Updated April 18, 2023) by Rebecca Beitsch

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other officials were on the defensive Tuesday as Senate Republicans became more vocal about their efforts to back impeachment for the secretary.

Mayorkas’s appearance before the Senate Homeland Security Committee sparked the usual heated exchanges and personal attacks now common in such forums, but the GOP posture escalated as Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) pledged to soon introduce a vote of no confidence resolution for the secretary.

House efforts to launch an impeachment of Mayorkas have been simmering for some time, with GOP lawmakers arguing he has failed to successfully manage the border amid an uptick in migration. But an official inquiry has yet to be launched, and those efforts have recently taken a back seat to debt ceiling talks.

But Marshall on Tuesday suggested a need to buoy that process in the Senate, where it is expected to make little progress given the Democratic majority.

“I stand at the ready to receive articles of impeachment from the House and conduct an impeachment trial in this body,” Marshall said. “But in the meantime, I think the Senate must show our colleagues in the House that we've had enough of the failures from the Department of Homeland Security and believe that the Secretary is not fit to faithfully carry out the duties of his office.”

Mayorkas at one point attempted to respond, asking to take a point of personal privilege, but Marshall objected, saying, “I want you to answer my questions, not give me lectures.”

Mayorkas, given an opportunity by the next speaker, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), declined to respond.

“I just want to take a moment to ask my colleagues here today to treat the secretary with the respect he deserves,” Carper said, noting Mayorkas’s integrity, work ethic and dedication to a complex job.

“I was raised — my guess is most of the folks in this committee were raised — to treat other people the way we want to be treated. I wouldn't treat anybody the way that I've seen you treated before in other committees and again here by at least one of our colleagues today.”

At other turns during the hearing, GOP lawmakers sought to hold Mayorkas personally responsible for various issues at the border.

"Do you not care? Do you not just have an ounce of human compassion for what your open border policy, the kind of human deprivation it is causing?” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said.

Mayorkas would later defend the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) efforts to stem migratory flows, pointing to a program that largely blocks nationals from Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba from seeking asylum but allows those with U.S. sponsors to apply to enter the U.S.

Various GOP lawmakers zeroed in on a recent New York Times article delving into the extent Biden administration officials were aware unaccompanied children were being trafficked into child labor.

The care of children who arrive at the border without their parents spans multiple agencies, with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responsible for vetting the sponsors who ultimately care for them.

At one point, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has also called for Mayorkas’s resignation, accused Mayorkas of “pressuring officials and agencies to skip the vetting process and get these kids out as soon as possible to sponsors who weren't vetted.”

The Times story does not reference Mayorkas and primarily focuses on the roles of HHS and high-ranking White House officials in the matter.

“Senator, I look forward to discussing this issue further because you are misstating the facts so terribly,” Mayorkas responded.

Mayorkas also shot back when Hawley accused him of letting thousands of children into the country to be exploited, pointing to a Trump-era policy of separating parents from their children.

“It is stunning to me, stunning, to hear you say that the prior administration reunited children with their parents,” Mayorkas said.

Mayorkas at another point said lawmakers, including Johnson, were “disparagingly mischaracterizes our commitment to address trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable individuals, including children."

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) offered a defense of Mayorkas and DHS, saying that senators must not forget the role of corporations hiring the migrant child labor outlined in the Times investigation.

"It is the employers breaking child labor laws,” Padilla said. “We should not misplace the blame here."

Mayorkas was one of several officials called before Congress on Tuesday to discuss immigration-related matters.

HHS officials appeared before both the House’s Energy and Commerce and Oversight committees, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tae Johnson appeared before House appropriators.

Much of the discussion with Johnson surrounded the number of detention beds funded through the ICE budget, a figure that determines the extent the agency is able to house people in detention centers versus other means of supervision. President Biden’s budget cut detention capacity by about a quarter.

At various points during the hearing, Johnson said he would like to see funding for a greater number of beds than covered in the budget but acknowledged that the agency simply would not be able to detain all those who may be slated for deportation.

Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said that would undercut the administration’s ability to remove people from the country as their immigration cases work their way through the court system.

“If it's easier to remove people once they're in detention, and you've agreed with that, and I agree with that, but yet we have a budget which is actually shrinking detention beds. I find that counterproductive,” Guest said.

“As these additional cases work their way through the system, we're going to see those numbers grow exponentially. And it just doesn't seem to me that we either don't have the resources or we don't have the policies in place to enforce the law.”

Johnson said even when the agency has rapidly expanded the number of beds in the past “we filled those beds up in no time.”

“So I personally don't think there's a number of beds that you can actually buy that's going to solve this problem that we're seeing,” he said.

At another point, Johnson was asked about the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit, which works to combat cartels and other transnational crime.

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) pointed to reporting that HSI staff at one point proposed separating from ICE, arguing the agency’s reputation made it difficult to carry out their work.

Johnson said he opposes siphoning off the unit, but backs giving them “flexibility” to minimize their affiliation with ICE, saying efforts like removing the “ICE” part of their email address has proven helpful.

“One of the things we did this year was to give HSI the flexibility to use whatever branding they felt was necessary to increase cooperation in the communities. So in other words, if removing the ICE moniker completely and just using the HSI brand was going to result in greater cooperation, they had the flexibility to do so,” he said.

But Underwood said those moves failed to address the underlying problem.

“ICE has the responsibility to proactively and intentionally build trust in the communities that you serve,” she said.

“And so I think that this is an area where the agency definitely needs to do more.”

Nick Robertson contributed reporting

Updated: 2:28 p.m.

Sen. Marshall introduces resolution for vote of no confidence in Mayorkas amid Senate grilling

Posted on April 18, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, on Tuesday announced that he is introducing a resolution to trigger a vote of no confidence in Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas -- just as the DHS chief was facing a grilling from lawmakers at a top committee.

"Mr. Secretary, you are derelict in your duties. I would be derelict to not do something about this. And that's why I have a draft resolution here that I intend to introduce in the coming days that would require the Senate to take a vote of no confidence on Secretary Mayorkas," he said as he questioned Mayorkas in a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing.

"I stand at the ready to receive articles of impeachment from the House and conduct an impeachment trial in this body. But in the meantime, I think the Senate must show our colleagues in the House that we've had enough of the failures from the Department of Homeland Security and believe that the secretary is not fit to faithfully carry out the duties of his office," he said.

MAYORKAS AGAIN REFUSES TO CALL BORDER SURGE A ‘CRISIS,’ SAYS IT WOULD INDICATE ‘WITHDRAWAL FROM OUR MISSION’

The draft resolution, obtained by Fox News Digital, states that Mayorkas "does not have the confidence of the Senate or of the American people to faithfully carry out the duties of his office."

The resolution accuses Mayorkas of having "engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his constitutional and statutory duties as Secretary of Homeland Security."

Specifically, it says that he has failed to take the necessary actions to achieve operational control of the southern border, something the head of Border Patrol has said the agency does not have.

It cites "more than 5,500,000 illegal aliens crossing the United States southern border during Secretary Mayorkas’ term in office, including 20 consecutive months with more than 150,000 illegal border crossings and a 180 percent increase in encounters at the southern border compared to the previous administration"

BORDER PATROL CHIEF SAYS DHS DOESN'T HAVE OPERATIONAL CONTROL OF US BORDER

It also notes the apprehension of nearly 100 individuals on the terror watch list, an increase in fentanyl seizures and "gotaways" at the border, and also cites a number of moves by the administration that it says has encouraged illegal immigration – including the ending of the border wall construction, ending of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and attempts to end the Title 42 public health order – which will end next month.

It also notes Mayorkas' role in the controversy surrounding Border Patrol agents who were falsely accused of whipping Haitian migrants in 2021.

Marshall's resolution comes as Republicans in the House have been mulling an impeachment push since last year over what they see as the Biden administration's policies that have exacerbated the migrant crisis. Multiple lawmakers have introduced articles of impeachment, but none have yet been voted on. Should Mayorkas be impeached in the House, the process would then move to the Senate for a trial. Mayorkas could not be removed by the Senate without the House voting first.

BIDEN ADMIN SEES PROGRESS IN TACKLING BORDER CRISIS AS MARCH'S NUMBERS DOWN FROM LAST YEAR

Mayorkas has become a lightning rod for Republican criticism over the border crisis, and scrutiny has increased ahead of the looming end of Title 42 expulsions at the beginning of May. While the administration has been touting relatively lower numbers in recent months – which it ties to border measures introduced in January that included increased expulsions of a humanitarian parole program for four nationalities – officials fear a massive increase in apprehensions once Title 42 drops.

The Biden administration has dismissed the push by Republicans in the House to impeach Mayorkas, saying that Congress should instead focus on fixing what it says is a broken immigration system. A spokesperson on Tuesday renewed those calls in response to Marshall's resolution.

"Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people. The Department will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border, protect the nation from terrorism, improve our cybersecurity, all while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system. Instead of pointing fingers and pursuing baseless attacks, Congress should work with the Department and pass legislation to fix our broken immigration system, which has not been updated in over 40 years." a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Mother of NYC murder victim shouts down Democrat lawmaker: ‘Don’t insult my intelligence’

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The mother of a New York City murder victim shouted down Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing on Monday, warning the lawmaker not to "insult my intelligence."

The mother, Madeline Brame, was one of many witnesses to testify before the committee during Monday's hearing highlighting the crime problem in Manhattan. Goldman attempted to use the time granted to him to question Brame to instead criticize the hearing itself, arguing it was a "coverup" for Republicans attempting to defend former President Donald Trump.

Goldman, who served as impeachment counsel during Trump's first impeachment, sought to explain his view of the situation to Brame after other Democrats had stated that Republicans were using the witnesses as "props" to defend Trump.

"We're not insulting you. Your experiences are devastating, but the problem is, is that this is a charade to cover up for an abuse of power. [Republicans] are going around incessantly, outside of this hearing, about Donald Trump, and the purpose of this hearing is to cover up for what they know to be an inappropriate investigation [into District Attorney Alvin Bragg]," Goldman said.

MANHATTAN DA ALVIN BRAGG SUES REP. JIM JORDAN OVER TRUMP INDICTMENT SUBPOENAS

"Can I respond to you, please?" Brame asked as Goldman attempted to move on.

"Not right now, because I only have 20 seconds, I'm sorry. But I, I do–" Goldman said.

"Don't insult my intelligence," Brame interjected as Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, attempted to maintain order. "You're trying to insult me like I'm not aware of what's going on here. I'm fully aware of what's going on here, OK? That's why I walked away from the plantation of the Democratic Party."

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE DEMANDS MANHATTAN DA ALVIN BRAGG TESTIFY ABOUT POSSIBLE TRUMP INDICTMENT

Brame had testified earlier about Bragg's mishandling of her son's murder case. Her son, Army Sgt. Hason Correa, was beaten and stabbed nine times by multiple people in 2018. The prosecution for the cases dragged on for more than four years, and Bragg ultimately removed the indictments against two of the suspects in favor of lesser charges. Two others ended up receiving life sentences.

Brame argued that Bragg's office has only served to escalate the city's crime problem, showing no "measurable results" in lowering the city's violent crime rate.