The Department of Energy (DOE) quietly promoted a top adviser to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to a senior role overseeing home appliance regulations after he failed to clear Senate confirmation.

The DOE announced last week that Jeff Marootian was appointed to be the principal deputy assistant secretary of the agency’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The appointment came days after the White House withdrew his name from consideration to lead EERE as the office’s assistant secretary.

While Marootian’s nomination failed after Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., opposed him over the Biden administration’s crackdown on natural gas-powered stovetops, his appointment last week makes him the effective chief of the DOE’s EERE office. 

President Biden has yet to nominate another person to be Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, meaning Marootian, whose new position doesn’t require Senate confirmation, is the most senior official in the EERE office. The office is tasked with issuing and implementing energy efficiency regulations such as those affecting gas stoves and other home appliances.

‘Jeff Marootian is an unelected, unaccountable, and unconfirmed bureaucrat who is carrying out President Biden’s orders to attack affordable household appliances,’ Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

‘These rules are making life more expensive for all Americans by denying them the products they need. Biden and Marootian are coming after appliances in every room of our home – from gas stoves in our kitchen to water heaters in our basement,’ he continued. ‘The administration should put forward a new nominee who will work to lower costs and give consumers choice.’

Barrasso opposed Marootian’s nomination last year, arguing he was more qualified for a Transportation Department role.

Marootian was first nominated to take the helm at the EERE office in July 2022 after serving as special assistant to Biden and, prior to that role, director of the Washington, D.C., Department of Transportation. The position has been vacant since Daniel Simmons, who led the office throughout the Trump administration, departed the DOE in early 2021.

Granholm then hired Marootian as her senior adviser for energy efficiency and renewable energy in September 2022. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee took place in November, and he was reported out of committee in December, but his nomination stalled at the end of session, forcing Biden to renominate him in January.

Manchin then unexpectedly came out in opposition to Marootian’s nomination in May, putting Marootian’s chances of receiving Senate confirmation in jeopardy. Though the White House stood by Marootian at first, it ultimately withdrew his nomination earlier this month.

‘While I supported Mr. Marootian’s nomination in December, since then the office he’s been nominated to lead has proposed stove efficiency rules that I’ve raised concerns about,’ Manchin told Fox News Digital on May 17. ‘While I appreciate that these rules would only apply to new stoves, my view is that it’s part of a broader, administration-wide effort to eliminate fossil fuels. For that reason, I’m not comfortable moving forward with Mr. Marootian at this time.’

Since Marootian was hired to advise Granholm on energy efficiency and since his nomination was returned to the White House, the DOE has pursued a number of energy efficiency regulations impacting household appliances including gas stovetops, ovens, clothes washers, refrigerators, air conditioners and dishwashers which consumer advocates have criticized as regulatory overreach. 

‘It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that almost everything that plugs in or fires up around the house is either subject to a pending regulation or soon will be,’ Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, previously told Fox News Digital.

‘Consumers aren’t going to like any of it,’ he added. ‘These rules are almost always bad for consumers for the simple reason that they restrict consumer choice.’

Mayor Eric Adams is reportedly avoiding President Biden during his visit to New York City this week, as the relationship between the two Democrats has been damaged due to the migrant crisis. 

Adams’ packed schedule Monday included sitting down with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to discuss strategies to combat gun violence, welcoming Sierre Leone President Julius Maada Bio to talk about ties to New York City’s growing African community and meeting with Seoul, South Korea Mayor Oh Se-hoon to sign a so-called ‘Sister Cities Agreement.’ He also participated in a roundtable with Pakistani leaders, but Adams scheduled no time to meet with Biden, Politico reported. 

Biden is expected to address the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday morning. Adams was invited but likely will not attend Biden’s campaign fundraiser or reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Tuesday, two sources familiar with the matter told Politico. 

The mayor’s public schedule Monday also did not say Adams would attend two other campaign receptions Biden was expected to attend, one with Black business leaders and a second featuring Broadway headliners, according to the outlet.

‘It just means that the two of them are trying to avoid exacerbating an already tense situation,’ a City Hall adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Politico. White House aides told the outlet that no meeting between Adams and Biden was on the agenda during the New York visit. 

‘You know I don’t do those private conversations,’ Adams said Monday, dodging a reporter’s question about whether he attempted to meet with Biden while the president was in town. 

‘We always look forward to any conversation that can help deliver the critical support and relief that asylum seekers, longtime New Yorkers and all Americans deserve,’ Adams’ spokesperson added. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the mayor’s office for comment, but neither immediately responded.

The current situation is a stark contrast to this time last year when Adams and Biden were seen together at Democratic fundraiser and at the United Nations General Assembly’s marquee reception. Adams and Biden reportedly have not been seen together since January, during the president’s visit to New York regarding his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Hudson Tunnel train project.

Adams, who once dubbed himself the ‘Biden of Brooklyn,’ has been increasingly critical of the federal government’s handling of the migrant crisis, as he demands the Biden administration grant work authorization and other aid to the approximately 110,000 migrants who have arrived in New York City so far. 

‘If we don’t receive help from the federal government and additional help from the state government, then this is going to come from somewhere, and it’s going to hurt low-income New Yorkers,’ Adams said during an appearance on MSNBC Sunday evening. 

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defended President Biden’s ability to serve in office amid growing concerns from Democrats that the president is too old to run for re-election.

In an interview with CNN, Newsom acknowledged that voters ‘have every right to be concerned’ about Biden’s age (80) but insisted he was not concerned.

‘I want a seasoned pro that knows how to get things done,’ Newsom said. ‘I’m a little old-fashioned. I want a guy who produces results, and the results are in: It’s been a master class.’ 

Newsom’s remarks came in response to a question about a recent CBS News/YouGov survey, which found that only one-third of American voters think Biden will remain in office through a second term. Were the president to win re-election and finish another term, he would be 86-years-old when he leaves office.

The popular and staunch progressive California governor, who declined to challenge Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, argued that the president’s record demonstrates he is not too old to lead the country.

‘There’s simply no administration in my lifetime that’s been more effective producing more substantive results,’ said the 55-year-old Newsom, who has lived through the Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, both Bush, Obama and Trump presidencies. 

He pointed to several bipartisan wins for the Biden White House, including deals on infrastructure, gun control, raising the debt ceiling and the CHIPS and Science Act, which incentivized companies to build and manufacture semiconductors in the U.S.

‘I mean this, I couldn’t imagine three years ago that this president could accomplish so much in such a short period of time. I mean that,’ Newsom emphasized.

While Newsom and others, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Vice President Kamala Harris, have defended Biden’s age, other Democrats have expressed hesitancy to the Biden-Harris 2024 ticket.

‘I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for re-election,’ Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a favorite scribe of the liberal establishment, wrote last week, pointing to the fact that Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term.

‘It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping [former President] Trump.’ 

Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, told NBC News recently that he believes ‘there are other candidates who have a far better chance and don’t have the actuarial risk that the president has.’

‘Why does everyone have blinders on? Why are we essentially being led to this cliff without knowing what’s on the other side?’ Phillps said. 

And former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile recently admitted she’s ‘not sleeping at night thinking all is well’ and said Democrats should be concerned with making the case for Biden to continue in office.

Amid these concerns, the White House has repeatedly defended Biden’s age and mental acuity when asked by reporters.

‘Look, here’s what I know,’ White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Fox News’ Peter Doocy last week in response to a question about polling showing voter concerns over Biden’s age. ‘Here’s what I can speak to. I can speak to that – a president who has wisdom. I can speak to a president who has experience. I can speak to a president who has done historic – has taken historic action and has delivered in historic pieces of legislation. And that’s important.’

In an Associated Press poll this summer, 77% said Biden is too old to be effective for four more years, with 89% of Republicans taking that position along with 69% of Democrats.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Pope Francis on Monday spoke to the Clinton Global Initiative’s (CGI) ‘Keep Going’ session urging action on climate change ‘before it’s too late.’

The leader of the Catholic Church also said on the live video call to former President Bill Clinton that ‘it is necessary to share thoughts on how to contribute to the common good and how not to leave behind the most vulnerable people such as children.’

‘You, Mr. President, have listed the many challenges of our time: climate change, humanitarian crises affecting migrants and refugees and child care, and many others,’ Pope Francis said. 

The pontiff later added, ‘When we talk about migration, let’s think about the eyes of the children we’ve seen in refugee camps.’

While the pope holds to a traditional Christian view of abortion, contraceptives and gender, he blasted some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church in an address last month, accusing them of prioritizing ideology over faith and hindering the evolution of Catholic doctrine. He also acknowledged the existing divisions in the Church, stemming from differing views on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. 

Many conservatives have critiqued the pontiff’s focus on social justice and his willingness to consider changes, such as allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive sacraments.

The CGI summit in New York began Monday and will conclude Tuesday. Pope Francis met with Clinton, along with progressive billionaire donor George Soros’ son Alex Soros, at the Vatican in July.

Other politicians, celebrities and government officials will speak during the two-day event.

The Biden administration will be represented by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during the summit. Additional speakers include Hillary Clinton, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, retired NBA player Dwyane Wade, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Fox News host Dana Perino.

Three pro-lifers who protested at, and blocked access to a Washington, D.C. reproductive health care services clinic in October 2020 were found guilty of federal charges by a jury on Monday.

The Department of Justice said in a press release that 41-year-old Jonathan Darnel of Arlington, Virginia; 73-year-old Jean Marshall of Kingston, Massachusetts; and 74-year-old Joan Bell of Montague, New Jersey were each convicted of federal civil rights conspiracy and freedom of access to clinic entrances (FACE) act offenses.

The DOJ said Marshall and Bell traveled to D.C. to meet with Darnel and to participate in a clinic blockade that was coordinated and streamed live by another co-conspirator on Facebook.

During the blockade on Oct. 22, 2020, the defendants are accused of creating a blockade at the clinic, which prevented the clinic from providing reproductive health services.

Marshall and Bell were part of a group that forcefully entered the clinic and blockaded two doors using furniture, chains, ropes and their bodies, according to the prosecution.

Darnell, who remained outside the clinic, streamed the activities to social media.

In doing so, all three defendants violated the FACE Act after using physical obstruction to injure, intimidate and interfere with the employees at the clinic, as well as a patient who was obtaining reproductive health services.

U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who presided over the trial of Marshall, Bell and Darnel, ordered all three defendants immediately detained as required by statute.

Sentencing for the trio will be scheduled at a later date, and each faces up to 11 years in prison, three years of probation and a fine of up to $350,000.

In August, five co-conspirators – Lauren Handy, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia.; John Hinshaw, 67, of Levittown, New York; Heather Idoni, 61, of Linden, Michigan; William Goodman, 52, of the Bronx, New York; and Herb Geraghty, 25, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – were convicted on the same charges, and another co-defendant, Jay Smith, pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10 months in prison plus three years of probation.

Prosecutors argued in all the cases that the pro-life activists violated the 1994 FACE Act, a federal law implemented under former President Clinton that prohibits physical force, threats of force or intentionally damaging property to prevent someone from obtaining or providing abortion services. 

Prior to the trial, Darnell, said he would plead not guilty.

‘I am definitely not guilty of the charges leveled against me, which is rather ironic that I should find myself in this position,’ Darnel, a professed Christian, told Fox News Digital in an interview. ‘Nevertheless, if a jury finds me guilty of FACE even erroneously, it would be an honor because the kids are worthy of protection.’

Hunter Biden is battling federal prosecutors in trying to have his initial court appearance on federal firearm charges held via video conference, according to an order filed by a federal judge on Monday.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher J. Burke issued the order asking Hunter’s lawyers to explain no later than Tuesday why they want his arraignment held via video conference – a request prosecutors have opposed, Burke wrote.

The judge gave prosecutors until Wednesday to provide a reason why the arraignment should happen in person.

Biden could face up to 25 years in prison for federal firearm charges announced last week, including making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm, which carries a maximum of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

The second count, a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer, can garner up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

The third count, possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, can land up to a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release, according to the documents. 

The counts combine to carry a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. Special counsel David Weiss, a Donald Trump appointee, has overlooked the investigation.

Meanwhile, Biden’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against the IRS on Monday, alleging that agents have ‘targeted and sought to embarrass’ the president’s son.

Biden’s Monday morning filing cites two major examples in IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, two whistleblowers who claimed the IRS mishandled aspects of its investigation into Biden.

Shapley and Zielger testified before the House Oversight Committee earlier this year, saying they faced various limitations when tasked with investigating the president’s son.

Biden’s lawsuit argues the pair’s status as whistleblowers ‘cannot and does not shield them from their wrongful conduct in making unauthorized public disclosures that are not permitted by the whistleblower process.’

Shapley’s legal team responded to Biden’s lawsuit in a statement Monday morning, dismissing the move as a stalling tactic.

‘This suit against the IRS is just another frivolous smear by Biden family attorneys trying to turn people’s attention away from Hunter Biden’s own legal problems and intimidate any current and future whistleblower,’ Shapley’s attorneys wrote. 

‘The federal judge in Delaware who oversaw the aborted plea deal shot down similar claims against the whistleblowers after they exposed the secret backroom deal between Hunter Biden and the Department of Justice. Neither IRS SSA Gary Shapley nor his attorneys have ever released any confidential taxpayer information except through whistleblower disclosures authorized by statute. Once Congress released that testimony, like every American citizen, he has a right to discuss that public information.’

Hunter’s lawyer did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.

Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall, David Spunt, Anders Hagstrom and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis fired back at Speaker Kevin McCarthy after the Republican lawmaker said he is not at the ‘same level’ as former President Donald Trump and that Trump would be the GOP nominee. 

‘I think if you look at what’s happened with D.C. Republicans, they worked very closely. Look, Donald Trump, he supported Kevin McCarthy very strongly for speaker. I don’t think he would have won the speaker vote. Donald Trump was instrumental in him earning that speaker’s gavel,’ DeSantis told a reporter on Monday.

He added that Trump and McCarthy were on the ‘same team’ on ‘every major spending bill’ that added $7.8 trillion to the national debt.

‘Never in a four-year period has that much been added than what they did together. And so he (McCarthy) said we’re different. We are different, because in Florida, we run budget surpluses, We’ve paid down nearly 25% of our state’s debt just since I’ve been governor,’ said DeSantis.

‘I am not somebody who the D.C. establishment wants to see up there,’ he continued. ‘There’s no question about that because they know that a lot of things will be changing if I’m there.’

‘It’s understandable that the DC Establishment doesn’t want me to be president — and I wear that as a badge of honor,’ DeSantis posted on social media with a clip of his remarks.

DeSantis’ comments follow Sunday remarks from McCarthy on Fox News’ ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ with host Maria Bartiromo, where the Republican leader said that Trump will be the GOP nominee and said DeSantis is ‘not at the same level’ as Trump. 

‘President Trump is beating Biden right now in the polls. He is stronger than he has ever been in this process, and, look, I served with Ron DeSantis — he’s not at the same level as President Trump by any shape or form,’ McCarthy said. ‘He would not have gotten elected without President Trump’s endorsement.’

The Trump campaign and McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The trolling of former Vice President Mike Pence by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramswamy’s campaign was called out by X on Monday after the social media giant added a ‘community note’ to the latter’s claim that the former was ‘copying’ one of his ‘revolutionary ideas.’

‘Hey [Mike Pence]. You get an ‘F’ for copying [Vivek Ramaswamy’s] homework. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it’s not cool to rip off his revolutionary ideas and pawn them off as your own. Don’t blame you. Vivek is super smart. [Harvard] and [Yale Law School] degrees,’ the Ramaswamy campaign’s war room wrote over the weekend in response to Pence vowing to ‘shut down the Department of Education.’

However, the X note pointed to former President Ronald Reagan as the one who originally called for the shutting down of the Education Department during his 1982 State of the Union speech. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, cited by X in its note, Reagan said he believed ‘decisions about education should be made at the local level and that the federal government should play only a minor role in the nation’s schools.’

In its post roasting Pence, the Ramaswamy campaign pointed to a separate X post by Ramaswamy from Feb. 28 with a promise to shut down the Education Department, well before Pence began pushing the policy as part of his own presidential campaign, which he didn’t launch until June.

Pence made the policy promise just days after Ramaswamy had given a speech to the America First Policy Institute detailing his own plan for shutting down the Education Department in what his campaign told Fox News Digital was given with ‘unprecedented detail.’

A spokesperson for the Ramaswamy campaign told Fox that Republican calls to end federal agencies, such as the Education Department, weren’t new, but that the level of detail Ramaswamy has been offering on the campaign trail was something that was so far unseen.

Fox has reached out to the Pence campaign for comment.

The Biden administration proposed to block of thousands of acres from future oil drilling or mining in northern New Mexico in an effort to protect Native American lands.

According to the Department of the Interior (DOI), the proposal would ban new mining claims and oil and gas development across more than 4,200 acres in Sandoval County, New Mexico, located north of Albuquerque. If finalized and implemented, the action would remain in place for up to 50 years.

‘Today we’re responding to call from Tribes, elected leaders, and community members who want to see these public lands protected,’ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. ‘We look forward to hearing more from the public to inform decisions about how activities, like gravel mining, may impact these lands, including the important cultural and natural resources.’

‘We recognize the importance of the Placitas area, both for Tribal Nations and for the local community who visit and recreate in this area,’ added Melanie Barnes, the state director of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) New Mexico office.

In its proposal, the BLM stated that the action was designed to ‘protect, preserve, and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values, and wildlife habitat connectivity’ in the region. 

The DOI said the Pueblo tribes of San Felipe and Santa Ana have previously advocated for protections in the area which contains archeological resources from hundreds of years ago. The area is also popular for hiking, camping, sightseeing and hunting.  

In 2019, Haaland, who at the time served in Congress and as vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Buffalo Tract Protection Act which would mimic the actions taken Monday. At the time, Haaland said residents and tribal citizens in the region bear the brunt of pollution produced from the area’s many mines.

Earlier this year, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., reintroduced the legislation. The pair have also repeatedly called on the DOI to take action blocking mineral development in Sandoval County.

‘It is time we put an end to this years-long debate and withdraw these parcels from future mineral development,’ Heinrich said during a March event in Albuquerque alongside Stansbury.

Using information available from the BLM, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report on the Buffalo Tract Protection Act in August concluding that the area impacted by the mineral ban has high potential for sand and gravel extraction and minimal potential for development of other minerals. Sand and gravel extraction is key for various infrastructure projects like roads.

The report projected the land withdrawal would result in a decrease of $2 million in federal revenue.

FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation late Monday that would allow the Department of Education to fund elementary and secondary school hunting or archery programs.

The lawmakers — Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz. — introduced the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act in an effort to clarify language in existing law that the Biden administration has interpreted to crack down on extracurricular programs including hunting, archery, other shooting sports and even culinary arts.

‘The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act made historic investments in mental health and school hardening while preserving law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights, and the Biden administration’s misinterpretation of the law is unacceptable,’ Cornyn said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

‘Educational enrichment programs like hunting and archery are critical to our next generation’s development and well-being, and this legislation would ensure they remain available in schools across the nation,’ he continued.

Fox News Digital reported in July that the Education Department shared federal guidance to hunting education groups highlighting that hunting and archery programs in schools would be stripped of funding. The guidance explained that the administration interpreted the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to mean such programs can no longer receive taxpayer funds.

In the guidance, obtained first by Fox News Digital, senior agency official Sarah Martinez wrote that archery, hunter education and wilderness safety courses use weapons that are ‘technically dangerous weapons’ and therefore ‘may not be funded under’ the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is the primary source of federal aid for elementary and secondary education across the country.

According to advocates, many schools that offer such courses have already nixed them from curriculums due to the federal guidance.

However, Cornyn, Tillis and Sinema are three of the BSCA’s four lead sponsors and have raised the alarm that the Department of Education is misinterpreting their bill. Cornyn and Tillis first raised the issue in a July 10 letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in which they called for the agency to resume funding shooting sports activities.

‘School-based archery and hunting safety courses help Arizona students learn and grow while enjoying the outdoors,’ Sinema said on Monday. ‘We’re ensuring the Administration follows the law we wrote so Arizonans can continue to benefit from these educational courses.’

‘The Biden Administration’s partisan interpretation of BSCA to eliminate hunting education in schools is a slap in the face to millions of Americans, particularly in rural areas, and discourages bipartisan cooperation in Congress,’ Tillis added. ‘Hunting education programs have wide bipartisan support in Congress, and I encourage my colleagues to quickly pass this legislation to ensure gun-grabbing Biden officials have no room for misinterpretation.’

In addition, Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio have joined dozens of Republicans in expressing concern about the Biden administration’s actions.

The BSCA — a bill that was criticized as a ‘gun control’ bill but touted by proponents as an effort to promote ‘safer, more inclusive and positive’ schools — was passed overwhelmingly by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in June 2022 after mass shootings at a grocery market in Buffalo, New York, and a school in Uvalde, Texas.

The law included an amendment to a subsection in the ESEA listing prohibited uses for federal school funding. That amendment prohibits ESEA funds from helping provide any person with a dangerous weapon or to provide ‘training in the use of a dangerous weapon,’ but, according to Cornyn, was included to prevent ESEA funding for school resource officer training.

Companion legislation to the bill introduced Monday by Cornyn, Tillis and Sinema was introduced in August by Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., and recently passed out of the House Education and Workforce Committee.

‘This is a win for our nation’s students who choose to participate in shooting sports. Defunding shooting sports in schools would be a disservice to students,’ Green said last week.

Cornyn, joined by six Republicans and 11 Democrats, also sent a letter to leaders on key appropriations committees earlier this month, calling on them to include language in the upcoming FY24 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill to reject the Education Department’s interpretation of BSCA.

That letter was signed by Tillis, Sinema and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the other BSCA sponsor.