Chinese nationals are illegally entering Guam, posing a “major cause for concern” for the island which is home to an important U.S. military base and around 20,000 American troops, Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) told <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13249963/chinese-migrants-guam-republican-ccp-exploit-military-base.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a>.
Since 2022, Guam Customs and Quarantine has reported 118 unlawful or attempted unlawful entries by Chinese nationals, agency spokeswoman Alana Chargualaf-Afaisen told <a href="https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2024-02-26/guam-china-illegal-entry-northern-marianas-13130497.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stars and Stripes</a>. There were 85 cases of attempted illegal entry into Guam by Chinese migrants in 2022, followed by 27 in 2023, and six so far in 2024.
Guam is just under <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2020/07/23/china-aims-missiles-at-americas-pacific-bomber-base-how-should-the-pentagon-defend-guam/?sh=4578d4f729a5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2,000 miles</a> from the Chinese mainland and is home to Naval Base Guam, the only U.S. Navy submarine base in the western Pacific. The island also hosts America’s main Pacific bomber fleet at Andersen Air Force Base.
“Count on the Chinese Communist Party to exploit every potential vulnerability on the map. What the CCP is doing in Guam is almost certainly no exception,” Green told the Mail. “The United States maintains a significant military presence on the island, a vital outpost for helping America defend our strategic interests in the region.”
The “surging numbers of Chinese nationals coming into Guam” is a “major cause for concern, in part because we simply do not know for what purpose these individuals are coming,” Green said, adding, &#8220;It&#8217;s not just rising numbers of Chinese nationals illegally crossing our Southwest border that demands attention—what&#8217;s happening in Guam does, as well.&#8221;
The Department of Homeland Security told Stars and Stripes that the Chinese migrants are mainly going to Guam for economic reasons. Special Agent in Charge John Tobon of Homeland Security Investigations in Honolulu said, “The one thing about all those individuals is that they are all vetted before they are admitted into Saipan.”
“Once they’re in Saipan, they may try to come over to Guam, but the overwhelming majority are really doing it for economic reasons,” Tobon added.
Republicans, such as Green and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, maintain apprehensions about the Chinese migrants, however, saying that loopholes in the Visa process allow bad actors to take advantage of the U.S. Last November, 32 Republicans wrote a letter, warning Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of the loopholes.
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&#8220;The Chinese Communist Party has already proven they will stop at nothing to infiltrate and outpace the United States, and I&#8217;m working to close loopholes that allow any further espionage,&#8221; Ernst told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/republican-warns-about-chinese-spies-near-military-bases-1884666" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newsweek</a> on Wednesday. &#8220;We must put an end to Chinese nationals accessing our military installations on U.S. territories and conducting malign activity.”
Last month, CBS News reported that Chinese nationals are the fastest-growing group of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. Over 24,000 Chinese citizens were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in the past year, a number higher than the combined data on apprehensions from the ten previous years, according to a November <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/24/us/politics/china-migrants-us-border.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times.

Guam

‘Surging Numbers’ Of Chinese Migrants Attempting To Illegally Enter U.S. Island Home To Vital Military Bases, Homeland Security Committee Chair Warns

'Surging Numbers' Of Chinese Migrants Attempting To Illegally Enter U.S. Island Home To Vital Military Bases, Homeland Security Committee Chair Warns

China

Illegal Immigration

Joni Ernst

Mark Green

Military

U.S.

On the eve of the annual Army-Navy football game, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) — who served in the U.S. military for 23 years, including as a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq — fired off a <a href="https://www.ernst.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_to_president_biden.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to President Biden because of reports that military families hoping to attend the game could not book reservations at local hotels as they were being used to house illegal immigrants, and some reservations had been canceled for that reason.
In early October, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/army-navy-hotel-rooms-migrants-massachusetts-foxboro/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that three hotels owned by Giri Hotel Management, according to travel agent Mark Mansbach, were working with the state of Massachusetts to house illegal immigrants. “His clients&#8217; previously booked hotel rooms were canceled to continue the lease with the state. Mansbach said at least 70 of his reservations were impacted,” CBS News reported.
“Your border policies are failing, and it is abundantly clear change is needed,” Ernst wrote Biden. “Your failed policies are directly harming military families. &#8230; As you may know, this is an event for which ‘tens of thousands of veterans will pour into the greater Boston area’ hoping to celebrate America’s Game.”
“It’s clear: these cancellations are due to your administration’s decision to ship illegal immigrants across the country to sanctuary cities at taxpayers’ expense,” she continued.
“The Army-Navy Game is not a trivial thing,” she declared. “It fosters esprit de corps between American military families, potential future servicemembers, and the Armed Forces. This is an imperative when the military is faced with the worst recruiting crisis in decades, in part driven by your politicization of it.”
“Of the five Defense Department service branches, only two met their active-duty enlisted recruiting goals for fiscal [year] 2023 &#8212; the Marine Corps and the Space Force, by far the smallest services with the lightest recruiting burden,” she noted. “What’s more, military families attending the game often use it to interest their children in a career in the Armed Services.”
“Not only is this game a recruitment mechanism, those of us who have served know it is truly an opportunity to showcase America’s finest—the incredible young servicemembers who have stepped forward to serve their country—the Corps of Cadets and Brigade of Midshipmen,” she continued. “The Army-Navy Game gives attendees—many of whom are veterans themselves—the opportunity to honor the next generation of our fighting men and women, as well as our nation.”
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“It is flatly unacceptable for our veterans and military families to be displaced because of your administration’s failure to secure our southern border. Military families who have scrimped and saved to be able to afford a trip to the Army-Navy game should not have to compete with illegal immigrants for hotel room space,” she concluded.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 10 Army vs Navy

Military Families Reportedly Shut Out Of Hotels For Army-Navy Game Because They’re Housing Illegals. Joni Ernst Blisters Biden.

Football

Joe Biden

U.S. Army

U.S. Navy

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who served in the U.S. military for 23 years, including as a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq, slammed President Biden for his weakness in defending U.S. troops from repeated attacks by Iran’s proxies, calling on Biden to be “more aggressive in pushing back.”
Ernst was <a href="https://grabien.com/story.php?id=450269&amp;utm_source=cliplist&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=cliplist20231205&amp;utm_content=story450269">interviewed</a> by Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, who noted, “They’re coming after us. We’ve been attacked 75 times on our troops in the Middle East since October 17,” then asked, “How would you assess the White House’s response to this escalation coming out of Iran. It is Iran, even though it’s its proxies, Iran is pulling the strings, right?”
“Right, and there is no secret how I feel about the White House&#8217;s response to the attacks in the Middle East: I am sorely disappointed in the president and his lack of response when our troops are being targeted,” Ernst responded. “So I think we need to be much more aggressive in pushing back. We are defending our troops. It is our right; it is our responsibility, to make sure these men and women can defend themselves.”
“This was the subject of discussion out at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley this last weekend,” she continued. “I was in attendance &#8230; Leon Panetta (former Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA) had some very strong words to this administration. And we do need to be more aggressive in pushing back against Iran. This will continue to escalate if we have such milquetoast response coming from this administration.”
Ernst had warned in late October that Biden was weak in dealing with threats against U.S. troops. She appeared on Fox News with host Harris Faulkner, who noted of the Israel-Hamas war that there were “real worries that the conflict could expand. &#8230; This comes as the IDF says Iran-backed Hezbollah — so that’s to the north, that border with Lebanon — that Hezbollah is now ramping up attacks from that country, Lebanon — and Israel is firing back.”
Faulkner then played a clip of Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying, “We expect that there’s a likelihood of escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel &#8230; we don’t want to see a second or third front develop; we don’t want to see our forces or personnel come under fire, but if that happens, we’re ready for it.”
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Faulkner followed with a clip of South Carolina GOP Senator Lindsey Graham adding there would be harsh consequences if Iran escalates the war, as he declared, “If this war grows, it’s coming to your backyard. There won’t be two fronts; there’ll be three. If there’s an effort to unleash Hezbollah on the Jewish state to destroy it, my attention will be to Tehran. If these innocent hostages get slaughtered, I hold you, Iran, accountable, because you could stop it if you chose to. The idea that this happened without Iranian involvement is laughable.”
Faulkner then turned to Ernst: “Is he right?”
“He is absolutely correct, Harris,” Ernst answered. “Iran is behind this. They fund 93% of Hamas’ activities; they fund 100% of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activities; not to mention Hezbollah and the Houthis. This all goes right back to Iran.”
“But you know what, who else is involved in this?” she asked rhetorically. “President Biden has been so actively appeasing Iran instead of standing up to them, and I&#8217;m telling you, if we lose more Americans, we need to go after Iran. It is incredibly important that we push back against them. We need to be interdicting their oil just as our sanctions call for, we need to refreeze that $6 billion.”
“Come on, President Joe Biden; we got to do more,” she urged. “We’ve got to push back more against Iran. And Tony Blinken, I want to hear a little more fire in your belly, because we, the United States of America, are not standing strong enough when it comes to pushing back against this terrorism. It’s infiltrating all around the globe. I know that President Biden gave up on the War on Terror, but it’s not over yet.”
<div style="width: 720px;" class="wp-video">
<video class="wp-video-shortcode" id="video-662537-1" width="720" height="406" preload="metadata" controls="controls"><source type="video/mp4" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/2023-10-23-Grabien-Fox_News_Channel_28FNC29-The_Faulkner_Focus-Harris_Faulkner-2142579.mp4?_=1" /><a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/2023-10-23-Grabien-Fox_News_Channel_28FNC29-The_Faulkner_Focus-Harris_Faulkner-2142579.mp4">https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/2023-10-23-Grabien-Fox_News_Channel_28FNC29-The_Faulkner_Focus-Harris_Faulkner-2142579.mp4</a></video></div>

Senators Meet For Policy Luncheons On Capitol Hill

As Iran’s Proxies Target U.S. Troops, Ernst Slams Biden For His Weakness

As The Pentagon Reports More Attacks On US Troops By Iranian Proxies, Ernst Slams Biden For His Weakness

Houthis

Iran

U.S. Military

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) reportedly used the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) today after she apparently began to choke on food.
&#8220;Rand Paul used the Heimlich maneuver on Joni Ernst at Senate lunch today, she was choking on some food, per attendees,&#8221; said POLITICO reporter Burgess Everett. &#8220;She’s OK, senators say.&#8221;
Ernst confirmed the news on X, posting from her official government account: &#8220;Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. @RandPaul!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Can’t help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats. Thanks, Dr. <a href="https://twitter.com/RandPaul?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RandPaul</a>! <a href="https://t.co/OJDdqpQXjR">https://t.co/OJDdqpQXjR</a>
&mdash; Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJoniErnst/status/1730305438585946450?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“God bless Rand Paul,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “I never thought I’d say that.”
Paul, who is a medical doctor, also received praise from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who called him a &#8220;HERO&#8221; on X.
&#8220;Rand Paul = HERO,&#8221; Lee said. &#8220;Not all heroes wear capes. Not all senators can quote Mises and Hayek — while saving lives!&#8221;
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Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) said in a tweet earlier in the afternoon that food at the Senate lunch was provided by Ernst and the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Yummm an Iowa chop from Sen Ernst &amp; the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association for lunch <a href="https://t.co/dGYFaegwN4">pic.twitter.com/dGYFaegwN4</a>
&mdash; Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/status/1730279620748980642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This report has been updated to include additional information.

Rand Paul

Rand Paul Uses Heimlich Maneuver To Save U.S. Senator Choking On Lunch

Charles Grassley

Congress

Politics

U.S. Senate

Iowa GOP Senator Joni Ernst, who served in the U.S. military for 23 years, including as a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq, slammed President Biden for appeasing Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
Ernst appeared on Fox News with host Harris Faulkner, who started the segment of the conversation by noting of the Israel-Hamas war that there were “real worries that the conflict could expand. &#8230; This comes as the IDF says Iran-backed Hezbollah — so that’s to the north, that border with Lebanon — that Hezbollah is now ramping up attacks from that country, Lebanon — and Israel is firing back.”
Faulkner then played a clip of Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying, “We expect that there’s a likelihood of escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel &#8230; we don’t want to see a second or third front develop; we don’t want to see our forces or personnel come under fire, but if that happens, we’re ready for it.”
Faulkner followed with a clip of South Carolina GOP Senator Lindsey Graham adding there would be harsh consequences if Iran escalates the war, as he declared, “If this war grows, it’s coming to your backyard. There won’t be two fronts; there’ll be three. If there’s an effort to unleash Hezbollah on the Jewish state to destroy it, my attention will be to Tehran. If these innocent hostages get slaughtered, I hold you, Iran, accountable, because you could stop it if you chose to. The idea that this happened without Iranian involvement is laughable.”
Faulkner then turned to Ernst: “Is he right?”
“He is absolutely correct, Harris,” Ernst answered. “Iran is behind this. They fund 93% of Hamas’ activities; they fund 100% of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s activities; not to mention Hezbollah and the Houthis. This all goes right back to Iran.”
“But you know what, who else is involved in this?” she asked rhetorically. “President Biden has been so actively appeasing Iran instead of standing up to them, and I&#8217;m telling you, if we lose more Americans, we need to go after Iran. It is incredibly important that we push back against them. We need to be interdicting their oil just as our sanctions call for, we need to refreeze that $6 billion.”
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“Come on, President Joe Biden; we got to do more,” she urged. “We’ve got to push back more against Iran. And Tony Blinken, I want to hear a little more fire in your belly, because we, the United States of America, are not standing strong enough when it comes to pushing back against this terrorism. It’s infiltrating all around the globe. I know that President Biden gave up on the War on Terror, but it’s not over yet.”
<div style="width: 720px;" class="wp-video"><video class="wp-video-shortcode" id="video-641839-2" width="720" height="406" preload="metadata" controls="controls"><source type="video/mp4" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/2023-10-23-Grabien-Fox_News_Channel_28FNC29-The_Faulkner_Focus-Harris_Faulkner-2142579.mp4?_=2" /><a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/2023-10-23-Grabien-Fox_News_Channel_28FNC29-The_Faulkner_Focus-Harris_Faulkner-2142579.mp4">https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/2023-10-23-Grabien-Fox_News_Channel_28FNC29-The_Faulkner_Focus-Harris_Faulkner-2142579.mp4</a></video></div>

Ernst Blasts Biden: ‘Been So Actively Appeasing Iran Instead Of Standing Up To Them’

Hamas

Israel

The Pentagon confirmed last week that the senior official named in an alleged <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-influence-operation-reached-top-levels-of-biden-administration-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iranian influence operation</a> aimed at bolstering the global pariah&#8217;s image surrounding its nuclear program would keep her security clearance following an internal review.
Ariane Tabatabai, a senior official in the Defense Department, was identified in internal Iranian government emails obtained by <a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/09/25/2023/inside-irans-influence-operation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Semfafor</a> last month as an alleged member of the Iran Experts Initiative — a network of influential overseas academics run by Tehran&#8217;s foreign ministry.
Republican lawmakers raised concerns over Tabatabai&#8217;s alleged membership, demanding Pentagon officials pull her security clearance pending a review of her ties with the theocratic regime in the Middle East, which U.S. officials accused of being complicit in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel earlier this month. The Pentagon kept her security clearance after conducting an undisclosed internal review of her credentials.
&#8220;We have confirmed that Ms. Tabatabai&#8217;s employment and clearance processes were carried out in accordance with all appropriate laws and policies,&#8221; Rheanne E. Wirkkala, an assistant secretary of defense, wrote in an <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ernst-Tabatabai.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">October 13 letter</a> to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), according to a copy obtained by the Free Beacon.
&#8220;The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency has enrolled all Defense Department service members, civilians, and contractors with a security clearance in its continuous vetting program, which is a process that involves regularly reviewing a cleared individual&#8217;s background to ensure they continue to meet security clearance requirements and may continue to hold positions of trust,&#8221; the letter said.
Ernst joined several GOP lawmakers who demanded an investigation into Tabatabai&#8217;s alleged role in the Iran-based initiative, which was in close contact with the Iranians on messaging strategy with other top foreign policy officials in both the Obama and Biden administrations.
The Iowa Republican lawmaker <a href="https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/member-of-iranian-influence-network-to-keep-security-clearance-after-pentagon-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Free Beacon that Tabatabai&#8217;s clearance threatens national security.
&#8220;The Biden administration is compromised, but they continue to shamelessly defend allowing an Iranian spy to infiltrate and work at the Pentagon, likely allowing the regime access to highly sensitive information,&#8221; Ernst told the Free Beacon. &#8220;By continuing to brush this offense under the rug instead of taking this national security threat seriously by suspending Tabatabai&#8217;s security clearance, the Biden administration doubles down on its appeasement strategy that has already emboldened Iran and its terrorist proxies.&#8221;
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Tabatabai was allegedly in regular contact with Iranian officials and appeared to check in with Iran&#8217;s Foreign Ministry before attending policy events on at least two occasions, according to the emails observed by Semafor.
She also worked for President Joe Biden&#8217;s Special Envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, at the State Department until he was forced to step down after his security clearance was revoked for allegedly mishandling classified information.
&#8220;This should be the scandal of a generation: the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism appears to have co-opted senior officials of the last two Democratic administrations with the purpose and achieved goal of influencing our foreign policy,&#8221; said Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department official, in a <a href="https://twitter.com/MorganOrtagus/status/1706640048806920448">post</a> on X.
The Pentagon defended Tabatabai&#8217;s employment to the Free Beacon following the Semafor report.
&#8220;Dr. Tabatabai was thoroughly and properly vetted as a condition of her employment with the Department of Defense,&#8221; a spokesman said at the time. &#8220;We are honored to have her serve.&#8221;
Brent Scher contributed to this report.

Department of Defense and Pentagon

Pentagon Allows Alleged Member Of Iranian Influence Operation To Keep Security Clearance: Report

Biden Admin Allows Alleged Iranian Influence Operation Member To Keep Pentagon Security Clearance

Biden Administration

Conflicts

Iran Nuclear Deal

Pentagon

President Joe Biden&#8217;s Pentagon policy chief nomination cried ignorance on Thursday about a State Department official with ties to an Iranian influence network who appeared to pledge loyalty to the nation <a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2021/iran/#:~:text=Designated%20as%20a%20State%20Sponsor,elsewhere%20throughout%20the%20Middle%20East." target="_blank" rel="noopener">dubbed</a> as one of the world&#8217;s leading state sponsors of terrorism.
Derek Chollet, whom Biden nominated as the undersecretary of defense for policy, faced the Senate Armed Services Committee in a confirmation hearing where Republican senators tore into him over his role in foreign policy decisions as a State Department official in the current administration, including the infamous Afghanistan evacuation and sending military equipment to Ukraine.
But after a bombshell report this week revealed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-influence-operation-reached-top-levels-of-biden-administration-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">internal Iranian government emails</a> obtained by Semafor — which showed top foreign policy officials in both the Obama and Biden administrations were part of an Iranian influence operation — Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDAN8HUrrAw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Chollet about one of the three individuals, who currently works for the Pentagon in a position that requires a security clearance and has had regular contact with Iranian officials
&#8220;I didn’t think the Biden admin’s appeasement of Iran could get worse,&#8221; Ernst <a href="https://twitter.com/SenJoniErnst/status/1707449405249401330?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an X-post. &#8220;Today, I confronted them on allowing an Iranian spy to infiltrate and work at the Pentagon. They DEFENDED it. Unbelievable!&#8221;
At least three individuals in the network, which came to be known as the Iran Experts Initiative, were working for Rob Malley, who was President Joe Biden&#8217;s Special Envoy to Iran until he was forced to step down after his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-iran-envoy-placed-on-leave-after-probe-into-handling-of-classified-material-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security clearance was revoked</a>.
Two of Malley&#8217;s top aides, Ali Vaez and Adnan Tabatabai, were in regular contact with Iranian officials to bolster the global pariah&#8217;s image while it negotiated a nuclear deal with the United States. In an email obtained by Semafor, it appeared Tabatabai profess her loyalty to Iran.
Tabatabai, who currently works for the Pentagon in the Office of the Assistant Secretary, which oversees special operations and irregular warfare throughout the Defense Department, wrote in an email to Javad Zarif, Iran&#8217;s Minister of Foreign Affairs, that Iran was &#8220;our country&#8221; and was &#8220;willing to dedicate our capacities and resources to jointly working on improving Iran&#8217;s foreign relations.&#8221;
On Thursday, Ernst <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDAN8HUrrAw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> Chollet during his confirmation hearing about Tabatabai, who reportedly also sought feedback from Iran&#8217;s foreign minister during conferences that the Pentagon official attended and in testimony provided before Congress.
If confirmed, Chollet would oversee Tabatabai&#8217;s position.
&#8220;Do you believe it is prudent to have an individual with a history of conferring with Iranian officials in a highly sensitive role related to counterterrorism and special operations,&#8221; Ernst asked Chollet.
&#8220;I know nothing about this particular instance,&#8221; Chollet answered. &#8220;I only know what I have read in the press. All I can say is, given my experience in the Defense Department as well as the State Department and the National Security Council anyone who serves in a position of national security has to go through a rigorous background check, but other than that, I know nothing about this episode.&#8221;
Ernst further pressed Biden&#8217;s nominee on removing Tabatabai&#8217;s security clearance.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure I would have the authority to do that necessarily,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But If confirmed, I pledge to you that I would look into any instance in which there&#8217;s questions about the security inside the office of the undersecretary of defense for policy.&#8221;
Chollet&#8217;s bio <a href="https://www.state.gov/biographies/derek-h-chollet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">notes</a> that before working as a State Department counselor, he served in the Biden administration as the assistant secretary of Defense for international security affairs, a special counsel to the president, and a senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council.
The Pentagon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/national-security/pentagon-defends-biden-appointees-alleged-membership-in-iranian-influence-network/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Washington Free Beacon earlier this week that Tabatabai was &#8220;thoroughly and properly vetted as a condition of her employment.&#8221;
But now Defense Department officials said they are looking into Tabatabai&#8217;s security clearance.
Chris Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations, said during testimony before Congress on Thursday the issue is  &#8220;an ongoing personnel matter.&#8221;
&#8220;I think the initial response you&#8217;re referring to was issued by our public affairs folks,&#8221; Maier <a href="https://twitter.com/GLNoronha/status/1707449218590290378?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL). &#8220;We are actively looking into whether all law and policy was properly followed in granting my chief of staff top secret, special compartmented information [clearance].&#8221;
Maier added he did not have information if Tabatabai was subjected to a &#8220;full-scope&#8221; security screening before working at the Pentagon.
The ability of Iran to place loyalists in the top echelons of the U.S. government &#8220;should be the scandal of a generation.&#8221;
&#8220;This should be the scandal of a generation: the world&#8217;s leading state sponsor of terrorism appears to have co-opted senior officials of the last two Democratic administrations, with the purpose and achieved goal of influencing our foreign policy,&#8221; said Morgan Ortagus, a former State Department official.
If the committee approves Chollet&#8217;s nomination, he would face a full Senate confirmation if Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) resumes hearings on Pentagon nominees. Tuberville has shown no signs of backing down from a stand against a Pentagon abortion travel policy, which has delayed military promotions.
The Biden administration earlier this month handed Iran another major foreign policy win by transferring $6 billion to Iran in exchange for wrongfully detained American prisoners.
Ernst called on the Biden Administration to end it&#8217;s &#8220;appeasement&#8221; of Iran and questioned  why the U.S. is offering sanctions relief to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who she said in an email to The Daily Wire &#8220;actively threatens Americans.&#8221;
&#8220;The administration’s view of Iran and my view of Iran is very different,” Ernst said.
Brent Scher contributed to this report.

Top Defense Officials Testify Before Senate Armed Services Committee On Afghanistan And Counterterrorism

Sen. Ernst Presses Biden Pentagon Nominee Over State Dept. Official Linked To Iranian Influence Operation

Sen Ernst Presses Biden Pentagon Nominee Over Alleged Iranian Spy Working For U.S. Government

A Republican senator says that federal employees are still working from home as if the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing, and is demanding an investigation into how the widespread failure to get workers back into the office is impacting taxpayers.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) calls into question government claims that remote workers can be just as productive as coming into the office, and points to various inspector general reports to prove her point. One investigation into a Department of Commerce employee found that a government worker was paid for 730 hours of work that was instead spent &#8220;playing golf, shooting pool, and going to happy hour.&#8221;
&#8220;I know what working from home actually means,” Ernst said. “It’s not fair to let the responsibilities of running an agency—and the country—fall on the shoulders of the hardworking public servants who are showing up while others are out golfing on the taxpayer’s dime.&#8221;
Ernst&#8217;s call comes more than a year after President Joe Biden pledged in his 2022 State of the Union address that &#8220;the vast majority of federal workers will once again work in person.&#8221; But by that fall, only 5% of government employees swiped into the office on a typical day. This month, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/biden-end-remote-work-federal-employees#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reiterated</a> the call, telling Cabinet members that it&#8217;s a &#8220;priority&#8221; that Biden expects them &#8220;aggressively execute&#8221; on in order to get &#8220;better results for the American people.&#8221;
There are some indications that federal employees who are working remotely might not be working at all.
A review of Department of Health and Human Services remote employees found that as many as <a href="https://functionalgovernment.org/internal-hhs-report-shows-20-30-of-workforce-may-not-have-been-working/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">30% did not even log in</a> to the agency&#8217;s email or computer systems on days they were &#8220;working&#8221; from home. Those findings were from 2020, the height of the coronavirus pandemic — when Americans presumably might have needed assistance from an agency with &#8220;Health&#8221; in its name.
In the private sector, companies have made the best of remote work by saving money on office costs. But federal agencies spend $5 billion a year to lease office buildings and $2 billion on upkeep, and the Government Accountability Office found that 75% or more of office space at the headquarters of 17 agencies is not being used.
The government also pays people different rates depending on whether their office is in a high-cost-of-living area or a low one — and has failed to update that pay structure to account for remote work. The government is still paying workers based on where their office is, even if that&#8217;s not where they live. That means bureaucrats could be drawing D.C. wages and living like kings in low cost of living areas, Ernst believes.
&#8220;These pay determinations should be re-evaluated, and possibly redefined, to save taxpayers money,&#8221; Ernst wrote.
Ernst <a href="https://www.ernst.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/department_of_state_letter.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent a letter</a> to every agency&#8217;s Inspector General asking them to use internet IP addresses and physical badge swipe-ins to determine what regions employees actually spend most of their time in, as well as how much additional pay they receive by being paid for the cost-of-living area of the headquarters building rather than where they live. She also asked how agencies&#8217; various metrics, such as delivery of service and wait times, have corresponded to the increase in remote work.
She suggests that since employees are already moving to lower-cost-of-living places, federal agency headquarters could be there, too. Ernst introduced a bill called Strategic Withdrawal of Agencies for Meaningful Placement, or the <a href="https://www.ernst.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ernst-introduces-swamp-act-push-for-relocation-of-agency-headquarters-throughout-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SWAMP Act</a>, that would locate agencies in parts of the country with expertise in their topics — for example, the Department of Agriculture would be located in a farming state like Iowa.
She also asked the agencies to determine whether various metrics, such as delivery of service and wait times, have corresponded to the increase in remote work.
In some instances, people are already pointing the finger at absent employees for government failures. At the Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, which has one of the longest wait times for medical care in the nation, one manager responsible for scheduling posted a picture of himself &#8220;working&#8221; in a bubble bath. The post led to criticism from another employee, who said, &#8220;It’s almost as if this employee is making a mockery of all the veterans. I can sit here in my tub and relax, and you just have to wait.”
Ernst says one of the veterans served by the hospital felt the consequences.
&#8220;One such veteran temporarily lost his eyesight while waiting six months for an appointment with an eye doctor at the Atlanta VA,&#8221; Ernst wrote.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thousands-of-pandemic-unemployment-claims-listed-the-names-of-still-employed-government-workers-senator-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thousands Of Pandemic Unemployment Claims Listed The Names Of Still-Employed Government Workers, Senator Says</a>

Fudge Rounds

Federal Workers Ignore Biden’s Call To Stop Working From Home — And Some Might Not Be Working At All

Coronavirus

Office of Personnel Management

Washington

Does President Joe Biden want us to lose a major war? That&#8217;s the question after Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm told Congress that she wants an all-electric military vehicle fleet by 2030. Senators called the plan &#8220;laughable&#8221; while pointing out that the big winner if this were to happen would be America&#8217;s top adversary: China.
&#8220;I do, and I think we can get there, as well,&#8221; Granholm testified before the Senate after Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-energy-secretary-doubles-down-on-electrifying-us-militarys-vehicle-fleet-2030-we-can-get-there" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> if she supported an &#8220;All EV Fleet&#8221; proposal. &#8220;I do think that reducing our reliance on the volatility of globally traded fossil fuels where we know that global events like the war in Ukraine can jack up prices for people back home … does not contribute to energy security.&#8221;
Afterward, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) <a href="https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6326401012112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox Business that the plan was ridiculous — but an unsurprising result of Biden&#8217;s personnel policy choices.
&#8220;This is what happens when you have a president who puts activists in place of this country instead of putting real people who&#8217;ve been there, done that,&#8221; he said.
Mullin went on to explain why the idea is just not feasible or practical.
&#8220;I mean, just think about this,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re gonna have — we&#8217;re gonna go to war. We&#8217;re going to have electric vehicles &#8230; none of us have ever heard of EMP before  — electromagnetic pulses,&#8221; he said sarcastically, in reference to weapons that can wipe out electronics. &#8220;But not besides that, we&#8217;re going to be out in a battlefield where they don&#8217;t really have what you&#8217;d consider charging stations. So to charge the fleet — we&#8217;re going to be pulling these huge diesel generators to charge the fleets — and when they go down, instead of just simply running up there and pull it for fuel. No, we&#8217;re gonna have to sit there for hours [while] these batteries charge.&#8221;
Mullin also pointed that America would be depending upon the Chinese Communist Party to create the super-charged batteries that would be needed to power these batteries. EV batteries rely on critical minerals — a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/14/rare-earth-mines-00071102#:~:text=As%20of%20today%2C%20China%20accounts,firearms%2C%20radars%20and%20stealth%20aircraft." target="_blank" rel="noopener">field</a> in which China overwhelmingly dominates the market.
&#8220;This makes zero sense but in a woke president that you have in President Biden in his woke cabinets,&#8221; he concluded. &#8220;These are the kind of results and ridiculous comments that you have.&#8221;
On Sunday, Ernst also slammed Granholm for her suggestion.
&#8220;You don’t fight a war that way,” Ernst <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2023/04/30/joni-ernst-slams-biden-push-for-u-s-military-all-electric-vehicles-you-dont-fight-a-war-that-way/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> to during a radio interview. The Iowa senator argued that Biden was putting climate change ahead of excellence.
“This administration has taken it to the extremes with this climate agenda,” she said. “We are not focusing on the lethality of our American military. Instead, they are focusing on green energy and climate change.&#8221;
Ernst, like Mullin, also pointed out that this plan would only benefit China.
That raises the question, why does it always seem like the Biden administration wants policies that favor China while putting America last?
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Jennifer Granholm

‘Laughable’: Biden’s Energy Secretary Wants All-Electric Military Vehicles Within A Decade

Chinese Communist Party

Electric cars

electric vehicles

Oklahoma

The federal government still hasn&#8217;t put the Wuhan lab where COVID may have originated on its contracting blacklist, meaning taxpayer research dollars could continue to make their way there, a senator said Tuesday.
That&#8217;s despite a Senate assessment that COVID most likely <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-investigation-concludes-covid-likely-originated-from-a-chinese-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaked</a> from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and the Chinese lab&#8217;s refusal to cooperate with an NIH probe into whether a previous U.S. grant that was subcontracted to Wuhan was used for prohibited gain-of-function research.
The Department of Health and Human Services inspector general recommended that the agency look into putting WIV on its &#8220;debarment&#8221; list of prohibited contractors, and even NIH — the subsidiary agency of HHS — concurred with that recommendation.
&#8220;I also concur and urge the department to immediately and permanently debar WIV from receiving U.S. funding to ensure that not another penny from taxpayers is ever sent to China’s state-run Wuhan Institute of Virology by NIH or any other component or grantee of HHS,&#8221; Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) wrote in a letter sent to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra this week.
It would not be outside the realm of possibility for the government to steer money to Wuhan again. The previous money to Wuhan came as a subgrant of an NIH award to a group called EcoHealth Alliance.
&#8220;The NIH-sponsored collaboration with EcoHealth and WIV, &#8216;Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence,&#8217; drew understandable scrutiny following the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, within the vicinity of the lab where the experiments enhancing coronaviruses was occurring,&#8221; Ernst wrote.
Yet even after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/agencies-congress-didnt-even-try-to-stop-fraud-in-4t-coronavirus-bailout-audit-finds">COVID</a> outbreak, and despite EcoHealth <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-watchdog-slams-faucis-agency-and-ecohealth-over-deal-with-wuhan-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">breaking rules</a> including failing to properly report its subcontracts and allegedly not notifying NIH of troubling test results, NIH has given EcoHealth more awards.
On Tuesday, Ernst called the situation &#8220;totally batty.&#8221;
&#8220;The total amount of American money that made its way into China’s Wuhan lab remains murky. But what we do know is that at least two U.S. agencies, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), gave a total of $1.7 million,&#8221; she said in a statement.
&#8220;China’s Wuhan Institute refuses to turn over lab notes and other files related to the experiments&#8221; funded by U.S. taxpayers, she said.
&#8220;NIH continues to deny that there is any connection between the coronaviruses that were being experimented with at WIV and the virus that caused the pandemic. But if NIH does not even have this key information, how can the agency even say with any certainty what was really going on in the lab? Short answer: It can’t. Only WIV and maybe EcoHealth can and they aren’t cooperating,&#8221; she continued.
A majority of senators voted to approve an amendment offered by Ernst in May 2021 that would use the law to do what HHS has not, and block taxpayer money from going to Wuhan. But the bill that the amendment was attached to never became law. On Tuesday, Ernst introduced a standalone bill to prevent any federal agency from sending money to the Wuhan lab.
&#8220;These mad scientists should never be permitted to get their hands on bats or U.S. taxpayer dollars ever again,&#8221; she said.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-biden-sought-job-for-wuhan-lab-linked-scientist-studying-herpes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden Sought Job For Wuhan Lab-Linked Scientist Studying Herpes</a>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/100b-bonanza-pfizer-reports-record-sales-profits-behind-covid-vaccine-oral-treatment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$100B Bonanza: Pfizer Reports Record Sales, Profits Behind COVID Vaccine, Oral Treatment</a>

CHINA-HEALTH-VIRUS

The U.S. Still Hasn’t Banned Contracting With Wuhan. Senator Says That’s ‘Batty.’

HHS Still Hasn't Banned Contracting With Wuhan. Senator Says That's 'Batty.'

Xavier Becerra

Thousands of federal employees may have wrongfully obtained coronavirus bailouts by claiming to be unemployed, with some even doing so from their desks at government offices, federal investigators found.
Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senator-blasts-biden-for-compiling-naughty-list-of-peddlers-of-misinformation-like-the-lab-leak-theory" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joni Ernst</a> (R-IA) is demanding answers, saying that the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PARC) should &#8220;recover the money that was ripped off, and grant each of those who took advantage of taxpayers by collecting jobless benefits their wish to be unemployed.&#8221;
&#8220;It is appalling for anyone fortunate enough to have the reliability of a government paycheck to take advantage of financial assistance intended to provide a lifeline to Americans who lost their jobs or were unable to work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,&#8221; Ernst added.
A variety of government programs paid significant sums to people who said their jobs had been impacted by coronavirus in 2020. The Department of Homeland Security&#8217;s Inspector General <a href="https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2022-09/OIG-22-73-Sep22.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that nearly 2,000 applications for &#8220;Lost Wages Assistance&#8221; and unemployment insurance payouts had the names of DHS employees who were ineligible since they were, of course, employed by the government agency.
In fact, of 2,393 applications filed with DHS employees&#8217; names, only 584 could be confirmed as actually eligible for the program — and even some of those bore signs of fraud, such as incorrect amounts.
Benefits could also be paid to people whose hours were cut back because of the pandemic, but in 366 cases, the name associated with the unemployment claim actually worked overtime during the relevant period, the audit found.
In some cases, the fraud may have been the result of criminals stealing the employees’ identities and successfully filing unemployment claims with them. In others, there were indications that the employees were to blame, including that some government assistance forms were actually filled out from computers registering to the DHS computer network.
Either way, fraud was able to occur because DHS had few security measures in place for verifying assistance claims despite being tasked with keeping the nation safe.
&#8220;This occurred because FEMA hastily implemented the LWA program in 11 days, during an unprecedented pandemic, without developing program controls to prevent fraud,&#8221; auditors wrote.
Ernst wrote Friday to Michael Horowitz, chair of the PARC, that &#8220;Employees of other federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Amtrak, and the U.S. Postal Service have also been caught fraudulently collecting unemployment payments, despite being on the federal payroll.”
On January 4, the state of <a href="https://oig.georgia.gov/press-releases/2023-01-04/oig-publishes-open-letter-regarding-ui-fraud-state-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia&#8217;s inspector general</a> said that &#8220;we have tentatively identified over 280 full-time state employees who erroneously received unemployment insurance (UI) payments in 2020 or 2021. These payments averaged $23,700 per employee and totaled over $6.7 million. And this is a conservative estimate.&#8221;
Those included &#8220;Two Department of Human Services DCSS/DFCS supervisors who received approximately $49,730 and $36,575&#8221; and a state employee whose job was to evaluate unemployment claims, but who himself &#8220;received approximately $31,220 and who continued to update a fraudulent UI account while employed with&#8221; the Georgia Department of Labor.
In October, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/five-current-or-former-irs-employees-charged-defrauding-federal-covid-19-relief-programs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Justice</a> said it had charged five former or current IRS employees with pandemic fraud seeking more than $1 million, which they allegedly used on &#8220;cars, luxury goods, and personal travel, including trips to Las Vegas.&#8221; But the inspector general for the Small Business Administration (SBA), which administered the largest coronavirus programs, has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hunter-bidens-laptop-lady-got-20k-federal-stimulus-for-female-owned-sole-proprietorship" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acknowledged</a> that so much money was paid out in such a short amount of time, and with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/coronavirus-loan-fraud-prevention-fell-to-unvetted-firms-that-profited-hugely-while-ignoring-fraud-congress-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">so few safeguards</a>, that only a tiny fraction of suspicious cases have even been investigated.
SBA doled out forgivable &#8220;loans&#8221; to business owners whose livelihood was ostensibly interrupted by COVID, known as PPP or EIDL payments. In its most recent <a href="https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/sites/default/files/2022-12/PRAC_Semiannual_Report_Sept_2022_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">semiannual report</a> to Congress, PARC said that by matching the information of federal employees with these payments, six federal agencies found &#8220;tens of thousands of employees with SBA loans for which they were not eligible.&#8221;
Cross-referencing that list of names — people with stable jobs whose identities are readily known to the government because they work for it — could yield many more problematic unemployment claims at other agencies, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-watchdog-slams-faucis-agency-and-ecohealth-over-deal-with-wuhan-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ernst</a> said. &#8220;I would encourage you to conduct a similar review to determine how many unscrupulous bureaucrats wrongfully took advantage of the federal pandemic unemployment and lost wages assistance programs,&#8221; she wrote.

Senators Meet For Their Weekly Policy Luncheons

Thousands Of Pandemic Unemployment Claims Listed The Names Of Still-Employed Government Workers, Senator Says

Coronavirus Relief

Department of Homeland Security

Fraud

Inspector general

A Republican senator said President Joe Biden is this year’s Grinch for weaponizing the government to censor or attack Americans for engaging in &#8220;misinformation&#8221; by questioning official government lines.
“You better watch out! President Biden is making a list and checking it twice. Going to find out who is being naughty…exercising their constitutional rights,” Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said Tuesday.
Ernst urged the Biden administration’s National Science Foundation to pull funding for a $5 million grant to a group called Hacks/Hackers to make software that would essentially turn American citizens into online bots. The tool will ask them to paste in their friends’ tweets and Facebook posts to be told whether they constituted “harmful” “misinformation.” If so, the software will generate rebuttals offering the official positions of groups like the World Health Organization, and ask them to copy-and-paste them as replies to their friends’ posts as if they were their own words. The grant came to light through a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-pay-journalism-group-5m-to-create-software-to-turn-people-into-anti-misinformation-bots" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Wire investigation</a> on December 1.
In addition to the software, called the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-pay-journalism-group-5m-to-create-software-to-turn-people-into-anti-misinformation-bots" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust</a> (ARTT), Hacks/Hackers also hired people for a project to help determine which news outlets are “credible” when it comes to vaccine information and which aren’t. Those who don&#8217;t get the seal of approval won&#8217;t be able to be cited on Wikipedia.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-469649 size-large" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ss1-1021x576.png" alt="" width="1021" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss1-1021x576.png 1021w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss1-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss1-768x433.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss1.png 1468w" sizes="(max-width: 1021px) 100vw, 1021px" /></div>
“To no one’s surprise, liberal outlets, like The New York Times, made Hack/Hackers’ nice list for being ‘reliable.’ The naughty list of ‘unreliable’ or ‘conspiracy’ sources predictably includes conservative-leaning media, like The Daily Wire, which coincidentally exposed this new Washington enemies list!” Ernst wrote.
“I am giving my December 2022 Squeal Award to ‘the minister of misinformation’ himself, President Biden, for promoting blatant falsehoods while his administration is steering tax dollars into these Soviet-style propaganda tactics that target citizens and media who dare question the administration’s narrative,” Ernst said. She bestows the <a href="https://www.ernst.senate.gov/priorities/make-em-squeal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">award</a> monthly on an example of pork-like or abusive government spending.
In an effort to &#8220;pull the plug on this taxpayer-funded troll service,” she wrote to the National Science Foundation&#8217;s director, Sethuraman Panchanathan, that &#8220;We really do not need a return to the dark days when some in Washington maintained an ‘enemies lists’ of fellow citizens and journalists with opposing viewpoints. Instead, the NSF would much better serve taxpayers by supporting our nation’s bright young minds with initiatives to improve math and science education rather than these efforts to troll taxpayers online.&#8221;
She said that the World Health Organization, which is involved in the ARTT project and which the software’s creators take as the north star of truth, has repeatedly been wrong.
“Bending to China’s propaganda machine, a WHO representatives not only announced it was ‘extremely unlikely’ that COVID-19 might have been leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which was conducting dangerous studies on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/coronavirus-loan-fraud-prevention-fell-to-unvetted-firms-that-profited-hugely-while-ignoring-fraud-congress-finds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">coronaviruses</a> in the very city where the pandemic began, but that a lab leak ‘isn’t a hypothesis we suggest implies further study.’ Does NSF believe these are credible statements based on reliable facts and sound scientific evidence?” Ernst asked the director.
“WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has gone as far as saying, &#8216;We appreciate the seriousness with which China is taking this outbreak, especially the commitment from top leadership, and the transparency they have demonstrated,&#8217;” she wrote.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-470135" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ss2.png" alt="" width="1361" height="814" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss2.png 1361w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss2-300x179.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss2-963x576.png 963w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/ss2-768x459.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1361px) 100vw, 1361px" /></div>
“It is very disappointing that taxpayer dollars would be spent on this project when our nation is facing a dire shortage of STEM teachers who are vital to inspiring others to pursue careers in the sciences,” she added.
In the Biden administration, a full gamut of government agencies have taken it upon themselves to try to stop Americans from spreading what it deems “misinformation” online, despite it repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dhs-officially-shuts-down-disinformation-board-after-longtime-pause" target="_blank" rel="noopener">backfiring</a>.
The federal laboratory that designed the atomic bomb, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/atomic-bomb-lab-studying-ways-to-combat-misinformation-including-covid-lab-leak-theory">Los Alamos National Laboratories</a>, dedicated eight staff to a study on how to &#8220;combat&#8221; &#8220;misinformation&#8221; that had nothing to do with its field of energy. One of the &#8220;conspiracies&#8221; was that the coronavirus had escaped, accidentally or intentionally, from a lab in China. Los Alamos boasted about its study in September, omitting the nature of the &#8220;conspiracy&#8221; it wanted to learn how to suppress — which by then was widely accepted as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-investigation-concludes-covid-likely-originated-from-a-chinese-lab" target="_blank" rel="noopener">likely</a>.
Both Los Alamos and ARTT said they are using coronavirus as just a pilot program to learn how to police Americans&#8217; speech on other topics in the future, and NSF’s “Convergence Accelerator” has funded several programs similar to ARTT.
In announcing her Squeal Award, Ernst wrote: “Here is a fact: Iowans and most Americans don’t trust Washington and don’t want the government or some state-sponsored group to tell us what we can and cannot think, say, or believe. And we certainly don’t want the Biden administration spending our hard-earned tax dollars to keep lists of approved and unapproved opinions or encouraging citizens to troll their friends with government-generated propaganda.”
“If this effort was applied to statements by the Biden administration, the ‘fact checkers’ would be working overtime countering the disinformation being spread by the president himself. Such as the president’s false claim that he ‘cut the federal debt in half — a fact!’”

Minnesota Vikings v Detroit Lions

Senator Blasts Biden For Compiling ‘Naughty List’ Of Peddlers Of ‘Misinformation’ Like The Lab-Leak Theory

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