Category: fox-news/politics/executive/white-house

Trump, defying media predictions, mainly picks seasoned Capitol Hill veterans such as Marco Rubio

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The media warned for months that Donald Trump would have "no guardrails" in a second term, and would probably hand out top positions to a bunch of right-wing crazies.

Instead, he picked Marco Rubio yesterday as secretary of State, a 14-year Senate veteran and son of Cuban immigrants who has been informally advising him on foreign policy.

MEDIA LIBERALS SAVAGE KAMALA AS TRUMP PICKS EXPERIENCED HARD-LINERS

The president-elect has also tapped a number of Hill veterans who are conventional conservatives, agree with him on key issues and could just as easily have been named by Mitt Romney.

Also yesterday, Trump selected Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor, as Homeland Security secretary, after she overcame the dog-shooting incident that knocked her out of the veepstakes.

Trump has been rolling out these appointments at hyper-speed, just a week after the election. He has stayed off TV and hasn’t made any inflammatory posts. He’s trying to demonstrate a seriousness about governing, by hitting the ground running.

In the past, presidents and presidents-elect have appeared on air, praising their nominee or maybe two, and yielding to a short, grateful speech by the chosen ones. But Trump appears to be skipping all that. 

All the top jobs haven’t been filled, obviously, but even some top Democrats are praising the choice of Rubio (while some in the MAGA movement are disappointed). He’s unquestionably a hawk, and will be the face of American foreign policy as he travels around the world. 

Sure, he said some terrible things about Trump, who derided him as Little Marco, when both ran in 2016. I watched Rubio on the trail that year and he’s a very charismatic speaker.

But the two have long since mended fences. Rubio tried to push immigration reform a decade ago as part of various Senate gangs, but has since distanced himself from the effort.

I keep seeing television chyrons that, almost in accusatory fashion, say Trump is hiring "loyalists." Excuse me–do you think that Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton didn’t hire loyalists? Presidents want aides who generally agree with them and won’t turn into troublemakers. Biden hired such longtime advisers as Ron Klain, Mike Donilon and Steve Richetti.

From a conservative point of view, when Biden hired top officials who wanted to strengthen environmental rules, boost labor unions and spend hundreds of billions of dollars to dig out of the pandemic, that was a hard-line departure from Trump 1.0. Now Trump will reverse many Biden policies with the stroke of a pen.

DEPRESSED MEDIA REACT TO TRUMP VICTORY: HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED?

The other picks so far: Upstate New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik, a member of the House leadership and impeachment defender, has been tapped for U.N. ambassador. 

Trump also chose former Long Island congressman Lee Zeldin to run the EPA. He’s a mainstream conservative who has crusaded against excessive environmental regulations and gotten a lifetime score of 14 percent from the League of Conservation Voters. He told Fox News that the administration will "roll back regulations" that are causing businesses to "struggle" and are "forcing" them to move overseas.

After that, Trump tapped Florida GOP congressman Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret, as White House national security adviser, which doesn’t require Senate confirmation. He’s a China hawk and Ukraine skeptic. "Stopping Russia before it draws NATO and therefore the U.S. into war is the right thing to do," Waltz wrote. "But the burden cannot continue to be solely on the shoulders of the American people, especially while Western Europe gets a pass." 

These are serious people who know how Washington works.

By the way, Trump has shrunk what’s expected to be a very small GOP edge in the House by picking two members. But in Rubio’s case, Gov. Ron DeSantis can appoint a replacement who would serve until the midterm elections.

As I’m typing this, Trump just named Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate, as ambassador to Israel. Huckabee has led many delegations to the country and is staunchly pro-Israel. 

And after I filed this, Trump named Bill McGinley, who worked on election integrity for the RNC and was general counsel for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as his White House counsel.

And after I filed the insert, another announcement: John Ratcliffe being tapped for CIA director. The former Texas congressman, known for criticizing the FBI as biased against Trump, became his director of national intelligence in 2020. 

Last night, Trump made his first hire from Fox News. Pete Hegseth, an Army combat veteran and co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," has been named Defense secretary. Trump noted that Hegseth did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan, was awarded two Bronze Stars, and just published the best-selling "The War on Warriors."

Trump tried to get him confirmed the previous year, but Ratcliffe withdrew after GOP senators and ex-intel officials raised concerns about him, amid media disclosures that he’d embellished his prosecutorial efforts in immigration and terrorism cases. So he certainly qualifies as a highly partisan pick.

The two appointees who can fairly be described as aggressive hard-liners–critics would say extremists–are Stephen Miller and Tom Homan–both hired to deal with Trump’s top priority, the border.

Miller, who spearheaded immigration policy in the first Trump term, has been promoted to deputy chief of staff, and even that title doesn’t capture the clout he’ll have as a trusted member of the inner circle. He pushed the family separation policy that was extremely controversial.

WHY THE MEDIA WAITED TILL NOW TO ADMIT HARRIS RAN A LOUSY CAMPAIGN

Homan, who ran ICE in the first term, is being called the border czar. When asked if there was a way to avoid separating families, as happened last time, he said sure–deport them all together.

He said at a conference over the summer: "Washington Post can do all the stories they want on me about ‘Tom Homan’s deportin’ people, he’s really good at it!’ They ain’t seen s*** yet! Wait till 2025!"

Miller and Homan will be responsible for carrying out mass deportations of the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants living in America, or at least starting the process so the president-elect can say he kept his promise. Critics call the goal utterly unrealistic.

Now there are others who will also enjoy huge influence. Elon Musk, who donated $119 million to help Trump, is now the most powerful private citizen ever–heading a waste commission, posting hundreds of messages on X, sitting in on Trump call to Volodymyr Zelenskyy – all while seeking billions in federal contracts.

Trump said last night that Musk will head a Department of Government Efficiency - he promised to "send shockwaves through the system" - with help from former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. 

RFK Jr. will get some title, but Trump has to decide whether to go along with his hotly disputed ideas on vaccines and removing fluoride from water systems. He’s also threatened to fire FDA officials who have waged a "war on public health," saying the agency has suppressed such products as raw milk, ivermectin and vitamins.

And of course J.D. Vance will be an unusually active vice president and heir apparent.  

Still to come: the top jobs of Treasury secretary and the extraordinarily sensitive post of attorney general. I also want to know who’ll be press secretary!

One reason we’re in for weeks and weeks of skeptical to negative coverage is that every beat reporter on the planet must now do obligatory pieces on Donald Trump.

Whether they cover sports, religion, labor, housing, entertainment, courts, energy, television, schools or crime, they need to write about the impact of the 47th president–keeping in mind that he weighs in on everything.  

From yesterday alone: 

Washington Post: "Trump Pledged to Close the Education Department. What would that mean?"

New York Times: "Trump’s ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Cuts Two Ways for Oil Companies."

And: "Colleges Wonder if They Will Be ‘the Enemy’ Under Trump"

But my personal favorite: "What a Trump Presidency Means for the Liquor Industry."

(Trump doesn’t drink, but every industry wants less regulation.)

There’s also this Drudge headline: "Wife Divorces Husband Over Vote."

As the Mirror reports, "A man has said he can’t believe his wife was ready to ‘throw away our entire life’ after filing for divorce over his vote for Donald Trump.  

The distraught husband wrote on social media that he has been left without words that the marriage could fall apart over politics." 

I guess a family separation policy comes in many forms.

Hillary Clinton celebrates decades of marriage to Bill after being ‘deeply hurt’: ‘We just have a good time’

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton celebrated her nearly 50-year marriage to former President Bill Clinton despite "dark periods" throughout their relationship. 

"I've said this for many years, nobody really knows what happens in a marriage except the two people in it. And every marriage I'm aware of has ups and downs – not public, hopefully for everyone else – and you have to make the decisions that are right for you. And I would never tell anybody else, ‘stay in a marriage, leave a marriage,’ whatever the easy answer is. And you know, for me and for us, I think it's fair to say we are so grateful that at this stage of our life, we have our grandchildren. We have our time together," Clinton told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday morning. 

Clinton recently published her new memoir, "Something Lost, Something Gained," which included excerpts on how "both my marriage and Bill's presidency were imperiled" at the end of the 1990s. Bill Clinton's presidency was rocked by a sex scandal in 1998, with the 42nd president admitting to having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky later that year. 

Hillary Clinton did not cite Monica Lewinsky by name in her memoir or during her interview that aired Sunday, only referring to "dark periods" that threatened her marriage or "a very unfortunate" incident.

HILLARY CLINTON CALLED OUT FOR SUGGESTING AMERICANS SHOULD BE ARRESTED OVER DISINFORMATION: 'QUITE CHILLING'

"I write about how we start the morning playing spelling bee in bed. And, you know, Bill is like such a great player. He gets to Queen Bee almost immediately it feels like. We just have a good time. We have a good time sharing this life that we've lived together for now nearly 50 years of marriage. That's what is right for us, and that's really my, my message," Clinton shared of her marriage during the interview. 

CNN COMMENTATOR BLASTS DEMOCRATS FOR HAVING BILL CLINTON AT DNC: 'QUIT' HIM, 'FINALLY PLEASE!'

The couple married on Oct. 11, 1975, meaning they will celebrate their 50th anniversary next year. 

Bill Clinton was ultimately impeached over his affair with Lewinsky, charging him with lying under oath to a federal grand jury and obstructing justice. 

Hillary Clinton said that during "one of the darkest periods" of the impeachment, she felt "deeply hurt" by the scandal, while "on the other hand," she saw the incident as a "political ploy" to force her husband out of office. 

CLINTONS ENDORSE KAMALA HARRIS HOURS AFTER BIDEN DROPS OUT

"I had to almost have a binary view of the world that I was living in my reality," she reflected of how she was feeling during the impeachment. "My reality, on the one hand, I was deeply hurt, deeply confused, really upset, angry. And on the other hand, I knew that this was a political ploy to try to drive, you know, Bill out of office, and I thought he'd been a really good president, and I resented that as an American citizen, that these hypocrites, who, you know, had all kinds of their own stories about, you know, marriage and everything else, were going after him because of a very unfortunate, you know, incident in his life. 

BILL CLINTON RIPPED HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN AS NOT BEING ABLE TO SELL 'P---- ON A TROOP TRAIN,' NEW BOOK SAYS

"So on the one hand, I'm trying to make a decision about my life, my marriage, my future, my child, my family, which only I could make. On the other hand, I saw the hypocrisy and cruelty of what those Republican, you know, members of Congress were doing, and that that is a reality that people on the outside could never have understood. 

"And you know, obviously I got tons of unsolicited advice from all sorts of observers, but my friends – and I have a whole chapter in there about how incredibly grateful I am to my friends – friends of a lifetime, friends you know, that have stood with me, have supported me, who, during that dark period showed up at the White House to be with me," she said. 

Byron Donalds urges House GOP leaders to hold vote on Biden impeachment after bombshell report

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EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., is urging House GOP leaders to hold a chamber-wide vote on impeaching President Biden days after a highly anticipated report accused the commander in chief of committing impeachable offenses.

"I've felt that way for a long time. I'm on the Oversight Committee, I've seen all of the evidence up close and personal. It is without a doubt that he used his office when he was vice president to enrich his family as pay for play," Donalds told Fox News Digital. "That's public corruption."

Referencing the phone call with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that precipitated the first impeachment of former President Trump, Donalds added, "Listen, if a phone call is quote-unquote, an impeachable offense, then public corruption absolutely is. I think the House should hold that vote."

House Republicans released a 292-page report on Monday, a joint effort by the House Oversight Committee, House Judiciary Committee and House Ways and Means Committee, arguing Biden engaged in "impeachable conduct."

HOUSE REPUBLICANS REFER HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Those committees have been working on a monthslong investigation into whether Biden helped enrich himself and his family through foreign business deals while he was vice president.

Donalds' public pressure is significant; while a majority of House Republicans have publicly accused Biden of at least acting improperly, it's not clear that House leaders would risk forcing their most vulnerable GOP members to take such a weighty vote with just a razor-thin majority in the chamber.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., indicated in March that criminal referrals could be the end of the road for the probe. He told Newsmax the House "would vote to impeach Joe Biden right now," but "the best path to accountability is criminal referrals."

In his statement on the impeachment report on Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., praised the investigation as "thorough, diligent and thoughtful" but made no mention of a House-wide vote. Johnson himself has previously said he believes Biden is guilty of wrongdoing.

Donalds appeared to reference his colleagues' hesitation when he told Fox News Digital he would make the case for an impeachment vote to Johnson the next time he spoke with the GOP leader.

HUNTER DEMANDED $10M FROM CHINESE ENERGY FIRM BECAUSE 'BIDENS ARE THE BEST,' HAVE 'CONNECTIONS'

"It'll definitely probably come up, and we'll see where it is," Donalds said. "And look, I know members, they all are trying to figure out what they're going to do in their re-elections, but we have a responsibility to hold the executive branch accountable. That is the job of Congress."

"I think one of the reasons why a lot of people are losing faith in our institutions is because it appears that people at the top of our politics just get away with everything and are never held accountable. And that's wrong."

In their report, Republicans said there is "overwhelming evidence" that Biden participated in a "conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family." They alleged that the Biden family and their business associates received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by "leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden." 

The committees said the Biden family and its associates received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities since 2014.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN IN 2017 SENT 'BEST WISHES' FROM 'ENTIRE BIDEN FAMILY' TO CHINA FIRM CHAIRMAN, REQUESTED $10M WIRE

They also alleged that the Biden family leveraged Biden’s position as vice president to obtain more than $8 million in loans from Democratic benefactors. The loans "have not been repaid and the paperwork supporting many of the loans does not exist and has not been produced to the committees."

The White House said in response to the report, "This failed stunt will only be remembered for how it became an embarrassment that their own members distanced themselves from as they only managed to turn up evidence that refuted their false and baseless conspiracy theories. The American people deserve more from House Republicans, and perhaps now they will finally join President Biden in focusing on the real issues that American families actually care about."

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Donalds' remarks.

Former President Bill Clinton’s second term as POTUS was entangled with scandal, ended with impeachment

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Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States. 

He was born on Aug. 19, 1946, as William Jefferson Blythe III. His parents were, William Jefferson Blythe II, who died in a car accident before Clinton was born, and Virginia Cassidy Blythe. Clinton was raised by his grandparents until his mother returned from nursing school.

Clinton, a Democrat, served two terms in the White House, but was impeached by the House of Representatives during his second term on Dec. 19, 1998, for committing perjury before a grand jury and obstructing justice.

Before Clinton led the nation as a two-term president, he graduated from Georgetown University. He later received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and a law degree from Yale University in 1973. 

His political venture started in Arkansas, where he was elected attorney general in 1976 after being defeated in his first run for Congress two years prior. 

WHAT MAKES A PRESIDENT GREAT?

In 1978, he became governor of Arkansas, but lost for a second term. 

Four years later, he returned to his role as governor, and then started his presidential campaign against Republican George H.W. Bush. 

In 1992, Clinton and his running mate, Albert Gore Jr., were successful in their campaign, defeating Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot for the White House. 

In 1996, Clinton won a second term as president, this time defeating Republican Bob Dole and, again, independent candidate Perot. 

His presidency became known for accomplishments such as high homeownership, 22 million jobs created and low unemployment rates, but scandal ensued during his terms, too. 

CLINTONS ENDORSE KAMALA HARRIS HOURS AFTER BIDEN DROPS OUT

During Clinton’s second term as president, he was impeached by the House of Representatives. 

His impeachment partly stemmed from sexual harassment claims against Clinton by Paula Jones, that were said to have occurred before he was elected president, according to a research guide by the Library of Congress. 

After Clinton was re-elected, evidence came to light of an extramarital affair between the president and Monica Lewinsky, a White House Intern. 

Initially, Clinton denied the affair and Lewinsky corroborated the sworn testimony of Clinton.

The investigation was led by the late Kenneth Starr. Before the grand jury, Lewinsky admitted to the sexual relationship with Clinton, and the president admitted to the affair. 

In December 1998, the House voted in favor of two articles of impeachment against Clinton, finding that he had committed perjury and obstructed justice. He became the second president in American history to be impeached, the first being Andrew Johnson. 

During the Senate trial of 1999, Clinton was acquitted. 

After the trial was over, Clinton apologized to Congress and the American people for his behavior, and continued his term as president. 

Following his presidency, he continued to be involved in politics. He has shown unwavering support for Democrats, including his wife, Hillary Clinton, who ran for the presidency herself in 2016, but was defeated by Donald Trump. 

Clinton has also penned a number of books through the years, including after his presidency, such as "My Life," "Back to Work" and "Citizen: My Life After the White House."

Buttigieg faces grilling on Harris’ immigration record: ‘Let’s get real’

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Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg defended the Biden-Harris administration's handling of illegal immigration in a heated back-and-forth with Fox News' Shannon Bream on Sunday.

Buttigieg appeared in his personal capacity as a special guest on "Fox News Sunday" and attempted to deflect criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris and Democrats have attempted to flip the script on her 2021 mission to address border issues, a mission that led to the media widely calling her "border czar" at the time. 

"Let's be very clear about this because there has been a lot of mischaracterization. She was not in charge of the border. The Homeland Security Department is in charge of the border. She did do something important, though. She was assigned to conduct diplomacy with Central American countries, knowing that that's part of the bigger picture of what's affecting the border. And you know what? Those Central American countries are among the few countries to see their numbers go down in terms of the source of migrants who are seen at the border," Buttigieg said.

"Not by much," Bream countered.

TRUMP EYES MULTIPLE BORDER VISITS AS HE DRAWS CONTRAST WITH 'RADICAL LEFT' HARRIS

Buttigieg went on to argue that President Biden had only failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform thanks to former President Trump's intervention.

BIDEN ADDRESSES DECISION TO DROP OUT OF 2024 RACE, INTENDS TO COMPLETE TERM IN WHITE HOUSE

"[Biden] wanted Congress to resolve [immigration] because that would have been more durable. But when Trump came in, talked Republicans out of their own bipartisan project because he didn't want the issue to get better. Remember, the worse things are at the border, the better things get for Donald Trump. So he has a vested interest in it remaining chaotic down there," Buttigieg said.

Bream pushed back on the claim, however, saying that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Republican lawmakers had objected to provisions Democrats slipped into the border bill.

KAMALA HARRIS HIT WITH ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT OVER BORDER CRISIS, 'MISLEADING' PEOPLE ON BIDEN

"Let's get real. You know why they didn't move forward," Buttigieg insisted. "They moved forward because Donald Trump swooped in and said I don't want Joe Biden to get a win."

"Many of them felt that it was a flawed piece of legislation that had too many loopholes and things they couldn't support," Bream said.

Buttigieg is one of many top Democrats who have jumped to defend Harris on her immigration policy since her rapid ascension as the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2024.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused Republicans of "making up" the title of "border czar." His comments came just before six members of his House Democratic Caucus voted to criticize her handling of the migrant crisis.

"We have a single legislative item that is on the floor today… it’s a fake and fraudulent resolution cooked up, I think, by one of the representatives from New York – continues to embarrass herself regularly – that lies about the vice president," Jeffries told reporters at his weekly press conference.

"She was never assigned the position of border czar. They're making that up, because the extreme MAGA Republicans are in full meltdown," he added.

Biden’s Cabinet condemns attempted assassination of former President Trump

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Amid a sea of inflammatory political rhetoric this election season, President Biden and White House Cabinet members unequivocally condemned political violence after the attempted assassination of former President Trump over the weekend, with many also expressing sympathy for Trump and condolences to the family of a spectator killed during the attack.

Vice President Harris wrote on X that "assassination attempts have no place in our nation," adding that she and her husband, Doug Emhoff, were praying for the family of the deceased victim, identified as a former fire chief, Corey Comperatore.

"As @POTUS said, we must work toward unity as Americans. Assassination attempts have no place in our nation, or anywhere. Doug and I pray for the family of the victim who was senselessly killed yesterday and hope for a speedy recovery for those injured.

TRUMP SAYS HE WAS ‘SHOT WITH A BULLET’ IN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PENNSYLVANIA RALLY

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also condemned "political violence in America." 

"I’m shocked and saddened by the shooting at former President Trump’s rally and grateful that he is safe. As @POTUS said, there is no place for political violence in America and we must all condemn it," Blinken posted to X on Saturday night.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SHINES LIGHT ON RALLY SECURITY

Austin said the "entire" Department of Defense "condemns this violence, which has absolutely no place in our democracy."

"This is not the way that we resolve our differences in America — and it must never be. I’m relieved that reports indicate former President Trump is safe, and I am praying for him and his family and everyone affected by this appalling incident," he said.

Garland – who caught the ire of House Republicans this year who voted to hold him in contempt of Congress over the Biden-Hur audio recordings – released a lengthy statement on Sunday offering condolences to the victim's family and thanking law enforcement officers who responded to the attempted assassination.

"I want to reiterate that the violence that we saw yesterday is an attack on our democracy itself," Garland said. "The Justice Department has no tolerance for such violence. And as Americans, we must have no tolerance for it. This must stop."

SUSPECTED TRUMP SHOOTER MAY HAVE BEEN CONFRONTED BY AN OFFICER ON THE ROOF

Becerra, who previously brought a lawsuit against Trump during his presidency over allegedly violating the Clean Air Act, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, said he was "relieved" to hear that Trump was safe.

"Political violence is never acceptable. While we learn more about what happened, there is no escaping the fact that gun violence is an urgent public health crisis in this country," Becerra's post on X read.

Buttigieg, who has been one of Trump's vocal critics over the years, called the incident a "horrible moment" and said he was "encouraged" that Trump was doing well.

"An entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all political violence," he wrote on X. 

Other Cabinet members offering sympathies include Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Veteran Affairs Denis McDonough and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

"My prayers are with all of the victims who were injured or killed during yesterday's attack, and with those traumatized by the violence. Such acts ought not to happen at a political rally, or any place else, in our country," Vilsack wrote on X. 

BIDEN VOWS SECRET SERVICE WILL PROVIDE TRUMP WITH 'EVERY RESOURCE' TO ENSURE 'CONTINUED SAFETY'

"We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action today," Mayorkas – who has also been the subject of House GOP impeachment inquiries – wrote on X. "We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump, and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security."

He added that maintaining the safety of presidential candidates is one of the department's "vital priorities."

The statements come just a day before the Republican National Convention is scheduled to begin on Monday in Milwaukee, where delegates will officially select Trump to be the presumptive GOP presidential candidate. Biden said early Sunday he instructed the Secret Service to thoroughly examine all the Republican National Convention's security measures ahead of its start time, but the agency said it will not change its current protocol for the weeklong event.

Comer reveals White House physician was involved in Biden family business deals, demands he testify

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FIRST ON FOX – House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is demanding that the White House physician appear before Congress to answer questions on President Biden’s "declining mental state," while also revealing that the doctor has been involved in the Biden family’s business dealings. 

Fox News Digital obtained the letter Comer, R-Ky., sent to Dr. Kevin O’Connor on Sunday. Comer is seeking to question O’Connor, given his "connections" with the Biden family, on whether he is "in a position to provide accurate and independent reviews of the President’s fitness to serve."

Comer wants to know whether O'Connor's medical assessments of the president have been improperly influenced by his work with the Biden family with the company Americore. 

COMER DEMANDS WHITE HOUSE PROVIDE RECORDS TO PROVE $200K PAYMENT TO BIDEN FROM BROTHER WAS A LOAN

"After a concerning debate performance by President Biden against former President Donald Trump on June 27, journalists have rushed to report on what Americans have seen plainly for years: the President appears unwell," Comer wrote. 

Comer said that because Americans have been questioning Biden’s "ability to lead the country," his committee has been investigating circumstances surrounding O’Connor’s February assessment of the president. 

Comer noted that O’Connor determined in February that the president "is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old-male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency." 

Comer, though, pointed to reports that O’Connor did not recommend that Biden take a cognitive test. 

TOP DEMS PLANNING MEETING ABOUT BIDEN'S FUTURE DESPITE PRESIDENT'S VOWS TO CONTINUE CAMPAIGN

"The Oversight Committee is concerned your medical assessments have been influenced by your private business endeavors with the Biden family," Comer wrote. 

Comer said the committee has obtained evidence that shows he was involved with Americore Health, LLC, along with the president’s brother, James Biden. 

Americore, a company which operates rural hospitals, has been investigated by the committee as part of its impeachment inquiry against the president – specifically related to James Biden's work, which brought him more than $600,000. 

The committee says James Biden, while serving as a principal at Americore, received payments for hundreds of thousands of dollars. The committee found that James Biden received a $200,000 wire in 2018 from the company that he then used to write a $200,000 check to his brother, President Biden, which he labeled as a "loan repayment." 

JAMES BIDEN GIVEN LOAN, DIDN'T PROVIDE SERVICES TO AMERICORE DESPITE PROMISES TO USE LAST NAME, TRUSTEE SAYS

James Biden, according to testimony from other Americore employees, did not provide any services to the company, but instead, promised that his "Biden" name could bring funding to the struggling hospital operator from the Middle East. 

That employee, Carol Fox, a Chapter 11 trustee for Americore, testified that the loan was provided to Biden with no documentation in return for the promise of funding from the Middle East that never came. She filed a lawsuit against James Biden, saying he made "representations that his last name, ‘Biden,’ could ‘open doors’ and that he could obtain a large investment from the Middle East based on his political connections." 

But during James Biden’s interview with the committee earlier this year, he told investigators that O’Connor "provided him counsel in connection with the alleged work he was performing for Americore." 

"I met with, for example – my brother wasn’t in office at the time. He was a private citizen. And I had gotten through his – as vice president, his personal physician was Colonel Kevin O’Connor," James Biden testified. "And Kevin O’Connor – there was a very – and still there is an outcry for a solution for post-traumatic stress disorder." 

James Biden said O’Connor "introduced me to a team" that worked with PTSD and alcoholism amid a "backlog" at the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

COMER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT $200K 'DIRECT PAYMENT' FROM JAMES BIDEN TO JOE BIDEN IN 2018

Comer, in the letter, also notes that O’Connor, along with Hunter Biden, "joined a meeting with Jim Biden and the president of a hospital being acquired by Americore." 

Meanwhile, the White House maintains that Biden has not been examined by a doctor since February. But during a call with Democratic governors last week, the president himself told governors "he was checked out by a doctor and that everything was fine." 

"The statements by the White House Press Secretary and President Biden appear inconsistent, and the Committee seeks to understand the extent of your role at the White House at this time," Comer wrote. "Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee also seeks to understand if you are in a position to provide accurate and independent reviews of the President’s fitness to serve." 

Comer requested that O’Connor make himself available for a transcribed interview with counsel for the House Oversight Committee by July 14. He is also demanding all documents and communications that O’Connor has regarding Americore and James Biden. 

The request for O'Connor's cooperation with Congress comes amid calls for Biden to suspend his re-election campaign – even from top Democrats, former staffers and allies. 

But the White House maintains that President Biden is "absolutely not" considering dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

"I am running. I am the leader of the Democratic Party. No one is pushing me out," Biden said last week. 

Republicans furious that Hunter Biden is reportedly sitting in on White House meetings

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House Republicans are crying foul over reported revelations that first son Hunter Biden has been sitting in on President Biden's White House meetings in recent days.

"Joe and Hunter Biden have a record of selling their last name to foreign adversaries like Russia and China. Having Hunter now engaged in official, executive business only further enhances the urgency for transparency and accountability regarding the Biden family's corrupt business dealings," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., called Hunter Biden "a walking national security threat."

"He's raked in more than $20 million from foreign entities, including the CCP, for the Biden [family]. He's also the owner of the FBI-investigated laptop from hell. … Does Hunter have the clearance necessary to sit in on high-level White House meetings with his dad?" Steube told Fox News Digital.

HUNTER BIDEN HAS MAJOR CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AS TOP ADVISER TO THE MAN WHO COULD PARDON HIM

It comes after NBC News reported that the president's son has sat in on meetings between Biden and his top White House aides in recent days.

He began joining the sessions after Biden returned from Camp David on Monday, according to the report.

"Hunter Biden wants Joe Biden to remain president more than anyone in America. He should be worried [about] what a new attorney general would consider criminal activity under a possible Trump administration. No more sweetheart deals the moment his father leaves office," said Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis.

Hunter Biden has long been a target of Republican scrutiny, with House GOP impeachment inquiry investigators accusing him of enriching himself via foreign business dealings by using his father's political stature and connections. House GOP leaders also believe President Biden himself participated in and benefited from the schemes, something he and his allies have denied.

EX-REP CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE

Hunter Biden was also recently convicted on three felony firearm charges and faces more legal troubles in a federal probe into his taxes. The latter case is going to trial in California in September.

The report comes as Biden is facing mounting pressure to step aside as the 2024 Democrat presidential nominee after his performance in last Thursday's CNN debate, with concerns over his advanced age and mental fitness for office plastered across headlines this week.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said on Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria" that Hunter Biden has a vested interest in keeping his father in power because it's a shield from the worst scrutiny.

OBAMA CAUTIOUSLY ADVISES BIDEN AFTER SHAKY DEBATE PERFORMANCE, LOOMING REMATCH WITH TRUMP: REPORT

"I think it's probably very predictable that Hunter wants his dad to be in the White House. His best option for protection and immunity going forward is his dad in the White House," Ogles said when asked about the report. "The moment you have a change of regimes, you're going to have a change of personnel. And suddenly, Hunter is not going to have the umbrella and the protection of his father."

The NBC News report said aides were "struck" by Hunter Biden's sudden presence at White House meetings. One was quoted as saying, "What the hell is happening?"

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president's son was also present during debate prep, and she dismissed concerns about his presence when asked in Tuesday's regular news briefing.

"It is a week where there's going to be more family members who are going to come to the White House. I'm sure you'll see some of them on Fourth of July," she said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for further comment.

House Republicans say Hunter Biden used dad’s role as VP to ‘discourage’ further SEC scrutiny in 2016 probe

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FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans say Hunter Biden "gratuitously" used his father's role as vice president in an effort to "discourage" further scrutiny in a 2016 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation involving his business associates and their entities, Fox News Digital has learned. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, penned a letter to the chairman of the SEC as part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

"In 2016, attorneys within the SEC’s Enforcement Division were investigating a tribal bond scheme in which several individuals were charged with violating federal securities laws. As part of this investigation, several of Robert Hunter Biden’s (Hunter Biden) business associates and inter-connected entities were implicated by the alleged conduct," Comer and Jordan wrote. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS REFER HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

As part of the investigation, the SEC subpoenaed individuals and entities "for documents, communications, and testimony."

At the time, the SEC subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s former business partner, Devon Archer, and Rosemont Seneca Bohai – an entity utilized by both Archer and Hunter Biden. 

Comer and Jordan revealed that Hunter Biden was also subpoenaed as part of the investigation in March 2016, while Joe Biden was serving as vice president. 

The subpoena for Hunter Biden compelled him to produce documents and communications regarding Rosemont Seneca Bohai. 

Comer and Jordan wrote that Rosemont Seneca Bohai "was directly implicated in the tribal bond scheme." 

Citing the initial complaint, Comer and Jordan noted that in October 2014, Rosemont purchased "the entirety of the Second Tribal Bond Issuance" for $15 million. 

Archer, during his interview before the House Oversight Committee last year, testified that Hunter Biden, at the time, was "a corporate secretary" of Rosemont and that "they had a handshake 50-50 ownership." 

Comer and Jordan also noted that last month the House Ways and Means Committee voted to release IRS documents that showed that Hunter Biden certified on a document that he was, in fact, the secretary of Rosemont Seneca Bohai. 

"According to Mr. Archer, ‘Rosemont Seneca Bohai was set up to hold the equity of BHR,’ which stands for Bohai Harvest Rosemont [Partners]. BHR was supposed to be a private equity fund based in China to engage in cross-border investments," they wrote. "The RSB bank account was used to funnel other foreign payments and benefits to Hunter Biden, including money from Ukraine and a new sports car from an oligarch in Kazakhstan." 

Comer and Jordan revealed that Hunter Biden was responsive to the subpoena in 2016 and provided 1,749 responsive documents to the SEC as part of the investigation. 

But Comer and Jordan said that, "concerningly," Hunter Biden’s attorney reminded in his response that his father was the sitting vice president. 

HOUSE GOP CLAIMS HUNTER BIDEN LIED UNDER OATH MULTIPLE TIMES DURING CONGRESSIONAL DEPOSITION

"As a threshold matter, we request that you treat this matter with the highest degree of confidentiality, consistent with Commission policy and applicable law," Hunter Biden’s attorney wrote on April 20, 2016. "The confidential nature of this investigation is very important to our client and it would be unfair, not just to our client, but also to his father, the Vice President of the United States, if his involvement in an SEC investigation and parallel criminal probe were to become the subject of any media attention." 

Comer and Jordan said Hunter Biden’s response "gratuitously invoked his father’s position as the Vice President in what could be interpreted as an effort to discourage further SEC scrutiny." 

Comer and Jordan also noted that on May 11, 2016, the SEC published its press release announcing the charging of seven individuals, with no mention or charging of Hunter Biden. 

His business associates Devon Archer and Jason Galanis, however, were charged. 

Galanis pleaded guilty to securities fraud based on bonds issued by a company affiliated with a Native American tribe in South Dakota. The funds were reportedly supposed to be used for certain projects but were instead used for his personal finances. He was sentenced in 2017 to 14 years. House Republicans interviewed Galanis from his prison cell as part of the impeachment inquiry. 

Archer was also tied to the scheme and convicted in 2018 for defrauding the Native American tribal entity and various investment advisory clients of tens of millions of dollars in connection with the issuance of bonds by the tribal entity and the subsequent sale of those bonds through fraudulent and deceptive means. Archer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. 

As part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry, Comer and Jordan are demanding all documents and communications between the SEC and the White House, including the Office of the Vice President and all documents provided by Rosemont Seneca, Archer, and Hunter Biden in the SEC investigation.  

COMER INVITES BIDEN TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY AS PART OF HOUSE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

They also are demanding the SEC’s "justification for seeking documents from Hunter Biden" in the matter; all internal documents and communications regarding Hunter Biden’s response; and any internal ethics opinions rendered by the SEC regarding Hunter Biden or then-Vice President Biden. 

Comer and Jordan are also asking the SEC to make Tejal D. Shah, a former staff attorney who led the investigation who now serves as a principal adviser, appear for questioning by the committees in the form of a transcribed interview. 

"In short, the records sought by this request are critical to the impeachment inquiry," they wrote. 

The requests come after the Comer, Jordan and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, earlier this month, sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department recommending Hunter Biden and James Biden be charged with making false statements to Congress about "key aspects" of the impeachment inquiry. 

One of the false statements allegedly made by Hunter Biden was regarding his role at Rosemont Seneca Bohai, LLC as corporate secretary. 

House Republicans allege that during his deposition before Congress earlier this year, Hunter Biden made false statements about holding a position at Rosemont Seneca Bohai. The committees describe the entity as one which was used to receive millions of dollars from foreign individuals and entities who met with then-Vice President Biden before and after transmitting money to the RSB account that then transferred funds to Hunter Biden. 

House Republicans are continuing their impeachment inquiry against the president. They are investigating his role and knowledge of his family’s international influence-peddling schemes that they say generated more than $18 million for Biden family members and their companies, and more than $27 million, when including the payments to their business associates, who they say were often used to transfer funds to Biden family members. 

White House stymied bipartisan support for presidential ethics bill, says top House Dem

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

A Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee alleged Monday that several in her party who had initially indicated support for a bipartisan presidential ethics bill got cold feet after talking to the White House.

Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., previously announced the filing of a "landmark federal ethics reform bill" with Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the committee’s chairman, targeting financial disclosures, family members joining official travel junkets and other issues.

Comer and Porter announced the Presidential Ethics Reform Act in late May, which itself reportedly stemmed from a back-and-forth between lawmakers during a March hearing on the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

Porter, who lives in Orange County, California, claimed Monday that after she and Comer worked to recruit an equal number of bipartisan co-sponsors, the deal imploded while she was in the air on her way back to Washington.

FORMER HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS PARTNER OFFERED CRITICAL TESTIMONY: COMER

"I … was proud that I had found three senior Democratic co-sponsors. When I landed, I was really disappointed to learn that those co-sponsors had decided not to support the bill and had had conversations with the White House," Porter claimed in comments to The Hill newspaper.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, as the paper cited three Democratic lawmakers it reported to be whom Porter was referring – Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill.

Mfume declined comment and the other two lawmakers did not respond. Porter’s office also did not provide comment.

A source familiar with the situation, however, confirmed reports on the matter to Fox News Digital.

The ethics bill did garner at least one major public supporter, as billionaire "Shark Tank" investor Mark Cuban posted, "All for this."

Congress’ official website shows Comer introduced the legislation on May 22 and listed Porter as its only current co-sponsor. Congress.gov indicated the bill has since been referred to the Oversight Committee.

SCHWEIZER: HUNTER'S TIES TO CHINESE BUSINESSMAN ‘SUPERCHAIRMAN’ SHOULD DRAW SCRUTINY

During a March 20 Biden impeachment inquiry hearing, Porter said the probe hit a "dead end" and that the next step should be to "stop bipartisan attacks on each other."

"The American people think that the rules that prevent corruption are way too weak to stop politicians from both sides of the aisle from influence peddling," Porter added. 

After she ended her remarks, Comer interjected to say he believed the Democrat was "sincere" and that he "look[ed] forward to working with [her] on that legislation" in the future.

The bill would require presidents and vice presidents to record and disclose payments or "items of value" given to them by foreign sources two years prior to and after their terms, as well as while they are in office.

It would also require the two top national executives to disclose inter-familial payments of more than $10,000 during that same time period, and also provide stricter rules regarding disclosure of conflicts-of-interest.

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"Influence peddling is a cottage industry in Washington, and we’ve identified deficiencies in current law that have led to a culture of corruption," Comer said of the bill.

"By creating this bipartisan legislation to provide greater transparency to the financial interactions related to the office of the president and vice-president, we can ensure that moving forward, American presidents, vice presidents, and their family members cannot profit from their proximity to power."