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California judge who blocked Trump National Guard order hit with impeachment resolution

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican lawmaker is filing impeachment articles against a judge who temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s control of the National Guard in California during this month’s riots in Los Angeles.

Rep. Randy Fine, R-La., is filing a resolution to remove U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer from the bench on Friday.

He told Fox News Digital that he felt the judge’s decision was "political."

"The goal is to get judges to do their jobs. If we’re not going to try to hold accountable the ones that aren’t, then they have no incentive to stop," Fine said. 

JD VANCE RAILS AGAINST NEWSOM, LA MAYOR FOR DECLARING 'OPEN SEASON ON FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT'

It comes as Republicans continue to push back on Democratic officials trying to block Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration throughout the country. 

The days-long riots in Los Angeles were spurred by ICE raids in Hispanic and Latino neighborhoods, leading to activists clashing with law enforcement and burning cars as a sign of resistance.

Trump, accusing California’s progressive officials of not doing enough to stop the situation, bypassed Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom to order the National Guard into Los Angeles to restore order.

Critics of the move said it needlessly escalated an already tense situation, and accused Trump and his allies of exaggerating the violence.

Breyer issued a temporary order blocking Trump’s deployment of federal troops earlier this month, however, in response to a lawsuit brought by California.

"At this early stage of the proceedings, the Court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not," the court opinion said.

"His actions were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith."

Breyer’s ruling was quashed last week when a three-judge panel on the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it was within Trump’s authority to federalize the California National Guard.

Breyer is just the latest judge to be brought under House GOP scrutiny after several Trump executive actions got held up in court.

TRUMP SCORES MAJOR WIN AGAINST NEWSOM IN BATTLE FOR NATIONAL GUARD CONTROL

Trump allies have called for the impeachment of multiple judges, though House GOP leadership has made clear there’s little appetite to follow through on such moves – particularly when removal by the Senate is unlikely.

Fine acknowledged the long odds but insisted the resolution was a potent messaging tool.

"I think it’s worth doing. I don’t know that we can pass it, I don’t know that the Senate would remove him from office, but I think failing to avail ourselves of the remedies that the framers intended was a mistake," Fine said.

Ex-Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy pleads for civil political discourse, warns ‘democracy is at risk’

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Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy warned Thursday that the tone of political discourse and threats to judges are undermining the ability of the U.S. to serve as an example of freedom and democracy around the world.

Kennedy, a Reagan appointee who retired in 2018 during President Donald Trump's first term, was speaking during a virtual forum about threats to the rule of law, as he defended the role of judges in a democracy and advocated for the need to protect them and their families from threats.

"Many in the rest of the world look to the United States to see what democracy is, to see what democracy ought to be," Kennedy said during the "Speak Up for Justice" event, one day before the current Supreme Court justices are set to deliver their final rulings of the current term.

"If they see a hostile, fractious discourse, if they see a discourse that uses identity politics rather than to talk about issues, democracy is at risk. Freedom is at risk," he continued.

BOOKER, CRUZ SPAR OVER THREATS TO US JUDGES IN FIERY SENATE EXCHANGE

Kennedy did not mention Trump, even as other participants expressed concern about the barrage of threats and attacks against judges for blocking key parts of the president's political agenda during his second term, including his immigration policies, firings of federal workers and his implementation of broad-based tariffs.

But Kennedy's remarks appeared to be sparked, at least in part, by the Trump administration's repeated attacks against judges who have ruled against him, including some whom he appointed during his first term.

In March, Trump criticized U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg as a "radical left lunatic" and called for his impeachment after he attempted to block the administration from removing alleged Venezuelan gang members from the U.S. under the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime presidential power Trump invoked.

Last month, Trump attacked "USA-hating" judges as "monsters who want our country to go to hell."

Trump's rhetoric has come alongside an uptick in threats against judges, according to POLITICO, although spokespeople for the administration have said the president is against any threats and that they would face prosecution from the Justice Department.

Kennedy said "judges must have protection for themselves and their families" and that "judges are best protected when the public and our nation realize how central they are to our discourse." 

"We should be concerned in this country about, as I've already indicated, the tone of our political discourse," he said. "Identity politics are used so that a person is characterized by his or her partisan affiliation. That's not what democracy and civil discourse is about."

Other participants at the forum, which featured judges from the U.S. and other countries who warned about how attacks on courts can threaten democracies, also took aim at Trump's statement denouncing the courts.

Without mentioning Trump by name, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed by a disgruntled lawyer who went to her New Jersey home in 2020, said disinformation about judges was spreading "from the top down," with jurists attacked as "rogue" and "corrupt."

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENSE OF COURTS AS SCOTUS GEARS UP TO HEAR KEY TRUMP CASES

"Judges are rogue. Sound familiar? Judges are corrupt. Sound familiar? Judges are monsters. … Judges hate America," Salas said. "We are seeing the spreading of disinformation coming from the top down."

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Salas warned that the number of threats recorded against judges this year was reaching historic heights in the U.S., noting that the U.S. Marshals Service has tracked more than 400 threats against judges since January, when Trump was inaugurated.

"We're going to break records, people, and not in a good way," she said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

GOP assemblyman calls out AOC’s suburban roots with yearbook proof after Trump spat

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A New York state lawmaker called out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over her upbringing after she referred to herself as a tough "Bronx girl" during an internet spat in which she traded jabs with President Donald Trump. 

State Assemblyman Matt Slater, a Republican, called out the progressive firebrand, who represents portions of the Bronx and Queens, and shared an image of her during her freshman year in suburban Yorktown High School, almost an hour north of the Bronx. 

"If you’re a BX girl then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook? Give it up already," Slater tweeted.

'I'M JUST A SILLY GIRL': AOC FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP CALLS HER 'STUPID'

Slater's move came after Ocasio-Cortez got into a social media spat with Trump after she called for his impeachment for ordering strikes over the weekend that targeted Iranian nuclear sites. 

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump criticized the congresswoman, calling her "stupid" and "one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress."

"When we examine her Test Scores, we will find out that she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed Country that she comes from doesn’t have a Government, is drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the World, if it’s even rated at all," Trump added.

In response, Ocasio-Cortez, who graduated from Yorktown High School in 2007, posted a series of posts on X criticizing Trump.

AOC’S CONSTITUENTS WEIGH IN ON PRESIDENTIAL RUN, RECALL HER STUNNING 2018 POLITICAL UPSET

"Also, I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to Trump's Queens roots and upbringing.

Slater, who also attended Yorktown High School, called out Ocasio-Cortez with his yearbook, showing an image of her.

"If you’re a BX girl then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook? Give it up already," he wrote on X. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Slater and Ocasio-Cortez. 

Ocasio-Cortez often touts her Bronx roots despite living a good chunk of her life further north. She lived in the Parkchester planned community in the Bronx until she was 5 before moving to Yorktown Heights, a suburb in Westchester County, for better schools, the New York Times previously reported.

"It is nice. Growing up, it was a good town for working people," she said in reference to Yorktown in a 2018 tweet questioning her Bronx upbringing. "My mom scrubbed toilets so I could live here & I grew up seeing how the zip code one is born in determines much of their opportunity."

Trump slams Bibi over ceasefire violations, denounces cable channels over skepticism

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It was a manic-depressive episode that unfolded in just half a day.

President Trump was in a celebratory mood late Monday when he announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire within 24 hours–a development that, let’s face it, few thought was possible.

"CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!" he posted. 

This, he proclaimed, would mark "an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR" and "will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL."

He even closed with this: "God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!"

TRUMP’S BIG ACHIEVEMENT IN BOMBING IRAN, STILL SLAMMED BY CRITICS – AS HE SUGGESTS ‘REGIME CHANGE’

Well, that was then. By early yesterday morning, Trump was furious. There were violations of the shaky ceasefire by both sides, with an Iranian missile killing at least four Israelis in an apartment building. But Trump was particularly angry with the bigger barrage by Israel, as if he had been betrayed, demanding that Bibi Netanyahu and his leaders "cool down."

Trump dropped an F-bomb on both countries, saying they "don’t know what the f--- they’re doing." 

They had spoiled his scenario. An achievement that would have put him on the path for a Nobel Prize, given the hostile relations between the terror state and the Jewish state, which has fought several wars against Iranian proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, since its founding in 1948. Unless the Norwegian academy is too liberal to ever bestow such an honor on a Trump. (A GOP congressman has just nominated him.)

If you’re feeling a little whiplash, you’re not alone. After all, it was just a few days ago that Trump said he’d decide "within two weeks" whether to launch an attack on Iran. That and other deceptions made it seem like nothing was imminent. 

Then there was the strange detour about "regime change" – why not call it that? – and saying the administration knew where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding.  

TRUMP HINTS AT REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN WHILE DECLARING 'MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN' AFTER US STRIKES

But that went against the company line that we were only at war with Iran’s nuclear program, pushed by JD Vance and others.

That in turn was superseded by Trump announcing he had secured a ceasefire with Israel and Iran – which was news to the vice president as he sat down with Fox’s Bret Baier.

The undeniable success of the mission has muted the criticism of many Democrats and liberals, who are constitutionally incapable of praising Trump while accusing him of violating the Constitution. (The issue of congressional consultation is legit, but we can’t have 535 commanders-in-chief – and Joe Biden and Barack Obama took similar unilateral actions.)

AOC, as a leading example, has called for Trump’s impeachment – and the president has unloaded on her. The posting: 

"Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before. The reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration. The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again. When we examine her Test Scores, we will find out that she is NOT qualified for office."

Test scores? Not qualified? Ocasio-Cortez graduated from Boston University, where she double-majored in international relations and economics. And since when is there an educational standard for the presidency?

There’s more: "What a disaster it was! AOC should be forced to take the Cognitive Test that I just completed at Walter Reed Medical Center…

"Alexandria should go back home to Queens, where I was also brought up, and straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore."

AOC responded on X: "Mr. President, don’t take your anger out on me – I’m just a silly girl…

"Take it out on whoever convinced you to betray the American people and our Constitution by illegally bombing Iran and dragging us into war. It only took you 5 months to break almost every promise you made."

'I'M JUST A SILLY GIRL': AOC FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP CALLS HER 'STUPID'

This is all symbolic, as Ocasio-Cortez well knows, but plays well with her left-wing base. Yesterday, in fact, the House voted to table an impeachment resolution, with 128 Democrats – more than half – joining all Republicans in deep-sixing it.

In the end, POTUS appeared to get the ceasefire back on track. Trump called Netanyahu and said that "our U.S. military did what we needed to do," a senior White House official told the Washington Post. "I wouldn’t say the prime minister enthusiastically agreed, but he understood that President Trump is no longer going to be militarily involved in this conflict."

Bibi soon announced that he would respect the ceasefire as long as the other side does, and Iran’s president made similar comments. 

Trump, before flying off to the NATO summit at The Hague, turned his anger on the press.

He said of the underground nuclear enrichment site called Fordow: "I think it’s been completely demolished. I think the reason we’re here is because those pilots, those B-2 pilots, did an unbelievable job.

"And, you know, the fake news, like CNN in particular, they’re trying to say, ‘Well, I agree that it was destroyed, but maybe not that destroyed.’

"You know what they’re doing? They’re really hurting great pilots that put their lives on the line! CNN is SCUM! And so is MSDNC.

"And frankly, the networks aren’t much better. It’s all fake news, but they should not have done that.

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"Those pilots hit their targets. Those targets were obliterated, and the pilots should be given credit. They’re not after the pilots. They’re after me. They want to try and demean me."

He also dragged in Brian Roberts, head of MSNBC’s parent company, which Trump called "Con"cast.

But his demand that the two networks apologize to the pilots doesn’t hold water. They were brave regardless of the impact of their 30,000-pound payloads. All CNN and MSNBC did was air stories questioning the level of damage, particularly at Fordow.

Trump’s contention was further undermined by this New York Times exclusive:

"A preliminary classified U.S. report says the American bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites sealed off the entrances to two of the facilities but did not collapse their underground buildings, according to officials familiar with the findings.

"The early findings conclude that the strikes over the weekend set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months, the officials said.

That, my friends, is the fog of war.

‘I’m just a silly girl’: AOC fires back after Trump calls her ‘stupid’

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Progressive New York Democrat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, fired back at President Donald Trump’s Truth Social rampage on Tuesday after the two traded barbs following Saturday night's U.S. strikes on Iran. 

"Mr. President, don’t take your anger out on me - I’m just a silly girl," Ocasio-Cortez responded Tuesday after the president dubbed her "Stupid AOC." 

"Take it out on whoever convinced you to betray the American people and our Constitution by illegally bombing Iran and dragging us into war," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez emerged as one of Trump's fiercest congressional critics after the U.S. attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran on Saturday night. While Democrats raged against Trump, calling his actions unconstitutional, Ocasio-Cortez went as far as to call for his impeachment. 

TRUMP DARES AOC TO TRY TO IMPEACH HIM: 'MAKE MY DAY'

"It only took you 5 months to break almost every promise you made," the 35-year-old Democratic socialist, who is considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, said Tuesday, before adding, "Also, I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully."

She was responding to a lengthy post from the president in which he referred to her as "Stupid AOC" and "one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress."

128 DEMOCRATS JOIN HOUSE GOP TO BLOCK PROGRESSIVE'S BID TO IMPEACH TRUMP

Trump criticized Ocasio-Cortez for "now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before."

During Trump's first term, he was impeached twice. First, in 2019, Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over allegations that he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to interfere in U.S. elections. Following the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection.

The Senate acquitted Trump in both instances. 

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas., who advocated for Trump's impeachment during his first term and was censured for disrupting Trump's joint address to Congress earlier this year, introduced articles of impeachment against Trump last month for "devolving democracy within the United States into authoritarianism."

Green once again introduced articles of impeachment against Trump after the U.S. strikes against Iran, which he said violates Article I of the U.S. Constitution, saying only Congress has the authority to declare war. 

The House voted to dismiss Green's resolution Tuesday afternoon in a 344–79 vote, including support from 128 Democrats.

"It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment," Ocasio-Cortez said Saturday night, responding to Trump's announcement that the U.S. had successfully struck Iran's nuclear facilities. Several Democrats joined Ocasio-Cortez's call for impeachment, but Trump focused his criticism on fellow progressive "Squad" members in his lengthy Tuesday post. 

After insulting Ocasio-Cortez's intelligence, Trump said she is "far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country."

He also said, "AOC should be forced to take the Cognitive Test that I just completed at Walter Reed Medical Center, as part of my Physical."

And Trump dared Ocasio-Cortez, "Go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!" after telling her to go back home to her district in Queens, where Trump was raised, and "straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime-ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore. She better start worrying about her own Primary."

In her social media rebuttal, the New York Democrat also fired back at Vice President JD Vance, who said on X, "I wonder if other VPs had as much excitement as I do."

"Maybe that’s because you advised the president to illegally bomb Iran," Ocasio-Cortez replied. 

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

128 Democrats join House GOP to block progressive’s bid to impeach Trump

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The House of Representatives voted along bipartisan lines to quash a lone progressive lawmaker's bid to impeach President Donald Trump Tuesday afternoon.

Lawmakers agreed to table the measure in a 344–79 vote. A vote to table is a procedural mechanism allowing House members to vote against consideration of a bill without having to vote on the bill itself.

The resolution was offered by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who was infamously ejected from Trump's address to a joint session of Congress earlier this year for repeatedly interrupting the president.

A majority of House Democrats joined Republican lawmakers to kill Green's resolution, a sign of how politically caustic the effort appears to be. Just 79 Democrats voted to proceed with the impeachment vote, while 128 voted to halt it in its tracks.

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Liberals who joined Republicans include all three members of House Democratic leadership – House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, R-N.Y., House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., voted to table the measure.

Green, who has threatened to impeach Trump before, said his latest bid is aimed at the president's strikes on Iran from over the weekend.

"I did not come to Congress to be a bystander while a president abuses power and devolves American democracy into authoritarianism with himself as an authoritarian president," Green said in a statement Tuesday morning.

"President Trump’s unauthorized bombing of Iran constitutes a de facto declaration of war. No president has the right to drag this nation into war without the authorization of the people’s representatives."

Other progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called for Trump's impeachment over the strikes in Iran.

Trump mocked those progressives in a lengthy Truth Social post Tuesday, taunting them to "make my day."

"She better start worrying about her own Primary, before she thinks about beating our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, whose career is definitely on very thin ice!" Trump wrote. "She and her Democrat friends have just hit the Lowest Poll Numbers in Congressional History, so go ahead and try Impeaching me," he posted.

The push has put House Democratic leaders in a difficult spot as well. Jeffries sidestepped questions on progressives calling to oust Trump during a press conference Monday.

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"A tool that's on the table right now is to continue to demand that the administration present itself before the United States Congress and make the case to the American people as to why this extraordinary step has been taken. That's step one," Jeffries said.

"Step two is for the War Powers Resolution, whether that's the one that has already been introduced or others that may subsequently be introduced, for those resolutions to be debated on the House floor, as should have occurred already. And then we'll see where we're at thereafter."

Pressed again on whether he was taking calls for Trump's impeachment seriously, Jeffries said, "This is a dangerous moment that we're in, and we've got to get through what's in front of us. And what's in front of us right now is the Trump administration has a responsibility to come to Congress, justify actions for which we've seen no evidence to justify its offensive strength in Iran."

Trump dares AOC to try to impeach him: ‘Make my day’

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President Donald Trump dared progressive "Squad" member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to try and impeach him over the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, after she had suggested such a measure.

"Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before," Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

Trump said the "reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration." 

"The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again," he wrote. 

AOC, OTHER ANGRY DEMOCRATS, CALL FOR TRUMP IMPEACHMENT OVER ATTACK ON IRAN

Trump said Ocasio-Cortez's "test scores" will show that "she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed Country that she comes from doesn’t have a Government, is drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the World, if it’s even rated at all. "

The president was referring to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Texas Democrat who called Trump "the mo-fo" who is "occupying the White House" during a 21-minute social media video rant about the U.S. strikes in Iran. He was also referring to another progressive, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who recently claimed Trump is turning the United States into one of the "worst countries" in the world. The congresswoman originally came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia.  

"How dare ‘The Mouse’ tell us how to run the United States of America!" Trump wrote. "We’re just now coming back from that Radical Left experiment with Sleepy Joe, Kamala, and ‘THE AUTOPEN,’ in charge. What a disaster it was!" 

Trump said Ocasio-Cortez should be forced to take the same cognitive test that he completed at Walter Reed Medical Center as part of his annual physical. 

ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES

DEMOCRATIC SEN. FETTERMAN SHUTS DOWN AOC'S CALL FOR TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT AFTER IRAN STRIKES

"As the Doctor in charge said, ‘President Trump ACED it,’ meaning, I got every answer right," Trump wrote. "Instead of her constant complaining, Alexandria should go back home to Queens, where I was also brought up, and straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore." 

Trump addressed how Ocasio-Cortez is reportedly weighing a primary run against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in 2028. Ocasio-Cortez won re-election in November and next defends her House seat in the 2026 midterms. The congresswoman has come under fire for perceived inaction against a notorious "Red Light" prostitution strip and illegal street vendors plaguing her migrant-heavy district in New York City.

"She better start worrying about her own Primary, before she thinks about beating our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, whose career is definitely on very thin ice!" Trump wrote. "She and her Democrat friends have just hit the Lowest Poll Numbers in Congressional History, so go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!" 

Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday condemned what she called Trump's "disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers."

"He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations," the democratic socialist wrote on X. "It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment." 

Jasmine Crockett drops out of race for top House Oversight Committee Democrat

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has bowed out of the race to become the top Democrat on a key committee that is currently probing former President Joe Biden's alleged mental decline.

Democratic firebrand Crockett was gunning to become the next ranking member, a title given to the senior member of the minority party, on the House Oversight Committee.

"It was clear by the numbers that my style of leadership is not exactly what they were looking for, and so I didn't think that it was fair for me to then push forward and try to rebuke that," Crockett told reporters.

House Democrats held the election during their weekly closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday morning.

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However, in a smaller election by a key House Democratic panel on Monday night, Crockett and two others lost to Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. Crockett signaled she came in last of the four, telling reporters on Tuesday, "They were clear that I was the one that made the least sense in their minds.

"I accept that, and I think that you have to make sure that you are going to be able to work with leadership if you are going to go into a leadership position," she said. "I think the people may be disappointed, but at the end of the day, we've got to move forward in this country, we've got ot move forward for this world, and I don't want to be an impediment."

She promised to still be "loud and proud" and a "team player" for Democrats.

The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., played a marquee role in the last Congress as Republicans pursued an impeachment inquiry against the previous president.

Comer's panel is back in the headlines now for another Biden-focused probe, this time looking into allegations that former senior White House aides covered up signs of the elderly leader's cognitive decline.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is expected to act as a foil to Republicans' anti-Biden pursuits.

In addition to those issues, however, the committee is also charged with overseeing the federal workforce and the U.S. government's ownership and leases of federal buildings – both key matters as President Donald Trump and Republicans seek to cut government bloat.

Crockett is already a member of the committee and has been known to make headlines during its hearings. She infamously got into a spat with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., during an oversight hearing last year after Greene mocked Crockett as having "fake eyelashes."

Crockett retorted that Greene had a "bleach blonde, bad-built butch body."

NONCITIZEN LA RIOTERS COULD BE DEPORTED UNDER NEW HOUSE BILL

However, in her pitch to House Democrats, Crockett styled herself as a serious but potent messenger.

"Our work cannot be solely reactive. We must also be strategic in laying the groundwork to win back the House majority," she wrote in a letter earlier this month. "Every hearing, every investigation, every public moment must serve the dual purpose of accountability and must demonstrate why a House Democratic majority is essential for America’s future."

The previous ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., died late last month after battling esophageal cancer.

Trump’s Iran strikes follow long pattern of presidents sidestepping Congress

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President Donald Trump’s decision to order military strikes on Iran without first seeking congressional approval was met with immediate, yet familiar, criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Presidents have for decades taken actions similar to Trump's and attracted backlash for skirting Congress’s authority. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war but presidents the power to control the military and foreign policy.

Gene Healy, a senior vice president with the libertarian Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital that in terms of "crossing a constitutional Rubicon, this is territory that presidents have been dancing over since at least Harry Truman."

"In each case, it’s at odds with the original design of constitutional war powers, which is that one single person should not have the power to embroil the United States in foreign wars," Healy said.

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His think tank also rebuked former President Barack Obama in 2011 after Obama unilaterally authorized airstrikes in Libya as part of a NATO-led effort to enforce a no-fly zone in the country and protect civilians there.

"The president is derelict in his duty to obey the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution. And Congress is derelict in its duty to assert its constitutional authority," another member of the thinktank wrote at the time.

Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973 to install guardrails for presidents who seek to authorize military action, but critics have said the resolution has lacked potency and that the legislative branch needs to reassert its authority by passing a tougher policy or making good on government funding threats.

Bob Bauer, who served as Obama’s White House counsel, recently spoke with former federal prosecutor Jack Goldsmith in an interview on Substack about what they viewed as the ever-expanding war powers of the president and the ever-shrinking war powers of Congress.

Bauer said that generally, presidents have consulted with their White House counsel and other agencies to make sure they have acquired enough support behind-the-scenes ahead of any anticipated military action.

"It’s just generally understood that this is a choice the president can make," Bauer said, adding, "This is not a tenable situation over the long run, and we’re facing the consequences again now."

TRUMP HINTS AT REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN WHILE DECLARING ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN’

Trump garnered informal support for his actions from crucial members of Congress, including the Senate and House Republican leaders, but lawmakers at the farthest ends of the political spectrum lashed out at him.

"The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on X, calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., blasted Trump's actions as unconstitutional, saying Congress must pass a resolution giving the president permission to carry out a military act. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., did not outright address Congress’ role in declaring war, but signaled on Monday on X that she opposed Trump’s attack on Iran because, in her view, it defied his Make America Great Again ethos.

The president’s actions were a "complete bait and switch to please the neocons, warmongers, military industrial complex contracts, and neocon tv personalities," Greene said.

The Office of Legal Counsel, which is part of the Department of Justice, justified Obama's attack on Libya in 2011 in a 14-page opinion, spelling out its position that the then-president did not flout the Constitution or the law by bypassing Congress.

'NOT CONSTITUTIONAL': CONGRESS EVOKES NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REJECT TRUMP'S STRIKES ON IRAN

The Trump administration's justification for attacking Iranian nuclear facilities echoed sentiments from the Obama-era memo.

Both administrations cited a broad threat to "national interests" rather than a direct threat to the United States or a dire need for self-defense. Neither president's military actions included "regime change" as a goal, though Trump has since floated that language. 

Former President George H.W. Bush did not have explicit authorization from Congress to deploy thousands of troops to Somalia as part of a United Nations mission in 1992, nor did former President Bill Clinton when he sent troops to Bosnia in 1995 and intervened in the Kosovo conflict in 1999 by authorizing airstrikes against Serbian forces.

The Office of Legal Counsel typically advises the executive branch on the legality of its actions, and the memo on the Libya strikes cited a string of other examples that signal presidents have long tiptoed around seeking out congressional authorization, which would require a vote in the House and Senate.

The memo stated that "one possible" limit under the Constitution to a president circumventing Congress to use military force would be when the planned action "constitutes a ‘war’ within the meaning of the Declaration of War Clause."

"But the historical practice of presidential military action without congressional approval precludes any suggestion that Congress’s authority to declare war covers every military engagement, however limited, that the President initiates," the memo read.

Republican senator calls caucusing with Democrats an ‘interesting hypothetical’

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called the prospect of caucusing with Democrats an "interesting hypothetical," but she fell short of fully committing to doing so if the Democrats pick up three seats in the 2027 midterms. 

"It’s an interesting hypothetical," Murkowski said on the "GD Politics" podcast with Galen Druke. "You started off with the right hook here, is if this would help Alaskans." 

The senator is promoting her new book, a memoir titled, "Far From Home." She was repeatedly asked if she would caucus with Democrats if the party divide in the upper chamber of Congress becomes 50-50 after the next election. 

"That’s why this book is kind of scary, because now people know what motivates me, and it’s this love for Alaska and what I can do," she said. "So, that’s my primary goal. I have to figure out how I can be most effective for the people that I serve."

SENATE GOP AIMS TO APPROVE MAJOR LEGISLATION NEXT WEEK AS TRUMP TOUTS PARTY UNITY

Murkowski said the "problem" she had with Druke’s hypothetical was that "as challenged as we may be on the Republican side, I don’t see the Democrats being much better." 

She said the Democrats also have policies that she inherently disagrees with. 

"I can’t be somebody that I’m not," Murkowski said, describing how she received pressure to run as a Libertarian after narrowly losing the GOP Senate primary in 2010. She went on to win as a write-in candidate in a historic victory, launching her Senate career. "I can’t now say that I want this job so much that I’m going to pretend to be somebody that I’m not. That’s not who I am."  

Druke, arguing that Murkowski would not have to become a Democrat to caucus with them, asked, "Is there world in which by becoming unaligned or an independent that you could help Alaskans, you’d consider it?"  

"There may be that possibility," she said, noting that the Alaska legislature currently features a coalition with members of both parties.

"This is one of the things that I think is good and healthy for us, and this is one of the reasons people are not surprised that I don’t neatly toe the line with party initiatives, because we’ve kind of embraced a governing style that says if you’ve got good ideas, and you can work with her over there, it doesn’t make any difference if you’re a Republican or Democrat," Murkowski said. "We can govern together for the good of the state." 

"If Democrats won three seats in the next election and offered you a way to pass bills that benefit Alaskans if you caucused with them, you’d consider it?" Druke pressed. 

REPUBLICAN SEN MURKOWSKI PREPARED TO 'TAKE THE CRITICISM' OVER DOGE PUSHBACK

Murkowski said in response that a coalition is "not foreign to Alaskans," but it is at the federal level in the U.S. Senate.

"I’m evading your answer, of course, because it is so, extremely hypothetical, but you can tell that the construct that we’re working with right now, I don’t think is the best construct," Murkowski said, adding: "Is it something that’s worthy of exploration?" 

Murkowski joked that Druke was trying to "make news" and said the rank-choice voting system in Alaska means candidates are more likely to get elected if they are not viewed as wholly partisan.

"It is a different way of looking at addressing our problems rather than just saying it’s red and it’s blue," she added. 

Druke hammered the senator again, saying, "Was that a yes? There’s some openness to it?" 

"There’s some openness to exploring something different than the status quo," she said. 

Murkowski, one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict President Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial after the Jan. 6 riot, recently called the July 4 deadline that GOP leadership wants to pass Trump’s "big, beautiful bill" by "arbitrary."  

"I don't want us to be able to say we met the date, but our policies are less than we would want," Murkowski told Axios. "Why are we afraid of a conference? Oh my gosh." 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are hesitant about going to conference with the upcoming debt ceiling "X date" approaching and the party lines so tight. 

Murkowski, a critic of Trump’s foreign policy, particularly on Ukraine, told the Washington Post that she was in a "lonely position" in the Senate, and sometimes feels "afraid" to speak up among Republican colleagues out of fear of retaliation. 

"We used to be called the world’s greatest deliberative body," she told the Post in a recent interview promoting her book. "I think we’re still called it, but now I wonder if it’s in air quotes."