GOP Harvard graduates send scathing letter blasting school’s response to pro-Hamas students: ‘Abhorrent’

FIRST ON FOX: Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, along with several other GOP Harvard graduates in Congress, have sent a letter to the president of Harvard University demanding a clear condemnation of antisemitism after more than 30 student organizations said Israel was "entirely responsible" for "unfolding violence" against the country by Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists. 

"As Harvard University alumni, we write today to express our outrage and profound disappointment over the statement made by over thirty Harvard student organizations that blames Israel for the Hamas terrorist attacks brutally carried out against Israeli civilians," Cruz and Stefanik, both graduates of Harvard, wrote to university president Claudine Gay this week. 

The letter was also signed by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Rep. Kevin Kiley, Rep. Brian Mast, Sen. Mike Crapo, and Sen. Dan Sullivan.

"This statement is abhorrent, and we demand that you immediately condemn it publicly and clarify that Harvard University strongly opposes this dangerous antisemitism."

ANTI-ISRAEL STATEMENTS SWEEP MORE COLLEGES; CRITICS SLAM LEADERS FOR STAYING OUT OF FRAY

The Harvard student organizations' statement, released on the day of the Hamas attacks, said the events did not occur "in a vacuum." The groups who signed the letter included the Harvard Islamic Society, the Harvard Jews for Liberation, the Society of Arab Students and the Harvard Divinity School Muslim Association.

"We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence," the message says.

Harvard released a statement two days after the controversy that did not condemn Hamas specifically or antisemitism and "emphasized" their "commitment to fostering an environment of dialogue and empathy."

Following that statement, Gay released a statement on Oct. 10 that condemned the actions of Hamas but did not mention antisemitism. The group of Harvard Republicans in Congress wrote in the letter that the response was not adequate and did not go far enough. 

PROTESTERS FACE OFF NEAR HARVARD, MAN CALLS PRO-ISRAEL DEMONSTRATORS ‘NAZIS’ AND ‘PIGS’

"This should have warranted an immediate unequivocal condemnation from yourself and Harvard University leadership," the Republicans wrote. " Instead, you waited two days to release an initial statement that failed to even condemn the terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, much less address the antisemitism on your campus."

"Your original statement claims that Harvard is committed to fostering an environment of open dialogue and empathy. However, your delayed response makes it clear you are only committed to intentionally fostering an environment that allows rampant and dangerous antisemitism on Harvard’s campus."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rep. Crenshaw said, "What we are seeing at campuses across the United States is disgusting, but it speaks to a deeper long standing post-modernist rot in academia. There is debate and the free exchange of ideas – and then there is what we are seeing this week."

"These same students probably scream about microaggressions and implicit bias, but now celebrate actual aggression based on [antisemitism] against women, children, and the elderly. At Harvard, students should be learning the university motto, truth - but in reality they are propagandizing for terrorism, and they should be denounced for their actions."

TRUMP CALLS FOR TLAIB'S IMPEACHMENT OVER SILENCE ON HAMAS TERRORISM QUESTIONS

Rep. Mast told Fox News Digital that when he was a student at Harvard, pro-Palestinian protesters harassed his family when they found out he was a veteran.

"There’s no logic with these people - if there was, they’d realize there is no equivalency between Israelis defending themselves and terrorists beheading children. But Harvard leadership should know better," Mast said. 

"They need to make it clear that antisemistism will not be tolerated within the halls of one of the world’s most established institutions."

Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Several student groups at Harvard withdrew their signatures from the controversial document following the backlash it received.

"We regret that our decision to co-sign the latest PSC statement to call attention to historical injustices against Palestinians, with an earnest desire for peace, has been interpreted as a tacit support for the recent violent attacks in Israel," The Harvard Undergraduate Nepali Student Association posted in a statement to Instagram.

Campus newspaper The Harvard Crimson reported Wednesday that at least five of the document's original 34 signatories had withdrawn their endorsement of the polarizing statement.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"The leadership at Harvard University should be ashamed. After over thirty Harvard student organizations released an antisemitic statement blaming Israel for Hamas’ vicious terrorist attacks it took Harvard President Claudine Gay three days to even condemn Hamas’ attacks," Rep. Stefanik told Fox News Digital.

"Harvard leadership has still not denounced the students’ statement, this is morally sickening. Any voice that can defend the raping, killing, and kidnapping of innocent women and children has chosen the side of terrorism. I am proud to lead my colleagues and fellow Harvard alumni in demanding better from our alma mater."

Sen. Cruz, in a statement to Fox News Digital, said, "Sadly, there are few places on earth with more vicious antisemitism and hatred of Israel than American ‘elite’ universities. It’s disgusting, and it's dangerous. I’m particularly ashamed that student groups from my alma mater, Harvard, blamed Israel for the genocidal war that Hamas terrorists are brutally waging." 

"It is past time for universities to stand up and squarely address the antisemitism that they have been breeding and unleashing, including on their own Jewish students. Harvard must decide whether it wants to be a true institution of higher learning or an incubator of bigotry and antisemitism whose students try to rationalize and justify child rape and mass murder."

On Friday morning, shortly before the letter was sent, Gray released a video message that said the school rejects "terrorism" and "hate."

"Our university embraces a commitment to free expression," Gay said. "That commitment extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous. We do not punish or sanction people for expressing such views."

Fox News Digital's Kristine Parks contributed to this report

Top Republicans launch probe into Leonardo DiCaprio-funded blue state lawsuits against Big Oil

FIRST ON FOX: Two top Republican lawmakers are probing Sher Edling, a California-based law firm, over its dark money-fueled climate litigation against oil companies, Fox News Digital has learned.

In a letter sent to Sher Edling partners Vic Sher and Matt Edling on Monday morning, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., expressed concern about their firm's activities in targeting major energy companies nationwide. The GOP lawmakers further probed Sher Edling's relationship with a top Biden administration official over crafting climate policy.

"While people may use their resources to bring whatever cases they want — even those that may be so frivolous as to be sanctionable — it appears that left-wing funds are footing the bill for Sher Edling’s climate crusade," Cruz and Comer wrote in the letter obtained first by Fox News Digital. "Radical activists are backing these lawsuits, too."

"Sher Edling purports to be taking a righteous gamble that this ludicrous argument will pan out," they continued. "The firm shopped these lawsuits to jurisdictions around the country. And to convince them to sign up for what is likely to be very costly litigation, Sher Edling agreed to provide its legal service at no cost unless it obtained a 'settlement against the industry.'"

REPUBLICANS RAISE ALARM ON FAILED BIDEN NOMINEE WHO CONTINUES CRAFTING REGS TARGETING GAS-POWERED CARS

Cruz and Comer noted that Ann Carlson, the current acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), worked as a consultant for Sher Edling before she joined the Biden administration. Fox News Digital previously reported that she helped raise money from donors for the firm's litigation, a scheme that involved famed actor Leonardo DiCaprio and helped recruit at least one state, Hawaii, to hire Sher Edling.

BIDEN NOMINEE COORDINATED DARK MONEY CLIMATE NUISANCE LAWSUITS INVOLVING LEONARDO DICAPRIO

They further pointed to Carlson's work in the administration in which she unveiled strict fuel efficiency regulations that experts said would push more Americans to buy electric vehicles.

"It appears that Ms. Carlson has moved from attacking traditional energy through litigation to attacking it through regulation," they wrote to Sher Edling's partners.

The Republicans then demanded Sher Edling provide them with details about Carlson's work with it in addition to a detailed accounting of the firm's funding.

Since 2016, the year Sher Edling was founded, the firm has pursued aggressive climate-related litigation on behalf of Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, Honolulu and several local governments across the country. The first-of-their-kind lawsuits allege major oil companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell have deceived the public about climate change.

On its website, the firm says its climate practice seeks to hold oil companies accountable for the alleged "deception." It claims that the fossil fuel industry has known for decades that burning fossil fuels would cause global warming, thus making the industry responsible for mass human devastation caused by such human-induced climate change.

BIDEN NOMINEE WHO FAILED SENATE CONFIRMATION STILL LEADING ADMIN'S CRACKDOWN ON GAS CARS

The latest such "climate deception" lawsuit was filed by California this month. While it is unclear whether Sher Edling is involved in the case, California's arguments largely mirror those made by the firm in its litigation.

Sher Edling's more than 20 ongoing climate lawsuits, though, have received funding from a behemoth left-wing dark money apparatus, Fox News Digital previously reported. Since the firm was established, it has received millions of dollars through the discreet funding stream.

According to tax filings, between 2017 and 2020, the secretive Collective Action Fund for Accountability, Resilience, and Adaptation (CAF) wired more than $5.2 million to Sher Edling. Then, in 2021 alone, CAF funneled another $3 million to the firm.

CAF switched its fiscal sponsorship from the Resources Legacy Fund to the New Venture Fund (NVF), a nonprofit that is part of the left-wing Arabella Advisors network and which boasts deep connections to big-dollar Democratic Party donors, sometime in 2021. 

JUDGE PRESIDING OVER BIG OIL CLIMATE CHANGE LAWSUIT REVEALS CONNECTION TO PLAINTIFF'S ECO LAWYERS

"As a fiscal sponsor, NVF provides operational and administrative support, including compliance, financial, back office, legal and HR operations so advocates can focus on their mission," a New Venture Fund spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. "We are proud to support Collective Action Fund’s important work."

While the source of the millions of dollars in funding for Sher Edling funneled through CAF remains unknown, Fox News Digital reported last year that prominent left-wing nonprofits have contributed to CAF. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Emmett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and JPB Foundation have sent money to CAF.

The Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation was particularly identified by officials involved in the funding scheme as a "serious" supporter.

"Some left-wing groups funnel millions to law firms to sue companies across the country on questionable legal grounds," Comer remarked during a Sept. 13 Oversight Committee hearing on third-party litigation funding. "They are trying to use the courts to put these companies out of business or limit their ability to bring new products to market."

"These activist groups will find plaintiffs and pour millions into claims against energy, mining and manufacturing companies to the detriment of consumers, innovation, national security, the workforce and even to plaintiffs themselves – all in the name of political activism," he continued. "These groups know that their tactics and goals are too extreme for the American people to support. So, rather than use the electoral process, they are implementing their agenda through litigation against both the public and private sectors."

Sher Edling and the NHTSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ted Cruz calls on House to investigate impeaching Biden over Hunter allegations: ‘Direct evidence’

Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz is urging the House to look into impeaching President Biden after an IRS whistleblower on the Hunter Biden probe told Congress that the president's son invoked his father to pressure a Chinese business partner through WhatsApp and claimed the elder Biden was in the room while he was making deals.

Asked at what point the investigation and problems pertaining to Hunter Biden turn into an issue for the president, which could lead to impeachment efforts by Republicans, Cruz said: "It is right now."

"Look, this WhatsApp is direct evidence of Joe Biden abusing his government power to enrich his son, and, assuming 10% for the big guy, to enrich himself," Cruz continued. "Remember, this WhatsApp says ‘we want to know.’ This is not just me, Hunter, just mooching off my dad. . . . Of course the House needs to investigate it, but the stunning thing is what the IRS whistleblower says is [Department of Justice], Merrick Garland prevented an investigation even into this message." l

Garland has denied that there was any interference in the Hunter Biden probe.

Cruz's remarks came during a new episode of the senator's podcast, which is called Verdict with Ted Cruz.

HUNTER BIDEN-LINKED ACCOUNT RECEIVED $5 MILLION DAYS AFTER THREATENING MESSAGES: 'SITTING HERE WITH MY FATHER'

Cruz discussed allegations from an IRS whistleblower released by House Republicans this week, where an investigator on the Hunter Biden probe claimed there had been unprecedented efforts to prevent investigations into Joe Biden during the 2020 campaign and into his presidency.

Whistleblower Gary Shapley Jr. — who oversaw the IRS probe into the president's son — said the IRS had obtained a WhatsApp message dated July 30, 2017, from Hunter Biden to Henry Zhao, CEO of Harvest Fund Management, in which Hunter alleged that he was with his father and named him to put pressure on Zhao to fulfill a commitment.

"And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction."

"I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father," Hunter Biden reportedly said.

"This WhatsApp directly ties Joe Biden to the millions of dollars coming from communist China," Cruz said. "Now, it is possible Hunter Biden was lying, it's possible Joe Biden wasn't next to him. It's possible Joe Biden was not going to inflict official damage on the Chinese if they didn't pay him and his son millions of dollars. That's possible, but you know what, we don't know if it's true or not. Why? Because, according to the whistleblower, they didn't investigate, and they were prohibited from investigating. They were prevented from even asking the question."

"Let me be clear: This, on the face of it, is obstruction of justice," he said. "And if Merrick Garland issued that order, he is the one blocking the investigation, and I think there's real evidence of Merrick Garland being guilty of obstruction of justice."

Cruz, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has served in the Senate since 2013, said, "If you had a single Democrat who gave a flying flip about the rule of law, we would have a hearing right now with Merrick Garland in front of us, under oath, asking about this WhatsApp," he said. "We would ask to see every document, we would ask to see every email, we'd ask to see every communication between DOJ and the investigators. We would put the IRS whistleblowers on the stand, under oath to testify about it, and we would confront Merrick Garland with that."

KIRBY ARGUES WITH REPORTER ABOUT PURPORTED HUNTER BIDEN TEXT MESSAGE: 'NOT GOING TO COMMENT FURTHER'

"The chances of the Senate Judiciary Committee doing that are zero, because [chairman] Dick Durbin doesn't care," he added. "No Senate Democrat cares, but the House does, so that is the only hope for investigating this."

If the claims made in the WhatsApp message are accurate, they starkly contradict President Biden's repeated insistence that he had no knowledge of son Hunter's business dealings.

Asked Friday by a reporter whether the WhatsApp message undermines the president's claims that he had no knowledge of his son's overseas activities, National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby replied, "No, and I'm not going to comment further on this."

A Hunter Biden attorney said in a statement Friday, "Any verifiable words or actions of my client, in the midst of a horrible addiction, are solely his own and have no connection to anyone in his family."

White House Counsel's Office spokesman Ian Sams said, "As we have said many times before, the President was not in business with his son."

"As we have also said many times before, the Justice Department makes decisions in its criminal investigations independently, and in this case, the White House has not been involved," Sams continued. "As the President has said, he loves his son and is proud of him accepting responsibility for his actions and is proud of what he is doing to rebuild his life."

Lawmakers demand answers from DHS about funding school program linking GOP, Christians to Nazis

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security is targeting conservative Americans and must answer for bankrolling a university program that has explicitly lumped the Republican Party, as well as Christian and conservative groups, into the same category as Nazis, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.

Biggs, along with 15 House Republican co-signers, sent Mayorkas the letter on Friday, calling on him to stop DHS's alleged targeting of the Biden administration's political opponents. 

"Under your leadership, the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly targeted conservative Americans for lawfully expressing their First Amendment rights," the letter states. "The Constitution prohibits the federal government from suppressing the free speech of Americans, by any means, including the use of third parties to engage in unconstitutional attacks on free speech. But this unlawful federal speech regulatory regime continues to be the norm under the Biden administration."

Biggs highlights a DHS grant program that, he says, provides funding to organizations that "openly demonize and equate mainstream conservatism with domestic terrorism," adding that it's Mayorkas' "duty to stop this un-American politically motivated targeting of ideas."

UNIVERSITY PROGRAM LINKING CHRISTIANS, REPUBLICANS TO NAZIS GRANTED DHS FUNDS UNDER 'ANTI-TERROR' INITIATIVE

The letter refers to a story first reported by Fox News Digital in May showing how DHS is doling out taxpayer money through an anti-terrorism grant initiative to a university program whose work has explicitly targeted the American political right.

The Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group, obtained documents through Freedom of Information Act requests spotlighting controversial recipients of DHS's Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP). The government initiative provides funds to various public, private, and non-profit institutions — such as universities and county governments — "to establish or enhance capabilities to prevent targeted violence and terrorism." Grant applicants must be based in the U.S. and implement a U.S.-based program.

The Biden administration has awarded 80 grants through the TVTP totaling just under $40 million. DHS named one of its TVTP goals as "media literacy and online critical thinking initiatives," which many grantees listed as the mission of their projects.

One grantee was the University of Dayton for its PREVENTS-OH program, which DHS awarded $352,109 to "draw on the expertise of the University of Dayton faculty" to fight "domestic violence extremism and hate movements."

The university's grant application submitted to DHS linked in a footnote to a controversial Dayton conference where an academic researcher presented a chart titled the "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization."

Among the organizations and movements displayed on the pyramid were the Republican Party, the Heritage Foundation, the American Conservative Union, Fox News, Breitbart News, the National Rifle Association, PragerUniversity, Tea Party Patriots, the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, the pro-police Blue Lives Matter movement, and the Christian Broadcasting Network.

The pyramid also included hate groups like The Base, a neo-Nazi paramilitary group, and the Daily Stormer, a pro-Nazi publication, seemingly comparing them to mainstream organizations such as the GOP.

In 2021, the University of Dayton held a seminar called "Extremism, Rhetoric, and Democratic Precarity" featuring several experts on extremism who compared mainstream conservatives to genocidal extremists.

The university's grant application to DHS linked to video of the conference, describing it as indicative of the university's work "to assess regional needs and capacities for violent extremism prevention" and directing government evaluators to view it for more information.

One speaker at the conference presented the "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization." Another compared the Trump administration to the Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot's regime in Cambodia that killed an estimated 1.5 million-2 million people from 1975-79. A third presenter compared Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposing a volunteer civilian military force to assist the National Guard in emergencies such as hurricanes to the Nazis' Holocaust during World War II.

Another speaker at the event was a DHS official who appeared virtually in his official capacity to deliver a short presentation.

"Extremism, Rhetoric, and Democratic Precarity" wasn't the only controversial conference conducted by the University of Dayton. At a separate seminar titled "White Nationalism Workshop," the same researcher who presented the "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization" spoke and explained how "antifascists" could "de-platform" alleged fascists — comparing them to the mainstream political right — by surveilling, infiltrating and physically confronting them.

DHS WARNS OF 'HEIGHTENED THREAT ENVIRONMENT' IN US AMID 'POLITICAL TENSIONS'

At the same event, another professor displayed images of anti-COVID lockdown and anti-vaccine mandate protesters, suggesting they were infiltrated by hate groups.

In order to promote its work to the city of Dayton, PREVENTS-OH sent the city an image, named Anti-Rights Movements and Democratic Regression, featuring a caricature of a Second Amendment supporter above the words "Why do we have a radicalized society."

Both DHS and the university of Dayton noted the controversial conferences were separate from, and pre-dated DHS awarding money to, PREVENTS-OH, adding they don't target or discriminate against groups expressing their constitutional rights. Neither addressed the fact that the school included the seminars in its grant application, which DHS reviewed.

"President Biden's authoritarian Department of Homeland Security is weaponizing limited taxpayer money and department resources to crush conservatives in America," Biggs told Fox News Digital. "This department appears to be taking guidance directly from George Orwell's 1984 novel, in which a police state controls all speech and pummels all dissenters. America must never become that society."

"Secretary Mayorkas must answer my questions in full and justify why a multi-million-dollar counter-terrorism program designed to prevent the next Osama Bin Laden is being used to prey on innocuous conservatives," the congressman added.

BIDEN’S WAR ON ‘DISINFORMATION’ RAMPS UP AS GOP ACCUSES OFFICIALS OF PLAYING POLITICS WITH THE TRUTH

Biggs' letter poses 16 questions about TVTP grants and DHS's approach to extremism and terrorism, requesting answers by June 11.

The letter also calls out DHS for awarding seminars led by "extremists" rather than targeting groups that "promote and amplify civil unrest and racial violence like Antifa and Black Lives Matter."

The document adds that the Biden administration shouldn't be awarding grants relating to combatting domestic radicalization to organizations and municipalities that "lack the ability to discern between speech and legitimate political decisions they disagree with and domestic terrorism."

In the letter, Biggs calls it "especially concerning" that TVTP grants were very much on the radar of DHS leadership. Mayorkas called the program a "high priority" in a document obtained by the Media Research Center.

"Secretary Mayorkas thanked the grantees for their work, and he reassured all in attendance that this program is a priority for the department and that the work being done is of the highest importance," the Maryland Department of Emergency Management wrote in its notes and documentation of the 2022 TVTP Grantee Symposium, which Mayorkas hosted.

The letter comes amid calls for Mayorkas to resign due to his handling of the ongoing crisis at the country's southern border. Several Republican lawmakers have pushed the idea of impeaching him for allegedly neglecting his duties.

Biggs and his letter's co-signers weren't the only ones to take note of Fox News Digital's reporting on DHS's grant to the University of Dayton.

DIVIDER IN CHIEF? BIDEN CONTINUES REPEATED ATTACKS AGAINST POLITICAL OPPONENTS WHILE CALLING FOR UNITY

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also highlighted the story on his podcast earlier this week.

"It's the latest example of the Biden administration being more than happy to weaponize the federal government to use the powers of the federal government to target you," said Cruz. "They're engaged in propaganda, and the propaganda is saying that anyone right of center is a terrorist, anyone right of center is a Nazi, anyone right of center is a Klansman. It is the vicious lie that the radical left pushes often… why is the government funding this? They're funding it because they want to give fuel to the fire attacking those they view as enemies of the regime."

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Cruz called out what he described as a double standard of many academics and U.S. officials targeting conservatives but not looking more into radical groups such as Antifa. He added that both the House and Senate should hold hearings on this issue to examine that taxpayer money is being spent responsibly on anti-extremism programs.

DHS didn't immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

Biden, Cruz condemn Uganda law allowing death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joined President Biden in condemning a new law enacted in the East African nation of Uganda allowing the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality." 

"This Uganda law is horrific & wrong. Any law criminalizing homosexuality or imposing the death penalty for ‘aggravated homosexuality’ is grotesque & an abomination," Cruz tweeted on Monday. "ALL civilized nations should join together in condemning this human rights abuse. #LGBTQ" 

President Biden released a statement Monday calling for the immediate repeal of the legislation and threatened possible punitive action.

"The enactment of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act is a tragic violation of universal human rights – one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people, and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country," Biden wrote. "I join with people around the world – including many in Uganda – in calling for its immediate repeal. No one should have to live in constant fear for their life or being subjected to violence and discrimination. It is wrong." 

UGANDA GREENLIGHTS DEATH PENALTY FOR ‘AGGRAVATED HOMOSEXUALITY' IN CONTROVERSIAL CRACKDOWN

Biden said he directed the National Security Council "to evaluate the implications of this law on all aspects of U.S. engagement with Uganda, including our ability to safely deliver services under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other forms of assistance and investments." 

The administration "will also incorporate the impacts of the law into our review of Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)," the statement said. "And we are considering additional steps, including the application of sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses or corruption." 

The White House noted that the U.S. government invests nearly $1 billion annually in Uganda’s people, business, institutions and military. 

"This shameful Act is the latest development in an alarming trend of human rights abuses and corruption in Uganda," Biden wrote. "The dangers posed by this democratic backsliding are a threat to everyone residing in Uganda, including U.S. government personnel, the staff of our implementing partners, tourists, members of the business community, and others." 

SEN. CRUZ DEFENDS TEXAS AG PAXTON AMID IMPEACHMENT EFFORTS FROM ‘SWAMP IN AUSTIN’

"Since the Anti-Homosexuality Act was introduced, reports of violence and discrimination targeting Ugandans who are or are perceived to be LGBTQI+ are on the rise," the White House said. "Innocent Ugandans now fear going to hospitals, clinics, or other establishments to receive life-saving medical care lest they be targeted by hateful reprisals. Some have been evicted from their homes or fired from their jobs. And the prospect of graver threats – including lengthy prison sentences, violence, abuse – threatens any number of Ugandans who want nothing more than to live their lives in safety and freedom." 

The version of the bill signed Monday by Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni does not criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ+, a key concern for some rights campaigners who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation as an egregious attack on human rights. The new law still prescribes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people, according to The Associated Press. 

A suspect convicted of "attempted aggravated homosexuality" can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, according to the legislation.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Parliamentary Speaker Anita Among said in a statement that the president had "answered the cries of our people" in signing the bill. Museveni had returned the bill to the national assembly in April, asking for changes that would differentiate between identifying as LGBTQ+ and actually engaging in homosexual acts. That angered some lawmakers, including some who feared the president would proceed to veto the bill amid international pressure. Lawmakers passed an amended version of the bill earlier in May.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Sen. Cruz defends Texas AG Paxton amid impeachment efforts from ‘swamp in Austin’

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took to social media Saturday to defend Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead of a vote in the state House to impeach him, insisting Paxton has been the "strongest conservative AG" in America and that the "swamp in Austin" can't handle it.

A vote to impeach Paxton, slated for 1 p.m. local time, came after the Texas House Investigative Committee unanimously voted 5-0 to adopt articles of impeachment for Paxton earlier this week, according to FOX 4.

"What is happening to @KenPaxtonTX is a travesty," Cruz wrote in a series of tweets. "For the last nine years, Ken has been the strongest conservative AG in the country. Bar none. No attorney general has battled the abuses of the Biden admin more ferociously—and more effectively—than has Paxton."

"That’s why the swamp in Austin wants him out," he continued. "The special interests don’t want a steadfast conservative AG. I understand that people are concerned about Ken’s legal challenges. But the courts should sort them out."

TEXAS HOUSE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS IMPEACHING ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION

Further defending Paxton, Cruz wrote, "Virtually all of the information in the articles was public BEFORE Election Day, and the voters chose to re-elect Ken Paxton by a large margin. In my view, the Texas Legislature should respect the choice of the Texas voters."

The committee vote came as Paxton, who commended Cruz for his comments, is under investigation in a corruption case being led by the FBI over accusations that the attorney general used his office to assist a donor. He was also indicted in 2015 on securities and fraud charges, but hasn't yet faced a trial.

Multiple aides from Paxton's office became concerned that the attorney general was misusing the office's power to help donor Nate Paul regarding unproven claims of a conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties was taking place.

Paxton also allegedly told staff members that he had an affair with a woman who worked for Paul.

TEXAS AG PAXTON SLAPS BIDEN ADMIN WITH LAWSUIT OVER USE OF CBP ONE APP: 'PRE-APPROVING MORE FOREIGN ALIENS'

In the articles of impeachment, lawmakers accuse Paxton of misusing public information law, using his office to help a donor, terminating employees who reported his "unlawful" conduct, bribery, misleading public officials, and more.

Multiple aides from Paxton's office became concerned that the attorney general was misusing the office's power to help donor Nate Paul regarding unproven claims of a conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties was taking place. 

Paxton also allegedly told staff members that he had an affair with a woman who worked for Paul.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In the articles of impeachment, lawmakers accuse Paxton of misusing public information law, using his office to help a donor, terminating employees who reported his "unlawful" conduct, bribery, misleading public officials, and more.

In Texas, an impeachment from the House would require Paxton to leave his office immediately pending a trial in the Senate.

Fox News' Adam Sabes and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ted Cruz rips Buttigieg at CPAC: ‘What the hell does this guy gotta do to get fired?’

Sen. Ted Cruz on Thursday tore into Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for waiting nearly two weeks before addressing the toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, and openly wondered how the embattled secretary is still in his job.

"Pete Buttigieg – what the hell does this guy gotta do to get fired?" Cruz asked at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference just outside Washington, D.C. "At this point it’s a bar game . . . like, what else could he do?"

Buttigieg waited 10 days before talking about the train derailment that led to the chemical spill, and that’s one of several black marks on his performance as a cabinet secretary in the Biden administration. Buttigieg has been criticized for on over-reliance on expensive private air travel, even as he watched airlines cancel thousands of flights in 2022, in part because of a system failure at the Federal Aviation Administration late last year.

WALTZ, HOUSE REPUBLICANS DROP RESOLUTION CONDEMNING BUTTIGIEG AND SAYING ‘HE SHOULD RESIGN'

Buttigieg has also come under criticism for making arguments that the federal highway system is racist, while coming close a few times to a rail strike that could have crippled the economy.

Cruz said that Buttigieg’s late and tepid response to the environmental disaster is a sign that he and the entire Biden administration aren’t interested in helping people who live in predominantly conservative districts.

"The Democrats don’t give a damn about East Palestine, because it’s a blue-collar, red place, and they’re like, ‘To hell with you,’" Cruz charged. "If you were a bunch of transgender tech workers, you’d have the entire Biden cabinet down there for a listening session and sit-in to feel their pain."

INSPECTOR GENERAL INVESTIGATING PETE BUTTIGIEG’S EXTENSIVE PRIVATE JET TRAVEL AFTER FOX NEWS DIGITAL REPORT

Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General said it was opening up an investigation into Buttigieg’s use of private jets for travel, which followed a Fox News Digital report that said he has taken at least 18 taxpayer-funded private flights since taking his job.

A department spokesman said that officials "welcome this independent audit."

On the CPAC stage Thursday, Cruz added that President Biden has been "completely AWOL" on the derailment.

PETE BUTTIGIEG TOOK GOVERNMENT JET TO NYC FOR RADIO INTERVIEW, ACLU MEETING BEFORE FLYING BACK HOURS LATER

Cruz gave credit to Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, for sticking with the community and making videos showing evidence of chemicals spilling into waterways. He said that Vance, who shared a stage with him at the CPAC event on Thursday, has done a "fantastic" job sticking up for his voters.

"But J.D., alongside Donald Trump, came there and guilted the administration, and that was powerful as hell," Cruz said.

Ted Cruz floats Biden impeachment if GOP takes back House

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in an interview Monday that it is likely that Republicans will win back the House in 2022, and said if they do, they will probably consider impeaching President Biden.

Cruz: Second Trump impeachment was ‘exercise in political rage’ by Democrats: ‘It was their id speaking’

Congressional Democrats' push to convicted former President Donald Trump of impeachable offenses is "driven by the partisan rage and the partisan anger that the Democrats feel," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told "Hannity" Tuesday.

Ted Cruz rips Senate Dems for pursuing ‘vindictive’ Trump impeachment despite Biden call for unity

Cruz also took aim at a slate of 17 executive orders and actions taken by Biden immediately after he entered the Oval Office.