Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) grilled Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xavier-becerra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xavier Becerra</a> over his position on abortion, asking whether there was any case in which he would support imposing restrictions on women seeking to terminate their pregnancies.
During a Tuesday hearing, Kennedy posed a hypothetical scenario — a healthy baby and a healthy mother, one day before the due date — and Becerra repeatedly refused to say whether he&#8217;d support banning abortion even in that case.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Why are you embarrassed to answer?
&quot;Would you support making it illegal to abort a baby, if the mother is healthy, and the baby is healthy, on the day before that baby is scheduled to be born?&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/SenJohnKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenJohnKennedy</a> presses <a href="https://twitter.com/SecBecerra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecBecerra</a> on his support for no-limits abortion <a href="https://t.co/K2mkoSGW0i">pic.twitter.com/K2mkoSGW0i</a>
&mdash; SBA Pro-Life America (@sbaprolife) <a href="https://twitter.com/sbaprolife/status/1780275185125392535?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
After thanking Secretary Becerra for his time, Kennedy jumped straight to the heart of his questions.
&#8220;Mr. Secretary, if the mother is healthy and the baby is healthy, do you really support abortion of the baby up to the moment of birth?&#8221; he asked.
&#8220;Senator, let me make sure — to the moment of birth? You&#8217;re saying after gestation, the 40 weeks —&#8221; Becerra attempted to clarify the question.
Kennedy obliged, saying, &#8220;Let&#8217;s suppose — suppose it&#8217;s the day before the due date, and the baby is fully formed and the baby is healthy and the mother is healthy, do you support aborting — the right to abort the baby then?&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve heard no one say that,&#8221; Becerra protested, claiming that &#8220;reproductive rights&#8221; advocates were only saying that they supported the provisions of the recently-overturned 1973 case Roe v. Wade.
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Kennedy responded by reading a 2020 statement from Becerra himself, who said at the time, &#8220;No government, state or federal, has the right to make decisions for a woman about her body or her health care.&#8221;
&#8220;Your words, not mine,&#8221; Kennedy added. &#8220;I ask you again, up to the moment of birth, if the mother&#8217;s healthy and the baby&#8217;s healthy, do you believe that there should be the right to abort that baby? Up to the moment of birth.&#8221;
Becerra again claimed that he had &#8220;always supported Roe v, Wade, which doesn&#8217;t do what you just said,&#8221; and said that he did not know of anyone who was arguing in favor of abortion until the moment of birth. He went on to say that it should still be a decision left entirely up to a woman and her doctor.
Kennedy tried once more, asking Becerra directly whether he would support any restrictions on abortion in cases where both mother and baby were healthy and the baby was full term. The HHS Secretary would only answer that he would support bringing back Roe.
&#8220;I want your answer,&#8221; Kennedy pressed again. &#8220;Roe v. Wade has been overturned. I want your answer.&#8221;
But even as Kennedy repeated the direct question several more times, Becerra refused to give a straight answer.

Sen. John Kennedy

‘Your Words, Not Mine’: GOP Senator Grills Biden Health Secretary Over No-Limits Abortion

'Your Words, Not Mine': GOP Senator Grills Biden Health Secretary Over No-Limits Abortion

Abortion

John Kennedy

Politics

Pro-Abortion

Social Issues

Xavier Becerra

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced a measure on Wednesday that would prohibit the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-and-human-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Department of Health and Human Services</a> from implementing a federal rule that could force foster parents to accept gender ideology and restrict the work of faith-based foster care organizations.
The bill, first shared with The Daily Wire, is called the ‘<a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/03/ERN24164.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Protecting Religious Freedom for Foster Families Act,&#8221;</a> and would block HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra from implementing a proposed <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/28/2023-21274/safe-and-appropriate-foster-care-placement-requirements-for-titles-iv-e-and-iv-b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placement rule</a> that would dictate that minors who identify as LGBT are placed with providers who agree to affirm a child’s gender identity, pronouns, and provide them “services that are necessary to support their health and wellbeing.” The measure, which was co-sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), is sponsored in the House by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK).
“All children in foster care, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve safe and proper placement,” Marshall told The Daily Wire. “This extreme proposal by the HHS instead discriminates against faith-based homes and loving foster parents in pursuit of pushing their radical gender ideology and pronoun politics on religious families.”
Marshall’s bill would stop HHS from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing the proposed rule, or a similar measure.
“This rule would have an especially devastating impact in rural areas across the country, where there are fewer foster care providers than children in need of safe homes,” Marshall said. “This administration needs to leave the politics out of it and help as many kids that need their love, care, and support as possible.”
Marshall previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-sen-marshall-challenges-proposed-hhs-rule-that-would-force-foster-parents-to-accept-extreme-gender-ideology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote a letter</a> to Becerra outlining his concerns with the rule, but has not heard back yet. The Kansas Republican noted that the rule could have the effect of forcing Christian foster services from being able to work with states to provide homes for children.
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He also noted that the rule could cause conflict in states where transgender procedures on children have been banned.
“These procedures can cause irreparable harm to children, many of whom have inconsistent parental guidance and lack the physiological development that is necessary to make an informed decision of such consequence. States should not be penalized for acting to protect the children of their state,” the letter said.
The proposal also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/states-press-hhs-over-illegal-rule-that-could-force-foster-care-providers-to-facilitate-trans-procedures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drew criticism</a> from over a dozen Republican attorneys general who warned that the rule could compel foster care providers to facilitate transgender procedures on minors.

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EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marshall Takes New Step To Fight ‘Extreme’ HHS Rule That Would Force Foster Parents To Accept Gender Ideology

Department of Health and Human Services

gender ideology

Kansas

LGBT

Senate

Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) is warning about a proposed rule from the Department of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-and-human-services" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health and Human Services</a> that could force foster parents to accept gender ideology and harm religious liberty.
Led by Marshall, a group of Republican senators sent a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/01/Marshall_NPRM-LGBT-Letter-FINAL.pdf">letter</a> on Thursday to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra expressing concern over a proposed <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/28/2023-21274/safe-and-appropriate-foster-care-placement-requirements-for-titles-iv-e-and-iv-b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">placement rule</a> from HHS that would dictate that minors who identify as LGBT are placed with providers who agree to affirm a child’s gender identity, pronouns, and provide them with “services that are necessary to support their health and wellbeing.”
“Foster care providers’ top priority should be matching vulnerable children with a safe and loving home. Unfortunately, under the Biden Administration, moral and religious values are under attack by the far Left&#8217;s endless pursuit to further their LGBTQ+ agenda,” Marshall told The Daily Wire. “We are fighting back against the Biden Administration&#8217;s woke gender ideology and pronoun politics. Their new proposed rule aims to exclude faith-based foster care providers from helping children in need — not on my watch.”
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and John Barrasso (R-WY) also signed on to the letter, first obtained by The Daily Wire, which urges HHS to rescind the rule. The Republicans say that the proposal would make foster parents who want to shield children from gender ideology guilty of &#8220;child abuse.&#8221;
“The premise of this proposal is that any foster care provider who does not ‘affirm’ a child’s sexual orientation or gender that differs from his or her biological sex is perpetuating and committing child abuse and will be shunned for failing to support the foster child’s ‘health and wellbeing,’” the letter said.
“All children in foster care, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserve a safe and proper placement. However, this proposal goes beyond statutory requirements to force states to adopt extreme gender ideology in their placement decisions. Congress intentionally gave states the authority to make those determinations, but HHS has usurped that authority to impose its own woke ideology in place of states’ judgments,” the senators added.
Additionally, the senators noted that the rule from the Biden administration would require states to place children with sex-specific facilities in line with their “self-identified gender.” The letter said that this “undermines the safety and security of foster youth and is inappropriate, as children are in different stages of their development.”
The letter also raised concerns about what the rule would do for states that work with faith-based foster care organizations. If faith-based organizations do not comply with the proposed placement rule for kids who identify as LGBT, they may be prohibited from working to provide homes for children any longer.
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The lawmakers also noted that the rule could cause conflict in states where transgender procedures on children have been banned.
“These procedures can cause irreparable harm to children, many of whom have inconsistent parental guidance and lack the physiological development that is necessary to make an informed decision of such consequence. States should not be penalized for acting to protect the children of their state,” the letter said.
Over a dozen Republican attorneys general have already written to HHS <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/states-press-hhs-over-illegal-rule-that-could-force-foster-care-providers-to-facilitate-trans-procedures" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in opposition</a> to the proposed rule. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said that he would consider suing the administration if the rule goes into effect.

Congressional Lawmakers React To The Expiration Of The Title 42 Border Policy

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Marshall Challenges Proposed HHS Rule That Would Force Foster Parents To Accept ‘Extreme Gender Ideology’

Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/steve-daines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Steve Daines</a> (R-Montana) praised the federal investigation into the University of Pittsburgh after the school was accused of illegally harvesting fetal tissue from aborted babies for experimentation. 
It was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-investigation-opened-into-pitt-over-fetal-tissue-experiments-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed last month</a> through emails obtained by a public records request from the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) and Judicial Watch that the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general had been looking into Pitt over fetal tissue experiments funded in part by the National Institute of Health, first reported on by CMP in 2019. These experiments included scalping 5-month-old fetuses in order to stitch their scalps and back skin onto lab rats and transporting fetal kidneys to other researchers.
“After years of calling for an investigation into the barbaric research practices happening at the University of Pittsburgh, I’m glad to see the inspector general finally take this seriously. Exploiting the body parts of aborted children is not only repulsive but it has been proven ineffective in producing clinical treatments. It must be stopped,” Daines, founder of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, told The Daily Wire. 
Daines has previously pushed for an investigation into Pitt and government funding of the fetal tissue experiments, signing onto a September 2021 <a href="https://www.daines.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/University%20of%20Pittsburgh%20Letter1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> urging HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and then-NIH Director Francis Collins to look into the program. 
“Exploiting the body parts of aborted children for research purposes is repulsive and should stop, regardless of the outcome hoped for by researchers. Research using abortive fetal tissue is unethical, wrong, and has also been proven ineffective. Despite being used in clinical research since the 1920s, fetal tissue has not produced a single clinical treatment,” the letter from congressional Republicans said. 
The emails released last month show confirmation of an HHS investigation into Pitt over the issue since at least October 2021, one month after the letter from congressional Republicans. The status of the investigation is unclear, but the HHS Office of Inspector General previously told The Daily Wire that it could “neither confirm nor deny the existence of any investigation, should there be any.”
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Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), one of the signers of the September 2021 letter to Becerra, has said that he has been given no answers on the issue either, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=343088547705269" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that HHS pointed him to an investigation done by a law firm hired by Pitt to look at the fetal tissue program. 
Pitt has denied any wrong doing, saying that it did not break any federal laws with its programs.
“As we have stated in the past: Fetal tissue research plays a critical role in advancing life-saving discoveries. We remain committed to maintaining robust internal controls and to extending our record of compliance at the state and federal levels, and we take these responsibilities seriously,” a Pitt spokesman <a href="https://www.utimes.pitt.edu/news/report-fetal-tissue">said</a> in January 2022. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-investigation-opened-into-pitt-over-fetal-tissue-experiments-emails-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RELATED: Federal Investigation Opened Into Pitt Over Fetal Tissue Experiments, Emails Show</a>

Senators Meet For Their Weekly Policy Luncheons

Senator Praises Federal Investigation Into ‘Barbaric’ Experiments At University Of Pittsburgh

Center for Medical Progress

Francis Collins

Inspector general

Steve Daines

University of Pittsburgh

A panel of appeals court judges has ruled that a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doctors-accuse-fda-of-unlawfully-blocking-their-ability-to-treat-covid-19-patients-with-ivermectin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit from several doctors</a> challenging the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Food and Drug Administration</a> over its messaging on ivermectin can move forward after a federal judge had blocked the suit. 
The doctors sued the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA, claiming their medical practices were harmed due to the FDA telling people not to take ivermectin, which some doctors have said could be used as a possible COVID treatment. HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera and FDA Commissioner Robert Califf are also named in the suit. 
“FDA is not a physician. It has authority to inform, announce, and apprise — but not to endorse, denounce, or advise,” Judge Don Willett <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/fifth-circuit-ivermectin-order.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. “The Doctors have plausibly alleged that FDA’s Posts fell on the wrong side of the line between telling about and telling to.”
The ruling referenced an FDA post to X that instructed people not to take ivermectin because “you are not a horse.” The FDA has approved ivermectin to treat certain infections, but it has urged the public not to use it to treat COVID. 
“The messaging traveled widely across legacy and online media. Left unmentioned in most of that messaging: ivermectin also comes in a human version. And while the human version is not FDA-approved to treat the coronavirus, some people were using it off-label for that purpose,” the ruling said. 
According to the ruling, the doctors each prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID and said the FDA’s messaging interfered with their medical practice. The doctors allege that the FDA’s actions on ivermectin violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which governs how administrative agencies operate. 
“As such, the Doctors can use the APA to assert their ultra vires claims against the Agencies and the Officials,&#8221; the ruling said. &#8220;Even tweet-sized doses of personalized medical advice are beyond the FDA’s statutory authority.&#8221;
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“This case has broad implications for protecting the practice of medicine from unlawful interference by the FDA,” <a href="https://boydengray.com/boyden-gray-pllc-federal-appeals-court-decision-takes-major-step-toward-holding-fda-accountable-for-overstepping-authority-and-unlawfully-interfering-with-practice-of-medicine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Jared Kelson, counsel at Boyden Gray PLLC, the firm that represented the doctors. “It’s about ensuring that federal agencies act only within their statutory authority. The FDA crossed a bright line here.”
Mary Talley Bowden, one of the doctors challenging the FDA, celebrated the ruling with a post to X.
“A small win, or at least a step forward, in a monumental battle to protect the doctor-patient relationship from government tyranny. ONWARD!” she <a href="https://twitter.com/mdbreathe/status/1697819048686559523?s=61&amp;t=AmzjiawkPU-YZpTc7gahMw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. 
Bowden was <a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-business-texas-media-health-e1f97db1cda6335aff1523ebaf389bf7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspended</a> from Houston Methodist Hospital after she vocally opposed vaccine mandates and advocated using ivermectin to treat COVID. The hospital said her statements and actions were “harmful to the community.”
“Dr. Mary Bowden, who recently joined the medical staff at Houston Methodist Hospital, is using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments,” the hospital said.

Food And Drug Administration Headquarters In Maryland

‘Not A Physician’: Federal Judges Say Doctors Can Continue Suit Against FDA Over Ivermectin

Courts

COVID-19

Ivermectin

Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jerry-nadler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jerry Nadler</a> (D-NY) said on the House floor Wednesday that it would have been “child abuse” for 2-year-olds to not be masked during the COVID pandemic. 
Nadler’s comments came during debate on the House floor on the REINS Act after Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chip-roy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chip Roy</a> (R-TX) moved to add an amendment to the bill that would <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nadler-toddlers-shouldve-required-mask-during-covid-parents-didnt-committed-child-abuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">effectively give</a> Congress the power to vote on any vaccine mandate initiated via executive branch rule-making, such as President Joe Biden&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/13/supreme-court-ruling-biden-covid-vaccine-mandates.html">now-defunct</a> COVID vaccine mandate. 
&#8220;Two-year-olds should have been required to wear masks. It would be child abuse for parents not to do that because there was no vaccination available for 2-year-olds,&#8221; Nadler said. &#8220;And the only way to protect them against COVID was to have them wear masks, and these mandates are meant to protect the public’s health and safety.&#8221;
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Nadler: &quot;When we have a pandemic like covid, two-year-olds should have been required to wear masks. It would be child abuse for parents not to do that.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/8dcF9MJhDC">pic.twitter.com/8dcF9MJhDC</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1669045672404762624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 14, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The comments from the New York Democrat came after Roy criticized Health and Human Services Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xavier-becerra" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xavier Becerra</a>’s appearance before Congress on Tuesday. 
“I want everybody in America to understand what they just heard from the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee in the United States House of Representatives,&#8221; Roy <a href="https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/watch-house-dem-says-2-year-olds-should-have-been-required-to-wear-masks/?utm_source=actengage&amp;utm_campaign=FreedomMail&amp;utm_medium=email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in response to Nadler. &#8220;Your 2-year-old should be forced to be masked. That is what the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee just said here on the floor of the House of Representatives. That the power of the government, the full power of the federal government, should be a part of ensuring and enforcing your children, your 2-year-old child to be masked.&#8221;
Becerra had been asked on Tuesday if &#8220;forcing 2-year-olds to wear masks save lives” by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA). 
“Making sure people were masked when it was appropriate was essential to make sure that we were able to get out of this pandemic,&#8221; Becerra responded. 
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Roy&#8217;s amendment passed along with the REINS Act, a bill <a href="https://mcmorris.house.gov/posts/mcmorris-rodgers-helps-pass-the-reins-act-to-check-bidens-reckless-spending" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designed</a> to give Congress more oversight over presidential executive actions.
Young children were at very low risk of developing a serious health outcome from catching COVID, and recent studies have <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD006207.pub6/full" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that masks are seemingly not that effective at reducing the spread of COVID. 
Although Biden officially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-officially-ends-covid-19-national-emergency" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ended the COVID national emergency declaration</a> in April, the White House came under fire again this month after an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-enforcing-mask-mandates-social-distancing-for-unvaccinated-visitors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">email showed</a> that it would be enforcing a mask mandate and social distancing guidelines for visitors who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated.
Lawmakers invited to attend “College Athlete Day,” where athletes from championship collegiate teams get to visit the White House, were told to mask up for the event if they are not vaccinated
After backlash, the White House <a href="https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/masks-and-social-distancing-required-unvaccinated-college-athlete-day-white" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the email had been sent “inadvertently” and that it would be sending out updated guidelines to event attendees.

Attorney General Barr Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee

Jerry Nadler: It Would Have Been ‘Child Abuse’ To Not Mask 2-Year-Olds During Pandemic

Chip Roy

Congress

Jerry Nadler

Mask Mandate

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act by using his official authority or influence to affect the result of an election while speaking at a public event last year, a U.S. government watchdog said on Tuesday.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel <a href="https://osc.gov/Documents/Hatch%20Act/Reports/Report%20of%20Prohibited%20Political%20Activity,%20Xavier%20Becerra%20(HA-22-000223).pdf">reported</a> Becerra &#8220;crossed the line&#8221; at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Annual Awards Gala dinner in September when he conveyed his support for Democratic California Senator Alex Padilla&#8217;s re-election in a 2022 U.S. Senate race.
&#8220;Not only did Secretary Becerra express pride at having Senator Padilla as his Senator, he referred to him as &#8220;someone [he] will be voting for in a little bit more than a month….,&#8221; Special Counsel Henry J. Kerner said in a letter to President Joe Biden, who appointed Becerra as the HHS Secretary for the Executive branch in March 2021.
According to the watchdog analysis, Becerra is subject to the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activity of &#8220;any individual, other than the President and the Vice President, employed or holding office in… an Executive agency other than the Government Accountability Office.&#8221;
Kerner said Becerra &#8220;impermissibly mixed his personal electoral preference with official remarks.&#8221;
&#8220;Violations by high level officials that go unaddressed particularly undermine the viability of the Hatch Act and its purpose of ensuring a federal civil service free of partisan political influence,&#8221; Kerner wrote.
Becerra acknowledged his comments but said they were unintentional.
&#8220;While I did not realize at the time that my off-the-cuff remarks concerning my personal voting intentions were in violation of the Hatch Act, I now understand why they were not permitted,&#8221; he said in a statement attached to the report. &#8220;I have received additional counseling on the Hatch Act from the Department’s Ethics Division, and I will work hard to ensure that there are no future violations.&#8221;
Although the Office of the Special Counsel can recommend a president take appropriate actions about the violation, the independent agency does not have the authority to enforce such decisions.
Last year, the agency found that Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm violated the Hatch Act over comments she made during an interview with Marie Claire magazine, where she promoted electoral success for the Democratic Party.
Officials let Granholm off with a warning, citing she had not received proper training about the law.
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/18/becerra-padilla-hatch-act/">The Washington Post</a>, the office cited 13 senior officials for former Republican President Donald Trump for illegally mixing governing with campaigning before the 2020 election.
Newsmax <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/politics/xavier-becerra-hatch-act/2023/04/18/id/1116627/">reported</a> the office called for Kellyanne Conway to be removed from office.
Representatives for the Biden Administration have yet to comment on the Becerra report.

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U.S. Government Watchdog Says Biden HHS Chief Becerra Violated Hatch Act

Biden Administration

Democratic Party

Hatch Act

U.S.

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.'

China

Coronavirus

Joni Ernst

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration</a> is considering a public health emergency declaration regarding <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abortion</a>, according to a recent report.
The Monday <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/01/31/biden-public-health-emergency-abortion-dobbs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by Axios cited Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“There are discussions on a wide range of measures &#8230; that we can take to try to protect people&#8217;s rights,&#8221; HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told the outlet.
He was asked about a public health emergency declaration on the topic of abortion, and responded, &#8220;There are certain criteria that you look for to be able to declare a public health emergency. That&#8217;s typically done by scientists and those that are professionals in those fields who will tell us whether we are in a state of emergency and based on that, I have the ability to make a declaration.”
Becerra noted that there has not been a “full assessment” of what such a declaration would be like and if it is needed, but there is nonetheless “an evaluation” of it. 
An HHS spokesperson also told the outlet, &#8220;We are constantly exploring additional actions we can take to protect and expand access to reproductive health care, including abortion care, and are prioritizing the actions that can give us the highest impact and most durable solutions.&#8221;
This is not the first time the administration has thought about going down this road, but the HHS Secretary ultimately <a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/Public-Health-Emergency-Declaration.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">makes the call</a> on a public health emergency declaration. Since the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade last summer and returned the matter of abortion back to the states, President Joe Biden and Becerra have been pressed to take action on the matter.
Last July, Democratic legislators <a href="https://doggett.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/doggett.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Emergency%20Declaration%20on%20Reproductive%20Freedom%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> a letter to Biden and Becerra, asking them to put forward a National Emergency declaration, as well as a “Public Health Emergency declaration on abortion access.”
The letter included allegations regarding so-called reproductive health care in the United States, claiming that the “Supreme Court’s radical and dangerous decision … has precipitated a full-scale reproductive health crisis across our nation.” 
“It has also plunged our health system into a state of uncertainty and upheaval that threatens patients’ lives,” the lawmakers alleged.
Last summer, as Politico <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/19/abortion-biden-roe-v-wade-00046644" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, the White House was considering issuing a public health order that would allow people across the country to still be able to obtain abortion pills. 
Around the same time, the president also <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/15/biden-abortion-public-health-emergency-roe-v-wade.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> health authorities to examine if his administration could legally put forward a public health emergency and what the effect would be. 
“When we looked at the public health emergency, we learned a couple things. One is that it doesn’t free very many resources. It’s what’s in the public health emergency fund, and there’s very little money — tens of thousands of dollars in it,” Jen Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, told the press at the time. “So that didn’t seem like a great option. And it also doesn’t release a significant amount of legal authority. And so that’s why we haven’t taken that action.”
Axios also pointed out that an emergency declaration would probably be fought in court.

“Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services”

Report: Biden Admin Evaluating Public Health Emergency Declaration On Abortion

Report: Biden Admin Evaluating Public Health Emergency Over Abortion

Executive

The Biden administration has announced its plans to finally end the emergency declaration for &#8230; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/monkeypox" target="_blank" rel="noopener">monkeypox</a>.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Friday that it would not renew the emergency declaration for the monkeypox epidemic when it expires on January 31. HHS cited a continuing declining trend in total case counts as the reason it was not renewing the emergency. The news comes even as the Biden administration reportedly has no plans to lift the COVID emergency declaration.
&#8220;From the outset of the mpox outbreak, the Administration pulled every lever to stop the spread of this virus,&#8221; HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/12/02/statement-from-hhs-secretary-becerra-on-mpox.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> Friday announcing the decision. &#8220;In August, the Department of Health and Human Services declared a Public Health Emergency that further strengthened and accelerated the response to produce results. Given the low number of cases today, HHS does not expect that it needs to renew the emergency declaration when it ends on January 31, 2023.&#8221; Becerra said that public health officials would continue to work with state and local officials to monitor trends, and encouraged at-risk individuals to get vaccinated.
Case counts of monkeypox have steadily trended downward since the peak of the outbreak in August, according to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/mpx-trends.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). So far this week, a total of 31 new cases were reported, with a seven-day rolling average of just seven. Just a single new case was reported on Sunday; 13 cases were reported on Monday; just five on Tuesday; and 16 on Wednesday.
At the height of the epidemic in July and August, several hundred new cases were being reported every day, at an average of about 450 per day. The highest single-day number of new cases reported was 638 on August 1. HHS declared an <a href="https://aspr.hhs.gov/legal/PHE/Pages/monkeypox-4Aug22.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">emergency</a> on August 4. The declaration was <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3715547-hhs-renews-public-health-emergency-for-monkeypox-outbreak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renewed</a> earlier this month.
Just days ago, the White House backed the World Health Organization&#8217;s move to rename the virus from monkeypox to &#8220;mpox&#8221; in order to remove racist &#8220;stigma&#8221; against Africans, since the virus is endemic to Africa.
&#8220;We welcome the change by the World Health Organization,&#8221; Becerra said in a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/11/28/biden-harris-administration-supports-the-world-health-organization-renaming-of-monkeypox-to-mpox.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> Monday. &#8220;We must do all we can to break down barriers to public health, and reducing stigma associated with disease is one critical step in our work to end mpox.&#8221;
In response to the name change, all federal public health agencies would adopt the &#8220;mpox&#8221; name in their correspondence with medical professionals and the public. HHS said that changing the name of the virus would &#8220;help enhance the U.S. response to mpox by using a term that does not conjure bias or stigma,&#8221; and &#8220;aid efforts to reach the most impacted communities with a term for the disease that doesn’t act to marginalize individuals from accessing the care, resources, and support they need to protect themselves and others.&#8221;
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has no plans to revoke the COVID emergency declaration. According to a report from <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3735058-u-s-to-continue-covid-public-health-emergency-through-january/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Hill</a>, HHS is supposed to inform stakeholders 60 days beforehand that the administration will not renew the emergency declaration. That deadline passed on November 14. The latest declaration will last until January 11.

Monkeypox virus cells outbreak medical banner.

Biden Administration Finally Announces End Of Emergency Declaration For … Monkeypox

Health

Monkeypox

A federal appeals court blocked the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biden administration&#8217;s</a> rule that would have required <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christianity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christian</a> medical facilities to provide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gender transition</a> surgeries and abortions.
The three-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released the unanimous <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20220826232626/Franciscan-Alliance-Order.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">decision</a> on Friday in the case of Franciscan Alliance, Inc. et al. v. Xavier Becerra, upholding the lower court’s permanent injunction against the mandate from the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Just months ago HHS issued the 2022 Notice, which warned covered entities like Franciscan Alliance that refusing to offer gender-reassignment surgeries violates Section 1557,” Circuit Judge Don Willett wrote.
“HHS has also repeatedly refused to disavow enforcement against Franciscan Alliance. In its brief on appeal, HHS simply says it ‘has not to date evaluated’ whether it will enforce Section 1557 against Franciscan Alliance — in other words, it concedes that it may,” he added.
Becket, the legal firm representing the case, celebrated the victory in a <a href="https://www.becketlaw.org/media/federal-court-strikes-down-transgender-mandate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> released on Friday.
“This ruling is a major victory for conscience rights and compassionate medical care in America,” Joseph Davis, counsel at Becket, shared.
 “Doctors cannot do their jobs and comply with the Hippocratic Oath if the government requires them to perform harmful, irreversible procedures against their conscience and medical expertise,” he added.
Franciscan Alliance, the Catholic healthcare network in Indiana and Illinois involved in the case, along with the Christian Medical &amp; Dental Associations and their 19,000 members, served as the plaintiffs to stop the Biden administration&#8217;s HHS effort.
“For years, our clients have provided excellent medical care to all patients who need it,” Davis added. “Today’s ruling ensures that these doctors and hospitals may continue to do this critical work in accordance with their conscience and professional medical judgment.” 
The HHS issued new <a href="https://perma.cc/LX26-59QR" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guidance</a> in March that declared &#8220;federally-funded covered entities restricting an individual’s ability to receive medically necessary care, including gender-affirming care, from their health care provider solely on the basis of their sex assigned at birth or gender identity likely violates Section 1557” of the Affordable Care Act. An appeals court sided with the plaintiffs who expressed concern over the mandate&#8217;s conflict with religious liberty. 
The ruling in the Fifth Circuit Court only applies to the plaintiffs in the case. The win is considered a nationwide win, however, in the battle for faith protections against those who hold religious objections to gender transition surgery or abortion procedures.
Dr. Mike Chupp, chief executive of the Christian Medical &amp; Dental Associations, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-health-texas-wichita-falls-us-department-of-and-human-services-66a40d091f4ddd79aea623a23327986b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Associated Press that the victory in the Texas court would allow for judgments based on sound medical advice.
“This victory in Texas against government coercion means healthcare professionals can continue to exercise medical judgment and ethical care based upon sound medical evidence and Hippocratic standards of patient care instead of any ideology,” he said.

‘A Major Victory’: Federal Appeals Court Blocks Biden Effort To Force Doctors To Perform Gender Transition Surgeries, Abortions

Federal Appeals Court Blocks Biden Effort To Force Doctors To Perform Gender Transition Surgeries, Abortions

Religious Freedom

Transgender

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> signed an executive order Wednesday calling on Health and Human Services Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/xavier-becerra">Xavier Becerra</a> to aid women crossing state lines to obtain <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/abortion">abortions</a>.
“[Republicans] don’t have a clue about the power of American women,” the president said on Wednesday before he signed the order. “Last night in Kansas they found out.”
Biden&#8217;s order, a response to leftist panic following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, includes a provision that asks Becerra to invite states who are treating patients who have crossed state lines for abortions to apply for Medicaid waivers.
&#8220;In furtherance of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Secretary of HHS shall consider actions to advance access to reproductive healthcare services, including, to the extent permitted by Federal law, through Medicaid for patients traveling across State lines for medical care,&#8221; the order said.
Medicaid is taxpayer funded, and the Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of taxpayer funds for abortions. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire on this point.
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The order also notes that Becerra &#8220;shall evaluate the adequacy of research, data collection, and data analysis and interpretation efforts at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other relevant HHS components in accurately measuring the effect of access to reproductive healthcare on maternal health outcomes and other health outcomes,&#8221; before taking &#8220;appropriate actions to improve those efforts.&#8221;
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Screen Shot 2022-08-03 at 3.45.29 PM

Biden Signs Executive Order To Aid Women Crossing State Lines For Abortions

Health and Human Services

Joe Biden

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