Rep. Mark Green (R-NC), chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, slammed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during an interview over the weekend over his claims that the number of illegal border crossing have plummeted in recent days.
Green&#8217;s remarks on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; with Dana Bash come after the U.S. Border Patrol experienced the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-heads-to-beach-after-shattering-all-time-record-with-83000-illegal-aliens-storming-border-in-1-week">highest number</a> of illegal border crossings in history last week at approximately 83,000.
&#8220;What the secretary failed to say is that this week has seen more crossings than any time, any week in our history. Yes, there was some anticipation, and so people started coming across at higher numbers, in fact, record-breaking numbers, at the first part of the week,&#8221; Green said. &#8220;But in the latter part of the week, a judge ruled that they can&#8217;t do their plan of just releasing without a court date, which Secretary Mayorkas has said on the news was a bad idea. But that court ruling said he can&#8217;t do that. The drug cartels have responded, and the numbers have fallen off for a couple of days.&#8221;
&#8220;But he admitted just moments ago that they can&#8217;t predict the peak. CBP said 40 percent increase is expected with Title 42 gone,&#8221; he added. &#8220;That&#8217;s another nine million people in two years. I mean, they have already let 5.04 million encounters and 1.5 million got-aways as they have tried to manage border security and not secure our border.&#8221;
Green said that Congress needed to fix the issue of border security first before working on trying to get the immigration system overhauled.
Green said that he is going to be holding Mayorkas responsible for his actions, or lack thereof, saying that he knows &#8220;for a fact he lied to Congress under oath.&#8221;
&#8220;We have a five-phase — which I have articulated before — a five-phase accountability plan. We&#8217;re going to look into his dereliction of duty, the laws he&#8217;s intentionally violated and not followed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;His job is to execute the laws, not write them or make them up himself. And his interim final rule to just speed people into the country is an excellent example of them just making up the laws, which we are the ones, we write the laws in Congress. He executes the laws, right, as the executive branch.&#8221;
&#8220;We will show the human cost of this open border, fentanyl mothers, Angel Moms, that little baby in Florida crawling around on a VRBO that encountered fentanyl and died,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I mean, every American is at risk with this open border. I would be negligent in my job not to look into this guy&#8217;s performance.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Rep. Green Joins CNN&#039;s State of the Union to Discuss the Ongoing Border Crisis Since Title 42&#039;s End" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RTchR_0jZ74?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Michael Cohen Hearing

Mark Green Hammers DHS Secretary Mayorkas Over Claims Illegal Border Crossing Have Dropped

Alejandro Mayorkas

Border Crisis

Dana Bash

Mark Green

State of the Union

U.S.

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lindsey-graham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lindsey Graham</a> (R-SC) sparred with CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash over Democrats&#8217; position on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a> on Sunday.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; Graham was asked whether he believes abortion is a state or federal issue. Graham voiced his support for a federal abortion ban and said Democrats would oppose any restriction.
&#8220;[I]t&#8217;s a human rights issue,&#8221; Graham said. &#8220;Does it really matter where you&#8217;re conceived? At 15 weeks, you have a developed heart and lungs. And to dismember a child at 15 weeks is a painful experience. It&#8217;s barbaric. It&#8217;s out of line with the rest of the civilized world. Only North Korea and China allow abortion demand up to the moment of birth, except the Democratic Party.&#8221;
&#8220;What the Democratic Party proposes on abortion is barbaric,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I welcome this debate. I think the Republican Party will be in good standing to oppose late-term abortion, like most of the civilized world.&#8221;
&#8220;Just for the record, Roe went up to viability,&#8221; Bash noted.
Then Graham accused Bash of carrying water for the Democrats. &#8220;No, that&#8217;s no— no, no, quit covering for these guys,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Media, you keep covering for these guys. They introduced legislation that allowed abortion-on-demand with taxpayer-[funding], up to the moment of birth. That was their position in Washington. That&#8217;s the law they want to pass. And nobody in your business will talk about it.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
&quot;No no, quit covering for these guys! No no no, you&#39;re media, you keep covering for these guys!&quot; 
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) goes off on Dana Bash after she says &quot;for the record Roe went up to viability&quot; during discussion on late-term abortion and what should be left to states <a href="https://t.co/s5zbKaWQFf">pic.twitter.com/s5zbKaWQFf</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1650126150016876547?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 23, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Democrats in the House of Representatives passed the &#8220;<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3755/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women&#8217;s Health Protection Act</a>&#8221; in September 2021. The bill allowed abortions at any time and for any reason before fetal viability. It also permitted abortions after the point of fetal viability if a healthcare provider determined that the pregnancy would pose a risk to the mother&#8217;s &#8220;life or health.&#8221; There was no standard for what the word &#8220;health&#8221; meant. That bill failed to overcome a Senate filibuster.
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Meanwhile, on Friday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-releases-decision-on-abortion-pill-mifepristone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court</a> blocked a ruling from a federal judge in Texas that placed restrictions on the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortifacient drug mifepristone, which is used in about half of all U.S. abortions. The Supreme Court ruled to allow the approval of the drug while a lawsuit is heard by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, granting requests from the Biden administration and the manufacturer.

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 27: Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.)

‘Quit Covering For These Guys’: Lindsey Graham Erupts On CNN Host Over Democrats’ Radical Abortion Position

Lindsey Graham Erupts On CNN Host Over Democrats' Radical Abortion Position

Abortion

Abortion Drug

Congress

Democrats

Lindsey Graham

Politics

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) rejected a push by her fellow Democrats for the Biden administration to ignore a ruling banning an abortion drug.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/16/sotu-gillibrand-full-interview.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the Union</a>&#8221; Sunday, Gillibrand rejected calls from her New York colleague, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY), who last week called for the administration to ignore a federal judge&#8217;s ruling in Texas who suspended the FDA&#8217;s approval for the abortifacient drug mifepristone.
&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to ignore the rule of law,&#8221; said Gillibrand. &#8220;And we have a court system and an appeals system for a reason. So I think the Biden administration is correct in actually fighting this in the Supreme Court. Whether we win or not in the Supreme Court doesn&#8217;t mean that&#8217;s our last effort. We will go state by state to guarantee reproductive freedom.&#8221;
At the same time, Gillibrand blasted the Supreme Court over its previous rulings on abortion.
&#8220;When you take away 50 percent of America&#8217;s right to privacy, to say women don&#8217;t have it during their reproductive years, it is such an overstretch and an outrageous statement that I think, when people wake up to the reality of what this means for a conservative court where they believe they should impose their views of the world, their religious beliefs, their views on health care, on the FDA&#8217;s decision of 20 years ago of a drug that has been deemed very safe?&#8221;
Earlier this month, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-in-texas-suspends-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-used-in-up-to-half-of-abortions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal judge</a> in Texas blocked the FDA&#8217;s approval for mifepristone, claiming it had acted too quickly and without sufficient testing. Appearing on &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; last Sunday, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/04/09/sotu-ocasio-cortez-full.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ocasio-Cortez</a> called for the Biden administration to ignore the ruling.
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“There is an extraordinary amount of precedent for this,&#8221; she told host Dana Bash. &#8220;There is a term known as agency non-acquiescence, and this has been used. And for folks saying this is a first, that this is precedent-setting, it is not.”
&#8220;[T]he courts rely on the legitimacy of their rulings. And when they make a mockery of our system, a mockery of our democracy and a mockery of our law as what we just saw happen in this mifepristone ruling, then I believe that that the executive branch and we know that the executive branch has an enforcement discretion,” she added. &#8220;I do not believe that the courts have the authority over the FDA that they just asserted.”
The Fifth Circuit blocked the Texas judge&#8217;s decision but re-imposed stricter requirements on the distribution of mifepristone. On Friday, the Supreme Court blocked the Fifth Circuit&#8217;s ruling until 11:59 P.M. this Wednesday. According to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/14/supreme-court-temporarily-blocks-abortion-pill-restrictions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>, the Supreme Court will decide whether to continue to block the rules, or re-impose them, while it hears the Biden administration&#8217;s appeal to the Fifth Circuit&#8217;s ruling. The Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling could significantly restrict access to the drug nationwide.

Kirsten Gillibrand

Gillibrand Rejects AOC’s Calls For Biden Admin To Ignore Abortion Pill Ruling: ‘It’s Hard To Ignore The Rule Of Law’

Gillibrand Rejects AOC's Calls For Biden Admin To Ignore Abortion Pill Ruling

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Courts

West Virginia Democratic Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-manchin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Manchin</a> did everything short of declaring a 2024 presidential run.
Appearing on several Sunday talk shows, Manchin was repeatedly pressed on whether he planned to announce his candidacy. Manchin refused to answer when asked point blank but gave strong hints that he is considering entering the race. The moderate Democrat said a growing number of people are looking for a voice in the middle to unite the nation.
&#8220;First of all, I&#8217;m worn out,&#8221; Manchin told host Dana Bash on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union.&#8221; &#8220;The people are tired, sick and tired, of the fighting and division that we have and dividing the country. Abraham Lincoln said, divided, we cannot stand. We cannot &#8230; have a divided country, and we cannot withstand that. We have to come together. We&#8217;re the United States.&#8221;
&#8220;There&#8217;s a movement going on that people want to bring the extremes back to the sensible and reasonable, responsible middle,&#8221; he added.
&#8220;Do you want to lead that movement in a bid for president?&#8221; asked Bash.
Manchin did not answer, continuing his point.
&#8220;I&#8217;m trying to get a dialogue to where people are saying, &#8216;come on, this is ridiculous,'&#8221; he said. &#8220;Don&#8217;t force people to go to the extremes. No one runs their life this way. Let&#8217;s come back to the middle. It&#8217;s the United States of America. It&#8217;s about our country. Everyone&#8217;s worried about their own political future. I&#8217;m worried about the country.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Democrat Senator Joe Manchin repeatedly dodges on if he&#39;s considering a run for president in 2024: &quot;There&#39;s a movement going on&quot; <a href="https://t.co/0sOuOlkbxW">pic.twitter.com/0sOuOlkbxW</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1642527776837173248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2023</a></blockquote>
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In another appearance on NBC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/-i-m-going-to-do-whatever-we-can-to-have-a-voice-in-the-middle-full-manchin-167409221594" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Meet the Press</a>,&#8221; Manchin said news headlines about former President Donald Trump&#8217;s indictment distract from geopolitical unrest around the world, the budget and debt crises, inflation, and energy security. Host Chuck Todd remarked that Manchin sounded &#8220;like a presidential candidate,&#8221; and pushed him again.
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&#8220;When you&#8217;re asking me what I&#8217;m going to do and what my political ambitions would be, it&#8217;s to make the country work together and be a United States and not the divided states,&#8221; Manchin responded. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to do whatever I can to have a voice in that middle, that we can basically force both sides to say, &#8216;Wait a minute, you&#8217;ve gone to extremes. You&#8217;ve got to start coming back. You&#8217;ve got to find ways to solve problems.&#8217; You can&#8217;t solve them from the extreme right and the extreme left. You can&#8217;t make people, make a &#8212; pick a side.&#8221;
Asked directly if he is running, Manchin again deflected.
&#8220;I&#8217;m not ready to do anything this year,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Only in America does the next election start the day after the last election ended. I don&#8217;t do that. I&#8217;ve got a lot of work to do this year, and I&#8217;m going to work with everybody.&#8221;
&#8220;My filing date is January 15, 2024, and I will make my decision before that, but not until the end of the year, I can assure you,&#8221; he added.

Joe Manchin

Manchin 2024? WV Democrat Won’t Declare Anything, But Hints At A Possible Centrist Run For President

Manchin 2024? WV Democrat Won't Declare Anything, But Hints At A Possible Centrist Run For President

2024 Election

Meet the Press

Senate Democrats

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/your-platform-should-be-banned-congresswoman-rips-into-tiktok-ceo-for-targeting-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cathy McMorris Rodgers</a> (R-WA) said Sunday that Congress should pass a ban on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tiktok" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> and a federal data privacy law.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; Sunday, McMorris Rodgers said that TikTok&#8217;s relationship with the Chinese company ByteDance is a threat to the privacy and safety of American citizens but added that the U.S. needs a national data privacy law to stop other tech giants from stealing Americans&#8217; data.
&#8220;What we are seeing is that TikTok and Mr. Chew have repeatedly been caught in this lie that there&#8217;s not a connection to ByteDance and ultimately the [Chinese Communist Party],&#8221; McMorris Rodgers said. &#8220;So they cannot be trusted to protect our data. They cannot be trusted to ensure that our children&#8217;s mental health is a priority.&#8221;
&#8220;We need a national data privacy standard also,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;And that&#8217;s what Ranking Member [Frank] Pallone (D-NJ) and I have worked on and we&#8217;re going to introduce this Congress, because we need to take action, whether it&#8217;s TikTok, big tech, or other data brokers, to restrict the amount of data that they&#8217;re collecting to begin with.&#8221;
&#8220;We need to ensure that individuals have the right to know what their profile might be or it &#8212; or to be alerted if their information, their personal data is being accessed or transferred to another country like China. We need to protect kids, and we have the strongest protections for kids in the privacy proposal that we have been working on to protect anyone under the age of 17. And we need to stop this listening on devices of people.&#8221;
McMorris Rodgers said that a ban on TikTok should take priority.
&#8220;I would say there&#8217;s an immediate threat via TikTok from the Chinese Communist Party, that is the reason that I believe we need to ban TikTok immediately.&#8221;
New York Democratic Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-takes-to-tiktok-to-defend-chinese-owned-app-from-possible-nationwide-ban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> called for a national data privacy law on Saturday while at the same time defending TikTok from a bipartisan effort to ban the Chinese-owned app.
AOC said that banning TikTok “doesn’t really address the core of the issue, which is the fact that major social media companies are allowed to collect troves of deeply personal data about you that you don’t know about, without really any significant regulation whatsoever.”
“In fact, the United States is one of the only developed nations in the world that has no significant data or privacy protection laws on the books,” she said. Instead of banning TikTok, which has 150 million users, outright, the answer is to “actually protect Americans from this kind of egregious data harvesting that companies can do without your significant ability to say no,” she added.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew Testifies At U.S. House Hearing

Top GOP Rep. Says Congress Should Pass A TikTok Ban And A Federal Data Privacy Law

Big Tech

House Republicans

Privacy

Social Media

TikTok

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) gave an indirect answer when asked if he would drink the water in East Palestine, Ohio.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/02/19/sotu-brown-full.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the Union</a>&#8221; Sunday, Brown deferred to local officials when asked whether he would drink the water contaminated by chemicals from the Norfolk Southern train derailment on February 3. Brown went on to blame the derailment on the rail company, claiming it laid off key workers and conducted stock buybacks instead of investing in safety.
&#8220;[W]ould you drink the water in East Palestine?&#8221; guest host Pamela Brown asked. &#8220;And do you think the officials there who are saying it&#8217;s safe, they should drink the water too to show the residents that they would drink it?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I think they are,&#8221; the Senator responded. &#8220;I mean, I talked to the mayor. The mayor said definitively, emphatically, that people can drink the water. I don&#8217;t know. I don&#8217;t think the mayor has small kids. He looks a little older to me. I didn&#8217;t ask him about bathing his kids. But he has said he would drink this water.&#8221;
Brown then claimed that the derailment was caused by corporate greed on the part of Norfolk Southern. &#8220;Pamela, this is really the same old story. Corporations do stock buybacks, they do big dividend checks, they lay off workers. Thousands of workers have been laid off from Norfolk Southern. Then they don&#8217;t invest in safety rules and safety regulations, and this kind of thing happens. That&#8217;s why people in East Palestine are so upset.&#8221;
&#8220;These things are happening because the railroads are simply not investing the way they showed in car safety and in the rail lines themselves,&#8221; he said.
J.D. Vance (R-OH), has not deferred to officials on the topic of water safety. After the EPA said Wednesday that the water in the municipal well showed no quality concerns, Vance called on them to put the water where their mouth is.
“I think that if the EPA administrator wants to stand here and tell people that the tap water is safe, by all means, they should be willing to drink it,&#8221; he said.
Vance also posted a video to his personal Twitter account, where he scraped a creek bed, showing an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-disgusting-j-d-vance-scrapes-creek-bed-with-stick-after-train-crash-oily-substance-emerges-in-viral-video" target="_blank" rel="noopener">oily sheen</a> from chemicals in the water. “This is disgusting,” he said. “The fact that these chemicals are still seeping in the ground is an insult to the people who live in East Palestine. Do not forget these people.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Visited a local creek in East Palestine today. These waterways are still very polluted. It’s time for Norfolk Southern to finish the cleanup. Check this video out: <a href="https://t.co/4lsHBmrMJj">pic.twitter.com/4lsHBmrMJj</a>
&mdash; J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1626305927207854089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-plans-visit-to-east-palestine-says-locals-need-help" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> is scheduled to visit the village on Wednesday.

Senate Democrats Press Conference

Ohio Dem Gives Strange Answer When Asked If He Would Drink Water In East Palestine

Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown Gives Strange, Indirect Answer When Asked If He Would Drink Water In East Palestine

JD Vance

Ohio

Ohio Train Disaster

Sherrod Brown

Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday made excuses for using the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, despite Congress and most states partially or fully banning the app on government-issued devices.
Appearing on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/02/12/tiktok-gretchen-whitmer-tapper-contd-sotu-vpx.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the Union</a>,&#8221; Whitmer was pressed by host Jake Tapper on why she continues to use the app after concerns about data privacy sparked politicians across the country to take action.
&#8220;You&#8217;re active on TikTok,&#8221; Tapper began. &#8220;And I get it, it&#8217;s fun. But I deleted my app from my phone because so many people kept coming on my show saying, delete it, delete it, delete it. The Chinese government has access to your data. Is it appropriate for you to be on TikTok when the FBI says it&#8217;s a national security concern?&#8221;
&#8220;We use TikTok on one device that has nothing else on it,&#8221; Whitmer responded. &#8220;It is a communication tool. We don&#8217;t do it because it&#8217;s fun, although some people think what I put out there can be fun on occasion&#8230; But the point is, we have it on one device that has no access to anything else, because so many people get their information that way.&#8221;
&#8220;Whether we like it or not, that is a tool for disseminating important information,&#8221; she added. &#8220;And that&#8217;s how we use it. But we&#8217;re always evaluating because we want to make sure that we are protecting data in Michigan. And that&#8217;s why we&#8217;re always evaluating. But, at this point, the way we use it is secure.&#8221;
But when pressed again by Tapper about the negative effects on Americans&#8217; mental health, Whitmer admitted that young people need to learn that the app is not a reliable source of information.
&#8220;We need to have some congressional measures taken to ensure that there is some integrity in it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But, also, we got to teach our kids that this is not a real robust offering of information, for you to distill and make your own decisions.&#8221;
Whitmer&#8217;s official TikTok account, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@biggretchwhitmer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@biggretchwhitmer</a>, has more than 190,000 followers.
Governors and lawmakers in <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/16/tech/tiktok-state-restrictions/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">32 of the 50</a> states have taken action to ban the app from being used on state-owned devices. Four other states have similar proposed bills in their state legislatures. Congress also included a provision in the $1.7 trillion omnibus budget bill late last year, which <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tiktok-banned-from-devices-issued-by-u-s-house-of-representatives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">banned the app</a> from federal government devices. Government leaders have all cited the app&#8217;s excessive data permissions requests and the security risks it could pose.

Gretchen Whitmer

Gretchen Whitmer Defends Using TikTok Despite Most States And Congress Banning Use On Govt Devices

Jake Tapper

Once a year — every year since 1790 — the president of the United States has delivered a message on the state of the union.
From 1801 to 1913, though, that message was delivered in writing. But since then, the president has almost exclusively traveled to the U.S. Capitol to deliver the message in person.
It&#8217;s a pointless — and partisan — exercise. The president claims credit for everything good going on in the country, blames the opposing party for all the woes, and then delivers a laundry of all the things he wants to do in the future (most of which never get done).
Maybe it&#8217;s time we go back to a written message. On Tuesday, the annual event cost nearly a million dollars just to erect a fence to protect the Capitol (and much more when you factor in the salaries of all the law enforcement and security officials needed). Authorities have been spooked ever since January 6, 2021, when rioters swooped into the building and ran wild for hours, so they put up the fence.
But the architect of the U.S. Capitol (AOC) — that&#8217;s a federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the complex — said there was really no reason to erect the barrier.
Brett Blanton, the current Capitol architect, told the House Committee on House Administration on Thursday that there were no threats ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, but House and Senate officials still opted to erect the fence.
“It’s going to be cheaper to put the fence up and have less people,” he told the subcommittee, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/capitol-architect-no-threat-to-justify-state-of-union-fence">according</a> to the Washington Examiner. Blanton said it cost $872,000 to put the fence up and take it back down, a cost borne by the U.S. Secret Service.
Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) asked Blanton why the fence was erected if there were no threats. “That is correct, and also on January 6 there was no specific threat as well,&#8221; he pointed out.
Blanton wasn&#8217;t at the Capitol on January 6, telling the committee, “There was no actionable intelligence that there was going to be anything here that was presented to the Capitol Police Board.”
Some lawmakers were furious he wasn&#8217;t on site that day.
“I’m outraged that you would be in a comfortable place, sir, while the rest of us were thinking about dying that day and how we were going to come out alive that day,” Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) told Blanton. “Outrageous that you were not here.”
“I find it mind-blowing that the head of the AOC, the leader, knowing what you knew — probably a lot more than we did that day — would not have been in this building ensuring the safety and security not only of the building but of the employees that you lead,” echoed Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK).
That statement perked up the ears of Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), chairman of the committee that oversees the police and architect’s office. He told lawmakers he would examine whether there was “actionable intelligence” before the January 6 riots.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

US Capitol Ahead Of The Annual State Of The Union Address

U.S. Blew $872,000 To Build, Dismantle Useless Fence Around Capitol For Biden’s Pointless State Of The Union

U.S. Blew $872,000 To Build, Dismantle Useless Fence Around Capitol For State Of The Union

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> devoted a significant amount of airtime during his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-of-the-union" target="_blank" rel="noopener">State of the Union</a> address on Tuesday toward the inconvenience that “junk fees” cause to the typical consumer, suggesting that federal action should be taken to eliminate the charges.
Junk fees, the hidden charges that are not included in the ticket price for a transaction but appear when a consumer eventually pays for the product or service, are common in sectors such as air travel, personal finance, banking, and hospitality. Biden called upon lawmakers to create a Junk Fee Prevention Act that would <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/01/fact-sheet-president-biden-highlights-new-progress-on-his-competition-agenda/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crack down</a> on concert and sporting ticket fees, phone and internet early termination fees, resort and destination fees, and certain airline fees.
“Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most folks in homes like the one I grew up in. They add up to hundreds of dollars a month,” Biden commented in the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/07/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-prepared-for-delivery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">address</a>. “They make it harder for you to pay the bills or afford that family trip. I know how unfair it feels when a company overcharges you and gets away with it. Not anymore.”
Several agencies have already examined the phenomenon and considered rules that would seek to reduce junk fees. Federal Trade Commission officials <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/10/federal-trade-commission-explores-rule-cracking-down-junk-fees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">requested</a> public comment at the end of last year on new regulations that would ban “unnecessary charges for worthless, free, or fake products or services.” For instance, Americans paid some $15 billion per year in bank overdraft fees as of 2019, according to a <a href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/blog/hidden-cost-junk-fees/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Despite the headaches they pose to consumers, nationwide regulations seeking to eliminate junk fees could prove ineffective and imprudent.
“The federal government should not be concerned with punishing companies for fees that someone doesn’t like,” Norbert Michel, vice president and director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, told The Daily Wire. “People can refuse to pay the fee, complain, and go somewhere else. If large numbers of customers take any of those actions, chances are the company will adjust its policy.”
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, for instance, implemented <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/fca-gives-update-banks-overdraft-pricing-decisions-and-plans-support-consumers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new rules</a> for overdraft fees between November 2019 and April 2020. Even as banks saw overdraft revenues decline between one-quarter and one-third, the agency admitted that “many of the banks’ new rates were similar” after the new restrictions were enacted; many of the financial institutions, however, had created a range of pricing structures from which their users could choose.
Michel added that consumers and businesses are more likely to find a solution without interference from regulators. “It makes little sense for the federal government to try to control fees, just as it makes it little sense for the federal government to try to control prices,” he said.
Previous calls for action against junk fees from senior White House officials have said that “lower income households and people of color” are more severely impacted by the charges. One <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2022/10/26/the-presidents-initiative-on-junk-fees-and-related-pricing-practices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from National Economic Council Director Brian Deese cited a <a href="https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_credit-card-late-fees_report_2022-03.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau noting that consumers in low-income and majority-black neighborhoods “paid disproportionately more in credit card late fees.” Another <a href="https://www.nclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/auto_add_on_rpt.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> referenced by the official said Hispanic car buyers paid more in add-on costs than their counterparts.
Michel observed that disparity does not necessarily imply discrimination. “The fact that certain consumers pay more in late fees does not, by itself, mean that anything nefarious has occurred,” he continued.

US President Joe Biden speaks during a State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Biden is speaking against the backdrop of renewed tensions with China and a brewing showdown with House Republicans over raising the federal debt ceiling.

Biden Wants Federal Action To Ban ‘Junk Fees.’ That Might Not Be A Good Idea.

Why Biden's Junk Fees Ban Might Not Be A Good Idea

Biden Administration

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Executive

Megyn Kelly talked about how &#8220;uncomfortable&#8221; she was when she saw the &#8220;mouth kissing&#8221; between Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris&#8217; husband at the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
During the Sirius XM &#8220;The Megyn Kelly Show&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vw6ETUG9G4&amp;t=2964s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> on Wednesday, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/megyn-kelly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">host</a> spoke to guests Charles C. Cooke and Jeremy Peters about the &#8220;gross&#8221; kiss on the mouth everyone witnessed between the First Lady and second gentleman Doug Emhoff ahead of President Joe Biden&#8217;s speech. It starts at the 49:24 minute.
Kelly said there&#8217;s only two cases when that kind of kissing on the mouth should be allowed and in Biden&#8217;s wife&#8217;s case of greeting the VP&#8217;s husband before the SOTU wasn&#8217;t one of them.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Biden&#039;s SOTU Spectacle, and Job Market Reality, with Charles Cooke, Jeremy Peters, and Dave Ramsey" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5vw6ETUG9G4?start=2964&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;People should not be mouth kissing ever if it&#8217;s not your husband or your spouse,&#8221; the former Fox News host shared. &#8220;Here is Kamala&#8217;s husband and Joe Biden&#8217;s wife kissing on the mouth, I&#8217;m sorry, secondhand uncomfortable…&#8221;
&#8220;Not ever,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Don&#8217;t kiss me on my mouth. Don&#8217;t do it. In fact, don&#8217;t kiss me, and probably don&#8217;t hug me either. Just like the wave or a pat, I&#8217;ll take that.&#8221;
&#8220;Definitely no mouth kissing,&#8221; Kelly continued, as footage played showing the kiss heard around the world from the SOTU. &#8220;Gross. I don&#8217;t know where your mouth&#8217;s been, and I don&#8217;t want to know.&#8221;
The host then threw it to her guests to get their thoughts on the matter. National Review writer, Cooke, said &#8220;I have no idea what&#8217;s going on in that clip. It&#8217;s bizarre.&#8221;
While The New York Times reporter, Peters, kept his response short and brief, &#8220;Not in flu season…&#8221;
Kelly and her guests weren&#8217;t the only ones who found the now viral exchange between Biden and Emhoff, not normal, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/is-thisnormal-jill-bidens-kiss-with-vp-harris-husband-goes-viral" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported.
&#8220;Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff greet each other with&#8230; a kiss on the lips?&#8221; Cabot Phillips tweeted. &#8220;Is this&#8230; normal?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff greet each other with&#8230; a kiss on the lips?
Is this&#8230; normal? <a href="https://t.co/HX5p74fJHw">pic.twitter.com/HX5p74fJHw</a>
&mdash; Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) <a href="https://twitter.com/cabot_phillips/status/1623139547109376002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Jill Biden just kissed Kamala Harris’ husband on the lips,&#8221; Collin Rugg added. &#8220;Didn&#8217;t see that one coming.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Jill Biden just kissed Kamala Harris’ husband on the lips.
Didn’t see that one coming.<a href="https://t.co/LdrD25Gcrt">pic.twitter.com/LdrD25Gcrt</a>
&mdash; Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1623140421366059008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Why did Jill Biden kiss Doug Emhoff on the mouth?&#8221; Arthur Schwartz tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Why did Jill Biden kiss Doug Emhoff on the mouth? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SOTU</a> <a href="https://t.co/bj3hqpwGAT">pic.twitter.com/bj3hqpwGAT</a>
&mdash; Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArthurSchwartz/status/1623141167314489349?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
While another person on Twitter wrote, &#8220;WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL? Did [FLOTUS] and [Second Gentleman] just kiss on live national television? #SOTU #sotu2023.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL. Did <a href="https://twitter.com/FLOTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FLOTUS</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/SecondGentleman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecondGentleman</a> just kiss on live national television? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SOTU?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SOTU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sotu2023?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#sotu2023</a> <a href="https://t.co/FTlQELmpZG">pic.twitter.com/FTlQELmpZG</a>
&mdash; Prof. Michael Moates, MA, LP, LBA (@moates) <a href="https://twitter.com/moates/status/1623139275414949889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/megyn-kelly-husband-reveal-why-first-kiss-didnt-go-as-planned">Megyn Kelly, Husband Reveal Why First Kiss Didn&#8217;t Go As Planned</a>

Key Speakers At Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Conference

Megyn Kelly Says There’s Only Two Cases When You Should Be ‘Mouth Kissing’ After ‘Bizarre’ Jill Biden-VP Husband Kiss

Celebrities

Entertainment

Jill Biden

Joe Biden

Kamala Harris

Megyn Kelly

Did you watch the State of the Union Tuesday night?
Now, there’s a lot we could chat about it — but to me the most interesting part of the night was the exchange between Representative George Santos (R-NY) and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT).
There&#8217;s a lot I could say about president Biden’s SOTU address. It made me angry, for one — it was full of lies. Biden appears to be suffering from some early-stage dementia — that was apparent right out of the gate. We could discuss how he pretended that he wants to fight the fentanyl crisis even as he allowed the deadly drug to pour over our open borders.
We could talk about perhaps his most bizarre claim of all — that he’s some sort of anti-Big Pharma hero. Is this not the exact same guy that The Daily Wire had to fight because he tried to authorize the Labor Department to effectively mandate the vaccine into every single working individual’s arms in America?
Do you remember that? Don’t worry if you don’t, he probably doesn&#8217;t remember either.
Or we could touch upon him pretending that he&#8217;s sticking it to China.
Yeah, we sure showed them by allowing them to float a balloon, a spy balloon, for eight days across the entire contiguous United States!
Nope, sorry. I didn’t want to discuss any of that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-90-toxic-mom-culture-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">on my show today</a>.
The best moment from the State of the Union was actually a little riff-raff that went on between Romney and Santos. Right at the beginning, the New York congressman and Utah senator exchanged some sharp words. The camera footage of the exchange was intense. 
Lip readers speculated that Romney told Santos he shouldn’t be at the address. Romney confirmed he did, in fact, dress down Santos — who has admitted to “embellishing” practically every aspect of his resume. 
“I didn&#8217;t expect that he&#8217;d be standing there trying to shake hands with every senator in the United States,” Romney told reporters while leaving the building. “That&#8217;s a given. And given the fact that he&#8217;s under ethics investigation, he should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet instead of parading in front of the president and the people coming into the room.” 
“If you look at like he said, he says he knows that he embellished his record. Look, embellishing is saying you got an A when he had an A-minus. Lying is saying you graduated from a college you didn&#8217;t even attend. He shouldn&#8217;t be in Congress,” he continued. “And they&#8217;re going to go through the process and hopefully get him out but he shouldn&#8217;t be there.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
REPORTER: &quot;You just said you [Santos] don&#39;t belong here&#8230;Why did you say that?&quot;
ROMNEY: &quot;I didn&#39;t expect that he&#39;d be standing there trying to shake hands with every Senator and the President&#8230;He shouldn&#39;t be there&#8230;If he had any shame at all, he wouldn&#39;t be there.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/yBIxnWNLDd">pic.twitter.com/yBIxnWNLDd</a>
&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1623350577739534341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
So, is Romney wrong here? 
It certainly seems as if Santos has been caught lying about virtually everything — from the schools he attended to his employment history, and his family background, and even whether or not he was a drag queen in Brazil. 
This guy is definitely shady. And it is right that there is an ethics probe against him. There is some hilarity to the fact that Santos has made it this far.
Yet, then again, Mitt Romney is also Mitt Romney. So this is a weird circumstance of the pot calling the kettle black in many ways.
Mitt Romney says, “Oh, this guy&#8217;s a fraud. This guy&#8217;s lying. This guy&#8217;s raised money on these lies and now he&#8217;s here in Congress.”
OK, Mitt Romney, are you kidding me? You raised a lot more money on the basis of your lies.
You had people all around America actually believing that you would be a strong conservative candidate for president in 2012. In turn, those people gave you hundreds of millions toward your campaign, only to watch you lose and then turn into a leftist.
With regard to future legislation, I&#8217;m going to guess that Santos will vote more conservatively than Romney will.
But for Romney — people invested in him, and then everything he has done in Congress has benefited the Left. The Democrats can always count on Romney&#8217;s vote. Trump endorsed him in 2012 and in his Senate bid. Trump’s endorsement in 2018 truly sealed the deal for him.
And then what did he do once in power? He fought Trump every chance he got. He voted for him to be impeached and literally has spent his time opposing the MAGA agenda for nearly six years straight.
Why? Because Romney is a fraud. He lies and he collects money. So in this circumstance, nobody is really the hero — least of all Romney. 
Now, if anybody else went up and said something to Santos? I might be able to respect it, but not you, Mitt Romney, not you.

Candace_516x9 copy 32

Really? That Fraud Mitt Romney Is The One Who Stood Up To George Santos? 

Candace Owens

Mitt Romney

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Social Issues

The nation’s most influential manufacturing association said former President <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Donald Trump</a> is responsible for strong performance in the industry after President <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" tabindex="-1" href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Joe Biden</a> repeatedly took credit for growth in the sector during his <a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" tabindex="-1" href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-of-the-union" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/state-of-the-union" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">State of the Union</a> address on Tuesday.
Biden noted in his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/02/07/remarks-of-president-joe-biden-state-of-the-union-address-as-prepared-for-delivery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> that the United States has created nearly 800,000 manufacturing positions over the past two years, a claim that aligns with <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES3000000001?output_view=net_1mth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and marks the fastest job growth in four decades for the sector. He referenced legislative packages such as the CHIPS and Science Act as factors responsible for the growth.
“Where is it written that America can’t lead the world in manufacturing again? For too many decades, we imported products and exported jobs,” Biden asserted. “Now, thanks to all we’ve done, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs.”
National Association of Manufacturers CEO Jay Timmons responded to the emphasis on the industry by supporting the Biden administration’s legislative agenda while docking him for not supporting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed by Trump at the beginning of his administration. Timmons, whose trade association <a href="https://www.nam.org/about/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">represents</a> nearly 80% of Fortune 100 manufacturers, said the reforms established the foundation for the robust state of the sector.
“The President should be commended for the historic, bipartisan accomplishments of the past two years,” Timmons said in a <a href="https://www.nam.org/timmons-americas-success-and-leadership-depend-on-a-strong-competitive-manufacturing-industry-20681/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “However, the President misses the mark in not recognizing that the historic tax reforms of 2017 and the previous administration’s efforts to promote regulatory certainty helped lay the foundation for the recent success in creating jobs, increasing investment and raising wages.”
Timmons added that lawmakers “should immediately reinstate critical tax deductions for the costs of research, machinery purchases and key business investments.” Analysts recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-one-key-sunset-in-the-tax-code-will-deal-a-blow-to-innovation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> the sunset of a provision in the federal tax code that allowed companies to immediately deduct research and development expenses, contending that the change would decrease innovation over time. Lawmakers failed to extend the provision for the new tax year.
“Restoring these tools is essential to keep up the pace of manufacturing job creation and to out-innovate and outcompete China,” Timmons said. “And to truly unleash manufacturing investment, fully realize the potential of the infrastructure law and achieve energy security in America, we need a smarter, balanced approach to regulations and significant permitting reform so that projects don’t languish for years in a bureaucratic mess.”
Timmons also cited the “broken immigration system” which has served to create a “border crisis,” and suggested embracing immigration reform that would aid manufacturers with filling empty positions. There are currently two open positions for every one unemployed individual, according to <a href="https://www.bls.gov/charts/job-openings-and-labor-turnover/unemp-per-job-opening.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the phenomenon has contributed to inflationary pressures as companies raise wages and pass higher input prices to consumers.
As many as 5.5 million migrants have crossed into the United States under the Biden administration, according to <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fair-analysis-5-5-million-illegal-aliens-have-crossed-our-borders-since-biden-took-officehow-is-secretary-mayorkas-still-employed-301658734.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The commander-in-chief exhorted lawmakers to approve legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for some workers.

Biden/Trump

Biden Took Victory Lap During State Of The Union For Strong Manufacturing Sector. Industry Leader Says Trump Deserves The Credit.

Industry Leader Says Trump, Not Biden, Deserves Credit For Strong Manufacturing Sector

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Economy

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