The highly-anticipated debt ceiling package House Republicans and President Biden announced on Sunday includes a provision fast-tracking a massive 303-mile West Virginia-to-Virginia natural gas pipeline project for approval.

The unexpected carveout green-lighting the billion-dollar Mountain Valley Pipeline — which is 94% complete, but has been mired in a lengthy permitting process for years — was immediately cheered by West Virginia lawmakers who have touted the project’s expected economic benefits for years. The pipeline is projected to create 2,500 construction jobs, $40 million in new tax revenue for West Virginia, $10 million in new tax revenue for Virginia and up to $250 million in royalties for West Virginia landowners.

‘After working with Speaker McCarthy and reiterating what completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline would mean for American jobs and domestic energy production, I am thrilled it is included in the debt ceiling package that avoids default,’ Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., the ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, said in a statement.

‘Despite delay after delay, we continued to fight to get this critical natural gas pipeline up and running, and its inclusion in this deal is a significant victory for the future of West Virginia,’ she added.

According to a spokesperson for Capito, the pipeline’s approval was ultimately earmarked in the debt ceiling deal after she personally engaged with McCarthy about its importance. The spokesperson added that the entire congressional delegation from West Virginia had pushed for its inclusion in the package.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, also applauded House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for ensuring the project was included in the deal. Manchin’s attempts last year to fast-track the pipeline in a budget package in September and a defense spending package in December both failed to garner enough support.

‘Last summer, I introduced legislation to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline,’ Manchin said Sunday. ‘I am pleased Speaker McCarthy and his leadership team see the tremendous value in completing the MVP to increase domestic energy production and drive down costs across America and especially in West Virginia.’

He added: ‘I am proud to have fought for this critical project and to have secured the bipartisan support necessary to get it across the finish line.’

Overall, the pipeline is projected to transport approximately 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from West Virginia to consumers in the Mid- and South Atlantic.

The budget deal, meanwhile, comes less than a week after both the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service provided the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s developer with key authorizations to proceed with construction through a three-mile stretch of the Jefferson National Forest along the West Virginia-Virginia border.

However, both agencies said pipeline construction in the forest area wasn’t allowed to take place until all outstanding permits were awarded. The project has yet to receive required authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently being challenged in court and environmental groups have vowed further litigation over the project.

‘Since coming to Congress, I’ve worked tirelessly alongside my West Virginia colleagues to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline,’ Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., said. ‘Finally, Republicans and Democrats are coming together to finish the Mountain Valley Pipeline which will create more jobs, lower energy costs, and protect our environment. This bill is a bipartisan win for every American.’

The budget deal, which now must be passed in the House and Senate to avoid a U.S. default, is likely to face some blowback from eco groups and Democrats who have opposed the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Biden said Sunday that neither side got everything they wanted from the deal and that was the ‘responsibility of governing.’

‘The agreement also represents a compromise, which means no one got everything they want,’ the president explained. ‘And the — this is a deal that’s good news for, I believe you’ll see, for the American people.’

Washington leaders responded on Sunday to the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, a deal reached between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Biden to evade defaulting on the country’s financial obligations.

Both McCarthy and Biden held their posture as long as they could with a looming deadline of June 5, and on Sunday, reached a final agreement with just days to spare.

‘The Fiscal Responsibility Act does what is responsible for our kids, what is possible in divided government, & what is required by our principles,’ McCarthy said on Twitter. ‘Republican resolve achieved this transformative change to how Washington works.’

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky issued a statement in response to the agreement on Sunday evening.

‘The United States of America will not default on its debt,’ he said. ‘Today’s agreement makes urgent progress toward preserving our nation’s full faith and credit and a much-needed step toward getting its financial house in order.’

McConnell added he was grateful for McCarthy and other House Republicans for working to ensure the debt limit increase includes steps to ‘rein in’ the reckless spending of Democrats in Washington, D.C.

‘This agreement the Speaker reached with President Bident sets meaningful limits on the Administration’s spending agenda,’ McConnell said. ‘At the same time, it secures permitting reforms and introduces the link between federal assistance and work.’

As a unit, McCarthy and other House GOP leaders – Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)  – issued a statement regarding the new bill.

The group credits House Republicans with stopping ‘out-of-control’ spending that has crippled family budgets by securing a series of historic wins.

Those wins, the group said, include cutting spending year-over year for the first time in over 10 years while funding national defense and health benefits for veterans, and ‘clawing back billions’ of unspent COVID funds.

READ THE TEXT HERE:

‘We enact for the first time into law ‘Pay-Go’ rules for the Executive Branch, which forces the Executive Branch to find dollar-for-dollar savings in government for costly rules and regulations, so that executive overreach is reined in and held accountable,’ the statement reads. ‘We are just 140 days into this Republican majority. And we’re just getting started.’

But not all Republican House members were ready to jump in celebration because of the deal, including Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., who posted to Twitter earlier in the day.

‘The usual establishment people are popping champagne over this debt ceiling deal,’ she said. ‘It’s more worthy of a Bud Light.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., also tweeted earlier in the day.

‘Thankful that President Biden has reached an agreement in principle to prevent a devastating GOP-manufactured default,’ he said. ‘Look forward to reviewing the legislative bill text once it is released this afternoon. And continuing our work to put people over politics.’

The 99-page bill was released just before 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The House Rules Committee will meet at 3 p.m. on Tuesday to prepare the debt ceiling bill for a debate on the floor Wednesday, Fox News has learend.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached a much-awaited budget detail, averting a potentially catastrophic U.S. default just days ahead of a June 5 deadline.

Both sides are expected to point to some victories in the bill. Biden said Sunday the bill ‘represents a compromise, which means no one got everything they wanted.’

The House released the 99-page text of the deal Sunday evening.

READ THE TEXT HERE:

The agreement would keep nondefense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year, as well as provide for a 2-year debt-limit increase.

The agreement would fully fund medical care for veterans at the levels included in Biden’s proposed 2024 budget blueprint, including a fund dedicated to veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards. Biden sought $20.3 billion for the toxic exposure fund in his budget, and Republican negotiators ensured Sunday that funding was left untouched.

The agreement would expand some work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. It would raise the age for existing work requirements from 49 to 54, similar to the Republican proposal, but those changes would expire in 2030. The White House said it would at the same time reduce the number of vulnerable people – including veterans and people who are homeless – of all ages who are subject to the requirements.

The agreement would rescind about $30 billion in unspent coronavirus relief money that Congress approved through previous bills, with exceptions made for veterans’ medical care, housing assistance, Indian Health Service and some $5 billion for a program focused on rapidly developing the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.

The deal puts in place changes in the National Environmental Policy Act for the first time in nearly four decades that would designate ‘a single lead agency’ to develop environmental reviews, in hopes of streamlining the process.

Republicans have long sought to reel back the Biden administration’s efforts to provide student loan relief and aid to millions of borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic. While the GOP proposal to rescind the White House’s plan to waive $10,000 to $20,000 in debt for nearly all borrowers failed to make it into the package, Biden agreed to put an end to the pause on student loan repayment. Once Biden signs the package, the pause in student loan repayments would end within 60 days.

McCarthy, R-Calif., said the House will vote on the legislation Wednesday, giving the Senate time to consider it before June 5 – the date when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could default on its debt obligations if lawmakers did not act in time.

Fox News has learned that the House Rules Committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday to prepare the debt ceiling bill for floor debate on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Republican from Montana, released a statement Sunday evening signaling he would vote against the ‘Fiscal Responsibility Act,’ the debt ceiling deal released to the public earlier in the day by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. 

Rosendale said the proposal, which he called the ‘Fiscal Irresponsibility Act,’ failed to rein in federal spending. He also said lawmakers who support the bill are insulting the American people.

‘The D.C. Swamp has proposed the largest debt ceiling increase in our nation’s history, adding $4 trillion to the existing $31 trillion national debt,’ said Rosendale. ‘The Fiscal Irresponsibility Act fails to cut spending and continues to fund the Democrats’ and Biden Administration’s radical agenda.’ 

He added: ‘It is frankly an insult to the American people to support a piece of legislation that continues to put our country’s financial future at risk. Montanans did not send me to Washington to support business as usual, which is why I will be voting AGAINST the Fiscal Irresponsibility Act.’

BIDEN, MCCARTHY REACH DEBT CEILING DEAL TO AVOID DEFAULT: HERE’S WHAT’S IN ITt

The House released the 99-page deal in its entirety Sunday evening.

READ THE TEXT HERE:

Rosendale’s office said in a statement that the lawmaker voted in favor of the initial Republican debt ceiling proposal, the ‘Limit, Save, Grow Act,’ which passed the House of Representatives on April 26.

Rosendale said the initial Republican-supported bill was written to ‘create economic growth while minimizing the damaging inflationary consequences of reckless spending.’

He also joined his Republican colleagues in writing a letter to McCarthy urging core elements of the bill are kept in place amid negotiations with President Biden on a new deal.

‘The United States is $31 trillion in debt – the House Republican plan is a great start to addressing this crisis,’ Rosendale said in April after HR 2811 passed the House. ‘For far too long, Congress has been kicking the can down the road and allowing deficit spending to spiral out of control.’

‘This comprehensive plan will fund the federal government responsibly and remove barriers to growing the economy while protecting Social Security, Medicare, and veterans’ benefits. The spending habits of Washington politicians and bureaucrats must change to secure our nation’s financial future,’ he added at the time.

‘We must shrink Washington to grow America,’ Rosendale concluded.

Rosendale is the first House Republican to openly say he will vote against the ‘Fiscal Responsibility Act.’ Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, has also expressed some dissatisfaction with the bill.

The House will vote on the debt ceiling deal on Wednesday – giving members time to read the bill and the Senate time to consider it before June 5, which is the date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. could default on its debt obligations.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

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An agreement in principle was reached Saturday between House Republican leaders and the White House that would prevent the government from breaching debt ceiling and failing to meet all its obligations.

The deal would claw back some unspent COVID-19 pandemic funds and provide a cut from funding granted the IRS in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, multiple sources told Fox News and Fox News Digital. It would also suspend the debt limit until after the 2024 presidential election, sources said. 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said the deal includes cuts and language aimed at reducing the government’s footprint. He said the text of the deal should be out by Sunday, and that he hopes the House can vote on it by Wednesday. 

‘We still have a lot of work to do. But I believe this is an agreement in principle that’s worthy of the American people. It has historic reductions in spending, consequential reforms that will lift people out of poverty into the workforce, and rein in government overreach. There are no new taxes, no new government programs. There’s a lot more within the bill,’ McCarthy said.

An internal House GOP memo that outlines messaging points for the deal says McCarthy and the White House have agreed to cut non-defense discretionary spending to fiscal 2022 levels, a key asking point for Republicans. It also claws back billions of unspent COVID-19 pandemic funds and includes permitting reform to speed up approvals for energy and infrastructure projects. 

Republican members were told on a conference call late on Saturday night that the deal also imposes a 1% growth cap on federal spending for six years, while spending for defense and veterans would go up, a source told Fox News. Lawmakers expect to be called back for a vote either Wednesday or Thursday, the source said.

However, another source familiar with the talks said both sides agreed to a two-year budget deal and to freeze non-defense discretionary spending at current fiscal 2023 levels rather than rolling it back.

A third source familiar with the details told Fox News Digital that the deal claws back $1.9 billion this year of the $80 billion in funding over ten years granted to the Internal Revenue Service in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act, and that the debt limit would be suspended until January 2025.

That appears to fall short of Republican goals outlined in the House GOP’s Limit, Save, Grow Act, which would have raised the debt limit for about a year while rolling back the current year’s spending levels by roughly $150 billion. Several House Republicans were already tweeting late Saturday night that they can’t accept the deal based on the details that were emerging.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said online after the call with McCarthy, ‘I do not like the ‘deal’ as I understand it from the cheerleading so far… I will have more to follow once I see more details.’

However another top hardline Republican, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told members, ‘If I understand, for first time in US history, we’re spending less money than year before. That seems like a pretty darn good deal to me.’

Republicans got their wish for tighter work requirements for some Americans on federal benefits – the applicable age for work requirements for SNAP recipients would be raised from 49 to 54, while being reduced for veterans and homeless people, among others. But those tougher work requirements would not be required for Medicaid benefits.

President Biden claimed the deal ‘protects’ Democrats’ policies but acknowledged that not everyone got what they wanted in a statement released late on Saturday night.

‘It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments. The agreement represents a compromise, which means not everyone gets what they want,’ Biden said.

‘Over the next day, our negotiating teams will finalize legislative text and the agreement will go to the United States House and Senate. I strongly urge both chambers to pass the agreement right away,’ he said.

McCarthy told reporters after his earlier discussion with Biden, ‘I just got off the phone with the president a bit ago. After he wasted time and refused to negotiate for months, we’ve come to an agreement in principle that is worthy of the American people,’ McCarthy said after his discussion with Biden.

He was due to speak with Biden again at 10:30pm tonight.

Democrats had gone into the talks pushing for a clean debt limit increase without preconditions, something Republicans made clear from the start that they would not accept.

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke at about 6 p.m. Eastern time to talk about the progress made so far, and spoke for nearly 90 minutes.

Edward Lawrence, Kelly Phares, and Tyler Olson contributed to this report

A federal judge ruled Friday that a rural Colorado school district can bar a high school student from wearing a Mexican and American flag sash at her graduation this weekend after the student sued the school district.

Judge Nina Y. Wang wrote that wearing a sash during a graduation ceremony falls under school-sponsored speech, not the student’s private speech. Therefore, ‘the School District is permitted to restrict that speech as it sees fit in the interest of the kind of graduation it would like to hold,’ Wang wrote.

CORNELL MEDICAL SCHOOL OFFERING FREE ANTI-RACISM COURSE, HELPS STUDENTS APOLOGIZE FOR OLD SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

The ruling was over the student’s request for a temporary restraining order, which would have allowed her to wear the sash on Saturday for graduation because the case wouldn’t have resolved in time. Wang found that the student and her attorneys failed to sufficiently show they were likely to succeed, but a final ruling is still to come.

It’s the latest dispute in the U.S. about what kind of cultural graduation attire is allowed at commencement ceremonies, with many focusing on tribal regalia.

Attorneys for Naomi Peña Villasano argued in a hearing Friday in Denver that the school district decision violates her free speech rights. They also said that it’s inconsistent for the district to allow Native American attire but not Peña Villasano’s sash representing her heritage. The sash has the Mexican flag on one side and the United States flag on the other.

POET BLASTS FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR RESTRICTING PIECE TO MIDDLE SCHOOLERS AFTER ONE PARENT COMPLAINT

‘I’m a 200 percenter — 100% American and 100% Mexican,’ she said at a recent school board meeting in Colorado’s rural Western Slope.

‘The district is discriminating against the expression of different cultural heritages,’ said her attorney Kenneth Parreno, from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, at Friday’s hearing.

An attorney representing the Garfield County School District 16 countered that Native American regalia is required to be allowed in Colorado and is categorically different from wearing a country’s flags. Permitting Peña Villasano to sport the U.S. and Mexican flags as a sash, said Holly Ortiz, could open ‘the door to offensive material.’

Ortiz further stated that the district doesn’t want to prevent Peña Villasano from expressing herself and that the graduate could adorn her cap with the flags or wear the sash before or after the ceremony.
But ‘she doesn’t have a right to express it in any way that she wants,’ Ortiz said.

NORTH HOLLYWOOD PARENTS BOYCOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT’S PLANNED PRIDE ASSEMBLY: ‘KEEP YOUR KIDS HOME’

Wang sided with the district, finding that ‘the School District could freely permit one sash and prohibit another.’

Similar disputes have played out across the U.S. this graduation season.

A transgender girl lodged a lawsuit against a Mississippi school district for banning her from wearing a dress to graduation. In Oklahoma, a Native American former student brought legal action against a school district for removing a feather, a sacred religious object, from her cap before the graduation ceremony in 2022.

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A Texas House of Representatives investigative committee recommended impeachment for embattled state Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The Texas House Investigative Committee unanimously voted 5-0 to adopt articles of impeachment for Paxton on Thursday, according to FOX 4.

The House convened Saturday, during Memorial Day weekend, to begin debate over whether to indict the state’s chief law enforcement officer in his impeachment. 

In Texas, an impeachment from the House would require Paxton to leave his office immediately pending a trial in the Senate.

The committee vote comes as Paxton is under investigation in a corruption case being led by the FBI over accusations that the attorney general used his office to assist a donor. He was also indicted in 2015 on securities and fraud charges, but hasn’t yet faced a trial.

Multiple aides from Paxton’s office became concerned that the attorney general was misusing the office’s power to help donor Nate Paul regarding unproven claims of a conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties was taking place. 

Paxton also allegedly told staff members that he had an affair with a woman who worked for Paul.

In the articles of impeachment, lawmakers accuse Paxton of misusing public information law, using his office to help a donor, terminating employees who reported his ‘unlawful’ conduct, bribery, misleading public officials, and more.

READ THE RESOLUTION – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Paxton has previously suggested that the House investigation is politically motivated. 

Chris Hilton, a lawyer in Paxton’s office, told reporters on Thursday that the House investigators are ‘false,’ ‘misleading,’ and ‘full of errors big and small.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Paxton’s office for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took to social media Saturday to defend Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead of a vote in the state House to impeach him, insisting Paxton has been the ‘strongest conservative AG’ in America and that the ‘swamp in Austin’ can’t handle it.

A vote to impeach Paxton, slated for 1 p.m. local time, came after the Texas House Investigative Committee unanimously voted 5-0 to adopt articles of impeachment for Paxton earlier this week, according to FOX 4.

‘What is happening to @KenPaxtonTX is a travesty,’ Cruz wrote in a series of tweets. ‘For the last nine years, Ken has been the strongest conservative AG in the country. Bar none. No attorney general has battled the abuses of the Biden admin more ferociously—and more effectively—than has Paxton.’

‘That’s why the swamp in Austin wants him out,’ he continued. ‘The special interests don’t want a steadfast conservative AG. I understand that people are concerned about Ken’s legal challenges. But the courts should sort them out.’

Further defending Paxton, Cruz wrote, ‘Virtually all of the information in the articles was public BEFORE Election Day, and the voters chose to re-elect Ken Paxton by a large margin. In my view, the Texas Legislature should respect the choice of the Texas voters.’

The committee vote came as Paxton, who commended Cruz for his comments, is under investigation in a corruption case being led by the FBI over accusations that the attorney general used his office to assist a donor. He was also indicted in 2015 on securities and fraud charges, but hasn’t yet faced a trial.

Multiple aides from Paxton’s office became concerned that the attorney general was misusing the office’s power to help donor Nate Paul regarding unproven claims of a conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties was taking place.

Paxton also allegedly told staff members that he had an affair with a woman who worked for Paul.

In the articles of impeachment, lawmakers accuse Paxton of misusing public information law, using his office to help a donor, terminating employees who reported his ‘unlawful’ conduct, bribery, misleading public officials, and more.

Multiple aides from Paxton’s office became concerned that the attorney general was misusing the office’s power to help donor Nate Paul regarding unproven claims of a conspiracy to steal $200 million of his properties was taking place. 

Paxton also allegedly told staff members that he had an affair with a woman who worked for Paul.

In the articles of impeachment, lawmakers accuse Paxton of misusing public information law, using his office to help a donor, terminating employees who reported his ‘unlawful’ conduct, bribery, misleading public officials, and more.

In Texas, an impeachment from the House would require Paxton to leave his office immediately pending a trial in the Senate.

Fox News’ Adam Sabes and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Texas House of Representatives voted Saturday to impeach Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton over charges of bribery, disregard of official duties and abuse of public trust after hours of debate in an afternoon session — sending the case to the state Senate.

The House voted 121-23 to impeach him, meaning he will step down temporarily as he faces trial in the upper chamber. A simple majority was required to impeach him. 

The House’s Committee on General Investigating had initiated an inquiry in March after Paxton and his office asked the legislature for $3.3 million to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by whistleblowers in the office. The former employees had called in 2020 for an investigation into Paxton’s actions regarding an Austin real estate investor who had his home searched by the FBI. They accused Paxton of using his office to protect him by authorizing an investigation into the FBI.

The articles of impeachment allege that the settlement delayed the discovery of facts and testimony to Paxton’s advantage.

‘Over the course of several months, the Committee and staff set out to determine if payment of the settlement was warranted because of the lack of discovery in the litigation and because Paxton and his office were not forthcoming about his conduct regarding the whistleblower’s good faith reports of his violations of his constitutional and statutory duties,’ a committee memo this week said.

The Republican-led investigation has presented findings that Paxton recommended the developer, Nate Paul, employ a woman with whom Paxton was allegedly having an affair, and that Paul aided Paxton with a renovation of his home in exchange for favorable legal help from Paxton’s office. Paxton is also accused of obstruction of justice and false statements in official records.

It is the latest allegation of wrongdoing against the conservative firebrand — who has launched a number of high-profile lawsuits in support of conservative causes and against the Biden administration. He was indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015, but has yet to stand trial.

Paxton has dismissed the impeachment push as ‘political theater’ based on ‘hearsay and gossip, parroting long-disproven claims.’

Ahead of the vote, Paxton secured the backing of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who called the proceedings ‘a travesty.’

‘For the last nine years, Ken has been the strongest conservative AG in the country. Bar none. No attorney general has battled the abuses of the Biden admin more ferociously—and more effectively—than has Paxton.’

‘That’s why the swamp in Austin wants him out,’ he continued. ‘The special interests don’t want a steadfast conservative AG. I understand that people are concerned about Ken’s legal challenges. But the courts should sort them out.’

Former President Donald Trump also gave his backing to the AG, saying on Truth Social: ‘Free Ken Paxton.’

‘Hopefully Republicans in the Texas House will agree that this is a very unfair process that should not be allowed to happen or proceed — I will fight you if it does,’ he warned.

Democrats in the House had presented their case against Paxton, with Rep. Ann Johnson accusing Paxton of being ‘desperate to keep this case in the court of public opinion.’

‘Because he has no ability to win in a court of law. See, in a court of law, a judge will provide over that case and he will be treated just as any other civil or criminal defendant,’ she said.

While some Republicans have backed impeachment, others had expressed concern about the method of the investigation and impeachment, calling it rushed and politicized.

‘I don’t think today is about whether there’s guilt or innocence, it’s about process,’  Rep. Tony Tinderholt said.

A two-thirds majority is required in the Senate to remove him from office. As the trial goes on, Gov. Greg Abbott will appoint an interim replacement.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Nearly two dozen Republican-led states have backed Florida’s legal challenge to a Biden administration policy that allowed for the release of migrants into the U.S. interior without court dates — but was blocked just hours before the expiration of the Title 42 public health order.

‘The Administration’s en masse parole of aliens violates federal immigration law and abdicates its responsibility to secure the nation’s borders,’ the 23 states, led by Virginia, said in an amicus brief filed this week.

The policy, known as ‘parole with conditions’ was outlined in a May 10 memo and came a day before the end of Title 42. The policy set out how migrants can be allowed into the country on parole – a process typically reserved for ‘urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit’ – if Customs and Border Protection (CBP) faced overcrowding. 

Migrants released under the policy were required to make an appointment with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or request a Notice to Appear by mail. The use of parole had been authorized if a sector capacity goes above 125%, if agents apprehend 7,000 a day over 72 hours or if average time in custody goes above 60 hours.

It had been adopted just as authorities were seeing over 10,000 migrants a day ahead of the ending of the Title 42 public health order. Numbers have dropped since the ending of the order. In a court filing, the administration said nearly 9,000 migrants were released under the policy while it was in effect.

Florida quickly sued and it was blocked on May 11, with the judge accepting arguments that the policy was ‘materially identical’ to a similar policy blocked by the same judge in March. The judge has since granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the policy as the case continues.

DHS had said it would comply with the ruling but called it harmful and warned that it would ‘result in unsafe overcrowding at CBP facilities and undercut our ability to efficiently process and remove migrants, and risks creating dangerous conditions for Border Patrol agents and migrants.’

As the case goes on, the 23 states are backing the lawsuit in a supporting amicus brief, warning of the damages it says the states will face if the policy was allowed to resume.

‘The en masse parole of aliens imposes huge, unrecoverable costs on Amici States, including surging expenses for education, law enforcement, and emergency medical care. It also threatens to overwhelm their public infrastructure and degrade their ability to provide critical services to their own citizens,’ they write. 

‘Further, the Administration’s failure to secure the border has greatly exacerbated the severe problems of transnational crime, including the smuggling of Chinese-manufactured fentanyl that is killing more than 100,000 Americans per year, as well as human trafficking and the exploitation of minors,’ they say.

They also put the blame for the ongoing migrant crisis on the administration’s policies.

‘In short, the Administration’s failure to enforce federal immigration law and secure the border has imposed severe and irreparable harm on Amici States. The district court’s order enjoining the Administration’s unlawful policy should be left in place as the litigation proceeds,’ they say.

The legal battle is just one of a handful the administration is facing on immigration. It is also facing legal challenges from the left and right targeting its asylum rule to limit who can claim asylum at the southern border.

Despite those challenges, the administration has touted a 70% drop in encounters at the border since Title 42 ended — while calling on Republicans in Congress to provide more funding and to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill.