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Republicans and Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee clashed at the first hearing to examine whether DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should be impeached over his handling of the crisis at the southern border – and as state attorneys general explained how the crisis had harmed their states.

The committee held the first impeachment hearing at a time when the migrant crisis is setting records at the border, with over 302,000 migrant encounters in December, and a current release rate of over 85%. 

Republicans and Democrats have been deeply split over what has caused the crisis and those divisions were on display as Republicans pointed at the Biden administration, and Democrats accused Republicans of not working with them to fix the crisis. 

HOUSE HOMELAND DEMOCRATS BACK MAYORKAS, SLAM GOP ‘SHAM’ AHEAD OF IMPEACHMENT HEARING 

“Secretary Mayorkas has brazenly refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress and has enacted policies that knowingly make our country less safe,” Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said. “What we’re seeing here is a willful violation of the oath of office taken by Secretary Mayorkas.”

Chairman Mark Green speaks during the House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Republicans have blamed an expanded catch-and-release, a rollback of Trump-era policies, an “abuse” of humanitarian parole to release migrants into the interior, and the ending of border wall construction as factors in what has encouraged a massive and historic migrant crisis. Green also said his committee’s investigation has uncovered 100 instances where Mayorkas has misled the public.

DHS and Democrats have rejected that narrative, pointing to what it says are a large number of recent removals and returns and saying that authorities need more funding and a comprehensive immigration reform package – including a $14 billion supplemental funding request currently being negotiated in Congress. 

Ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., accused Republicans of throwing “political red meat” to their base in an effort to keep campaign money coming in during an election year.

“It’s now campaign season, and Republicans recently rolled out their impeachment proceedings against the secretary like the pre-planned, pre-determined political stunt it is. This is not a legitimate impeachment,” he said.

Thompson also defended Mayorkas’ conduct in office.

“The facts show Secretary Mayorkas is doing his job across all the department’s many critical homeland security missions, including border security and immigration enforcement. Despite what Republicans would have Americans believe, Secretary Mayorkas is enforcing immigration law,” he said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on Jan. 8, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Republicans invited three Republican attorneys general from the heartland to describe the impact the crisis had on their states. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen described an explosion of fentanyl pouring into the state, with authorities on track to have seized half a million dosage units in 2023, from over 6,000 in 2020. 

The drug is produced primarily in Mexico using Chinese precursors and then shipped across the southern land border. It can be fatal in tiny doses and is often hidden in other drugs so users don’t know they are ingesting fentanyl. Republicans have linked the fentanyl crisis to the border crisis. 

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Knudsen said he believed the border had been largely secured under the Trump administration, but that work had been undone under the leadership of Mayorkas.

“Secretary Mayorkas is the architect of that destruction. The American people are watching. They know that our border was secured just a few years ago. They see the devastation metastasizing in our communities from drugs and human trafficking. The conclusion is clear, Secretary Mayorkas has violated his oath, and I urge this body to impeach,” he said.

Rep. Bennie Thompson before the House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Secretary Mayorkas, Jan. 10, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond described the crime his state had seen, citing stats that the Oklahama Department of Corrections is housing more than 500 illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes. 

“Illegal immigration cost Oklahoma taxpayers more than $750 million each year with a minimal offset return,” he said.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said the number of illegal immigrants who have entered the U.S. since 2021 is larger than the population of his state.

“These numbers are not an accident. There is only one reason eight million people illegally cross a sovereign nation’s border – because they know that they can get away with it,” he said. “There has been an orchestrated lack of enforcement of our nation’s immigration laws. [Mayorkas] has failed to do that which is most fundamental to his mission. Protect our border.”

Frank Bowman, a law professor at the University of Missouri, called as a witness by Democrats, was skeptical of the impeachment claims being made – warning that impeachment cannot be used for policy disagreements.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks while standing with Republican members of Congress, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas.

“Official conduct must meet a very high threshold of seriousness. It must also be of a type that corrupts and subverts political and governmental process, and it ought to be plainly wrong, regardless of legal,” he said. “The most commonly encountered categories of impeachable conduct are official corruption, abuse of power, betrayal of the nation’s foreign policy interests, subversion of the Constitution. There is no serious allegation of which I’m aware that the secretary has done any of those things.”

Meanwhile, DHS issued a memo ripping into the impeachment effort, pointing to prior comments from Republicans who say the threshold for impeachment has not been met. It also argued that it has stopped more fentanyl in the last two years than in the previous five years combined.

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“Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws,” the agency said.

Former President Obama is becoming increasingly anxious about the closeness of the 2024 presidential election and fears former President Trump could take back the White House, according to a report.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder, one of Obama’s closest confidants, told USA Today that if Trump were to win the Republican nomination and beat President Biden this November, there could be “incalculable damage” brought upon the country. 

Holder confirmed Obama “absolutely” holds the same views when asked by the publication.

“I think that’s what motivates him. I think that’s what will continue to motivate him,” Holder responded.

MICHELLE OBAMA SAYS SHE IS ‘TERRIFIED ABOUT WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAPPEN’ IN 2024 ELECTION

Former President Obama is reportedly increasingly worried about President Biden in the 2024 elections. (Getty Images / AP Photo)

Individuals within Obama’s inner orbit further said he believes the race would be extremely close, according to USA Today. Due to this, Obama will try to “move the needle” toward Biden with calculated moments throughout the campaign.

Others said Obama thinks the 2024 landscape has “major structural advantages that will favor Republicans” and believes Trump winning again would be “dangerous.”

“President Obama is going to do everything he can to help in that regard, and that means campaigning, but it also means sharing strategic advice with [Biden],” Holder told the publication. “And who better than President Obama to be a primary advisor to the campaign?”

The former president’s unease comes on the heels of his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, saying she is “terrified” about what could happen in the 2024 election. 

‘ANIMATED’ OBAMA URGES BIDEN TO STEP UP CAMPAIGN, ‘MOVE AGGRESSIVELY’ TO COUNTER TRUMP: REPORT

Former Attorney General Eric Holder told USA Today that Obama shares the same views as him that a Trump win would have ‘incalculable damage’ on the country. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

During a recent podcast appearance, Michelle Obama was asked about what keeps her up at night and her biggest fear. 

“It has less to do with me personally and more to do with the world that we’re in,” she responded. “There’s such thing as ‘knowing too much,’ and when you’ve been married to the President of the United States who knows everything about everything in the world, sometimes you just want to turn it off.”

While she noted concerns ranging from wars across various regions and the future of artificial intelligence to climate change and voter turnout as being problems on her mind, America’s upcoming presidential election remains chief among them.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently said she is ‘terrified’ over the 2024 elections. (Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast)

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“Those are the things that keep me up, because you don’t have control over them. And you wonder, where are we in this? Where are our hearts? What’s gonna happen in this next election?” she said. “I am terrified about what could possibly happen, because our leaders matter. Who we select, who speaks for us, who holds that bully pulpit affects us in ways that sometimes I think people take for granted.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this report.

Former President Trump is leading President Biden in Michigan, marking a distinct shift of support away from the current White House, a new poll finds.

The survey, conducted by polling company Glengariff Group, found that Trump leads Biden in the state by 8% in a one-on-one election scenario.

The incumbent president was selected by 39% of respondents in a head-to-head match-up, and Trump received 47%.

POLL REVEALS ALARMING LEVEL OF FEAR OF WHETHER 2024 ELECTIONS WILL BE ‘FAIR,’ BALLOT COUNTING ACCURATE

Former President Trump, Republican presidential hopeful, speaks during a Commit to Caucus rally in Mason City, Iowa. (Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images)

Approximately 3% of the Michigan respondents stated they would vote for another candidate, and 11% said they were still undecided.

When accounting for third-party candidates, Trump’s lead against Biden grew to 12%.

Significantly, only 17% of respondents stated that Biden deserves another term as the nation’s leader; 77% of respondents said they wanted someone else in the White House.

BIDEN’S POLLING PROBLEM: RUNNING FOR REELECTION IN 2024, PRESIDENT ENDS 2023 UNDERWATER

Then-President Trump answers a question as then-Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden listens during their debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 22, 2020. (Morry Gash/Pool via Reuters)

By comparison, 33% of voters surveyed said they believe Trump deserves another term in office. Approximately 62% said they believe someone else should be elected.

The poll was commissioned by the Detroit News and WDIV-TV. It was conducted between Jan. 2 and Jan. 6.

It surveyed 600 likely voters in Michigan and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

President Biden (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Biden previously won Michigan by three points in the 2020 presidential election.

Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected an attempt to remove Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot.

However, the Colorado Supreme Court on Dec. 19 and Maine’s secretary of state on Dec. 28 disqualified Trump from appearing on their respective state primary ballot in 2024. The disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is related to Trump’s alleged role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice once rejected a legislative budget by showing a plate of cow dung he brought from a farm to the state Capitol on a silver platter. He hoisted the hind end of his pet English bulldog in the House chamber in response to criticism. And he was always ready with a poster board or prop to illustrate a point.

Justice will deliver his final State of the State address Wednesday night, bringing a close to one avenue for his quirky, unpredictable speeches. The popular two-term Republican governor is running for Democrat Joe Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat in November.

The 6-foot-7 (2-meter) Justice will leave big shoes to fill — literally and metaphorically.

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATORS LOOK AHEAD TO FENTANYL CRACKDOWN AND EDUCATION FUNDING

A former billionaire who owns dozens of businesses, Justice, 72, has always put on a show never seen before under the Capitol dome.

Gone this time next year from the Statehouse will be Justice’s overused adverbs such as “really, really,” the informal “lotta lotta,” or, in order to get his point across, “more than good sense.”

He refuses to use teleprompters or speak from a script, and his staff has admitted they are often as surprised as anyone by what he says or does.

Gov. Justice of West Virginia is seen here speaking at the Greenbrier Resort after Stuart Appleby’s victory at the Greenbrier Classic on August 1, 2010 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Gov. Justice will be running for the U.S. Senate in 2024. ( Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

During his first State of the State in 2017, he referred to the West Virginia budget as “an 18-karat dog’s mess.”

Usually at Justice’s side — or on his lap — is his grumpy-looking English bulldog, Babydog, who sometimes dresses up, such as when she wore a hat with a giant bow for a briefing ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

In 2022, Justice ended his televised address by flashing Babydog’s rear to the crowd in response to singer and actress Bette Midler, who called West Virginians “poor, illiterate and strung out” in a tweet after Manchin refused to support President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

“Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her heinie,” Justice said, grinning, to a standing ovation.

Justice has been described as “folksy” for his unique, rambling speaking style, a characterization he embraces. He’s said West Virginia is on an economic “rocket ship ride” and has called himself a frog who’s proud of his pond.

“I speak in real common language. … Really and truly you know that I am talking to you, just like we were sitting in your house and I was talking to you,” he said during his 2022 State of the State. “I’m not talking down to anybody. I don’t believe in it.”

REPUBLICAN WV DELEGATE CALEB HANNA RESIGNS TO FOCUS ON STATE AUDITOR CAMPAIGN

In 2017, he brought to his inauguration an ax and tackle box that he bought for $200 on the side of the road from a woman who had fallen on hard times.

“I carry the tackle box and the ax every day,” he said. “I can’t stand how good we are and how troubled we are and how many people are hurting.”

Not everyone has been charmed by Justice, who has sparred with politicians from both sides. He’s been critiqued for not spending enough time in Charleston, instead devoting time to other activities like coaching a girls’ basketball team near his home on the Virginia border.

Justice has also been criticized for underfunding everything from public schools to the state’s foster care system, and advocates for low-income residents say he has failed to meet the challenges facing the neediest citizens.

Others have groaned that stunts like the Babydog hind-end episode are unprofessional and hurt the state’s image. Justice has also received attention for failing to pay fees for safety violations at family coal mines and millions in unpaid business debt.

State Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin took a jab at Justice in November, saying residents deserve a politician who “shows up to work, pays his debts, and brings more to the U.S. Senate than just a cute dog.”

Six months after taking over as governor as a Democrat, Justice announced at a rally for then-President Donald Trump that he was switching to the GOP.

He oversaw the response to two statewide teachers’ strikes, COVID-19 and the ongoing opioid epidemic, which has claimed lives in West Virginia at a higher rate than any other state.

During the pandemic, the pro-vaccine governor said residents who went unvaccinated were “entering the death drawing.”

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He has also focused on economic development and tourism. West Virginia has long ranked near the bottom of U.S. health and economic statistics. Justice has consistently condemned jokes made at the state’s expense.

“I don’t subscribe to that, and I know you don’t either,” he said during his 2021 State of the State.

Instead, Justice calls West Virginia a “diamond in the rough.”

When he reintroduced a proposal to cut the state’s personal income tax, Justice said legislative leaders told him to either give up or “make a big splash.”

“And so here comes me cannonballing into the pool,” the governor during last year’s State of the State. “By God, I’ll make a big splash.”

After lawmakers agreed to a compromise cut of 21.25%, Justice signed it in early March.

Hunter Biden’s surprise appearance at a Wednesday House Oversight Committee hearing on Capitol Hill set off a firestorm of reaction among the committee’s members, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., who accused the president of having “no balls.”

Biden, alongside his attorneys, unexpectedly showed up at the hearing as the committee was preparing to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against his father.

“My first question is who bribed Hunter Biden to be here today? That is my first question. Second question, you are the epitome of White privilege coming into the Oversight Committee, spitting in our face, ignoring a congressional subpoena to be deposed. What are you afraid of? You have no balls to come up here and –” Mace said before being interrupted by a Democrat on the committee.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

Hunter Biden, left, and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., right (Getty Images)

The hearing spiraled into a screaming match with Mace accusing Moskowitz of not allowing a woman on the committee to speak.

Once Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., got the hearing back on track, Mace declared that Biden “should be arrested right here, right now, and go straight to jail.”

“Our nation is founded on the rule of law and the premise that the law applies equally to everyone no matter what your last name is —” she added, before being interrupted by another Democrat objecting to her statement.

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW’ BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

In a point of order, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., then called on members of the committee to show respect by not interrupting each other before Comer called on Mace to continue.

“It does not matter who you are, or where you come from, or who your father is, or your last name. Yes, I’m looking at you Hunter Biden as I’m speaking to you. You are not above the law at all,” Mace said.

Hunter Biden, son of President Biden, follows his attorney Abbe Lowell as they depart the House Rayburn Office Building following a surprise appearance at a House Oversight Committee markup and meeting to vote on whether to hold Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a request to testify to the House last month, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 10, 2024.  (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

She argued that Biden had no privilege to claim to avoid a subpoena to appear before the committee for testimony, and said his team didn’t contest the reasons the subpoena was issued. She accused him of “refusing” to comply.

Mace noted that former President Donald Trump’s sons previously appeared for subpoenas, and that Biden broke the law “deliberately” and “flagrantly” by ignoring his.

“The question the American people are asking us is what is Hunter Biden so afraid of? Why can’t you show up for a congressional deposition? You are here for a political stunt. This is just a PR stunt to you. This is just a game that you are playing with the American people. You are playing with the truth,” she said. 

“Hunter Biden wasn’t afraid to sell access to Joe Biden to the highest bidder when he was in elected office. He wasn’t afraid to trade on the Biden brand, peddle influence, and share the ill gotten gains with members of his family, including Joe Biden, he wasn’t afraid to compromise the integrity of the presidency and vice presidency by involving Joe Biden in shady business deals with our foreign adversaries,” she said. 

UNITED STATES – JUNE 6: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday June 6, 2023.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Mace said she believed Biden should be held in contempt, and that “he should be hauled off to jail right now.” She then accused Democrats of “hypocrisy” regarding a subpoena for Biden versus past subpoenas for Republicans.

“It brings no joy for us to do this but the president’s son broke the law and must be held accountable in the same way anybody else would. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do so,” she said. 

“My last message to you, Hunter Biden: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes,” she added.

Former President Donald Trump is expected to take the stage Wednesday for a live town hall from Iowa, where he will take questions on the leading issues facing voters in the Hawkeye State and across the nation.

The Fox News town hall is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET and will be co-moderated by “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum ahead of the critical Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses.

Trump, who leads the Republican primary field by a massive margin, stands at or above 50% support in the latest polls in Iowa. 

His rankings fall miles ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who are battling for a distant second place.

FOX NEWS TO HOST TRUMP TOWN HALL WITH BRET BAIER, MARTHA MACCALLUM AHEAD OF IOWA CAUCUSES

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Dec. 19, 2023, in Waterloo, Iowa. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Trump’s participation in the town hall Wednesday night comes days after he delivered a major campaign speech in Iowa and as his campaign is rolling out its surrogate operation.

Trump campaign sources told Fox News Digital they are booking top-level surrogates to do their own events and stops across Iowa ahead of the Iowa caucuses. A campaign source told Fox News Digital the surrogates will be “blanketing” the airwaves and Iowa ahead of the caucuses.

“The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum and “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier will co-moderate Fox News town halls three straight nights starting Monday. (FOX)

The town hall also comes after Trump spent Tuesday in federal court.

TRUMP STARTS 2024 IN ‘STRONGEST POSSIBLE POSITION’ IN REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE

The former president attended a hearing at the D.C. Court of Appeals Wednesday that considered the scope of his presidential immunity. Trump is seeking to have special counsel Jack Smith’s case against him dismissed. His attorneys argue presidential immunity protects him from being prosecuted.

The trial was scheduled for March 4, the day before the March 5 Super Tuesday primary contests, when Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Vermont vote to select a GOP nominee.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves to a crowd on the field during halftime in the Palmetto Bowl between Clemson and South Carolina at Williams Brice Stadium Nov. 25, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in August to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected Smith’s appeal to expedite its assessment of the immunity claim before it went fully through a federal appeals court. Trump’s legal team asked the court to deny Smith’s request.

Trump, the Republican frontrunner, would beat President Biden in a head-to-head matchup if the general election were held today, according to the latest Fox News Poll. Trump was indicted four times in 2023. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in all jurisdictions.

The former president is forced to now tackle competing calendars, with critical early state primary election days and trial dates.

Next on the calendar after Smith’s trial is set is the trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s years-long investigation related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Donald Trump and Jack Smith

That trial is scheduled to begin in New York City March 25, 2024. However, Bragg said he would be flexible on that date, pending the decision on trial timing in Smith’s Jan. 6 case.

If it does begin March 25, court proceedings will take place just after the Louisiana primary and ahead of April 2, when Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin voters hit the polls to select a GOP nominee.

Smith also charged Trump from his investigation into the former president’s alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges in that probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

COURT DATES AND PRIMARIES: TRUMP FACES COMPETING CALENDARS IN 2024

Trump was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

That trial is scheduled to begin May 20, 2024, ahead of the Kentucky primary May 21, the Oregon primary May 25 and New Jersey’s primary June 4.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Should Trump solidify his GOP lead, he would spend July 15-18 at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee.

Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis proposed her trial begin just weeks after that.

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Willis charged Trump for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violating Georgia’s RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

He pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Fulton County prosecutors have proposed that trial begin Aug. 5, 2024.

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are offering their support for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas ahead of the committee’s first impeachment hearing on Wednesday — with the lawmakers accusing their Republican colleagues of running a “sham” process.

“What is going on tomorrow is an embarrassment to the impeachment clause of the Constitution,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY, told reporters.

The hearing,”Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States,” marks the first impeachment hearing after a year of investigations and reports by the House Homeland Security Committee which looked at Mayorkas’ handling of the nearly three-year migrant crisis.

The hearing will see testimony from attorneys general from Montana, Oklahoma and Missouri. The AGs will testify about the impact of the crisis on their states and their belief that Mayorkas is not enforcing the law.

But Democrats on the committee say that Republicans have turned what is a policy dispute into a politically motivated impeachment push.

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING: STATE AGS TO TESTIFY ON IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS, BIDEN-ERA POLICIES

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

“This is simply a policy dispute, a disagreement about how a different party is attacking a policy problem. And the Republicans are trying to abuse their power and the Constitution to convert what is simply a disagreement into somehow, some way, a high crime and misdemeanor,” Goldman said. “There is no crime, much less a high crime or misdemeanor here.”

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., described the process as a “political sham with no constitutional basis, no factual basis.”

Republicans have claimed that the crisis, which has seen multiple records smashed for migrant encounters, is “unprecedented and intentional.”

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE SETS FIRST MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING

“The chaos and devastation at the border and in our communities are the result of Alejandro Mayorkas’ failure to fulfill his oath as secretary of Homeland Security,” Chairman Mark Green said this week. “His primary responsibility is to secure the homeland—and he has failed.”

Republicans have accused the administration of fueling the crisis with “open border” policies, including expanded catch-and-release and the rolling back of Trump-era policies such as the Remain-in-Mexico policy and border wall construction. They’ve pointed to the record number of migrant encounters as the border that have skyrocketed during the Biden administration, as well as the significant number of releases into the interior.

Democrats and the administration have said that authorities are dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and are in need of more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. 

Both Democrats and Republicans have proposed border and immigration bills that are vastly different from one another, while talks are currently ongoing about $14 billion in supplemental border funding requested by the administration, with Republicans demanding restrictions on releases. 

Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., speaks during a press conference at the entrance of the migrant relief center at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on Feb. 2, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

DHS put out a memo ahead of the hearing arguing that Mayorkas was currently working with a bipartisan group of senators to find real solutions to the challenges at the border and called the accusations “baseless.”

“Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws,” the memo said, also pointing to statements by a number of Republicans who have said that the alleged offenses have not met the standard for impeachment.

Talking to reporters, Democrats also blamed Republicans for not working with them to solve the issue. Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., accused Republicans of being “complicit” in the struggles at the border.

“Democrats fully recognize, and the administration I know recognizes that we have real challenges at the border. There are people who are fleeing their home countries due to political instability, due to violence, due to poverty and trying to come to the United States and it has created a chaotic situation,” he said. “But House Republicans, rather than work with the administration and work with the secretary to solve the problem instead care more about having a political issue to run on than they do actually solving the challenges that we have at the border.”

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Additionally, they praised Mayorkas’ handling of both the crisis and the efforts to find agreement on supplemental spending with lawmakers, and argued that Republiacns haven’t given him the tools with which to do his job.

“I think he’s doing a very good job under very tough circumstances,” Ivey said. “We haven’t really given him the tools to fix it and now they try to beat him up for not being able to perform without the tools.”

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“Secretary Mayorkas has one of, if not the hardest job in the United States of America. And House Republicans have tried to undercut him and prevent him from being able to do his job every step of the way,” Magaziner said. “Deny him the funding. Deny him the tools because they view this as a political game, when really we ought to be working together to solve the challenges at the border.”

• Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds presented an extensive legislative agenda focusing on education and health care during her annual Condition of the State address on Tuesday.
• Reynolds said there is a need for significant revisions in how special education is provided in schools and how mental health and substance use are addressed across the state.
• Proposed changes involve allowing schools to decide whether funding for special education goes to regional agencies or other providers.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds focused on education and health care in an expansive agenda laid out for legislators Tuesday evening, calling for substantial revisions to how special education is provided in schools and how mental health and substance use are treated across the state.

The proposals may bring systematic changes to services across Iowa but are drawing early concerns about disparities in care in the state, especially for rural communities.

Reynolds began her annual Condition of the State address reflecting on last week’s high school shooting in Perry, about 40 miles northwest of Des Moines and thanking first responders, some of whom were in the audience.

IOWA GOV. REYNOLDS, WITH DESANTIS, TAKES AIM AT TRUMP OVER ‘MISLEADING’ TV AD

She made no mention of gun laws, which brought high school and college students to the Capitol rotunda Monday to advocate for gun control legislation.

 Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds speaks at the Family Leadership Summit on July 14, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Reynolds focused on education and health care in an expansive agenda laid out for legislators on Tuesday evening. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

On education, Reynolds spoke about “troubling” performance metrics for students with disabilities despite funding levels for special education that are higher than the national average. Reynolds will target the nine regional agencies – called Area Education Agencies — responsible for providing special education services in Iowa, instead recommending that schools can decide for themselves whether their funding goes to those agencies, as is the case now, or whether they seek out other providers.

Hints of reform to the agencies has already drawn some concern, prompting Reynolds to include a clarifying message to families “who have been told that we’re planning to end the AEAs or even cut services their families depend on.”

“This claim is categorically false,” she said.

IOWA GOV KIM REYNOLDS ENDORSES RON DESANTIS FOR PRESIDENT, SAYS SHE DOESN’T THINK TRUMP CAN WIN IN 2024

Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum expressed concern that the potential for increased privatization of education services will have an outsized impact on rural Iowa.

Most of what Reynolds proposed in last year’s condition of the state crossed the finish line after a robust re-election win in 2022, which also padded her party’s majorities in the Legislature. She celebrated some of those policies Tuesday, including her signature school choice legislation to create publicly funded educational savings accounts that families could use for private school education.

“There are those who said we did too much, too fast. That change wasn’t necessary or that it would make us worse off,” Reynolds said. “But when I look at the result of our hard work, I know we made a difference. And it drives me to do it again; to work even harder this session.”

Reynolds’ address ran the gamut, pledging to cut taxes, expand work-based learning programs, protect minors from online pornography and to bolster enforcement of foreign ownership of land in Iowa.

Reynolds also identified mental health and substance use as priorities for the Legislature this year, investing $20 million of Iowa’s settlement award money from opioid-related lawsuits and streamlining the state’s administration of behavioral health.

Democratic House leader Jennifer Konfrst criticized what she sees as diminished — not expanded — mental health care in Iowa, saying she’s not optimistic that the administrative revisions will lead to substantive benefits.

“I have a constituent who recently spent three days in the E.R. waiting for a mental health bed and had to go out of state because there we no beds available,” she said.

Reynolds again asked the Legislature to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for moms earning less than $42,000 a year, from 60 days to 12 months. It earned applause from Republicans and Democrats in the chamber, though it was not as expansive as legislation Democrats have previously proposed to expand the benefit for all moms on Medicaid.

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS SUED FOR PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL: ‘ONGOING IRREPARABLE HARM TO LGBTQ+ STUDENTS’

She also called for a select few health care proposals that tend to be supported by Democrats but failed to win over some Republicans, including over-the-counter contraception and parental leave for state employees.

House Speaker Pat Grassley said he wouldn’t commit at this point to the legislation passing a majority of his caucus, but he acknowledged it’s something “we can’t just ignore.”

Konfrst said she hopes House Democrats and Republicans can talk about solutions to address those priorities they have in common, saying Democrats will look to the specifics of Reynolds’ proposals and “bipartisanship isn’t — we vote for the bills Republicans bring to the table.”

“We are hopeful. I’m going to hope we’re going to be bipartisan and work together,” she said. “Democrats stand ready to have those conversations. The question is, will Republicans include us in this conversation or not?”

A federal judge in Nevada rejected a case challenging the eligibility of former President Trump to run in 2024, ruling GOP challenger John Anthony Castro, who brought the lawsuit in the Silver State, “lacks standing.” 

U.S. District Court Judge Gloria M. Navarro, who was appointed by former President Obama, issued the order Monday dismissing Castro’s lawsuit that had ultimately asked if the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment bars Trump from holding office over his alleged incitement of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

“This is a politically charged question of significant interest to the American public,” Navarro noted. “For reasons discussed below, the Court finds that Castro lacks standing, and the Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to hear this case.” 

“To have standing to sue in federal court, a plaintiff must have suffered a concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent injury in fact that was caused by the defendant’s challenged conduct and is redressable by a favorable decision,” Navarro explained. “This limitation on the judicial power prevents a plaintiff from invoking Article III jurisdiction of federal court by asserting what is merely a ‘general interest common to all members of the public.’” 

SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE IF TRUMP BANNED FROM COLORADO BALLOT IN HISTORIC CASE

Former President Trump departs after speaking at a “Commit to Caucus” rally in Clinton, Iowa, on Jan. 6, 2024.  ( TANNEN MAURY/AFP via Getty Images)

The ruling noted that five courts have already rejected Castro’s political competitor standing argument. 

“In rejecting his political competitor standing argument, courts have fund that Castro improperly manufactured his standing merely to file this lawsuit,” Navarro writes. “The evidence indicates that Castro is creating his own injury in order to manufacture standing to challenge Trump’s eligibility to run for president.” 

The judge observed that by his own admission, Castro “declared as a candidate and paid the filing fee to show the impermissibility of Trump’s presidency.” The ruling cited how Castro was quoted in an Associated Press article as having said, “I’m not going to lie and pretend my candidacy is anything more than trying to enforce the United States Constitution, and that’s what I’m here to do.” 

In a footnote, Navarro highlighted that Trump and Castro are not even competing on the same ballot in Nevada. 

“As Castro indicates in his FAC, the Nevada Republican Party is holding a caucus separate from the state-run Presidential Preference Primary. Castro intends on running in the Nevada Republican PP,” the footnote says. “Trump is not participating in the PP and is instead appearing on the caucus ballot.” 

TRUMP CAMPAIGN SAYS 14TH AMENDMENT ADVOCATES USING ‘LAWFARE’ TO ‘DEPRIVE’ VOTERS OF CHOICE IN 2024

Former President Trump flanked by attorney John Lauro, left, and D. John Sauer, center right, speaks to reporters and members of the media at the Waldorf Astoria hotel after attending a hearing of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals at the federal courthouse on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Washington, DC.  (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Dozens of lawsuits are now challenging Trump’s eligibility, citing the Fourteenth Amendment, after the Colorado Supreme Court removed him from the ballot in their state. 

Maine’s Democratic secretary of state also banned Trump from the ballot, citing the insurrection clause. 

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up Trump’s challenge to the Colorado ruling and is set to begin hearing arguments in February. 

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung championed the Nevada lawsuit’s dismissal in a statement to news outlets.  

Former President Trump departs the Waldorf Astoria where he held a press conference following his appearance in court on Jan. 9, 2024 in Washington, DC.  (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

“Today’s dismissal of another bogus, bad-faith, Crooked Joe Biden-engineered attempt to deprive Americans as a whole, and the voters of Nevada specifically, of their right to vote for the candidate of their choice is not only a victory for President Trump, but a victory for all Americans and the people of Nevada,” Cheung said, according to KLAS. “President Trump remains undefeated in federal court against these cynical efforts to interfere in the 2024 election. Courts in eleven states have now dismissed similar, pathetic, 14th Amendment ballot cases.” 

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“Make no mistake, each and every one of these ‘ballot-challenges’ are blatant attempts to steal the election for Crooked Joe Biden and disenfranchise over 100 million American voters,” he continued. “President Trump is the leading candidate for not only the Republican primary, but the general election and his opponents are desperate. Rest assured that he will fight each and every one of these disgraceful attacks on American democracy, he will win, and we will all Make America Great Again.”

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the 2020 election case against him in Georgia should be dropped after prosecutor Fani Willis was accused of ethics violations.

A co-defendant in the Trump case alleged in court documents that Willis had an “improper” romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade. Willis and Wade allegedly benefited financially from the relationship in the form of vacations the two took using funds that his law firm received for working the case. 

“You had a very big event yesterday as you saw in Georgia where the district attorney is totally compromised. The case has to be dropped,” Trump told reporters In Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, speaking after a hearing in a separate federal 2020 election interference case. “They went after 18 or 20 people. … She was out of her mind. Now it turns out that case is totally compromised. 

“It’s illegal. What she did is illegal. So we’ll let the state handle that, but what a sad situation it is,” Trump added.

FULTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR, FANI WILLIS ROMANTIC PARTNER, MET WITH BIDEN WHITE HOUSE TWICE BEFORE CHARGING TRUMP

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade. (Getty Images)

The allegations against Willis were included in a motion that was filed on behalf of former Trump campaign official Michael Roman, a co-defendant in the case, in a bid to have the charges against him dismissed.

It cites “sources close to both the special prosecutor and the district attorney” as confirming “they had an ongoing, personal relationship.”

County records show Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case.

The filing also calls for the entire district attorney’s office, including Willis and Wade, to be disqualified from prosecuting the case.

TOP TRUMP PROSECUTOR, GEORGIA DA ALLEGED TO BE IN ‘IMPROPER’ ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP: COURT FILING

Former President Donald Trump leaves the courtroom for a lunch break during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on November 06, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

In August, Willis charged Trump out of her investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Trump was charged with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The former president and 2024 frontrunner also faces charges in separate cases in New York City, Florida and Washington, D.C.

Trump appeared in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as his attorneys argued he has presidential immunity from charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation. 

FORMER COP TARGETS TRUMP, GOP OPPONENTS OVER ‘DISGRACEFUL’ LAW ENFORCEMENT RHETORIC 3 YEARS AFTER JAN 6

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (left) and former President Donald Trump. (The Washington Post-David Walter Banks/Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump attorney D. John Sauer argued that the president has “absolute immunity,” even after leaving office, and that President Biden, “the current incumbent of the presidency is prosecuting his number one political opponent and his greatest electoral threat.” Smith’s legal team said presidents are not entitled to absolute immunity and that Trump’s alleged actions fall outside a president’s official job duties. 

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Smith’s case against Trump is on pause as Trump’s attorneys appeal the case and argue that presidential immunity protects him from being prosecuted. The trial had been set to begin on March 4.

It is unclear when the appeals court will issue a decision. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

House Republicans will consider a resolution Wednesday morning that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.

The House Oversight Committee will meet for a markup Wednesday at 10 a.m. to consider the resolution that recommends contempt proceedings against the first son after he refused to comply with a subpoena compelling him to appear for a closed-door deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a similar markup at 10 a.m. on a measure recommending Hunter Biden be held in contempt of Congress. 

“Our investigation has produced significant evidence suggesting President Biden knew of, participated in and benefited from his family cashing in on the Biden name,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is expected to say in his opening statement, obtained by Fox News Digital. 

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW’ BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

“We planned to question Hunter Biden about this record of evidence during our deposition, but he blatantly defied two lawful subpoenas.” 

Comer will say, “Hunter Biden’s willful refusal to comply with the committees’ subpoenas is a criminal act” that “constitutes contempt of Congress and warrants referral to the appropriate United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution as prescribed by law.”

“We will not provide Hunter Biden with special treatment because of his last name,” Comer is expected to say. “All Americans must be treated equally under the law. And that includes the Bidens.” 

Hunter Biden, ahead of his subpoenaed deposition, had offered to testify publicly. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan rejected his request, stressing that the first son would not have special treatment and pointed to the dozens of other witnesses that have appeared, as compelled, for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.

The first son, though, defied the subpoena, ignored the offer and delivered a public statement outside the Capitol.

“On December 13, 2023, Robert Hunter Biden failed to comply with deposition subpoenas issued by the Committees on Oversight and Accountability and the Judiciary for testimony relevant to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry and the Committees’ oversight investigations,” the House Oversight report, first reported by Fox News Digital on Monday, says. 

“Instead, Mr. Biden opted to read a short, prepared statement in front of the Capitol. Accordingly, Mr. Biden has violated federal law and must be held in contempt of Congress.”

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has reportedly told people he may have to “flee” the country if Trump wins in 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, the House Oversight report identifies Hunter Biden’s testimony as “a critical component of the impeachment inquiry into, among other things, whether Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as Vice President and/or President: (1) took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family; (2) abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or (3) abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him.”

The report states that Hunter Biden’s “flagrant defiance of the Committees’ deposition subpoenas — while choosing to appear nearby on the Capitol grounds to read a prepared statement on the same matters — is contemptuous, and he must be held accountable for his unlawful actions.”

From left, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. and House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., speak to reporters after Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, defied a congressional subpoena to appear privately for a deposition before Republican investigators who have been digging into his business dealings at the Capitol in Washington Dec. 13, 2023.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

HOUSE GOP PROBING IF BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN HUNTER’S ‘SCHEME’ TO DEFY SUBPOENA, POTENTIAL ‘IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE’

The report says House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer “recommends that Congress find Robert Hunter Biden in contempt for his failure to comply with the Committee subpoena issued to him.”

Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., blasted the move, saying there “is no precedent for the U.S. House of Representatives holding a private citizen in contempt of Congress who has offered to testify in public, under oath and on a day of the committee’s choosing. Chairman Comer repeatedly urged Hunter Biden to appear at a committee hearing, and Hunter Biden agreed.” 

If the resolution advances out of committees Wednesday, sources said a full contempt of Congress vote on the House floor could take place in the coming days. 

President Biden speaks during a meeting of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Last month, Comer and Jordan expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son’s “scheme” to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, conduct, they say, “could constitute an impeachable offense.” 

Hunter Biden, when making his public statement last month, said his “father was not financially involved in my business.” 

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“No evidence to support that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen,” he said. 

The House impeachment inquiry against President Biden was formalized by the full House last month. The inquiry is being led by Comer, Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

FIRST ON FOX: The former sheriff of New Mexico’s most populous county has announced his decision to switch political parties and compete for a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Describing himself as a “man of strong convictions and values,” Manuel Gonzales, who served as the sheriff of Bernalillo County for roughly 13 years, told Fox News Digital his decision to enter the Senate race came as a result of the Democratic Party moving too “far left” on issues that mean the most to him.

“I’m a law and order and fiscally responsible family man that cares about his community,” Gonzales said. “My whole career in life has been surrounded by service. My concerns are that of the [Democratic] Party. The party that I was in has gone far left in terms of their ideologies towards families and law and order. I can no longer become complicit in their values because I don’t believe that they align with mine.”

Gonzales, a lifelong Democrat who gained national recognition for his refusal to enforce stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, said he believes his decision to run as a Republican will provide him with more opportunities to pick up support in the race and bring “positive changes” to the state overall.

NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR’S GUN RESTRICTION ORDERS TO BE REVIEWED BY STATE SUPREME COURT

Manuel Gonzales, who served as the sheriff of Bernalillo County for roughly 13 years, told Fox News Digital his decision to enter the Senate race came as a result of the Democratic Party moving too “far left” on issues that mean the most to him. (Manuel Gonzales)

From inflation to crime, Gonzales said he’s looking to tackle issues that have hindered progress in the state head on.

Gonzales, who’s looking to take a hands-on approach to problems if he’s elected, said he will prioritize “fighting for jobs” in New Mexico and hone in on certain “energy initiatives” and resources the state has to offer.

“The security and safety of the people throughout the country has been compromised,” said Gonzalez, whose public service career has been marked by repeated efforts to rid New Mexico of crime.

Gonzales, whose career in law enforcement spans nearly 30 years, said a troubling reality he faces is that officers in New Mexico “don’t feel supported.”

A proponent of qualified immunity for officers, Gonzales said he hopes to welcome more officers to the state and “get behind efforts to support” law enforcement officials so he can be “a strong voice and advocate for them.”

Gonzales, a newcomer to the Republican Party, also touted his ability to work across the aisle to get things done for those he hopes to represent on a federal level.

“I would definitely be a huge advocate and work collaboratively with both sides of the aisle to get things accomplished instead of continually pointing fingers and blaming [others] like this current administration and this current senator that sits in office right now,” he said, referencing the Biden administration and incumbent Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.

Gonzales, who’s looking to take a hands-on approach to problems if he’s elected, said he will prioritize “fighting for jobs” in New Mexico and hone in on certain “energy initiatives” and resources the state has to offer. (Manuel Gonzales)

Taking further aim at Heinrich, who has represented New Mexico in the Senate since 2013 and is running for re-election to his post in the upper chamber, Gonzales accused the “career politician” of being a “carpetbagger” who came to the state and has been “comfortable and unchallenged” thus far.

LATINO SENATE HOPEFUL SAYS HISPANIC VOTERS BEING ‘BLINDSIDED’ BY DEM POLICIES, AIMS TO FLIP BORDER SEAT RED

“I want to be the person that has the opportunity in November to challenge him and unseat him so things can start moving,” Gonzales said of Heinrich. “I really believe things are idle here, and I think when people become complacent and comfortable, I think it’s time for them to go home.”

Amid several law enforcement issues that arose during his time as sheriff of Bernalillo County, Gonzales said Heinrich’s office was silent.

“I did not see any effort or anybody from [Heinrich’s] office reach out to support any initiatives we were doing,” he said.

Gonzales has been at odds with several elected Democrats from across the state for some time, and took heat from them following his 2020 visit to the nation’s capital to meet with then-President Donald Trump and then-Attorney General William Barr.

Gonzales is shown alongside then-Attorney General William Barr during a Bernalillo County event. (Manuel Gonzales)

Party affiliation won’t prevent Gonzales from doing the work that needs to be done in Washington on behalf of his constituents, he said.

“I understand that I represent the people and not a party when I get elected,” he said. “I can stand on my own two feet. I am my own person, and I’m a person that is very reasonable. I’m also a person that is fair. I have the best interest of everybody at heart. Politics don’t play into my decisions when it comes to serving people.”

“I want to get things done. I want to help people, and I want to serve them because that’s what I’ve been called to do,” Gonzales added.

Amid his stint leading the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, Gonzales sought to serve as the Mayor of Albuquerque in 2021. He lost that election, however, to Tim Keller, a Democrat who previously served as the New Mexico State auditor.

Last fall, Gonzales and former Laguna Police Chief Rudy Mora were identified in a federal indictment filed in Maryland that accused the pair of participating in an illegal weapons scheme in the state. Prosecutors said Gonzales and Mora signed false documents to help gun dealers illegally obtain machine guns, according to Source New Mexico, but neither of the men have been charged with a crime.

Gonzales, who described himself as a “fiscally responsible family man that cares about his community,” is shown with his family. (Manuel Gonzales)

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Discussing the matter outlined in federal documents filed last October, Gonzales said the effort is “politically motivated” and that he believes he will be “exonerated.”

“I followed the law, and I’ll continue to follow the law,” he said. “I would never breach anything for the trust of the people. After this case has been adjudicated and said and done, I believe my good name will be exonerated.”

The primary election is slated to take place on June 4, 2024. The general election will take place on Nov. 4, 2024.

Donald Trump dominated the news again yesterday – we’re talking wall-to-wall all morning – simply by showing up for court.

In fact, with less than a week till the Iowa caucuses, he’ll spend two days in court – yesterday’s D.C. appearance and Thursday’s closing arguments in the civil fraud trial in New York – although in both cases he doesn’t need to show up. (In between he’ll do that Iowa town hall on Fox.)

The three-judge federal appeals panel that heard Trump’s claim of presidential immunity – two Biden appointees and one by George H.W. Bush – were openly skeptical of the arguments offered by the former president’s lawyer.

Ironically, this comes as Joe Biden’s campaign officials are complaining to journalists brought to the Wilmington headquarters that Trump should be covered more as a candidate and less as a defendant.

BIDEN TEAM COMPLAINS ABOUT TRUMP COVERAGE; THE ‘FULL HITLER’ CONFRONTATION

Former President Donald Trump takes the stage during an organizing event at Fervent Calvary Chapel on July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

And yet there’s no question that the immunity hearing is crucial. If the appellate panel upholds Trump’s claim that he’s immune from prosecution for anything that can be construed as an official act, Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 case will be dead in the water. If the panel rules against Trump, the prosecution goes forward before the election. Of course, like Trump’s appeal of the Maine and Colorado ballot bans, it will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.

But by his sheer presence in the downtown criminal courthouse – and speaking to reporters afterward – Trump boosted the visibility of the hearing. Just by sitting in the same courtroom as Smith, he made it part of his campaign.

And that’s been the play all along. 

Each of the four indictments has boosted Trump politically, pushing his poll numbers up and denying his GOP rivals of much-needed oxygen, as Ron DeSantis has said. Trump’s loyal MAGA followers see these charges as a Democratic plot to keep him out of the White House. 

HOW HARVARD’S PRESIDENT HUNG ON SO LONG, DESPITE BECOMING AN UTTER EMBARRASSMENT

The more the media spotlight follows the ex-president to the courthouses, the more he can use them as a campaign vehicle.

Fueling the drama: another swatting incident, this one at Jack Smith’s home. Law enforcement officials showed up on Christmas after being falsely told that the prosecutor had shot his wife. The judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, was also swatted.

Trump’s attorney made the strange argument that no president can be prosecuted without first being impeached and convicted. The judges weren’t buying that, saying a hypothetical president could use the military to murder his political opponents and resign before impeachment. I’d add that he could avoid an impeachment conviction if his party controlled the Senate.

Former President Donald Trump gestures on stage during the Alabama Republican Party’s summer meeting on Aug. 4, 2023, in Montgomery. (Julie Bennett/Getty Images)

Judge Karen Henderson, the Bush appointee, said: “I think it’s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed’ allows him to violate criminal law.” Audio from the hearing was made available. 

Biden tried to change the trajectory of his campaign with his speeches near Valley Forge and in Charleston, making harsh personal attacks on his predecessor as a liar who fomented an insurrection and is a champion of White supremacy.

But on most days, Biden is a low-key presence, taking only two quick questions from reporters with terse answers, doing fewer interviews, and news conferences are as rare as a fly-by of Jupiter’s moons. Trump, by contrast, is constantly making news. I never thought I’d see a time when a former president overshadowed an incumbent president, but here we are.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to guests at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum on April 14, 2023, in Indianapolis. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

On the video channel of pillow guy Mike Lindell, Trump said: “And when there’s a crash, I hope it’s going to be during this next 12 months, because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover.” This drew media denunciations that he was rooting for a crash – especially since the stock market just hit new highs.

Trump made a video – a virtual requirement for TV – saying that what was happening to him “only happens in third world countries or banana republics. They’re using their Department of Injustice to go after his political [opponent] and this is all him,” meaning Biden, “a hundred percent him. He’s the one that told them to do it and they obey his orders. It’s a shame.”

He added that “Joe” has to “be very careful… You don’t indict your political opponent because he opposes the corrupt election, which you know was corrupt.”

When Trump spoke for 10 minutes outside the Washington courthouse yesterday, he said they’d had “a very good day.” But he added that if he loses the appeal, “It will be bedlam in the country.”

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Both CNN and MSNBC soon broke away. CNN’s Kaitlan Collins offered an instant fact check, saying there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in 2020, and that Biden is not prosecuting Trump. 

Even after a contentious Pentagon news conference revealing that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has prostate cancer and that his refusal to disclose that serious illness is under investigation, the networks quickly went back to the Trump court hearing.

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Another day, another news cycle, dominated by Donald Trump.

• A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday, halting enforcement of an Ohio law requiring children under 16 to receive parental consent before accessing social media apps.
• U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley ruled in favor of NetChoice, a group representing TikTok, Meta, and other social media titans.
• Despite calling the law’s intent “a laudable aim,” Marbley doubts Ohio will be able to prove it is “narrowly tailored to any ends that it identifies.”

A federal judge issued an order Tuesday temporarily halting enforcement of a pending Ohio law that would require children to get parental consent to use social media apps.

U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley’s temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit brought Friday by NetChoice, a trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies. The litigation argues that the law unconstitutionally impedes free speech and is overbroad and vague.

While calling the intent to protect children “a laudable aim,” Marbley said it is unlikely that Ohio will be able to show the law is “narrowly tailored to any ends that it identifies.”

CONSERVATIVES BLAST REPUBLICAN OHIO GOVERNOR AS ‘COWARD’ FOR TRANSGENDER BILL VETO

“Foreclosing minors under sixteen from accessing all content on websites that the Act purports to cover, absent affirmative parental consent, is a breathtakingly blunt instrument for reducing social media’s harm to children,” he wrote.

The law is similar to those enacted in other states. It was set to take effect Jan. 15.

This graphic depicts, clockwise from left, app icons for Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok. (AP Photo/File)

Besides requiring social media companies to obtain a parent’s permission for children under 16 to sign up for social media and gaming apps, it also mandates that the companies provide parents with their privacy guidelines, so that families can know what content will be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.

The Social Media Parental Notification Act was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in July. The administration pushed the measure as a way to protect children’s mental health, with Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted saying at the time that social media was “intentionally addictive” and harmful to kids.

Husted expressed disappointment in the judge’s action Tuesday.

TRUMP CALLS ON ‘ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO UNITE’ AROUND BERNIE MORENO IN RACE FOR SEN. SHERROD BROWN’S SEAT

“The big-tech companies behind this lawsuit were included in the legislative process to make sure the law was clear and easy to implement, but now they claim the law is unclear,” he said in a statement. “They were disingenuous participants in the process and have no interest in protecting children.”

The governor also lamented the decision.

“The negative effects that social media sites and apps have on our children’s mental health have been well documented, and this law was one way to empower parents to have a role in their kids’ digital lives,” he said in a statement.

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NetChoice filed suit against GOP Attorney General Dave Yost in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The group has won lawsuits against similar restrictions in California and Arkansas.

DES MOINES, Iowa – With six days to go until Iowa’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis no longer predicts victory and instead vows that “we’re going to do well here.”

DeSantis, at a Fox News town hall on Tuesday in Iowa’s capital and largest city, emphasized that the battle for the GOP nomination “is a long process” and pledged that he’s “in it for the long haul.”

DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to former President Trump in the Republican White House race. He was solidly in second place behind former Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner as he makes his third straight presidential bid.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS FROM THE RON DESANTIS FOX NEWS TOWN HALL

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right), a Republican presidential candidate, joins hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier for a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 9, 2023 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser )

But after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.

Rival Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, in recent weeks has caught up with DeSantis for second place in the polls in Iowa and in national surveys. 

Haley also surpassed DeSantis and surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary — just eight days after Iowa.

Last month, in multiple interviews, even though he was down double digits in the polls to Trump in Iowa, DeSantis predicted victory.

“We’re going to win Iowa. We’ve got the organization in place,” the governor declared in a Fox News Digital interview in Bettendorf, Iowa a week before Christmas.

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS IOWA’S PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES APPROACH

But on Tuesday, when asked by Fox News’ “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum — the moderators of the town hall — about his finish in a state that many consider make-or-break for him. DeSantis twice answered “we’re going to do well.”

“I kind of like having lower expectations, to be honest with you,” he added. “I’ve been an underdog my whole life and everything I’ve ever done.”

And he argued that “the media has kind of tried to go at me a little bit on that… Let them say that. We have it within our power to prove them wrong, and we will do that.”

Asked if his campaign would advance to New Hampshire regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis reiterated “yes, of course.”

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And DeSantis touted his get-out-the-vote efforts in Iowa, which are heavily reliant on Never Back Down, an aligned super PAC

“We have massive numbers of people. I think we have more commits than anyone’s ever had in an Iowa caucus. We have all the counties organized. People that have been involved in this process say it’s the best yet,” he said.

Haley joined Fox News on Monday for a similar town hall, and Trump will take questions from Baier and MacCallum on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former first lady Melania Trump announced the passing of her mother, Amalija Knavs, on Tuesday.

“It is with deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved mother, Amalija,” the former first lady wrote in a X post.

Trump called her mother “strong” and “entirely devoted” to her family.

“Amalija Knavs was a strong woman who always carried herself with grace, warmth, and dignity,” Trump wrote. “She was entirely devoted to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law.”

“We will miss her beyond measure and continue to honor and love her legacy,” she added.

MELANIA TRUMP SPENDS CHRISTMAS WITH AILING MOTHER, MISSING MAR-A-LAGO CELEBRATION

First lady Melania Trump’s parents, Viktor Knavs and the late Amalija Knavs arrive on the South Lawn of the White House, on March 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

The news comes after former President Donald Trump said that Knavs was “very ill” at his New Year’s Eve’s celebration at his home in South Florida.

MELANIA TRUMP TO SPEAK TO NEW AMERICAN CITIZENS ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY OF ‘GUARDING OUR FREEDOM’

“Hopefully she’ll be recovering,’ the former president said after mentioning he had gotten off the phone with Melania who was at a Miami hospital with her sick mother.

“It’s a tough one, a very tough one,” Trump continued.

Viktor and the late Amalija Knavs, the parents of US First Lady Melania Trump, make their way to a vehicle upon arrival at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on March 17, 2017. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Similarly, Melania was absent from the family’s Christmas celebrations as she took care of her ailing mother.

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“Melania has always been very devoted to her entire family,” a source close to Melania Trump told Fox News Digital. “It should be no surprise that she spent this Christmas with her ailing mother.” 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis’ rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination took aim at the populist presidential candidate after his Tuesday town hall event.

DeSantis joined Fox News for a town hall event in the Hawkeye State ahead of the famous Iowa Caucus, where the governor spoke on inflation and government accountability and took questions from the audience.

Following DeSantis’ town hall discussion with Fox News’ Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, though, the Florida governor’s GOP rivals fired off their thoughts on his performance.

RIVAL GOP CAMPAIGNS WEIGH IN ON HALEY’S FOX NEWS TOWN HALL PERFORMANCE: ‘REJECT HER ON CAUCUS NIGHT’

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans Tuesday to permanently eliminate COVID-19 mandates in Florida during the upcoming legislative session. (Ron DeSantis via Twitter)

Former President Trump’s campaign went off during the town hall event, attacking DeSantis’ record on the COVID-19 pandemic and claiming in one post that the Florida governor “issued some of the most draconian Covid restrictions of anywhere in the United States.”

In another post, the Trump campaign wrote, “Ron DeSanctimonious PRAISES Trump’s COVID Task Force, says Fauci and Birx were doing a good job,” with a clip of DeSantis from during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Ron DeSantis and his allies have set him up for devastating failure,” the Trump campaign tweeted. “Everything he does is one giant astroturf that will be exposed in just a few short days.”

Trump’s campaign also shared a CNN clip that the campaign said “exposed” the governor as a “massive COVID hypocrite.”

“MUST WATCH: DeSantis EXPOSED as MASSIVE COVID HYPOCRITE, repeatedly praised Fauci and his policies during the pandemic,” Trump wrote.

Former President Trump’s campaign went off during the town hall event, attacking DeSantis’ record on the COVID-19 pandemic and claiming in one post that the Florida governor “issued some of the most draconian Covid restrictions of anywhere in the United States.” (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s campaign chirped at DeSantis during his town hall, too, slamming the governor over his answers to various questions, from inflation to his polling numbers against President Biden.

“RON DESANTIS on inflation: ‘This was created by Washington,’” Haley’s campaign tweeted on Tuesday. “Uh, Ron, you were in Washington and you voted to increase the debt limit.”

“Tonight, Iowa voters saw a desperate, flailing Ron DeSantis trying to cover up his record of banning fracking and drilling in Florida, and voting to increase the debt limit in Congress. The more DeSantis loses, the more he lies,” AnnMarie Graham-Barnes, Haley campaign spokesperson, told Fox News Digital following the town hall.

“FUN FACT: Ron DeSantis performs the worst against Biden,” Haley’s campaign wrote in another tweet. “LOL.”

“Question from voter: Why is it so hard for you to win over conservatives?” another tweet from Haley’s camp read. “Ron DeSantis: Word [salad emoji].”

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley’s campaign chirped at DeSantis during his town hall, too, slamming the governor over his answers to various questions, from inflation to his polling numbers against President Biden. (Kathryn Gamble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

When asked for comment, DeSantis’ campaign pointed to a tweet by the governor slamming Haley and Trump and sharing a clip of his comments from his Fox News town hall.

“Donald Trump’s running for his issues. Nikki Haley’s running for her donors’ issues,” DeSantis wrote.

“I’m running for your issues, your family’s issues, and to turn this country around,” he added.

DeSantis was the second GOP presidential candidate this week to hold a Fox News town hall ahead of the Iowa Caucus next week.

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The Florida governor is vying for the GOP nomination to take on President Biden for the White House in November. 

However, the battle for the nomination is far from over: DeSantis will have to get through Haley and Trump to get the Republican Party’s coveted nod.

• Wisconsin law does not allow usage of mobile absentee voting sites, a judge ruled late Monday.
• Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz sided with Republican plaintiffs who had challenged Racine’s usage of a “voting van” that meandered about the city’s streets in 2022.
• “Nowhere can this Court find or has been provided any authority allowing the use of a van or vehicle as an alternate absentee voting vehicle,” Gasiorkiewicz wrote.

A Wisconsin judge has ruled that state law does not allow the use of mobile absentee voting sites, siding with Republicans who had challenged Racine’s use of a voting van that traveled around the city in 2022.

Republicans opposed the use of the van, the only one of its kind in Wisconsin, saying its use was against the law, increased the chances of voter fraud and was used to bolster Democratic turnout.

Racine officials, the Democratic National Committee and the Milwaukee-based voting advocacy group Black Leaders Organizing for Communities refuted those claims and defended the legality of the van, saying there was no specific prohibition against it.

ILLINOIS ELECTIONS BOARD TO VOTE ON WHETHER TRUMP CAN APPEAR ON STATE GOP’S PRIMARY BALLOT

The lawsuit over the mobile voting van is one of several in battleground Wisconsin that could affect voting rules in the upcoming presidential election.

The van was first used in Racine’s municipal elections in 2022. It was purchased with grant money Racine received from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, the nonprofit created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. Republicans have been critical of the grants, calling the money “Zuckerbucks” that they say was used to tilt turnout in Democratic areas.

The van was used only to facilitate early in-person voting during the two weeks prior to an election, Racine City Clerk Tara McMenamin said. She said the vehicle was useful because it was becoming too cumbersome for her staff to set up their equipment in remote polling sites.

The voting van used by the City of Racine Clerks Office is photographed at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin, July 26, 2022. (Ryan Patterson/The Journal Times via AP, File)

It traveled across the city to meet voters in their neighborhoods and collect early ballots.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, on behalf of Racine County Republican Party Chairman Ken Brown, filed a complaint the day after the August 2022 primary with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, arguing that the van was against state law. They argued that it was only sent to Democratic areas in the city in an illegal move to bolster turnout.

McMenamin disputed those accusations, saying that it shows a misunderstanding of the city’s voting wards, which traditionally lean Democratic.

The elections commission dismissed the complaint four days before the November election that year, saying that there was no probable cause shown to believe the law had been broken. That led the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty to then file its lawsuit.

Racine County Circuit Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz, in a ruling late Monday, overturned the elections commission’s dismissal of the complaint, saying state election laws do not allow for the use of mobile voting sites.

“Nowhere can this Court find or has been provided any authority allowing the use of a van or vehicle as an alternate absentee voting vehicle,” the judge wrote.

He rejected the argument from defendants that the use of mobile voting sites was allowable because there is no specific prohibition against them.

The judge said his ruling wasn’t a determination on whether mobile voting sites were a good idea or not. That is up to the Legislature to decide, Gasiorkiewicz said.

VIRGINIA DROPS LAST REMAINING CHARGE AGAINST DC-AREA ELECTIONS OFFICIAL

The Wisconsin Elections Commission and the state Department of Justice, which represented it in the lawsuit, did not return messages seeking comment on whether the decision will be appealed. McMenamin said the decision was being reviewed and next steps would be more clear next week.

Early in-person absentee voting in Wisconsin for the municipal spring election begins Feb. 6. The presidential primary is April 2, with absentee voting allowed two weeks before it.

If appealed, the case could ultimately be decided by Wisconsin’s liberal-controlled state Supreme Court.

Lucas Vebber, deputy counsel at the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, hailed the ruling.

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“Wisconsin voters should know that their elections are secure, and that election administration does not favor one political party over another,” Vebber said. “This decision does just that.”

A border deal that was anticipated to be finalized in text this week has hit a roadblock but is still progressing, according to Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.

“There’s too many unanswered issues” for officials to sort through still, Lankford, one of the key negotiators, told reporters Monday. 

One of those “unanswered issues” lawmakers are stuck on is a key policy issue dividing Republicans and Democrats — parole authority. 

Parole authority, an integral border policy that allows illegal migrants to live in the U.S. temporarily and obtain their green cards, was expanded under the Biden administration to permit 30,000 nationals from four nations to fly in and receive parole into the U.S. monthly, forming part of the administration’s strategy to address the continuous crisis at the southern border.

KEY LAWMAKERS RETURN TO THE HILL EARLY TO CONTINUE BORDER SECURITY TALKS AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS VISIT BORDER 

Sen. James Lankford speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Chris Magnus to be the next U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington Oct. 19, 2021.  (Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS)

Lankford, alongside other lead negotiators Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., began negotiations with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden officials a week before the upper chamber was scheduled to go on its holiday recess.

Republicans want several measures included in a deal, including more restrictions on parole and reforming how asylum is granted, making the process more stringent for qualifying for asylum. They also want to increase detention beds and the presence of parole agents.  

DEMOCRAT SENATOR SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘CRISIS’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER, URGES NEGOTIATORS TO STRIKE A DEAL

On Wednesday, House Republicans and the Senate Republican Conference will receive a briefing from Lankford on the status of the negotiations. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., on Tuesday said one of his questions is whether there will be “anything in this bill that’s going to deal with the people that are here illegally.”

“My understanding is that McConnell doesn’t want to tie having a secure border to Ukraine aid,” Scott said. “So, what are we going to tie to make sure that the Biden administration actually does whatever we pass?”

The Senate is also dealing with an upcoming Jan. 19 deadline to pass critical funding for several federal agencies and avert a government shutdown. The second deadline for the remaining agencies is Feb. 2.

Migrants wait in line adjacent to the border fence under the watch of the Texas National Guard to enter into El Paso, Texas, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)

Sen. Ron Johnson, Wis., told reporters Tuesday “the real conundrum Republicans face is trying to negotiate a deal with this president.”

“It’s like negotiating with the arsonist to put out the fire he or she started,” he said.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told reporters Monday he doesn’t “think there’s going to be enough for us to get it on the January 19 package, but maybe there will be by February 2, and that makes more sense to me.”

SENATE NOT EXPECTED TO RELEASE TEXT ON BORDER PACKAGE THIS WEEK

Lawmakers hope to strike a deal that will tie border security measures into the national supplemental funding request that would provide some $60 billion to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel. But GOP lawmakers have insisted that either the supplemental or government funding have some border security conditions attached to it. 

President Biden walks with U.S. Border Patrol agents along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso Texas, Jan. 8, 2023.  (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

“It should surprise no one that it’s going to take time,” Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor Tuesday. “Of all the difficult issues we face in this room, in this chamber, immigration is near the top.”

But the upper chamber could be headed for a showdown in the GOP-controlled House if the border agreement lacks elements of H.R. 2, or the Secure the Border Act. 

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There were over 302,000 migrant encounters in December, after a fiscal 2023 that saw a record 2.4 million encounters overall. A recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement report said the agency removed 142,580 illegal immigrants in fiscal 2023, up considerably from 72,177 in fiscal 2022 and 59,011 in fiscal 2021, but still down from the highs of 267,258 under the Trump administration in fiscal 2019.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.