Category: fox-news/politics/house-of-representatives/democrats

Democrat Cuellar warns Biden: Border crisis will ‘absolutely’ be election issue in 2024

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MCALLEN, Texas — Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, is warning fellow Democrats, including President Biden, to prepare for border security to be a top election issue in the 2024 cycle.

Standing along the Rio Grande in Hidalgo, Texas, Saturday, Cuellar emphatically told Fox News Digital the situation at the southern border will "absolutely" be on voters’ minds this year.

He traveled to the border this weekend as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation that also included Reps. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas; Randy Weber, R-Texas; and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

'SENSE OF HOPELESSNESS': MICHAEL MCCAUL SOUNDS ALARM ON BORDER PATROL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

"If they're looking at the same polls I've been looking at, the American public doesn't like what's happening," Cuellar said of fellow Democrats.

"I represent an area where it's almost 80% Hispanic, a lot of Democrats," he said. "So, yeah, the polls are showing that it's an important issue."

Speaking of Biden, he said, "It’s in the president’s best interest politically to come up with a solution on border security."

WATCH: MIGRANTS CLAIM ASYLUM ON COLD JANUARY NIGHT AS CBP UNION LEADER TALKS BORDER CRISIS

A Fox News poll from last month found that eight in 10 voters think the situation at the southern border is either an emergency (34%) or a major problem (45%). 

The group of lawmakers toured sections of the border Saturday and met with border and immigration officials. White House and Senate negotiators are working to cobble together a deal on border reform in exchange for GOP support for Biden’s $106 billion supplemental funding request for Ukraine, Israel and other issues.

KEY REPUBLICAN COMES OUT IN FAVOR OF IMPEACHING MAYORKAS, SAYS HE SHOULD BE 'TRIED FOR TREASON'

Cuellar insisted a show of bipartisanship like their trip was a move in the right direction.

"It's important that if the negotiations go well, and they work something out, that some of us are able to [be] bipartisan," Cuellar said.

He suggested reforms on what constitutes legal asylum was something Democrats were coming around to.

"For example, on the asylum when people come in, I support making changes. There's a lot of Democrats that don't," Cuellar explained. "Now, Democrats are saying, ‘Maybe we need to look at that.’ So, I think we're seeing now a shift where people are willing to get out of their comfort zones. If we have enough Democrats and Republicans, we can get it done."

House Dem tells mother of fentanyl victim she lacks ‘background to understand’ border chief’s impeachment

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Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., told a mother who lost her daughter to fentanyl that she was being "used" by Republicans during a House Homeland Security hearing on Thursday.

Goldman's remarks to Josephine Dunn, whose 26-year-old daughter Ashley lost her life to fentanyl-laced pills, came during the committee's hearing titled "Voices for the Victims: The Heartbreaking Reality of the Mayorkas Border Crisis."

Dunn had been invited by Republicans to take part in the hearing and share the story of how she lost her daughter to fentanyl as Congress continues on with the impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Expressing his "sincere condolences" to Dunn for the loss of her daughter, Goldman said that he wanted to "apologize in some ways" to Dunn because she was "being used as a fact witness for an impeachment investigation."

BORDER PATROL SEIZED ENOUGH FENTANYL TO KILL ENTIRE US POPULATION THIS FISCAL YEAR

"Obviously, given what your experience has been, you don't have the background to understand what a high crime and misdemeanor is and how it relates to this," he added in his remarks to Dunn.

Goldman's remarks drew the ire of Dunn, who told the Daily Caller News Foundation on Friday that the lawmaker is "unaware about what my understanding, about what my education, what my experience is in any of those areas when it comes to misdemeanors or high crimes."

"I have my opinions, and for him to assume that I want to just put more money into a system that has had plenty of money placed into it and is still broken is incorrect. Please don’t think for me. I have a brain, I can think and speak for myself," she told the outlet.

During the hearing, Dunn grew visibly frustrated with Goldman as he attempted to question her.

"You would agree, would you not, that it would help to stop the fentanyl trade and fentanyl trafficking from coming into this country if we had more law enforcement officers at the border and more resources and technology to stop the fentanyl from coming in?" he asked Dunn. "Do you agree with that?"

Dunn rejected Goldman's premise, saying "Border Patrol is now being used to make sandwiches and to screen people and let them into our country. So I disagree with you."

Moments later, Dunn added: "I would like the border patrol to be able to do the job that they were hired to do. Every border patrol officer that I have spoken to has told me that their hands are tied by this administration and Mr. Mayorkas. I’ve been to the border, sir, have you?"

Goldman responded that he was the one asking the questions at the hearing.

TEEN DRUG OVERDOSES HIT RECORD HIGH, DRIVEN PRIMARILY BY FENTANYL POISONING, SAYS NEW REPORT

Further highlighting the moment in a post to Facebook, Dunn wrote, "Pardon me sir, but you know nothing of my experience, my background or my understanding. Also, in all of my research, you have yet to travel once to the Southern Border of the United States. Is that why you avoided my question?"

"Are you unable to return to your constituency and explain your lack of understanding of the border, lack of experience at the border or was it something else? I would think you could have heard what I actually said. Not what you wanted me to say," she added.

Last September, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced that agents had seized over 2,700 lbs. of fentanyl as part of the more than 69,000 lbs of narcotics seized between ports of entry. The seizures also included 40,000 lbs. of marijuana, 13,000 lbs. of methamphetamine and 11,000 lbs. of cocaine. 

That amount of fentanyl, which does not include the amount seized at ports of entry, is more than enough lethal doses to kill the entire population of the United States. While significantly more is caught at ports of entry – with over 22,000 lbs caught at the ports of entry at the southern border this fiscal year – the stat highlights the danger of fentanyl moving between the ports and potentially past overwhelmed agents in the field.

Opioids were involved in more than 100,000 overdose deaths in 2022. Fentanyl is the most prominent opioid, which is produced primarily in Mexico, using Chinese precursors, and then trafficked across the southern border. The drug is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine and is often cut with other drugs, meaning that the user doesn’t know that they are ingesting fentanyl.

While opioid deaths have risen sharply in recent years, the Biden administration has pointed to data suggesting that overdose numbers are slowing and has tied that flattening to its drug strategy, which involves going after smugglers, increasing technology at ports of entry and providing additional funding for treatment and prevention within the U.S.

But the administration has faced criticism from Republicans over its handling of the fentanyl crisis, particularly at the southern border, which they say has exacerbated the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. Some Republicans, including those on the 2024 trail, have called for military action in Mexico to take out drug labs run by the cartels.

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Hilarious Jayapal gaffe proves Dems find saying ‘insurrection’ to be hard

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A Democrat serving in the House of Representatives was at the center of an apparent blunder Wednesday when she claimed former President Donald Trump "incited an erection."

The comment from Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., came during the House Judiciary Committee's consideration of a resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

"I think we're all outraged about many things, but if we're gonna talk about outrageous things that have happened or things that have never happened, let's talk about the fact that President Trump incited an erection."

Quickly realizing what she had said, Jayapal began laughing and said, "Maybe that, too."

JAYAPAL TELLS FELLOW DEMS NOT TO 'OUT-REPUBLICAN THE REPUBLICANS' ON IMMIGRATION AMID FUNDING TALKS

"You can talk about that too, I guess," Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., chimed in.

"Maybe we should talk about that, too," Jayapal responded.

Correcting herself and moving on from the awkward situation, Jayapal said, "The president incited an insurrection."

Jayapal is not the first Democrat to use the word "erection" instead of "insurrection" when talking about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and President Trump's actions on that day.

In January 2021, while pushing for an impeachment trial of Trump on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., claimed the former president was responsible for an "erection."

"Make no mistake, there will be a trial and when that trial ends, senators will have to decide if they believe Donald John Trump incited the erection – insurrection – against the United States," Schumer said at the time.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

Jayapal's colleague, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has also been guilty of using the word "erection" to describe the events from more than three years ago.

Schiff's slip-up came during a November 2021 appearance on "The View," where he responded to pressure from one host who asked him whether he regretted talking up the discredited Steele dossier.

"But let’s not use that as a smokescreen to somehow shield Donald Trump’s culpability for inviting Russia to help him in the election, which they did, for trying to coerce Ukraine into helping him in the next election, which he did, into inciting an erection…"

Catching himself immediately, Schiff corrected himself and used the word "insurrection" before continuing his comments.

Schiff also slipped up and used the word during a January 2021 appearance on CNN, where he claimed then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., incited an "erection."

WATCH: Nancy Mace shreds Hunter Biden for having ‘no balls’ after surprise visit derails House hearing

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Hunter Biden's surprise appearance at a Wednesday House Oversight Committee hearing on Capitol Hill set off a firestorm of reaction among the committee's members, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who accused the president of having "no balls."

Biden, alongside his attorneys, unexpectedly showed up at the hearing as the committee was preparing to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against his father.

"My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That is my first question. Second question, you are the epitome of White privilege coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here and –" Mace said before being interrupted by a Democrat on the committee.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

The hearing spiraled into a screaming match with Mace accusing Moskowitz of not allowing a woman on the committee to speak.

Once Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., got the hearing back on track, Mace declared that Biden "should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail."

"Our nation is founded on the rule of law and the premise that the law applies equally to everyone no matter what your last name is —" she added, before being interrupted by another Democrat objecting to her statement.

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW' BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

In a point of order, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., then called on members of the committee to show respect by not interrupting each other before Comer called on Mace to continue.

"It does not matter who you are, or where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I'm looking at you Hunter Biden as I'm speaking to you. You are not above the law at all," Mace said.

She argued that Biden had no privilege to claim to avoid a subpoena to appear before the committee for testimony, and said his team didn't contest the reasons the subpoena was issued. She accused him of "refusing" to comply.

Mace noted that former President Donald Trump's sons previously appeared for subpoenas, and that Biden broke the law "deliberately" and "flagrantly" by ignoring his.

"The question the American people are asking us is what is Hunter Biden so afraid of? Why can’t you show up for a congressional deposition? You are here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You are playing with the truth," she said. 

"Hunter Biden wasn’t afraid to sell access to Joe Biden to the highest bidder when he was in elected office. He wasn't afraid to trade on the Biden brand, peddle influence, and share the ill gotten gains with members of his family, including Joe Biden, he wasn't afraid to compromise the integrity of the presidency and vice presidency by involving Joe Biden in shady business deals with our foreign adversaries," she said. 

Mace said she believed Biden should be held in contempt, and that "he should be hauled off to jail right now." She then accused Democrats of "hypocrisy" regarding a subpoena for Biden versus past subpoenas for Republicans.

"It brings no joy for us to do this but the president’s son broke the law and must be held accountable in the same way anybody else would. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do so," she said. 

"My last message to you, Hunter Biden: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes," she added.

House Homeland Democrats back Mayorkas, slam GOP ‘sham’ ahead of impeachment hearing

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Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are offering their support for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ahead of the committee's first impeachment hearing on Wednesday -- with the lawmakers accusing their Republican colleagues of running a "sham" process.

"What is going on tomorrow is an embarrassment to the impeachment clause of the Constitution," Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY, told reporters.

The hearing,"Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States," marks the first impeachment hearing after a year of investigations and reports by the House Homeland Security Committee which looked at Mayorkas’ handling of the nearly three-year migrant crisis.

The hearing will see testimony from attorneys general from Montana, Oklahoma and Missouri. The AGs will testify about the impact of the crisis on their states and their belief that Mayorkas is not enforcing the law.

But Democrats on the committee say that Republicans have turned what is a policy dispute into a politically motivated impeachment push.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES

"This is simply a policy dispute, a disagreement about how a different party is attacking a policy problem. And the Republicans are trying to abuse their power and the Constitution to convert what is simply a disagreement into somehow, some way, a high crime and misdemeanor," Goldman said. "There is no crime, much less a high crime or misdemeanor here."

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., described the process as a "political sham with no constitutional basis, no factual basis."

Republicans have claimed that the crisis, which has seen multiple records smashed for migrant encounters, is "unprecedented and intentional."

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING

"The chaos and devastation at the border and in our communities are the result of Alejandro Mayorkas’ failure to fulfill his oath as secretary of Homeland Security," Chairman Mark Green said this week. "His primary responsibility is to secure the homeland—and he has failed."

Republicans have accused the administration of fueling the crisis with "open border" policies, including expanded catch-and-release and the rolling back of Trump-era policies such as the Remain-in-Mexico policy and border wall construction. They’ve pointed to the record number of migrant encounters as the border that have skyrocketed during the Biden administration, as well as the significant number of releases into the interior.

Democrats and the administration have said that authorities are dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and are in need of more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. 

Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed border and immigration bills that are vastly different from one another, while talks are currently ongoing about $14 billion in supplemental border funding requested by the administration, with Republicans demanding restrictions on releases. 

DHS put out a memo ahead of the hearing arguing that Mayorkas was currently working with a bipartisan group of senators to find real solutions to the challenges at the border and called the accusations "baseless."

"Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws," the memo said, also pointing to statements by a number of Republicans who have said that the alleged offenses have not met the standard for impeachment.

Talking to reporters, Democrats also blamed Republicans for not working with them to solve the issue. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., accused Republicans of being "complicit" in the struggles at the border.

"Democrats fully recognize, and the administration I know recognizes that we have real challenges at the border. There are people who are fleeing their home countries due to political instability, due to violence, due to poverty and trying to come to the United States and it has created a chaotic situation," he said. "But House Republicans, rather than work with the administration and work with the secretary to solve the problem instead care more about having a political issue to run on than they do actually solving the challenges that we have at the border."

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Additionally, they praised Mayorkas’ handling of both the crisis and the efforts to find agreement on supplemental spending with lawmakers, and argued that Republiacns haven’t given him the tools with which to do his job.

"I think he's doing a very good job under very tough circumstances," Ivey said. "We haven't really given him the tools to fix it and now they try to beat him up for not being able to perform without the tools."

"Secretary Mayorkas has one of, if not the hardest job in the United States of America. And House Republicans have tried to undercut him and prevent him from being able to do his job every step of the way," Magaziner said. "Deny him the funding. Deny him the tools because they view this as a political game, when really we ought to be working together to solve the challenges at the border."

Crunch time: Congress kicks off 2024 staring down potential shutdown

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The sheer crush of time is extraordinary. Congress returns to session this week after a lengthy holiday recess – much longer for the House than the Senate. And lawmakers face an immediate shutdown by the end of next week. 

This is the perfect way to initiate 2024 in Congress. A flirtation with a shutdown in the opening days epitomizes what 2024 may be like on Capitol Hill.

That said, President Biden and bipartisan, bicameral leaders just forged an agreement on a "topline" for all discretionary spending for the remainder of fiscal year 2024. 

This is not a bill. This is not a "continuing resolution," an interim bill to keep the government afloat. 

CONSERVATIVES REVOLT AGAINST JOHNSON-SCHUMER DEAL TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: ‘WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT’

But it’s a start. And there is a lot to do to avoid shutting down the government in just a few days. 

With 2024 being an election year – and both the House and Senate controlled by narrow majorities – it could well end with contretemps over election recounts and certifications of House and Senate contests as they sort out which party controls each body heading into 2025. That’s to say nothing of possible debates over who won the presidential election. Naturally that could tee up yet another set of challenges in the House and Senate on January 6, 2025 to decide who heads to 1600 Pennsylvania, Ave. 

So the next 12 months are going to be a doozy in Congress. Hope everyone had a nice vacation. 

If Congress struggles to fund the government, one could envision a scenario where lawmakers are marooned in Washington for weeks on end – ala the 10-plus week stretch in the fall. That involved a dalliance with a government shutdown in October, the dethroning of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and an epic, internecine GOP battle before the House finally elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

We don’t believe there’s any immediate threat to Johnson’s grasp on the gavel. But once (and if) lawmakers get through the January 19 funding deadline, that only douses the fiscal flames temporarily. There’s another deadline on February 2. The House is scheduled to be out of session the week of January 21. Then back for three weeks. Then out of session the weeks of February 18 and February 25. That’s followed up by three weeks in Washington in early March. Then out at the end of March and first week of April.

HOUSE GOP MAJORITY TO SHRINK AGAIN IN TIME FOR POTENTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN

A government shutdown crisis could pulverize the congressional schedule. The same with efforts to advance a plan to address border security and fund Ukraine and Israel. 

House Republicans are focused on other things, too. They’re looking at impeachment for President Biden, impeachment for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and a contempt of Congress citation for Hunter Biden. Throw in some serious, bipartisan questions about why Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the Pentagon apparently failed to notify anyone that he was hospitalized, and you have a staggering amount of legislative and political traffic on Capitol Hill. 

All of this hinges on the decisions of key players. Whether they negotiate. Whether they stumble. Whether they produce legislative miracles. Success and failure is the quintessence of Congress. So here’s a thumbnail look at some figures to watch in 2024 – and what it could mean for 2025. 

Let’s start with the Speaker. 

Johnson’s immediate future appears to be secure. But if Johnson falters? Or if the GOP loses the majority in the fall? Does Johnson stick around? Divining a potential Johnson successor might be as challenging as it was to forecast the Speaker’s rise to power. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is the only current member of the GOP brass who emerged unscathed from this fall’s battle for the gavel. 

Rank and file Republicans rejected both House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., for Speaker in October. Would Stefanik be in the mix? It’s also possible that President Trump could consider Stefanik as his running mate this year. 

Of course Johnson may be fine. That’s certainly the case if GOP holds the House, Johnson placates rambunctious conservatives and demonstrates substantial fundraising prowess. 

JOHNSON SPARS WITH WHITE HOUSE OVER BORDER FUNDING CLAIMS: ‘DESPERATE'

Johnson is also just liked better than Kevin McCarthy. 

The Freedom Caucus once again commands the spotlight. Pay attention to Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and new Freedom Caucus leader Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., also bear watching. What do they do with impeachment? And if they don’t impeach, was this duo just making a lot of noise? 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., could very well be Speaker of the House this time next year if Democrats flip control. But Jeffries is starting to see some fractures in his caucus between progressive, pro-Palestinian Democrats and others who align themselves with Israel. How Jeffries wrestles with those divisions will test his leadership skills. 

Another name to keep an eye on: Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash. She chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). DelBene will benefit big time if Democrats run good races and seize control of the House. 

Also watch Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif. He’s one of the most vulnerable Republicans facing reelection this fall, squeaking out a win in 2022 in a district carried by President Biden. 

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., is also one of the most bipartisan members of Congress. But President Biden won one of the electoral votes in Bacon’s district in 2020 thanks to Nebraska’s proportional distribution system. 

In the Senate, the odds certainly favor Republicans flipping the Senate. Democrats are defending way too many seats in swing states. Republicans are facing reelection in states which are already ruby red. However, will Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., return as the top Republican – either in the majority or the minority? McConnell faced a leadership challenge in late 2022 from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. The level of antipathy between former President Trump and McConnell is palpable. Could a second term for former President Trump undo McConnell as leader – even though the Kentucky Republican is the longest-serving party leader in history? 

Also, McConnell experienced several health scares in 2023. Some Republicans might push for McConnell to step aside if he suffers from additional health concerns. 

Granted, McConnell could get credit if the GOP wins the Senate. 

This brings us to Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montan. Daines chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC). He’ll win plaudits if Republicans win the Senate – even though it’s an easy map for the GOP. Plus, Daines and McConnell have tried to draft more "electable" Republicans this year. McConnell has spoken at length about how "candidate quality" undercut the GOP’s chances to win the Senate in 2022.

However, don’t underestimate chances for Senate Republicans to botch what could be a layup this autumn. Senate Republicans certainly stole defeat from the jaws of victory in 2022, 2020 and 2010. That’s why there could be hell to pay if Republicans don’t win Senate control. Some Republicans will look directly at McConnell and Daines. 

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., is retiring. But Manchin is likely to be central to any battles over spending or other major legislation for the duration of his term. There is still a buzz about whether Manchin could run as an independent or third party for President. 

LATINO SENATE HOPEFUL SAYS HISPANIC VOTERS BEING ‘BLINDSIDED’ BY DEM POLICIES, AIM TO FLIP BORDER SEAT RED

There is also attention on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. Sinema is a central player in the border security talks. She’s outraged some liberals for working as a centrist and abandoning the Democratic Party. If Sinema runs and wins reelection and Republicans flip the Senate, look for the GOP to court her to become part of their prospective majority. 

2023 was a doozy on Capitol Hill. 2024 could even be doozier. And then there is 2025. Congress punted the debt ceiling until early next year. The Congressional certification of the presidential election also falls on January 6, 2025. 

The debt ceiling and certifying the results of the Electoral College may be the only big issues with which Congress won’t have to wrestle in 2024. 

As I say, I hope you enjoyed your vacation.

Perhaps for the next couple of years.

House Democrats accuse Trump of raking in $7.8 million in foreign payments while president

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House Democrats are accusing former President Donald Trump of taking in more than $7.8 million from foreign governments via payments to the Trump Organization while he was in the White House.

A majority of that came from the Chinese government and state-owned entities, Democrats said, while the rest came from 19 other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Minority staff on the House Oversight Committee released a 156-page report on Thursday detailing claims that the former president repeatedly violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which states that federal officials may not accept gifts or cash from foreign state actors without Congressional approval. 

"After promising ‘the greatest infomercial in political history,’ former President Donald Trump repeatedly and willfully violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to divest from his business empire and allowing his businesses to accept millions of dollars in payments from some of the most corrupt nations on earth," the top Democrat on the committee Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said.

JACK SMITH DISPUTES TRUMP'S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY CLAIM IN APPEALS COURT

"The limited records that the Committee obtained show that while Donald Trump was in office, he received more than $5.5 million from the Chinese government and Chinese state-owned enterprises, as well as millions more from 19 other foreign governments, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia through just four of the more than 500 entities he owned."

Along with the report, Oversight Democrats also produced more than 400 pages, some redacted, of documents from Mazars USA LLC — Trump’s former accounting firm. 

They accused the former president of allowing his businesses to profit off of foreign cash while suggesting he provided benefits to those countries in return.

SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO ISSUE EXPEDITED RULING ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE

Much of the investigation appears to have focused on the Trump Organization’s hotels in Las Vegas, New York, and Washington, D.C., as well as Trump Tower in Manhattan.

Some of the payments appear to be linked to short-term hotel stays while Trump was in office, like room and dining fees. 

Other cashflows are for longer-term arrangements. The report said that Trump received more than $615,000 from Saudi Arabia while in office, both through its lease of the 45th floor of Trump Tower and through stays at Trump International Hotel in DC. 

The Indian government spent at least $282,764 on Trump properties during his administration, including the cost of two units of Trump Tower. 

It’s not immediately clear whether all of the contracts or agreements on the Trump Tower payments were made before the former president took office or started his 2016 campaign. The report noted that Mazars only handed over information for Trump Tower for the year 2018.

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization pointed out that Beijing-backed bank ICBC "was a tenant who signed a 20 year office lease in a Trump Tower in 2008, almost a decade before President Trump entered office." 

The spokesperson also said "foreign profits were donated in full to the United States Treasury for patronage at our properties while President Trump was in office."

"The house democrats are desperate to save face for Hunter Biden but there there is a large difference between someone who leases commercial office space to a foreign company a decade ago (in 2008 to be exact) versus the son and family members of the Vice President extracting money from China, Ukraine and Romania and others while providing no apparent or tangible goods and services. It would be dishonest to not clearly distinguish between the two," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

"We do not have the ability or viability to stop someone from booking through third parties — Expedia etc — hence the voluntary donation of profits on an annual basis which has been covered ad nauseam."

The report conceded that the overall findings were based on just a fraction of Trump’s accounting records — and Raskin blamed Republicans for their inability to get the rest.

TRUMP BLASTS MANHATTAN JUDGE, DEFENDS HIS 'VERY GOOD CHILDREN' AMID TRUMP ORG CIVIL TRIAL FROM NYAG LAWSUIT

"While the figures and constitutional violations in this report are shocking, we still don’t know the extent of the foreign payments that Donald Trump received—or even the total number of countries that paid him and his businesses while he was President—because Committee Chairman James Comer and House Republicans buried any further evidence of the Trump family’s staggering corruption," Raskin said.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., responded to Fox News Digital: "It’s beyond parody that Democrats continue their obsession with former President Trump. Former President Trump has legitimate businesses but the Bidens do not."

"The Bidens and their associates made over $24 million by cashing in on the Biden name in China, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Romania. No goods or services were provided, other than access to Joe Biden and the Biden network," Comer said. 

He’s one of three committee chairs currently leading an impeachment inquiry of President Biden, specifically looking into whether he and his family profited off of foreign business deals while he was vice president.

In addition to the payments listed above, Democrats accused Trump of taking in $465,744 from Qatar for Trump Tower, $303,372 from Kuwait toward Trump Tower and Trump’s D.C. hotel and $248,962 from Malaysia spent at the D.C. hotel. 

Maine GOP state lawmaker moves to impeach state secretary over Trump ballot removal

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A Maine Republican state lawmaker wants to impeach the Maine secretary of state who removed former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot.

GOP state Rep. John Andrews said he wants to pursue impeachment against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows after she disqualified Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot on Thursday.

In her ruling, Bellows cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bans from office those who "engaged in insurrection."

Andrews said in a statement that he filed a request with the Maine Revisor's Office saying he wanted "to file a Joint Order, or whichever is the proper parliamentary mechanism under Mason's Rules, to impeach Secretary of State Shenna Bellows."

HOUSE DEMOCRAT FROM MAINE RIPS STATE'S DECISION TO TAKE TRUMP OFF BALLOT

"In Maine, the people do not elect the Secretary of State, Attorney General or Treasurer," Andrews told Fox News Digital. "They are chosen by elected Democrat Party insiders after deals are made in the back room of State House."

"Shenna Bellows knows that the process that put her there is extremely partisan," he continued. "She should know better and be going out of her way to be as neutral as possible to serve every citizen in Maine and not just registered Democrats."

"That’s why she swore an oath to the Constitution and not the Democrat Party," he added. "We are still a republic, but moves like this fracture that foundation, which ultimately is the point of all this."

Andrews said in his statement that he wants to impeach Bellows "on the grounds that she is barring an American citizen and [the] 45th President of the United States, who is convicted of no crime or impeachment, their right to appear on a Maine Republican Party ballot in March."

"Donald J. Trump has met all qualifications for the March 2024 Republican Presidential Primary. He should be allowed on the ballot. This is raw partisanship and has no place in the offices of our state's Constitutional Officers," he continued.

Andrews' press release noted a social media post he made, saying Bellows' decision "is hyper-partisanship on full display."

"A Secretary of State APPOINTED by legislative Democrats bans President Trump from the 2024 ballot so that she can jockey for position in the 2026 Democrat Primary for Governor," Andrews said. "Banana Republic isn't just a store at the mall."

Andrews said Friday in a "FOX & Friends" interview that Bellows "has unilaterally disenfranchised 300,060 Maine voters with this partisan move."

He also applauded U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat, for speaking out against Bellows' move, even with his dislike of Trump.

Golden slammed Bellows over the move, saying that he "voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th Insurrection."

"I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States," Golden said Thursday night. "However, we are a nation of laws, therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot."

The Maine secretary of state defended her move while responding to Golden's criticism during a CNN interview on Friday.

"I reviewed Section Three of the 14th Amendment very carefully and determined that Section Three of the 14th Amendment does not say ‘conviction,' it says ‘engage,'" Bellows said.

"And, let's go back and keep in mind that the events of January 6, 2021, were unprecedented and tragic," Bellows continued. "This was an attack, not only on the Capitol and the government officials, the former vice president, members of Congress, but an attack on the rule of law."

"And the weight of evidence that I reviewed indicated that it was, in fact, an insurrection," she added. "And Mr. Trump engaged in that insurrection under Section Three of the 14th Amendment."

In a shock decision issued Thursday evening, Bellows said Trump was ineligible for the state’s 2024 primary ballot, citing a clause in the U.S. Constitution that bars people who have "engaged in insurrection" from running for elected office without two-thirds congressional approval.

The clause was originally meant to bar former Confederate soldiers and officers from holding positions in the U.S. government or military.

It was also referenced by Colorado’s highest court in a 4-3 ruling last week similarly barring Trump from that state’s primary ballot. The decision was challenged by the Colorado GOP, setting up a battle before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Bellows' office declined to comment.

Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Democrat Dean Phillips attacks Biden for trying to upend traditional primary election process

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden’s 2024 Democrat primary challenger is going after him for his opposition to New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation status.

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., released a new campaign ad that targets Biden for supporting a bid to hold the Democrats’ first primary election in South Carolina.

"For over a century, New Hampshire has held the first-in-the-nation primary, and Granite Staters have faithfully carried out that grave responsibility, propelling the candidacies of some and ending the candidacies of others," a voiceover says in the one-minute video. "Now, Joe Biden has ordered New Hampshire to step aside."

DEAN PHILLIPS CALLS BIDEN POSSIBLY ‘UNELECTABLE’ IN 2024 AFTER GOP IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

"Congressman Dean Phillips is meeting with New Hampshire voters in diners, on street corners and at taverns, the way it's always been done."

New Hampshire officials announced last month that they would not heed the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) request to cede its first-state privilege to South Carolina.

PHILLIPS TARGETS BIDEN, FELLOW DEMOCRATS OVER BORDER POLICIES AS HE LAUNCHES PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST PRESIDENT

The president’s reelection campaign also has not filed to be on the New Hampshire ballot, which could further complicate things for him there.

"In today's society, it seems that we're quick to eliminate traditions and ignore them," New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan said at press conference in November. 

South Carolina had set its primary for Feb. 3 after the DNC approved a proposal for it to hold the first 2024 Democrat race. But New Hampshire set its primary for Jan. 23, with officials citing state law mandating that the Granite State be first.

WHY DEAN PHILLIPS IS SCOLDING FELLOW DEMOCRATS

Biden wrote to the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee last year to support the calendar overhaul.

"For decades, Black votes in particular have been the backbone of the Democratic Party but have been pushed to the back of the early primary process," he wrote, referencing the state’s sizable Black population.

Notably, Biden’s commanding victory in the 2020 South Carolina primary was widely credited for turning his then-flailing presidential campaign around.

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s 2024 campaign about the advertisement but did not immediately hear back.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Biden’s House Democrat challenger embraces progressives’ Medicare-for-All bill

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden's House Democrat challenger for the White House is endorsing the progressive policy of "Medicare-for-All."

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., threw his hat behind the controversial state-provided free healthcare policy in a recent interview amid his challenge against Biden for his job.

Phillips said he was signing on to the bill led by House Progressive Caucus chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., with his staff saying the congressman would sign onto the bill Wednesday.

DEAN PHILLIPS CALLS BIDEN POSSIBLY ‘UNELECTABLE’ IN 2024 AFTER GOP IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Phillips, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus who has long been considered a centrist, had not signed onto the proposal before.

His signature on the bill shows him moving toward the progressive wing of the party. The congressman told Politico that his policy shift did not have anything to do with his presidential bid against Biden.

However, Phillips' endorsement of the policy puts him in stark contrast to Biden amid his White House challenge against the president.

Biden refused to endorse socializing healthcare during the 2020 presidential election — even as his eventual running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, did. Prior to his election, he indicated during an MSNBC interview that he would veto Medicare-for-All legislation as president over its price tag.

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's campaign for comment.

Phillips also said he has his issues with the plan, such as prohibiting almost all private health insurance.

The Democratic congressman said his "journey" to endorsing the plan was "a long one." Phillips said he took his healthcare access for granted until he saw uninsured children battling cancer after his daughter's Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis almost 10 years ago.

The issue entered his mind again in 2016 when he opened up coffee shops and found it "profoundly disappointing" that he could not afford health insurance for his part-time employees.

Phillips also took another look at the policy after being elected in 2018 to represent the district that headquarters UnitedHealth Group.

"I started to recognize this massive disconnect between the behemoths in the health insurance business and then the people that I represented, who were telling me the most horrifying stories about having their coverage denied or having to take on medical debt or going bankrupt," Phillips told Politico.

"I have a progressive heart, a pragmatic head, and want to work with people on both sides of the aisle to achieve better outcomes for the country that both improve care and lower costs," he added. "Those are the best combinations of progressive and conservative principles I could possibly imagine, and that makes this proposition remarkably centrist."

Phillips declined to say how "Medicare-for-All" would be paid.

Fox News Digital reached out to Phillips' campaign for comment.