Biden impeachment vote heads to House floor; Boebert forces motion over president’s border policy
The House will vote this week on a resolution to impeach President Biden over his "open border agenda."
Month: June 2023
Lauren Boebert is trying to impeach President Joe Biden. The White House calls it a stunt.
By introducing articles of impeachment against President Biden as a privileged resolution, Rep. Lauren Boebert will force a House vote this week.
Feds Catch More Than 460 Known, Suspected Terrorists In Nine Months, Most At Northern Border
By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square)
There have been hundreds of known or suspected terrorists apprehended at the northern and southern borders in the current fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.
As foreign nationals illegally enter the U.S. and are apprehended, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations agents screen them against a federal Terrorist Screening Dataset, which includes sensitive information about terrorist identities. It originated as a consolidated terrorist watch list “to house information on known or suspected terrorists, or KSTs, but has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watch-listed individuals,” CBP states.
As of June 15, OFO agents apprehended 53 KSTs at southwest border ports of entry and 284 at northern border ports of entry, totaling 337. CBP’s fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
They also apprehended 125 KSTs between ports of entry at the southern border and two between ports of entry at the northern border, totaling 127 KSTs fiscal year to date.
Combined, they’ve apprehended 464 known or suspected terrorists.
That’s nearly a 30% increase in one month after previous increases were roughly 87%.
Related: Illegal Border Crossers So Far This Year Outnumber The Population Of 8 States
Roughly one month ago, The Center Square reported OFO agents apprehended 332 KSTs at both borders. They apprehended 125 at the southern border (45 KSTs at ports of entry and 80 between ports of entry) and 207 at the northern border (205 at ports of entry and two between ports of entry).
These numbers were up from 284 KSTs apprehended by March, which was significantly up from 38 apprehended by January, an 87% increase in just two months.
By comparison, in fiscal 2022, 478 KSTs were apprehended in fiscal 2022. Agents apprehended 165 at the southern border (67 at ports of entry and 98 between ports of entry) and 313 at northern border ports of entry.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas maintains that the border is closed and secure. He’s refused to resign despite growing calls for him to do so. Multiple attorneys general and members of Congress have called for his impeachment.
While border security experts acknowledge the commendable work of OFO agents in apprehending known or suspected terrorists, they also express concern about how many have illegally entered the U.S. unabated.
Related: Border Patrol To Release Foreign Nationals En Masse Into Communities As Title 42 Ends
Last month, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Trump administration Tom Homan warned, “What’s happening is the greatest national security threat since 9/11. Border Patrol has arrested people from 171 countries. Many of these countries are sponsors of terrorism.”
He also pointed to the record number of gotaways, those who’ve illegally entered the U.S. and evaded capture by law enforcement, totaling over 1.7 million reported by Border Patrol agents since the president’s been in office – that number’s since gone up.
“If you don’t think a single one of the 1.7 million is coming from a country that sponsors terrorism, then you’re ignoring the data,” Homan said. “That’s what makes this a huge national security issue.”
While many have focused on the southern border, a congressional Northern Border Security Caucus was formed in March to call for additional security along there. It’s mainly left unmanned when comparing the amount of personnel to square mileage.
The U.S. northern border is the longest international border in the world, spanning 5,525 miles. Fourteen states share the U.S.-Canada border; 13 to Canada’s south and Alaska to its west.
By comparison, four states share 1,954 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, with Texas sharing the most of 1,254 miles.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
The post Feds Catch More Than 460 Known, Suspected Terrorists In Nine Months, Most At Northern Border appeared first on The Political Insider.
Republicans rage over Hunter Biden — with some notable exceptions
Republican lawmakers are venting their frustration over what they say is an overly lenient plea agreement between Hunter Biden and federal prosecutors, further escalating GOP tensions with the Justice Department.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday led the backlash from Republican lawmakers.
“It continues to show the two-tier system in America,” McCarthy told reporters, echoing the arguments Republicans deployed after the Justice Department earlier this month unsealed a 37-count indictment against former President Trump.
“If you are the president’s leading political opponent, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time. But if you are the president’s son, you get a sweetheart deal,” McCarthy said.
Biden agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanors for failing to pay income taxes in 2017 and 2018. He also agreed to enter a pretrial diversion program for possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user or addicted to a controlled substance.
The plea deal, however, divided Republican leaders, just as Trump’s indictment drew mixed responses from GOP lawmakers last week.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declined to comment about Biden’s legal problems as he walked to the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon.
His opening remarks on the floor made no mention of the president’s son and focused instead on what he called “the Biden administration’s radical nominees” and Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing.
Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) also held back from lashing out at the Justice Department, pointing out that the U.S. attorney who cut the deal was a Trump appointee.
“The justice system, I guess, has got to work its way out. He’s going to plead to a couple tax evasion charges and a gun charge. I don’t know that this is necessarily the end of the road for him, probably not. At least the preliminary stage of it is done,” Thune told reporters.
Asked about Republican criticisms of a two-tiered system and a sweetheart deal, Thune said: “I don’t know what else they got on him, but I do think the American people have to be convinced that the justice system treats everybody equally under the law.”
“This was a — my understanding is at least — Trump-appointed U.S. attorney. So we’ll see where it goes from here,” he added.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wasn’t in the mood Tuesday to delve into the political wrangling over Hunter Biden’s plea deal.
“I don’t have any reaction, ask me about something else,” she said.
On the other side of the Capitol, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) echoed McCarthy’s claim of a “two-tiered system of justice.”
“Hunter Biden is getting away with a slap on the wrist when growing evidence uncovered by the House Oversight Committee reveals the Bidens engaged in a pattern of corruption, influence peddling, and possibly bribery,” he said.
Republican lawmakers for months have pushed allegations based on anonymous sources that Biden received preferential treatment from the Internal Revenue Service and was involved in a bribery scheme with a Ukrainian energy company.
But those thinly sourced claims were left unaddressed by a document outlining the plea agreement that U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump appointee, filed with the U.S. district court in Wilmington, Del.
Comer vowed to continue his investigation, pledging: “We will not rest until the full extent of President Biden’s involvement in the family’s schemes are revealed.”
The Republican National Committee on Tuesday tweeted out a video clip of one of Hunter Biden’s attorneys telling MSNBC he didn’t remember prosecutors ever asking about Biden’s infamous laptop.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has highlighted unverified allegations by an anonymous foreign national that the Bidens were involved in a bribery scheme, pointed out that Weiss, the U.S. attorney, said his investigation of Hunter Biden is ongoing.
Asked if he expected additional charges, Grassley said: “All I know is what Weiss said, the case is still open.”
“Today’s plea deal cannot be the final word given the significant body of evidence that the FBI and Justice Department has at its disposal. It certainly won’t be for me,” he said in a statement released earlier Tuesday.
He said he and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent material, including bank records, to the U.S. attorney, and it "doesn’t look to me like Weiss gave much credit to it with this very weak result that was announced today.”
Johnson, who has worked closely with Grassley, said “it stinks to high heaven.”
“The fact that they have now an IRS whistleblower coming forward and saying that the entire IRS investigatory team almost in unprecedented fashion was pulled off the case [and it] sounds like there’s allegations that they on purpose they allowed the statute of limitations to expire on more serious charges — there’s so many things that I would want investigated in terms of Hunter Biden,” he said.
Other Republican senators joined in the attacks on the Justice Department.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called the plea deal “a slap on the wrist.”
“This doesn’t show equal justice. It’s a mockery of our legal system by a family that has no respect for our laws,” he said.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who has endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, called it “nothing more than a wrist slap from his dad’s DOJ.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) called the deal “troubling.”
Lee retweeted criticisms of the agreement circulated by Brett Tolman, the executive director of Right On Crime, a conservative advocacy group, who said pretrial diversion programs normally exclude offenses involving the brandishing a firearm.
Many Senate and House Republicans lashed out against Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith last week after the Justice Department charged Trump with violations of the Espionage Act and conspiring to obstruct justice.
They also argued the lack of charges against President Biden, who kept classified documents from his service in the Senate and vice president in the Obama administration, showed the federal prosecution of Trump was motivated by politics.
“So Hunter Biden gets a special plea deal, slap on the wrist — probably won’t do a day of time — while DOJ charges Trump as a spy and tries to put him in prison forever. Two standards of ‘justice,’” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) tweeted in response to the deal.
One Senate Republican aide said Hunter Biden appeared to get a fairly lenient deal from the Justice Department but pointed out he cooperated with prosecutors, in contrast to Trump.
“Of course, Hunter got off easy, but he cooperated, unlike Trump,” the aide said, noting the special counsel’s indictment against the former president alleges Trump deliberately misled his lawyer about cooperating with a grand jury subpoena.
Democrats on Tuesday argued the charges against Biden, coming just a week after the prosecutors unsealed the indictment of Trump, shows the Justice Department is applying the law fairly.
“Neither Hunter Biden nor Donald Trump are above the law. They’re both held responsible and are going to go through the process. Joe Biden’s son just did, just completed it,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Emily Brooks and Al Weaver contributed.
Rep. Boebert says she will use a privileged motion to bring impeachment articles against Biden
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., revealed on Twitter she will bring articles of impeachment against President Biden using a privileged motion.
"BREAKING: I am bringing my articles of impeachment against Joe Biden to the House Floor in a privileged motion, meaning that every Member of Congress must vote on holding Joe Biden accountable," Boebert tweeted Tuesday evening.
The Republican lawmaker has contended Biden remains negligent on the U.S. border, failing to keep Americans safe from an influx of deadly fentanyl and criminal activity as well as failing to relieve the strain on the country’s immigration system.
"Biden intentionally ceded command & control of our border to cartels. His dereliction of duty caused the deaths of over 900 Coloradans from fentanyl, enabled sex-trafficking, & allowed an invasion," she wrote in a subsequent tweet. "I brought my articles of impeachment up via a privileged motion to force a vote."
EXCLUSIVE: BOEBERT INTRODUCES NEW IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST BIDEN OVER BORDER CRISIS
The motion will require all House members to go on the record regarding the impeachment articles, according to the congresswoman.
Last week, during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Boebert accused Biden of mishandling his "constitutional duty to secure our southern border" and said she would introduce the impeachment articles if her party leaders failed to do so.
"Given the severity of the violation of Joe Biden's constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of the president, United States to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, this is something that we must do with our majorities in the House of Representatives," Boebert told Fox News Digital Tuesday. "This is our duty because Joe Biden has neglected the constitutional duty of the office of President of the United States."
IT'S TIME TO BRING IMPEACHMENT CHARGES AGAINST JOE BIDEN
"I introduced the articles of impeachment in the last Congress and had fully intended to introduce them this Congress, but I was also giving some other committees and leadership the opportunity to lead on this," Boebert continued.
She added: "It's about Joe Biden's failure to secure the southern border."
"And I did this so at any time, if the committees and or leadership does not step up and actually do something about the president's failure to secure our southern border and keep the country safe, then I will call my legislation my articles of impeachment for a privileged motion," Boebert explained.
GOP REP. OGLES INTRODUCES IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST BIDEN, HARRIS
Her motion may not result in an immediate vote, however, as leadership has two days in accordance with House rules to decide how to proceed.
"Under Rule IX in the House, we can bring up certain pieces of legislation under a privileged motion. So I would go to the House floor and call up my articles of impeachment and read it in its entirety. And at that point, leadership has a maximum of two days to respond and see if it's going to be sent to committee or a vote on the articles themselves," Boebert told Fox.
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has also introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during this session of Congress. They were introduced on June 12, and Boebert is a cosponsor.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also introduced articles of impeachment against Biden and other Biden officials including Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. attorney Matthew Graves. She may also use a privileged motion to force a vote. Boebert is not a cosponsor.
Boebert, who has remained a vocal critic of the Biden administration since she was first elected in 2020, won her first re-election contest by a mere 546 votes. The closeness prompted a recount, which confirmed the result.
Immigration levels over the southern border with Mexico have witnessed historic highs under Biden.
Fox News' Houston Keene and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Revamped Schiff censure resolution to get vote on Wednesday
The House is set to vote on a revamped resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday after the chamber blocked a similar measure targeting the California Democrat last week.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) called the revised measure to the floor as a privileged resolution on Tuesday, which forces the House to take action on the measure. Democrats are expected to make a procedural motion to table the measure when it comes to the floor for a vote on Wednesday, which would require majority support.
The move from Luna comes after the House blocked her initial Schiff censure resolution last week. Twenty Republicans joined Democrats in supporting a motion to table the measure which was enough to block the resolution from coming to the floor for a vote, effectively killing it.
Luna, however, made a number of changes to the resolution from last week to this week, and she said she now has enough votes for the measure to be approved.
“I have spoken to many of my colleagues,” Luna said in a statement on Tuesday. “A majority of the 20 will be changing their vote to support the motion, as well as other Members who were not in town for the initial vote have let me/my office know they will be voting with us.”
More House coverage from The Hill
- Boebert moves to force vote on impeaching Biden over handling of border
- Durham probe sets basis for reforms at FBI, House Intel leaders say
- Judge orders unsealing of Santos’s bond sponsor names Thursday
- Democrats push Biden to make human rights a focus in meeting with Modi
At least three of those GOP defectors have publicly said they will support the new censure resolution. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters earlier in the day that he expects the revised resolution to pass the House.
Of the changes made between this week’s and last week’s resolutions was nixing a non-binding “whereas” clause that said if the Ethics Committee found that Schiff “lied, made misrepresentations, and abused sensitive information,” he should be fined $16 million. That dollar figure, according to Luna, was half the amount of money that American taxpayers paid toward the investigation into potential collusion between Trump and Russia.
According to the Justice Department, the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller cost $32 million.
Some of the GOP defectors raised concerns with that portion of the resolution — arguing that it was unconstitutional — leading them to oppose it. But once Luna said she would take the clause out of the resolution, a number of the Republican opposers relented in their opposition.
“Thank you for fixing your bill for next week,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who voiced concerns with the fine, wrote on Twitter last week.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who voted against last week’s censure resolution out of opposition to the fine, signed on as a co-sponsor of the new version.
Additionally, the new resolution just calls for censuring Schiff while last week’s involved censuring and condemning the congressman. The new version also omitted non-binding “whereas” clauses that says Schiff “purposely deceived his Committee, Congress, and the American people” and that he “exploited” his positions on the House Intelligence Committee “to encourage and excuse abusive intelligence investigations of Americans for political purposes.”
The revamped resolution, however, adds a number of non-binding “whereas” clauses: it cites a March 2019 letter signed by Republicans on the Intelligence panel calling on Schiff — the then chairman of the committee — to resign from the top post, argues that Schiff “hindered the ability of the Intelligence Committee to fulfill its oversight responsibilities over the Intelligence Community,” and says he “misled the American people and brought disrepute upon the House of Representatives.”
Rep. Marc Molinaro (N.Y.), one of last week’s GOP “no” votes, announced last week that he will support the new resolution.
“I respect the Constitution and the oath we take to it. These revisions address my concerns and I will vote to hold Rep. Schiff accountable,” he wrote on Twitter.
Schiff — who is currently running for Senate — continued to brush aside the censure effort on Tuesday, arguing that Republicans were going after him to distract from the legal troubles surrounding former President Trump.
“But to waste the floor’s time on this false and defamatory resolution is a disservice to the country,” he told reporters. “It detracts from the time that we have to deal with homelessness and we have to deal with the opioid crisis and 100 other challenges, but it just shows how Kevin McCarthy's completely lost control of the crazies in his conference who are running the place.”
The California Democrat said being censured would be “a badge of honor.”
“With this crowd it’s a badge of honor,” he said when asked about how he feels about the prospect of being censured, which would require him to stand in the well of the House chamber to receive a rebuke.
“I'm proud to have stood up to Trump and defended our democracy and I will continue to do so no matter what they throw my way. But this is the authors of the big lie attacking me for telling the truth. And history will judge them to have failed to have the courage to stand up to a corrupt president but consoled themselves by attacking someone who did,” he added.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol holds its final meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Luna’s resolution to censure Schiff is part of a long-running GOP campaign against Schiff, who emerged as a bogeyman on the right after years of leading efforts against Trump while he was in the White House. The California Democrat led Trump’s first impeachment inquiry as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and he frequently accused Trump of colluding with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
McCarthy blocked Schiff and his California colleague, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D), from serving on the Intelligence panel earlier this year. And Luna previously filed a resolution to expel Schiff from the House.
Emily Brooks contributed.
Boebert moves to force vote on impeaching Biden over handling of border
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) is forcing a House vote on impeaching President Biden over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policy, making a surprise privileged motion Tuesday evening that will require House floor action on the matter this week.
Walking off the House floor Tuesday, Boebert said that while House GOP leadership was aware she would make the privileged motion, the date of further action was still being scheduled.
A notice from House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) on Tuesday indicated that Democrats will make a motion to table the resolution when it comes up for a vote on the floor, a procedural move that would block the resolution from coming to the floor for a vote.
Boebert’s impeachment resolution, which she introduced earlier this month, includes two impeachment articles: one for abuse of power, and another for dereliction of duty.
In the first impeachment article, Boebert charges that Biden “knowingly presided over an executive branch that has continuously, overtly, and consistently violated Federal immigration law by pursuing an aggressive, open-borders agenda,” saying the U.S. allowed a high number of migrants released into the country “without the intention or ability to ensure that they appear in immigration court to face asylum or deportation proceedings.”
In the second impeachment article, Boebert’s resolution points to deportation cases being at historic lows, and deaths caused by fentanyl.
In response to Boebert’s move, the White House accused House Republicans of staging “political stunts.”
“Instead of working with President Biden on solutions to the issues that matter most to the American people, like creating jobs, lowering costs and strengthening health care, extreme House Republicans are staging baseless political stunts that do nothing to help real people and only serve to get themselves attention,” Ian Sams, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said in a statement.
Boebert did not predict whether her impeachment articles would pass or not.
“We'll see. I mean, I hope that Republicans and Democrats alike can recognize the invasion that's taking place at our southern border, and that the laws of our nation are not being faithfully executed, and that we have an opportunity to bring a check and a balance to the invasion that's going on,” Boebert said.
Boebert's ideological ally, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), is aiming to force a vote of her own this week on a motion to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) of his handling of investigations into former President Trump.
Republicans have also been calling attention to the focus on the business dealings of President Biden’s family members after his son, Hunter Biden, agreed to a plea deal involving federal tax and gun charges Tuesday.
Asked why she was forcing the impeachment articles now, Boebert said: “It's been time. It's past time.”
Most House Republicans hungry for retribution over the U.S.-Mexico border have focused on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas rather than Biden. Last week, the House GOP launched an investigation that could serve as the basis of an eventual Mayorkas impeachment.
Updated at 9:47 p.m. EDT.
Fox News Politics: Deal Hunter
HUNTER FALLS PREY: President Biden's son Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to tax misdemeanors and a felony related to illegally purchasing a gun as a drug addict… Read more: Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty in federal tax, gun case
DEAL HUNTER: Hunter's plea agreement caught Trump's ridicule as Republicans claim it smacks of corruption… Read more: Trump says Hunter Biden got off with a ‘traffic ticket,’ slams ‘corrupt’ justice system
SON BURN: Biden previously said his son Hunter did nothing wrong… Read more: Hunter's plea deal flips Biden's past comments about investigation on their head: 'Great confidence'
HUNTED BIDENS: Trump's former attorney general calls for more transparency on alleged Biden bribes… Read more: Bill Barr: DOJ should release FBI doc alleging Biden bribery scheme to Congress
PARTY DOWN: Hunter Biden's dealings with Ukrainian energy executives included Joe's birthday party… Read more: Hunter Biden, Burisma-linked associates attended dad's holiday bash days after infamous 2015 Ukraine trip
CONFUSION: Biden touts strange accomplishment… Read more: Biden oddly claims his administration 'will have conserved 30%' of all US lands and waters by '2020'
WIPEOUT: Judge sides with Maine lobster fisherman against Biden admin's regulations… Read more: Maine lobstermen catch big court victory against Biden administration's 'egregious' regulations
‘HELL TO PAY’: Trump claims he personally stopped Russia invading Ukraine while he was in office… Read more: Trump claims conversation with Putin delayed Russian invasion of Ukraine: ‘Don’t do it'
ONE CHINA: Secretary of State Blinken recommits to key Chinese stance in visit to communist country… Read more: Blinken says US 'does not support Taiwan independence' during China visit
'FLIPPING THE BIRD': WH officials who flagrantly violate ethics rules 'should be fired,' Dem expert says… Read more: Dem expert puts KJP, Bates on notice, says officials who keep breaking Hatch Act 'should be gone'
COURT PRESS: Republicans are working to restore congressional power over regulations… Read more: House strikes blow against federal regulations, votes to overturn controversial Supreme Court ruling
BIDEN-PEACMENT? Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert floats impeachment over border record… Read more: EXCLUSIVE: Boebert introduces new impeachment articles against Biden over border crisis
DREAM TEAM: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman tripped though remarks at an event with Biden… Read more: Fetterman stumbles through remarks with Biden, PA officials while wearing hoodie and shorts
PROUD TO BE AMERICAN: Senate Republican aims to enforce flag rules to prevent LGBTQ pride flag from supplanting the stars and stripes… Read more: Feds banned from flying non-US flags under new GOP bill after White House flies Pride flag
STRONG SUPPORT: Trump maintains strong polling lead in 2024 GOP presidential race after federal indictment… Read more: IN OR OUT? New poll reveals where Republican voters stand in support of Trump after second indictment
CAMPAIGN TRIAL: A judge has set a date for Trump's trial on federal charges, though it could be pushed back… Read more: Judge in Trump classified documents case sets preliminary trial date
NO DILLY-DILLY: DeSantis pulled the taps at a campaign event but refused to pour one kind of beer… Read more: WATCH: Ron DeSantis gets bar crowd laughing with Bud Light quip: 'I'll serve you anything except...'
Pentagon slams Tuberville for setting ‘dangerous precedent’ by holding up nominations
The Pentagon on Tuesday slammed Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) for setting a "dangerous precedent" by holding up more than 200 general and flag officer nominations over the Defense Department's new abortion policy.
"Without these leaders in place, these holes severely limit the department's ability to ensure the right person is in place at the right time, and to ensure a strategic readiness and operational success," said Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh at a Tuesday briefing.
Singh said the holdup was placing Washington's ability to counter Russia and China at risk.
"These holds set a dangerous precedent and puts our military readiness at risk at a time when our military is expected to defend the nation and meet the acute threat of Russia and address the pacing challenge of the PRC," she continued, referring to the People's Republic of China.
More Tommy Tuberville coverage from The Hill
- Biden calls Tuberville hold on military nominations ‘bizarre’
- White House blasts Tuberville’s hold on military nominations
- Democrats fed up with Tuberville want to change Senate rules
- Tuberville claims Space Command’s leadership prefers HQ in Huntsville
Tuberville has been blocking the nominees from confirmation in the Senate since March over the Pentagon's policy, which provides paid time off and reimburses travel costs for servicemembers who travel for an abortion.
Last week, the White House also blasted the holdup, following rebukes from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and seven former Pentagon chiefs who have also warned about the precedent of blocking the nomination of important military officers.
The blockade could also end up impacting nominees for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including the replacement for chairman and Gen. Mark Milley later this year.
President Biden this week said Tuberville's block on the nominees was "bizarre," prompting a response from the senator.
"What is actually bizarre is Joe Biden's obsession with making taxpayers pay for abortion without Congress ever taking a vote," Tuberville tweeted. "It’s bizarre and it’s wrong."
Tuberville says the policy, enacted last year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, is a violation of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds to pay for abortion services.
The Alabama senator is refusing to back down and has reportedly rejected off-ramps from fellow Republican colleagues, saying he will only support an end to the blockade if the Pentagon drops the policy or if the policy is codified in law.
Hunter Biden agrees to plead guilty in federal tax, gun case
Hunter Biden has agreed to plead guilty in the federal case stemming from years-long investigation into his tax affairs, Fox News has confirmed.
Fox News has confirmed that the president's son will plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. Hunter Biden also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
Biden has been under federal investigation since 2018. That investigation into his "tax affairs" began amid the discovery of suspicious activity reports (SARs) regarding funds from "China and other foreign nations."
Fox News first reported in 2020 that the FBI had subpoenaed a laptop and hard drive purportedly belonging to Hunter Biden in connection with a money-laundering investigation in late 2019.
2011 EMAILS REVEAL HUNTER BIDEN HELPED BUSINESS ASSOCIATES GET ACESS TO VP BIDEN , TOP AIDE
In December 2020, weeks after the 2020 presidential election, Biden publicly acknowledged he was under investigation related to his taxes. At the time, Biden said he took the matter "very seriously" and was "confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors."
IT'S TIME TO END THE PROTECTION OF HUNTER BIDEN: JACK KALAVRITINOS
The firearms charge stemmed from allegations that Hunter Biden lied during a gun purchase in 2018.
Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018, when a gun owned by Hunter Biden was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.
A source with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018, police report told Fox News that it indicated that Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden's late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.
A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicated that Hunter Biden purchased a gun earlier that month.
On the firearm transaction report, Hunter Biden answered in the negative when asked if he was "an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?"
Hunter Biden was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.
The White House reacted to the charges Tuesday morning.
"The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life," White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement. "We will have no further comment."
Questions surrounding Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings entered the political conversation in 2019. Former President Donald Trump suggested Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launch an investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings—specifically why then-Vice President Joe Biden pressed Zelensky's predecessor to fire a top prosecutor investigating Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden held a lucrative role on the board.
That phone call prompted the first Trump impeachment. Republicans, in their defense of the former president, zeroed in on Hunter Biden and his overseas business dealings, even suggesting Biden testify as part of the impeachment proceedings. The House of Representatives voted to impeach Trump in December 2019, but he was acquitted by the Senate.
Republicans in the Senate, like Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also began investigating Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings in 2019. Grassley and Johnson released a report out of their joint investigation in September 2020.
In that report, Grassley and Johnson said they obtained records from the U.S. Treasury Department that showed "potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals." The report also stated that Senate investigators found millions of dollars in "questionable financial transactions" between Hunter Biden and his associates and foreign individuals, including the wife of the former mayor of Moscow as well as individuals with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
ANDY MCCARTHY: WE'RE DEALING WITH ‘VERY SOPHISTICATED ACTORS’ IN HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP INTEL LETTER
In the fall of 2022, Grassley and Johnson flagged to the FBI that they were in possession of whistleblower allegations suggesting the bureau had "significant, impactful and voluminous evidence with respect to potential criminal conduct by Hunter Biden and James Biden" and related to Hunter's work with Burisma Holdings.
And when Republicans took the House majority following the 2022 midterm elections, the House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., ramped up its investigative work, focusing in on the Biden family and whether their foreign business transactions put U.S. national security at risk.
The White House has maintained that the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings and that the president was never involved in them. Officials also say the president has never discussed investigations into members of his family with the Justice Department.
The charges against the first son come after an IRS criminal supervisory agent seeking whistleblower protections said the federal investigation into Hunter Biden was being mishandled by the Biden administration.
The whistleblower claimed "clear" conflicts of interest, including giving the president’s son "preferential treatment." The whistleblower also claimed politics are "improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected."
The White House has fired back against those allegations, saying that Biden has upheld his commitment to ensure the investigation is "free from any political interference."
Meanwhile, a separate whistleblower has alleged that the FBI and the Justice Department are in possession of a document that describes a criminal scheme involving then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreign national relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions.
Comer and Grassley said the whistleblower claims the document "includes a precise description of how the alleged criminal scheme was employed as well as its purpose."
The document, which Comer subpoenaed, an FBI-generated FD-1023 form, allegedly details an arrangement involving an exchange of money for policy decisions.
The White House on Wednesday slammed what it said were "unfounded, unproven, politically-motivated attacks against the president and his family" made "without offering evidence for their claims or evidence of decisions influenced by anything other than U.S. interests."
"When it comes to President Biden’s personal finances, anybody can take a look: he has offered an unprecedented level of transparency, releasing a total of 25 years of tax returns to the American public," White House spokesman Ian Sams told Fox News Digital.