A Democratic congressman began a ‘thirst strike’ on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to protest a Texas law critics say will override local ordinances such as mandatory water breaks for people working in the heat and to call for federal protections for those who work in hot temperatures. 

Rep. Greg Casar, whose congressional district includes parts of Austin and San Antonio, tweeted a photo of himself Tuesday with civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, while taking his last sip of water before his all-day strike. 

‘Just took my last drink of water before my thirst strike with the one and only, Dolores Huerta. #WorkersCantWait,’ he captioned the image. 

Casar planned to abstain from liquids to call for a federal heat rule to protect workers as record-setting temperatures continue to break across the country. The forecast in Washington D.C. was expected to reach 90 degrees on Tuesday. 

‘Today I’m on a thirst strike on the steps of the U.S. Capitol—not drinking water or taking breaks, through rain or shine, in solidarity with our nation’s workers,’ Casar said in another tweet. ‘Currently there are NO federal protections for workers exposed to heat.’

In a letter signed by more than 110 Democrats, Casar demanded the Biden Administration implement an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace heat standard as soon as possible.

The signatories noted a law recently signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott they claim would strip power from cities and could eliminate existing heat protections in Dallas and Austin.

‘Our nation—and my home state of Texas—is experiencing a historic heatwave—exposing workers to deadly 100°+ temperatures,’ Casar tweeted. ‘Yet in the middle of this heatwave, @GregAbbott_TX signed a law *eliminating* workers rights to water breaks.’

House Bill 2127 doesn’t mention water breaks specifically but prohibits cities across the state from creating rules that go beyond state law. Currently, there are no federal or state rules that require employers to provide paid water breaks. The law is intended to prevent what is described as a ‘patchwork of regulations that apply inconsistently across this state’ 

During Tuesday’s thirst strike, several progressive Democrats were seen showing support for Casar, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Silvia Garcia, Hakeem Jeffries, Maxwell Frost and Ilhan Omar.

‘In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, workers shouldn’t be dying from heat-related illnesses. Proud to join this effort led by @GregCasar,’ Omar tweeted. 

Casar said he spoke with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, who said the White House was ‘working hard to get a federal heat standard done, and it’s up to us to fight corporate greed so they can get it done.’

President Biden brushed off and smiled at reporters who peppered him with questions Tuesday evening about a potential impeachment by Republicans in the House.

Following a speech in the East Room of the White House about expanding access to mental health care, Biden made his way to the exit where a group of reporters eagerly asked for his thoughts about the growing discussion by Republicans to impeach him.

Amid numerous questions, one reporter asked, ‘Mr. President, McCarthy says he may [consider] an impeachment inquiry to get to the bottom of —’

Smiling from ear to ear in one clip shared to social media, Biden quickly passed by the noisy group of reporters.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says Republican lawmakers may consider an impeachment inquiry of Biden over claims of financial misconduct.

Speaking Tuesday at the Capitol, McCarthy said the questions House Republicans are raising about the Biden family finances need to be investigated. He said an impeachment inquiry ‘allows Congress to get the information to be able to know the truth’ about whether Biden committed any wrongdoing.

An impeachment inquiry by the House would be a first step toward bringing articles of impeachment. Such a probe could be as lengthy or swift as the House determines, potentially stretching into campaign season.

Other Republicans also appear to be on board with the idea of impeachment, specifically House Freedom Caucus members.

‘When he does speak to … impeachment, it carries a tremendous amount of weight. And that’s why I think the ground shifted on that a little bit when he opened up the door,’ Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said after a Freedom Caucus press conference on Tuesday. ‘I don’t think there’s any question that him speaking to that has caused a paradigm shift.’

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., suggested there would be ‘an uprising’ against Biden if the House did not move forward with trying to remove him.

‘Look, the evidence is mounting against this guy. Look at what he’s done,’ Norman said. ‘What Donald Trump’s done with papers pales in comparison.’

Norman said there was a ‘difference of opinion’ on whether to take such a severe step but dismissed the idea of risking an impeachment vote that fails.

‘Some people think that what he’s done isn’t that bad. A lot of us in general — the public, it’s gonna be an uprising against this guy, I think, at the end of the day.’

McCarthy predicted Monday that Republicans will gather enough evidence soon to mount an impeachment inquiry against Biden, as the corruption scandal enveloping him and his son Hunter continues to grow.

McCarthy made reference to a relatively new revelation from the House Oversight Committee that — while Joe was vice president — Hunter Biden ‘capitalized’ on a financial relationship with a Romanian national later convicted on corruption charges.

According to prepared remarks from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., in June, the Bidens received more than $1 million in 17 increments.

McCarthy, during an appearance on Fox News, said that 16 of those 17 payments went to what he described as ‘Biden shell companies’ while President Biden was vice president. According to Comer’s prepared remarks, the elder Biden had been ‘lecturing Romania on anti-corruption policies’ while instead being a ‘walking billboard for his … family to collect money.’

‘When President Biden was running for office, he told the American public that he’s never talked about [Hunter’s] business. He said his family has never received a dollar from China, which we now prove is not true,’ McCarthy said on ‘Hannity.’

He said evidence and legitimacy of their caucus’ probes are mounting, as he described the two IRS investigators who testified before Congress last week as ‘some of the most credible’ to come forward.

McCarthy cited the FBI 1023 form wherein a confidential human source told the bureau that Biden was paid $5 million by a Burisma executive while he was vice president and while Hunter was on the board.

Biden has long denied discussion or involvement in Hunter’s business deals, recently rebuffing a New York Post reporter who asked why he is reportedly referred to as the ‘big guy’ in the FBI form — which is the same nickname purportedly used as a pseudonym in a message gleaned from previously released documentation connected to Hunter.

McCarthy on Tuesday gave no timeline for launching an impeachment inquiry into Biden.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A proposal to legalize adult use of marijuana in Ohio narrowly fell short Tuesday of the signatures it needed to make the fall statewide ballot. Backers will have 10 days, or until Aug. 4, to gather more.

Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose determined the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol was short by just 679 signatures of the 124,046 signatures required to put the question before voters on Nov. 7.

Tom Haren, a coalition spokesperson, said he was confident the group could find the signatures by the Aug. 4 deadline.

‘It looks like we came up a little short in this first phase, but now we have 10 days to find just 679 voters to sign a supplemental petition — this is going to be easy, because a majority of Ohioans support our proposal to regulate and tax adult use marijuana,’ Haren said in a statement.

If the initiative makes the November ballot, a simple majority vote is required for it to pass.

LaRose’s declaration marks just the latest twist in the proposal’s long fight to become law.

LaRose first submitted petitions to the Ohio General Assembly on behalf of the coalition in January 2022, triggering a four-month countdown for lawmakers to act. Republican legislative leaders didn’t, and lawmakers asserted that the group’s petitions had arrived too late for 2022 ballots.

A lawsuit and settlement ensued under which the group agreed to wait until this year.

The ballot measure proposes allowing adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10% tax would support administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries and social equity and jobs programs.

If the issue passes, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize cannabis for adult use. The outcome of a special election Aug. 8 on whether to raise the bar for passing future constitutional amendments wouldn’t impact the marijuana question, since it was advanced through the citizen initiated statute process.

Ohio’s Legislature legalized medical marijuana in 2016, and the state’s first dispensaries opened in 2019.

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MANCHESTER, N.H. – Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says comments from Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina – one of his rivals for 2024 Republican presidential nomination – that former President Donald Trump isn’t responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol are ‘ridiculous.’

And Christie, who’s making his second White House bid after unsuccessfully running in the 2016 cycle, said he’s going to target Trump at next month’s first Republican presidential nomination debate whether ‘he’s on the stage or he’s not on the stage.’

Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, has seen his poll numbers edge up in the latest surveys in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that hold the first two contests in the GOP presidential nominating calendar. That’s led some super PACs supporting rival candidates to start placing a bullseye on the senator’s back.

In an interview last week with WMUR-TV in New Hampshire, Scott was asked about the storming of the U.S. Capitol two and a half years ago by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters who unsuccessfully attempted to halt congressional certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory over Trump in the 2020 election.

Last week the former president was informed – in a letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office – that he’s a target of a probe into the deadly attack on the Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Scott said that ‘Jan. 6 was a dark day for our nation.’

But he added that ‘I hold the folks who broke into the Capitol with ill will in their hearts, destroying property, responsible for their actions. I don’t hold the former president, who didn’t show up at Capitol and threaten my life, as responsible.’

‘I can only hold responsible the very people who threatened my life and the former president did not threaten my life,’ Scott emphasized.

Christie, in a Fox News Digital interview Monday as he arrived in New Hampshire for a busy two-day campaign swing, argued that ‘Tim saying that Donald Trump’s not responsible for what happened on Jan. 6. It’s ridiculous.’

Pointing to Trump, Christie said the then-president ‘invited all those people to come to a rally on the Ellipse on Jan. 6. He went out there and told them again that the election had been stolen. He urged them to march with him to the Capitol to stop it.’

‘I’m disappointed in Tim that he won’t at least say that Donald Trump’s responsible for that. Whether he’s criminally accountable or not is something that the courts will decide and the special counsel will decide and he’ll have a full ability to defend himself. That’s not what I’m talking about,’ Christie reiterated. ‘Is he responsible and Tim should answer that question. Is he responsible for it or isn’t he?’ 

And Christie charged ‘that’s what people are tired of already in this race is all these folks – good men like Tim Scott who are afraid to tell the truth about Donald Trump. I’m in this race because somebody has to.’

Christie’s campaign says the former governor has met the polling and donor thresholds mandated by the Republican National Committee for candidates to reach in order to make the stage at the first debate. Fox News is hosting the August 23 showdown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Christie has said for months that he’s the best equipped candidate in the large field of GOP presidential contenders to take down Trump at the primary debates, thanks to his in-your-face campaign chops and his experience from the 2016 Republican presidential primary debate fireworks.

But Trump has indicated that due to his large lead over the rest of the field, he may skip the first couple of debates.

That doesn’t appear to phase Christie.

Christie told Fox News that if Trump’s not on the stage at the first debate, it ‘makes my life even better because then I won’t have to talk over him. You know him. He loves to interrupt everybody. So, my biggest debate prep would be to get my voice even louder than his, so I could talk over him.’

‘Look – I’m going to talk about Donald Trump and his record whether he’s on the stage or he’s not on the stage. So, my suggestion to him is get on the stage’ so that the former president can defend himself and his record in office.

Christie emphasized that Trump’s ‘better off in my opinion being on the stage to defend that because if he’s not I’m still going to talk about it.’

Hunter Biden’s artwork has reportedly brought in at least $1.3 million and one of the buyers was a prominent Democratic donor who was appointed by President Joe Biden to a prestigious commission. 

Documents obtained by Business Insider showed that the buyer is Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a real estate investor from Los Angeles. 

President Biden appointed Hirsh Naftali to the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in July 2022 – eight months after the first son’s first art opening. It’s not clear, however, whether her purchase came before or after the appointment. 

Naftali is a prominent Democratic donor, having donated more than $200,000 to the Biden Victory Fund during the 2020 election cycle and over $30,000 to the Democratic National Committee this year. She also maxed out to the Biden campaign with two $3,300 donations in April of this year.

The documents obtained by Business Insider also indicate another buyer purchased Hunter Biden’s artwork for $875,000 though their identity has not been revealed. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House, the Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, and Hunter Biden’s legal counsel for comment. 

Biden’s counsel Abe Lowell told Business Insider that the gallery ‘sets the pricing and handles all sales based on the highest ethical standards of the industry, and does not disclose the names of any purchasers to Mr. Biden.’ 

The report comes as the House Oversight Committee, House Judiciary Committee, and House Ways and Means Committee are conducting a joint investigation into the federal probe into Hunter Biden, and whether prosecutorial decisions were influenced by politics. 

House Republicans on Tuesday will advance a spending bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs and related agencies that they hope can be used to roll back the Biden administration’s policies on abortion, transgender health care and other lightning-rod issues.

The White House said Monday in a statement that it would veto the bill because it would result in ‘devastating consequences, including harming access to reproductive health care, threatening the health and safety of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Americans, endangering marriage equality, hindering critical climate change initiatives, and preventing the administration from promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.’

But the spending bill is expected to come to the House floor for a vote this week before lawmakers leave for a month-long recess. And it may become even more objectionable to the White House depending on which amendments from conservative lawmakers get a vote and are attached to the bill.

Below are six amendments that Republicans are proposing for the $152 billion spending bill, which amounts to an $18 billion increase from last year’s bill.

Stopping military from removing Confederate symbols

One amendment offered by Reps. Bob Good of Virgina and Andrew Clyde of Georgia would prevent the government from spending money to implement the recommendations made by the Pentagon’s Naming Commission, a congressionally approved panel tasked with recommending new labels for military assets, including bases, named after Confederate icons.

The commission was the result of a bipartisan effort in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. The Department of Defense began implementing its recommendations this year.

A similar amendment by Good to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) failed last week.

Blocking funds for gender-affirming surgeries

An amendment from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia would stop federal dollars from going toward ‘any sex altering surgical procedure’ under the purview of the Department of Veterans Affairs. A similar amendment had already been adopted in the House Appropriations Committee in June.

VA Secretary Denis McDonough announced in 2021 that his department’s health care would cover gender surgery for trans veterans.

An amendment also taking aim at gender ideology by Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado could also get a vote. Boebert’s provision would ban federal funding from going toward a VA program called ‘Managing Gender Diversity in the Department of Veterans Affairs.’

Withholding funding from drag shows

Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana submitted an amendment aimed at blocking any funds in the Veterans Affairs spending bill from being used to promote adult cabaret performances or LGBTQ-themed events.

The Pentagon banned drag show performances on military bases this summer. It was a long-standing policy only enforced after intense pressure from GOP lawmakers, who claimed that such forms of expression, along with initiatives by Biden’s Pentagon to focus on equity and diversity, have hurt recruitment efforts during a widespread military personnel shortage.

Prohibiting funds for ESG initiatives

Environmental, social and governance investing (ESG) has been in the crosshairs of GOP lawmakers who argue that it’s a way for big businesses to impose a progressive agenda on the country.

An amendment to the veterans funding bill by Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas would block Veterans Affairs from establishing any kind of advisory panel on the subject of ESG.

No such advisory committee currently exists at the VA, but an advisory committee on environmental hazards is listed on the department’s website as ‘administratively inactive.’

Curbing abortion access

One of several amendments offered by Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee ‘eliminates exceptions to abortion funding in the bill.’

The bill itself includes language to prevent federal funding from going toward abortion except for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother.

Ogles’ proposal is one of two abortion-related amendments in the bill. Greene introduced a measure that would restrict abortion and abortion-related services as well as stop those dollars from going to a different agency to carry out such procedures.

Banning Biden’s climate change policies

An amendment from Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Kat Cammack of Florida broadly blocks any federal dollars granted by this bill from being used to roll out Biden’s climate change initiatives. Roy is one of the three conservatives on the Rules Committee that will consider which of dozens of amendments will be able to get a vote on the House floor.

Roy’s language would put a stop to the Biden administration’s plan to replace the VA’s roughly 22,000-vehicle fleet with zero-emission vehicles, something Boebert is also trying to block in her own amendment to the spending bill.

The Senate is encouraging the Pentagon to quickly develop artificial intelligence-driven ‘wearable’ neural sensors that would be used to transmit data to commanders about the physical and mental status of soldiers in the field.

The Senate Armed Services Committee released its annual defense policy bill this month, which was accompanied by a report that said senators in both parties want the Pentagon to move faster to deliver this piece of AI technology to potentially hundreds of thousands of U.S. warfighters.

‘The committee encourages the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering to accelerate funding for the development of dual-purpose wearable neural biosensor technologies via the National Network for Microelectronics Research and Development to support broader transition to the services,’ the committee said in its report on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The report said an Army office that develops standards for soldiers in the field and a joint office that deals with a range of defense equipment are developing the sorts of biometric data that they want these sensors to report. The Pentagon declined to give Fox News Digital an estimate of when that work might be completed but did outline how an AI assessment of data collected by these sensors might help commanders make military decisions.

‘Wearable systems gather real-time data from warfighters that can give them and their commanders information on important predictors of performance such as fatigue, dehydration, nutritional status, heat stress, illness, or possible exposure to harmful chemicals or biological organisms,’ a Defense Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

The Senate report said AI-driven sensors could be used to track those sorts of data among several defense groups, including security forces, aviators and unmanned system pilots. Senators estimated they might eventually be used to track and assess data on ‘500,000 warfighters.’

The Senate push to use this AI technology comes even as some in Congress continue to look for ways to ensure these systems are safe and effective. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., continues to talk about an AI bill but has said he wants senators to meet with more experts first in the fall before putting out a bill.

Just last week, President Biden announced that seven AI developers agreed to guidelines aimed at creating AI systems that are safe, secure and trustworthy.

But there is just as much pressure on lawmakers to ensure the U.S. starts using these AI systems to stay ahead of China and other adversaries. The House-passed NDAA, for example, encourages the Navy to incorporate AI into its logistics plan, pushes the Army to develop autonomous combat vehicles and asks the whole department to research how AI can be used to bolster U.S. national security.

The Pentagon has so far shown it won’t need much encouragement to adopt this new technology. The Army said in January that it recently announced a contract opportunity for a company to examine a range of automation tasks using AI and machine learning, plus another contract for companies developing wearable radiation sensors.

‘Trusted AI and autonomy technologies could help the Army streamline several tactical processes,’ said Dr. Matt Willis, director of Army prize competitions in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. ‘We need to make sure soldiers have the most advanced technological and strategic capabilities.’

Stephanie Brown, the enhanced soldier program manager for the Army, said in June that efforts are being made to collect and use a wide range of data about the battlefield and the soldiers themselves by using AI and machine learning.

‘The Army needs technology to sense everything about the battlefield, including the soldiers themselves, in real time,’ she told Fierce Electronics. ‘In parallel to sensing, we need to develop AI/ML algorithms to help understand the data being sensed.’

‘In general, this may allow us to reduce risk and injury to our soldiers and protect our people,’ Brown said. ‘For example, some of the wearable sensors could provide health monitoring and casualty care, to include triage information to assist medics with injury identification, classification and treatment.’

FIRST ON FOX: It was an Iowa invitation that nearly all the GOP presidential candidates found hard to turn down.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds invited the entire field of more than a dozen Republican White House hopefuls to join her for ‘Fair Side Chats’ next month at the Iowa State Fair.

Nearly everyone accepted the invitation to take part in the one-on-one interviews in the state that leads off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

In an announcement shared first with Fox News on Tuesday, Reynolds unveiled her schedule for the ‘Fair Side Chats,’ which includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence.

However, not on the list of attendees is former President Trump, who is the commanding front-runner in the latest GOP presidential nominations polls in Iowa, other early voting states and in national surveys, as he makes his third straight White House run.

Reynolds said the interviews will provide fairgoers ‘a unique opportunity to learn more about the candidates themselves as well as their policy priorities.’

‘I am so proud that I get to have the opportunity to introduce these candidates to Iowans at an event so near and dear to my heart,’ Reynolds added in a statement. ‘The Iowa State Fair showcases the best of Iowa – from our people to our culture and wonderful agriculture industry – and it’s the perfect venue for a conversation with the candidates.’

The Iowa State Fair – held annually in August at the state fairgrounds in Des Moines – has been a must-stop for decades for presidential contenders of both major political parties in the year ahead of the nominating contests.

Reynolds’ interviews will take place at JR’s South Pork Ranch at the fairgrounds.

Former nationally syndicated radio host and 2021 California recall election gubernatorial candidate Larry Edler is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 10, the first day of the state fair.

The next day – Friday, Aug. 11 – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (8:30 a.m. CT), Pence (9:30 a.m. CT), and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (10:30 a.m. CT) will join Reynolds.

Entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy (8:30 a.m. CT), Haley (9:30 a.m. CT), and DeSantis (10:30 a.m. CT) are scheduled to team up with Reynolds on Saturday, Aug. 12.

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (8:30 a.m. CT), Texas based businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley (9:30 a.m. CT) and Scott (10:30 a.m. CT) are scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Michigan businessman and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson (9:30 a.m. CT) and one-time CIA spy and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd (10:30 a.m. CT) will join the governor on Friday, Aug. 18.

Two weeks ago, Trump criticized Reynolds – a popular two-term governor – for staying neutral in the race for the GOP presidential nomination race.

‘I opened up the Governor position for Kim Reynolds, & when she fell behind, I ENDORSED her, did big Rallies, & she won. Now, she wants to remain ‘NEUTRAL.’ I don’t invite her to events! DeSanctus down 45 points!’ the former president wrote on Truth Social.

In 2017, Trump nominated longtime Republican Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad as U.S. ambassador to China. Reynolds – who was lieutenant governor at the time – succeeded Branstad as governor. Trump endorsed Reynolds ahead of her narrow election in 2018 to a full term in office. Reynolds was easily re-elected by 19 points last year.

Reynolds’ pledge to stay neutral in the presidential nomination race is in line with previous Iowa governors. Iowa’s all-Republican congressional delegation is also staying neutral as the large field of 2024 presidential contenders descends on their state.

The governor joined Trump in March in Davenport, as the former president made his first stop in Iowa as a 2024 candidate. Reynolds did not join Trump when he returned to the state in early June and again earlier this month.

Trump took plenty of incoming fire for his criticism of Reynolds, and a Republican state senator who had endorsed the former president switched his support to DeSantis due to the incident.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is making his second bid for the GOP nomination, is also not joining Reynolds.

Christie is concentrating his campaign on New Hampshire, which holds the first primary in the GOP calendar and the second contest overall following Iowa, and South Carolina, which votes third.

‘New Hampshire and South Carolina will be our main focus. And that’s what we’ve intended right from the beginning. You’ll see that’s what our travel reflects,’ Christie told Fox News on Monday. ‘I’m sure we’ll go to Iowa at some point, probably for a debate. But I’m going to spend my time here in New Hampshire and down in South Carolina.’

President Biden’s repeated insistence that he had no knowledge of his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings continues to crumble under the weight of allegations that he was frequently involved, including reported forthcoming testimony from one of Hunter’s longest friends and business partners that the then-vice president was on more than two dozen business calls with his son.

Devon Archer, a longtime friend and former business partner of Hunter Biden, is scheduled to sit for a transcribed interview before members of Congress next week. In addition to the expected testimony, Archer is likely to be asked about President Biden meeting with over a dozen of Hunter’s business associates while he was serving as vice president between 2009 and 2017.

Fox News Digital has confirmed that Archer has been subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee and is expected to sit down for a transcribed interview on July 31. The interview could cast further doubt on Biden’s repeated claims that he had no knowledge of his son’s foreign business dealings or of having any influence on them.

‘First of all, I have never discussed with my son or my brother or anyone else anything having to do with their business, period,’ Biden said in August 2019. ‘There wasn’t any hint of scandal at all when we were there. It was the same kind of strict, strict rules. That’s why I never talk with my son or my brother or anyone else, even distant family about their business interest, period.’

‘I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,’ a frustrated Biden told Fox News reporter Peter Doocy a month later. ‘You should be looking at Trump. Trump’s doing this because he knows I’ll beat him like a drum. … Everybody’s looked at it and said there’s nothing there. Ask the right question.’

‘I don’t discuss business with my son,’ Biden said again the next month in October 2019.

The House Ways and Means Committee released testimony in June from two IRS whistleblowers who claimed Justice Department, FBI and IRS officials interfered with the investigation into Hunter Biden and that prosecutorial decisions were ‘influenced by politics.’ 

One of the whistleblowers, IRS Criminal Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley, said that Hunter Biden invoked his father to pressure a Chinese business partner while discussing deals. Shapley oversaw the IRS probe into the president’s son and said the agency obtained a July 2017 WhatsApp message from Hunter to Harvest Fund Management CEO Henry Zhao showing Hunter alleging he was with his father to pressure Zhao to satisfy a pledge.

‘I am sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,’ Hunter wrote in the WhatsApp message to Zhao, according to the documents. ‘Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight,’ Hunter wrote. 

‘And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction,’ Hunter said.

Top House Republicans have described the WhatsApp messages as a ‘shakedown’ by the Biden family.

The whistleblower testimony came to light almost a year after reports surfaced on an alleged voicemail from President Biden to Hunter in which he purportedly discussed his son’s international business dealings.

‘Hey pal, it’s Dad. It’s 8:15 on Wednesday night. If you have a chance, give me a call. Nothing urgent—I just wanted to talk with you,’ Biden is heard saying in a voicemail from 2018. ‘I thought the article released online, it’s going to be printed tomorrow in the Times, was good. I think you’re clear.’

After the testimony was released last month, Biden snapped at a New York Post reporter when asked if he was ‘sitting there with’ his son or ‘involved’ during the alleged WhatsApp discussion with Zhao.

‘No. I wasn’t,’ Biden said before shouting, ‘No!’

However, photos from Hunter Biden’s laptop show he was at the then-vice president’s home in Delaware the same day of his alleged ‘shakedown’ messages, Fox News Digital reported Monday.

Photos on Hunter’s abandoned laptop taken on July 30, 2017, the same day as the threatening message to Zhao, show Hunter posing in the driver’s seat of Biden’s 1967 Corvette Stingray with two young girls in bikinis in the driveway of his father’s Wilmington, Delaware, home.

The photos call into question whether both Bidens were in the same house during the time of the July 30, 2017, discussion.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Miranda Devine, a New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor, reported Sunday evening that Archer, who co-founded Hunter’s now-dissolved investment firm Rosemont Seneca Partners, is expected to tell the House Oversight Committee about meetings he witnessed attended by both Bidens — Hunter and Joe — either in person or via telephone. 

Archer’s lawyer released a statement on Monday afternoon saying, ‘There have been many leaks and much speculation about Mr. Archer’s potential statement to the Oversight Committee, but next week, Mr. Archer will get to speak for himself.’

During the meetings, Hunter would specifically introduce his father to foreign business partners or prospective investors, Archer is expected to testify. He also is expected to tell the committee about other instances — as many as two dozen times in Archer’s presence — where Hunter called his father and put him on speaker to impress prospective investors, Devine reported.

The committee invited Archer to testify as he was sentenced last year to one year in prison for his role in a $60 million bond fraud involving various clients. At least three previously planned dispositions were canceled by Archer for personal reasons.

‘Joe Biden lied to the American people when he said he knew nothing about his son’s business dealings,’ Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement. ‘Evidence continues to be revealed that Joe Biden was very much involved in his family’s corrupt influence peddling schemes and he likely benefited financially. This includes deals with a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch and a CCP-linked energy company that generated millions for the Bidens and undermined American interests.

‘It certainly appears that Joe Biden and his family put themselves first and Americans last, but corporate media and the Justice Department continue to cover up for the Bidens. The Oversight Committee will continue to follow the facts to provide the transparency and accountability that the American people demand and deserve. We look forward to speaking soon with Devon Archer about Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business affairs.’

In April, Fox News Digital reported that at least four business partners, a vice president and two assistants at Rosemont Seneca Partners visited the White House more than 80 times when Biden was vice president.

For instance, Archer, who was sentenced to federal prison last February for his role in a scheme to defraud a Native American tribe, visited Biden at least twice in 2009 and 2014 during his vice presidency. The December 2009 visit was a holiday reception at Biden’s vice presidential residence, and the April 2014 visit was with Biden in the West Wing. 

Archer also played golf with Biden and Hunter at least once during the Obama administration in August 2014 in the Hamptons, four months after Hunter and Archer joined the board of Burisma Holdings. A few days after Biden returned from the infamous December 2015 Ukraine trip, Archer also attended Biden’s holiday party at Biden’s vice presidential residence along with Hunter, his longtime business partner Eric Schwerim, and Sebastian Momtazi, who also had a Burisma.com email address.

Schwerin, the former president of Rosemont Seneca Partners, visited the White House when Biden was vice president at least 27 times and ‘managed almost every aspect’ of the Biden family’s financial life, according to Hunter’s ex-wife.

John Robinson ‘Rob’ Walker, another one of Hunter Biden’s former business partners at Rosemont Seneca Partners, appeared on the White House visitor logs at least 16 times when Biden was vice president. 

Walker’s name made headlines in March when House Oversight Committee Republicans released a memo saying they obtained records showing members of the Biden family received more than $1 million in payments from accounts related to Walker and their Chinese business ventures in 2017.

Biden previously denied his son ever received money from China.

‘My son has not made money in terms of this thing about, what are you talking about, China,’ Biden declared during the October 2020 debate against then-President Trump. ‘The only guy who made money from China is this guy. He’s the only one. Nobody else has made money from China.’

Biden also personally met with more than a dozen of Hunter Biden’s business associates from the U.S., Mexico, Ukraine, China and Kazakhstan over the course of his vice presidency, Fox News Digital previously reported.

On March 2, 2012, Biden met with Schwerin and the former president of Columbia, Andrés Pastrana Arango, with whom Hunter at the time was trying to secure business deals with in the South American country, at Biden’s Naval Observatory residence.

Two of Hunter’s Mexican business associates, Miguel Aleman Velasco and Miguel Aleman Magnani, visited the West Wing on Feb. 26, 2014, according to the visitor logs, and Joe Biden was later photographed with Hunter giving Velasco and Magnani a tour of the White House Brady Press Briefing room.

Biden also attended a dinner with Hunter’s business associates from Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia at Café Milano in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 2015, records on Hunter’s abandoned laptop show.

Devine, the author of ‘Laptop from Hell,’ reported Archer is expected to testify on specific examples of Biden getting involved in his son’s business deals, including an evening meeting in Dubai on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015, which ultimately saw Hunter meeting with Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky and calling his dad during their conversation.

According to Devine, Archer, who was also a director, is expected to testify that the call between Joe, Hunter and Hunter’s business partners came after he and Hunter had dinner with the Burisma board at the Burj Al Arab Hotel. Archer and Hunter reportedly left the meeting and traveled to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach when Vadym Pozharskyi, a senior Burisma executive, called them and said Zlochevsky needed to urgently speak with Hunter.

The two Ukrainians then reportedly joined Hunter and Archer at the Four Seasons, where Pozharskyi specifically asked Hunter, ‘Can you ring your dad?’

According to Devine, Archer is expected to testify that Hunter called his father, who was in Washington, D.C., at the time, and introduced the Ukrainians by their first names. Then the younger Biden emphasized that the Burisma executives ‘need our support.’

Then-Vice President Biden acknowledged the Ukrainians, as he did in other calls with Hunter’s business partners, but kept the conversation brief, Archer is expected to testify.

Devine reported that committee members are likely to ask Archer about the context surrounding that meeting as three days after that conversation, on Dec. 9, 2015, then-Vice President Biden, who was former President Obama’s point man for Ukrainian issues, flew to Kyiv to address the Ukrainian parliament.

At the time, Zlochevsky was being investigated by Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin for corruption, and just two months later, Shokin seized four of Zlochevsky’s houses in Kyiv, two plots of land and a Rolls-Royce, Devine reported.

A month after the seizure, then-Vice President Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine unless Shokin was fired. Then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promptly fired Shokin.

Biden later bragged to the Council on Foreign Relations during an event in January 2018, saying, ‘I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, he got fired.’

Fox News previously reported that one month before then-Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine, a Burisma Holdings executive revealed the ‘ultimate purpose’ of Hunter Biden’s involvement with the Ukrainian energy company was to help the firm fight corruption charges levied against Zlochevsky. 

In February 2016, roughly two months after Biden’s trip and two months before Shokin’s firing, Hunter Biden thanked Zlochevsky in an email for ‘the beautiful birthday gifts,’ which he described as ‘far too extravagant.’ It is unclear what he received from the Ukrainian tycoon.

The White House has previously said the president never spoke to his son about his business dealings and had no knowledge of them. The president himself has also denied ever having spoken to his son about his business dealings or being involved in them.

However, a day after Biden’s forceful ‘No!’ on June 28, a statement from White House spokesperson from the White House Counsel’s Office, Ian Sams, appeared to deviate from the president’s previous denials.

‘As we have said many times before, the president was not in business with his son,’ Sams stated.

Republicans issued a letter following Sams’ statement saying there has been a ‘clear shift’ in messaging from the White House, and they are demanding to know whether that shift indicates the president knew more than he let on.

‘This statement deviates from previous White House statements and brings forward concerns that the president knew of his son’s foreign business deals,’ Comer, House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith wrote in a letter to White House Counsel Stuart Delery.

Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall, Aubrie Spady, Brianna Herlihy, Brooke Singman and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.

The Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate met in a special session Monday and overrode GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt’s vetoes of two bills to extend existing agreements with Native American tribes for another year.

The overrides were the latest development in an ongoing dispute between Stitt and several Oklahoma-based tribes. Stitt, himself a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, wants to renegotiate tribal compacts on the sale of tobacco products and the issuance of motor vehicle tags by tribes.

Several of the state’s most powerful tribal leaders were in the gallery during Monday’s debate and praised the Senate for overriding the governor’s vetoes.

Stitt has raised concerns that the existing compact language needs to be rewritten in light of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that led to the reservation boundaries of several Oklahoma-based tribes being upheld.

‘I am trying to protect eastern Oklahoma from turning into a reservation, and I’ve been working to ensure these compacts are the best deal for all four million Oklahomans,’ Stitt said in a statement.

The two bills he vetoed would extend those compacts for another year. Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat said he wants to give the governor more time to renegotiate the terms of the deal and has been openly critical of Stitt’s disputes with the tribes. Treat also said he would consider changing state law to give the Legislature a greater role in compact negotiations if the governor doesn’t negotiate in good faith.

The bill to extend the compact over the sale of tobacco still must be overridden by the House, which is expected to meet July 31.

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