Politics
Gun ban fires up lawmakers on House committee, Dem demands show of hands on who’s not packing
Lawmakers on the House Natural Resources Committee got into a contentious debate Wednesday over an attempt by Democrats to reinstate a rule banning guns from the committee room.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., proposed an amendment that would explicitly prohibit members from carrying firearms within the hearing rooms and conference rooms of the committee. He said the amendment was “sadly necessary” after the Republican-controlled Rules Committee stripped a provision from the Natural Resources Committee rules that Democrats had adopted for the previous two years prohibiting firearms after that Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The Republican majority voted the amendment down 14-25, but not before several minutes of heated back-and-forth between committee members, including one moment where Huffman called for a show of hands to see who was not carrying a firearm right then and there.
“We have too many members who have incited and advocated armed political violence. That is really unfortunate, but that is just a fact,” the California Democrat said, accusing unnamed lawmakers of “flouting” federal statutes barring members of Congress from carrying loaded firearms in the Capitol.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., speaks during the news conference on the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act in the U.S. Capitol, July 28, 2022.
(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“Some have reveled in the removal of the magnetometers at the House chamber that were there to prevent something truly awful from happening,” he continued.
“They have openly fetishized guns and violence to the point where one of my colleagues across the aisle was removed from their committee assignments for portraying himself killing another member who sits on this very same committee,” Huffman said, referring to Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., who was removed from his committee assignments in the last Congress for sharing an animated video showing him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Both lawmakers now sit on the Natural Resources Committee.
Committee Chairman Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., led Republicans in opposition to the amendment, calling it “unnecessary,” and observing that no other committee has such a provision in the rules.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., spoke out against the amendment, ridiculing it as an “anti-member safety amendment” and showing an image of Huffman wearing a tinfoil hat. She said Democrats were “wasting time on political stunts” and argued the proposed restriction triggers “constitutional concerns.” She asked if Huffman was proposing to “stop and frisk” members of Congress.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., right, and Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., arrive for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing titled Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste, Fraud and Abuse, in Rayburn Building on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“With threats against members of Congress at an all-time high, I would like to remind the gentleman that now is not the time to be stripping members of our constitutional right to defend ourselves,” Boebert said, pointing to the high crime rate in Washington, D.C.
Democrats pushed back, with both Reps. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Ocasio-Cortez pressing Huffman on whether he interpreted House rules as barring members from carrying guns into committee rooms.
“Members have different interpretations of what those rules are,” Ocasio-Cortez told Westerman. “I need to know for a sense of my own personal safety what your interpretation of the House rules are as it pertains to this issue.”
The chairman deflected her questions, referring her to the House Administration Committee and stating “we will follow the rules of the House.”
When Huffman asked for a show of hands on which committee members were not carrying a firearm, Republicans did not participate. Then he asked who felt like they needed to carry a weapon in the “fortress” of the Capitol.
“I feel I need one everywhere here. There are often times we are harassed in the hallways. We walk alone,” Boebert chimed in, emphasizing it would “not be an unloaded weapon.”
Huffman called Boebert’s comment “helpful” and showed the importance of his amendment. “We can have our political disagreements, and they will be spirited. But no one should have to worry about members of the other side of the aisle – let alone members who have incited political violence – bringing weapons, in violation of House rules, into our committee room.”
“Do you think we’re going to hurt you?” asked freshman Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., an Air Force veteran. “We would never hurt you. I would use my firearm to defend you. Just to be clear.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee business meeting in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., asked if either Huffman or Ocasio-Cortez had “reason to believe that there is a homicidal maniac amongst us?”
“If they do, they probably would’ve brought a gun into this room whether or not there is a law,” he said. He challenged the Democrats to “name the names and present the evidence before such a catastrophe confronts us.”
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Ocasio-Cortez replied that she was not attempting to “impugn the character of any individual member of this committee.”
However, she added, “I believe that from what I’ve witnessed, the competence of some members may be something that I would be willing to question.”
Politics
House Republicans accuse NIH of ‘stonewalling’ on ‘supercharged monkeypox experiment’
House Republicans are pressing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for answers after the agency funded research experiments they say could result in a “supercharged” monkeypox virus.
In a letter to acting NIH Director Lawrence Tabak, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and two subcommittee chairmen are demanding that the agency turn over documents and information regarding a government-funded experiment that reportedly involves swapping monkepox genes with a deadlier version of the virus. The lawmakers want to know whether this project was approved by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) review board tasked with oversight of research involving enhanced pathogens that could potentially cause a pandemic.
This letter is a follow-up to an October 31, 2022, letter to which Republicans say the NIH never responded. GOP lawmakers accused NIH of “stonewalling” in a press release.
“Based on the available information, it appears the project is reasonably anticipated to yield a lab-generated monkeypox virus that is 1,000 times more lethal in mice than the monkeypox virus currently circulating in humans and that transmits as efficiently as the monkeypox virus currently circulating in humans. The risk-benefit ratio indicates potentially serious risks without clear civilian practical applications,” the Republicans wrote.
This image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of monkeypox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. (NIAID via AP, File)
“Accordingly, this experiment would seem to involve risks reasonably anticipated to create, transfer, or use [potential pandemic pathogens] resulting from the enhancement of a pathogen’s transmissibility or virulence in humans. Thus, under the circumstances, we are interested in learning whether this experiment was reviewed under the HHS P3CO framework used to review research proposals posing significant biosafety or biosecurity risks.”
The project leader is Dr. Bernard Moss, a veteran poxvirus researcher at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. An article in Science magazine described his efforts to learn the differences between two variants of monkeypox virus: clade 2, the West African variant that caused a global outbreak last year, and clade 1, which is believed to be deadlier and has caused outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo for decades.
Moss’ research involves swapping the genes of the two variants, one at a time, to discover whether a specific gene in the clade 1 virus makes it deadlier. The Republicans want to know whether these lab experiments could artificially enhance the clade 2 variant.
AFRICA’S CDC HOPES MPOX VACCINES WILL ARRIVE IN ‘ANOTHER TWO WEEKS,’ AFTER MONTHS OF SEEKING DOSES
This 1997 image provided by the CDC during an investigation into an outbreak of monkeypox, which took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), formerly Zaire, depicts the dorsal surfaces of the hands of a monkeypox case patient, who was displaying the appearance of the characteristic rash during its recuperative stage. (CDC via AP, File)
Such research, known as “gain-of-function,” is highly controversial, because it involves extracting viruses from animals to artificially engineer in a laboratory to make them more transmissible and deadly to humans. Proponents say these experiments can help scientists understand the nature of viruses and develop new treatments and vaccines. Skeptics warn that gain-of-function experiments are one lab accident away from causing another global pandemic.
Moss did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITY SAYS BIDEN TRYING TO COVER UP ORIGINS OF COVID-19
Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led a letter to acting NIH Director Lawrence Tabak demanding answers on a government-funded project involving a manipulated monkeypox virus. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Human disease associated with clade 2 or West African monkeypox virus infection is less severe and is associated with less than one percent mortality, whereas clade 1 or Congo Basin monkeypox infection has a 10 percent case fatality rate in unvaccinated persons,” the Republicans wrote. “Because of its significantly greater lethality, clade 1 or Congo Basin clade monkeypox viruses are regulated as select agents by the Federal Select Agents Program. Entities that possess, use, or transfer this agent must comply with the HHS Select Agent and Toxin Regulations unless there is an applicable exemption or exclusion.
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“Thus,” the letter continues, “under these regulations, it would appear the clade 1 monkeypox virus experiment is a restricted experiment that must be reviewed by the Federal Select Agent Program, and may be further reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s (CDC’s) Intragovernmental Select Agents and Toxins Technical Advisory Committee (ISATTAC).”
The Republicans want NIH officials and employees to testify about Moss’ project and other related matters. They gave NIH an April 13, 2023, deadline to respond to their inquiry.
Politics
DeSantis targets Biden in swing state Pennsylvania, says Democratic Party ‘dead’ in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took multiple jabs at President Biden on Saturday during a stump speech in Pennsylvania.
DeSantis, speaking at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference 2023, called Biden a “floundering leader” and said the president’s poor performance contributed to Republican gains.
“We are in the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican candidate for governor has ever received in the history of the state of Florida,” DeSantis told the audience. “We were able to flip Democrat counties or urban counties like Miami-Dade County. And not only did we flip it, we won it by double digits.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference. (Screenshot/)
“It’s been a massive defeat for the Democratic Party,” the Florida governor said. “They did not want to see Florida go red. They threw everything but the kitchen sink to stop us. And yet, we have left the Democratic Party for dead in the state of Florida.”
The Florida governor has been walking a political tightrope for months as he refuses to officially declare his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
At the same time, he has butted heads with both the Biden administration and former President Donald Trump’s campaign — both of whom view him as a rival for the presidency.
TRUMP ALLIES STEP UP ATTACKS ON DESANTIS AHEAD OF 2024: ‘HE’S NOT READY TO BE PRESIDENT’
In speeches this year, the governor has pitched his numerous conservative policy victories in Florida as a roadmap for the entire nation.
Sources in DeSantis’ wider orbit have said that any presidential campaign launch would come in the late spring or early summer, after the end of Florida’s current legislative session.
However, the governor’s recent stops in the early-voting states of Iowa and Nevada and a trip next month to New Hampshire are sparking more 2024 speculation.
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President Biden and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis touring an area impacted by Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, in October 2022. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
DeSantis said earlier this week that his state “will not assist” in any extradition request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg amid what he called “questionable circumstances” while slamming the charges against Trump as “un-American” and a “weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda.”
The former president and 2024 Republican presidential candidate was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Politics
Biden visits University of Pennsylvania campus for the first time since classified documents controversy
President Biden on Saturday visited the campus of the University of Pennsylvania for the first time since a controversy over the discovery of classified documents at the Penn Biden Center in Washington D.C.
Biden and first lady Jill Biden stopped by the university to visit Maisy Biden’s senior art show at a university gallery. It marks the first time Biden has visited the campus since the emergence in November of documents with classified markings at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C.
Those documents were said to be from the Obama-Biden administration and were discovered “unexpectedly” by Biden’s personal attorneys. The emergence of the documents was followed by assessments by the FBI and Department of Justice.
BIDEN HAS ‘NO COMMENT’ ON TRUMP INDICTMENT
President Biden talks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington Friday, March 31, 2023, before boarding Marine One. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
In January, the Department of Justice announced it was investigating the discovery of the documents, and Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was appointing Robert Hur as special counsel.
Attorneys also found batches of documents at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. Four batches of classified materials have been found in Biden’s possession in total, dating from both his time as vice president and as a senator from Delaware.
DOJ SEARCHES BIDEN DELAWARE BEACH HOME AMID CLASSIFIED DOCUMENT INVESTIGATION
In February, FBI agents searched Biden’s vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for three and a half hours but did not find additional classified documents. The search was carried out on Hur’s first day on the job as special counsel.
Biden has addressed the controversy, saying his team is cooperating fully with the DOJ and suggested that his staff was to blame for not finding the documents when he left office in 2017.
WHITE HOUSE STONEWALLS FOX NEWS’ PETER DOOCY ON BIDEN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS: ‘WHY DID HE DO IT?’
President Biden delivers remarks during a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Jan. 24, 2023. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“But one of the things that happened is that what was not done well is as they packed up my offices to move them, they didn’t do the kind of job that should have been done to go thoroughly through every single piece of literature that’s there,” Biden said. “But I’ll just let the investigation, you know, decide what’s going on, and we’ll see what happens.”
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House Republicans have promised to investigate Biden’s handling of classified materials, with Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., telling Fox News that “nothing that Joe Biden’s done with respect to mishandling these classified documents is normal.”
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
House Republicans accuse NIH of ‘stonewalling’ on ‘supercharged monkeypox experiment’
DeSantis targets Biden in swing state Pennsylvania, says Democratic Party ‘dead’ in Florida
Biden visits University of Pennsylvania campus for the first time since classified documents controversy
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