Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday that President Biden should use military force to take out Chinese military assets in Cuba.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration confirmed China was seeking to construct a military training facility in Cuba, which would allow it to permanently station troops in the country located less than 100 miles from Florida’s coast.

‘I support an Authorization for Use of Military Force to take out the Chinese assets in Cuba,’ said Gaetz, a vocal critic of China’s global ambitions, while the committee was debating amendments for the National Defense Authorization Act.

‘We should be a lot more concerned that China is functionally turning Cuba into a stationary aircraft carrier right off the coast of Florida,’ Gaetz said.

Gaetz also introduced a provision, which passed, that would prohibit Department of Defense funds from going toward drag shows.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., warned the Biden administration earlier this month that China having a spy base on the island would pose an ‘imminent threat’ to America. He also urged the White House to take action to bolster national security.

‘As the Member of Congress for America’s Southernmost district, which includes the entirety of the Florida Keys, this espionage base poses a direct threat to my constituents and to the millions of tourists who visit South Florida every year,’ Gimenez said.

He added: ‘Communist China is proactively undermining the United States across the Western Hemisphere and I urge this Administration to build a robust, comprehensive, and expedient strategy to counter the CCP’s malign influence with neighboring states.’

The Wall Street Journal reported talks about constructing a potential military facility on Cuba’s northern coast ‘are at an advanced stage but not concluded.’

According to the report, China intends to use a military base in Cuba as part of a new global network of military outposts.

However, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the report on the China-Cuba base is ‘not accurate.’ The National Security Council told Fox News that the WSJ report was inaccurate but did not elaborate.

The Biden administration later confirmed China is working to increase its spying efforts in Cuba, calling it an ‘ongoing issue’ but said it was nothing new.

The administration official said it was aware of a ‘number of’ efforts by the People’s Republic of China ‘around the world to expand its overseas logistics, basing, and collection infrastructure.’ These outposts would allow the People’s Liberation Army ‘to project and sustain military power at a greater distance.’

Debate for the NDAA ended shortly after midnight Thursday after more than 12 hours. In its current form, the new defense budget would give members of the Armed Services a 5.2% pay raise, the largest in over 20 years, and increase mental healthcare services available to these members.

Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia, described it as a ‘great bill.’

‘Providing for our nation’s defense is the top priority for the House Armed Services Committee and I am incredibly proud of the bipartisan work we’ve accomplished in the FY24 NDAA,’ added Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala.

‘This year’s NDAA includes provisions that counter China’s aggression, boost oversight of the Department of Defense, and support our service members and their families,’ Rogers said. ‘Additionally, this year’s bill saves taxpayers billions of dollars while still making critical investments in innovative technologies and our defense industrial base.

He added: ‘I thank my colleagues on the committee for their hard work in support of our national security. I look forward to advancing this bill to the full House in the coming weeks.’

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

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FIRST ON FOX: A hawkish immigration group is estimating that there are nearly 17 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States — and that the number has increased by 16% since President Biden took office in early 2021.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which calls for lower overall levels of immigration, is publishing a new research report on the number of people living illegally in the U.S.

That report estimates that there are approximately 16.8 illegal immigrants in the U.S., up from 15.5 million in January 2022. Other groups have put the estimate in recent years at around 11 million, which is the most quoted number.

‘This estimate is also a 2.3 million increase from our end-of-2020 estimate, meaning the illegal alien population increased 16 percent nationwide during just the first two years of Joe Biden’s presidency,’ the report says.

The Biden administration has been dealing with a migrant crisis now into its third year. It abolished a number of Trump-era policies including border wall construction and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and has interior ICE enforcement. Deportations plummeted, and Republicans have hammered the administration for expanding ‘catch-and-release’ policies that had largely ended under the Trump administration.

The administration has countered, arguing that it is rebuilding an asylum system that was destroyed under the prior administration, and more recently has touted tougher enforcement measures at the border alongside expanded legal pathways. 

There were more than 200,000 encounters at the southern border in May, bringing the overall total of encounters this fiscal year to over 1.6 million so far. The administration said that half of those 204,000 were encountered before the expiration of the Title 42 public health order — which allowed for the rapid expulsion of migrants due to COVID-19 — on May 11. 

FAIR’s analysis defines an illegal alien as ‘any alien who is present in the United States without legal status, like a valid visa or lawful permanent residence.’

That, therefore also includes those who are protected from deportation — including recipients of deferred enforced departure, Temporary Protected Status, and those who have been paroled into the U.S. — who are described in immigration law as ‘lawfully present’ despite a lack of legal status. The administration recently extended TPS for approximately 330,000 nationals from four countries.

FAIR acknowledges that accurately estimating the population of illegal immigrants can be murky and inexact, given the size and distribution of the population — and that many live at least partially in the shadows. Many typical estimates are based on Census Bureau data.

‘In truth, we do not know exactly how many people cross the border illegally and evade immigration authorities, nor can anyone accurately quantify overstays or gotaways. We can only estimate these figures based on changes in annual census data, along with how many individuals CBP and ICE believe slip through undetected,’ the report says.

FAIR uses Census data, applies an estimate that the population is being undercounted by approximately 30%, which it says is consistent with past estimates of nonresponse rates for illegal immigrants — and then uses increases in the measured foreign-born population ‘which contain a higher proportion of illegal immigrants than previous years due to inadequate border security and the expansion of dubious immigration parole programs.’

The report argues that the increase has been driven by relaxed border restrictions and a hiring boost post-COVID by U.S. companies as well as Biden policies that have increased ‘pull factors’ drawing migrants north, including the use of parole and greater use of Notices to Appear. It also cites restrictions placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that are currently being challenged by a lawsuit and have been blocked temporarily.

The Biden administration has faulted Republicans in Congress for the ongoing migrant crisis, and has argued that there is a need for a comprehensive immigration bill to fix what it says is a ‘broken’ system.
That legislation, first introduced in early 2021, has been rejected by Republicans specifically for the inclusion of a mass pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants already in the country.

The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman facing allegations of leaking sensitive documents from the Pentagon pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday in federal court.

Jack Teixeira, 21, appeared in a Worcester, Massachusetts, courtroom on Wednesday afternoon, nearly a week after a federal grand jury indicted him.

The North Dighton resident faces six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. 

Teixeira was arrested on April 13 on suspicion that he shared highly classified military documents pertaining to the war in Ukraine, as well as top national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform.

PENTAGON LEAK SUSPECT JACK TEIXEIRA INDICTED BY FEDERAL GRAND JURY 

In court on Wednesday, Teixeira was handcuffed and wearing orange jail garb.

He reportedly smiled at family members seated in the courtroom at the beginning of the hearing. When asked how he pleaded after each count, Teixeira, who was seated next to his lawyers at the defense table, leaned over to the microphone to say, ‘Not guilty, your honor.’

JACK TEIXEIRA MISHANDLED CLASSIFIED INFORMATION TWICE BEFORE HIGH-PROFILE LEAK: REPORT 

The defense requested the judge reconsider Teixeira’s detention order, which was denied.

A magistrate judge ruled last month that Teixeira was to remain in jail for the entirety of the case, adding his release could pose a risk of him fleeing the country or obstructing justice.

Teixeira held a top-secret information security clearance that would grant him access to the classified information.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said last week that those granted security clearances are entrusted with protecting classified information and safeguarding the nation’s secrets. The allegations in the indictment, he added, ‘reveal a serious violation of that trust.’

The leaked documents exposed secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

Air Force officials reportedly ordered Teixeira in September and October 2022 to ‘cease and desist on any deep dives into classified intelligence information,’ according to The New York Times, which reported he had been caught accessing classified materials before.

‘Teixeira had previously been notified to focus on his own career duties and not to seek out intelligence products,’ a superior wrote in a memo dated Feb. 4, according to the report. 

Teixeira faces more than a decade in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if found guilty.  

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden is scheduled to make his first court appearance in Delaware on federal tax and gun charges next month on July 26, Fox News has learned. 

He will appear in front of Judge Maryellen Noreika. 

President Biden’s son, 53, has agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax. 

‘Despite owing in excess of $100,000 in federal income taxes each year, he did not pay the income tax due for either year,’ the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David C. Weiss’ office said Tuesday. 

BIDEN’S ‘FARCICAL’ PLEA DEAL DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION, SEN. SCOTT TELLS AG GARLAND 

HUNTER BIDEN’S LAWYER SAYS CLIENT ‘HAPPY TO MOVE ON’ AFTER PLEA DEAL, DOESN’T KNOW IF LAPTOP WAS PART OF PROBE 

Hunter Biden will also enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate felony charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

When asked about his son by a reporter Tuesday, the president said: ‘I’m very proud of my son.’ 

The White House reacted to the charges Tuesday morning.  

‘The President and first lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life,’ White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement. ‘We will have no further comment.’

Hunter Biden’s plea deal has also sparked criticism from Republicans, some of whom have suggested he’s getting a ‘sweetheart’ deal because he’s the president’s son.

‘It’s no coincidence that less than a week after President Trump is arraigned by the DOJ, Hunter Biden is pleading guilty to a sweetheart deal with no jail time,’ Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital in a statement. ‘The DOJ is going for the low-hanging fruit by charging Hunter Biden with a gun felony and two tax misdemeanors, after years of slow walking their investigation.’

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is spearheading a bicameral reintroduction of legislation that would jail illegal immigrants who repeatedly enter the U.S. after being deported – as the U.S. continues to tackle an ongoing migrant crisis at the border.

‘Kate’s Law,’ also called the Stop Illegal Reentry Act, was first introduced in 2015 and named after Kate Steinle, who died after being shot in 2015 by an illegal immigrant who had been deported multiple times and had prior convictions. He was ultimately acquitted of murder after arguing that the gun accidentally fired when he picked it up.

Cruz’s legislation was blocked by Democrats after its first introduction, but Cruz has continued to introduce the bill in each Congress. The bill would set a federal mandatory minimum of five years in prison for any illegal reentry offense.

Now it is being introduced again with a Republican-controlled House and a slim Democrat majority in the upper chamber, and it comes amid a broader push by Republicans and conservatives to implement tougher policies to prevent illegal entry, including more deportations and additional border security.

‘Eight years ago, when I first introduced Kate’s Law, I was just as shocked and dismayed that Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal felon who had reentered the U.S. as I am today,’ Cruz said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday. ‘Almost a decade has gone by since this shooting, and we have yet to strengthen federal law to prevent a tragedy like this from recurring.’

‘The first time this legislation was stopped by Senate Democrats, I vowed to continue fighting for Kate’s Law, and I am proud to introduce this legislation once again to prevent aggravated felons from preying on innocent Americans,’ he said.

The push comes as the U.S. is still dealing with more than 200,000 migrant encounters at the border each month. In fiscal year 2023 so far, there have been more than 1.6 million migrant encounters, after nearly 2.4 million in fiscal year 2022, which set a new record. In May, there were more than 204,000 migrant encounters.

Republicans have blamed the policies of the Biden administration for the surge, including more instances of ‘catch and release,’ the end of the Trump-era border wall construction, the end of the ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy and reduced interior enforcement.

The Biden administration has said it is working to fix an asylum system gutted by the Trump administration, and it has recently been touting a sharp drop in encounters since new policies were implemented – including an asylum ineligibility for some illegal immigrants – on May 11. It has also called for a comprehensive immigration reform bill to be passed in Congress, including more funding and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

In the House, the push for the legislation is being led by Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. In the Senate, Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, are co-sponsoring the push with Cruz.

‘Earlier this year in Texas, an individual who had been deported four times killed five individuals, proving the extensive flaws in our immigration system,’ Bice said in a statement. ‘Under the Biden administration the southern border is completely out of control, with record-breaking crossings occurring every month. In Fiscal Year 2022, CBP arrested 12,028 individuals with criminal convictions. This legislation would impose tougher criminal penalties against illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes, and those who illegally reenter the United States after previously being deported.’

Cotton said illegal immigrants who reenter after being deported ‘show a knowing and willful disregard for our laws.’

‘This bill will ensure that illegal aliens who return to the U.S. face serious prison time,’ he said.

The legislation is being introduced a day after new turnover was announced in the Department of Homeland Security’s staff. Deputy Secretary John Tien announced his retirement Tuesday after both Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz and Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tae Johnson both said they will depart later this month.

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., who previously asked Hunter Biden for a briefing ‘on the Ukraine,’ launched her bid for Democrat Sen. Tom Carper’s Delaware seat Wednesday. 

‘I’m running to represent Delaware in the United States Senate,’ Blunt Rochester posted on Twitter. ‘I’m filled with Bright Hope for our future. But a more perfect union isn’t a destination. It’s a journey. Let’s go on it together.’

Blunt Rochester, the lone Delaware representative, included a heartfelt video alongside her announcement, featuring photos and anecdotes of her late husband, Charles Rochester. She was elected in 2017 as the first woman and person of color to represent Delaware in Congress.

‘It’s been the greatest honor of my life to represent Delaware, to protect our seniors, our environment, our small businesses and women’s reproductive rights,’ she said. ‘But we’ve got so much more to do.’

Blunt Rochester’s announcement comes almost exactly a month after Carper announced his retirement in late May. When asked if he had any favorite contenders to succeed him, Carper mentioned Blunt Rochester. 

‘I spoke with her this morning,’ Carper said at the time of his retirement announcement. ‘I said, ‘You’ve been patient waiting for me to get out of the way, and I’m going to get out off the way.’’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also spoke with Blunt Rochester about her expectation to run shortly after Carper’s announcement. 

‘Senate Majority Leader Schumer spoke with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester by phone shortly after hearing of Sen. Tom Carper’s decision not to seek re-election,’ a Schumer spokesperson said at the time. ‘He told her he believes she could be a really good senator and he looks forward to sitting down with her soon.’

Fox News Digital previously reported that Blunt Rochester thanked Hunter Biden in 2016 for his ‘generous contribution’ to her campaign and also asked him for a briefing ‘on the Ukraine.’ She is currently one of President Biden’s national co-chairs for his 2024 campaign and served in the same role during his 2020 campaign. 

Months before winning her election against Republican Hans Reigle in 2016, Blunt Rochester sent Hunter an email thanking him for donating to her campaign.

‘I just told Brian that I saw your contribution online,’ she wrote Feb. 5, 2016. ‘I can’t thank you enough. You know that it’s not easy running for any office.  It means a lot to have you on my team.

LAWMAKERS SUBPOENA HUNTER BIDEN’S EX-BUSINESS PARTNER FOR DEPOSITION IN BIDEN FAMILY INVESTIGATION: REPORT

‘By the way, I’m sure Brian will tell you that I will be in DC next Tuesday and Wednesday.’

Emails show Hunter responded less than an hour later, writing, ‘Let me know what more I can do- lets do a fundraiser in the second quarter down here in DC.’ 

Blunt Rochester thanked Hunter again 10 days later, asking if he could brief her ‘on the Ukraine.’ FEC records show Hunter made four donations to Blunt Rochester’s campaign in 2016, totaling $3,000.

Several prominent Democrats have already come out in support of Blunt Rochester alongside Carper, including Sen. Elizabeth, Warren, D-Mass. and former White House chief of staff Ron Klain. 

‘Woo-hoo! Great news for families in Delaware and across the country,’ Warren wrote as she quote-tweeted Blunt Rochester’s announcement. 

‘.@LisaBRochester will make an excellent U.S. Senator for the people of Delaware! She’s just the kind of leader that we need, and she will make us proud,’ Carper tweeted. 

If she were to win, Blunt Rochester would be the third Black female senator in history, following former Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, D-Ill., and Kamala Harris, who represented California in the Senate before being elected vice president in 2020. 

Blunt Rochester is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Cameron Cawthorne, Jessica Chasmar, and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Wisconsin Assembly on Wednesday is expected to pass a Republican-authored, bipartisan bill opposed by anti-abortion groups that would allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense birth control.

The GOP-controlled Assembly passed the measure with broad bipartisan support last session, but it died in the Senate. Its sponsor, Republican Rep. Joel Kitchens, has said he’s optimistic it will get a Senate vote this session.

This marks the first time the bill has come up since Wisconsin’s 1849 law banning abortion went back into effect after last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. Republicans and their anti-abortion allies, who suffered a series of defeats in ballot questions in states across the political spectrum since that ruling, are tackling the issue nationwide in a variety of ways.

In addition to the pharmacist birth control bill, Wisconsin Republicans also introduced a measure that would create rape and incest exceptions under that state’s abortion ban. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vowed to veto anything that doesn’t return state law to how it was before Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Evers backs a lawsuit brought by the state’s Democratic attorney general that seeks to overturn the state ban. That case is expected to ultimately be decided by the state’s Supreme Court, which flips from conservative to liberal control in August. The winning liberal Supreme Court candidate in an April election ran as a supporter of abortion rights.

Republicans behind the bill allowing pharmacists to prescribe and dispense common birth control pills and hormonal contraceptive patches say it is a way to prevent more unwanted pregnancies. Under current law, women can only obtain most birth control through a prescription written by a doctor or advanced practice nurse.

The measure, which Democrats have introduced in the past, has bipartisan support in the Assembly. But it’s unclear whether the Senate will take it up. It must pass both the Senate and Assembly, and be signed by Evers, before taking effect. Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

‘I certainly am pessimistic about that bill making it through the Senate,’ said Democratic state Rep. Lisa Subeck, who joined with fellow Democrats in proposing a bill Wednesday that would make access to birth control a right under state law. ‘It certainly seems to be a showpiece for Assembly Republicans that they can’t get their Senate colleagues to buy into.’

Evers supports the bill and would sign it into law should it pass the Legislature, his spokesperson Britt Cudaback said.

A wide array of groups support the measure, including the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards, the Wisconsin Public Health Association and the Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association.

Opponents include Pro-Life Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Catholic Conference and Wisconsin Family Action.

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Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have asked the FBI to turn over an unredacted version of the document containing allegations that President Biden was involved in a criminal bribery scheme with a foreign national that involved influence over U.S. policy decisions.

Grassley and Graham are also demanding to know whether the FBI has investigated allegations in the document, and whether it is within the scope of U.S. Attorney David Weiss’ investigation into Hunter Biden and his tax affairs.

The document in question is the FBI-generated FD-1023 form. The form, dated June 30, 2020, reflects the FBI’s interview with a ‘highly credible’ confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings over the course of several years, starting in 2015.

Fox News Digital has not seen the form, which is redacted, but it was described by several sources who are aware of its contents.

Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Grassley, who first was approached by a whistleblower notifying him of the document in question, wrote to the FBI on Wednesday.

‘The FBI’s continued efforts to hide relevant facts from Congress and the American people, as well as its failure to describe any investigative steps taken, will not repair its tarnished reputation,’ Graham and Grassley wrote. ‘It will do the exact opposite.’

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., subpoenaed the document, but the FBI did not comply. Comer threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.

Instead, the FBI brought the document to Capitol Hill for lawmakers on that committee to review in a secure facility.

‘The allegations contained in the FD-1023 raise serious concerns,’ the senators wrote, noting that the FBI’s ‘conduct to this point has not allowed’ lawmakers to conduct legitimate oversight.

‘In light of the continued failure to transparently address the unclassified FD-1023, we are requesting that the FBI immediately produce an unredacted version directly to the Senate Judiciary Committee and describe, in detail, the steps it has taken to investigate all allegations in the document including whether it is within the scope of U.S. Attorney David Weiss’s review,’ they wrote.

The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but has previously told Fox News Digital that it has not physically turned over the document to Congress in an effort to protect the bureau’s long-standing sources and methods.

Sources told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source told the FBI that the Burisma executive was speaking with the confidential source to ‘get advice on the best way to go forward’ in 2015 and 2016 to gain U.S. oil rights and get involved with a U.S. oil company.

According to the FD-1023 form, the confidential human source said the Burisma executive discussed Hunter Biden’s role on the board. The confidential human source questioned why the Burisma executive needed his or her advice in acquiring access to U.S. oil if he had Hunter Biden on the board. The Burisma executive answered by referring to Hunter Biden as ‘dumb.’

The Burisma executive explained to the confidential source that Burisma had to ‘pay the Bidens’ because Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin was investigating Burisma, and explained how difficult it would be to enter the U.S. market in the midst of that investigation.

The confidential source suggested to the Burisma executive that he ‘pay the Bidens $50,000 each,’ to which the Burisma executive replied, it is ‘not $50,000,’ it is ‘$5 million.’

‘$5 million for one Biden, $5 million for the other Biden,’ the Burisma executive told the confidential human source, according to a source familiar with the document.

A source familiar said according to the document, the $5 million payments appeared to reference a kind of ‘retainer’ Burisma intended to pay the Bidens to deal with a number of issues, including the investigation led by Shokin. Another source referred to the arrangement as a ‘pay-to-play’ scheme.

Sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source believes that the $5 million payment to Joe Biden and the $5 million payment to Hunter Biden occurred, based on his or her conversations with the Burisma executive.

The confidential source said the Burisma executive told him he ‘paid’ the Bidens in such a manner ‘through so many different bank accounts’ that investigators would not be able to ‘unravel this for at least 10 years.’

The document then makes reference to ‘the Big Guy,’ which many believe is a reference to Joe Biden.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter Biden had a highly lucrative role on the board receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired.

Last week, Grassley said that the Burisma executive who allegedly paid Joe Biden and Hunter Biden kept 17 audio recordings of his conversations with them as an ‘insurance policy.’

Grassley said the FD-1023 has a redacted reference that the Burisma executive possesses 15 audio recordings of phone calls between himself and Hunter Biden.

According to Grassley, the FD-1023 also states that the executive possesses two audio recordings of phone calls between himself and then-Vice President Biden.

The White House has maintained that President Biden has never been involved in his son’s business dealings and has never discussed them with him. And it has noted that removing Shokin was administration policy at the time.

Hunter Biden this week agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax, and also agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion agreement regarding a separate charge of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

The charges stem from Weiss’ years-long investigation, which he said Tuesday is ‘ongoing.’

Hunter Biden’s first court appearance is scheduled for July 26.

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President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness program survived a procedural challenge on Wednesday as the House couldn’t find the votes to override his veto of a bill aimed at killing the program.

The House passed a resolution in May to end what Republicans say is an illegal attempt by Biden to forgive billions in student loans, effectively throwing that debt on the backs of taxpayers. After the Senate approved the same resolution, Biden vetoed it in June.

On Wednesday, the House tried to override that veto but failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed. The House voted 221-206 to override Biden, dozens of votes short of the target thanks to Democrats who all voted to protect Biden’s veto – except for two who voted with the GOP.

Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., argued on behalf of Democrats that 43 million Americans are eligible for ‘loan relief’ under Biden’s plan, many of whom are low-income people who need such relief. But Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., argued that Americans know that the program unfairly shifts this debt to taxpayers.

‘President Biden’s radical plan to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt via executive fiat is utter hogwash. The American people are not fooled by the deceptive, doctored-up talking points on student loans that the left has attempted to force-feed them over the past two years.’

The House vote effectively kills the attempt by Republicans in Congress to terminate Biden’s controversial loan program. But the Supreme Court may yet rule against it in an upcoming case and could issue that ruling in a matter of days.

The resolution was written under the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to kill recent executive branch decisions. The House passed the resolution, 218-203, in May, and that was followed by a 52-46 vote in the Senate – neither of those margins were enough to override Biden’s veto.

When Biden vetoed the resolution, he argued that the COVID-19 pandemic was a reason to provide up to $20,000 in student loan debt relief to millions of Americans.

‘The pandemic was devastating for families across the nation,’ Biden said. ‘To give borrowers the essential relief they need as they recover from the economic strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Education created a program to provide up to $10,000 in debt relief – and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients – reaching more than 40 million hard-working Americans.’

While the COVID emergency is over, Biden and other Democrats say that relief is still needed.

‘It is a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers continue to pursue this unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions of their own constituents, even as several of these same lawmakers have had tens of thousands of dollars of their own business loans forgiven by the Federal Government,’ Biden said in his veto message.

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for pushing claims that former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with Russia — a vote that made Schiff just the third member of the House to be censured since the turn of the century.

The resolution passed 213-209 in a vote — every Republican voted for it except for six who voted ‘present,’ and every Democrat voted against it.

Immediately following the vote, Democrats gathered on the floor and chanted ‘Shame!’ and ‘Disgrace!’ as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., tried to gavel the House in order for several minutes. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., was heard calling McCarthy a ‘spiteful coward’ and accusing him of ‘weak leadership.’

McCarthy then asked Schiff to present himself in the well of the House, and Democrats clapped and cheered as he approached. After being interrupted several times by Democrats, McCarthy said, ‘I have all night.’

Schiff then stood in well of the House as required by the resolution, and was hugged and cheered by dozens of Democrats who surrounded him. The measure also requires the House Committee on Ethics to investigate Schiff’s ‘falsehoods, misrepresentations, and abuses of sensitive information.’

It was the second time the House tried to pass a resolution censuring Schiff from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. A resolution from Luna failed on the House floor last week because it recommended a fine against Schiff of $16 million, which Democrats and 20 Republicans opposed.

With that language removed, the resolution was able to pass on a party-line vote, which Luna said was needed to fight back against Schiff’s ‘lies’ about Trump.

‘As chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff launched an all-out political campaign built on baseless distortions against a sitting U.S. president, at the expense of every single citizen in this country and the honor of the House of Representatives,’ Luna said before the vote. ‘With access to sensitive information unavailable to most members of Congress and certainly not accessible to the American people, Schiff abused his privileges, claiming to know the truth while leaving Americans in the dark about his web of lies… lies so severe that they altered the course of the country forever.’

Schiff spoke in his own defense on the House floor, and thanked Republicans for bringing the resolution forward again.

‘To my Republican colleagues who introduced this resolution, I thank you. You honor me with your enmity, you flatter me with this falsehood,’ Schiff said.

‘You, who are the authors of a big lie about the last election, must condemn the truth tellers,’ he said. ‘And I stand proudly before you. Your words tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy, and I am grateful.’

Schiff was a leader of Trump’s first impeachment proceeding, which was launched over a phone call made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which he tried to leverage U.S. military aid in a bid to get him to announce an investigation of now-President Biden.

Democrats tried to table the resolution to censure Schiff on Wednesday but failed in a 218-208 vote along party lines.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not mince words when she accused Republicans of doing Trump’s bidding and told them they looked ‘miserable’ in the process.

‘The other side has turned this chamber where slavery was abolished, where Medicare and Social Security and everything were instituted, they’ve turned it into a puppet show,’ Pelosi said. ‘And you know what? The puppeteer, Donald Trump, is shining a light on the strings. You look miserable. You look miserable… you’re wasting time.’

The vote is not the first time House Republicans have used their majority in this Congress to target Schiff. McCarthy pulled Schiff off the Intelligence Committee this year for promoting claims that the 2016 Trump campaign was working with Russia, an allegation that was never proven.