Tag: CONGRESS

Democrats boycott White House border security meeting

By Brooke Singman

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Congressional Democrats on Tuesday rejected President Trump’s invitation to a lunch meeting at the White House to discuss border security, in the latest sign that both sides of the government shutdown standoff remain entrenched in their positions with no compromise in sight.

A senior administration official told Fox News that the president had invited Democrats to join his lunch with members of Congress in the Roosevelt Room shortly after noon. But moments before the session, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that nobody took them up on the offer.

“The President has a proposal on the table that includes additional technology at ports of entry, allows minors from Central America to seek asylum in their home country, and physical barriers between ports of entry made of steel instead of concrete,” she said. “Today, the President offered both Democrats and Republicans the chance to meet for lunch at the White House. Unfortunately, no Democrats will attend. The President looks forward to having a working lunch with House Republicans to solve the border crisis and reopen the government.

“It’s time for the Democrats to come to the table and make a deal.”

She said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer “refuse to negotiate.”

Trump, however, did not invite House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, instead reaching out to rank-and-file Democrats including centrist Democrats from districts where Trump is popular. A Pelosi aide reportedly said she gave lawmakers her blessing to attend, telling her leadership team that other congressional Democrats can see what she and others have dealt with during the shutdown.

Pelosi predicted that after meeting with Trump, the lawmakers would want to make a “citizen’s arrest,” according to the aide.

But the lawmakers ultimately decided not to attend. The meeting boycott leaves unclear how and when both sides might negotiate a resolution to the partial shutdown, which was triggered when Trump demanded nearly $6 billion for a border wall and Democrats refused — and is now the longest in U.S. history.

TRUMP SUGGESTS PELOSI SHOULD STOP GETTING A PAYCHECK AMID SHUTDOWN

The last meeting with Democratic leaders did not end well. Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., sat down last week with Trump, but Schumer said it ended when the president “just got up and walked out.”

“He asked Speaker Pelosi, ‘will you agree to my wall?’ She said no. And he just got up, and said, ‘Well, we’ve got nothing to discuss,” Schumer said last week.

Pelosi, after the meeting, said the president was “petulant,” and Schumer added that Trump slammed his hand on a table in frustration and had a “temper tantrum”—a move Trump, Vice President Pence and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy later denied.

Trump rejected the account, tweeting that “Cryin’ Chuck” Schumer “told his favorite lie when he used his standard sound bite that I ‘slammed the table & walked out of the room. He had a temper tantrum.’ Because I knew he would say that, and after Nancy said no to proper border security, I politely said bye-bye and left, no slamming!”

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Trump initially requested $5.7 billion in funding for security and construction of the wall, citing the “humanitarian crisis” and “invasion” at the border as reasons. Democrats have vowed to block any type of spending package that would involve funds to build a wall along the Southern border.

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But Trump has continued to press for wall funding, tweeting Tuesday: “A big new Caravan is heading up to our Southern Border from Honduras. Tell Nancy and Chuck that a drone flying around will not stop them. Only a Wall will work. Only a Wall, or Steel Barrier, will keep our Country safe! Stop playing political games and end the Shutdown!”

Fox News’ Matt Leach and John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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HOUSE GOP LEADERS REMOVE STEVE KING FROM COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

House GOP Leaders Remove Steve King from Committee Assignments

“Steve’s remarks are beneath the dignity of the Party of Lincoln and the United States of America.”

By Katherine Rodriguez

House Republican leaders voted Monday to remove Rep. Steve King (R-IA) from all of his assigned committees after the Iowa Republican came under fire for his comments about white nationalism in a New York Times interview.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Monday that the Republican Steering Committee voted not to give King any committee assignments in the current session of Congress.

McCarthy, in his statement announcing the decision, called King’s comments “beneath the dignity of the Party of Lincoln and the United States of America.”

“Steve’s remarks are beneath the dignity of the Party of Lincoln and the United States of America. His comments call into question whether he will treat all Americans equally, without regard for race and ethnicity,” McCarthy said in a statement.

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“House Republicans are clear: We are all in this together, as fellow citizens equal before God and the law. As Congressman King’s fellow citizens, let us hope and pray earnestly that this action will lead to greater reflection and ultimately change on his part,” McCarthy added.

In the previous session of Congress, King had served on the House Agriculture, Judiciary, and Small Business committees. He also chaired the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice and was on his way to becoming a ranking member of that committee in the current session before the Steering Committee’s vote.

The Iowa Republican decried the committee’s decision as a “political decision that ignores the truth,” adding that the committee misinterpreted his remarks:

King faced pushback on Thursday after he told the Times that he raised questions about why the terms “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” are considered offensive.

His comments caused an uproar, prompting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to call his remarks “unworthy” of the office he holds.

“If he doesn’t understand why ‘white supremacy’ is offensive, he should find another line of work,” McConnell said.

King released a statement clarifying his comments soon after the Times article went live, stating that the Times‘ assumption that he was “an advocate for white nationalism” was incorrect.

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King also “condemned” people who support bigotry and rejected “those labels and the evil ideology that they define.

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Previously Deported Illegal Immigrant Accused of Sexually Assaulting Child

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By Merrill Hope

A previously deported illegal immigrant accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old was allegedly attempting to flee the United States to Mexico at the time of his apprehension Saturday, say police in Montgomery County, Texas.

Jose Manuel Tiscareno Hernandez, 31, who resided in Conroe, was charged with the aggravated sexual assault of a child, according to a media advisory released by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. It stated that the suspect was “in the country illegally and has been deported back to Mexico on multiple occasions.”

Montgomery County law enforcement authorities did not elaborate as to the duration of the purported sexual abuse or provide any information about the alleged victim other than stating the victim was 11 years old when the sexual abuse began.

The search for the suspect escalated on Thursday, January 10, when the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Victim’s Unit and crime investigators obtained a search warrant for Tiscareno Hernandez’s residence as part of a multi-agency probe into the sexual assault of a child, according to the press release.

“During the execution of the search warrant at the suspect’s residence, the suspect was not home but detectives received information that the suspect was intending to flee the United States and head back to Mexico,” stated Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office officials in the advisory.

In response to receiving that tip, investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Tiscareno Hernandez and a second search warrant, executed on Friday, January 11, at a different location to collect additional evidence related to the purported sexual assault of a child.

Then, on Saturday morning, January 12, state and federal law enforcement partners investigating this case located and apprehended the suspect in Conroe. Tiscareno Hernandez was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on $500,000 bond, according to online jail records.

Tiscareno Hernandez remains incarcerated, detained on a U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold requested by federal authorities because of the nature of the crime and the suspect’s current immigration status, according to the press release.

Following the arrest, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office tweeted that numerous law enforcement agencies worked together to find and arrest the “sexual assault suspect.”

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Those agencies included the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit and SWAT, as well as investigators with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, and special agents with the FBI, ICE, and the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the press release.

In Texas, the crime of sexual assault is considered “aggravated” sexual assault when it involves a child under the age of 14 years old. It is considered a first degree felony and the minimum term for this offense, if convicted, is 25 years in prison. It may also carry a fine up to a $10,000. Penalties may increase if additional charges are filed.

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TRUMP SLAMS DEMS FOR VACATIONING WHILE HE IS “IN THE WHITE HOUSE, WAITING”

Democrats sunning themselves in Puerto Rico, watching Hamilton and partying.

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Steve Watson | Infowars.com – JANUARY 14, 2019

President Trump has hit out at Democrats for leaving Washington and taking vacations while he awaits their cooperation on reopening the government.

Trump fired off a tweet Sunday, noting that “The Democrats are everywhere but Washington as people await their pay.”

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Trump was following up on a previous tweet asking Democrats to return from vacationing:

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The President was referring to the fact that some congressional Democrats spent the weekend in Puerto Rico, while the shutdown became the longest on record.

As The Washington Examiner reported, over 30 Democrats headed to the Caribbean island  with 109 lobbyists and corporate executives in tow, claiming that they were scheduled to discuss their “shared priorities.”

Those priorities included seeing the Broadway show Hamilton and attending at least three parties.

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Sen. Bob Menendez was spotted on the beach, discussing his own priorities:

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Of course, the leftist media has not reported on any of this, instead blaming Trump for the shutdown gridlock.

The White House also slammed Democrats, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accusing Democrats of “partying on the beach instead of negotiating a compromise.”

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In an interview with Fox News, Trump told Jeanine Pirro that he does not want to have to call a national emergency at the southern border.

“I’d rather see the Democrats come back from their vacation and act. They’re not acting, and they’re the ones that are holding it up,” he said. “It would take me 15 minutes to get a deal done, and everybody could go back to work. But I’d like to see them act responsibly, and they’re not acting responsibly, and that’s it. I’m in the White House, and most of them are in different locations. They’re watching a certain musical in a very nice location.”

Trump followed up the tweet Monday, again asserting that the shutdown could be ended within 15 minutes:

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