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House Oversight, Judiciary to hear testimony from another Biden family biz associate amid impeachment inquiry

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The House Oversight and Judiciary committees are expected to hear testimony from another Biden family business associate Thursday.

Joey Langston is expected to appear before the committees Thursday morning on Capitol Hill for a closed-door, transcribed interview.

Langston is said to have hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden and donated thousands to his political campaigns.

The House Oversight Committee says Langston pleaded guilty in 2008 to participating in a conspiracy to attempt to influence a judge by providing the judge with "favorable consideration" for a federal judgeship. Langston was sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $250,000. 

ERIC SCHWERIN 'NOT AWARE' OF JOE BIDEN ROLE IN HUNTER'S BIZ; EX-ASSOCIATE BLASTS 'CAREFULLY WORDED' TESTIMONY

The Mississippi state bar then disbarred him from practicing law. And, in 2016, a federal judge denied his requests to have his "conviction for conspiring to bribe a judge thrown out" and to have his "record cleared." 

But the House Oversight Committee says it obtained bank records revealing that after Langston lost his appeal, his company, Langston Law Firm Consulting Inc., began making payments, totaling more than $200,000, to James and Sara Biden directly, and to their entity, Lion Hall Group.

The committee says it is "interested in the nature and purpose of these payments, which totaled $187,000 while Joe Biden was serving as vice president."

HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE ROB WALKER SAYS JOE BIDEN WAS 'NEVER INVOLVED' IN BUSINESS DEALINGS

House Republicans hope the witnesses can provide information on whether, among other things, Joe Biden, as vice president and/or president, "took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family, including whether concerns that Chinese sources may release additional evidence about their business relationships with the Biden family have had any impact on official acts performed by President Biden or U.S. foreign policy; abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him."

DEMOCRATS BLAST IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY AFTER GOP WITNESS SAYS HE WAS 'UNAWARE' OF JOE BIDEN'S ROLE IN FAMILY BIZ

Langston’s testimony comes after Hunter Biden business associates like Eric Schwerin, Rob Walker and Mervyn Yan all appeared for their own transcribed interviews before the committee. Their testimony was sought by House Republicans as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

So far, Yan, Walker and Schwerin have testified that they were not aware of any involvement President Biden had in his son’s business dealings.

Langston’s expected testimony comes ahead of a deposition of President Biden’s brother, James Biden’s, which is scheduled for Feb. 21. The committees subpoenaed Biden last year.

Hunter Biden defied his subpoena to appear for a deposition Dec. 13 and was at risk of being held in contempt of Congress.

His attorneys and the committees came to an agreement earlier this month that the first son will appear for a closed-door deposition Feb. 28.

New York Republican calls on Hochul, Adams to denounce Biden’s border policy amid migrant crisis in Big Apple

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FIRST ON FOX: Amid the migrant crisis in the Big Apple, one New York House Republican is calling for state and local leaders in the Empire State to strongly denounce the Biden administration's immigration policies as conditions at the southern border continue to deteriorate.

New York GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district has been forced to deal with the massive influx of migrants in New York City, told Fox News Digital that now is the time for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to speak out against President Biden's blatant disregard for stronger border security measures.

Lawler, who represents New York's 17th Congressional District, said the ongoing situation in New York City is a result of policies offered or supported by both Adams and Hochul.

"Both of them need to be voicing support for the fact that we need to enforce our laws," he said. "We need to secure our border. We need to stop this massive influx of illegal immigration. They are bearing the consequences of their policy decisions, but also that of President Biden and his administration's failure to enforce the law."

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT CLAIMS BIDEN IS IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AS BORDER SURGE CONTINUES

"It's costing the state and the city billions of dollars every year to deal with this migrant crisis," he added. "So, it's illogical not to demand action at the root cause of it, which is our porous southern border."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants to New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions last year. Abbott’s office has said it has sent around 27,000 migrants to New York City and has done so to relieve pressure on besieged border communities.

A handful of migrants expressed to one local outlet this month that they are aggravated with their taxpayer-funded living arrangements in the Big Apple, insisting that their living situation at the time differed immensely from that which they were allegedly promised.

"They told me that we would have a decent place to live. They told me I'd have support finding work. They told me I'd have support with my children. Those were lies," Yenifer Vargas, the mother of three, told ABC 7.

While it is unclear who allegedly promised support for Vargas, the mother of three said the shelter she and her family had been living in — the so-called "tent city" at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field — was not a "decent place" for her children.

Like Vargas, Ayimar Araque told the outlet she also has struggled to apply for work authorization and complete certain casework because she cannot reach anyone by phone.

"I'm given a phone number that I'm supposed to call, but I get an answering machine," she said at the time.

Asked about those comments, Lawler said he believes the "crisis of their own making" has been "handled horribly by the state and the city."

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT 'BASELESS' GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE

Pointing to the city's decision to move migrants from that shelter to a nearby high school and force the students there into remote learning, as well as the costs of health care, food and education, Lawler said the city has "mismanaged" the crisis.

"It stems from their failed policies. Change your policies. Stop this sanctuary city nonsense. Start cooperating with ICE. Stop this interpretation of the right to shelter to mean that illegal immigrants are entitled to housing at taxpayer expense," said Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"They need to stand up to the president and not demand more money, not demand work authorizations," he added. "They need to demand the president secure the border."

Echoing the sentiments shared by Lawler, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who represents New York's 21st Congressional District, told Fox News Digital Hochul and other Democrats in the state have seemingly welcomed the migrants to the state through their support for certain policies.

"Kathy Hochul and radical New York Democrats have incentivized the raging illegal and border crisis plaguing New York," she said. "Illegal immigrants continue to arrive in New York state in record numbers, attracted by far left Albany Democrats' failed open border and sanctuary state policies, overwhelming resources and costing New York taxpayers an additional $2.4 billion in 2025.

"Enough is enough," she added.

Abbott claimed Monday that President Biden is in violation of federal law because he refuses to enforce immigration statutes already on the books, adding that Biden is giving "mass parole" to foreign nationals who illegally enter the United States.

Abbott told "Hannity" Monday evening both members of the Border Patrol and the Border Patrol Council, its union apparatus, have told Texas officials they side with them when it comes to the controversy over the construction of razor wire at a state-owned park along the border at Eagle Pass.

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"They want to have nothing to do with regard to tearing down that razor wire or tearing down the barriers that Texas has erected for one simple reason. And that's because they are working," Abbott said.

"Border patrol says that what Texas has done to secure the border actually makes their job even easier. The only resistance we're facing is coming from Joe Biden."

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Ohio Senate candidate says GOP impeaching ‘traitor’ Mayorkas a ‘no brainer’: ‘Grotesquely unqualified’

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Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told Fox News Digital this week that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should "absolutely" be impeached as House Republicans continue to move toward a floor vote on that very issue.

"Absolutely, the reality is he should have never been appointed. He is grotesquely unqualified for the job and the reality is he's been a traitor," Moreno told Fox News Digital as Republicans were marking up articles of impeachment against Mayorkas who they say has "repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security."

"He's not followed the laws of the land," Moreno continued. "He's allowed people to come in here, he's put this country in jeopardy. We have no idea how many, hardened criminals and terrorists have come into our country. We have a number of what they've identified as being on a terror watch list, but as you know, there's hundreds of thousands, if not millions who have been classified as ‘gotaways,’ people who we have no idea who they are."

"So absolutely, Mayorkas should be impeached. I called for that over a year ago. It’s a no brainer. This guy's grotesquely unqualified for his job."

TRUMP ALLY MORENO PICKS UP NOEM ENDORSEMENT, RISES TO TOP OHIO REPUBLICAN VYING TO BOOT DEMOCRAT SHERROD BROWN

The push to impeach Mayorkas for his role in failing to stem the flow of record illegal immigration into the United States during Biden’s tenure is expected to come to a full House vote in a matter of days. If the vote goes through, the case will head to the Senate for a trial.

Mayorkas has strongly denied the legitimacy of an impeachment effort calling it "baseless" and "false."

TRUMP CALLS ON 'ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO UNITE' AROUND BERNIE MORENO IN RACE FOR SEN. SHERROD BROWN'S SEAT

"I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted," Mayorkas said in a lengthy letter to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green.

Moreno, who is running in the GOP primary to compete with Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November, also told Fox News Digital that he does not support the framework of the current immigration bill being talked about in the Senate as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats and that no deal is "absolutely" better than a bad deal.

"5000 people a day is over 1 million illegals, 8500, which is what they're saying what it would take to cut it off, is almost 3 million illegals a year," Moreno explained. 

"That's an insane amount of people that are crossing into our country illegally, if they all wore the same shirt, we'd call that what it is, which is an invasion. We have to have it crystal clear to the rest of the world, there's one way to come to America, the legal way, and we have to have a zero-tolerance policy for any illegal immigration and we actually have to reform our asylum laws to make certain that you can only cross into this country legally and if you cross illegally through a non designated port of entry, then you're immediately returned and you forfeit your right for asylum."

Moreno added, "I think one of the important elements that's not been shared with the American public is Joe Biden has the ability to secure the border today with existing laws. Certainly, we have to reform asylum the way I just laid out but he has the ability to put an end to this illegal invasion of our country. He's choosing not to do so, and Republicans should not be giving him the air cover during a presidential election year in which he can pretend that he's actually doing something about a problem that he's actually caused."

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report

Media meltdown: Why journalism is battered and bleeding

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Let’s start with the good news.

With a flick of a finger, more information is instantaneously available than at any time in human history. Stories, columns, opinions, video, photos, music, movies, texts, social media, streaming, podcasts. There are more ways to consume–desktop, phone, tablet, smartwatch–and infinitely more ways to voice your views.

Okay, enough of that.

The news business is in a tailspin. Firings and layoffs and buyouts are decimating its ranks. Publications and websites are folding. Revenue is plunging. Credibility is at an all-time low. And AI is starting to gobble up jobs.

BIDEN’S LEAKED CAMPAIGN PLAN: TARGET TRUMP (OF COURSE) AND WORK SOCIAL MEDIA

Worst of all, after the pandemic, scandals and impeachments, economic anxiety and political gridlock, interest in news is declining.

In L.A. they’re always worried about the Big One. For media people it feels like the earthquake has already struck.

The billionaire owner of the once-mighty Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong, has fired the editor and more than 20 percent of its staff, devastating the Washington bureau and several key units. The billionaire owner of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, has given buyouts to 240 staffers, decimating the metro staff and losing many of the paper’s biggest names.

If newspapers aren’t owned by these wealthy moguls, they’re increasingly controlled by hedge funds whose strip-mining tactics have reduced them to a skeleton of their former selves.

From Vice to Vox, from Time (15 percent laid off) to Business Insider (8 percent), from Sports Illustrated (blown up) to BuzzFeed News (shuttered), the carnage is everywhere.

And just yesterday, the Messenger, a news and aggregation site launched by Jimmy Finkelstein, former owner of the Hill, shut down after less than a year, having lost $38 million and some staffers lured from top publications.

CNN just had a major round of layoffs. Cable news audiences are aging, and cord-cutting is growing in popularity. 

It’s not just that the voracious Internet broke the business model; that happened a quarter-century ago. It’s that there seems to be no end in sight. 

"Journalists across the country burst into flames of panic this week, as bad news for the news business crested and erupted everywhere all at once," writes Jack Shafer in Politico.

The impact is greatest on local reporting, with far fewer folks to check up on their city halls and statehouses, especially in smaller markets.

THE MENTAL FITNESS MANIA: MEDIA NOW CHALLENGE BIDEN, TRUMP

"No matter how many heroic nonprofit newsrooms like the Baltimore Banner and Daily Memphian take root, no matter how many Substack-like newsletters blossom or creators emerge to drop their videos on YouTube, you can’t deny the journalism business’ decline," Shafer writes.

What’s remarkable to me is how many of these pieces, and there have been many, overlook the importance of political bias. Republicans have been complaining about a liberal tilt since I began to read newspapers. Now, in the Trump era, half the country believes the media have become the opposition party, determined to block their man from returning to the White House. But during the Biden presidency, a growing percentage of those on the left have lost trust in the business as well.

You have Red and Blue America, each filled with anger, each side viewing the other as evil and dangerous, with the press having forfeited its standing as a neutral arbiter of facts. 

"What makes this so unnerving," says the Atlantic, "is the fact that the meltdown has come amid—and in seeming defiance of—a generally booming economy. The ranks of professional journalists keep declining even as overall unemployment stays low, incomes rise, and the stock market reaches new heights." 

The author, Paul Farhi, a longtime media reporter for the Washington Post, just took the paper’s buyout.

"What’s more, a presidential-election cycle tends to produce a surge of readers, viewers, and advertisers as people pay closer attention to the news. Not this time, at least so far."

Beyond news fatigue, Farhi notes, "Facebook has steadily reduced the amount of news that users see in their feed, wiping out a major source of traffic." I’d add that Google has gobbled some of that revenue as well.

HOW NIKKI HALEY BURNED BRIDGES IN SOUTH CAROLINA–AND STILL PULLS PUNCHES AGAINST TRUMP

There are obviously exceptions. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe are strong franchises. Fox News exceeds the prime-time ratings of CNN and MSNBC combined. But even television networks feel compelled to pour money into online shows and pay sites.

"Will journalism become a hobby like scrapbooking or street busking, done on the cheap or for donations, but one without much of a career path?" Politico asks.

I’m more pessimistic than I’ve ever been, and there’s no easy solution. Some say government subsidies are needed, but that raises serious conflict questions. And if zillionaires can’t revive newspapers and magazines, what hope is there for ordinary companies and local owners?

I do think that just as television didn’t wipe out radio, journalism will have to morph into new and more compelling forms to survive. Who would have thought even three years ago that everyone and their brother-in-law would have a podcast?

But people are willing to pay monthly fees for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV and the like, though they are going through a belt-tightening wave as well, with Spotify having just axed 17 percent of its staff. 

If news outlets can’t convince most of the public that their product is worth buying, they bear the ultimate blame.

‘Squad’ Democrats Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib vote against bill to ban Hamas terrorists from US

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"Squad" Democrats Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. and  Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. were the only two representatives who voted against a bill barring Hamas terrorists from entering the United States.

The bill, HR 6679, which was also called the "No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act," expanded a U.S. ban on Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) officers to include all PLO members.

The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Penn., also barred Hamas members and other participants in the Oct. 7 attack from the U.S.

The legislation states that any person who "participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or otherwise facilitated" the October 7 attack on Israel or attacks after that, "shall be ineligible for any relief under the immigration laws."

PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS SHRUG OFF RAPIDLY RISING US ANTISEMITISM WHILE MANY WATCH IN DISBELIEF

"Any alien who carried out, participated in, planned, financed, afforded material support to, or otherwise facilitated any of the attacks against Israel initiated by Hamas beginning on October 7, 2023, is inadmissible," the bill states.

While 422 members of the House voted to pass the bill, three far-left members voted either against the bill or voted present.

Bush and Tlaib voted against the bill while Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., voted present.

In a press release, Tlaib said that the bill was "just another" Republican bill used to "incite" hatred.

"H.R. 6679 is unnecessary because it is redundant with already existing federal law," Tlaib said. 

ANTISEMITISM IS GETTING WORSE AS MORE 'SHOCKING' AND 'SCARY' INCIDENTS ARE EXPOSED, DC RESIDENTS SAY

"It’s just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe," the Democrat representative said.

Rep. Ramirez said that she voted present because she is "done with political games."

"I voted present  because I am done with political games," Ramirez said. "The majority is wasting time bringing a bill that is already current law. There are already no immigration benefits for Hamas terrorists. 

"After participating for 15 hours of a sham impeachment, I could not stomach another bill only introduced to score cheap political points, politicize immigration, and divide our communities. Like the Republican’s sham impeachment, this bill does not meaningfully address border security nor further protect our communities. H.R.6679 is unnecessary," Ramirez said. "It’s a waste of resources and time. And I’m not playing along."

Tlaib and Bush are among a small but vocal minority of Democrats critical of Israel in the ongoing conflict.

Tlaib was among the first to condemn Israel for the now-discredited claim that it struck a hospital in Gaza with an airstrike and killed some 500 people. 

U.S. intelligence said that the blast originated from a rocket fired by militants in Gaza that fell short.

Tlaib, Bush, and Ramirez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Trump swipes at Biden’s demand for legislation to secure the border: ‘I didn’t have a bill’

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Former President Trump took an apparent swipe at President Biden amid White House calls for a border security deal that he "didn’t have a bill" when his administration had "the most secure border in history."

Trump’s comments Wednesday came after Biden earlier this week claimed he had done everything he could do to secure the U.S. border.

BIDEN CLAIMS 'I'VE DONE ALL I CAN DO' TO SECURE THE BORDER

Biden told reporters as he was departing the White House Tuesday that "I've done all I can do. Just give me the power." 

"I asked them the very day I got into office," Biden said. "Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the judges. Give me the people who can stop this." 

Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, appeared to contradict Biden’s claim and urged Republicans to avoid entering the border deal, which is still being negotiated in the Senate.

"There’s never been a border like this ever in the world," Trump said, adding that a "bad border deal would be worse than no deal at all."

"You don’t need a deal to tighten up the border to make it secure," he continued. "I had the most secure border in history. I didn’t have a deal. I didn't have a bill.

"I said no people are coming in, no drugs are coming, and we don’t want to have human trafficking, which nobody even talks about. That is the No. 1."

Trump added: "You have the right to close up your border… You don’t need bills."

Trump went on to say the individuals illegally crossing are individuals U.S. officials know nothing about.

"Right now, we have no idea who these people are that are pouring into our countries," Trump said. "Last night I watched where they're beating a police in New York City, a gang of people that just came in that didn't speak English. Nobody knows who they are, where they come from. And very importantly, they come from, I can tell you they come from jails and prisons. They come from mental institutions and insane asylums."

He added: "And they're terrorists. They have a lot of terrorists coming too, and we don't want them. I'm sorry, you know, we had a very strong border."

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE 

President Biden has requested $14 billion in funding for the border as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress, which also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. The request is being negotiated in Congress after Republicans demanded more limits on asylum and migrant releases into the interior.

Biden has urged Congress to pass the deal, but House Republicans and some conservatives in the Senate have said the reported proposals do not go far enough.

The Biden administration has said it has been expanding "lawful pathways" for migrants while increasing consequences for illegal entry into the U.S. since the ending of Title 42 expulsions in May last year. It has pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May, as well as increased cooperation with Mexico to crack down on human smugglers and fentanyl trafficking. 

The administration also says it has been increasing removal flights — including directly to Venezuela. However, it has stressed that it needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a "broken" system. 

Migrant numbers officially hit 302,000 in December, a new record, after 2.4 million encounters in FY23. Republicans have said that large releases into the interior and a rolling back of Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis and have accused Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of a "dereliction of duty" in his handling of it.  

The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday approved, along party lines, two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas — teeing up a floor vote as early as next week to impeach the embattled Biden official.

James Biden to appear for transcribed interview with House Oversight Committee in February

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President Joe Biden's younger brother, James Biden, will appear before the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 21 for a transcribed interview.

The younger Biden was subpoenaed as part of the investigation into Hunter Biden and President Biden in November. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing by the FBI. 

House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Biden believe that James has knowledge of Hunter’s business deals and whether the president was involved. 

House Republicans have heard recently from several Biden associates. Rob Walker, a former business associate of Hunter, said the President "was never involved" in Hunter's business dealings during a closed-door interview.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS NEGOTIATE WITH PRESIDENT'S BROTHER ON DEPOSITION TERMS

Another one of Hunter's business associates, Mervyn Yan, testified behind closed-doors before the committees Thursday about the nature of Biden's business activities in China, which House Republicans said raised many questions.

A source with direct knowledge of Yan’s testimony told Fox News Digital that Yan told congressional investigators he is "unaware of any involvement President Biden may have had with his son’s business pursuits."

In December, The Washington Post reported that James Biden's discussions were monitored in an FBI investigation, although he wasn't the focus of it. The FBI recorded Biden's conversations due to his association with Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, a Mississippi attorney convicted of bribery involving a judge, as part of the investigation.

"I'm going to hold off criticism of the president's brother. He obviously has due process and we have heard from his attorney. We're trying to make that work and I feel like that'll happen soon," House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said last month.

Hunter Biden will appear before the House Oversight Committee for a deposition on Feb. 28. 

This is a breaking story, check back for updates. 

Fox News' David Spunt and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Freedom Caucus chair probes military’s effort to ‘rewrite our nation’s history’ with Naming Commission

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FIRST ON FOX: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., is going after the group tasked with scrubbing references to the Confederacy from the U.S. military, accusing the Pentagon of trying to "rewrite" history.

In letters to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., sent on Wednesday, Good took issue with the recent removal of the Reconciliation Monument, a Confederate memorial, from Arlington National Cemetery.

"We write regarding the recent implementation of the Naming Commission’s recommendation to remove Arlington National Cemetery’s ‘Reconciliation Monument.’ We are concerned about this removal and the broader efforts by the commission to rewrite our nation’s history," Good wrote.

GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND PENTAGON STOP REMOVAL OF CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

He said in the letter to Austin, "Efforts to remove statues and memorials like this encourage an endless cycle of renaming institutions, buildings, and cities across the country under the destructive ruse of political wokeness."

"Historical sites are healthy environments to observe varied perspectives of historical events, engage diverse viewpoints, and inspire robust conversation as we remember our nation’s history," Good added.

US MILITARY CARRIES OUT AIRSTRIKES ON FACILITIES IN SYRIA OPERATED BY IRANIAN-BACKED FORCES

Good asked Comer’s Oversight Committee to hold a hearing on the Naming Commission and request that the panel hand over any relevant documents. 

In his letter to Austin, Good asked him to compile all relevant documents and correspondence with the Naming Commission, including memos to private entities and the White House.

The Reconciliation Monument was slated for removal by the Pentagon’s Naming Commission, a panel tasked with renaming and removing military installations named after the Confederacy in the wake of the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. 

WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA DRIVER AND NATIONAL GUARD MEMBER IS ‘HONORED’ TO TAKE PART IN HOLIDAY MISSION

The memorial was unveiled in 1914 by then-President Wilson after being commissioned by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Congress had authorized the reinterment of Confederate remains to Arlington National Cemetery just 14 years prior.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin had asked for it to be moved to the Virginia Military Institute, according to reports from late last year.

Its removal was challenged in court, but a judge ultimately cleared the way for it to be taken down in late December.

Top Republican warns House GOP on border talks: ‘Wishful’ to ‘get everything you want’

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The No. 3 House Republican is calling on GOP colleagues to be realistic about their expectations for border negotiations between the Senate and White House. 

"I think they should be bringing H.R. 2 back. That would seal the southern border, and that should be a Republican-Democrat priority. But if they don't bring it back in full, we just have to see what it is that they are bringing," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

It’s still unclear whether the bipartisan Senate group working on the border security deal with the White House will produce any results. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made clear House Republicans back H.R.2, the border bill they passed last summer. Democrats panned it as a "non-starter."

BORDER DEAL PRICE TAG LIKELY TO COST MORE THAN $14 BILLION, BUT GOP LAWMAKERS GROW RESTLESS TO SEE BILL TEXT

Some GOP hardliners in the House and Senate have signaled they will oppose anything less than H.R. 2, which includes provisions like Remain In Mexico and new border wall construction.

But Emmer warned his colleagues to view H.R. 2 as a starting point in the negotiations rather than the only option.

SEN. MARSHALL URGES GOP TO SAY 'HELL NO' TO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST WITHOUT TIGHTER BORDER SECURITY

"Our members get that we control one-half of one-third of the government. We don't have everything, so, you know, to get everything you want may be a little bit wishful," Emmer said. "But that's where we start. We start with H.R. 2, and then show us what you got, and we'll figure it out from there."

Asked if he was optimistic that a border security compromise could pass both the GOP-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate and then be signed by the White House, Emmer said he was "always hopeful."

But he warned that certain details that have purportedly been leaked would face opposition. For instance, a reported proposal that would give border agents the authority to expel migrants on sight after 5,000 daily encounters has faced heat from Republicans.

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE 

"If this administration and the Senate think that even one illegal coming across the southern border makes sense, you're not going to get agreement from our guys," Emmer said. "If those rumors are accurate, well, it's going to be really hard for them to pass the House."

And while he was pleased the Biden administration was even discussing the border crisis, Emmer accused President Biden of only paying attention to it as an election-year issue.

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"The only reason they're talking about it now is because it has risen to the point that it is a political liability for their re-election," Emmer said. "This is no longer Republicans or Democrats. This is Republicans and Democrats and others. More than 60% of the citizens in this country, by some polling, believe the border is a problem, and it needs to be solved. That's the only reason they're talking about it."

Mayorkas impeachment articles approved by committee, setting up full House vote

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The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday approved, down party lines, two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas -- teeing up a floor vote as early as next week to impeach the embattled Biden official.

The committee voted down party lines to approve the two impeachment articles, which accuse Mayorkas of having "repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security" and of having "made false statements to Congress" that the border is secure and closed and that DHS is in operational control of the border. The articles will now go to the House where they will be voted on on the House floor.

The vote came after a lengthy, and at times, fiery hearing in which Republicans outlined their case for why Mayorkas should be removed from office for allegedly mishandling the crisis at the southern border and Democrats accused Republicans of debasing the impeachment process for political purposes.

MAYORKAS SLAMS ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE 

"Today is a grave day," Chairman Mark Green said.  "We have not approached this day or this process lightly. Secretary Mayorkas’s actions have forced our hand. We cannot allow this border crisis to continue."

Republicans spent the hearing emphasizing their case against Mayorkas, pointing to record high border crossings, with the record for monthly crossings having been broken in December, and mass releases of migrants into the interior along with narrowed interior enforcement. They accuse Mayorkas of not following immigration law, which they say demands the detention of illegal immigrants, and of failing to secure the border.

"My colleagues across the aisle, seem to say that it's acceptable that we've had 10 million illegal crossings in three years and we've had pushing 300,000 Americans dead from opioid overdose. We're losing our country down there. And the man responsible for executing that policy is Alejandro Mayorkas," Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., said.

Democrats pushed back, first attempting to adjourn the markup and then ripping into Republicans for the proceedings, accusing them of running a "sham" impeachment and of trying to impeach Mayorkas based purely on political motivations and policy disputes, and of interfering with Mayorkas’ efforts to solve the ongoing crisis.

"The extreme MAGA Republicans who are running the House of Representatives are deeply unserious people. They don't want progress. They don't want solutions," Ranking Member Bennie Thompson said. "They want a political issue. And most of all, they want to please their disgraced former president." 

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE PREDICTS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES WILL PASS HOUSE WITHOUT ANY DEM SUPPORT

"You do not have a right to demean this institution, to bastardize the impeachment clause of the Constitution, to belittle the standard of constitutional impeachment to such a degree that you can't even produce a legal memo in support of your articles of impeachment that do not exist in history and do not exist in the law," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY., said.

The hearing comes after a bitter months-long argument over the process. Green’s committee began investigating Mayorkas last year and House impeachment articles were referred to the committee in November. The committee held two impeachment hearings earlier this month. Mayorkas did not testify, despite expressing willingness to testify -- a subject of finger-pointing between the two sides over who was responsible. But on Tuesday he sent a lengthy letter slamming the proceedings and defending his record in office.

"I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted," Mayorkas said.

The Biden administration has repeatedly said the crisis at the border has not been caused by policy, but is instead a Hemisphere-wide crisis combined with a "broken" immigration system that needs reform and comprehensive immigration reform. In his letter, Mayorkas declared that "problems with our broken and outdated immigration system are not new." 

MIGRANT CRISIS BROKE NEW RECORD IN DECEMBER WITH 302K ENCOUNTERS, OFFICIALS CONFIRM 

"Our immigration laws last received an overhaul in 1996. Our immigration laws were simply not built for 21st century migration patterns," Mayorkas said.

He pointed to stats including half a million removals since May, and daily removals nearly double what they were compared to from 2014-2019. He also says that the apprehension rate has been 78%, the same as the prior administration, and there has been a significant increase in removal flights within the Western Hemisphere.

He also points to increased Border Patrol hiring, an anti-smuggling campaign and an intensified anti-fentanyl effort that has seen more seizures of the deadly drug.

"Instead you claim that we have failed to enforce our immigration laws. That is false," he said.

He also pushed back on the criticism his department has faced over an alleged lack of responsiveness to oversight queries from Congress, claiming instead that he has been responsive to Congress with testimony, witnesses and documents.

"The allegations are baseless and inaccurate," he said.

If the House votes to impeach Mayorkas, then the case will go to the Senate for a trial.

Fox News' Tyler Olson, Elizabeth Elkind and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.