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

House GOP leaders smack down bipartisan Senate border deal as Republican support crumbles

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House GOP leaders are formally announcing their opposition to the bipartisan border security deal revealed by the Senate on Sunday.

Republican support for the measure has been dissipating by the hour as more high-profile GOP lawmakers add their voices to the chorus of criticism.

"House Republicans oppose the Senate immigration bill because it fails in every policy area needed to secure our border and would actually incentivize more illegal immigration," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La.; Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said in a joint statement Monday.

"Among its many flaws, the bill expands work authorizations for illegal aliens while failing to include critical asylum reforms. Even worse, its language allowing illegals to be ‘released from physical custody’ would effectively endorse the Biden ‘catch and release’ policy."

SENATE RELEASES LONG-AWAITED BORDER LEGISLATION, MAJOR ASYLUM CHANGES

They also claimed the bill gave too much authority to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who House Republicans aim to impeach this week.

"The so-called ‘shutdown’ authority in the bill is anything but, riddled with loopholes that grant far too much discretionary authority to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas – who has proven he will exploit every measure possible, in defiance of the law, to keep the border open," House leadership said. "The bill also fails to adequately stop the President’s abuse of parole authority and provides for taxpayer funds to fly and house illegal immigrants in hotels through the FEMA Shelter and Services Program."

They reiterated prior calls for the Senate to take up H.R.2, the border security bill House Republicans passed last summer. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has panned that bill as a nonstarter.

"That bill contains the necessary components to actually stem the flow of illegals and end the present crisis. The Senate must take it up immediately. America’s sovereignty is at stake," the Republicans said.

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

"Any consideration of this Senate bill in its current form is a waste of time. It is DEAD on arrival in the House. We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject it."

The 370-page border and security supplemental funding bill would, if passed, grant President Biden the authority to temporarily shut down the border. It would also raise the threshold for migrants to claim asylum while also speeding up the process by which those claims are adjudicated.

The bill also includes a total of 250,000 new visas over five years and a legal pathway to citizenship for Afghans who fled to the U.S. when Kabul fell to the Taliban.

But many Republican lawmakers are saying that it does not go far enough to secure the border, citing the record-shattering number of migrants encountered at the southern border since 2021. 

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

Several key GOP lawmakers have come out against the bill since the text was revealed Sunday, potentially putting its passage in peril.

That includes Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., chairman of House Republicans' campaign arm and a member of Senate GOP leadership, who said on Monday, "With House Republicans united in opposition to this bill, it makes no sense to even bring it up in the Senate…I will vote no when the bill is brought to the Senate floor this week."

At least a dozen GOP senators are also publicly opposed to the bill, which Schumer said will get a vote this week.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the House trying to impeach Mayorkas next week

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House Republicans are aiming to tee up debate and a floor vote next week to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

As of this Friday, the House Rules Committee has not officially put impeachment on its schedule for Monday. But Fox is told that that could happen over the weekend if Republicans are satisfied with the whip count on impeachment. At this stage, the Rules Committee is only slated to prep a health care bill for the floor at its meeting Monday. The two impeachment articles must go to the Rules Committee before heading to the floor.

If the Rules Committee prepares the articles of impeachment on Monday, the full House could debate and vote on impeaching Mayorkas as early as Tuesday. If the Rules Committee meeting slips to Tuesday, then floor action on Mayorkas will likely shift to Wednesday. 

And even if the Rules Committee convenes on Mayorkas, the House won’t necessarily need to bring those articles of impeachment to the floor right away if the GOP brass is concerned about the vote count. 

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES APPROVED BY COMMITTEE, SETTING UP FULL HOUSE VOTE

The decision to go to the floor is about the math. 

Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., resigns Friday to run an arts organization in western New York. When the House returns on Monday, it will have 431 members — 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats. That’s a seven seat majority. And the retirement of Higgins helps the GOP make the math work in their impeachment quest. With a delta of seven seats between the majority and minority, Republicans can now lose three votes on their side and pass something without assistance from Democrats. The margin was two votes prior to Higgins stepping down. 

But it’s more complicated than that. 

It is doubtful that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., will be back next week after receiving cancer treatments. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., should return after being injured in a car accident. But there are always a handful of members out on any given day for health and other reasons. So if Republicans go to the floor to impeach Mayorkas, they need to make sure everyone who is a yea on impeachment is present. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., is a no right now. Johnson told Fox Business Friday morning that he would work on Buck this weekend. 

So, if things go the way the GOP leadership wants, the House could vote on Tuesday or Wednesday to impeach Mayorkas. If the leadership doesn’t put impeachment on the floor, the math won’t work. 

Keep in mind that the Republican hand could either get better or worse if for some reason the House doesn’t vote next week on impeachment. 

There is a special election in New York on February 13 to replace former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who was expelled. Former Rep. Tom Suozzi, R-N.Y., is running against GOP nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip. If Suozzi wins, the GOP majority shrinks again. But a Pilip victory serves as a Republican reinforcement. 

HESITANT REPUBLICANS COULD DERAIL MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT EFFORT

If and when the House votes, it considers two articles of impeachment. One accuses Mayorkas of disregarding the law. The other charges Mayorkas of lying to Congress, saying the border was secure. 

The House will likely vote on each article separately. Mayorkas would be impeached if the House adopts either article. Moreover, the House does not always approve both articles of impeachment in such an inquest. In 1997, the House only adopted two of the four articles of impeachment leveled against former President Clinton. 

Think of impeachment as an indictment. It’s then up to the Senate to act as a "court" and judge whether the accused is guilty of the charges in a trial. 

The impeachment of cabinet officials is rare. The House has now impeached multiple Presidents and federal judges. But only one cabinet member, Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. 

If the House approves impeachment articles, it must next take a separate vote to appoint "impeachment managers." It then dispatches the article or articles of impeachment to the Senate. 

"Impeachment managers" are House members who serve as prosecutors. They present the findings of the House before the Senate. Senators sit as jurors. 

Fox is told that the House wants to get the impeachment articles to the Senate quickly after the vote. The Senate is trying to consider a major border security bill next week. So there could be a bit of a parliamentary traffic jam as the Senate potentially grapples with both the border bill and maybe the start a Senate trial. But it’s also possible a trial could wait until the week of Feb. 11. 

T,his scenario produces a rather shocking split screen. The Senate is dealing with a border security bill as it entertains an impeachment trial against the Homeland Security Secretary. 

OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS GOP IMPEACHING ‘TRAITOR’ MAYORKAS A ‘NO BRAINER’: ‘GROTESQUELY UNQUALIFIED’

There is a bit of a ceremony to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate from the House and for the Senate to receive the articles. In this case, Acting Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber and House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland escort the articles of impeachment and House managers across the Capitol Dome to the Senate. The Senate gathers, usually with all senators sitting at their desks. Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson then receives the House entourage at the Senate door and reads the following proclamation to the Senate. 

"All persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment, while the House of Representatives is exhibiting to the Senate of the United States articles of impeachment against Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas." 

The articles are then presented to the Senate and the managers are introduced. That is all which usually happens on the first day of a Senate trial – although Fox was told the Senate might try to squeeze everything 

Under Senate impeachment trial rule III, the body is supposed to wait until the next day to swear-in senators as jurors. But Fox is told that could happen on day one in this instance. 

According to Senate rules, the "trial" must begin the day after the Senate receives the articles at 1 p.m. Trials are supposed to run Monday through Saturday. There were Saturday sessions in both impeachment trials of former President Trump in 2020 and 2021. 

It is unlikely that U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over a possible Mayorkas trial. Senate impeachment rule IV requires the Chief Justice to preside over cases involving the President or Vice President. In this case, it’s likely that Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., will preside over a Mayorkas tribunal.

Now we get to perhaps the most interesting question of all: How much of a trial is there? 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., ducked questions from yours truly last fall about what a potential impeachment trial for President Biden or Mayorkas would look like. 

Schumer again sidestepped a question this week when asked if he would "hold" a trial. "Let’s wait and see what the House does," replied Schumer. 

But regardless, the Senate cannot immediately bypass a trial. If the House impeaches, the Senate is compelled to at least receive the impeachment articles, the House managers and swear-in the senators. 

At that point, the Senate can decide to hold a full trial, or potentially, move to dismiss or actually have straight, up or down votes on convicting or exonerating Mayorkas. 

In the 1998 impeachment trial of former President Clinton, late Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., made a motion to dismiss the charges. 

In 2010, the Senate was on the verge of launching an impeachment trial of former federal judge Samuel Kent, but he resigned after the House impeached him and before the Senate began the trial. The House notified the Senate it did not want to continue with the trial. So the Senate eventually conducted a vote to discharge itself of responsibilities regarding Kent. 

The Senate could so something similar this time. 

But here’s the rub: There will eventually be either a vote to convict or exonerate Mayorkas or dismiss the charges. Senate Republicans will watch very closely if Senate Democrats engineer any vote to short-circuit the trial. The GOP will take note of how multiple vulnerable Democrats facing competitive re-election bids in battleground districts vote.

If they vote to end the trial or clear Mayorkas, Republicans will likely enroll that into their campaigns against those Democratic senators. Keep in mind that Fox polling data revealed that border security was the number-one issue facing voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. Republicans will examine the trial-related votes of Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Jon Tester, D-Mont., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. – if she runs.

But first, we have to see if the House has the votes to impeach. Everything hinges on that.

Hesitant Republicans could derail Mayorkas impeachment effort

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House GOP leaders are closely watching a few Republican lawmakers ahead of their expected vote on whether to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas next week.

With just a razor-thin majority and all Democrats likely to oppose the measure, Republicans will have to be in near lock-step to pass what would be a historic vote. A Cabinet official has not been impeached since 1876.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told reporters on Thursday morning that he is a "solid" no on impeaching Mayorkas. 

He criticized the Biden official for his handling of the southern border crisis, but said, "The people that I’m talking to on the outside, the constitutional experts, former members agree that this just isn’t an impeachable offense." 

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

At least four other Republicans are still undecided, at least publicly. 

The office of Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, leader of the moderate Republican Governance Group, told Fox News Digital on Friday that he "has met with Chairman Green and is reviewing the material that they have provided."

House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has not told reporters how he would vote. Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., also declined to say which way they were leaning earlier this week.

Fox News Digital reached out to McHenry, Newhouse and McClintock's offices for an update but did not immediately hear back.

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

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has been dealing with one of the thinnest House majorities in history over the last several weeks. With absences on the GOP side and the departures of three former lawmakers, Johnson has been walking a tightrope of just a two-seat majority.

However, he got some breathing room recently with longtime Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., resigning, effective Friday. 

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who was receiving treatment linked to his cancer diagnosis, and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who has been recovering from a car accident, are expected back in the House soon as well.

It would be a massive blow to the House GOP's emphasis on the border crisis if the Mayorkas impeachment were to fail in the House.

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

House Republicans are pushing to impeach Mayorkas over accusations of willfully disregarding the law to allow the migrant crisis to foment.

The effort has received support from the vast majority of House Republicans. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a key moderate who was also on the fence about impeaching the Cabinet secretary, told reporters earlier this week that he'd back it as well.

"I intend to," Bacon said when asked about it on Tuesday. "Because we have a disaster at the border. And I would say there's so many laws on the books that he could enact or enforce, and he does not."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marjorie Taylor Greene predicts Mayorkas impeachment articles will pass House without any Dem support

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is predicting that not a single House Democrat will vote in favor of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the migrant crisis at the border.

The House Homeland Security Committee is meeting Tuesday morning to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas – one for "willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law," and the second accusing him of a "breach of public trust."

"I still can't believe I had to force the floor vote on the House floor," Greene told Fox News Digital. "I guess I can be thanking these Democrats and these eight Republicans now that those articles of impeachment were moved, that my articles were moved to Homeland because… Chairman Mark Green and the other Republicans on Homeland, having dealt face-to-face and gone through all the hearings that we did, with all the witnesses that we brought in…they had the will to impeach Mayorkas."

WHITE HOUSE DEMANDS SPEAKER JOHNSON GIVE BIDEN ‘AUTHORITY AND FUNDING’ TO ‘SECURE THE BORDER’

Greene had attempted to bring her articles of impeachment for a vote twice in November. They were referred to committee the first time, avoiding the actual vote. She was persuaded to back down the second time after being assured the articles would go through the committee process.

The impeachment articles are likely to advance out of committee on party lines Tuesday. Then, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pledged a House-wide vote "as soon as possible."

Greene anticipated the impeachment articles will pass the House also along party lines, even with Republicans’ razor-thin majority, with no Democratic support.

TEXAS GOVERNOR DOING ‘EXACTLY RIGHT THING’ AMID CONSTITUTIONAL BATTLE OVER BORDER ENFORCEMENT: LEGAL EXPERTS

"You would think with the situation as severe as it is… you would think that every Democrat, or at least some of the Democrats, would vote for this, but sadly, we're not going to see any Democrats vote for it," Greene said.

An adviser to House GOP leadership credited Greene with pushing the impeachment resolution to the floor, arguing "she deserves a lot of the credit" 

"Let's be clear, the impeachment of Mayorkas would not be happening unless MTG held GOP leadership's feet to the flames," the adviser told Fox News Digital.

OPINION: DID BIDEN INTENTIONALLY CAUSE THE BORDER CRISIS?

Democrats have accused House Republicans of playing politics with the border crisis, including with the impeachment of Mayorkas.

Mayorkas’ defenders have repeatedly pointed out that he is part of bipartisan talks in the Senate on a border security compromise. 

But House Republicans have criticized those talks, arguing that the resulting deal probably would not go far enough. They’ve also heaped skepticism on Mayorkas’ role in particular, claiming he cannot be part of a legitimate solution.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a Sunday memo, "This markup is just more of the same political games from House Homeland Security Committee (CHS) Republicans. They don’t want to fix the problem; they want to campaign on it. That’s why they have undermined efforts to achieve bipartisan solutions and ignored the facts, legal scholars and experts, and even the Constitution itself in their quest to baselessly impeach Secretary Mayorkas."

‘Sugar brother’ Kevin Morris loaned Hunter Biden $6.5M for debts and back taxes, more than previous estimate

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Kevin Morris loaned Hunter Biden approximately $6.5 million — over $1 million more than originally estimated and discussed, his attorney revealed in a letter this week. 

Fox News obtained a letter Kevin Morris’ attorney sent to the House Oversight Committee this week. The letter shows a breakdown of the loans and when Morris wants those loans repaid.

KEVIN MORRIS GAVE 'MASSIVE' FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO HUNTER BIDEN, RAISING CAMPAIGN FINANCE CONCERNS: COMER

Morris was subpoenaed to appear before the committee for a transcribed interview as part of the House impeachment inquiry.

During his interview, Morris testified that he loaned Hunter Biden at least $5 million and began paying his tax liability.

Morris and his attorney were estimating during the interview, a source told Fox News, and promised to follow-up with exact figures loaned to the first son.

The letter outlines an additional $1.6 million more than Morris had estimated during the interview.

Morris, on Oct. 13, 2021, gave Hunter Biden a loan for approximately $1.4 million. According to the letter, Hunter Biden was to repay the loan, with $500,000 paid by Oct. 1, 2026 and the remaining $417, 634 by Oct. 1, 2027, plus interest.

A few days later, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $2.6 million, with directions to repay the loan by Oct. 1, 2029. That loan, according to Morris’ lawyer, "was used to pay, among other debts, Mr. Biden’s tax debt to the IRS."

On Oct. 17, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $640,355 to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

HUNTER BIDEN LAWYER TESTIFIES THAT 1ST TRUMP IMPEACHMENT CREATED 'EMERGENCY' TO FILE UNPAID TAXES

On Dec. 30, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter $685,813.99, to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

On Dec. 29, 2023, Morris loaned Hunter approximately $1.2 million to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2028, with all interest paid by October 2029.

"As negotiated by separate attorneys for Mr. Morris and Mr. Biden, each of these notes has an interest rate of 5%, a set payment term, and were negotiated by separate attorneys for Mr. Morris and Mr. Biden," the letter states.

In the letter, Morris’ attorney, whose name is redacted, claimed House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and "other members" have ignored "the request we made to refrain from mischaracterizing Mr. Morris’ testimony in a public statement." 

"One more time—I am asking that this letter and its information not be released out of its context of the questions and answers Mr. Morris gave at his transcribed interview on January 18, 2024," the attorney wrote. "Nothing in this letter shall be considered a waiver of any of my client’s rights, objections, or claims, all of which are expressly reserved." 

Morris told the House panel last week that "With respect to the loans, I am confident that Hunter will repay. I did not and do not have any expectations of receiving anything from Hunter's father or the Biden administration in exchange from helping Hunter, nor have I asked for anything from President Biden or his administration."

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Biden with nine federal tax charges, which break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors for $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid.

Weiss charged Hunter in December, alleging a "four-year scheme" in which the president's son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Weiss also indicted the first son on federal gun charges in Delaware last year. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges as well. His attorneys are attempting to have that case dismissed.

Fox News' Lee Ross contributed to this report. 

Several senior House Republicans still silent on Trump 2024 amid growing pressure for party unity

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Former President Trump’s decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary this week spurred several new endorsements from lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have so far been silent on the race.

Among the most notable pivots was House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., who endorsed Trump over the weekend minutes after his preferred candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, dropped out of the race.

As of Thursday afternoon, Trump has more than 120 House Republican endorsements – the majority of the House GOP Conference and far outpacing former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley’s one backer.

Fox News Digital took a look at some of the senior House Republicans who have yet to weigh in despite mounting calls to unify behind the former president.

RAMASWAMY: HALEY SHOULD DROP OUT FOR GOOD OF COUNTRY AS OBSERVERS SAY SHE'S STILL ‘ALIVE AND KICKING’

Comer has not weighed in on the 2024 presidential primary publicly so far. It’s worth noting his hands have been full on Capitol Hill leading an impeachment inquiry into Trump’s rival, President Biden.

Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., who are also leading the inquiry, have both endorsed Trump. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Comer’s office but did not immediately hear back.

HALEY AND PHILLIPS OUTPERFORMED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, BUT IT'S STILL A TRUMP VS BIDEN HORSE RACE 

Fitzpatrick, a more moderate member from a Pennsylvania swing district, also hasn’t picked a side in the 2024 primary.

When Trump was indicted in June over his handling of classified documents, Fitzpatrick was one of the few Republicans who did not rush to his defense. The former FBI agent urged people to respect the legal process and not rush to judgment.

"No one is above the law or beyond prosecution," he said. "No one should be targeted for prosecution merely because of their status, position or affiliation."

Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

McMorris Rodgers is seen as one of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s closest allies on Capitol Hill, but unlike Johnson, R-La., she has yet to weigh in on the 2024 presidential primary race. Johnson endorsed Trump late last year.

In December 2019, she was named a state honorary co-chair for Trump’s reelection bid, according to the Spokesman-Review newspaper.

She made clear there was some distance between them after the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, reportedly telling constituents in August 2023 that efforts to overturn Trump’s 2020 loss that day were "un-American."

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But she reportedly said, "I also believe that Donald Trump, or any American, deserves due process."

Fox News Digital reached out to McMorris Rodgers' campaign for comment.

Roy went into the 2024 presidential primary cycle as one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ most enthusiastic supporters. But unlike Freedom Caucus Chair Good, Roy has not stepped behind Trump so far in the two-candidate race. 

Trump threatened to recruit a primary challenger against Roy, who is popular in his district and running unopposed, for his support of Trump’s former rival.

Roy said on CNN in late December, "I was just at multiple events with Ron DeSantis, where he’s shaking their hands and looking them in the eye while Donald Trump hangs out in his basement in Florida, afraid to actually debate."

He said on "Fox Across America" on Thursday that Trump is "likely going to be the nominee" and called on him to "stand up in defense of the hardworking American family getting steamrolled by corporate America and by Republicans too weak-kneed to fight for them."

Roy's office pointed to his earlier comments when reached by Fox News Digital on Thursday afternoon.

Moore stepped into House leadership after a crowded race for a position left by Johnson when he took the gavel in October.

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He’s rarely spoken out about Republican Party politics in the 2024 presidential primary, preferring to keep election discussions focused on the House of Representatives.

With his recent leadership role, Moore is also the highest-ranking House Republican to have voted in favor of a Sept. 11-style bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Fox News Digital tried to contact his campaign but did not immediately hear back.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Republicans probe DHS Secretary Mayorkas over role in housing migrants on federal lands

Posted on by Latest Political News on Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: House Republican leaders on the Natural Resources Committee are probing the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) role in placing migrants on federal lands in New York.

In a letter sent Monday to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who chairs the panel's oversight subcommittee, cited interviews they conducted with federal officials who confirmed DHS's involvement in the decision to house migrants at Gateway National Recreation Area's Floyd Bennett Field, managed by the National Park Service (NPS).

While DHS, according to the letter, intervened to ensure Floyd Bennett Field, in New York City's Brooklyn borough, would be leased to the local government for migrant housing, the land is managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and NPS. In one interview, a senior DOI official told congressional investigators that they "did what DHS asked us to do" when they moved forward with the plan last year.

"The Committee is deeply concerned with the Biden administration leasing NPS land for use as a migrant encampment, a use that is not only inconsistent with the National Park Service Organic Act, but publicly recognized as legally perilous by DOI," Westerman and Gosar wrote to Mayorkas. 

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"Moreover, the Committee is concerned with the role DHS played in the process, particularly as you described it in the letters to Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul and as described to Committee staff by DOI and NPS officials," the Republican lawmakers continued.

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In August, Mayorkas sent letters to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, hitting back at the officials over their handling of the surge of migrants in New York City, Politico reported at the time. He further noted "structural issues" with New York's handling of the crisis and implored the city and state to accept a lease DOI sent for the temporary use of Floyd Bennett Field to house migrants.

"DOI seeks to finalize that lease as soon as you are ready," Mayorkas wrote to Hochul and Adams, according to Politico.

Weeks later, on Sept. 15, DOI and the local parties executed the agreement to lease portions of Floyd Bennett Field's property. Officials then constructed temporary housing on land along the shore of Jamaica Bay.

However, the Republican leaders have pointed out that, prior to the decision to lease the property, Hochul noted the DOI had itself argued such an action would likely violate federal laws. The governor, who has called for federal assistance in dealing with her state's migrant influx, remarked one month prior that officials told her office "they do not allow for use of shelter on any of their properties."

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The Republicans have also probed how the White House Council on Environmental Quality appears to have allowed DOI to bypass the normal eco review process mandated under the National Environmental Policy Act. The 1969 law requires federal agencies to review the environmental impacts of projects and proposals on federal land before approval.

Meanwhile, the housing facility erected at Floyd Bennett Field has been heavily criticized by migrants as inhumane and, according to a Venezuelan mother of three interviewed by The City, "like a hell." Thousands of migrants at the encampment were evacuated earlier this month and sent to a New York City high school, forcing the school to cancel in-person classes.

The Natural Resources Committee's ongoing investigation comes as migrants continue to flood the southern border in record numbers and Republicans call for the Biden administration to make structural reforms to secure the border.

In December, more than 302,000 migrants were encountered attempting to cross the U.S. southern border, by far the largest single month figure ever recorded. The number also brought fiscal 2024 first-quarter numbers to 785,000 encounters, the highest number ever recorded.

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