Obama, in 1st remarks since election, says ‘a line has been crossed’ if ‘one side’ makes certain moves

Former President Barack Obama declared that if "one side" attempts to cement "a permanent grip on power" through "suppressing votes," "politicizing" the military or weaponizing the judiciary and criminal justice system to target opponents, "a line has been crossed."

His comments came even as many Americans believe that President-elect Donald Trump has been unfairly targeted in unwarranted politically motivated cases. 

Obama made the comments during a speech on Thursday during the Obama Foundation's Democracy Forum. The speech marked his first public remarks following the 2024 election.

"You see, it's easy to give democracy lip service when it delivers the outcomes we want. It's when we don't get what we want that our commitment to democracy is tested," he said.

‘DEPORTER-IN-CHIEF’ OBAMA SURPASSED DEPORTATIONS UNDER TRUMP'S FIRST TERM

During his first term in office, Trump was acquitted in the Senate after two separate but ultimately unsuccessful impeachment efforts, and in the wake of his White House tenure, he has been slapped with multiple indictments, which many viewed as lawfare against the Republican figure.

While some Republicans have advocated for Biden to be impeached, the GOP has not done so, even with control of the House chamber.

During the speech, Obama also advocated for "pluralism."

"It means that in a democracy we all have to find a way to live alongside individuals and groups who are different than us," he said.

Obama's remarks came after Biden made a comment earlier this year that many perceived as him referring to Trump supporters as "garbage." In a post on X, Biden distanced himself from the remarks and claimed he was referring to the "hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage" instead.

‘OBAMA BROS’ TRASH BIDEN FOR MAKING DEFENDERS LOOK ‘STUPID’ WITH HUNTER PARDON: ‘TYPICAL, LYING POLITICIAN’

Democrats have consistently launched invective against Trump — including Biden, who said that the Republican was a "genuine danger to American security" — but it was Trump who was the target of several assassination attempts in the run-up to the 2024 election.

Obama, in his remarks, insisted that he is "convinced that if we want democracy as we understand it to survive," people must work for a renewed dedication to pluralist principles. 

"Because the alternative is what we've seen here in the United States and in many democracies around the globe: Not just more gridlock, not just public cynicism, but an increasing willingness" among "politicians and their followers to violate democratic norms, to do anything they can to get their way, to use the power of the state to target critics, and journalists, and political rivals, and to even resort to violence" to obtain and retain power. 

OBAMA RELEASES ELECTION DAY VIDEO SAYING ‘THIS IS GOING TO BE CLOSE’

The former president added that bridge building represents the "best tool" to create "lasting change."

"Pluralism is not about holding hands and singing Kumbaya. It is not about abandoning your convictions and folding when things get tough. It is about recognizing that in a democracy power comes from forging alliances and building coalitions and making room in those coalitions not only for the woke but also for the waking," he said.

Obama served two consecutive terms spanning from early 2009 through early 2017, when he was succeeded by Trump.

Scott Walker calls nixing of landmark WI law that led to mass protests in 2011 a ‘brazen political action’

Former Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker spoke out after a county judge in Madison struck down major parts of a 2011 law geared toward public employee unions. 

Dane County Judge Jacob Frost ruled that the provisions of a law known as Act 10, which selectively exempt certain public workers from its restrictions on unionization and collective bargaining, are unconstitutional. The controversial law sought to close a budget deficit by limiting collective bargaining, thereby moderating public workers' benefits that Walker said at the time helped solve a fiscal situation he was required to address.

The original passage in 2011 led to weekslong protests inside the state Capitol, and even saw legislative Democrats flee to neighboring Illinois to prevent Republicans from reaching a quorum to vote on it. Walker later survived a 2012 recall election over the law's passage and rode his success into a decent showing in the 2016 presidential race, where he eventually bowed out of the primary that ultimately went to Donald Trump. 

On Tuesday, Walker, who currently leads the conservative-training nonprofit Young America's Foundation (YAF), said his law simply took power "out of the hands of the big union bosses and put it firmly into the hands of the hardworking taxpayers…"

"And what this court decision did as brazen political action was to throw that out and put power back in the hands of those union bosses," he said in an interview, calling collective bargaining not a right but an "expensive entitlement."

POMPEO CLAIMS TEACHERS' UNION BOSS IS AMONG THE ‘MOST DANGEROUS PEOPLE' IN US

Asked about Frost’s assertion that disparate treatment of collective bargaining rights of certain "public safety" workers and other public workers was unconstitutional, Walker said it was a "bogus political argument." 

Frost stripped more than 60 sections of the law from the books.

The law was upheld multiple times at the state and federal levels, Walker replied, adding a new issue is that of a potentially-growing "liberal activist majority" on the officially nonpartisan Wisconsin Supreme Court that may hear any appeal of the ruling.

Walker said that if appealed, the first place the case will land is in Waukesha court, which he predicted would overturn Frost. But a subsequent appeal by the left would bring it before the state’s high bench.

"It’s all the more reason why the Supreme Court race in Wisconsin this spring (2025) is more important than ever," he said.

Walker went on to discuss the roots of Act 10, and how it was his way of abiding by Wisconsin’s balanced-budget requirement. He noted the original name was the "Budget Repair Act" and that a prior Democratic administration instead chose to cut funding for municipalities, which instead resulted in layoffs.

Instead of risking job loss or Medicare cuts, Walker opted to require public workers to contribute more to their entitlements in return for keeping their pensions solvent.

WALKER SAYS WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS ARE MOTIVATED

In addition, Wisconsin Senate President Chris Kapenga echoed Walker’s claim that partisan politics played a role in the ruling:

"[I]t’s proof there is very little justice left in our justice system. Wisconsin's legislature should be discussing impeachment, as we are the only check on their power," said Kapenga, R-Oconomowoc.

"Believing Dane County judges and the liberal majority in our state Supreme Court are independent jurists is almost as far-fetched as believing the border is secure, inflation's not a problem, or [President Biden] won't pardon his son."

"The left keeps telling us, ‘Don't believe what you see’ — Wisconsinites see right through it," he said.

As for Walker’s current role as president of YAF, he said his organization is preparing for conservative leadership to return to Washington as he brought it to Madison in 2010.

Walker said he is thrilled by the prospect of seeing many YAF alumni in the new Trump administration, including Stephen Miller, a top aide to Trump and formerly ex-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Sergio Gor, a longtime aide to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was named Trump’s head of presidential personnel last month. Walker praised Gor's prior work leading YAF’s George Washington University chapter.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"Four years ago, younger voters sided with Biden by 25 points," Walker said. "This election, that shrunk right down to 5 or 6 points. And most interestingly, young men four years ago went with Biden by 15 points. In this election, they shifted to Trump by 14. What we need to do is lock that in."

‘Most damning evidence’: Hunter Biden’s full pardon resurfaces decade of controversies, ‘influence-peddling’

Hunter Biden’s pardon from President Biden on Sunday doesn’t only apply to his tax and gun charges but gives him sweeping immunity from prosecution dating back ten years to the time Biden served as Vice-President. 

Hunter Biden’s pardon applies to offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden "has committed or may have committed" from Jan. 1, 2014 to Dec. 1, 2024 which encapsulates several controversies surrounding the president’s son and his overseas business dealings. 

BURISMA

Hunter Biden earned millions of dollars serving on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma after joining the company as legal counsel in the spring of 2014 before being elevated to the Board of Directors later that year. 

Biden has claimed he "didn’t stand to gain anything" from the position, which he was appointed to without any experience in the industry, but Republicans have long alleged that Hunter and his father engaged in influence pedaling through Burisma. 

HUNTER BIDEN PARDON WILL UNDERMINE PARTY'S 'SELF-PROCLAIMED AUTHORITY' ON RULE OF LAW: DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST

The Bidens were accused by Republicans of having "coerced" Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired during the Obama administration. 

"Why 2014?" Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy wrote on FoxNews.com this week. "Well, the most damning evidence of the Biden family influence-peddling business occurred in the last years of Joe Biden’s term as vice president – specifically, 2014 through 2016. That, of course, is when the Burisma hijinks began. Indeed, Hunter’s board seat on the corrupt energy company’s board was so manifestly tied to his father’s political influence that, as soon as Biden left office in 2017, Burisma slashed Hunter’s compensation in half."

In addition to the more than $50,000 a month then-Vice President Joe Biden’s son received while serving on Burisma’s board from April 2014 to April 2019, he was also apparently receiving lavish gifts from the company’s founder, according to emails from Hunter’s abandoned laptop that have been verified by Fox News Digital.

CHINA BUSINESS DEALINGS

The pardon from President Biden also encapsulates the timeline of Hunter Biden's controversial business dealings in China which Republicans have suggested also embodies part of the alleged influence pedaling scheme that was part of the failed effort to impeach President Biden. 

HUNTER BIDEN'S CONFIDENT DEMEANOR IN UNEARTHED VIDEO RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT DAD'S PARDON PLANS

The Biden family netted several million dollars from business dealings in China which began in the 2014-2016 years as part of Hunter Biden's relationship with two Chinese companies, Bohai Harvest RST investment enterprise and CEFC.

The House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital earlier this year that it can "now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son, including Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, Romanian oligarch Kenes Rakishev, Burisma’s corporate secretary Vadym Pozharsky, Jonathan Li of BHR, and CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming."

Biden attended dinners at Washington D.C. restaurant Cafe Milano in Georgtown with Baturina, Rakishev and Pozharsky in 2014 and 2015. Biden also met with Li of BHR in China in 2013. Biden met with Ye at the meeting in 2017, according to testimony from Hunter Biden's ex-business partners Rob Walker and Devon Archer. 

The Biden's connections with Chinese companies continued into 2017.

Joe Biden, on May 3, 2017, spoke at the conference, hosting "A Conversation with the 47th Vice President of the United States Joe Biden." 

Just days after the May 2, 2017, meeting, the now-infamous May 13, 2017, email, which included a discussion of "remuneration packages" for six people in a business deal with a Chinese energy firm. The email appeared to identify Biden as "Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC," in a reference to now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co.

WHO ELSE MIGHT BIDEN PARDON AFTER HE SPARED HUNTER FROM SENTENCING?

The email includes a note that "Hunter has some office expectations he will elaborate." A proposed equity split references "20" for "H" and "10 held by H for the big guy?" with no further details.

Tony Bobulinski, who worked with Hunter Biden to create the joint-venture SinoHawk Holdings with Chinese energy company CEFC, and said he met with Joe Biden in 2017, provided "unshakeable" testimony behind closed doors at the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees earlier this year and claimed that President Biden was the "big guy" referenced in the messages. 

Additionally, Hunter Biden demanded $10 million from a Chinese business associate to "further the interest" of his joint-venture with CEFC in 2017, saying that the "Bidens are the best I know at doing exactly" what the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party-linked firm wanted, according to a WhatsApp message House Oversight Committee.

FARA

Hunter Biden's overseas ties have also sparked speculation that he violated public disclose laws under the Foreign Agents Registration Act by not registering as a foreign agent. 

The Justice Department indirectly revealed that Hunter Biden was still under investigation for a potential violation of FARA during his first court appearance in July of last year, in which his "sweetheart" plea deal collapsed.

When asked by federal Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware whether the government could bring a charge against Hunter Biden related to FARA, the DOJ prosecutor replied, "Yes."

"Look for Jim Biden to be pardoned next," author Peter Schweizer posted on X this week. "Remember: the family was still under investigation under FARA as the pardon comes down. Might have implicated Joe."

ROMANIA

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has scrutinized the Biden family's alleged business dealings in Romania dating back to 2015. 

"On September 28, 2015, Vice President Biden welcomed Romanian President Klaus Iohannis to the White House," the House Oversight Committee's website state's. 

"Within five weeks of this meeting, a Romanian businessman involved with a high-profile corruption prosecution in Romania, Gabriel Popoviciu, began depositing a Biden associate’s bank account, which ultimately made their way into Biden family accounts. Popoviciu made sixteen of the seventeen payments, totaling over $3 million, to the Biden associate account while Joe Biden was Vice President.  Biden family accounts ultimately received approximately $1.038 million."

Fox News Digital reported last year that President Biden’s ambassador to the European Union offered advice to Hunter Biden in 2016 on a Romanian "client" who was on trial for corruption at the time.

OTHER OVERSEAS BUSINESS DEALINGS

Republicans in Congress have taken issue with Hunter Biden's business presence in other countries including Kazakhstan and Russia. 

In 2014, according to the House Oversight Committee, a Kazakhstani oligarch "used his Singaporean entity, Novatus Holdings, to wire one of Hunter Biden’s Rosemont Seneca entities $142,300. The very next day—April 23, 2014—the Rosemont Seneca entity transferred the exact same amount of money to a car dealership for a car for Hunter Biden."

Also in 2014, the committee has alleged that the Biden family and its associates received $3.5 million from Russia in payments from Baturina, Russia's richest woman. 

TAX AND GUN CHARGES

President Biden's pardon of his son means that he will not face punishment after being convicted earlier this year of making a false statement in the purchase of a gun, making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federally licensed gun dealer, and possession of a gun by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

In his tax case, Hunter faced another trial regarding three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanor tax offenses regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. As jury selection was about to kick off in Los Angeles federal court in September, Hunter entered a surprise guilty plea. 

"Setting aside the fact that President Biden repeatedly stated he would not pardon his son, what I find most troubling is the sweeping nature of this pardon," Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski posted on X. 

"Not only is Hunter Biden receiving clemency for multiple felony offenses—for crimes of which he was convicted and pleaded guilty to—he is also being granted immunity from any crimes he ‘has committed or may have committed’ over a more than ten-year period. This decision makes a mockery of our justice system. Everyone must be held accountable for their actions under the law."

Both President Biden and Hunter Biden have long denied any allegations of impropriety or allegations of influence peddaling and in his statement pardoning Hunter, President Biden argued that his son was only prosecuted because of his last name.

"Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter," Biden wrote in a statement. "From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."

The president went on to claim that his son was "treated differently" by prosecutors.

"Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form," Biden added. "Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently."

Biden also referenced his son's battle with addiction and blamed "raw politics" for the unraveling of Hunter's plea deal.

"There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution," the 82-year-old father wrote. "In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough."

Fox News Digital's Brooke Singman, Jessica Chasmar, and Emma Colton contributed to this report

Fox News Politics: Defining DOGE

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

Here's what's happening…

-Nevada Dems say 'working-class' states need to be prioritized in 2028 primary schedule

-Biden aides consider preemptive pardons for Fauci, Schiff and Cheney

-Republicans slam Biden migrant parole program: ‘Rife with fraud’

Many Americans don't trust the federal government, and Elon Musk — an eccentric billionaire business tycoon tasked by President-elect Donald Trump with helping slay the unwieldly bureaucratic leviathan — thinks that's just the right attitude.

"I think we should not trust the government," Musk has previously declared.

Apparently, people are way ahead of him. 

"As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right "just about always" (2%) or "most of the time" (21%)," Pew Research Center noted earlier this year…Read more

'DARK MARK': Hunter Biden pardon will be 'dark mark' on Biden legacy: historian…Read more

'BRACE FOR IMPACT': Boston City Council doubles down on obstructing deportations ahead of Trump inauguration…Read more

TRUMP HEARING: Trump assassination attempt hearing devolves into screaming match…Read more

MORE POLICE SUPPORT TO COME: Massive police org calls on Trump, Rand Paul to swiftly confirm Noem to DHS…Read more

DEMS 'SELLING AMERICAN PEOPLE A LIE': Selling Americans a 'lie': How election integrity attorneys battled left-wing efforts to upend voting laws…Read more

WELCOME TO THE HILL: You've been elected to Congress. Now what? Freshman Republican reveals what it's like to enter office…Read more

'PENDULUM IS SWINGING': 'The pendulum is swinging': Experts weigh in on historic SCOTUS transgender case amid oral arguments…Read more

SHAKING UP THE HOUSE: Dem Rep. Nadler steps down from top spot on Judiciary Committee, endorses Raskin…Read more

'UNDO THE DAMAGE DONE': Firebrand GOP lawmaker demands Mayorkas preserve border crisis records for Trump admin…Read more

'FAILED': Pro-Trump impeachment Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy targeted for ouster of Freedom Caucus founding member…Read more

SLIM MARGIN: Former Dem congressman who lost by 109 votes in 2020 confirmed to lifetime judicial seat…Read more

'MINI ANTIFA WARRIORS': Former Obama officials who now run popular podcast selling ANTIFA gear for kids: "ANTIFA baby onesie"…Read more

'YOU'RE WELCOME!!!': Trump congratulates bitcoiners — El Salvador's Nayib Bukele takes victory lap with bitcoin over 100K…Read more

‘HIGHLY CONCERNING ISSUE’: Arizona Republican lawmakers ask for investigation into county recorder's handling of 2024 election…Read more

‘DISTUBRING & DISGUSTING’: Sexual misconduct at Veterans Affairs facility is ‘disturbing and disgusting,’ House committee chairman says…Read more

'MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE': Soros DA ripped by police for 'war' on cops after officer sentenced to prison…Read more

ALLEGED STONEWALLING?: Iowa sues Biden administration to verify status of 2,000 registered voters who may be noncitizens…Read more

Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Fox News Politics: Defining DOGE

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

Here's what's happening…

-Nevada Dems say 'working-class' states need to be prioritized in 2028 primary schedule

-Biden aides consider preemptive pardons for Fauci, Schiff and Cheney

-Republicans slam Biden migrant parole program: ‘Rife with fraud’

Many Americans don't trust the federal government, and Elon Musk — an eccentric billionaire business tycoon tasked by President-elect Donald Trump with helping slay the unwieldly bureaucratic leviathan — thinks that's just the right attitude.

"I think we should not trust the government," Musk has previously declared.

Apparently, people are way ahead of him. 

"As of April 2024, 22% of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right "just about always" (2%) or "most of the time" (21%)," Pew Research Center noted earlier this year…Read more

'DARK MARK': Hunter Biden pardon will be 'dark mark' on Biden legacy: historian…Read more

'BRACE FOR IMPACT': Boston City Council doubles down on obstructing deportations ahead of Trump inauguration…Read more

TRUMP HEARING: Trump assassination attempt hearing devolves into screaming match…Read more

MORE POLICE SUPPORT TO COME: Massive police org calls on Trump, Rand Paul to swiftly confirm Noem to DHS…Read more

DEMS 'SELLING AMERICAN PEOPLE A LIE': Selling Americans a 'lie': How election integrity attorneys battled left-wing efforts to upend voting laws…Read more

WELCOME TO THE HILL: You've been elected to Congress. Now what? Freshman Republican reveals what it's like to enter office…Read more

'PENDULUM IS SWINGING': 'The pendulum is swinging': Experts weigh in on historic SCOTUS transgender case amid oral arguments…Read more

SHAKING UP THE HOUSE: Dem Rep. Nadler steps down from top spot on Judiciary Committee, endorses Raskin…Read more

'UNDO THE DAMAGE DONE': Firebrand GOP lawmaker demands Mayorkas preserve border crisis records for Trump admin…Read more

'FAILED': Pro-Trump impeachment Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy targeted for ouster of Freedom Caucus founding member…Read more

SLIM MARGIN: Former Dem congressman who lost by 109 votes in 2020 confirmed to lifetime judicial seat…Read more

'MINI ANTIFA WARRIORS': Former Obama officials who now run popular podcast selling ANTIFA gear for kids: "ANTIFA baby onesie"…Read more

'YOU'RE WELCOME!!!': Trump congratulates bitcoiners — El Salvador's Nayib Bukele takes victory lap with bitcoin over 100K…Read more

‘HIGHLY CONCERNING ISSUE’: Arizona Republican lawmakers ask for investigation into county recorder's handling of 2024 election…Read more

‘DISTUBRING & DISGUSTING’: Sexual misconduct at Veterans Affairs facility is ‘disturbing and disgusting,’ House committee chairman says…Read more

'MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE': Soros DA ripped by police for 'war' on cops after officer sentenced to prison…Read more

ALLEGED STONEWALLING?: Iowa sues Biden administration to verify status of 2,000 registered voters who may be noncitizens…Read more

Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Firebrand GOP lawmaker demands Mayorkas preserve border crisis records for Trump admin: ‘Undo the damage done’

FIRST ON FOX: A firebrand Republican lawmaker in Congress is demanding that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas preserve all information related to the border crisis that took place over the last four years as part of an ongoing records request.

"During your tenure as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, we have seen recordbreaking illegal alien encounters at our borders, millions of aliens released into the interior, scores of criminals and other bad actors infiltrating our communities, endangering Americans and aliens alike, and much more. It is imperative DHS preserve any and all information related to the border crisis and mass influx of aliens into the interior so the incoming Trump administration can deliver on its mandate to undo the damage done," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said in a letter to Mayorkas, obtained first by Fox News Digital.

Republicans have consistently complained that DHS has not been responsive to requests for information, a claim that DHS has denied – pointing to a slew of briefings, responses and hearing appearances that officials have given.

DEM SENATOR URGES BIDEN TO EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN: ‘NOBODY IS SAFE’

Roy says his office and others have received "at best – delayed and insufficient responses or – at worst – no response from your office at all."

"As such, I request that you take all reasonable steps to prevent the destruction of all documents, communications, and other information, including electronic information, that are or may be responsive to this congressional inquiry, including memoranda, numerical data, reports, letters, and subpoenas received by Congress surrounding border security and immigration policies of the Biden-Harris Administration from January 20, 2021, to the present," he writes.

The letter comes as a political sea change on how to handle border security and illegal immigration is about to hit Washington, D.C. While the Biden administration has taken a number of hawkish moves at the border in recent months, including a presidential proclamation in June that drastically limited asylum, the incoming Trump administration and Republican Congress are eyeing significant overhauls to how immigration and border security are handled.

Given the historic crisis at the border, which started in early 2021 and continued deep into 2024, Republicans have hammered the administration on the border crisis, with Roy being a key member in the impeachment of Mayorkas earlier this year – although that impeachment was not taken up by the Senate.

While the Trump administration will likely bring in sweeping changes at the border, Roy’s letter indicates there will be continued interest in how the Biden administration handled the crisis.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Roy’s letter requests that DHS preserves information, including the number of migrants released with court dates, their countries of origins, last known whereabouts, and similar information for those released into the U.S. under humanitarian parole and those allowed to stay under programs like Temporary Protected Status.

It also seeks information on how the controversial CBP One app – which allows for migrants to schedule appointments to be paroled into the U.S. – was being used. Information requested also includes those who are no longer able to be contacted, those released with criminal charges or convictions, those with gang affiliations, and those given protection under Temporary Protected Status.

Roy also wanted to see the number of visa overstays, those admitted with visas who are suspected of fraud, and the number of countries that are "recalcitrant" and who are not taking back illegal immigrants. He also wants to know the number of Chinese nationals released into the U.S. with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, the names of organizations that have received DHS grants for caring for migrants and the number of worksite enforcement investigations conducted by ICE.

The letter is the latest sign that immigration, which was a political hot topic in 2024, will likely remain a top item for Congress as well as the administration in 2025. President-elect Trump has already appointed former ICE Director Thomas Homan as his border czar, and has nominated South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be Mayorkas’ successor at DHS. Republicans are expected to push for additional legislation to aid in that operation. That push could take the form of HR 2, the Republican border bill that passed in the House in 2023, but has not been taken up by the Senate.

Pro-Trump impeachment Republican Sen Bill Cassidy targeted for ouster Freedom Caucus founding member

Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming announced a bid to unseat Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican who voted to convict following the House impeachment vote against former President Donald Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.

Fleming, a former U.S. congressman, was one of the founders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, according to a press release about his Senate bid.

"Senator Cassidy has failed the people of Louisiana," Fleming said, according to the press release. 

"I will fight to bring real, conservative solutions to the U.S. Senate, I will not cut-and-run on these conservative principles, and I will stand and work with President Trump like I have many times before," he declared.

Fox News Digital attempted to request comment from the senator.

LOUISIANA LAWMAKERS WEIGHING CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD SEND MORE JUVENILE OFFENDERS TO ADULT JAILS

Fleming held posts in Trump's prior administration.

"I cannot fully express the deep sense of pride I have, having served President Trump in the West Wing of the White House as he was literally fighting for his political life against those who were attacking him and turning their backs on him," Fleming noted, "but the opportunity to stand with him for the principles of America First is why I seek to serve the citizens of Louisiana in the United States Senate."

Trump endorsed Cassidy for re-election in 2020, before the lawmaker became one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict after the House impeachment vote against Trump in early 2021.

That Senate vote took place after Trump had already departed from office, and the number of senators who voted to convict failed to reach the threshold necessary for a conviction.

CASSIDY INTRODUCES BILL TO STOP FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS FROM GOING TO HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Trump lambasted Sen. Cassidy in posts on Truth Social earlier this year.

"One of the worst Senators in the United States Senate is, without question, Bill Cassidy, A TOTAL FLAKE, Republican though he may be," Trump declared on April 1.

"Bill Cassidy is now shunned in his own State as a disloyal lightweight, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch," Trump declared in another post.

FEDERAL COURTS ARE DECLARING WAR ON AMERICAN OIL WORKERS: SEN. BILL CASSIDY

Cassidy's current U.S. Senate term ends in early 2027.

Fleming previously ran unsuccessfully for Senate in 2016.

GOP congressman runs to Newsmax with threats after Hunter Biden pardon

As the pearl-clutching continues over President Joe Biden’s Sunday pardon of his son Hunter, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said on Monday that he hopes to work with Donald Trump’s incoming Department of Justice to initiate new investigations into the Biden family and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Appearing on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Comer was asked how Biden’s decision to pardon his son would affect his future plans.

“I look forward to talking to Attorney General Bondi about this,” the Kentucky Republican said, referencing Trump attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, who still has to be confirmed by the Senate.

Without evidence, Comer went on to allege that the Biden White House is continuing to obstruct investigations into the Biden family. Comer accused Biden, as he has multiple times over the years, of engaging in a “money laundering scheme” with “the money from our adversaries from around the world.”

Since Republicans took control of the House after the 2022 midterm elections, Comer has focused much of the Oversight Committee’s time and resources on investigating Biden and his family. That effort even involved committee member Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene displaying photos of Hunter Biden’s genitals during a committee hearing.

Before he was ousted in October 2023, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy signed off on an impeachment inquiry into the president. But ultimately, the Comer-led effort sputtered and failed in August, with no articles of impeachment filed despite years of innuendo and threatening rhetoric.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee noted in a fact sheet that despite the rhetoric about obstruction from Comer and other Republicans, the committee had received over 14,000 pages of bank records pertaining to the Biden family.

“Not a single transaction shows any wrongdoing by the President,” Democrats noted.

At the same time, reporting alongside the Comer probe showed that Comer himself engaged in ethically dubious financial transactions that echoed his accusations against the Bidens.

RELATED STORY: GOP congressman caught again doing same thing he accuses Biden of

And yet, Comer told Newsmax host Rob Schmitt that Sunday’s pardon of Hunter Biden was “the biggest public corruption scandal ever.”

Despite the chairman’s complaints about Biden’s son, Republicans were not as disturbed by Trump appointing his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner to senior government roles–even when they couldn’t pass a standard security clearance.

The party also turned a blind eye to the massive influx of foreign dollars that was spent at Trump’s hotels and other properties while he was empowered to make decisions affecting those governments as president.

According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), more than $13.6 million found its way into Trump’s hands just via this pathway.

But Comer isn’t calling on Bondi and Trump’s Department of Justice to address those concerns. Not yet, anyway—if ever.

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